DebZillah

Transitioning from 2011 to 2012

2012-01-01T11:08:00.001+11:00

Its quite difficult for me, as someone so intently transfixed on forward propulsion, to look back upon 2011 and take stock of the year that was. I'm going to do it, though, because the reflection is always so rewarding.

Last night was spent with good mates and beautiful food, secret champagne, perfect weather and spectacular views. We headed home after the 9pm fireworks but I managed to wake up and watch the midnight display on TV. I have had a very hard week of training, however, and today I'm completely wrecked. My right hip and calf are smothered in deep heat and my scheduled 2 hour easy ride has been postponed til tomorrow in order to rest today.

With the help of Tom Skulander and Eddie, I learned to ride a bike! With the help of Geoff (and his patience..) I have developed skills and trained harder than ever in my life. With the help of TADNSW, I've had all the equipment I needed for training. Mickster is the best training buddy ever and makes sure I never have an excuse not to head out because I'm alone. Today, I can confidently call myself a cyclist. I'm fitter than I ever have been. I'm an athlete. This is my reality.

I helped Ed buy an apartment, I gave up my cherished single life and asked him to move in with me and in ONE WEEK we will be living in our new Waterloo abode. I'm going to miss Randwick so much! I need to be free of the burden of rent, though, and we need a new beginning. There's a whole life transformation in process here (again). I'm kicking off a month of twice a week yoga to help ease the transition, along some super clean eating. No dairy, sugar or grains until Australia Day. The story continues...

I found my calling.. twice. Maybe even 3 times... It started with helping people as a personal trainer. Then I ran a series of motivational talks for Mission Australia on behalf of Fit for Good. I started helping people with different needs on an entirely different level and experienced the amazing satisfaction of volunteering. That, and David Rothwell from the Amputee Association, are what lead me to my mission to open Accessible Wellness. As the year rolled on, I had become Ambassador for Fit for Good at Common Ground Camperdown, and finally to Lululemon Ivy!

On January 30th, Ed and I are off for our first EVER real holiday! We booked it a while ago, because we realised that the piggy bank was about to dry up. We're off to Fiji for 5 days to do nothing but RELAX. Coach has warned me that those last weeks of January are going to be punishing!

In order to pursue my dreams as a cyclist, as a speaker and as an "Accessibility Activist", I have ended my career as a personal trainer in Fitness First. Big changes are ahead, as well as some tough times financially, no doubt. I do have fantastic support and guidance around me, so I'm not terrified... Just mildly anxious! The Leaders of Tomorrow program kicks of with 2 days in Brisbane in February, and I'm expecting to feel much more centred at the conclusion of the retreat. Huge thanks to the amazing Lisa Champion and my best supporter Bill Webster for writing the recommendations that got me invited to participate in the program.

I have LOTS of big goals and plans for 2012 - like my first time trial at Calga in March AND my first time as a bridesmaid in Feb (hi Avanti!) - but I can't tell you anything about them yet. Some things are still top secret. 2 weeks time, that all changes, so watch this space! <3

ISPO 2011

2011-11-17T14:00:00.000+11:00

On Thursday, 3^rd November, I had the pleasure of attending the 2011 Annual Scientific Meeting of ISPO (International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics) Australia. This year’s theme was the Psychosocial Impact of Disability and Limb Loss. The article I've posted here will be published in the upcoming Summer edition of the Amputee Journal.

To kick proceedings off, there was a brief address from 13 year old Jake Widjaya, who, like myself, was born with limb difference. He started campaigning for limb difference awareness at age 9 and released a DVD called my special hand that focuses both on his childhood experiences as well as advise for parents and peers of children experiencing limb difference. As someone who has shared in Jake’s experiences, I think his courage is remarkable and I’m both extremely proud of him as well as grateful for his accomplishments in generating awareness and of his chosen direction and attitude.

Then it was over to Pamela Gallagher for her keynote address. Pamela travelled all the way from Dublin Ireland to share with us her insight into the world of the Psychosocial Impact of Disability and Limb Loss – right after talking to us about the rugby! Pam’s address focused on the issues we experience as amputees, especially our psychological wellbeing, body image and goal engagement, and how the clinicians who care for us can do a better job by understanding what the issues are and how to better respond to them. The study she is involved with is centred around improving our quality of life and breeding resilience and positive outcomes. She presented us with some alarming statistics – her studies indicate that between 20 and 40% of amputees have indicators for depression. She then outlined the complex challenges an amputee faces and which impact our adjustment. The most positive and profound insights Pam shared with us were about self worth and acceptance. Our self worth, not just as amputees but as human beings, is established by overcoming the challenges that life presents us. This is how we achieve psychological growth. Days come and days go, regardless of whether they are “good” or “bad” and resilience is the ability to forge ahead with that very fact in mind. She asked if acceptance was always appropriate... It isn’t! There are situations in which we are entitled to be angry. There are situations in which anger will spark action and this action will result in a positive outcome. Just look back at how segregation came to an end, how women won the right to vote, etc. We don’t have to accept disability as a sentence to misery or a limited life. It is what we choose to make it.

Pam talked about the importance of goals and how necessary they are to enable us to experience purpose, fulfilment and ultimately happiness. I was interested to learn of two different variations of goal setting – one being Tenacious Goal Pursuit, where we modify our own behaviour and lifestyle to fit our goals, and the other being Flexible Goal Adjustment, where we adjust our goals to suit the situation. Both methods were shown to reduce depressive symptoms and improve perceived quality of life.. It beckons the question: What are you working towards??

After morning tea, it was over to Sydney based Psychologist Chris Basten to talk to us about Responding to the Emotional Needs of Amputees. His focus was on how occupational therapists, physios and other therapists including psychologists and psychiatrists can best assist amputees cope with the task of adaptation. He talked about the emotional problems commonly experienced by amputees, such as depression, anxiety and PTSD, and ways to both identify and address these issues. He explained the importance of a positive attitude, optimism and accepting responsibility for ensuring your own positive outcome – as well as accepting that it’s perfectly OK to need help to do so and reach out to your support network, which could be friends and family, a psychologist, or the Amputee Association’s peer support network. He talked about how important it is for amputees to focus on your strengths and find ways to increase your confidence, as well as the tremendously important role of goal setting and achievement in leading fulfilling and rewarding lives. I can definitely vouch for that being true!

