The Outback Expat

Running / Walking Event Plans

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Last year I was lucky enough to be able to take part in quite a few running / walking events and even luckier that both the Aussie and Naomi joined me in the events.

We already have a few events booked in as follows:

  1. International Womens Day Fun Run on 3 March 2019 – we did this walk last year and it was great to be a part of the event whilst also enjoying a good walk. We are signed up for the 5km walk.
  2. Brisbane Great South Run on 7 April 2019 – I have signed Naomi and the Aussie up for the 5km event which should be fun although it will probably be quite hot still!
  3. Gold Coast Marathon on 28 April 2019 – we are signed up for the 10km walk because I got a bit over confident but it should be a good walk for us to get out and stretch our legs!

I am also keen to participate in the following events when the registrations open / funds permit:

  1. Ballina to Byron Coast Walk – there are 3 different distances you can walk for this event; Ballina to Lennox Head which is 13km, Ballina to Broken Head which is 25km and Ballina to Byron Bay which is 37km. I would love to do the Ballina to Byron Bay distance but I’m not sure it is doable this year so we need to decide which distance to do and get ourselves booked in ready for the walk on 26 May 2019.
  2. Runaway Noosa Marathon – this clashes with the Ballina to Byron Coast walk weekend and it is completely the opposite direction so I’m not sure it is manageable but if the Ballina walk doesn’t work out it is on my list. now I won’t be participating in the marathon distance but I am keen to try the 5km or 10km at the event on 25 May 2019 if we can’t do the Ballina to Byron Coast Walk.
  3. The RSPCA Million Paws Walk – we have done this walk the last two years in Darwin and then Brisbane. I love fundraising for the RSPCA and the walk is very fun, not least because of the dog count so it is a must for us.
  4. The Colour Run – again we have done this walk the last two years and it is one I am keen to do again.
  5. Twilight Running Festival – I was signed up for this event last year but couldn’t attend in the end so I think it would be good to give it a go this year. I will probably aim for the 5km event.
  6. Bridge to Brisbane – this was a very very damp event care of the pouring rain but I loved it last year and you can read about it here. I even ran at the end which was fantastic and I would love to give it a go and maybe even the 10km.
  7. MS Moonlight Walk – this was my first 10km event ever last year and I whilst I was sore I loved the experience which I did with Naomi and the Aussie so it would be silly to miss out right!?!

I have tried to fundraise for various events since I started exercising and participating in these events. I have found it to be quite difficult to get engagement for my fundraising, most likely because of the volume of events I have participated in. I think this year I will play it by ear and see which charities are particularly important to me so I can focus on them.

Fitness Goals for 2019

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As we hit the end of January 2019 I have been reflecting on my fitness goals for 2019. I think it is really important to reassess your goals when you are on a “fitness journey” as it keeps you motivated and on track.

2018 was a big year for me health and fitness wise. I started working with Felicity Neale in April, initially focusing on diet but progressing to my exercise regime as well and I saw massive changes in my health and fitness.

Towards the end of 2018 our focus moved to building strength and saw the introduction of more regular weight lifting days which I have to admit I was surprised about, but I loved. Previously to that I had focused on cardio quite a lot and was a bit afraid to branch out into the weights section on my own.

This year I really want to keep focusing on strength and weight lifting because I really see the benefits of strength training and it has so much more of an impact on the development of my body and I love the way my muscles are developing.

I am also working towards having surgery to remove the excess skin I have on my stomach, back, arms and legs this year. I haven’t really talked about this much on the blog but it is a big focus. When I started working out I always insisted I would never have the surgery but I am now at the stage where I can see that the excess skin I have is not going to shrink much at all and I don’t want to live with it for the rest of my life when I can do something about it (I know plenty of people do happily).

I am sussing out the costs and timeframe for having the surgery but it is high on my agenda.

Before the surgery I want to get to my strongest so that this will help with my recovery after the surgery. Felicity and I feel like I need to get my arms and legs as strong as possible because frankly it is going to really hurt if I try using my core to move myself around post surgery.

I also want to keep participating in the various running and walking events which are being held around the Brisbane / Gold Coast / Sunshine Coast areas. I am still not really a runner and half heartedly give running a go from time to time, but the events I want to do are usually still welcoming to walkers and so definitely inclusive for me. I am lucky that Naomi and the Aussie indulge me on this aim and will come along for the ride!

