Just trying to figure it all out

I Kite Because - hall of fame

2011-10-19T23:49:00.000-05:00

Whats new?
Well I managed to become this months spotlight member of ikitebecause, and now I'm in their hall of fame for my kitesurfing pics.

You can see my photos and read my interview here

http://www.ikitebecause.com/spotlight/september2011

National Jandal Day

2010-12-02T14:31:00.000-06:00

Its National Jandal Day, where we raise awareness and money for the volunteer surf lifeguards and keep the lifesaving service that they give to us in New Zealand waters. I'll be street collecting on Albert Street in Auckland today from 3-4:30pm, you will be able to recognize my by my jandals :)

Since 1910 Surf Lifeguards have been patrolling our beaches in their jandals.

Join us on the 3 December to celebrate 100 years of surf life saving service to your community. We know 3.4 million kiwis own a pair of jandals and 2.5 million have more than one pair. Get everyone you know together and support National Jandal Day by wearing, throwing, or decorating your jandals. Find out how to get involved, or make a donation to National Jandal Day.

Birthday Blessings

2010-11-29T17:33:00.000-06:00

Wow - another Birthday just passed by, but this one was so different than the ones I have had before.
To me a Birthday is a chance to appreciate friends, and reflect on the year since the last Birthday. Its a time when those who are close to you, yet physically far away make contact and remind you that you are special.
I took time to reflect this year and realised what a fantastic year is has been. I have met some amazing people and made some great friends this year. My friend Neil from high school just spent 2 weeks with me, which I can only describe as pure joy. True friends like that, who have know you throughout your childhood, who have matured with you, figured out life with you, loved and lost with you, those people are rare and so precious. Being able to spend all of that quality time with a person who I care for deeply was a fantastic buildup to a great Birthday.
The day itself was spend with loved ones, the dogs got some morning snuggles from me in the morning, then I got to spend an hour on Skype with my parents and some time on there with my Grandparents. My best friend C surprised me in work, not only with his company, but also with the most amazing cheesecake and bowl of organic fruit I have seen.

He stayed up until 3:30am the night before making the cake for me and you could tell how much time, effort and love had gone into it. More than the cake, the gift of his presence and quality time with him was what made for a great afternoon.
What I thought was a fantastic afternoon was followed up with an even bigger surprise as E delivers to me my favourite desert on the planet.....Snickers Cheesecake.
One thing that I obsess about when I go back to the US, is a visit to the cheesecake factory restaurant for a huge slab of snickers cheesecake. I have never been able to get cheesecake as good as that anywhere else in the world, and its just divine....well that all changed yesterday. E's cheesecake was more delightful than that from the restaurant and contained the perfect amount of everything!

Chocolate, roasted peanuts, creamy filling, subtle base and a layer of gooey caramel, all served up with a glass of Fejoa wine and some great company.

I later found out that E had baked several cheesecakes prior to this one, in order to ensure that the one he baked for me was just perfect. I think his neighbours who had to sample the previous iterations were grateful for this, and I can't believe how much effort he went to just to make my day special.

So yes, I'm spoiled to have so many people around me who care about me and show their love in ways that are so personal and thoughtful.

My reflection this year is that:

1 - I am so appreciative of my friends and aware of how fast time goes by.

2 - I am one of the luckiest people in the world to have so many who obviously love and care for me

3 - I loooooveeeee cheeecake :)

Sad loss of a cyclist life

2010-11-17T04:53:00.000-06:00

Only a couple of weeks ago I posted a video blog of my cycle commute from Mission Bay to Auckland city, and yet sadly today, a 27 year old female was killed doing this same commute.

From the NZ herald:

"The cyclist killed on Auckland's Tamaki Drive this evening fell under a truck when trying to avoid a parked car's opening door, say police.

The 27-year-old woman was riding towards Mission Bay when the accident happened shortly after 6pm.

"Despite emergency services best attempts she was unable to be saved and died at the scene," police said in a statement."

The accident happened at a spot that I always worry about, where there are a series of parked cars from people going to the beach on the left, and two lanes of traffic on the right. Many times, car occupants open their doors without looking and the cyclist is pushed out into the road.

This cyclist could have been me - I cycle that same road at that same time every day. Today was different, I had a function on at work, so stayed late, but it just goes to show how short life is.

Perhaps Auckland council will put in proper cycle lanes rather than make us share with bus lanes or drawing a line on the pavement and calling it a cycle lane, when its full of pedestrians, and torn up due to tree roots. A simple act would not only increase the number of cyclist commuters, but provide us with a safer place to ride.

Please Auckland council, I am willing to pay if you will help us to have a safer place to ride.

Kitesurfing Shakespeare Park

2010-11-11T05:17:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I go kitesurfing and I think "wow, that was a big jump" only to come back to shore and have people laugh at how I never went higher than 2 inches off the water.

Well now I have evidence that I do go higher than that - if only I could have my own personal photographer around all the time :)

A perfect kite day at Shakespeare Park, Auckland.

The use of e-learning, education and the traditional Engineering pedagogy

2010-11-09T20:56:00.000-06:00

The traditional pedagogy in engineering is that of one lecturer standing in front of a classroom of students.

The lecturer writes on the board, the students copy it down, there is an assumption that knowledge and understanding is transferred during the writing and copying process.

The measurement of that knowledge transfer is by means of a 3 hour exam where the more a student can repeat word for word the notes they had previously written and replicate a diagram shown in class, the higher the grade.

To me the pedagogy in engineering always favoured those students with a good memory. Those who could recall whole paragraphs of text explaining complex processes, and not those who understood the real world applications, or who could build structures or evaluate forensic evidence.

Upon graduating, I realized quite quickly in my first industrial job, that I had not been given the skills that industry required in terms of problem solving and teamwork, but I was equipped with a brain full of memorized constants and equations, which I then learned were most often just easily looked up in a textbook.

I found that as a new lecturer I have entered the same pedagogy as a teacher, that I studied under as a student, but now rather than be frustrated with the system, I am delighted to have the power to change the system using constructive alignment principles in the hope that my students do not just learn facts for a test, but gain skills for life.

I really wanted to incorporate Hattie's “Visible teaching and learning” theory into my classes

· (Hattie, J. (2009). The Black Box of Tertiary Assessment: An Impending Revolution. In L. H. Meyer, S. Davidson, H. Anderson, R. Fletcher, P.M. Johnston, & M. Rees (Eds.), Tertiary Assessment & Higher Education Student Outcomes: Policy, Practice & Research (pp.259-275). Wellington, New Zealand: Ako Aotearoa)

So this semester I spent a lot of time using e-learning (mostly facebook) and creating short video's for each of my classes explaining the principles that were to be covered for each lecture. I made the video's informative yet casual, humorous yet practical. I wanted to try a different approach to teaching the same boring material, and I think it was quite successful.

So I thought I would share the series of video's with the rest of the world, so you too can learn about the basics of materials engineering :)

Video 1 - Introduction to Fracture Mechanics

Video 2 - Ductile and Brittle Behaviour

Video 3 - Cracks Weaken Materials

Video 4 - Fatigue in Materials

Video 5 - Creep of Materials

Video 6 - Introduction to Polymers

Video 7 - Glass Transition Temperature of Polymers

Video 8 - Optical Properties of Polymers

Video 9 - Viscoelastic models

Video 10 - Composites

Video 11 - Biomaterials

The lone wolf and her pack

2010-11-09T20:31:00.000-06:00

I deleted that post I made about being a lone wolf, but a recent photograph of me reminded me how much I feel like a lone wolf sometimes.

This is me, camping 50km north of civilization, surrounded by hundreds of sand dunes and the ocean. I'm so happy here, just living without any technology, spending all day with my dogs, eating sand filled sandwiches.

I like my pack - the girls and I. I like that its summer and I can look forward to long drives, camping on the beach, curling up in a sleeping bag and listening to the sigh of contentment for a happy puppy that has run around chasing seagulls all day.

I love summer and I love New Zealand.
I love my life right now :)

I love food and photographs!

2010-11-09T20:21:00.000-06:00

I love food, I love to cook (but not for one person), I love to eat, and I love to take photographs.
I'm not very good at cooking or photography, but it doesn't mean that I don't enjoy them.
I'm trying to understand both a bit better, I know what flavours I like, and I'm trying to play around with different herbs and spices to see what works and doesn't. I know what I like in a photograph, but I struggle to take the image with a camera that I have in my head, armed with only an iPhone camera, I guess there is only so much I can do.
So here is a picture I took last night (with a real camera) of some yummy avacado salad (Made by E, not by me I might add).
I wanted to incorporate the colour of the food, with a different persepctive through the length of the spoon handle. I liked the contrast of the structured text with the rough cut vegetables. I like this picture a lot!
The other one I took was of the whole meal which included crusty French bread and Ratatouille.

In this picture, I wanted to capture some of the ambiance of the meal through the soft lighting, and yet still hi-light the colour of the food. I wanted to emphasize the circular shapes of the food items with the contrasting linear shape of the cutlery.

Most of all - I want to eat it all again :)

Being a cyclist commuter

2010-10-27T03:54:00.000-05:00

I love being a cyclist commuter, it has so many benefits.
1 - I don't pay for parking or petrol in the week.
2 - I get my daily 40 minutes of exercise.
3 - I get out in the fresh air which always lifts my mood for the day.
4 - I get great satisfaction from passing the cars stuck in traffic on the way.
5 - I feel better that I am doing my bit for the environment.

So here is a little video showing my commute today.

Baby goat!

2010-09-24T03:09:00.000-05:00

So this doesn't happen very often, but as I was making a coffee stop in Alexandria on the South Island of New Zealand, I looked behind me and there was a lady taking her baby goat for a walk in the local park.
By baby goat I mean 1 week old, teeny, tiny goat, and so I went over to investigate.
Sure enough there was a lady and her goat, and she chatted away as if it was completely normal to have a glat by your side.

New Zealand is full of surprises like that, and its the reason why I love living here.
Thanks to escape to kiwiland for taking the photos!

Learning Japanese

2010-09-22T22:36:00.000-05:00

I'm cramming my brain full of Japanese words and phrases in my frantic attempt to learn a new language. I have been to Japan many times, and I'm going again next week, but this time I am hoping to be able to communicate a little bit better.
I got really frustrated when I was in Korea last month, as I don't speak any Korean, and usually I try to learn at least a few polite phrases before I go to a new country.
Japanese is one of those languages that I said I would love to learn, but never got around to it, so its time to get off my lazy bottom and start making time.
I'm trying to fit in 2-3 hours a night on intensive reading writing and speaking study, and its going OK. I don't have anybody to communicate with other than my dogs, and they love me no matter what language I speak to them.
One thing that has made it much easier is my new iPhone 4. I have uploaded lots of Japanese language applications on there, which give me quizzes through the day and help to test me with flash cards and character tracing.
I'm hoping to spend at least a month in Japan next year doing some research, and I know I will be going there many more times, so its time to take on a new language.
I currently speak English, Chinese and French, so Japanese is different enough that I'm not confusing them all, now I just have to figure out how to get my old brain to retain vocabulary like it did when I was 10 :)

Sayonara

Kitesurfing the biggest storm on the planet!

2010-09-22T22:02:00.000-05:00

The media publicized it as the biggest storm on the planet, and it was coming towards New Zealand bringing with it gale force winds, snow and hail. The storm was the size of Australia and moving very slowly past resulting in over a week of huge swell and crazy winds.

The swell maps looked wild, and the wind forecasts looked wilder.

I did what everybody expected me to do and got out in the ocean to kite the storm ;)

I'll admit that it might have been pretty stupid, but sometimes you have to push your comfort levels to truly feel alive.

There were times when I was so overpowered I just didn't know what to do, and there were jumps that took me up and didn't put me back down for a long, long time. But it was satisfying to see the big >100 Kg guys sitting on the beach too scared to go out, as I cruised around in the ocean by myself.

I learned a lot about kiting overpowered and how to shield my eyes from hail while kiting, but all in all I survived with a big smile on my face.

The photo below is of me kiting as a new storm front comes in and during a sun set. There is nothing better than being at one with Mother Nature both during her calm and her powerful times.

Kitesurfing Raglan

2010-07-31T04:59:00.000-05:00

Raglan is one of the most famous surf spots in New Zealand, and last week I was lucky enough to kitesurf there in awesome > 20 knot conditions.
Thanks to Carl for making this video, I can't wait to go back there!

R

Coast to Coast Training Diary 2

2010-07-24T22:47:00.000-05:00

Another glorious Sunday, another morning run..enjoy :)

Coast to Coast training diary 1

2010-07-21T06:08:00.000-05:00

Well, I decided to give up the winter blobbiness and start training for the coast to coast race. I'm getting into a kayaking course to make sure that I have the required certificates and on Sunday I went for a nice long run. It was a beautiful day for the middle of winter, and reminded me of Summer in England :)

I thought I might take a few video training diaries over the next few months so that you can see where I train, and how I go.

This was day one - the plan was a 20km run followed by a 2 hour bike ride. What actually happened was a 15km run, then it got windy, so I went kitesurfing, however the wind died, so I ended up going for a 2 hour slosh around in mud, which was actually pretty good training too. I made up the bike ride on Monday, so everything is still on track.

Enjoy

I take it back - the blog continues!!!!!

2010-07-15T20:00:00.000-05:00

OK - well, I was not expecting that!
I received a huge number of e-mails asking me not to stop this blog.
I'm really flattered and didn't realise that my random mumblings were such a big part of peoples routines.
OK - so I have decided to continue blogging, but with less of a personal life focus (you may find some previous posts will disappear) and more of a MD's doing something crazy slant :)

So I guess this is where I announce that I have been selected by Icebreaker to compete for their team in the Speights Coast to Coast Race.

I am probably Icebreakers biggest fan, I only wear icebreaker, I spend all of my money on it and I love their gear. Every wool hat, scarf, underwear piece, t-shirt, jumper, pretty much everything I own is made by Icebreaker, so to get to be a part of this for them is a dream come true :)

Let me just tell you that this is WAAAYYYYY outside of my comfort level.

The Speight's Coast to Coast traverses the South Island of New Zealand from Kumara Beach on the Tasman Sea to Sumner Beach on the Pacific Ocean. Competitors cycle 140 kms (three stages of 55km, 15 km and 70 km), run 36 km (including a 33 km mountain stage that crosses the Southern Alps) and kayak 67kms of the grade two Waimakariri River through the Grand Canyon of New Zealand, the Waimakariri Gorge.

Yeh - well, lets see, I don't kayak, and I ride my bike 10km to work each day at a leisurely pace, that is not the same as 140km in the mountains!

Well, I was looking for a challenge....right?

So I guess this is day one of my training post, 6 months to go.

:)

What drives you?

2010-07-11T05:13:00.000-05:00

I've been a bit of a lazy bum recently, its the cold weather, it makes me want to hibernate and get fat. I've put on plenty of weight in anticipation of the cold temperatures, but the overindulgence on all things yummy has come to an end :(
Its time to kick back into training and lighten some of the load I've decided to carry around for the past couple of months.
What's kicked me back into hardcore training?
A week with yakers - thats what.
I was truly privileged to have him stay with me last week as he went through his final preparation for his world record attempt.
Basically he is taking one kite, one kiteboard and a hammock to Brazil, and plans to kitesurf solo for 2000km up the coast. Its an incredibly dangerous mission, with a high possibility of things going wrong, from the wind and ocean conditions being treacherous, crime and muggings when inland, drowning, exhaustion and dare I say sharks!
Yet his attention to detail, and preparation for this trip astounded me and inspired me to do something epic in my life.
I'm not saying what yet, but I do plan on attempting to break a world record this year :)
Yakers reminded me how I love new challenges and pushing my body to its limits. I love to train when I have a goal in mind, and now I've set one its time to target some specific muscles, work on my endurance and get my nutrition back on track.
Its back to the high protein, muscle building diet, and some serious weightlifting. The running will continue as I still have a marathon coming up in October, but the upper body strength training will now begin.
I love starting a new challenge, and I'll update you on progress. I'm not as good as Andrew in my logging of weight and miles, but I'll keep a training diary and try to blog about it a bit.
So thanks to Yakers for being my inspiration and reminding me what drives me.

When life throws you lemons..............

2010-07-05T15:54:00.000-05:00

.........make lemonade - right?

Well, I don't like citrus, so I guess I would make a lemon meringue pie or something equally yummy.
Its all about looking on the positive side of the situation and seeing the potential in something that looks like it could go nowhere.

Lots on my mind this week, so not much blogging on my head space until I work out what to do about it all.

However last weekend was awesome.