Right after Chris, I was delighted to hear the findings of the lovely Sarah Eskandari’s PHD, which examines Body Image as an Important Factor for Adjustment to Amputation. Sarah’s study surveyed 218 amputees and supported an alarming statistic: that while 5-8% of the general population experience depression, the condition affects between 20-30% of amputees. Those who viewed their bodies negatively subsequent to amputation reported more symptoms of depression and anxiety, as well as a poorer perceived quality of life.

We then heard from Andrew Steele of Body Care Solutions (Melbourne), who outlined to us a case study in which elective amputation resulted in exceptionally positive outcomes. The goal of his message was to prompt the medical faculty to consider amputation as a valid treatment option which is not limited to negative psychosocial impacts. Weighing up the pros and cons of amputation versus reconstruction was enlightening.

Lastly, Carla Negri from Ossur Asia-Pacific (Sydney) presented a review of the Psychological Benefits Associated with Physical Activity for Persons with Lower Limb Amputation. Like Sarah’s presentation, the topic discussed by Carla was of special interest to me as an athlete and personal trainer focussed on wellness. My favourite article that Carla brought to our attention focused on investigating the relationship between participation in physical activity and body image in 56 lower limb amputees. The study highlighted a significant difference between the inactive group and the active group (who participated in a minimum of 2 hours aerobic activity weekly, in sessions no shorter than 20 minutes) and a positive relationship between physical activity level and body image – it’s another good reason for us all to get out there and get moving! In a 1985 study, Valliant et al. Found that physical activity for the disabled population can be an incentive to reshape their lives in a positive directions. Our focus needs not to be returning to our previous activity level: it should be achieving a healthy activity level and a balanced lifestyle, that accommodates our physical condition, whatever it may be. There’s ALWAYS a way to work up a sweat – and improved proprioception, confidence and coordination are just a few of the reasons we should want to.

I loved sitting in on the ISPO conference and wish I could have been at the symposium the day before. There is always next year though! It was such a valuable experience, which I hope I have been able to pass on and share with you in some small way J

I do the hard thing.

2011-10-13T11:48:00.001+11:00

There is so much going on I'm not sure where to start!

I've been sore. Not just a little bit. I ACHED. I touched my coach's wheel on Sunday and threw myself down the road. Riding a wheel is scary. Touching a wheel is bad. I know that for a fact now! It's mostly road rash, apart from a black pinky finger - which has now returned to its normal colour. I elevated and iced, then after teaching Monday morning I sat in the steam room for a bit before using some hot/cold therapy in the shower. My neck was out and my abs hurt pretty bad, too. Battered, bruised and SO EMOTIONAL. The whingy tearfulness and inability to concentrate with all the post-trauma toxins in my body was YUCKY. Luckily, the worst of it had passed by Tuesday and Wednesday I was feeling like a scraped up and scabby version of my old self again.

Last week was EPIC! While you were all enjoying your public holiday, I was at the first EVER Youth Speaker Inc, hosted by the INCREDIBLE Sam Cawthorn. I was surrounded by 9 other amazing thought leaders and youth speakers for 8 hours in a room that absolutely BUZZED with energy. It was INSANE and just tremendously valuable.

The rest of the week? It looked like this: Train clients, train me, teach spin, early starts, focus on eating right, try to get enough sleep, be organised, forget nothing, be on time, ADD MAXIMUM VALUE, ALWAYS.

Last Thursday was a stand-out. Just one of the most incredible days I've had in, well, AGES. I went out to cover a spin class at FF North Ryde and it was amazing. The connection I shared with every single person I came into contact with that morning was pure magic. Fantastic conversations with incredible people and an incredible workout to boot. What more could you want? It doesn't end there, though. After a quick chai tea pit stop, I was off to The Northcott Centre in Parramatta to meet with David Rothwell from the Amputee Association about our pet project, his idea, but I'm taking it, growing it and running with it just as far as these little legs will carry me. It might take 2 years, but it is coming: Accessible Wellness Centres Australia will be the first "gyms" designed specifically to service the mobility impaired, building functionality, body confidence and self esteem to improve their quality of life. The focus is on integration and inclusion: the end goal is to have confident, balanced people in active lifestyles and good mental AND physical health. Whilst in it's infancy, this is SO EXCITING for me and I am extremely passionate about seeing this through. Whatever it takes.

Saturday morning I had a great metabolic strength training session with Hilly before teaching spin over at Five Dock: the SSS and a great way to power into the weekend chores and endless to do lists! I then had the pleasure of having a follow up meeting with Sam over yummy chai tea in Balmain. We discussed some great topics and I'm looking forward to sharing some of that with you in my first video blog. There's a lot for me to do before I transition full time into my company and away from PT in Fitness First, and I'm feeling quite overwhelmed trying to juggle everything.

All I can do is breathe as I ride these tumultuous waves: I know it's OK to feel overwhelmed sometimes. I know it's OK to struggle. I choose to do the hard thing. It has the greatest rewards.

Week 3: Success!

2011-09-28T08:31:00.000+10:00

So weigh-in day landed and I lost 700g! Yeeha! It's not a huge loss, but if I can maintain and sustain that rate - which I surely can - I'll have lost over 5 kgs in just 8 weeks time. That WILL be AMAZING! Just the sheer thought of how great it will feel is enough to get me going.

I'm really proud of this loss because of the sheer bloody mindedness and determination that has gone into it. There's so much planning and preparation going in to ensuring a result. I had 2 food events this week, with wine, and I made sure I pushed through some gruelling 2 hour sessions on the day and the day after these to earn the right AND to stay on track.

