I'm here and I've Conquered

I’m here, I’m here.

I keep meaning to post but have been running flat chat everywhere- with work, exercise, cooking, being an event junkie and horses etc. Some people might resent being this busy- I’m EMBRACING this busy- it doesn’t give me time to think up excuses or to fall back into ‘lazy’ habits. This busy is helping rebuild my life.

Since I last spoke I have conquered some major milestones.

The first one being…………….. DOUBLE DIGITS

Key happy dance and drums and glitter for that morning on the scales. I was and still am so excited about saying goodbye forever to that pesky 1 in front. One of the things I had to laugh about was it now takes me less time to start the treadmill as I don’t have to wait as long to get to my weight J

However there still lies in my mind that little voice of self-doubt. The one that tells you that you have been under 100kgs before and then you became complacent and more able to justify bad choices. That I might be content to be this weight, that I’ve already done enough. I’m sure everyone knows that voice. Well I’m drowning out this voice with FACTS.

Yes I am on my way to the healthier me- but I am still classed as obese.

Yes I am happier but I’m not the best version of myself yet.

Yes I am getting fitter but I am not the best that I could be or want to be.

So to that voice I say – “bugger off” I may hear you but I choose my own path not lead by you. My journey has only just begun.

The next major milestone- I had planned from week 1. When I thought of things that I wasn’t capable of or didn’t have the urge to do, one of the first things to come to mind was any form of incline- hills, climbs, mountains.  So as a week 8 milestone I made the choice to tackle Mt Abrupt.  It had a combination of a few of my fears at the start- Any form of walking, steep inclines and rocks just waiting for me to fall and fail; so it was absolutely perfect J

So I organised for the awesome women of Warrnambool and Surround crew to get together and tackle the mountain.  Each of us were at different points in our journeys but we all wanted to accomplish this climb. On the drive to Dunkeld this was what we were approaching

It looks huge and impressive and I was super excited-. The group of us in the car park- smiles and legs ready to go.

I think the walk to the steps was the only downhill part of first 4kms to the summit J Now knowing myself and my coordination and balance- I took note of the please avoid falling signs lol

 And up we went and up and up. I know my heart rate was certainly heading up there too. The trail (more like steps and rocks) was filled with laughter –and maybe some clattering sounds of rocks falling. But thankfully no falling of the climbers J

The views alone were worth it- they were 360 all around and as the day was super clear you could see for miles. It did feel a bit like clothes swap for a bit tho- get hot from climbing- take jacket off- come out into open- wind bloody freezing- jacket on.

There was some rock surfing, some creeping to the ledge of cliff and general uphill climbing till we got the first glimpse of the summit- It was a bit of the “how the hell do I get there” moment

But off my legs took me and 1hr and 23mins since starting I arrived at the top of Mt Abrupt. 

 WOOHOO moment of achievement- this was something that without a doubt 8 weeks ago I wouldn’t of achieved.  It was windy, completely freezing, I was red and sweaty and I couldn’t have cared less.  To think that I would have let myself miss out on this experience only a short time ago- just shows what a positive impact 12WBT has had on me and my life. A happy dance was on the cards but with wind and slippery rocks I thought best not to push my luck- I still had to get down the mountain.

Although it didn’t reflect on my HRM the trek down was just as hard as the climbing up. It was slower and I had to be pretty careful on where I placed my feet to avoid falling rocks and me following them. I definitely felt it in my ankles and knees. And finally as we walked down the mountain we came back to civilisation and the car park.  In total 3hr and 1min and 1287 calories burnt. But this climb was so much more than numbers.  It represented all that I thought I couldn’t do and proved that the only limitations are the ones you put on yourself and I got to share the experience with some fantastic women that I would have never met otherwise.

So I’m here and I’ve conquered- bring it ON!!!