I have been a bit hit and miss with Park Run the last few months. This is mainly because I am just not someone who can walk / run in the heat and its been pretty hot even at 7am in the morning. The Aussie and I did a Park Run in the UK (and I got a PB knocking 3 minutes off my time) and this takes me up to 23 Park Runs so far. When you have completed 50 Park Runs you receive a 50 shirt and I am quite focused on completing the 50 this year!

Finally I want to get braver! The Aussie and I did a couple of walks in the UK and I was terrified of falling over. Now after 30 odd years of tripping over I know what it feels like to fall over and I am lucky that this seems to have reduced considerably with my weight loss (touch wood). I am also always worried that if I injure myself I won’t be able to work out and I really don’t like the risk.

I will admit that on one of our walks I was like a baby deer taking tiny steps because it was muddy, hilly and there were lots of rocks to slip on. I want to get over this because I really enjoy hiking and walking.

I think I need to buy some walking poles because from talking to various people this has helped them enormously with building confidence on this kind of walk. Then when it cools down a bit in Autumn and Winter I hope that the Aussie and I can get out there and start building my confidence!

My August Faves

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Another month over and August was a fun one!

1) The month started with a trip to the night Noodle Market at Southbank. The Aussie and I decided we needed a night walk in and around the City on the Friday night. We didn’t know what would be on at Southbank but there is usually something. The event was lovely and the area was bustling with stalls selling Asian food. I didn’t try anything but the Aussie was impressed and has hoped the market was back on when we’ve visited the area again on a Friday night.

2) I paid a trip to the Powerhouse with Naomi to watch Letters to Lindy which I talked about here. I really enjoy visiting the theatre at the Powerhouse is located in the beautiful New Farm area.

3) & 9) These photo was taken on my walk/runs around our local park just before the sun started setting. I love that we are so close to a park and with just a few laps of the park I can easily manage a good 3.5 or 5.5km walk/run.

4) The Glass House Mountains. On Ekka day we paid a visit to the beautiful Glasshouse Mountains. This photo was taken from one of the lookouts and still takes my breath away a bit. I love being in the great outdoors these days and feel lucky that within an hour or so we can be in this vista.

5) Colour Run – this was a fun morning for me and the Aussie which I am planning on writing about very soon!

6) P!nk! I still can’t believe that I got to go and see P!nk live in concert on her Beautiful Trauma tour! You can read about it here.

7) I understand from my Facebook friends that this bird is a Brown Falcon that landed on the balcony when we were staying on the Gold Coast. The bird stayed there for ages and let me get really close, hence the photo! We think it was watching something on the beach below as we also had a few different birds land on the balcony before diving off a few times later in the day.

8) This photo was taken at the start of the Bridge to Brisbane race (before the rain pummelled us!!). I wrote about the event here and am already looking forward to next years race which may be a 10km!

Work Out Apps That I Use – Updated

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I have over the last few months changed up my work outs and diet and have discovered a few new Apps which I am enjoying using as part of my work out regime and I wanted to share.

Run the World – this is a good app if you are a bit competitive with yourself! They have 3 different events which you can sign up for and I have chosen to do the walk / run around Australia. After each walk / run I record it in the Strava App and then synch the apps and it records how far I have gone. You start off in Canberra and so far I have “visited” Goulburn, Bowral, Sydney and Wyong and I am on my way to Newcastle. The app predicts how long the whole walk will take and apparently I will have walked the length of Australia by 12 May 2034!!

Heart Foundation Walking – this is a limited time event where you are challenged to walk 1 million steps between 25 March and 11 August 2018 so there is only a limited time left to meet he target. I hit the one million mark a few weeks ago which was pretty cool and I am excited to see what my final score is. The app is very easy to use, I have it synch my steps from my FitBit so as long as the FitBit app is up to date then the steppage is as well.

ZR5K – this is an app which has the aim of helping you develop your running so you can run a full 5k over about 8 weeks. It is also very entertaining! With the app you are given missions during a zombie invasion. The app gives you instructions about when to walk or run as well as telling you the story of the invasion. It also plays along side your music so you can put your running play list on and just run. I enjoy the app a lot and it always makes me laugh out loud which, I am sure makes me look a bit funny!

Relive – This is another app which works alongside Strava. I use the Strava app via my FitBit when I am out walking / running and via the phone app when manually adding my treadmill work. At the end of an outdoor walk, once Strava has updated I get a notification from Relive inviting me to view my walk. Also if I have taken photos whilst out and about, the photos get imported into the walk. I always enjoy seeing how the walk has gone on the little video. The video below is from a walk around Sydney, I’m not sure why it has the random title but I can’t edit it for some reason!

Do you have any fitness apps that you like to use?

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