The first was the Fitness First New You Awards dinner on Friday. I was invited this year as, when I was a finalist last year, I was unable to attend. Trekking in Nepal is a pretty good excuse I reckon! It was such a great night, incredible stories, amazing and inspiring people all around the room - with a cast of fitness professionals I was just so proud to be counted among.

It has been a great week. Last Tuesday I gave a talk called "A Being of Balance" for LuluLemon. It was a new experience for me, to speak in this environment, seated on a yoga mat, sharing so intimately with a small room of people, amongst whom I recognised the faces of friends. I'll be presenting a similarly titled but much more detailed workshop version of the talk to Mission Australia tomorrow, part of my role in Fit For Good. My ambassador profile is live now! How special is that?!

I've had another couple of great successes in the past week - I now ride successfully in cleats outdoors. Had my first long session in them yesterday and felt really good. Had to celebrate last night with 2 good friends and a delicious meal :)

There are some amazing things coming up in my calendar... Youth Speaker Inc with Sam Cawthorn on Monday, the St Greg's Annual Sporting Gala on the 14th - a black tie event, and I'll likely be dressed by Paddington designer Sylvia Chan... and lots of training and hard work to put in, in the meantime!

The best bit is, I have Eddie by my side, sharing it all with me, and I'm loving every second :)

Weigh In Day: Reality Bites.

2011-09-21T09:54:00.001+10:00

I've been training hard and following the meal plan, the changes have been big... but just not big enough to register any movement at all on the scales.

I'm healthy and my body is obviously very happy where it is. It is clearly going to take a much more concentrated effort to get those scales to move. I was vigilent and diligent, but I wasn't hyper-vigilant and I think that's really what's required here. There were a few sneaky cold ones on the weekend in addition to my treat meal and whilst my meals and food choices were on track - I also snuck little bits of Ed's food on more occasions than I should have. The result? Maintenance.

So I can see areas for improvement. No having a little taste of Eddie's muesli, sustagen or baked potato. It all adds up. I have 2 food events in the following week though, one of which is the evening before weigh in day! In order to combat these, I am setting myself guidelines and limits, as well as arranging good training around them. I am, however, terrified of derailment. My strategy for next week of the challenge is to write more things down, be very strict on the numbers - the 3 meals a day are planned for me, but I need my snacks to be planned as well - they are already, but I haven't done the math. 1200 has to be the magic number.

I'm so disappointed, regardless of being able to see where I fell down. I'm often hungry, and I'm actually training above and beyond the recommendations of the plan. Yesterday and especially today, my energy levels are quite low, leaving me feeling a little flat and despondent.

This will pass. I will make this change. I have the evidence of where I am, the analysis of why I'm still here and the commitment to move past it. In a way, it's the kick in the pants I needed. Here goes.

Healthy Habits: The Desk Drawer

2011-09-19T11:47:00.009+10:00

Last week, we had a look at some of the healthy things you can stack your fridges with so that healthy food is always accessible.

Really, it's not very far to go. Your desk, to the fridge, return. This makes life seriously easy for you. Sometimes, however, crisis hits. We get STOPPED, stuck, literally glued to our desks, unable to leave. A long conference call or major client outage or sudden threat of serious legal action can all be very powerful motivators to skip lunch and try really hard not to need to pee!

So when you can't move, but your tummy is a-grumblin', what is there to do?

Well, there are a few solutions I can share with you right now!

Some answers come in little tins. Now, fresh is ALWAYS best, but we're talking about what we eat in desperate need instead of running to the vending machine or simply going hungry. These are relatively healthy foods in convenient little packages.

First is the little tin of tuna. Coles Italian Style tuna is very tasty and only 59 calories per serve. You get all the benefits of increasing your intake of fish for very few calories and it won't ruin your appetite. Be very label aware when selecting your tuna. Some flavours are up to 200 calories in one tiny tin! Safcol salmon sachets (lemon and dill - 160cal) are another another delish fishy solution. If you're on the hungrier side of the snack attack, have either of these with 2 wholegrain crackers, like Vitaweet 9 grains. I don't advocate going for grains, especially the processed kind, as your first option, but again, we're looking at healthy crisis outcomes.

Next we have BEANS! Edgell have us taken care of here, releasing 4 packs of mini tins in great flavour combinations. Everything from 4 bean mix to chickpeas and corn - these are about 100 calories per serve and just AMAZING for you. Beans are incredible. A great source of fiber, vitamin B, folate and cheap as chips! I'm not going to keep ranting about beans, but you should head to this link for more information on why to ramp up your bean intake. You won't regret it :)

Nuts are another go-to-guy in case of emergency and should be an occasional inclusion in every healthy diet. Each different nut has different health benefits, but you're looking at heart healthy fats across the board and, like beans, limited insulin response. Don't go nuts with the nuts though, they pack a calorie punch. That said, you're better off eating them now and then that you are not eating them :) Lucky brand make a little six pack of boxed natural mixed nuts, meaning they come to you portion controlled and you get a little bit of goodness from across the nutty families.

Do you have any other desk drawer favourites? What are your best convenient food selections?

12 Weeks A-Whacko!

2011-09-14T09:11:00.001+10:00

I have grand plans for 2012. Mighty grand plans. To give my lofty goals my very best, I want to feel my ABSOLUTE BEST going in. I want more body confidence!

I believe in my industry, I believe in my job and I LOVE being a part of something bigger. So, I signed up for Michelle Bridges' 12 Week Body Transformation.

I devote so much of my energy and my time to motivating others, I need it too!! So I'm turning to Michelle to share her passion and energy with me as I do with my clients. At the same time, I'm part of a great network and community all fighting to achieve great things, putting in the hard work required to find that success.

I know how to eat well, I have my tried and tested combinations, but I'm in the mood to learn, grow and try new things. Maybe someone else's recipe for success could be coupled with mine to make for EPIC WIN! It has certainly cured my boredom - the recipes look delicious and I spent this weekend cooking and preparing DIFFERENT foods, so there's nothing to do except reheat and eat this week - maybe boil a little wholemeal organic pasta and make some toast. It's easy for Eddie, too - he just adds some potato and meat (like grilled chicken or sausages) to what I've made. Everyone is winning!

