The Outback Expat

Colour Run 2018

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You may have noticed from this blog that I am a bit competitive / a glutton for punishment as I keep signing up for organised walk/runs (and dragging Naomi and the Aussie along for the ride)!

Last year Naomi and I did the Colour Run. It was a lot of fun and so when the dates were released for the Gold Coast event I signed us up.

The day of the Colour Run came around and unfortunately Naomi was poorly so I roped the Aussie in. Luckily he’s on a health kick at the moment too so he agreed (maybe grudgingly!).

The run takes place on a Sunday morning and so we got up and dressed in our colour run tshirts and headbands and headed to the start line at Broadwater Parklands.

When we arrived there was a big stage again and lots going on. You could get lots of free goodies like coffee, fruit, cereal bars, pens and all sorts. Though it was tricky as we still had to do the 5km’s!

At the start time they let people through in waves so we lined up and we’re on our way pretty quickly.

We quickly began hitting the colour sections where the paint is thrown, chucked and sprinkled on you! I opted for a twirl at each station for maximum coverage!

We made our way round in a good time, accepted our medal and were blasted with a leaf blower to get the loose paint off!

There were free Krispy Kream donuts and Slurpies but that didn’t appeal to either of us! We headed back to the apartment we were staying in (thank you again so much Naomi) showered and headed back to Brisbane.

I will definitely sign up for next years Colour Run and I think the Aussie may as well!

Bridge to Brisbane

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Almost this time last week it was drizzling with a threat of heavy rain and Naomi and I were making our way to the start line for Bridge to Brisbane.

Last year I was stuck on a bus with the Aussie on the way to see our friend give a speech for quite some time care of the same event. Even though I had participated in several walk/races at this time I don’t think it occured to me that the following year I would participate in the Bridge to Brisbane.

Twelve months later and I was up almost at the crack of dawn on a Sunday no less, to catch a train into the city, to walk to Eagle Street Pier where I met Naomi to catch a ferry across to Captain Burke Park.

Naomi and I sheltered under a canopy for quite some time whilst waiting for the race to start, chatting to a lovely lady who had had her knees replaced and her goal post surgery was to participate in the 5km Bridge to Brisbane. We shared parkrun stories and laughed waiting to get started.

Then probably about 20 minutes before the race started, so did the heavier rain. We got in line in the pink zone, assuming we would take more than 45 minutes to complete the race when I signed us up.

The race began in waves based on the colour of your bib. We set off heading towards one of my favourite landmarks in Brisbane, The Story Bridge. I have never walked over the bridge and have only driven over it by accident when I missed a turn off when following my Satnav! I have to say I was excited to walk over the bridge at long last and we walked across and back which was great.

Then we began the walk towards Southbank. It was at times up hill making me glad I was walking but yet quite satisfied that I was not out of breath too badly.

The further we got into the race the heavier the rain became. It got to the stage that I had to take my glassess off as we walked around Kangaroo Point because the rain was so heavy. We were literally soaked through but kept on plodding.

We hit the 4km mark and started to run, this hadn’t been our intention or plan but it felt good running, especially the downhill bits! The rain was a motivator I think and lead to some funny moments where whilst wiping my eyes because the rain was so heaving that I almost rain into the back of about 3 people. Hasty “sorry sorry sorry” was shouted as I carried on running.

We crossed the finish line in a very happy for me, 43 minutes and 5 seconds. We were just shy of our personal best which was about 20 seconds faster but frankly I didn’t mind. I had completed the Bridge to Brisbane, my muscles were tired in the best way and I am already plotting the next race!

Bridge to Brisbane before the rain hit

Commonwealth Games Gold Run

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The Commonwealth Games have been underway for the last two weeks. The Games are a meeting of athletes from Countries all over the Commonwealth to compete in a range of sporting activities. Naomi and I entered into the lottery style drawer about a year ago before we were even close to living in Brisbane, luckily we subsequently did move so we are nice and close for the events.

The games has meant that I very luckily got to spend two weekends in a row on the beautiful Gold Coast both with my friend Naomi (and staying in her beautiful family apartment) when we went to watch the Netball and with Naomi and the Aussie when we went to watch the Rugby Sevens match.

I also had the opportunity to “participate” in an event during the Games called the Gold Run.

The Gold Run was a 5km fun run held on a section of the Marathon course at the same time the Marathon runners were participating and which members of the public could enter for a fee. We got to start and end the race at the Marathon start line and received this nifty medal for participating!

The rules of the run were extensive and included the requirement that you must be able to complete the event in about 50 minutes because whilst the event was scheduled for an hour, the number of people participating meant it could take 10 minutes to get over the start line. If you didn’t finish in time you would be pulled from the course so you don’t interfere with the marathon finish.

I will admit that whilst I am a heck of a lot fitter than I was a year ago I was terrified I would not finish the race in time. In the run up to the event I dragged Naomi along to park run where we tried to get our time under 50 minutes. I managed in the trial runs to get to slightly over 50 minutes so thought it would be doable.

In the end I finished in 45.09 minutes and was thrilled both by my time and also that I managed to compete in this kind of event. I really pushed myself hard and was exhausted at the end even though it was only “5km” as I wanted to beat the cut off time and also my personal best and I did it and I was so so happy!!!

It was a once in a lifetime event an I now have the tshirt and medal to show for it and my fitness journey as well.

My March Faves

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Ooops! You may have noticed this post went live with no text! I scheduled the post intending to add my March faves photos and then have been a bit hectic!

Anyway below are my March faves, it was a very busy month and I took a lot of photographs so it was tough to decide what photos to share:

International Women’s Day walk – I started off the month by participating in the 5km International Women’s Day walk which was also a fundraising event. It was lovely to be involved in this kind of event whilst also raising money for cancer research.

Rainbow – some of our friends who we met in Darwin but now live in Adelaide visited for the weekend and we spent the whole weekend together. It was a bit rainy and a bit sunny and it was lovely to see the rainbow come out to play.

Key Lime Pie – the key lime pie was made the same weekend and from limes freshly picked from our American friends lime tree. The pie was delicious and the lime picking was very amusing to watch.

Funny signs – we visited Southbank for the afternoon and were very amused to discover this sign on the back of the toilet door. It’s intriguing that we need a sign to tell us not to squat on top of the toilet.

Tivoli Drive In Cinema – ages ago I bought a Groupon voucher for the Tivoli and on the date it expired, Naomi and I paid a visit to watch Jumanji and a Superman movie. This was the first time I had visited a drive in cinema and I loved the whole experience.

Shopping Trolley – I keep spotting Coles and Woolworths shopping trolley’s in intriguing positions together. They always seem to be up to no good so I have started taking photos of them.

Breakfast – Naomi and I did Park Run with Naomi’s mum a few weeks ago and afterwards we decided to try Hunter & Scout in Graceville for breakfast and were not disappointed. The cafe is beautifully decorated and we sat outside in the garden area which is decked out in gorgeous plants with lovely tables and table wear. I am looking forward to visiting again.

Hot Cross Buns – in the lead up to Easter I was very much looking forward to the break from work but also the hot cross buns. I discussed how much I was looking forward to eating some here and was very happy to enjoy them!

Rainbow Beach – for Easter the Aussie and I spent time with the Aussie’s friend who lives just outside Rainbow Beach. We popped to the beach and had lunch at the Surf Club before going on a bit of a walk along the beach. The beach was pretty deserted as it was overcast and a bit breezy but it was a good location for a walk. We walked 2.5km each way and the first 2.5km was pretty easy but on the way back we walked into the wind so felt the resistance!

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