I completed the tough guy challenge, which was basically a 12km mud race and obstacle course. I decided to run it to enjoy it and took things pretty easy, not worrying about time, but just having fun wallowing neck deep in mud and laughing at other people getting stuck and losing their shoes. There is something so liberating about being able to just roll around in big mud piles and swamps, and get really, really dirty. Something changes at adult status where this is not really allowed anymore, but it should be because its fun, and good for your skin!

Sunday was a perfect kitesurfing day, lots of wind, some waves, just the wake I like my weekends to be.

I have been doing a lot of things outside of my comfort zone this week - meeting new people, going out and socializing, stuff that I realize I don't do anymore. I used to be the social butterfly, I used to go out all of the time, have friends over for dinner, have a good circle of people to surround myself with, but I've found that I don't really have that in New Zealand. Partly because I still consider myself new here, you don't make friends overnight, and partly because I haven't made the effort to actually get close to people.
The lone wolf has been happy on her own, or so she thought, but after an amazing weekend of fantastic company, it made the void in my life so obvious.
Humans are social creatures by nature, and after a whole weekend filled with great people, I need to actively do something in my life to improve my circle and have some deeper connections.
Don't get me wrong, I still love skype and the virtual friends that I have, but I now realize that allowing real people into my space isn't as bad as I feared it would be.
So - if you live close to me, and I call you out of the blue to go out for dinner/coffee/drinks, I haven't lost the plot, I'm just making some life changes which will hopefully bring back some of my old self :)

Is there a perfect place to live?

2010-06-21T04:00:00.000-05:00

I have lived in lots of places, and I still ask he question - is there a perfect place to live?
I'm a bit like Goldilocks really, for me some places are too hot, some are too cold and some just don't feel right at all.
I grew up in Hong Kong, which was fun, but too busy and noisy and way to hot and humid in the summer.
Then on to England which was too cold and wet in the winter, and the 3 days of summer were just not long enough. Also there was a distinct lack of sunlight that I remember sent me into depressions and made me lose all motivation to do anything.
New Jersey, USA, now that was fun. Being only a short train ride from Manhattan was super fun, yes the winters were cold and snowy, but they were manageable. The cost of living was high though, it would have been hard to buy a place to live in a nice part of town, and the place had no soul, it was just full of immigrants all trying to make it home, which made it feel quite unwelcoming.
Minnesota, USA, can I say...freezing! I know the summers were beautiful, but they were way too short, and it was about as far from the ocean as you could get. Frostbite warnings and snow on the ground for half the year were not my idea of fun.
Last weekend I was on the Gold Coast, Australia. The weather was amazing, warm, sunny, perfect winter weather. The beaches were endless and golden, the sea was warm, and I thought to myself... I could live here. Then I saw a spider bigger than my head (well, almost) and heard about the recent shark attacks and I realised that I couldn't live somewhere where the wildlife is so happy to kill you.
So here I am in New Zealand, still trying to find somewhere to call home, but its not too hot, not too cold, has the ocean and nothing eats you for fun.
Hmmm, I think Goldilocks might just have found her porridge :)

Marry Him: The Case for Settling for Mr. Good Enough

2010-06-20T04:25:00.000-05:00

So a while back I wrote a post entitled do women have unrealistic expectations? based on an article I had read about Lori Gottlieb's new book called Marry Him: The Case for Settling for Mr. Good Enough.

I sort of tore it apart from its online reviews and excerpts, without actually reading the book itself.

Well as a special blog follow-up gift, I was bought the book and I have to admit I found it hard to put down.

It was fresh, funny and real. I laughed, I almost cried and I had the stark realization that a lot of what she says in the book is very relevant to me.

Gottlieb basically tries to explain that women in their 30's (yes, thats me included) need to stop looking for men who fit their "list".

What list? I hear you men cry.

Let me let you into a little secret.....us women, we have lists, and they go something like this:

Must be over 6ft tall

Must have a degree

Must be able to dress well on their own

Must be active in sports

Must be a modern male willing to help with housework

Must be romantic

Must buy me gifts once in a while

Must eat vegetables

Must be able to socialise well in groups

Must want to stay at home with me some nights

Must want to go out other nights to give me space

Must be able to hold intelligent conversation

Must be able to cook

Must be able to do manly things such as build stuff and cut wood

Must like dogs

Must make at least as much money as me

Must be goal oriented

Must not be too fat or too skinny

Must have a full head of hair

Oh - I could go on and on, but this seriously is less than 1/3rd of my list.

It sounds stupid now that I write it down, but it seriously was something that all males had to pass as criteria before I would even consider going on a date with them.

Yeh - I know, I'm picky :)

So Lori's book basically tells you to throw away the list, because it mainly concentrates on the superficial wants in a person and not the core needs.

She explains that you have to pick three and only three needs, and everything else can't be a factor when considering a partner.

Three - that is really hard.

So I sat and thought about it for a long time, and I guess my three would be:

1 - Loyal

2 - Moral

3 - Giving

Urghh - that was so hard.

So Lori's advice is that as long as the guy fits those three, you should go on a date with him. The theory is that women are looking so hard for somebody to fit this long list that they have created, that they don't see the guys they are turning away because of height limits, or fashion sense no-no's. She goes on to show with case studies that those women who are really happily married did not fall for their typical list guy, but for a platonic friend who they had overlooked but slowly fell in love with because that person had all of the "needs" and there was no pressure on trying to be somebody else and impress the other person. There is also a discussion about the list being perfect for dating, but not for marriage, and that women don't realise that what they are looking for in a date is not necessarily what they are looking for in a husband.

She has case studies, speaks to experts, matchmakers, a Rabbi, psychologists, anthropologists, those in arranged marriages you name it she has done her research on it.

I actually found her book to be incredibly insightful and I think the title containing the word "Settling" was what riled me up so much in the beginning.

It implies that there might be something better out there, and so you just settle for something worse right now to get what you want (marriage, kids). However I think what Gottlieb is trying to say is that women need to stop looking for the dream guy that they think exists out there (but is actually a cross between Brad Pitt looks, Daniel Craigs charms and their best girlfriends emotional support) and start realising that they are not actually all that - I mean they are a woman, in their 30's who is sort of left on the shelf.

I think the book title should be changed to "Stop dawdling and writing lists and start seeing guys for their potential".

So if you are a single girl in your 30's and up and you wonder where all the good men have gone and why you can't find a date, then I highly recommend the book. It will make you think and hopefully make you smile too - I actually think it may just have changed my life..........

I google you.....

2010-06-15T08:12:00.000-05:00

Ok, so we all google people - thats just the way life works these days.
I still love the I google you song that notfromaoundhere posted a while back.
As I teach 1000 students a year in a relatively small city, I try to keep some of my googleability (no, I know its not a word, but I like the sound of it) to a minimum, well at least for my personal life.
My facebook is very private and you can't find me if you search my name or e-mail and I have now changed my personal website after I found some students had already found it.
So last weekend when I was kitesurfing a Muriwai beach, one of the local kiters that I know and speak to occasionally came up to me to say hi.
"I've never been out here before" he said.
"Oh, well its great, I love it out here" I replied.
"Well I found your twitter site and read your posts every day, and I saw it said you would be here at 12pm, so here I am".
Suddenly I felt uneasy.
Suddenly the virtual world in which I post things and feel so safe became a reality of somebody actually coming to a physical place that I was at because he knew that I was there.
In this occasion it was fine, this guy is great and I like him and trust him, but it got me thinking about the potentially weird guys out there who could do this.
Then about 5 minutes later another kitesurfing guy I sort of know came up to me.
"Wow" he said "you are really hard to find on facebook".
"I know" I replied, "its to stop my students from finding me" I said.
"Well I had to spend a long time on google, searching for you and eventually I found a different website that had your photo and it linked to another site, and there I found a link to group you are in, and from that I found a friend of yours on facebook, and eventually I tracked through their friends and found you" he said.
"Yikes, you really put some effort into that" I said.
Again that feeling of unease washed over me, as I realised that another person had not only googled me, but spent a lot of time trying to track me down.
Now, this is also a nice guy who I don't mind being friends with, but he went to a lot of sites which contained my information to eventually get what he wanted.
I wasn't really as aware of internet privacy as I have been recently due to interesting an informative conversation I had with yakers.
I mean I don't e-mail my credit card details to people or anything like that, but now the whole concept of people googling me is starting to creep me out.
I wish there was a google filter that I had control of - there is nothing bad out there about me in the internet world, but I do feel a bit violated when people come up to me to tell me what they have found out about me online.

Back to the filtering thing.
There is a website for women called dont date him girl.com
Its a site where women can post about men who are bad news, and is especially useful in the world of internet dating.
When I first moved to New Zealand I joined (and quickly left) a dating site to try and meet new people, and one guy in particular seemed really nice. We chatted online, e-mailed and called for a few weeks, then it was time to meet in real life.
I consulted the above website to find that there was a warning about the exact guy I was going to meet!
It went into detail about how horrible he was, how he was a cheater and not to go anywhere near him!
Armed with that information I decided to meet this guy in broad daylight for coffee and was quite distant the whole time.
I had prepared myself for him to be like the person posted on the site, but he was the complete opposite. He was kind and charming and seemed to be somebody I could trust.
I went with my instinct and continued to see this guy and would say that he is probably my best friend here in New Zealand. He is nothing like what was described on the website, and later I found out that the girl who posted it was a jealous woman with a hurt ego as she had asked him out and he declined.
Yet there it is, for everybody to see and at quite a high profile when you google his name.
There is nothing he can do about it, and the woman who did this back in 2008 has probably forgotten all about him and her broken heart. Yet the pain is still there, saved in google for all to see.

So, I will admit, that I do google you, but I know you google me too :)

Kitesurfing Muriwai

2010-06-14T05:05:00.001-05:00

I never grew up around the ocean, and so I really don't understand waves, tides, rip currents. I have had to learn pretty quickly since I moved here, and mostly I have learned the hard way :)
Last weekend was a great kitesurfing weekend, the wind was blowing above 25 knots (thats a lot) and I usually kite in relatively flat water, but decided to try this wave thing again.
The power of the ocean is very humbling and I have great respect for the waves.
I arrived at the beach with some friends and started setting up. Muriwai is a volcanic beach meaning the sand is black instead of golden or white.

The waves were big and the wind was howling, I threw up my smallest kite in the hope it would be small enough.

It was one of those amazingly beautiful days, but probably only to a kitesurfer. The chill in the wind, the rain showers would all make "normal" people stay at home wrapped up. But to me, the view was amazing!

There was only one way to see if my gear was too big for me, and that was to get out there and kitesurf! That's me with my back to the camera, and yes I am airborne, that is clearance between the ocean and my board.

The waves ate me up, rolled me around and spat me back out again. Time and time again, a wave crashed over me sending my tumbling back onto the beach, and time and time again, I rode back out there.

There were some great moments, some awesome jumps, but then the wind kicked up a notch again and I knew it was time to get off the water and go home.

One thing about kiting is to know when the conditions are way bigger than you - last weekend was one of those days.

Another fantastic day of kitesurfing. Moving to New Zealand was definitely the right decision.

Quotes to live your life by

2010-06-13T04:35:00.001-05:00

I am in a very contemplative mood this week, I've been thinking a lot about life, love, dreams, ambitions - the small stuff really ;)
I thought I would write down some of the quotes from amazing people that help to inspire me along my path.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. - Mark Twain

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say - Ralph Waldo Emerson

In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: It goes on. - Robert Frost

You must be the change you want to see in the world. - Ghandi

I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else. - Winston Churchill

Whenever you find whole world against you just turn around and lead the world. - AnonymousWhat you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals. - Goethe

Some succeed because they are destined. Some succeed because they are determined. - Unknown

A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes. - Hugh Downs

The world is a small place!

2010-06-13T02:06:00.001-05:00

After a great kitesurfing session, I went for a quick drink with one of the kiters so he didn't have to sit through rush hour traffic. He took me to a bar that I had never been to before in an area I have only been to three times since moving to Auckland. The bar was nice, relaxed yet upscale, we sipped on wine while discussing our kitesurf session that day and the weekend before when we had kited together too.

I was sitting by the window, it was a cold, wet, windy evening and people passing by the bar were zipping up their coats and buttoning down their jackets. A guy walked past, pulling the hood of his sweatshirt over his head, and I recognised him instantly.

I ran out of the bar and called his name - he spun around, confused as to who would know him in this strange neighbourhood.

We locked eyes, took a second to allow our brains to reconnect the neurons that had once connected our friendship, then smiled and ran over to hug each other.

This was a guy I had gone to graduate school with, in New Jersey, USA, in a class of 15 students!

There he was, walking down the street in Auckland in a part of town I never go to, and 6 years after we had studied together.

What are the odds? His job had sent him here for a short term contract, and he was living around the corner from the bar I was in.

Sometimes I do wonder how small the world actually is!

Yey - I don't feel so alone anymore :)

2010-06-12T06:06:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I think my opinions on life and the world are so different from those of my friends that I wonder if I might be broken. They are all married, either have kids or are trying for kids, and are very settled in their lives where the biggest excitement is ordering take-out on a Friday night.
Surely, if they are all like this, then its me that is weird, I am the odd one out, yet I can't figure out why. I need more than that, I need a challenge, both pysically and mentally. I need to see the world, travel, visit new cultures. I am so glad that I have lived on 4 continents as each experience has enriched me as a person and I have met so many amazing people along the way. I have scaled back my travel a bit, but I still try to take 4 or 5 international trips a year, so I guess thats quite a lot by the general populations standards.
I see how others live, and I am happy for them, but it wouldn't make me happy, I don't see my life fitting into the traditional "cookie cutter" mold.
Its hard to talk about with people, they usually stare at me blankly, trying to comprehend why I wouldn't want to settle down and just be "normal" like them. And I stare blankly back, trying to comprehend why they are not bored out of their brains :)
I knew there must be other people out there like me, so I started searching for bloggers on the topic. I found a few, and I guess I feel less alone in the virtual world. There are others out there who are like me, they offer no cure, they offer no apologies, they just do what makes them happy and make me feel more comfortable in my decisions.

Here is a quote from one which resonated with me:
"For some people flash cars, houses and marriage are all signs that they have made it in life. Not that there is anything wrong with those things, but I feel like I have made it when I get to experience like places like Uganda, West Coast (NZ) or Nepal. It's not just about the places, but the people that are attracted to those places. Its about the journey to get there and solving problems when things go wrong. I made a decision a long time back after doing a lifestyle job that there had to be a better way to sustain the dream."

Yeh, and I must remember that "the dream" is different for each person. What one person wants in life is not necessarily what another one wants.
I like my virtual world of the blogosphere, it makes me feel more at home :)

How much do you feed your rat?

2010-06-08T20:05:00.000-05:00

No, don't panic - I'm not getting another pet.

Feed the rat is a philosophy behind what motivates certain people to do "crazy" things.
I use the word crazy with care, as its definition (from the Macmillian dictionary) is "not at all sensible or practical".
However there are other uses of crazy such as "crazy in love", "crazy about someone" or "crazy about something" which I won't go into here - but will save for a later blog once I have read my new book.

My Mum recently asked me why I can't be "normal". Why do I have to keep pushing myself to do crazier and crazier things, and when am I going to stop? She told me that I have been like this all of my life and nobody in my family understands where it comes from or why. She thinks I am "crazy".
Many others have commented on my hobbies/activities as "crazy", and they post things on my facebook like "only you would do that", or "what crazy adventures do you have lined up for your weekend".
The thing is, I think I am completely "normal".
I'm not one of those extreme people, I just do stuff that makes me happy. I like to have goals and work towards them, but I rarely endanger my life - well no more than driving a car would.

Then I thought about it, and I know of people who I think are "crazy", in the same way that others think I am.
Well, I met one of these crazies this weekend and he is actually quite "normal" once you get to know him.

So back to the rat.

What is it that feeds people like him (and I guess myself if I admit to being one of them), to push the limits of the human body by finding the next adrenaline adventure? Why do people run ultramarathons, kitesurf hundreds of miles, freeclimb mountains or basejump into a cave? What drives these people to go further than the "average" human being?

Apparently its the rat.

I was once asked about why I do jiujitsu, and I remember clearly stating that it was the only time in my life when the noise inside my head stopped. My brain is going at a million miles a minute, there are always thoughts about work, life, money, goals etc, it never stops. In jiujitsu, another person is either trying to choke you out into unconsciousness or break your arm. You stop thinking about jiujitsu in your mind and you allow it to become you. You give everything you have, all of your senses to the artform and use it to not only survive but prevent further danger by attacking your opponent to unconsciousness. I found that it was one of the few times in my life when the noises in my head stopped, time almost stood still and I could focus intently on something else.
I craved that feeling again.