I've been craving more routine life, structure and organisation. This challenge, like my training and my goals, requires dedication, persistence and perseverance. My favourite muscles to flex! Just like I tell my clients, consistency is key and while there will be setbacks - they WILL be overcome. Being organised is a great place to start. When you already have a plan, its easier to implement a workaround.

It started on Monday and ends on December 4. The best xmas present is the one I'm giving myself - HAPPINESS! I'll be doing my own training, specific to my sport, but I'll definitely be participating in the fitness tests, measuring up and getting involved in other events. We are people on a mission. That's the energy I love the most!

Xx DZil

Healthy Habits: Fridge Favourites

2011-09-12T13:09:00.000+10:00

I did work in an office, once upon a time, and I used to eat healthy even back then! Much of my diet was the same, despite the fact that it is now organic and higher in good quality fat (and much lower in tinned food). There are staples that you will always find in my fridge at home and these can always be stored in your office fridge at work. We want to avoid the temptation to buy things from the cafe of the vending machine. One trip to the local supermarket near your office means you have a well stocked work fridge at MUCH lower cost and it's all healthy!

Coles sells bags of organic carrots and apples. I go through one of each every week. I make my own hummus from organic chickpeas, lemons, garlic and tahini - but coles also sells a light hummus, tzatziki AND a fabulous beetroot and mint dip that you can put with your carrot or chosen nibbling vegetable. Tomato salsa is another excellent dipping choice, as is cottage cheese if you eat stuff that comes from cows.

There is ALWAYS natural sheeps milk yoghurt in my fridge. I use it as the base for my own dips, I put 100g with a sliced up apple or pear or with any kind of berry as a snack, and I put it over my soaked rolled oats for breakfast. Any natural yoghurt is great to have in the fridge to put with fruit at any time of day. Combining your fruit with the yoghurt gives you a little bit of fat and protein to slow both the digestion of the fruit and the blood sugar response to the fruit sugars.

I spoke about keeping a stash of boiled eggs last week - but you of the meat eating persuasion could keep lean, low fat turkey or ham slices in the fridge to snack on as well.

I hope you've enjoyed this week's installment of healthy habits! Do you have any other fridge favourites?

Next week, we'll put some nutrition into your desk drawer :)

Tell me what you're thinking people! I want to know if you're out there..

Healthy Habits: Portable Food

2011-09-05T13:06:00.001+10:00

I'm travelling around all the time and I always carry my own food. I can't trust that wherever I'll be there will be healthy food options available, so I take the time to make sure my nutritional requirements are taken care of properly, as part of my every day preparation.

Fruit and veg are great on the run, as is a little container filled with a handful of almonds. I usually carry an apple and a carrot. In addition, I'll carry eggs in one of 2 forms: hard-boiled or a frittata.

Hard boiling is easy. There's very little mess and very little fuss. Pop them in a saucepan with enough water to cover, boil them for at least 5 minutes and then rinse them under cold water and peel them immediately. It's really easy to peel them if you transfer them from hot to cold straight away - it's very difficult if you wait until later. I eat 2 a day and have always had low cholesterol. Eating eggs is fine. Eating deep fried stuff and trans fats - THAT is bad for the ticker.

One of my favourite frittata combinations is goats cheese and grated zucchini with oregano and chives. You could use baby spinach and cherry tomato or even parmesan and olive with whatever herbs you fancy. It's pretty easy, too! Grate a large zucchini, measure out 40g goats cheese and whisk up 8 eggs in a bowl. Heat a medium frypan over a medium heat - use a little olive oil if you need to, nothing sticks to mine, I'm lucky. I like to mix the zucchini and herbs through the egg mixture with salt and pepper but there are different theories on this being right or wrong... I put that in the frypan and crumble the goats cheese over it. Once the edges start to cook, I lower the heat a little and warm my grill. Once it's just about done, just a little gooey on top, I pop it under the grill to finish it off - until it's beautiful and golden. I then slice it into 4 serves and put each into a container, ready to go in my bag when I head out the door.

I also carry an emergency tin of Coles Italian style tuna and never leave home without a spoon and a fork... Though I'll admit my travel cutlery is plastic.

Do YOU have any good tips on portable healthy eats to avoid getting caught out with the munchies when you're on the go?

One Body, One Life

2011-09-02T12:16:00.001+10:00

So I recently had minor surgery for a soft tissue injury I got cycling. This procedure meant 3 weeks off the bike. In my down time, I decided to do lots of walking, upper body strength training and yoga. These pursuits have lead to me injuring my knee! There's a knock on effect in action here, as well.

I saw the physio and had my knee taped... The day before I was scheduled to have my first ever spray tan! There went that plan.. Also my training plans are out the window. Yesterday, my last stitch finally dissolved - I could be back on the bike! But alas no. I'm nursing an injury. It ruins plans, it's a bit frustrating and it's pretty damned painful, too: life, however, continues a pace.

I'm fortunate enough, however, to be sponsored by Elevate Performance and The Magical Kate of physio fame has made it possible, with her tan-preventing tape, for me to walk without either vomiting OR crying in pain, which made Thursday a much better day than Wednesday.

My life is exciting - I also had my car detailed AND managed to visit all Sydney based family members! OK that was sarcasm, but I did gift the talking Woody that Eddie found in the park to little SQuAngus and he loves him lots. Poor Bel has the nastiest eye infection I ever saw :*(

In ACTUAL exciting news, I have the finalised carbon fibre socket on my prosthesis! YEEHA! Can't wait to test this baby out..

I want to take a moment to shout out a HUGE congratulations to Caitlin on this week's FANTASTIC weight loss effort and to Lizbot for more training, more loss AND pushups on her toes. Also to Laura, for being the toughest chick ever to smash out 3 huge sets of gladiator/push-up/mountain climbers. YOU GO GIRLS!

