#5150 Bela Bela – check
This last weekend my friend and I participated in our first ever Triathlon. It came about when we were thinking of a new goal for the year and we decided that triathlons would be something new and cool to do.
Initially we decided on the Sprints. We worked out a training programme and figured out that the #energadetriathlonseries would be great to do.
The 5150 race in Bela bela came up first though. It is an #Ironman event which was very cool. During the race, seeing the Ironman branding was quite inspirational.
I only trained for a month prior to the event, as I had initially thought it was too hard, too long and too difficult to do as a first race. I also did not have a road bike or that I did not know anything about trisuits, wetsuits or swimming in dams.
Plagued with winter flu and a distraction of a friends death, we kept training. I bought myself a #Trek Madone road bike with the grateful assistance of my friend @StuartHoy from #Lifestruck.
I was too petrified to actually ride it though, as the first time I ever sat on my mountain bike, I fell off it, still attached and in my driveway.
A week and a half before the race, we met up at the #KyalamiRaceTrack, which allows cyclists to ride on the track after 5pm Mondays to Thursdays.
I also invested in a black and pink #Orca Trisuit and a new pair of #NewBalance running shoes. I thought I was well prepared.
Two days before the race, reading the race rules, a shocking revelation that wetsuits might be mandatory in the swim and we had no wetsuits or what we needed them for.
Again, Stuart came to the rescue with a contact and two #Xterra wetsuits were in Gauteng from Cape Town.
The Friday afternoon saw me slightly hysterical waiting for a wetsuit, feeling nauseous about feeling unprepared and not knowing what to expect.
My friend took charge of the couriers and the wetsuits. Ensuring they all arrived safely and in time.
We were heading out of Jo’burg after work, so packing the car, getting the bikes on the back of the car and getting ready to wait for the traffic to subside so we could start the 90 minute trip to Warmbaths.
Tbc
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
Putting your future in the hands of a Psychic – She wants me to smile more!
I know that not everybody believes in esoteric stuff like this, and this is not there to illicit a response of whether it is right or wrong to visit clairvoyants or not. It is about questioning your path in life.
I visited my regular lady the other day. And by regular, I mean every couple of years. I am currently at another cross roads in life and I always feel that if I remember to make the call to make an appointment and she can see me in a perfectly aligned way to my time and diary, then it is a good time to go see her.
So was the case this week.
She seemed more chatty than usual and because of this, she did not manage to touch on all the topics she wanted to get through.
Of the most critical pieces of advice she gave me was that it is not a weakness to be sensitive. Interesting…
By sensitive, she means more intuitive to other people and their emotions. Ok, I can buy that.
She also pointed out that I get affected by other people’s moods and feel that they are directly aimed at me. Of which 99% of the time they are not.
She pointed out that I need to hold back on giving so much of myself to everyone. Easier said than done.
The best piece of advice she gave though, was to look people in the eye, hold eye contact and smile. As opposed to get shy and look down embarrassed that someone was looking at me.
So, if you live in JHB and see some blonde chick staring at you and smiling cheesily, please just smile back.
I visited my regular lady the other day. And by regular, I mean every couple of years. I am currently at another cross roads in life and I always feel that if I remember to make the call to make an appointment and she can see me in a perfectly aligned way to my time and diary, then it is a good time to go see her.
So was the case this week.
She seemed more chatty than usual and because of this, she did not manage to touch on all the topics she wanted to get through.
Of the most critical pieces of advice she gave me was that it is not a weakness to be sensitive. Interesting…
By sensitive, she means more intuitive to other people and their emotions. Ok, I can buy that.
She also pointed out that I get affected by other people’s moods and feel that they are directly aimed at me. Of which 99% of the time they are not.
She pointed out that I need to hold back on giving so much of myself to everyone. Easier said than done.
The best piece of advice she gave though, was to look people in the eye, hold eye contact and smile. As opposed to get shy and look down embarrassed that someone was looking at me.
So, if you live in JHB and see some blonde chick staring at you and smiling cheesily, please just smile back.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Finding out about death on Facebook
My Friday should have been a typical one, work, have a drink after work, go home.
Instead, filled with flu I headed out to a very early morning meeting in Pretoria and then headed home to work on the couch.
This meant that I only logged on to my facebook in the afternoon. This was where I found out that yet another one of my friends had died.
A bit of further investigation revealed that he had taken his own life. The day after his birthday.
Now I understand that social media is the way of the future in terms of information dissemination, just look at the latest earthquake in Japan and all the consumer generated content that was then broadcast across the traditional media channels.
I am however feeling quite freaked out about the amount of friends I have lost over the last year or so and found out about their death via Facebook.
This time however, I have had a sleepless night about why? Not why did he do it, but why did no one step in and do more to help him deal with his depression.
Rob was recently dealing with a break-up of his relationship and for months he has been posting very tragic messages on Facebook about his feelings, which were obviously him reaching out. I had been in contact with him sending him songs that I would listen to and make me feel better about my own break-up. He seemed to be coming out of the deep depression, going out more and showing more joy in his posts. Unfortunately, in hindsight, he was just covering up.
I am not close enough to him to know what triggered the final decision to end his life except his birthday.
My concern however is peoples shock and horror at finding out that he had committed suicide. There are always signs. In hindsight, we can always see the signs. People start pulling back from friends and family, spending more and more time alone. It has become common for people who are feeling low and isolated to broadcast their pain on social media.