I found it in running - running long distances, running further than most people would ever run in their lives.
I found it also in kitesurfing, especially during tricks, when your board leaves the water/snow and you wonder if you will survive the landing.

I wasn't sure what I was looking for specifically, but I knew I liked it when the noise stopped and for just one second the world was still.
And then Yakers introduced me to "feed the rat":

Quiet within Fury
Calm within fear
Stillness within speed
and in those moments …….
nothing else matters.

(www.feedtherat.com - the website is no longer running)

Yes, that was it, that was a description of what I was looking for in life. That is why I do a lot of things that I do. I don't think about them, I just seek the feeling that they produce inside me.

Further research led me here.

"Some people are different; only one percent of the world's population will relate to this.
These are unique individuals who have their own stimulants.
They are detached from the rest of society, the normal, mundane, dull everyday society.
FEED IT is a prevention, a cure. A remedy for being sick and tired of being sick and tired, of anxiety, of confusion."

See, I don't feel different, but others imply and comment that I am.
Then when you meet another rat feeder you suddenly feel completely "normal" in their presence, because they get it too!
Its usually unspoken, but it is understood through a connection within an activity.

A description of this type of person has been given as:

Committed to mastery of their pursuit,
Measured and realistic, not fake,
Not interested in the trivia of life,
Will not readily compromise goals,
Is not a follower or swayed by trends,
Is calm and exudes calm,
Is understated and knows themselves,
Knows the risks and takes measures to reduce them,
Is not willing to ruin the game by dying because that would be stupid and they abhor stupidity

My mother tells me that I am crazy and that I will surely kill myself in doing what I do, and yet I never saw her point of view. That's because I'm not "willing to ruin the game by dying", and in my mind I have never really put myself at such a risk that it would be a factor.

I think the rat is always in some people, and there are times in their lives when it is really, really hungry.

I am about to embark on a new challenge, which I won't blog about quite yet, but it has taken over my life, my thoughts, my dreams, my body craves the training it requires and I can think of nothing else.

My rat needs feeding and I plan to do just that.

You can't change people............

2010-06-03T01:07:00.000-05:00

...................but isn't it great when they change themselves?

I have learned the hard way that you can't change people. You can ask them to change, you can hint to them that change might be good, but really, there is nothing that you can do to change them. They must want to do it on their own and they must make that decision by themselves.

I moved to New Zealand because I realised that life was precious and I wanted to live every second of it. I wanted to live somewhere that the weather would make me smile, where the air is fresh and where I can enjoy my hobbies.

The catalyst for my move was losing two of my friends to cancer. I still think of Eric and Matt so often, and how their lives were taken at such a young age. It made me realise that now is the time to live, not tomorrow, or next year...because that day may never come.

Today, somebody I hold dear to my heart told me he was going to quit smoking.
:)
I honestly can't express how happy I am about it.
He is an amazing person, he has to much to give, he is so smart and funny, and I always wondered how such an intelligent person could do something so stupid to their body.

I'm not going to imagine its easy to quit, I'm not going to pretend it will happen overnight, but I am so proud of him for doing it, and even better it was HIS idea!

It's funny how something that really doesn't affect my day to day life has had such an impact on my mood and outlook.

I don't have any advice for him, I don't really know what to do or say, but I will be there if he needs me and hopefully I get to keep one more friend for a lot longer :)

Yey

England, Weddings, Children and the weather

2010-05-09T08:45:00.000-05:00

This is one of those mish mash blogs so I thought I would have a mish mash title.

After 6 days in England I'm going back to New Zealand.

I've seen friends and family, I've eaten all of those foods that I missed, I've realised the advantages to living here and I've realised why I left.
This is the first time "home" where it didn't really feel like home anymore. England is nice, its pretty, there are great jobs here, friendly people and amazing architecture. I'm glad that I grew up here, but my lifestyle craves the ocean and the outdoors (at a bearable temperature).
I left 9 years ago, and since then I have lived in the USA and New Zealand, I've travelled the world, met hundreds of amazing people and seen different ways of doing things.

In England things are the same price that I remember, but it seems so expensive now that I have lived elsewhere.
Its always going to hold a special place in my heart, but I'm not sure I will refer to it as home for much longer.

The trip back however was a big lesson in how everybody has grown up. I know my age, I mean I know the number that it is, but I don't feel that old. I still feel like I am in my early 20's, I'm full of energy, very active, live my life to the full and enjoy every second that I have.
Coming back to England I got to spend time with my closest friends, who are all married (or about to get married). My visits which previously had involved meeting in the pub for a beer, or talking the afternoon away in a cafe, now consisted of sitting in people's living rooms while conversation topics revolved around baby Bob's new ability to drool or toddler Sara's new tooth. I know when you become a parent it must be the greatest thing on earth, and I was so grateful to be able to share these moments with my friends, but it made me realise how different my life is to theirs.
So this visit was full of children calling me Aunty Shell, drool filled kisses and coloured in pictures of a house or is it s dog or maybe a car :)
Life here has moved on, and coming back I realise I have not, well I guess maybe I have but in a different direction.

One visit that I was really looking forward to was with Rob and his amazing wife Sharon. As always their strength inspired me to be a stronger person, their passion for life made me want to be a more passionate person, and their knowledge and thoughts on spiritial matters helped me to wrestle with the questions I have been asking recently. I always leave their company feeling so much better about life, I wish I could bottle whatever it is they have and carry it around with me :)

So the big reason for me coming here was my best friends wedding party, and the bride was just beautiful. I cried a tear or two for their first dance and realise that they are really, really happy, you can see it in their huge smiles.

I got to sit with baby Isabelle who is now 3 years old, amazing to see how much she has grown since I last saw her.

The wedding was a great place for my group of closest girlfriends to get together. After 2 decades of friendship we are still as close as we ever were, even though we have all moved on in our lives and live in different places.

It was so nice to see my best friend in the whole wide world look so beautiful and I was glad that I flew all the way there to share the moment with her.

So that's it, I'm now flying back to New Zealand, back to my busy life, outdoor adventures and my two dogs, I guess I'm flying back to my new "home".

The last one standing

2010-04-28T18:23:00.000-05:00

My best friend is getting married today and I'm going back to the UK for a 6 day trip to attend the reception.
I'm excited for her, and the start of her new journey of married life, but I'm also aware that I am now the last one standing.
The last one of my school girlfriends to not be married.
You know what?
I'm OK with that :)
Michelle from notfromaroundhere brushed on the topic in her recent blog and I quote:
"I’ve always joked that this [low]feeling is part of the reason that people have children. They get past the whole high school-college-wedding stage and realize that life in your thirties is actually pretty dull compared with what you’ve experienced so far, you work at a job with nothing to look forward to the way you had anticipated high school or college graduation or the pomp and circumstance of a wedding. Babies come with the chance for more parties (in the form of baby showers and then child-centered birthdays and holidays for years). And provide a necessary distraction when your life otherwise becomes just about a job."

I love this statement, because how many of us know that this is true for lots of people? I can name at least 10 people I know who got bored with the lack of attention and so wanted to get that feeling back by having a HUGE wedding, then treating the post wedding blues with a baby.
Don't get me wrong there are lots of people I know who are doing it for the right reasons too, and kudos to them for the time, money and life commitment that it takes.

So with Sandra Bullock and Cheryl Cole both filing for divorce recently due to their respective husbands wandering eye, and the 7th divorce for Larry King, you start to wonder if its all worth it?

I am probably happier that I have ever been in my life, I'm financially stable, have a job that I love, am surrounded by people that I care deeply for. I have two wonderful dogs who give me lashings of love and attention, my family are healthy, and I get to do fun things like run marathons, kitesurf and snowboard on a whim without having to call and ask somebody if its OK, or worrying about what time I have to pick up the kids.

I like it here, in non-married bliss.
I like having a big king bed that I can starfish on.
I like going on yet another holiday because its cheap to travel alone and I don't have to worry about fitting in other people's likes/dislikes into my day.
I'm not even sure humans are designed to be monogamous anyway (if we were why is it so difficult for people to stay faithful?)

So that's it - I'm officially the last one standing....staring out into the big wide world alone, and enjoying every second of it :)

The Fair Trade Big Swap 2010

2010-04-27T22:37:00.000-05:00

So here is how you can make a small change to help a huge social movement!

The fair trade big swap is where we get as many people as we can to swap as much as we can.
For two weeks, May 1st - 16th 2010 just swap your usual coffee, tea, chocolate, to fairtrade stuff.

The more we swap the bigger the impact we make on the lives of small-scale producers in developing countries. With 2bn people living on less than $2 a day - swapping your usual stuff for Fairtrade stuff helps create a better life for the coffee and cocoa growers, tea pluckers, cotton pickers and banana growers and their families. As well as a guaranteed minimum price, the extra Fairtrade Premium empowers growers to invest in the future for their communities and help themselves out of poverty. So get swapping!

Watch the video for more information or click here.

Passing on the positive :)

2010-04-27T18:20:00.000-05:00

So I'm a really positive person, I try to live my life bring happiness to others. I go out of my way to help others, bring their mood up, motivate them to achieve their goals and I live my life in a way that I hope is a good role model to my friends and their children.
So during the Oxfam run I met a person who passed his positivity onto me! I now realise that this doesn't happen as often as I like, but when it does its incredible!
He is such a positive person, gives time to his church and youth group, helps to motivate others, and is also crazy enough to run 100km for charity :)
I was truly blessed to meet this person, and they fired up my passion for life even more that it was.
As a big believer that you meet people for a reason, I was frantically trying to figure out why I had met him on the walk and what this connection had meant?
Then, a week later I found out that he was still in New Zealand (he lives in Australia) and was coming to my town! The reunion was fantastic, we got to talk about out trailwalker experiences, our spiritual beliefs and how they influence our lives as well as our love and passion for the outdoors and active lifestyles.
For his last day in New Zealand I thought I would show him one of our hidden secrets, far out of town and give him a little piece of beauty from this amazing country to take home as a memory.
The day started with a pre-dawn 3 hour drive out to the coast to arrive just after sunrise at the beach with our kayaks all ready to go.

We spent the whole morning kayaking through crystal clear waters and into volcanic caves and blow holes, watching the fish swim under us as the high sun kept us warm.
As we kayaked into one of the blow holes we looked up to see the sky, so bright and blue, even though we were located in the bottom of a cavern smelling the moist cave air and feeling the coolness on our skin. The contrast was amazing.

The afternoon kayak was hot and sunny, so we parked the kayaks on a quiet beach, walked through a cave and he went for a swim out to a beautiful rock (look carefully to the lower left of the rock and you can see him holding on to it).

And so after a whole amazing day with another positive, spiritual person, I have gone through this week feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. Its amazing how positive energy from another person can have such an effect on your life, and if I can help others to feel even 10% of the happiness I am feeling today, then I will be a very content person.

Are you healthy on the inside?

2010-04-27T17:55:00.000-05:00

One of my favourite bloggers Andrew always inspires me. He runs more than anybody I know and has completely changed his life to become a true role model for a healthy lifestyle. He recently posted the results from his cholesterol test as compared to tests over 3 years when his lifestyle was less healthy.
I think having numbers prove how healthy you are on the inside is way more motivating that just seeing if your jeans are getting too tight.

My motivation for a healthy lifestyle is based on how I feel on the outside (do my clothes fit well, so I "feel" healthy), but I really have no idea what my cholesterol is or my blood pressure.
As I don't get ill, I don't go to the doctor's office, and thus I really have no idea about if I'm internally healthy.
I would hope that will my active lifestyle and generally good diet, I would be fine, my parents are healthy so genetically I should have an advantage....right?
Go over and read Andrew's blog - I'm sure he will inspire you as he does me :)

Australia or New Zealand :)

2010-04-27T07:54:00.002-05:00

Say cheese...

2010-04-26T06:03:00.000-05:00

So, you know how sometimes the camera goes off at just the right second to take a photo completely out of context.? Well here is a picture of Lana with her boyfriend Jake:

I love this pic as she looks like the Devil dog, and he is a pure victim with his tongue hanging out!

Jake and Lana are best of friends and love to chase each other and wrestle all day. The couldn't be closer or happier in each others company, yet this picture, taken at the most perfect moment, makes it look like she is about to eat him :)

Tough Guy Challenge

2010-04-21T18:38:00.000-05:00

So what's next I hear you all cry. You've finished 100km, and its 6 months until your next marathon.
Well don't fear my fellow bloggers, I'm not going to stand still for very long.
I've signed up for the Tough Guy Gal Challenge!

"So you're tough, but are you tough enough to take on the Waikato Draught Tough Guy and Gal Challenge? If you've got power and endurance, want to get down and dirty, have an outstanding time, then these unique off-road running events are for you. The events are open to both male and female competitors who are 13 years of age and older. Challenge yourself on a course that includes swamp crossings, a spiders web net climb, crawl under barb wire, beautiful native bush trails, a range of natural and man made obstacles, mud and more mud."

12km of running and crawling through mud? That's got my name written all over it :)

more photos here

What is it like to run 100km with a team

2010-04-20T18:57:00.000-05:00

Make a cup of tea, have a sit down and watch 15 minutes of video diary from 19 hours of adventure from team Christchurch Fire Brigade. A day that started out with 4 team members and 2 support crew ended up with 1 member finishing, a hospitalisation, laughter, tears, blisters, craziness but it was all worth it for the life lessons, and the money we raised for Oxfam from the Oxfam Trailwalker 100km challenge in Taupo New Zealand

Why is volcanic ash dangerous to fly through?

2010-04-19T21:52:00.002-05:00

Lots of people seem to be getting very frustrated about not being able to fly through the volcanic ash cloud. I have read many angry comments online from people trying to go on holiday saying that airlines should just fly through the cloud and that it’s not going to cause any problems.

Let me just say that with the billions of dollars that it is costing the airline industry, the no-fly rule is not something that had been decided lightly. This is to protect lives, and for the safety of passengers and crew alike, I’m sure it’s frustrating if you are stuck somewhere, or missing your holiday, trust me I have a flight to England scheduled for next week, but if the airlines say I can’t go – I’m OK with that.
A lot of the comments have been from people who don’t really understand the consequences of volcanic ash in a jet turbine, so I thought I would try to explain it in a simple a form as possible. Some academics may rip this apart, but I’m not writing this for them, I’m writing it for you in the least technical format I can.
Firstly let’s start with how a jet turbine engine works:
When you look at an airplane, you will notice under the wings there are big cylindrical devices with fans inside – this is what gives the plane the power it needs to fly and are called turbine engines.
If we were to cut one in half and look through the cross section it would look like this (sorry for the bad diagram, but just sketched something together quickly).

The air is sucked into the engine by the rotating fan blades and then squeezed by the compressor; it is then injected into a combustion chamber and sprayed with fuel then ignited by a flame. This combustion is blown out of the exhaust via a turbine which accelerates the air out pushing the engine, and thus the airplane forward. The exhaustion gases also turn the turbine which keeps the compression cycle going.

So now we know how it works, what are the dangers of volcanic ash?

Let’s start at the front – those nice shiny metal fan blades.

Volcanic ash is very abrasive; it can scratch and wear away the fan blades causing damage.

Think of sand on the beach, sand is also abrasive; you wouldn’t scratch sand across anything valuable because you know that sand can damage surfaces – the same goes for the particles in the ash. Volcanic ash is like sand, but much, much finer, like flour, so it can go higher in the atmosphere and get into all the nooks and crannies of a plane.

Next let’s move into the combustion part of the engine – I have labelled this region hot, but what I really mean is 1200ºC to over 2000ºC! (put this into perspective, aluminium melts at 660ºC and titanium at 1670ºC). The little ash particles are made up of rock and glass and they melt into a liquid inside the combustion chamber where they pass through and hit the cooler surfaces of the turbine. This causes the liquid glass to solidify and create a glassy film on the turbine, which can prevent them from rotating.
There are vents on engines designed to flow air towards the turbines for cooling and these can become blocked. This results in the engines burning too hot causing them to stall and scarily shooting flames from the back!

In addition to the engine problems, another dangerous consequence of the ash is if it blocks the Pitot tube. This is a little tube mounted on the wing which has two holes and some sensors. The side hole measures the still air, and the front hole measures the airstream pressure, by measuring the difference between these two you can calculate airspeed.
Unfortunately if this tube gets blocked (for example by being clogged with volcanic ash) you will get an incorrect airspeed reading. Not knowing your airspeed makes piloting a plane very difficult (imagine trying to park or drive your car without a speedometer) and can affect the autopilot computer models.

So would I fly through a volcanic ash cloud to take my holiday?
Nope :)

Social Networking Gone Too Far?

