Glow me up, Baby!

On Saturday the very first Brisbane Glow Run event was held at River Stage. This was definitely one of those in it for fun, and not time/calorie burn type of events. Along for the ride (er, walk) was a great group of girls, so I knew I was in for a night of fun and hilarity!

I usually absolutely hate any kind of dress ups/costume parties and the like, I think because of my weight I’ve just never felt comfortable doing that kind of thing, but this one I was determined to not give a sh*t and go all out! And I did! Along with Ange we became twinsies in, wait for it! Bright pink wigs, a pink and teal tutu, multiple glow sticks hung around our necks and wrists, a flashing rings and bright pink flashing “sunglasses”.

 

It was also the first of this kind event for my dear friend Julie. I think we all scared her a bit with our craziness, but she was a champion and did a fantastic job of the 5kms!

This is what I feel exercise should be about – not slogging it out (though some people like that too), but every now and again doing an activity just because it’s fun, and any calorie burn you get is just a bonus (but the last thing from your mind). Hanging out with those girls – all so inspiring, seeing other groups having so much fun, and high fiving unsuspecting tourists along the Southbank walk gave me just the most amazing high.

The walk did another surprising thing for me. It really put a new fire in my belly to be able to run 5km. I’ve had huge issues with tight calf muscles that have really hindered me getting to this goal so I’ve put a few things into place to try and overcome it: seeing an osteopath and stretching – LOTS of stretching. Wish me luck!

I would walk 5000miles....or 20km!

Sometimes I think up crazy stuff, and then sometimes I’m crazy enough to actually do them!

This adventure was one of those! A 20km walk.

I signed up to Tough Mudder late last year thinking that by the time August came around that I would be at, or close to, my goal weight and fitness. That didn’t happen so I made the decision to pull out of Tough Mudder. If I was going to do it, I was going to do it properly and not skip obstacles. I still wanted to do something epic this weekend just to prove to myself that I have improved my fitness and while I’m still nowhere near goal weight that I can push myself and my limits.

So I decided that if I wasn’t going to do a 20km obstacle course that I would instead walk 20km. After I had told a few friends about my idea one of them hopped onto it as well and said she would do it with me. And that’s how the gorgeous Ange and I came to walk 20km!

Before we set out for our walk Kate (AKA CocoGirl) were surprising a fellow 12wbt’er at an event that he was in that weekend – the Ride to Conquer Cancer. Greg Leitch, with his team, will be riding in every Ride to Conquer Cancer event over the next year to raise money for cancer research. Each ride is upwards of 200km over 2 days! The night before Kate and I created a big sign for him to see him off, as well as several little notes that he had to open along the way! It was so inspiring to see all of the people there and to hear the speeches before the riders set off and a fantastic way to spend some time before setting off on my 20km walk.

 

 

Then it was time to set off! Ange I and took the obligatory before shots, and then off we went! We took photos at each kilometre as each one was really a milestone for me. I couldn’t of imagined doing this, or even thinking of doing this a year ago!

 

 

It was  a beautiful day and the route we chose was along the river so we had a fantastic view the whole way. It wasn’t too hot or too windy or too cold, it was just right. The first 5km were great – we were both feeling really good! After 10km we started to feel the pain coming on and we made sure to have a 15 minute rest and bathroom break sitting at Kangaroo Point on the river.

Then we had to make our way back to the start where Ange’s car was. The 3^rd 5km things started to hurt, I could feel 2 blisters forming on my heels and my left hip started playing up. Ange was also feeling it, but we kept motoring on. At the 15km mark we had another break – some water and a snack and a chance to get our weight off our feet.

The last 5kms were really really hard. We had a break at each kilometre to the end as our bodies were screaming at us and our heads had to scream back! Finally, we made it to the finish line! 20km done! It was an amazing but exhausting feeling and so nice to have checked off something like this.

 

So, surely if I can walk 20km – I can run a measly 5km? That’s the next challenge!