I have lost the trust of my nephew who was displaying the exact posts and pain that Rob was displaying. The difference is I spoke to my brother who confronted him about his posts and depression. My nephew de-friended me on Facebook, so I could not see his post anymore. I can only hope that I managed to save him from killing himself then and we can only hope that he has been thought to think of the pain he would leave behind if he ever did decide to take his own life. Maybe one day when he is older we can maybe discuss it and he can see that my intentions were not to alienate him or sell him out, but that my intentions were good. For his own good.
So today, I am going to ask everyone to take a good look at the people around you. Hug them, kiss them, tell them that you care and they mean so much to you. Open up that circle a little wider and find the people that might need you to tell them that too, to the people that might be feeling a bit down, sad, overwhelmed and hopeless. Today is the day you reach out.
Instead, filled with flu I headed out to a very early morning meeting in Pretoria and then headed home to work on the couch.
This meant that I only logged on to my facebook in the afternoon. This was where I found out that yet another one of my friends had died.
A bit of further investigation revealed that he had taken his own life. The day after his birthday.
Now I understand that social media is the way of the future in terms of information dissemination, just look at the latest earthquake in Japan and all the consumer generated content that was then broadcast across the traditional media channels.
I am however feeling quite freaked out about the amount of friends I have lost over the last year or so and found out about their death via Facebook.
This time however, I have had a sleepless night about why? Not why did he do it, but why did no one step in and do more to help him deal with his depression.
Rob was recently dealing with a break-up of his relationship and for months he has been posting very tragic messages on Facebook about his feelings, which were obviously him reaching out. I had been in contact with him sending him songs that I would listen to and make me feel better about my own break-up. He seemed to be coming out of the deep depression, going out more and showing more joy in his posts. Unfortunately, in hindsight, he was just covering up.
I am not close enough to him to know what triggered the final decision to end his life except his birthday.
My concern however is peoples shock and horror at finding out that he had committed suicide. There are always signs. In hindsight, we can always see the signs. People start pulling back from friends and family, spending more and more time alone. It has become common for people who are feeling low and isolated to broadcast their pain on social media.
I have lost the trust of my nephew who was displaying the exact posts and pain that Rob was displaying. The difference is I spoke to my brother who confronted him about his posts and depression. My nephew de-friended me on Facebook, so I could not see his post anymore. I can only hope that I managed to save him from killing himself then and we can only hope that he has been thought to think of the pain he would leave behind if he ever did decide to take his own life. Maybe one day when he is older we can maybe discuss it and he can see that my intentions were not to alienate him or sell him out, but that my intentions were good. For his own good.
So today, I am going to ask everyone to take a good look at the people around you. Hug them, kiss them, tell them that you care and they mean so much to you. Open up that circle a little wider and find the people that might need you to tell them that too, to the people that might be feeling a bit down, sad, overwhelmed and hopeless. Today is the day you reach out.
Monday, January 3, 2011
New Years Resolutions
The best topic of discussions being back at work has been what the year is holding for us going forward.
Everyone I know has suffered some kind of setback in 2010. No-one close to me has had a fantastic year, be in work, health, relationships...
So 2011 is set to be the next best thing to going vegan.
So for many years I have not made new years resolutions as such, rather trying to improve on aspects of my life and being every day / week / month.
General "I am going to be good to me and my body" resolutions have topped the list for the last 2 years.
This year however, I have quite a few things I would like to improve on.
Having been given and read the book "Skinny Bitch" I have vowed to eliminate as many animal products from my diet as I can possibly manage.
This is very hard to do, as eating out is a challenge in itself. The one vice I refuse to give up however, is Sushi. Sorry Mr Salmon, but you are on my hitlist! I did find out that Miso Soup is one of the healthiest meals you can consume. I have always had this as part of my sushi experience, but now I will have it every time I go.
The second vice I am eliminating for the month of Jan is booze. Now this is a serious commitment as my birthday is in Jan, so understand that this may take some serious control.
Thirdly, gymming more than 3 times a week is a must, with some added help from my friends. I am recruiting 2 friends to gym with to ensure this happens.
I have also committed to 2 new projects, opening a business with some friends and writing my first book.
These both have deadlines attached to them, so my time is going to be limited.
So the last resolution it to restrict and cull all unnecessary "friends", activities and guilt time that I give to people that I begrudge and rather spend this time on the people I love and care for.
2011 I am here to kick your butt!
BoYah!!
Everyone I know has suffered some kind of setback in 2010. No-one close to me has had a fantastic year, be in work, health, relationships...
So 2011 is set to be the next best thing to going vegan.
So for many years I have not made new years resolutions as such, rather trying to improve on aspects of my life and being every day / week / month.
General "I am going to be good to me and my body" resolutions have topped the list for the last 2 years.
This year however, I have quite a few things I would like to improve on.
Having been given and read the book "Skinny Bitch" I have vowed to eliminate as many animal products from my diet as I can possibly manage.
This is very hard to do, as eating out is a challenge in itself. The one vice I refuse to give up however, is Sushi. Sorry Mr Salmon, but you are on my hitlist! I did find out that Miso Soup is one of the healthiest meals you can consume. I have always had this as part of my sushi experience, but now I will have it every time I go.
The second vice I am eliminating for the month of Jan is booze. Now this is a serious commitment as my birthday is in Jan, so understand that this may take some serious control.
Thirdly, gymming more than 3 times a week is a must, with some added help from my friends. I am recruiting 2 friends to gym with to ensure this happens.
I have also committed to 2 new projects, opening a business with some friends and writing my first book.
These both have deadlines attached to them, so my time is going to be limited.
So the last resolution it to restrict and cull all unnecessary "friends", activities and guilt time that I give to people that I begrudge and rather spend this time on the people I love and care for.
2011 I am here to kick your butt!
BoYah!!
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