Common Ground

2011-09-01T11:58:00.002+10:00

On Tuesday night I had the amazing opportunity to attend an evening with Rosanne Haggerty, as the Ambassador for Fit For Good. I went along with founder, Lisa Champion, and board director, Justin Tamsett, to hear Rosanne speak about Common Ground.

What am I the Ambassador for, exactly? Well, in about 6 weeks time, The Camperdown Project will go LIVE! This is an incredible initiative, the first of its kind here in Sydney and the ethos is FANTASTIC. In addition to the wide and varied array of services that will be offered to the residents and community, there will be a pop-up gym - complete with spin bikes! - for the first 6 months. I will be heavily involved in coordinating the programs and initiatives operating in this gym and am VERY EXCITED to get started!

It was an honour to be involved with the evening and see the beautifully elocuted Minister for Community Services, Pru Goward, speak before Rosanne and also to hear Mission Housing present the stories of the people whose lives had been transformed by similar sustainable, affordable housing initiatives.

I am so thrilled to be able to be involved in this transformation! I love doing my bit to benefit the wider community. It is just so deeply rewarding. Smiling - inside AND out.

Maintaining Motivation

2011-08-16T15:01:00.001+10:00

Last time I spoke at Mission Australia, the audience asked that I send them through my top tips for maintaining motivation. I think that's a great thing to share on my blog, so here they are!

My Top 15 Tips to Keep you Motivated:

Keep checking that your goals are specific and achievable.
Break your goal into pieces with a timeline as your road map to success.
Make a lists of the tasks you need to achieve each day and set reasonable time frames.
Keep your daily list short and plan well in advance.
Take stock of the tasks you do achieve each day and be proud.
You are your best friend, so positive thinking and encouragement are key.
Visualise: see yourself achieving your goal and your rewards frequently; e.g. see yourself graduating, working your new job, living in your new home, playing with your children.
Use visual aids like goal boards and written reminders hung in obvious places.
Check your progress regularly, congratulate yourself on your wins and work around set-backs.
Tenacity and perseverance are CRUCIAL. You must be persistent, stubborn and selfish about what you want to achieve: don't EVER give up.
Seek help quickly when you have questions or when problems occur: take action and don't procrastinate. Just keep moving!
Nothing worth having in life comes easy or cheap, so be willing to struggle sometimes. It’s what makes you tougher and builds your character!
Do what you love and love what you do (learn and work!), life is too short to feel negative emotions when we can choose happiness. Be involved and be active!
The more you talk about your studies and share it with your friends, partner, colleagues, the better your network becomes and the stronger your connection to your goals grows.
Use journaling to analyse problem situations and face your dragons to break negative cycles.

I'm back over at Mission next Tuesday to talk about the importance of our relationships.

I'm also in for a minor operation tomorrow which means that I won't be able to teach spin or do any cycling for 3 weeks. I'm planning on doing lots of walking, yoga, writing and even a few dance classes. I've been feeling like life has gotten control of ME instead of vice versa lately, so I'm hoping this little break gives me the opportunity to take it by the horns.

Showing A Little Gratitude

2011-07-19T16:15:00.000+10:00

It has been quite a while since I've written one of these. I'm going through a bit of a troubled patch, with my confidence taking numerous and significant blows in multiple domains. Chaos seems to be swarming about me and I long to find quiet and calm.

What better way, when feeling tested, troubled and blue, to reconnect with happiness and joy than to write a list of things for which I am thankful? More people than things though...

I have a cat who loves me and keeps my lap warm. She runs to greet me every time I walk through the door. She always wants my attention, pats are her favourite thing and she has affection on tap, ready for me to call on anytime.
Eddie is much the same *giggle*. He thinks I'm amazing and is always helping to keep my spirit strong with his kind words and affection. I get amplitudes of cuddles, massages and help. He would move hell for me. He regularly goes above and beyond and he does it without complaint or hesitation <3
I have a cute little apartment to house me and keep me safe and warm. Everything here is working. I am never hungry, I have good food, I cook like a little Martha Stewart and there's fresh, clean drinking water on tap. The air is fairly clean, the weather not too extreme and I live in the most beautiful city in the world. I run by the beach and cycle in the park.
The support network I have close at hand is strong. In times of crisis, I have the resources to find suitable solutions quickly. My car is out of action, but I have Eddie to drop everything and arrange his family car as mine in the interim. I have amazing friends like Mick to drop me home from the scene of the accident, and Chandler who changed plans to pick me up from home, as well as Meaveen so we could run as we had planned. I have the love of my family.
I have clients with beautiful spirits who train with me because they believe in me, as I do in them.
I have friends in places I don't even know who reach into their pockets to make my dreams come true (money for my bike).
I have an incredible coach who is devoting his time and energy to making a rider out of me and managing Debzillah The Handful.
I have the support and backing of TADNSW and Clarence St Cyclery, Bill Webster and Geoff Rimmer.
I am able to reach out and help people who need it, through Fitforgood at Mission Australia and at East Sydney High. I have the opportunity to be the catalyst for positive change not just as a speaker and volunteer, but as a PT, a Spin Instructor and as an every day Australian.
I have a bike to ride and the rage to master. Everything is as it should be.

Good Food and Wine 2011

2011-07-07T16:26:00.001+10:00

Hello Again!

I'm only 2 days late. I'm not sure anyone is reading, anyway.

Here's the story about Eddie and Deb's adventure to the Good Food and Wine Show on Saturday, July 3rd.

We arrived at about 2pm and it was THROBBING. People everywhere and many of them had trolleys! We had to grow accustomed to being run into, run over AND elbowed. We managed!