2010-04-17T15:58:00.000-05:00

So I am a big advocate for social networking, I run two blogs, twitter, facebook, have numerous websites and am plugged in to the world. I like being able to download information easily, see what my friends and family are doing, learn about local events, network with new people etc.
However reading the Sunday newspaper this morning I came across an article about a website which is coming to New Zealand, after already being popular in many other countries.
Ashleymadison.com is a social networking/dating site for married people to find others to have an affair with. Its tagline is - "Life is short - have an affair"!
It even offers an "Affair Guarantee" where if you don't find somebody within 3 months you get your money ($249) back.
So is this a step too far for social networking, or is this just a resource for a market that was already there?
The founder of the company claims that is he not creating affairs, just giving people a safe place to conduct their extra-marital activities. He claims that some people are going to have affairs anyway and so his service makes the process safer and easier, he does not think that it will cause an affair if one was not already going to happen.
I can see his point, however I'm not sure I agree. I think having such a site which is easy to log into and easy to browse people's photos and profiles provides a much easier way to meet people than perhaps physically aproaching them in a bar. The confidence that it takes to walk up to somebody and ask them to go out on a date rather than sending a quick e-mail is very different.
I think this site creates an easy way for affairs to actually happen, whereas before the person may have only been contemplating it and didn't have the courage to act on it.
Anyway - regardless of my opinions on affairs in marriages, is this social networking gone too far, or just the way the world is going?

Auckland Marathon 2010

2010-04-15T20:16:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm officially signed up!
Its weird, this time last year, I couldn't run, and I signed up for a marathon with the hope of completing it alive.
Now I'm signing up for my second Auckland marathon with the hope of not only making it to the end, but getting there faster than last time.
I have learned so much from my last few running experiences:
1 - The right pair of shoes is essential - I had my gait analysed by shoe science who told me that I overpronate and selected the best shoes for me. Since then I have not had any pain while running.
2 - I need food - jelly worms and carb gels seem to work for me for distances under 42km. I can't run a marathon without having something to eat, but not I know this I can prepare better.
3 - I don't like to run very far - I have decided that running is running, and I would rather run small distances more frequently than try to push myself to run long runs when I don't want to. My theory is that I am training my leg muscles and conditioning myself in some way and I am much more likely to run a short daily distance than dread a long weekend run.
4 - I run until I get tired/bored - some days I feel great, I feel strong, I can run 15km easily and am happy to do so. Other days my legs feel like lead, I am cold/hungry/grouchy and I don't want to run more than 3km. I have decided that the only way to enjoy running is to listen to my body and run as far as it wants to that day, I will put some mileage in, but it will all be happy mileage.
5 - Having dogs is great motivation - there is nothing that makes you feel more guilty about not going for a run than a sad puppy face lying down by your running shoes.
6 - All sorts of people can run - I always thought running was for skinny, fit, young people with long limbs. No I'm not the fastest runner out there, but I can actually run now, and I'm not in any of those categories above.
7 - If you put your mind to something and think positive thoughts, you can do it. - Telling yourself "its too far", "your too old/fat/unfit", "you will never make it" is only setting yourself up for failure. Think positively, change your language from "I hope to finish the marathon" to "I will succeed in this marathon". If you convince your brain, it will quite happily convince your body :)
8 - There will always be someone faster than you - I used to hate running as people would run past me at a much faster pace and make me feel really slow. Now I realise that I have my own pace and its perfect for me, I don't need to race other people, I don't need to speed up just because the jogger on the other side of the road is going faster. Its not their race, its mine and running at a pace where my body feels great is the speed I need to listen to.

So that's it - Auckland marathon number 2, here I come :)

7 hours in to a 100km run

2010-04-13T06:33:00.000-05:00

I am currently editing my video diary to create a log of the 100km run, however this is going to take me several days and I know some of you are eagerly anticipating the adventure. So to wet your appetites, I have attached a clip from the video log. This is from Buzz and I goofing around at 7 hours into the run...enjoy :)

Good news :)

2010-04-11T22:58:00.000-05:00

Our team member has just been released from hospital, I am so relieved that she is OK.
As her parents have all of my belongings including my camera, I can't yet share the adventure with you, however I do have a few poor quality photo's taken with my camera along the way.

So it all started on Friday night, after a 4 hour drive down to Taupo, we signed our lives away on the given forms, and included our Emergency contacts and medical allergy information. Little did I know how important this was going to be the next day.

We went straight to the supermarket to stock up on food for dinner and for the day ahead. That's Buzz, one of our team members with is hood up, guarding our food and making sure there were enough jelly beans for him :)

Here are my team members, Buzz on the left, Michelle W and Owen in the foreground. We all worked together to create a fantastic chicken stir fry for our "last supper" and it was great to have this bonding time as a team.

The alarm went off at 4:30am and Buzz made a huge pot of porridge which I covered in brown sugar and scoffed down. The photo below is of the team at breakfast right before the race start. My porridge is being guarded by funosaurus the dinosaur that I carried along the run. Little did I know how strong the bond between me and the dinosaur would get, but he ended up being the only one who finished with me.

The race started at 6am, and our whole team was full of smiles and ready for action. The sun wasn't going to be up for another hour or so, hence the head torches and woolly hats. This is us - team "Christchurch Fire Brigade", Owen at the back, Buzz pulling a face in the middle, Michelle W to the right and me on the left.

After 45km, the sun was hot and we looked forward to the areas with trees for shade. We had been running for over 7 hours, but I wanted to try and capture a photo of the whole team in action. I am at the front, Michelle W is behind, Buzz was pulling a face, but I wasn't able to catch it and Owen is in the blue shirt at the back.

At the 50km point we were half way and had a little party to celebrate with hats and streamers. I decided to keep my hat on and gave my streamer for funosaurus for the next 20km, as I was still in party mode. People from other teams were asking me why I had a party hat on and when I told them I made them party a little with me :) They thought I was crazy, but it kept them smiling!

At 65km, Michelle and Buzz pulled out as she was rushed to hospital, her parents (our support team) went too. I decided to stay on and continue the challenge with Owen - this was a much harder decision that I thought it would be. Part of me wanted to stay and make sure she was OK, but part of me wanted to finish for our team. Owen and I talked about our options and decided to continue, we found a team to adopt us and carried on.

At 87km, Owen pulled out of the event, he was exhausted and struggling to keep the pace with our new team. I know it was such a hard decision for him, but I also know it was the right decision, he would have really injured himself if he tried to continue.

So this is the explanation to the next photo, me and my sad face, and funosauraus by my side. I'm sad for my team, I'm sad that I am the only one left, but I'm happy that I have a fuzzy dinosaur to keep me company :)

And so I continued on, with my new adoptee team (Mixed nuts) who I am very grateful for as they enabled me to continue the race. After all the chaos, I came in with them in 19 hours 11 minutes, I am on the right :)

And so there is the end of the story in mobile phone photo's. Hopefully when I meet up with the team again, I can get my camera back to show you the story via my video diary.

100km Oxfam update

2010-04-11T02:06:00.001-05:00

I am exhausted, but I thought I would give a quick update.
Things did not go to plan.
The start of the race was good, we were a ream of 4 (as the rules state you have to be) and we made good time into our first checkpoint of 2 hours 20 minutes of running.
The second leg, Owen hurt his knee and struggles for a bit but we came in to checkpoint 2 at 4 hours 30 minutes, right on target.
Checkpoint 3 was OK and I popped my knee on leg 4, but grimaced through it with some tape from St Johns Ambulance. Other than that, no real dramas other than dehydration from being out in the hot sun all day and getting tired after 8 hours of running. I was able to get a knee brace at checkpoint 4 and carry on.
Then things went wrong, one of our teammates started to get quiet and slow, she didn't look good at all, and we pushed through to checkpoint. As soon as we arrived she collapsed in the first aid tent and things got much worse. She was rushed to hospital, and then transferred to another hospital who could deal with her critical condition. Eventually she was diagnosed with Rhabdomyolysis, a disease where physical exertion causes the breakdown of muscle fibers resulting in the release of muscle fiber contents (myoglobin) into the bloodstream. Some of these are harmful to the kidney and frequently result in kidney damage.
As one of our other teammembers was her boyfriend, he pulled out of the team to be with her, and our support and food crew were her parents and so they went to the hospital too.
That was it, at 79.1km there were just 2 of us left, myself and Owen.
We had lost a lot of time with all the chaos and drama, but now it was time to make a decision - pull out or keep going?
We decided to keep going, but Oxfam safety rules state that we cant continue as a team of two, but we can be 'adopted' into a new team, so I ran around frantically looking for a team that might adopt us.
Thankfully team "mixed nuts" adopted us and we kept on going, but Owen was struggling and getting increasingly tired with each step more painful than the last.
After 86.5km he had to pull out, which was devastating for me as I had lost all of my team members, but I knew I had to go on, even though my feet and legs were in so much pain.
My new adoptive team were great and we all pushed through the final section, walking through fields in complete darkness after midnight.
Finally after 19 hours, I crossed the finish line, completely exhausted and frantic to find out any news from the hospital.
As I write, she is still in hospital and will stay at least another night :(
What an emotional and physical experience, my body hurts, I'm so tired, but I made it through and did it with a smile on my face :)

Oxfam Trailwalker 2010 here I come!

2010-04-08T15:34:00.000-05:00

Ok, my bags are packed, my running shoes are ready, I hve 4 pairs of socks, some jelly worms and a big smile.
I'm about to leave for the long drive down to Taupo to start the Oxfam run tomorrow.
If you want to see the team, or even better sponsor us (even a few dollars helps) then take a look here.
I will be running with my camera, so will hopefully take some video along the way.
See you in 100km or so :)

3 Days until the 100km run!

2010-04-06T17:33:00.000-05:00

In three days time I will be running 100km for Oxfam (sponsor page here).
I am really, really excited about this event.
I'm excited because it will be the longest distance I have even run in one go.
I'm excited because I get to run with a team, and so I won't be as lonely as I was on the Tarawera ultramarathon.
I'm excited because its for a great cause.
I'm excited because 1 year ago I couldn't run to the end of my street, and now I am running more than I ever thought I was capable of.

The biggest thing I am looking forward to is being the big, smiley motivator.
I know that there will be a lot of people in this event who will struggle, and not want to go on.
I want to be the one who gets them to walk that extra step, to believe in themselves, to push on and push through.
So I am thinking that I might run in a costume this weekend.
I need something that will motivate people, something that will make others smile, something that will want a tired, hungry, blistered walker to take that extra step.

I'm looking for ideas as to what to wear - my only requirements are that it needs to be relatively lightweight. A wig, some bunny ears, a ninja costume, whatever you think will get people to the finish line.
So....what do you think?

Puppy play dates

2010-04-05T03:36:00.001-05:00

I love my dogs, they are loyal, funny, true companions and I could not imagine my life without them. However, puppies are fun :)
Other people's puppies that is, too much work for me to go back to those puppy days.
Today I spent the afternoon on the beach with my friend Kevin and his 4 month old puppy, Kona.
Kona is a delightful puppy, fully of energy and lots of fun, so I brought my two girls along to play on the beach and we had a fantastic time out in the sunshine.
This photo captured my mood for the day, full of smiles and having so much fun.

I was actually secretly rubbing Kona's belly to get him to like me - I think it worked :)

Shannon, my beautiful 11 year old Shannon was graceful and polite as always.

Lana however looked like a horrible monster with her stitches still in her eye:

Kona didn't know what to do with himself:

So I ran up and down the beach like a crazy lady with my one eyed dog:

While Shannon went ans dug a hole in the sand:

Perfect end to a great Easter Monday - Happy Easter everybody :)

Its just the simple pleasures...

2010-04-03T02:26:00.000-05:00

Today all I could think about was dough. You know when you were a kid and your Mum let you either lick the bowl or lick the mixing spatulas (but not both). It was always the best part, better than the cookies or cake, better than anything, licking that sweet, creamy dough mix.
Well do you know what? I'm a grown up, so now I don't have to get permission from my Mum.
I went into the kitchen and made a big bowl of chocolate chip cookies. I rolled them out and placed them on the baking tray one by one, keeping an eye on the bowl to make sure some dough was still stuck to the sides. As soon as I placed the cookies in the oven, I rushed over to the mixing bowl, stuck my finger in, and scraped it clean, licking the dough off my finger time and time again. It was bliss :)
I didn't want any cookies, I just wanted to lick the bowl.
Tomorrow is Easter Sunday and I am going to secretly drop off parcels of Easter eggs and homebaked cookies to some friends in my neighbourhood. That way the cookies don't stay in my house calling my name, and I get to enjoy the fact that I licked the dough bowl clean :)

Smile...pass it on :)

2010-03-31T17:11:00.000-05:00

My morning runs consist of me, my two Dalmatians and a big smile :)

Why?

Because:

1 - Smiling makes me feel good inside.

2 - Smiling is contagious.

It may be 7am, you may be one of those cars stuck in traffic as I run by you, you might have a horrible day coming up, but the sight of a happy, bouncy, running person with two spotty trotting dogs beside her happily smiling as you go by is bound to make you smile too, whether you like it or not.

Thus, I have passed the smile on, and hopefully made your day a little bit better, if only for a second.

Now if you are a morning walker, of which there are many along my route, most of whom seem to be single retired people out for a stroll, then you probably know me too. You don't know my name, you don't know what I do, but you know me as the morning runner who will smile and say "Good Morning" to you every day.

Why?

Because it doesn't take any effort on my part, but is my way of acknowledging you, saying hi, and making you smile back at me.

What is nice is that the regular walkers see me coming, and are now ready with a big smile for me when I come running by. They know the drill, they know I am chirpy in the morning and will smile and say something to them, and so they prepare themselves with a big smile too, and a quick “Lovely morning today” or “I’ll catch up with you one day” response.

Thus the good energy is passed on, and hopefully there are lots more of these events happing along the route.

Everybody wants to feel loved/appreciated/thought of, even if it’s by a complete stranger.

Giving a smile won’t cost you anything, but it can be priceless to someone who receives it.

So go on, smile at somebody today, a big, happy, white teeth smile, and pass on a little bit of positive energy.

Just stop, breathe and smile :)

2010-03-30T17:04:00.000-05:00

I know, I know, life is crazy right?

There are bills to pay, work to be done, clothes to iron, mouths to feed, the stress is never-ending, the list is never complete, there are always more things to do and never enough time.

You carry a huge weight on your shoulders; you feel the tension in your neck, your back, your forehead.

Life, it seems is just one big rush from one place to the next.

OK, I want you to do something, and it won't take much of your time.

Sit down.

Relax the muscles in your face, feel your tense forehead muscles relax and you just let everything be soft and still.

Take a deep breath in through your nose, feel how the air feels as it passes through your nostrils, feel your lungs expand.

Now exhale, slowly, noting the breath as it leaves your body, feeling your body relax, feeling your shoulders drop.

Make sure your facial muscles are still relaxed and take in another deep breath, again noting the air as it passes through your nostrils.....and exhale...slowly and meaningfully.

Feels good doesn't?

Sometimes we forget to breathe, we take it for granted and we just let our body do it naturally, but conscious breathing is an amazingly relaxing thing to do.

When you have taken enough slow breaths to feel relaxed, think about your newly relaxed face. Note how it feels when you deliberately relax it, how the tension you were carrying around on your forehead seems to melt away.

Now smile :)

Yes, I know is seems silly, and you might not even be happy, but try it anyway.

Feel your cheeks fill up as your lips curl into a beautiful and amazing smile.

Even just the action of smiling creates a positive energy within your body...do you feel it?

It feels good doesn't it?

That's it, you can go back to your day, just remember, whenever things are getting a little too much to handle, just follow the steps above, put things back into perspective, and smile all over again :)

Making excuses...you are only cheating yourself

2010-03-29T15:12:00.000-05:00

So many times I hear the excuse - oh Michelle, I don't know how you find time to do all of the stuff that you do. I would .....get fit/lose weight/excersise more/eat healthier.... if I had more time.

Ok people, here is the deal. You don't have more time, and I have the same amount of time as everybody else, I work a full time job (which I put in over 60 hours a week into), I run my own consulting company on top of that, I volunteer, I home cook my meals, and I kiteboard/run/cycle/excersise every day.
So how is it that I can do this and so many others don't seem to have the time?
The answer is I find the time. I see that a healthy diet and moving my body are good for me in the long run, so I chose to incorporate those things into my life.

