THE QUEENSLAND TRIP ROUND UP

Well the Queensland weekend has come and gone and here is my report and round up.

BS and I headed off from Adelaide on Friday morning all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. The flights were mainly uneventful and there were no dramas with the connecting flight in Sydney. I say mainly because we were very bumpy and unsteady on the landing in Maroochydore but to his credit the pilot got the plane down without any problems and to the cheers of all on board. We were picked up by the ILs and chauffeured to their resort home in the Sunshine Coast hinterland where a white wine was in order to mark the start of the mini-holiday.

This was followed up by a swim in the pool basking in the gloriously hot and sunny weather. Just perfect in my books. MIL cooked fresh salmon for dinner and some more white wine was consumed in the name of “holiday cheer”.

I was up before my alarm on Saturday morning (like at 5.15am!!) and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of toasted home made wholemeal bread with peanut butter and butter and honey for breakfast. Too many carbs?? Who cares I was doing RPM high performance so the carbs wouldn’t be wasted. The drive to Indroopilly was ok and thanks to my trusty GPS I made it there despite road works and a few wrong turns. Then it was just a case of finding Fitness First on time. But I managed that ok as well. I was hugely relieved to get a big warm hug from Liz who helped set me up for the class.

I also met Lindy Olsen, Lisa Stokes and Shelley (again) and had Lisa on the bike next to me setting a cracking pace and giving no less than 100% on each track. I love RPM but I’m not built for speed so on the speed work I was feeling very inadequate. However give me some standing hills to power up and I will find every last bit of energy to give it my absolute best. Subsequently the last work track was my favourite. What an exhilarating feeling pushing out with max power to get up the final hills.

Liz is truly a brilliant instructor. She is inspiring and motivating and encouraging in just the right blend. You might walk in feeling a bit nervous or scared but you’re guaranteed to walk out feeling exhilarated and fantastic, albeit totally buggered LOL. After RPM we did a 1:1 training session to check my squat and deadlift techniques. In that hour or so we spent together I learnt so much about these two exercises and how to correct some problems I’d been having. It was well worth the flight to Queensland and the 90+ minute drive (each way) for the experience and knowledge gained. We also talked about where to take my training and what I can expect over the coming year.

Then it was off to Phuc Viet Deli for the famous rice paper rolls, which were to die for. Shelley joined us for a chat and I love the way we bloggers can get together for the first time and talk like we’ve been friends for ages (maybe its because we sort of have). Chatting with Shelley was fantastic. She is as positive and full of energy in person as she is on her blog … and she looks bloody awesome too!!

After Shelley left Liz and I chatted some more and again it was just so relaxed and nice to do it face to face instead of by email. Sadly by 11am or so it was time for me to head back. The afternoon was spent with a dear friend and his children who came to visit. My BS and his son spent the afternoon in the pool while we chatted the afternoon away. Dinner was at a neighbouring town pub with friends of my ILs and we had a crowd of 9 for the occasion. Once again a few white wines were enjoyed but food was in the “moderately bad” category (instead of disgustingly bad).

Sunday afternoon was spent travelling home once again via Sydney. I read my Women’s Health and Fitness magazine on the plane and finished it just as we landed. The lady sitting next to me asked what I had been reading and I showed her the mag and then decided to give it to her. It felt good to be able to do a small nice thing for someone. WH and I finished the “almost perfect weekend” with dinner out at a café and a big catch up of the weekend apart. Last chance to have a white wine (or two) before getting back to 100% clean food today.

Yes Liz I did have more than my 2 wines/week this weekend and now I’m back on track to eat well and train consistently. And it started with a 50 minute walk this morning at a fast pace keeping my HR in the working zone (or higher). Finally I just want to say how lucky I am and how thankful I am for the following:

1. To have such wonderful ILs that I can happily stay with and use my MIL’s car to do what I need to do when I visit.

2. My job may bring with it some pressure and stress which make life challenging but it also affords me the ability to travel to Queensland for a weekend to deliver my son for a holiday with his grandparents and for me to see Liz.

3. My WH who would have loved to do this trip himself but knew how important it was for me to do it and so he happily arranged for me to go.

4. To have Liz coach me to achieve my dreams, goals and aspirations.

Cheers all

Magda