I spied an interesting stand not long after entering, a selection of jams and pickles by Anathoth NZ. After tasting a wide variety, I decided on the tomato relish and farmstyle pickle as both rank high in tastiness. Unfortunately, both also rank very very high in sugar. I suspect as high as the jams. Nevertheless, occasionally, treats are OK. I'll refer back to this statement frequently :)

Eddie was hungry so we had to find the mini burger stall for him to sample their wares. Once we had roamed and filled our bellies with a free selection of tasty treats, Eddie was next to flex his spending muscle. Below is what he purchased - the KLEVA Sharp, which came with a free grater!

Ed has been gone for days on his knife sharpening frenzy, but I'm sure he'll come home soon.

We wandered through the whitegood pornography supplied by Fisher and Paykell as well as its budget range by Haier. We were excited to see one of our favourite wines EVER, the Pinot Noir by ARA, on display - we stayed well away from all things wine though, it IS Dry July after all! We sampled many delicious smoothie cube flavours by Creative Gourmet, black pudding and potato bread by The Irish Butcher and the full range of Gü's puds and naughties (lime pies OMG).

We don't normally like Gloria Jeans, but we did on Saturday. They did some awesome treats! They had these caramel filled wafers that melted into your free tiny coffee and were delicious. They also had free carrot cake AND lamingtons. We were spoiled... by the power of hillsong! We figure its OK cos we didn't invest $$.

The rest of the purchases were made by me :) The chocolate chai above is AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS and nearly all gone already - I'm not sure where to? Teehee. I'll be buying more from the real chai website and taking it to Avanti's bridesmaids luncheon, so she can compare it with her mum's recipe. OM NOM NOM.

When I'm feeling run down, I like to put manuka honey in stuff for extra energy. Juuuuust in case all the stuff they say about it's magical properties is true. NZ holds the patent for Manuka and we pay a fortune for it. Beechworth honey have made a manuka that can't be graded because it isn't a kiwi and is therefore less $$. It is tasty (in my chai AND on my pear with natural sheeps' milk yogurt) so I'm winning.

The very last thing I bought were these 2 packets of M n Ms, which made it from Saturday until Wednesday night unopened, but after a massive spin class last night, having trained chest and back earlier in the day, I deemed it appropriate to sample these wares. The coconut flavor tastes like imitation coconut essence, which is an imitation of tastiness. I'm in no hurry to finish these. The peanut butter ones on the other hand will not see the week out. Oh boy! I love peanut butter. I also love chocolate. Whenever these two meet, I die and go to heaven.

Here are some of the samples I collected - two new flavours of herbal tea to add to my extensive collection. They were cranberry and pomegranate as well as Raspberry, Strawberry and Loganberry. I've already had them. How CUTE is that almond tin? I squealed with delight when I saw it and the girls on the stall were kind enough to give it to me on the sly, along with information on what makes Australian Almonds the perfect recovery food. That was music to this little athlete's ears, I'll just at any excuse to eat nuts so I have had my almond tin packed full of almondy goodness and on my person ever since.

Noteworthy mentions from the day abound! I'm excited about the gorgeous range of gluten and dairy free cooking sauces and dressings from Ozganics, but not quite as much as the gluten and allergen free baking mixes from Well and Good! Their everything was DELICIOUS. Best quality gluten free baked goods I've sampled so far - very important in my family.

The most exciting thing, though, by a long way, was the arrival of Harney & Sons teas in Australia. I am a tea NUT. I have a HUGE tea collection. These teas are really the creme de la creme. They smell incredible, they taste divine and they come in tins so pretty you want to display them always and forever. I can't wait to start my new collection!

I hope you enjoyed my food post about the naughty side of Debzillah. I'll talk about healthy food next week, promise :) Xx

Plaguerism!

2011-07-05T17:17:00.002+10:00

I know I had promised a food post today. It was supposed to be about the Good Food and Wine Show - I have pictures and everything! Then I was going to tell you about my weekly cooking adventures.

I have, however, run out of time and will have to delay that update until either Thursday or Friday.

I WAS at the Observatory for High Tea two weekends ago and my galpal and baker extraordinaire Swah has reviewed the experience over here.

Birthday treats are the best kind <3

Mission to Motivate

2011-07-03T19:28:00.000+10:00

I started this post on Thursday afternoon AS IT HAPPENED PEOPLE.

But as it happened, blogger failed and I wasn't able to repost it until NOW. Right before masterchef... How convenient?

Anyway, allow me to recap:
"This is awesome. I'm feeling headachy and chesty and run down, all of which is a bit crap, BUT I have come home, put my pjs on and jumped into bed with a cup of lemongrass and ginger tea. Its 230pm and I have laptop, tea and doona. I've never done this before. I can see this becoming my new bad habit.

I've just come home from my first talk at Mission Australia Surry Hills on behalf of Fit for Good. I feel really good about being able to share some stories and time with people seeking motivation and inspiration. They were lovely!

The talk was the 1st in a 4 part series, called Daring to Dream and it discusses what you need to build inside yourself to allow yourself to Dream, so self awareness and self worth, then moves on to cover goal setting techniques to start a successful journey"

Aaaaaand the rest of my post, which I had completed IN FULL got gobbled by the ether! *fist shake* I'll get over it, though and write it all again.

I'll be doing the 2nd talk, What it takes to win, on July 26th. The focus shifts from inception to delivery and how to deal with road blocks, obstacles and self doubt, using a positive attitude to turn them into opportunities for “adversarial growth”. The end result is to get the dream across the line.

I also spoke a fortnight ago at East Sydney High. I went in to give the kids a rev up speech and make sure they understood that life is going to go however they design it, so they better take their choices seriously and decide who they want to be. It was another extremely rewarding day and next term I'll be back to do a more in depth half day workshop with them on Strategies for Success Past School. Paid work, which is awesome...

On the subject of paid work, I've just launched a new business to encapsulate both Debzillah PT under Body and Breath, as well as my speaking work under Mindful Motivation: Inspirational Industries, with the motto Inspired, Ingenious and Infinite. The gorgeous Ingrid of Frankenmedia Design has secured the domains and will be starting work on my new website forthwith :) Huzzah!