Excersise
I cycle to work, yes some days I get wet, but I save myself $15 a day on parking and petrol, which I put into a little jar at home and am saving for something fun.
I don't watch TV. Gasp! I know, its terrible that I don't know what is happening to who in desperate housewives or who the hot doctor is in ER, but I choose to take that time to be outside going for a run or a walk. With me I take my ipod, where I can listen to the news to catch up on current affairs, or put on an audio book to catch up with my reading.
I go for a walk on my lunch break, it doesn't have to be far, but just enough to get me up and moving around.
I do not see excersise as a chore, but I incorporate it into a fun part of life. Going for a walk with friends to catch up on news is fun, and I don't even realise I am walking.
Kitesurfing is a great social activity which brings people together and is so much fun you don't realise you are working out.
Running while listening to an audio book makes your mind concentrate on what is happening in the story and not how far you have run.
I take the stairs whenever its less than 5 floors, it may only be one flight to the coffee machine, but you do that a few times a day and it all adds up.
Frisbee on the beach, cycling around the block, throwing a ball for the dog - these are all ways of adding movement to your day without even realising it.
Its not about running marathons, or having to go to the gym for an hour 3x per week, its about becoming a more active person, and you will find that small changes will add up to big improvements.

Food
I home cook my meals, people say that they don't have time to cook and that is their excuse for eating fast food or junk food, but in my experience, it just takes a little bit of dedication and planning and if takes no time at all.
On sunday evenings I put on a cookathon. I make lots of meals in bulk, boil a whole bag of brown rice, boil a tub of wholewheat pasta, season and brown 3 blocks of tofu, chop up fresh veggies and make 3 different sauces, one tomato based, one curry based and one garlic based.
I then take all of the ingredients and mix and match them into tupperware boxes, usually up to 15 of them. By varying what is in each box, I get a different meal for each day and don't feel like I am eating the same thing, even though I have only cooked 3 sauces and 2 staples.
By boxing everything I have portion control, and all I need to do is re-heat the food for 2 minutes each evening and voila, there is dinner much faster than MaccyD's could make a Big Mac.
It also means that I know what I am eating, and that there are only natural ingredients going into my food. I also save a lot of money this way as each meal comes in at around $4 which is way, way, way cheaper than the fast food option.
Add to this a fruit bowl that is always full for snacking on, and a couple of bags of salad leaves in my fridge and thats my weekly shop.
It takes about an hour of my time on a Sunday, but no time at all during my week. I think everybody has an hour a week to dedicate to meal preparation.

Mental Health
I have good days and bad days like everybody else, but the think I do is make myself aware of how I am feeling and try to change the negative to the positive.
If I am sad, or upset, I understand that these are feelings that everybody goes through, but I make a point not to wallow in these negative feelings for too long to let it become a cycle.
How many time have you reached for a chocolate bar because you are sad, then felt so guilty about it, then thought, well I have ruined my diet now so I might as well have another. And seeing that today is going so badly, I'm not going to the gym, but I'm going to lie in bed and feel sorry for myself. While lying in bed I'm going to eat a tube of Pringles because they will make me feel better. After finishing the Pringles, you feel much worse, and don't want to move, you think negative thoughts about your body and how you feel/look. The cycle repeats, the next day and then onto the next week, etc.
The key is to allow yourself to feel these emotions, but then put them into check.
I will reach for a chocolate bar, and I will eat it, guilt free. I will appreciate how it feels in my mouth, the way that it melts, the soft sugary sensation on my tongue. I will eat it slowly, I will appreciate how it can give my day a boost.
When I have finished it, I will be thankful for chocolate in the world and use the boost as a positive to brighten up my day.
I will then move on, and do what I had planned to do that day, ignoring the calls of more chocolate, ignoring the calls of my bed wanting me to curl up inside it where it is cosy and warm.
Once I walk away from those negative triggers, get outside, or away from that environment, the day suddenly seems so much brighter.
We all have a choice in how we feel, we can choose to wallow in self pity, or we can choose to try and find the positive side and walk on strong.

People
I surround myself with positive people, (and I have started to remove myself from the negative ones). The people that surround you have an effect on how you feel. A negative person who is always making excuses, or putting others down will make you think that way. A positive person who wants to go for a walk and appreciate your company, or who will go watch a feel good movie with you is bound to have a positive effect on your life.
Its hard to say goodbye to friends, but sometimes you have to realise that people who bring you down, will only slow your progress in life.
Surrounding yourself with active, like minded people is only going to make you stronger and fitter, and a much happier person :)

So that's how I find time, hopefully you can find some too.

Giving time

2010-03-29T02:52:00.000-05:00

This past weekend involved a lot of volunteering time and I got to meet some fantastic like minded people.
Saturday I spent 6 hours at the "Awakening the Dreamer" symposium. Its a session that provides information about environmental and social issues in a spiritual environment and allows like minded people to come together to form subgroups to make a difference in our local community as well as the wider world. It was a fantastic day and really helped me to realise that I am not the only person in my area who is trying to make a difference and do my part for the environment.
That evening was Earth Hour and I was actually quite surprised that people have still not heard about this event. I marked the hour by lighting some candles and turning off all the lights and appliances. I love it when you can see others doing the same thing and it just shows that although you are only doing something small, when everybody else around you does it too it turns into something really big!
Sunday was spent out in the sun picking up oyster shells from one of the beaches in Auckland. They have taken over the beach and are very sharp, which is dangerous for children who run barefoot along the beach. It was a lot of work, and I was dissapointed in how few people turned up to volunteer, which meant that those of us who were there had to do a lot more work and all have cut hands and aching backs to prove it.
Add to that a couple of 8km runs, mowing the lawn and a kiteboarding session, and you have a very busy, but rewarding weekend :)

I am not a runner....

2010-03-28T00:13:00.000-05:00

I know, I know, I just finished an ultramarathon, but I am really not a runner. I am a bit of a fraud really. I am more stubborn that a runner, I don't like to give up which is how I made it to the end of a 60km race, but I am really not a runner.
Runners are thin, they have long lean limbs, I see lots of "real" runners at races, they have all of their expensive running gear, their vest tops and short, shorts.
I run in a t-shirt and leggings, I wear the same trainers I bought a year ago, I don't have technique, I don't have speed, I just have stubborness.
I see people out every day, running, looking graceful, fluid, and fit. I bounce my body around, I sound like an elephant the way that I thump my feet on the ground. I have no technique, I have no style, but I do like a challenge.
Maybe one day I will be able to say "I am a runner", maybe one day I will look like a runner, and not a shotput thrower :)
I guess what I am trying to say is that, if you really put your mind to something, and keep at it, you will make it to the finish. It may not be pretty, you will want to quit along the way, but if you change your mindset from "I can't" to "I will" then the possibilities are endless.
One year ago I couldn't run to the end of the road. Today I have run a 60km race, and 2 weeks from now I am attempting to run a 100km race.
A friend of mine called me a robot this week, he said that I seem to just tell my body to do stuff and it does it.
I hope I have a little bit more personality that a robot, but I do believe that people quit before they even start because they think the challenge is too great and so they don't attempt it at all, rather than giving it a go and seeing what their body is capable of.
I am not a runner, but I am a person who is trying to push the boundaries of what I used to think I couldn't do :)

Tarawera Ultramarathon

2010-03-24T15:58:00.000-05:00

The Tarawera Ultramarathon is probably one of the most challenging things I have done in my life, but it was also one of the best!
I promised I would upload a video diary of my run, so here it is :)
It was long, hard, and there were moments when I thought I wanted to go home. However it was also amazing, stimulating, and challenged me like I have never challenged myself before.
Next is the 100km Oxfam run which is in 15 days, I hope my toes will have recovered by then!

Running until the light runs out

2010-03-22T05:38:00.000-05:00

Well I did it, I ran for 9 hours and 58 minutes, I covered 60km (37 miles) of off road track, I climbed hills, I hit rocks, I slid down gravel.
My feet may never forgive me, but I have an amazing feeling of achievement.
I am editing the video now and will upload it as soon as I can :)

Running and food

2010-03-17T16:53:00.000-05:00

Some mornings I wake up and want to run, I run fast and I run strong. I live at the top of a hill, and I know how good a day I'm having by whether I run all the way home, or walk the last steep section. Other days I can barely run 3k, my legs feel like lead, my mind is not focussed.
I have made some changes to my diet for the past 2 weeks, and my running has been amazing. I have been running faster and stronger than ever before, I'm also sleeping better, waking up earlier and just feeling like I could go all day. What did I change in my diet? I have gone to a natural diet, nothing strict, nothing crazy, just no processed foods. I also haven't eaten any meat in 2 weeks (OK, Mark brought me in lunch the other day which had a bit of chicken, but that was all). I'm not vegetarian, but I have been trying to select foods that "feel" appealing to me. Right now, when I look at meat, I get a real feeling of negative energy, I'm not saying I won't eat meat, but its not what my body is calling for right now. I have started to listen to my body and feed it what it requests. Apparently this is lots of fresh fruit, brown rice and flat rice noodles, tofu, and green vegetables. I am amazed at how my running performance has improved since I switched to natural foods.

I baked banana muffins and banana cookies at home and have been eating those after my runs, they are probably just as high in calories as normal cookies, but at least I know what has gone into them and they are fresh without any preservatives.

I'm drinking less coffee and more herbal tea, I'm listening to guided meditation to help me fall asleep and I haven't stayed awake to the end of one yet (they are only 10 minutes long)! I guess I have changed my attitude too, living by the "cup is always half full" philosophy and enjoying every experience I have.
I'm excited for the ultramarathon this weekend, I feel strong, I feel mentally ready, I feel like it is a challenge within my grasp.
I'm running the 60k event this time, and then I have a 100k run in April for the Oxfam trailwalker. That's a lot of miles, but I am hoping that if I feed my body right, and listen to what it needs, I will have the strength to conquer my goals :)

Lana Banana

2010-03-17T00:56:00.000-05:00

Here she is, home from her surgery and feeling very sorry for herself. Her outer corneal layer had separated from her eye and she had 8 eyelashes growing inside her eyelid meaning it scraped her eye every time she blinked. Her corneal lesion was cut out, the rest of here eye was scraped to encourage growth, and her inner eyelid tissue was cut to remove the ingrowing hairs. Most of the time when Lana tries to curl up on me I push her away because she is a big heavy lump. Tonight I am giving her all of the attention she wants, and we are having a lot of one on one snuggle time. She may be an annoying hyperactive dog, but tonight she is one of my favourite things in the world.

Helmet cam

2010-03-15T13:11:00.001-05:00

Last night after work I went for a quick kiteboarding session and thought I would take out my old trusty Go Pro camera and attach it to my helmet. I actually want to attach it to my kite, but this was a good start to make sure the camera was working and figure out some of its features.
The video isn't great, but I put a few shots together for some fun :)

Third Surgery

2010-03-08T12:55:00.000-06:00

So Lana is on her third consecutive surgery in 5 weeks to try and fix her scratched cornea. The scratch was so large that they had to shave off her cornea and create a scratched grid pattern on it to try and promote cell growth. The eye is net healing as well as we wished and the scratch is still there.
I have decided that this is her last surgery and if this one doesn't work then I am afraid the eye is going to have to go :(
I have my fingers crossed that this one will work, in the mean time Lana is feeling very sorry for herself and walking into objects with her cone.
The third eyelid is currently stiched to the top eyelid to act as a natural bandage and promote healing.
Fingers crossed for her.

Like Hamsters on their wheel

2010-03-08T03:20:00.000-06:00

So we do some fun things here in New Zealand, the home of the bungy jump. People here are always looking for the next thrill or laugh, and I saw this last weekend for the first time which looks like a ton of fun.
Basically take a big paddling pool, add seven large air filled balls, place human in each ball, seal the ball and watch them try to run around :)
It doesn't make any sense, but my oh my does it look like fun!

Brrrrr

2010-03-02T15:24:00.000-06:00

So during my time in MN, I completed another bucket list project and jumped into a frozen lake for charity. The event wasn't until late at night, but I went out there during the day to see how they were setting it up.
The lake was covered with people and power tools as they tried to cut through the thick ice:

As the sun started to set the TV crews had their say on how insane the whole thing was.

As I stood on the ice all wrapped up in my nice warm coat, I started to realise how crazy this all was:

There were two theories, one was to jump in all wrapped up in warm clothing, or two was to hit it in my bikini!
I voted for the latter, as did this nice young man next to me :)

There was a great crowd of people supporting us, and my girlfriend and I decided to jump in together - stupidity in numbers and all that.
I think you can tell from how much I am sucking in my neck muscles that it was really, really cold.

I couldn't have been happier climbing out of that lake, I think you just get to the point of being so cold you don't feel it anymore.

I don't think I would do anything like that again, unless there was the promise of a hot tub waiting for me at the end, but it did raise a lot of money for charity and was another thing to tick off the bucket list :)

I love to kitesurf

2010-02-28T22:41:00.000-06:00

I love to kitesurf, and one of the reasons for moving to New Zealand was to be able to water kite all year round.

I'm lucky to have had a real photographer take some pics and I thought I would share some of them with you.

This one is my favourite, because I genuinely don't know why I am pulling this stupid face, but it makes me laugh.

I like this one as it shows both the kite and me in the same shot - with 23m lines, that's not often easy to do:

This one is cool as you can see a huge wave behind me and the wake from my board as well as the fuzzy mountains in the background:

Here I am after a quick board change:

This is me popping a wave:

And this is called riding the board toeside:

Yes, it was worth the move to be able to do this in warm water, and great conditions :)

Cheeky :)

2010-02-28T22:31:00.000-06:00

For those of you who have forgotten what I look like:

Scaring myself just a little :)

2010-02-03T13:23:00.000-06:00

Every so often you need to scare yourself a little to feel live. That short adrenaline rush, the little kick that makes you go"phew", the smile on your face when you realise you are OK and came out on the other side with a good story to tell.
Well this last week has been a fantastic week for kitebaording, the wind was strong all week, the water was warm, the sun was shining, and I have probably put in 15-20 hours kiting in the last few days.
Tuesday night the wind was easterly, an unusual direction for Auckland, so I pottered over to a different beach than usual and went out on my kite. This location is between a peninsular and a volcanic island, with several miles of shipping channel in between. The view is amazing and the wind was great, there I was kiting when in the corner of my eye I spotted something huge. It was a big, white cruise ship that was leaving Auckland and off on its way to luxury land somewhere. It was quite far away, but enchanting enough that I wanted a closer look. A few kiters smiled at each other as we all got the same idea and started to kite out into the shipping channel towards the cruise ship. It was actually quite far away, much further than it looked and most kiters don't go in one direction for more than a few hundred feet before they turn around and go the other way. My quads started to burn from edging so hard for so long, but I realised I was already half way there and pushed through the lactic acid. I turned around to see who else was with me, and I was alone, all the other kiters had quit - to the burn I was guessing, but also to the mediocre wind conditions.
When I got close enough to the ship that I could see the shock on people's faces, I smiled, waved and turned around to make the eipc treck back to shore.
Kiting next to such a huge ship was epic, the power of the waves it created made for great pops off the crests, the look of the passengers faces was priceless. I made it back to shore (several miles away), smiling while my other quad was burning.
That was one of those little life moments, when you scare yourself just enough but not too much.
I feel really alive this week :)

Biggest Change

2010-02-01T16:51:00.000-06:00

So I have been thinking about what the biggest change in my life is since moving to New Zealand, and honestly its an odd one.
I now hate wearing shoes!
I wear flip flops all day long, I wear them to work, I wear them at home, I wear them to walk the dogs.
I used to always be a closed toe shoe person, I don't like feet very much, and loved the snug feeling of being inside a nice pair of trainers, or some big leather work shoes. However, now I can't bear to put my feet into those, I have even started running barefoot on the beach so that I don't have to put my trainers on.
I love flip flops and now live in a climate where I can wear them all year round pretty much.
So that's my biggest change and I'm wiggling my toes in delight while I write this :)

Girls Day Out Kitesurfing - Auckland

2010-01-28T15:55:00.000-06:00

This Sunday, 1pm, Orewa Auckland begins the first of many Girls Day Out Kitesurfing events.

If you are a girl who kitesurfs, or one that wants to find out more about it, come on over and meet some kiters in a relaxed environment.
Its a great way to see the equipment, meet the girls and see why we love to kitesurf.
If you facebook then there is an events page here: Girls Day Out Kitesurfing Facebook Event
See you out there!

Surfing

2010-01-27T17:40:00.000-06:00

I have wanted to try surfing for a long time, but with my hectic schedule I never thought I would be able to fit it in!
Well, yesterday was the beginning of what I hope to be a new hobby, with surfing lesson number 1complete.
It was a group lesson, which made it really cheap but not very specific, all I have to say is that I am grateful that I have:
1 - balance
2 - endurance
3 - martial arts as a background

Without these the lesson would have sucked - 1 teacher per 8 students flailing around in the sea is not enough. However, I was able to get up and ride independently within a few tries, and spent my lesson off on my own trying to learn the difference between good and bad waves as well as where best to place my feet on the board for a pop-up move.

