Snorkeling Fun

It's still a novelty for me when I get to try something new with no fear.  Well I suppose I mean without any added fear about whether my weight will hold me back.  Whilst I can swim well enough to not drown, being overweight for a long period of time (for me) meant staying away from water including the idea of a swimming costume or pretty much anything to do with the beach unless I was able to remain fully clothed.

Nowadays though, swimming has been added to my routine as I learn to freestyle properly, try a Triathlon, and visit the beach.

Last Saturday I decided to try Snorkeling.  Having nabbed some vouchers with a friend, we decided we better quickly use them before the weather really really turns! :D

When we arrived we were offered wet suits, which because they day had turned cooler than we had hoped we agreed to.  It must have been the highlight of the whole experience, just trying to get into the damn thing hahahahaha, there we were jumping around tugging on this contraption, nearly wetting ourselves in laughter, if the day had ended it there it still would have been a good one! :D

Once we were finally zipped in, we toddled off down to the beach... more fun ensued in getting our fins on due to the wavey water.  I'm not gonna lie, it was pretty choppy and it was hard work and lots of salt water was swallowed, but once we finally got the hang of it, it was pretty cool, and when you pass over a rocky area with fish you suddenly feel like you are in the middle of the TV, if you've ever watched TV that show stuff underwater!  We were grateful not only for the warmth of the wetsuit but their bouyancy made it marginally easier to navigate the waves once you relaxed. 

I'll definitely be in for giving it another go, hopefully on a day when the water is calmer (or maybe I'll just have to hoof it up to Queensland!)

Something I'm really looking forward to is getting back onto a horse I haven't ridden for years and miss it very much (I used to have my own pony as a youngster).  So that will be something I definitely get a go on soon! :D

I am a Triathlete

I didn't realise it had been so long since I'd blogged.  I have a couple of half started blogs that I never got round to finishing which would be part explanation.

On Sunday 13th March 2011, I became a Triathlete!  Whilst not on my goals list this year, a spur of the moment decision led to registration of the Trishave Women's Festival, I decided on the Enticer Distance which is a 250m swim/10km bike ride/2.5km run.  Whilst the main objective was just to finish I have to readily admit I am more than stoked that my time was well under the hour at 51:25.

My splits were:

Swim: 8:38, Bike: 27:42, Run 15:04

31/49 (30-39 age category)

66/118 (overall)

The swimming was my weakest point (expected) yet still I managed to not come quite dead last (unexpected!).  I made up great time on the bike, overtaking quite a few bikes quickly.  The run was relatively average, and feeling the pinch of the compounded effect of a swim and a bike ride, leaving not only my legs but my whole body feeling .... heavy! :D 

So the photos from the day are up and not a single one of me, lucky I had wonderful family and friends cheering me on, see my montage from Trainer Nate, who ran his own mini marathon after me capturing me at each leg, transition and finish line! :D  I know my sister also got a front one of me on the finish line and some mucking around ones afterwards, when she gets round to uploading them! hehehehe

So what's the verdict.  Well I want to improve my swimming that's for sure, and the Sprint level (500m swim/20km ride/5km run) is considered the competitive one to be entering, so it's likely I will at the very least endeavour to build up to that level, and give it a go.  But there's no rush.  A triathlon was not on my goals list for the year (well it's ticked complete now but you know what I mean)!  I still have a half marathon to do as well, so yes I will likely try again, but it doesn't have to be next week, my main aim would be to increase my swimming capacity to enable me to freestyle the entire way.

In the meantime, my local Crossfit gym has started morning classes, Tuesdays and Thursdays, so along with Saturday mornings I'm giving that a whirl, whilst I finish off my next 6 weeks of swim squad and I'm going to try to throw a yoga class in there as well.  This should keep me pretty active for a while! :D
Stay tuned for some of my Crossfit excapades, this morning I deadlifted 70kg.  I'll be keeping records of my achievements so I can see what improvements I make.  Remember the main goal is chin ups (unassisted!).

So it's mid March and the year is flying by so quickly but looking back to the beginning of the year I feel I have achieved alot of what I had planned and wanted to do.... fun runs, a triathlon, rock climbing to zumba.  What is that you want to achieve this year, and what have you done about it so far?