Watch this space, Tuesday I'm talking about food and the good life!

A Lot on the Boil

2011-06-28T14:30:00.001+10:00

I'm just home from my skills session with Coach Geoff Nash. There's a pot of organic vegetable, chicken and quinoa soup reheating on the stove as I write this.

It had been over 4 months since my last visit to the track at Heffron Park. That's where we headed for today's session. In our last session I finally conquered a skill that had held us back for quite some time - changing hand positions. I was elated last Tuesday. Finished feeling happy, accomplished and content. Today we tackled changing hand positions to change gears and when to do it. Today's session didn't end with a rush of enthusiasm for me though. Today I left feeling drained. I came off again.

It wasn't a bad stack, but it wounded my confidence. I was practicing a new skill in a new riding position in a relatively new environment and on a rough surface - yes. The stack, however, was avoidable. It shouldn't really have happened. I feel clumsy and awkward. Maladroite, but moreover: plain silly. I want to stop falling down while I move forward and just head in that direction without the annoying niggles. Boohoo, I hear you say, and I do know that these are first world problems of no real or significant consequence. I also know that no journey is without it's challenges. I'm breathing into this... but it's taking some doing today. I acknowledge my frustration. I have high expectations of myself and this disappointment I feel is of my own creation. I just miss last Tuesday's joy. Could be the dreary weather?

Anyway, it is truly great to be back in training again. I'm loving the fitness training, but have also found renewed vigor and passion for my strength training. I'm finally able to deadlift the olympic bar with my prosthesis in a controlled manner - I trained this on Friday and boy crikey - I still hurt! The hammys are STILL tight! I'm also lifting my personal bests in upper body strength right now which is awesome. I wonder if the fact that I've recently converted to carnivourism is much of a factor.

What does the rest of my training week look like? Well, Wednesday is a hard day, so I'll be doing upper body strength training as well as teaching spin (a hard cardio session) in the evening. Thursday I again teach spin in the evening, Friday I'll train legs/deadlift with Emily before I cover yet another spin, making this a hard day. Saturday I will run 8km with clients and friend and finally on Sunday I'll wind down with 40 minutes of cadence training on the wattbike out at Velofix Rozelle.

Speaking of Velofix, I have some class plans to tidy up and send off before I head out there to coach tonight's indoor training sessions. You should come and check it out! :)

Misadventures in Baking

2011-06-02T13:24:00.001+10:00

May was an exceptionally rough month! In the second week, I got sick. After a week I recovered, only to fall ill again a week later. Boy oh boy was I ill. I had an evil, nasty virus that sapped me of all my energy and caused a host of infections that required 2 different kinds of antibiotics to take control of. Antibiotics, however, will only treat the infections. The virus is something that your body must combat on its own.

I hadn't been that kind of sick for many years. There's a large part of me that is somewhat indignant about it - "I'm so fit and active and healthy! I go to bed early, I don't eat junk and I exercise all the time!" But I also work a whole lot, try to keep a house, attempt to maintain a relationship with my significant other and family, as well as, very occasionally, my friends.. The honest truth is that I've been living my life at breakneck pace and have often wondered how long my body would tolerate it. Some changes are in order.

With my time off, I had a little project. I'm not very good at resting, but I did lay on my couch and watch dvds or in bed reading a book for much of the time. My little project wasn't very taxing and didn't take very long. I wanted to make some healthy baked goods - full of nutrition, not sugar. Tuesday I attempted coconut cookies, replacing much of the butter with applesauce and using organic ingredients. I used too much baking soda and they turned out extremely bitter! Also, they were too fluffy, more like cake than cookie. I've always struggled with cookies. This was no exception.

I'm a pretty good cook! Risotto, curry, pasta dishes, frittata, polenta, fish, beans, anything vegetable, casseroles, stews and soups. I make mean salads and have some wicked healthy pizza recipes using either spelt bases or mountain bread. In dessert land, I can make a nice rice pudding.. Baking, however, has alluded me for the past decade because I'm always trying to reinvent the wheel. My friend Swah has a baking blog and she is an exceptional cook. "Baking is a science - follow the recipe to the letter!" she urges... I have had success with Brownies and when I was a kid I won a few cake competitions, but it's a different matter these days - I can't follow a recipe because I'm trying to INVENT.

Today I had a goal. A completely healthy, high protein, quality nutrition muffin. No added sugars or oils and all organic ingredients. I used unsweetened applesauce, soaked whole rolled oats, 2 eggs, apple, carrot, coconut, pumpkin seeds and lots of Cinnamon and allspice. I was a little stingy on the baking soda though, following the bitter cookie episode, and my muffins didn't rise. They are dense little rock cakes and they don't particularly taste of anything. They aren't distasteful, though, so that's a great improvement! I will work with this recipe again next week, with 1/4 tsp extra baking powder and baking soda and either some chopped dates or pineapple. Pineapple is in season and quite affordable at the moment, it also won't elevate blood sugar levels like the dates would AND contains enzymes that will help fully digest the protein from the eggs... So stay tuned!

Tomorrow will be my first day back at work and next week I will resume teaching my spin classes. I'm also taking on a new venture! Velofix Rozelle are opening a spin studio, where I will be coaching sessions on the Watt Bikes - a completely different style of spin class to those you experience and that I teach in a Fitness First environment. This is much more technical, practical and personal. I will spend most of my time off the bike, monitoring the class, instead of on it, entertaining them and yelling. I'm VERY excited about this! Classes for the first 2 weeks from Monday June 6th are free and you can book a bike on the website linked above.

I'm really happy to be finally heading back to the gym to see my clients. I miss them terribly! I love that I get to work with such great people :) I'll be able to pick my bike up from the shop tomorrow and get back into training - I'm hoping for a Sunday ride. Huzzah!

Difficult Decisions

2011-05-12T10:01:00.000+10:00

Illness is no longer something I'm used to. I enjoy good health and focus on maintaining my wellbeing.