Beginner boards are great, they are big (8 feet) and very floaty, meaning they forgive a lot of your mistakes with regard to balance and foot position.

Next time I will go out on a less floaty board and see how it goes.

In my very inexperienced opinion, the biggest factors for trying to ride a wave are power paddling with your arms as soon as you catch a wave to keep the momentum up, riding a wave just as it is about to break, and keeping your feet in the centre of the board.

It was quite physical to ride a wave in, then fight them all the way back out to try and catch another one, but I came home fully energized and excited. The only way I could calm myself back down was to go for a hard run, 8km later (dogs in tow) and I felt much better. It was one of my strongest runs since the marathon and I think that running a few times a week for me is much more progressive than trying to get out every day. I need to learn to rest my muscles and so I'm going to try and rotate my sports so I have a bit more rest time between intense sessions.
I've also started to wear my Nike sportsband again so I can start tracking speeds and distances and see when I'm feeling too tired to run or when I'm amped!

I'm hoping to get out on a surfboard again soon, but this week looks windy, so its kite surfing time! I was asked this week if I found kitesurfing lonely, being out on the water for all that time by myself. But to be honest, its one of my more social sports. Yes you are alone on the water, you can't get close to other kiters for safety as you don't want to tangle your lines, but the chatter on land before and the beer on the shore after make it all worthwhile. Plus you do get some interactions on the water, you smile and yell when people pull cool tricks - you laugh when newbies lose their boards and you go off to rescue them. The kiting community is an odd one, its basically a group of loners who get together to do something individual :)

I can't wait for the next windy day!

Do women have unrealistic expectations?

2010-01-26T18:45:00.000-06:00

OK, I'm going to have a small rant now, after reading this article in my local paper this morning:
Do women have unrealistic expectations?

"According to an American book out this week, women who refuse to commit unless they find a man with whom they feel a deep love are consigning themselves to a lonely future."
Really? I mean, really? Have you met me? I'm not lonely, I have a fantastic, happy life, and I think it will stay that way for a really long time.

"Find Mr Right before age of 30 or settle for second best," says Gottlieb.
Well, then I guess its all over for me, my 30th was a couple of years ago, am I on the long downward spiral?

So I looked a little more into the cited book "Marry Him: The Case for Settling for Mr Good Enough" by Lori Gottlieb.

Unfortunately there are no libraries in New Zealand that hold this book, so I'm not sure I will actually read the real thing, but a bit of googling brought up some excerpts from the book:

"If you say you’re not worried [about getting married], either you’re in denial or you’re lying?"
Really? Because I'm not worried, and perhaps I am in denial and don't realise it, but I am certainly not lying. You know if it happens then it happens, but I'm not obsessing about it. Actually I really like my single life, I like the fact that I don't make my bed every day, that my days are planned on my schedule, not on others. I'm not interested in the big white wedding, or the registry gifts, and the piece of paper that they give to you on your wedding day is the easiest part - its the rest of your life living with somebody thats hard! Don't get me wrong, I'm sure its easy for some people, probably those who have not spent a decade living on their own, and those who don't go out all the time looking for the next adventure, but I still deny that I'm in denial :)

"Don't wait for true love, not if you are a woman in your 30s and you want to have a family. Romantic passion is not as important as a second pair of hands for diaper-changing and meal preparation."
Again, the author is placing some magical age of 30 as the freak out zone! You know, maybe some of us don't want to have children, or at least aren't in a hurry to get there.

"The dream, like that of our mothers and their mothers from time immemorial, was to fall in love, get married, and live happily ever after. Of course, we’d be loath to admit it in this day and age, but ask any soul-baring 40-year-old single heterosexual woman what she most longs for in life, and she probably won’t tell you it’s a better career or a smaller waistline or a bigger apartment. Most likely, she’ll say that what she really wants is a husband (and, by extension, a child)."

Wow, this one is amazing - and perhaps I can't actually judge this statement, as I am not a 40 year old single woman, but I'm pretty sure if I was, and in the place I am today - I would probably wish for a bigger kiteboard ;)

“settle before settling is no longer an option”
Oh, OK, I'll just go out there and marry Mr Mediocre because apparently I'm running out of time and will be miserable very soon if I don't :)

Now I think about it, I'm probably going to have to go out there and actually buy this book before I critique it any more. However, I am now at the age of divorces. Yes, not only did I miss all that marriage stuff, but now my friends are going through their first divorces (I say first as statistics show that this may be the start of many more). I'm watching kids spend weekends with alternating parents, houses be sold and the money split so each parent lives in a tiny hovel as its all they can afford on one income. I am watching hearts be broken as others have affairs, bored with the mundane life of marriage, kids, laundry. I see girls "settle" all the time because they are so scared of being alone that they would rather be with the wrong person than not with somebody at all.

I'm not going to settle, I don't have a big list of criteria, I'm open minded, but more importantly that that, I'm not afraid of being alone.

I should add that the author is a 40 something single female who decided to have a child by herself. She is comparing her life as a single parent to that of what she thinks her life would be like if she had married and was bringing up her child in a family unit. I just wonder if sometimes the grass seems greener on the other side, until you get there and realise its just the same grass in a different light.

Surfing

2010-01-26T13:09:00.000-06:00

Its another glorious day here, blue skies, warm and sunny. I have a busy day at work, then I'm off to do something new (suprise, suprise).
Today I will take my first surfing lesson!
I'm really hoping that with my kiteboarding experience, I will have some board skills.
My martial arts will hopefully give me balance.
My swimming training will help me to paddle.
Well, that is the theory - lets see how it actually goes!

I'll update you all later - if I don't drown :)

Just another fantastic summer day here in Auckland - I am so glad that I moved here, it really is everything I was looking for in a new home. Now if only I could get all of my old friends and my family to move here too!

Double Trouble

2010-01-25T13:03:00.000-06:00

When it rains - it pours.
This weekend, Lana managed to scratch her cornea (yes, again, she seems to make a habit of this), while Shannon got a double ear infection. So one dog couldn't see and the other one is completely deaf!
I'm glad I taught Shannon sign language as a puppy as we were still able to communicate even though she couldn't hear me. Whatever is in her ears is resistant to the normal treatment, so we have changed the medication in the hope that we can clear this up. Lana is now on painkillers and I have to squeeze a goopy gel into her eye 4 times a day.

Here they are looking pretty sorry for themselves after we got back from the vet on Saturday. I think it might be allergies, or at least allergy related. This is our first summer in New Zealand and there is pollen galore everywhere. Sometimes the dogs come in yellow from all the pollen they have been rolling around in in the garden. Lana scratched her eye, by rubbing her itchy face in the grass, but I'm guessing rolled on something sharp in the process.

I'm throwing them both on antihistamines for a while and hopefully this will prevent any further incidents In the mean time I have to learn to wake Shannon gently, as she gets a big fright right now in her silent world :(

What to wear

2010-01-24T12:50:00.000-06:00

I got up this morning and stared out of my window. The sky was blue, the trees were still, the weather looked good. As I cycle to work, I rolled over, opened my laptop and checked the weather.
I looked at the current temperature, looked at the rain prediction, and then I saw this:

Feels like 18°C : 1 layer of clothing
Data updated 6:41am 25 January 2010

What, 1 layer of clothing? Since when has the weather forecast told me what to wear? I wonder what it tells me when its hotter than 18! Go out in a bikini? :)
I have not noticed this before, but found it really funny, I'll keep you posted if the clothing status changes.

After another 4 hours kitesurfing yesterday, my body aches, its tired and sore, it feels good - sort of.
How is it Monday morning already?

Sleep

2010-01-23T16:24:00.000-06:00

I don't sleep much, maybe 5 hours a night or so. I don't know why, but I just wake up when the sun gets up, usually because the dogs start to stir and I'm a light sleeper.
This past week has been crazy. I increased my training substantionally, adding 3 weightlifting sessions, a swim session and yesterday I was out kiteboarding for 7 hours straight!

I got home and was starving as I didn't eat for the whole time I was out on the water. Ate some chicken and then decided to lie down for a second. That was 9pm, I awoke at 6am still in my jeans and t-shirt astounded that I had slept for 9 hours! I feel great this morning, and have not slept for that long in ages. I guess all I need to do is completely exhaust myself for a week to get tired enough to sleep :)

The wind is up again today, so I'm off to see if I can do it all over again!

Swim or drown - you choose

2010-01-20T14:26:00.000-06:00

So I used to be a competitive swimmer as a kid. I represented different teams and trained every day, most times twice a day for years. I was OK, not the best in the UK, but I did make national qualifying times so I guess I was not your average fitness swimmer.

I have not swam for 15 years - I think when you train so much for so long, its hard to get into a pool and just have fun, my personality is too competitive for that.
So for 15 years, my goggles hung in the closet, next to my swimsuit and cap. Every so often I would look at them and remember what it was like to train so hard you wanted to cry, to gasp for breath under the water, hoping that you would be able to make it to the next oxygen supply.
Well today, I took the plunge - literally. One of my friends is a swimming coach and has set up a new morning training session in town. I really wanted to get back into the pool, so I went this morning and it was like a dream. He pushed me so hard, but it felt good. Swimming is a different type of cardio - I hate running, but I love to swim. I did sprints, long stints holding my breath under water, drills, it was like I had never left the water. It felt to smooth, I could still swim butterfly and it felt strong, the lactic acid build up in my legs from sprinting freestyle was amazing. Now I remember why I trained to hard in my youth, it was for that feeling, the feeling of one more stroke, the feeling of needing air but holding out for one more second. It was a really good feeling.
I'm not self disciplined enough to push myself that hard without a trainer, but I'm going to keep this up with a few morning sessions a week. the cardio is great and it works different muscles than I use running or cycle to work. I'm hoping it will increase my lung capacity for jiu jitsu and strengthen my shoulders for rock climbing. But more than that, its pushing me to the point of wanting to vomit, and as horrible as that sounds, its quite satisfying :)

Real Photo's

2010-01-18T11:57:00.002-06:00

Duncan took some fantastic photo's as always when we were at the beach. His amazing ability to capture both still landscapes and action shots always astounds me.
He took a great shot of myself and Ian bodyboarding at New Chums Beach, and it looks like we are having quite a lot of fun :)

New Chums Beach

2010-01-17T23:02:00.000-06:00

In 2006 New Chums Beach was voted one of the top 20 beaches in the world, and I agree.
You arrive at a stunning stretch of golden sand, fringed by pohutukawa trees and native forest,a little piece of paradise which is mostly deserted due to the 30 minute hike to get there. This keeps the riff raff out and keeps it to a mostly adult beach.

The beach is just beautiful, with a reasonable surf, soft sand and plenty of trees for shelter.
Armed with my boogie boardI decidd to take on the challenge of the surf - sometimes it went well:

Other times not so much:

As I strolled up the beach, I found a secret rope swing, and me being me had to jump and play on it for a while :)

Cath who is now 30 weeks pregnant had a great time, however it was weird taking this picture with her, as even though she was standing miles away from me, her belly was still touching me!

Naomi and I had a picture taken, and the guy behind us promptly took of all his clothes and gave us a nice view of his bottom. I'm glad Cath snapped the photo in time, otherwise this would have been a photo of the moon :)

I agree that it is a truely beautiful beach, and one that should be kept undeveloped, however I'm not sure how long that will last :(

The whole weekend was fantastic, a great group of friends, a lot of laughs, a little bit of sunburn and I even went for a run. I love summer :)

Lasting Impression

2010-01-13T22:00:00.000-06:00

I heard a great quote today:
"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
Its true isn't it?
You never remember the individual conversations you have with people, you don't remember the hugs or the fights, you just think of a person and feel an emotion towards them.
I try my hardest to live each day as if it were my last, and that includes not saying things that I don't mean, or things in anger or spite.
It means that I engage brain before opening my mouth and really try to think about what I am going to say before I say it.
I was reading the news today and it is full of death :( Haiti is just destroyed, and even locally there have been a lot of summer drownings and motorcycle accidents.
I'm really happy at the moment, work is busy, I have a new challenging food and fitness regime, my friends and family are healthy and well.
So here's hoping that people remember me in a good way :)

Swimming with the manatees

2010-01-07T18:05:00.000-06:00

Back to my Florida trip blog.
As well as doing some diving out in Florida, I was lucky enough to be able to achieve another lifetime goal of swimming with wild manatees. December is the perfect time to do this as the ocean gets too cold for them and them migrate into the warmer rivers for the winter. Manatees are one of the most beautiful, curious, relaxed and friendly sea creatures I have met and I was amazed at how much of a personal interaction I was able to get with my 4 hours snorkeling with them.
Like other mammals, they breath air, so although many of them were sleeping on the river bed, they would still come up to the surface to take a breath, without ever waking up!

Being curious and gentle creatures, who have had mostly positive interactions with humans, the manatees came much closer that I ever imagined they would.

Their poor eyesight means that they have to be very close to see anything, so they swim right up to you to take a look.
If they like you, they roll over exposing their belly and use their flippers to guide your hand to rub them :)

The size of some of the manatees was just incredible and I was in awe as group ofabout 8 huge ones swam right under me.

A few of the manatees were covered in barnacles, which apparently means they were out at sea for too long. I was glad that this one made it back safely.

Another experience checked off the bucket list, and a fantastic day where I learned so much about a species I never really inderstood before and was truely touched by how gentle these amazing creatures are.

Christmas 2009

2010-01-05T15:37:00.000-06:00

I am writing these blogs in the wrong order I know, but I'm still on catch up.
So Christmas 2009 was a beautiful sunny day, and I had just got back from my trip to the US the night before and just wanted a fun, relaxing (well Michelle relaxing anyway) day.
I love living by the beach, and decided to go for a Christmas run.
I have to admit that I haven't really run much since the marathon, I think I just got bored of it for a while after training so much, and I do so many other sports it just faded off in to the background.
I dusted off my running shoes, gathered the dog leashes, packed a small backpack with some water and hit the running path.
It was only 8:30am on Christmas morning, but the beach was already starting to fill up.

I usually run to my right, which takes me along a beach path, but it was Christmas so to shake it up I ran left which was towards town.

There had been some recent work on the pier by my house and I hadn't been out on it since the renovation, so we ran out there to see the view.

Looking out to the right you can see Rangitoto - a volcano that erupted around 600 years ago.

To the left you can see Auckland city centre and the shipping ports that add to its nautical landscape.

It was getting hot, even at 9am, so the dogs and I took a quick water break.

I tried to set up a "family" photo with my timer, but the dogs moved too fast as always.

As we kept running, the city was getting closer - I really had no intention of running into town, but for some reason I just kept on running.

We ended up not only running into the city centre, but past it and stopped out on the other side at Victoria park. This is the park that the marathon ended at, and I hadn't been back since then, so it was nice to see it when I wasn't in a post-marathon delerium.
Another water break and a bit of a sit down in the shade made this park a nice pit-stop.

When you live somewhere, you don't tend to appreciate some of the beautiful things that surround you, so I took the time to run through the viaduct and look at the amazing boats that had docked there.

I looked over and saw the Auckland Harbour bridge in the distance - running across that for the marathon was a real treat, but now it seemed so far away! I think sometimes I forget how far 26 miles actually is!

A huge cruise ship had just pulled in, and lots of the people on board were dog owners who had left their precious puppies at home. The girls were very popular among the cruise guests, and got lots of love and attention as the people talked about how much they missed their pooches.

Running back towards home, the sun was high and it was getting really hot. Another pit-stop and I realised how inviting the water looked.

I wasn't going to get my feet wet for fear of blisters on the way home, but I thought the girls might like a dip in the sea.

The skytower in the background seemed so far away now, and my tired legs reminded me that we had covered a lot of ground that day.

We went home via the hill route, rather than along the beach as it allowed me to see Auckland from yet another perspective.

All in all, a tiring, but enjoyable Christmas day :)

We all slept well that night.

Happy New Year

2010-01-04T15:32:00.000-06:00

Wow, what a crazy past few weeks - sorry for the lack of blogging, I will try to catch up.
So, lets start with New Years celebrations seeing that they are the most fresh in my memory. I wanted to get away from it all for a bit. I needed to step away from technology, turn off my computer, go somewhere with no cell phone reception and have time to think and reflect on the past year and the upcoming one.
I packed up the dogs, a tent, some food and drove 4 hours south to Pureora forest, a beautiful, quiet forest with some great trails, and good mountains to climb.
The forest consists of hundreds of acres of different trees with moist moss climbing over them and wet bogs on the lower ground areas.

Lana was excited as always to be able to run free and she did just that for 10 hours a day every day, jumping over fallen logs, weaving in and out of tree stumps, just being happy to be out of the city.

Home was a 2 man tent, I thought I would need enough room for myself and the dogs, but it seems that I was wrong as the dogs decided that inside the bottom of my sleeping bag was where they were both going to stay, taking up no extra room at all!

We stopped at a hut along the way to fill up the water bottles with some collected rainwater and the dogs patiently waited for their dinner.

The view from the top of Mount Pureora was amazing and I took this panoramic shot to try and justify its beauty, but didn't even come close.

It was really windy at the top, and so I didn't stay long up there as I had to watch out for sunburn.

I felt that the view went on for miles and miles and it was so peaceful up there.

The next day I decided to climb Mount Weraora, and after hours of hiking I was sad to find that the view from the peak was about 6 inches above my eye level, so I really couldn't see anything apart from the tops of the trees. Exhausted and hot, the dogs and I took a nap on the peak before mustering up the energy to walk back down.

Shannon loved the sunshine, and sunbathed while Lana and I slept.

Unfortunately Lana's allergies started to play up (as did mine) with all of the trees and pollen, and she struggled to open her eyes in the mornings and evenings when they were at their worst.

I started to call her my little pirate, as one of her eyes was always shut :)

After a few days, some great bonding time with the dogs and a tired back from lugging around my big backpack it was time to go home. My last meal consisted of some horrible noodles, but the label on the tub summarised the trip.

All in all, pretty fantastic, and I am so ready for 2010 :)

Cavern Diving

2009-12-23T01:31:00.000-06:00

So this is the first of many Florida trip posts.
I arrived on Friday night after 29 hours of travel and crashed in my hotel room. I knew I had to sleep as I had arranged for a day of cavern diving starting at 6am on Saturday morning.
The alarm went off way too early, but I was really excited so jumped out of bed, threw on my bikini under my clothes and drove the the dive site.
The first dive was at the Blue Grotto which is a massive sinkhole angling down to a depth of 30m (100 feet). There is no current, and the water temperature is a toasty 24C. There are a couple of unique features in the Blue Grotto, the first being an airbell at 10m which you can swim into and take out your regulator to breathe the compressed air pumped into the chamber. Just below the chamber is the blue grotto sign where I took this photo.

There is also a million candlepower underwater light systemwhich lights the top of the chamber and is a refreshing sight after all of the darkness.
Diving down in to the grotto was quite an interesting experience as it was weird to watch the daylight dissappear as I dove deeper and deeper into the cavern.

The base of the cavern was so dark that the only things you could see were what your torch was shining on, which made it difficult to see the small swim throughs and decide on which way to go.

When I came up to the surface I was greeted by this guy, who decided to check out my camera!

It was a great dive for learning how to dive in complete darkness and have an awareness of the surrounding environment without any visual cues. Being warm and only needed a 3mm suit also allowed me more flexibility and not needing gloves let me feel the rocks and some of the fossils left in the bottom of the cavern.

Florida Diving

2009-12-21T10:21:00.000-06:00

I am still on the road so no time to post some amazing photo's, but I will leave you with this video from last weekends dive trip :)

Shark!

2009-12-13T15:29:00.000-06:00

Ok, I promise to post more when I get a chance, but I just wanted to say I was scuba diving this morning and saw a shark! Actually it saw me first, I was pretty oblivious until it was really close. It was about 7ft long and full of scars on its back - I did what most normal people would do, I opened my eyes widely and watched it carefully - hoping it wasn't hungry. It wasn't it was just curious :)

Florida!!!

2009-12-10T16:21:00.000-06:00

Well its time to realise how much of a commute work is from New Zealand. I'm about to get on a plane to Florida, which previously would take me 3 hours or so. Now I am looking at 29 hours, but its warm and sunny and its a great conference, so I'm ready to go with my books to read, laptop to work on and noise cancelling headphones :)
I'm excited to go back to the US, it was my home for almost 10 years, and although I only left 10 months ago, I'm looking forward to doing all the big, over-the-top things that I miss here :)

See you on the other side!

How the real photographers do it

2009-12-07T12:29:00.000-06:00

So just to show you how bad my underwater photo's were, let me show you a pic that Ali Perkins took of me at the Poor Knights.

Thats in Blue Maomao arch, and I think I am looking at the one that is escaping!

She also took a photo of what diving is like above the water when we are taking our required surface time to allow our bodies time to recover stabilise the nitrogen content in our system.

Sun shining, great company - you can't beat a good day of diving, under or over the water.

Swimming with the fishies

2009-12-06T17:07:00.000-06:00

What a great trip to the Alderman Islands :)

After an early morning start and a 2 hour drive through some beautiful countryside we hopped on Jim's boat for a whole day of diving in the sunshine.

The boat ride out there was a bit choppy but well worth it as the Islands came into view:

The first dive was full of spotted dermoiselle and a fun leather jacket that followed me around.

There was a angel fish or two:

And then out of nowhere I spotted a stingray, taking a nap on the bottom. It was really cool, his sting tail was floating up while he was sleeping, and I was careful not to distrurb him while I swam around taking photo's.

With beady eyes, I spotted a scorpionfish, trying to blend in with the rocks

I then woke up an eel, who was happy in his little hole and didn't appreciate me trying to stick my camera in there.

I need more practice with my close-up shots as they all came out pretty blurry, but these two clown nudibranch seemed to be having fun.

A hidden cave with a sunbeam shining through made for a fun photo, but I still haven't worked out how much my tanks stick out on my back as I hit the top a few times on my way through.

The sandager wrasse is one of my favourite fish although most people laugh when I say that because its like saying a seagull is your favourite bird :) I like them because the males have amazing colouring, a bright purple body and black, white and yellow stripes, and also because they are really, really friendly and just follow you around places checking you out.

Some more shoals to end the day and the realisation that I am still not a very good underwater photographer, but that I am having fun learning, and I'm starting to remember some of the names of the fish!

Jiu Jitsu Home

2009-12-03T03:08:00.000-06:00

I've been studying jiu jitsu for a long time now, and if you asked me who I studied under I would always say Dave Camarillo, because that was my home school, and I was proud to be a Guerilla Jiu Jitsu fighter. However, things have changed and I have moved to a country that doesn't have a Camarillo school. I'm now a member of Tu Kaha, and I guess this is my new BJJ home. Its been hard for me to switch my allegiance, because my old school was my family, we ate together, lived on the mat together and sometimes at tournaments even slept together (no not like that)! Well, the time came, and I guess I knew it would happen, my Camarillo patch that used to be stitched onto my Gi mysteriously dissappeared :(
Its time that I changed teams, so this is the moment.
Being a part of a traditional Brazilian school there are a few traditions that I didn't expect, but my eyes were opened last weekend at graduation. Four of our members graduated, three to blue belt and one to purple, and I attended the grading and ceremony to support the team. The grading was pretty tough, but pretty much as I expected, tests on positions and submissions

then a 30 minute round where all of us who were not graduating got to fight 1 minute rounds with those being examined who were not allowed a break in that time.

After they passed all of the hard stuff it was time to give them their belts. I am used to a system where the belt is held by the instructor and tied to the recipient while others applaud. Apparently in Brazil, things run differently. All of us who are supporting take off our belts and fold them into 4, we then continuously beat the new student with out belts while they walk past us 6 times, and then they go and pick their belt up off from the floor! It looked pretty painful, and I don't think I ever want to graduate again! Neil went to blue belt and I took a photo of his back after his belt beating.

All in all it was an interesting day, and I congratulate those who graduated.

I am very grateful that there is another girl in this club, as it would be really hard to train in an all male club, so here I am with my Jiu Jitsu sister

And here is my new family (although I miss my old family very much)

Another puncture

2009-12-02T05:16:00.000-06:00

I had my bike stolen 2 weeks ago and I'm really sad. I loved that bike, it had everything I wanted and I spent a lot of money putting kevlar road tires on it so that I could commute to work without worrying. The cycle to work is littered with glass, and I never had to worry about it with my kevlar tires, they just rode right on through. Well now the thief gets to enjoy the pleasure of no punctures and I am stuck riding my 13 year old bike which has normal rubber tires.
Last week, within 2 dys of riding it to work I got a puncture. I was exactly half way there and half way home, so I had no choice but to walk the 4.5km, slowly and grumpily.
Well today, less than a week since the last puncture, I got another one on the way home. However this time I was only 1.5km into my commute, so I had to walk 7km home in the pouring rain after a very long 11 hour day.

I think I have to accept the fact that the police wont find my old bike and I am going to have to make this current bike my new commute bike which means I'm going to have to spend $100 on kevlar tires again. At the current rate of 1 puncture a week, I don't think I have any other choice.

Another Year Older

2009-11-30T18:12:00.001-06:00

Well, another year has passed me by and I take time to reflect on what I have done between my last birthday and this one.
I can't complain really, I've run a marathon, moved continents, changed my career, learned to scuba dive, broken my arm, made new friends, eaten a feijoa, sold my motorbike :(, started rock climbing, learned to bake a far (French cake).
Life this year has been fun.

I celebrated my birthday with a day of scuba diving a wreck, the HMNZS Canterbury.

She was decommissioned after 34 years of service and deliberately sunk for the purpose of increasing tourism in the Bay of Islands, and providing a great diving wreck for recreational divers.

The dive was amazing, completely different than any of my previous dives. The feeling of confinement, with the small spaces, squeezing through doors and portholes while lugging around a tank on my back. The lack of light, and thick silt clouding the water.
I didn't have a camera, and to be honest I don't have the skills yet to take pictures in such a dark environment, but I did find a video from one of the uni guys:

I was so lucky to have two diving buddies who had both served on the Canterbury and they knew it like it was their back garden. We zoomed from room to room, taking in all the sights along the way from the control room to the bathroom and everything in between!

Can't beat that for a great birthday!

First photo's

2009-11-26T20:38:00.000-06:00

Let me preface this by saying that I am not an underwater photographer and the following photo's are pretty poor. However I did borrow Aaron's camera and tried to take some pics when scuba diving last weekend. They didn't come out very well, but now I know how to change some of the settings and hopefully I will be able to improve my skills over time.

I just wanted to share with you a couple of pics that might help to give some sense of the amazing things I saw when diving the Poor Knights.

This is a Moray eel, he is pretty annoyed at me as I swam down to his save hiding hole and poked a camera at him!

This looked spikey, I didn't touch it just incase :)

My dive buddy Karl was a great companion. There is so much to learn from a diver who has a lot more experience than you. I took this photo as we were about to surface, the boat is above us and we had just completed our 3 minute safety stop.

Some of the reefs were amazing, and swimming through the centre of huge rock faces with the sun shining through the gap was breathtaking.

I am looking forward to this weekends dive where I am going to my first wreck, the HMNZS Canterbury.
Hopefully I can get access to a camera again and take you all with me through the blog :)

Real vs. Virtual

2009-11-23T00:46:00.000-06:00

I must remember that sometimes I live in the real world and sometimes I live in the virtual world, and when they cross life can be interesting!
Today I was lazy, after a whole weekend of diving I had not prepared any lunch for the day, so at around 1pm, I decided to go and find some food.
I remembered a fellow blogger posting about a healthy food outlet called Revive and I was in the mood for a tasty salad, so off I trotted to the land of vegetables and lentils.
Its very rare that I eat out for lunch, so this was a special treat for me, and I was proud that I had made the decision to eat something healthy rather than the fried food I was craving.
I picked up a yummy cos salad with a cauliflower side, and trotted out of the cafe with my packed up lunch under my arm.
In a strange moment of weirdness, I saw the blogger who had posted about the exact cafe I had just gone to because of his recomendation. I don't actually know this person in real life, but having read his blog every day not only to help motivate me for the marathon, but also as a partner to compare against in the 100 pushup challenge, I felt that I knew him more that those I work with! I called out his name, said "hi" then went on my way, lunchbox still tucked up under my arm.
Then I realised, I really don't know this person, and he doesn't know me, well not in the real sense, yet in the virtual world we probably are actually quite close!
It goes back to that strange real vs. virtual life concept that I keep posting about, how communication has changed so much in the past few years with the advancement of technology.

Blue maomao arch

2009-11-22T14:52:00.000-06:00

I just came back from a whole weekend of diving at the Poor Knights, and I am exhausted :)
I have never seen such beautiful sights, colours, fish, experiences, all fantastic.
I will post little snippets each day from the experience, starting with Blue Maomao arch.

Blue Maomao arch is a shallow archway which is filled with shoals of blue Maomao, to the point where you can't see where you are going or where your diving buddy is!

I didn't have a video camera, but here is a link to another divers video, hopefully showing you how amazing this dive was. Being a relatively shallow dive at around 12-15m, I was able to dive through the arch several times for a total of 52 minutes dive time! Truly amazing :)

I love weekends

2009-11-15T17:43:00.000-06:00

Its the end of spring and rolling into summer here - the weather is warming up and my social calender is getting really busy.
This weekend was fantastic. It started with two jiu jitsu classes on Friday, I did the morning class before work, and then was convinced into coming to the evening class too! I'm glad I did, as it made me remember what it is like to fight with the big boys :) I am one of the smaller jiu jitsu members, and have been trying to roll with people of the same size, but on Friday night I pretty much got crushed (literally) and I loved it. The true test of jiu jitsu is being able to hold your own and defeat those who are much larger and stronger than you. It should not matter that you are weaker and lighter as you are to use your opponents weight against them. I am still learning this skill, but I held my own and was proud to stay alive during all of my matches :)

Saturday was an early 5am rise to start a long roadtrip out to Mangaokewa Scenic Reserve for a whole day of rock climbing. This place was beautiful and the soft limestone was nice to my fingers, a pleasant relief from the quarry that I usually climb.

There were some really impressive climbs, and some easier ones which I opted for :)

I was grateful to Patrick for bringing the helmets as there were many occasions when I heard loose rocks falling on my helmet.

The problem with rock climbing is that the view most people have of you all day is your bum :)

You learn to deal with it whatever size it is as once it is in a harness there is no way to pretty it up!

Exhausted after a whole day of climbing, we walked to the bottom of the hill and all piled back into the car. I took this quick photo before we left of the car, and the climb and felt pretty satisfied on a really productive climbing day.

Sunday was a day for scuba diving and I was up at 5am again and headed up to Goat Island, where I met up with one of the guys I did my open water dive course with. We paired up and swam around the reef, looking at fish and trying to work on some skills. It was the first time that I have been diving without an instructor close by and I had to work hard on my skills independently. I realise now that I have no navigation skills without a compass, so that will be my next purchase. I get so distracted following the fish, that I quickly lose all bearings and sense of where I am going, so I think thats one to work on in the next few weeks.

The perfect end to a perfect weekend was when Patrick (one of the climbers from Saturday) invited myself and some other climbers over for dinner where he cooked a fantastic lasagna and home made lemon meringue pie! Its not often a man cooks dinner for me, but let me tell you with cooking skills like Patrick has, I will volunteer to be cooked for many more times.

And so the work week starts again.....back to the grindstone.

Climbing Rocks

2009-11-08T18:17:00.000-06:00

Sunday was a perfect day for me.
I got up at 4am and packed my dive bag ready for a fun morning of diving out at Goat Island.
The dive was perfect, and the fish were plentiful, there were so many different types that I am going to have to start reading up on fish so I can name some of them.
There was a group of huge snapper which came right up to me and stared into my mask - it was pretty funny :)
I also was surrounded in a shoal of thousands of fish, that blocked out the sunlight due to their density. I have never seen so many fish in my life, and to be so close and surrounded by them was just amazing. I have a big diving trip coming up in 2 weeks and will borrow a camera for it, so hopefully I will be able to share some of these pics as describing it just doesn't do it justice.

I was done with diving in the early afternoon and then went rock climbing as the sun was out and the weather was good.
I usually climb indoors, but as summer is fast approaching, its time to start the outdoor climbing. The two are very different, and with indoor climbing you don't have you use your brain as much, as the holds are usually colour coded for you and they give you guidance for where your next move should be. Outdoor climbing is totally different. Firstly rock is hard and I have a nice big scar on my leg to prove this fact. Secondly, there is no right or wrong way to climb an outdoor rockface, and every body will climb it differently based on their strength and flexibility.
The climb below really pushes my abilities and is something that I don't get to practice on an indoor wall.

There is one section in the middle which just consists of a large crack that you have to put your fingers into and hope for the best :)
I'm sure there is a more technical way to describe this, but I just close my eyes and pray!

The rock face itself is quite flat, and I am still trying to identify what I can and can't put my weight on. You learn very quickly that you have to balance all of your body weight onto your toes!

The great thing about climbing though, is the view once you get to the top :)
And the sense of achievement from climbing something that looked impossible from the bottom.

That was my Sunday, exhausting but fun - I slept really well that night :)

10 Years!

2009-11-06T13:23:00.000-06:00

With all of the marathon chaos, I didn't have time to blog about one very special day last week.
Shannon had her 10th birthday!
Here she is on a stroll in the neighbourhood celebrating with a beach walk and a beautiful sunset.

Shannon has lived probably more of a travelled life than most humans.
She was born in Sheffield, UK and I remember the long drives to see her as a puppy, when she finally turned 8 weeks old I was so excited and was up at dawn to fill the car with newspaper in anticipation of her carsick ride home.
True to form, the poor little girl vomited pretty much from the start to the end of the 4 hour journey home and then slept for the rest of the day with complete exhaustion.
Shannon lived with me in Chester, UK until she was 2 when I received an offer to move to the US. I sold everything I owned, packed 2 suitcases and 1 dog crate containing Shannon and we moved to start a new adventure in New Jersey.
Shannon loved New Jersey, there was a great dog park where she could play all day with her doggie friends, and I was grateful to Becs for allowing me to stay when trying to find a dog friendly place to live seemed to hard.
Shannon turned 3 and was in my opinion, one of the most beautiful dogs ever.

When she turned 4, I thought she would like a companion and Lana (Banana Head) came to join the pack. Shannon was very mothering and looked after Lana through her puppy years.

Eventually I graduated and we all piled in a car and drove for 20 hours straight, ending up in Minnesota. I have to admit that I think Shannon hated most of our time living here as it was so cold, and she really doesn't like the cold at all. After 5 years of almost freezing to death every winter we quit it all again for New Zealand, and I admit I don't think she could be happier :)

Beaches and warm weather make her a very happy girl.

Happy 10th Birthday Shannon!

Marathon Photo's

2009-11-03T15:22:00.000-06:00

So the marathon photo's are in, and I thought I would share some pics :)

This is me running over the Auckland Harbour Bridge which was a real treat as pedestrians are not usually allowed on the bridge.
From the shore side it looks like this:

I have only ever driven on the bridge before and not realised how steep an incline it has. When I arrived at the start of the bridge run I was greeted by this!

It was then that I realised that it was going to be a long steep run, but keeping the cup always full, that meant that there would be a nice long down section too!

I felt really strong at the final section, and when I realised that I was almost there I picked the pace up a bit. I love this photo as it was taken in the final 1km and I look happy and strong, however take a look at the person behind me - not so happy.

So thats it done - I got a commemorative pic to remind me of the day and now its time to plan for my next adventure.

And now back to real life....

2009-11-02T19:08:00.001-06:00

Well its day 2 after the marathon and I feel fantastic!
I cycled to work today and my legs are fully functioning again which is a relief.
I have completely forgotten the pain, I have forgotten the hunger, I have forgotten how my legs burned like never before. I just remember how great the experience was, and how happy I was during the event.
I want to do another, I can't believe I am saying this, but I think I want to run another marathon and I want to do it sub 4 hours!
Anyway, I'm not going to run this week as I'm letting my body recover a little and concentrating on my other new hobby - diving.

So 2 weeks ago I went diving at little barrier island and Aaron was kind enough to take some photo's of me.
The dive started with the boat skipper talking about how there will be these jelly like creatures down there, and not to be frightened as they are harmless. I had no idea what he was talking about but when we got down there I was amazed at these creatures!

They were long and stringy and reminded me of glowworms as they had a little glow flash that they set off every second of so. It created this fantastic glow light effect when I swam through a really dense area of them, almost like underwater fireworks :)

You can see them in more detail in this photo - that's me at the front of the image, surrounded by hundreds of chains of these creatures.
Just amazing!

The fun thing about diving is that you are basically weightless in the water. In my open water class we learned about buoyancy and how to control it so that you don't sink or float, you just stay right where you are.
It took me a little while to get the hand of this, but when it finally clicked I realised that I didn't have to do anything at all and I could save my energy and just hang out.

Most of the time I am hovering just above the bottom looking at all of the cool rocks and fish, many of which I have never seen before. This is a very typical photo of what I look like when diving - eyes glued to the bottom of the ocean, scanning it for cool new things.

It was fun to be diving with Aaron having a camera, but when I realised he was going to take a photo of me, I naturally went to smile and realised I had a huge regulator in my mouth, so I think I end up looking more shocked than anything.

There were a few crayfish under the rocks, which some people chose to catch and take home for dinner - but I just like to look at them.

There were some other interesting creatures along the way:

After a long hard day of diving, I ended my day with a big smile on my face and am looking forward to this weekend where I have two full days of diving :)

Tales from a marathon newbie

2009-11-01T17:47:00.002-06:00

I did it!!!
I ran a marathon!
I ran it in 4 hours and 43 minutes and I am so proud of myself.

Why?
I am not a runner - I never ran in school, I never ran for fitness, and I really don't enjoy running.
I'm not built for running, I'm not lean, I'm no skinny minnie, long distance runners don't have to carry around a large bottom with them all day.
There were several points along the marathon where I wanted to quit, and I didn't :)
I ran it in a much faster time that I predicted for myself.
I only walked at water stops and ran through the rest of the race (I thought I would walk a lot more than that)

What I learned:

Take food with you.
I took one carb gel, and that was no where near enough. I should have taken 3 or 4 as I got really hungry and really fatigued.

Don't worry if you can't sleep the night before because of excitement, your body hurt during the marathon sleep deprivation or not.

Fluid is your friend, make sure you stock up at each water station - I think this is what got me through.

When you feel like quitting and don't think you can go on anymore, phone a friend. Yes, I was the one at 36km who was running while on my mobile phone :)

How the day went:

Well I guess it all started with the previous day. I wrote a list of things I needed, then ran into town to get suncream, carb gels and a new ipod nano :)
I packed my bag ready for the next day so I wouldn't stress out in the morning, pinned my number onto my shirt and ate a nice dinner of chicken and pasta at around 6pm.
After watching a video on Andrew's blog I decided to set two alarm clocks, both for 4am (which proved crucial, as one of them didn't go off!)
By 7:30pm I was in bed with a book and decided to try and rest even if I couldn't sleep.
I actually found that I was wide awake and really excited about the run, so by 9pm I decided the book option wasn't going to work.
At 9:30pm I started to panic that I hadn't "carb loaded" and I really hadn't eaten enough over the last week to sustain me through a marathon. The panic, turned to horror as I started imagining myself having to quit early on due to low energy. I did what I felt was the right thing to do, and ordered pizza :)
Warning - I am sure this is not good marathon preparation, but it made me feel much better
After ordering a snack sized pizza and some fried kumara chips, I went back to bed happy and full :)
I fell asleep at around midnight, and slept pretty well, when the alarm went off at 4am I jumped out of bed, depressed at the darkness outside the room, but excited at the challenge of the day.
I boarded the 5:15am ferry which got me into Devonport at 5:30am. This was enough time to get my bearings, work out what I had to do and where I was supposed to go and have a warm up jog.
The race started at 6:10am just as it started to get light, and I was amazed at how many people were running the marathon (Looks like a total of 2000 ish)!
I stayed right at the back, as I had read that the fast people should be at the front and I knew I wasn't one of those. When the starters gun went there was this strange scenario where I could see the people at the front running their hearts out, and I slowly walked my way to the starting line.
The first part of the run was through my old neighbourhood so it was nice to be back in familiar territory and I knew this part of the run really well. I kept my pace constant, and was grateful for my nike sportsband to help me stick with the pace that I wanted as it was very tempting to get ahead of myself with the excitement.
I had a great playlist and was the only runner singing ABBA and Queen out loud while running :)
When I got to the Auckland harbour bridge, I was really excited. This is the only time pedestrians are allowed on the bridge, so it was great to be on the bridge and experience it in a way that few people ever will. This is the only part of the marathon that you can't practice in advance, and I never realised how steep it was before. I paced myself well and ran up the whole bridge with confidence, the run down was much more enjoyable and the cool sea breeze and warm sunshine brought a smile to my face.
At the split point where the 1/2 marathoners finished and the rest of us turned off to continue our run I felt very strong. I did the half in 2 hours 10 minutes and I was glad that I had signed up for the full marathon as I felt like I still had a lot to give.
The crowd was really supportive and that meant a lot to me as I was running, I had written my name above my race number and supporters were cheering me on personally which I was very thankful for.
I kept my pace pretty well, but my foot started to really hurt so I decided to take a pee break and also take off my shoes. It seems that one of my toes was getting stuck under the other one causing the pain, so I gave them a quick massage and put my shoes back on which seemed to fix the problem. I was very grateful that I didn't get any blisters during the run, which I put down to wearing 2 pairs of socks and rubbing Vaseline on my toes and ankles.
The second half of the marathon I know really well as I run this route weekly as it is the route from my house and the route from my office. The problem with knowing a route really well, is that I know how much further there is to go! I got to Kelly Tarlton's aquarium and my legs felt like lead - I just didn't have any energy left.
I reached into my arm pouch and pulled out my carb gel, it tasted amazing and was just what I needed, within 10 minutes I felt a new boost of energy and could power through the next few miles. The bad part of this marathon is that the second half is a loop, so you go out and back along the same line. This means that you can see all of the good runners heading back to the finish line while you are still running out to the turn around point!
It was at the turnaround point that I felt pretty dead. I plodded through a few more miles but I was getting slower and slower and my hamstrings felt so tight and sore!
It was at this point that I knew I needed food, but I didn't have any. I kept pushing myself on and mentally focused on the finish line and getting there, but my stomach was rumbling and my legs were dead. I wanted to cry - actually I did well up and bit, but stopped myself from a full cry as there were too many people in the crowd.
I didn't know what to do, so I took out my mobile phone and called my friend Callum. "I'm hungry" I said - not sure what he was going to do about it, but thinking that he might have a miracle on hand. He was at home (which I didn't know) but promised to meet me at the next bridge with some food. He gave me some words of encouragement which I really needed and it gave me something to focus on. Suddenly I had hope - I was going to get food, I had to get to the next bridge. My pace quickened and I felt a new surge of energy. I got to the bridge, but there was nobody there :( I looked and looked, but had to run through. Had I known at the time that he was at home, I would have realised that he could never had made it to the bridge in time, but I didn't know so it kept me going. Disappointed I realised that I wasn't going to get any food, but then I looked up and saw the mile marker said 39km.
That meant I only had 3.2km to go.
Well I thought, thats not all that far, I have gone this far I can run 3 more kilometers.
As I got closer to the finish there were more and more spectators who were clapping and shouting encouragement. These were the people that pushed me through the last 2km. I turned a corner and one lady shouted out "Only 400m to go! Turn the corner and you are there".
Holy moly, I didn't realise I was that close! I quickened my pace so I could get to the corner faster, and there it was, the big black and white finish line.
I made it!
I ran the whole thing, and I made it through.
I took my last running step, stopped to catch my breath, then realised how sore my legs were!
The walk from the finish line to get my bag was probably the slowest walk I have ever done. Each step felt like a knife cutting into my leg, but I didn't care because it was all over and I had made it.
The sun was still shining and I lay out on the grass drinking powerade and soaking up the sun.
Callum came over and found me lying on the grass in a heap with a huge smile on my face.
He used his massage experience to help me with the pain in my hamstrings which really helped. Without that I don't think I could have walked the mile or so it was back to my car.
I went home, I went to bed and just lay there for most of the afternoon.
Last night was a celebratory curry dinner which was delicious and enjoyed guilt free knowing that I had deserved every calorie.
The most common question I have recieved today is "will you run another one?".
My legs still hurt, but you know, I think I might :)

Rest Day

2009-10-30T17:53:00.004-05:00

Only 15 hours until the marathon!
Arghhhh!!!!!

Today is my rest day.
No sports, no exercise, no running/biking/kiting/BJJ/climbing - nothing.
I have been up for 6 hours and I am BORED!
I have skyped everybody I know, I have facebooked until I can comment no more, I have googled, doodled, read every online newspaper.
I am nervous and excited.
I went to pick up my race pack last night, so I now have a chip, a number, and a new t-shirt!
Today I am trying to conserve my energy and eat lots of fun foods. I had some fantastic Thai for dinner last night, and today is mostly carbohydrates so I am eating porridge and pasta with some chicken.
I have to pick up some essentials, sun cream so I don't fry, carbohydrate gel packs for mile 15 and mile 20.
Thats it, now I just sit and wait.
Tomorrow my alarm will go off at 4am, I'll have a little bit of porridge for breakfast then make my way to the ferry.
Hopefully I will get to the race location by 5:30 am ready for the 6:10am start.
I probably won't start running until 6:30am as they let all the fast people go first, and I am not fast, not at all.
Then I can take my time and pace myself, take in the sights and smells, hopefully the atmosphere will push me through my last 8 miles which are probably when I will feel like I will die.

People keep asking me if I am ready, and I don't think anybody is ever ready for their first marathon. Especially people who have gone from being a non-runner to a marathon running in 4 months!
No, I'm not ready, I wished I had trained harder, for longer, etc, but I'm sure everybody says that.
My goal is to make it through and bring awareness to cancer research in memory of Matt and Eric.
Will I run another?
Ask me this time tomorrow :)

Long Weekend

2009-10-29T04:15:00.002-05:00

Ahh, the end of teaching and a long weekend to enjoy. The weather was perfect, the sun was shining and the temperature was hot enought for a t-shirt, but not too hot that it was uncomfortable.
I started the weekend with a good rock climbing session. I have started to hang out with some more experienced climbers whose knowledge and teachings are really helping me to develop my skills.
Then it was dinner out with my jiu jitsu friends to celebrate Mike's win at the Pan Pacific Championships. We went to the angus steakhouse, which is a restaurant where you select your cut of steak and have it prepared in front of you. The steak is typically the size of your head or bigger, so its a pretty filling night. I haven't had steak since I moved here, and it was super delicious.
Sunday I participated in the Nike 10 km Human race, which was a fun run where participants from all over the world ran 10k on the same day. It was also good training for my looming marathon.
Monday was a full day of scuba diving and it was fantastic. The visibility was great, and I saw so many different types of fish that I have never seen before. I even saw this huge puffa fish, some sea slugs and a massive crayfish.
I am really enjoying the diving and have some fun trips coming up which I promise to blog about.
And so now I rest. I ran 16km (10 miles) last night and that will be my last run until the Marathon on Sunday. I'm nervous/excited/petrified all in one breath, but I know whatever happens its going to be a unique experience.

Katy

2009-10-19T05:09:00.002-05:00

I have a cat - well OK, I don't physically have a cat, but I have a deep connection to a cat that was never mine, but she adopted me as hers.
Katy is a beautiful grey and white cat who lives with Becs. Katy and I had a special bond when I lived with Becs in New Jersey and I have never bonded with a cat as much as I did with Katy.
Becs sent me a photo of her recently, and I realised how much I missed her - she is the cutest, smartest, most loving cat, and yes I am biased, but I'm OK with that.
Here she is in a recent photo, oh if only she didn't live 12,000 miles away.

Schools out for summer!

2009-10-15T04:49:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is my last day of teaching until... wait for it.....March 2010!!!
Yep, school is out for the summer, and I now get 5 months free of teaching. This means I can concentrate on my research and get all of the writing done that I was trying to do all semester!
I'm so happy I could do a little dance.
To celebrate I am going to spend saturday morning scuba diving, spend saturday afternoon kitesurfing and spend all day Sunday rock climbing :) Add a couple of marathon training runs in there and now that is my idea of a perfect weekend.

Lucky I'm single, because I couldn't try and fit a boyfriend in there even if I tried :)

Eeeeekkkkk!

2009-10-13T18:07:00.002-05:00

Thats the sound I made this morning when I realised that there are only 19 days to go until the marathon!
OMG, where did that time go?
I'm not ready - I'm not even close to ready.
24 miles is really, really far!
I don't have enough time to train - well OK, I have enough time if all I did was run, but there is rock climbing, scuba diving and kitesurfing to fit into my life too!
I ran 10 miles on my lunch break yesterday, so its not like I'm not running, but I think I should really be running 20 miles at the moment.
I thought that I would motivate myself by buying new shoes, which I love, and of course I had to get a new outfit to match, so I may not be prepared to run 24 miles, but at least I will look good :)
Here is my new look, yes its pink, yes its skin tight, yes I'm pretty scared about those facts!

I guess I'll look back on this first marathon and wish I had trained more, wish I had prepared better and learn a lot from the experience, but with only 19 days to go there is only so much I can do.
Oh well, better start thinking about another run :)