So right now, I'm very sick and very conflicted. I believe that the human body is amazing and our ability to heal, regenerate and grow is so often underestimated or even ignored in favour of "quick fixes" - like antibiotics. My income and livelihood, however, depend on my wellness every single day.

Today I see the doctor, who will prescribe antibiotics. Should I take them, I will subsequently rebuild my body with probiotics, coconut oil, vital greens and an immune tonic... But I could do all that right now, without putting western drugs in my body and causing it toxic strain, and build my immunity so that I don't get sick again for a long time. I risk taking longer to heal and losing more money in the short term, and that poses a very big problem.

I'm opening this one up for discussion!

Another Year Ticks Over

2011-05-10T21:26:00.000+10:00

Tomorrow I turn 29. I'm excited! I needed to write this quick note before I go to bed.

I'll wake up alone and I'll be happy. Last year I chose to do the same, but on the day I was miserable. I was still finding my feet as a single woman in this world. As ME, with no boundaries and no emotional crutch. I'm in a very different space now. I can be alone and feel totally secure.

I look back at what I've achieved in the last year and I smile. 28 has been the best year of my life. I've grown so much as a person and my life is taking on the shape I want it to, going in the direction I really want it to. None of this is easy and it isn't yet a fait accompli, but this journey is one that I love and I can't wait to see what I have become by age 30.

I still don't have a handle on that whole balance thing, but I'm getting better at it. I'm definitely a lot less stressed than I was a year ago. In this past year, I have enjoyed the best health of my life. As my birthday approached, I have excitedly proclaimed to anyone who would listen "I've given myself the best present I can imagine! I'm the fittest and the healthiest I've ever been!" In true Debzillah style, I subsequently succumbed to the first coldy fluey thing I have had in over 6 months. You gotta laugh, right?

I'm also the most content within myself that I've ever been. Self acceptance had always seemed so foreign and challenging to me, but I'm now so close I can smell it on the air. I can't quite taste it, but I know it is near.

And on that note, GOODNIGHT and farewell 28!

On Weight Loss.

2011-04-19T16:07:00.002+10:00

I'm pretty tired right now! It's a happy tiredness, though. It has been a big day. Well, a big week to be truthful.

I had clients from 7am, and then it was time to train ME. It was such a beautiful day in the park, where I rode with Mark Jessup and then met for a goal setting session with coach Geoff Nash. I then came home and sent out a long email to my clients.

I'd been wanting to write it for a long time, but I'm glad I waited. I just spent Friday through Sunday as a room host at FILEX, Australia's annual national health and fitness convention and expo. This exposed me to incredible workshops and amazing presenters. On Saturday, for instance, I was fortunate enough to score a seat at the PT Breakfast, hosted by Michelle Bridges.

Mish covered a range of interesting subject matter, including how far we need to go as PTs to make sure our clients get results. Their head needs to be in the game to make sure they get there and my role in that is critical. The full transcript is here, but I told my version of what I understood to be essential.

Here's what I sent out:

1) You have to take responsibility. YOU choose what goes in your mouth. YOU pick up the fork. YOU decide whether you workout or sit on an expanding posterior. You don't have to eat the things your partner or kids eat and IN FACT you are a part of the circle of influence that shapes their choices and their futures. Lay your cards on the table and communicate your goals to them. It will likely bring you closer together and open a support network you didn't think you'd have access to. I can equal my commitment to you with what you commit to yourself. That said - you need to take ownership FOR YOURSELF FIRST. YOU decide what you will eat, how you will eat and when you will eat. Day to day, week to week - you are the common factor, You will NOT play the blame game. There are NO excuses. We are all busy and we are all stressed. We are NOT all overweight. Here is Mish's link. Let's move on.

2) Science before psychology. Yes, there is negative self talk and an underlying emotional issue (unhappiness) that causes people to be susceptible to weight gain and obesity. Something went wrong upstairs and landed you in this place. It might not have been something very bad, it might have been. It definitely resulted in self sabotage and lowered self esteem, but please just trust that weight loss is a science. The mathematics of it are calories in must be at least 500 a day less than your calories out. If we can cut it more - we will. You CAN lose weight fast safely and without fear - as long as you acknowledge that there is a psychological issue to deal with once you lose the weight. WINNING AT LOSING, however, is so GOOD for your self esteem, your sense of achievement that you will love the journey that got you there. My job is to make sure you understand that fitness is forever - you need exercise to be emotionally AND physically healthy, always. You need good diet too - one step at a time. Strict while we get the ball rolling because you need to lose and see results for your positive reinforcement. Once you hit your magic numbers though, we start really focusing on balance - examining the things you love in life so that, in moderation, you can enjoy them without ending up where you started, or spiraling out of control.

3) HAVE A PLAN. STICK TO IT. I'm your PT. I can guide you in the right direction. Keep you on track and motivate you. Give you a food diary and some nutrition guidelines - but you NEED a plan. KZap lost 36kg with me AND weightwatchers. She combined our advice and support. It is CRITICAL to identify your strategy. You have to know how many calories (or points) you're allowed and plan your meals and your shopping list around that total. If you want to have half a bottle of red wine on a Friday night and a choctop every Sunday night at the movies - OK - you factor them into your weekly calorie total, you work for them and you stick to the plan. If you need help with this - I am available. I can also come and pull the CRAP food out of your cupboards if absolutely necessary. I can do your first one on one meal planning and goal setting session for $50 (1 hour). It really doesn't take long. I do mine in excel and after a few weeks its a question of cut and paste. The shopping list becomes clockwork. Go to http://www.livestrong.com/myplate/ to find your total requirements and see calorie values. Build exercise into your routine, make it routine. Motivation isn't essential - getting the work DONE is essential. Not every workout will be amazing. You don't always get to leave feeling like you own the planet - but sometimes you will. And every workout contributes to getting you better, one step at a time, for now and for always <3.

4) Interestingly enough, research shows that a person's perceived ability is a better predictor of success than their actual ability - so for the love of the big G, think positively and BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. You in the past, for all your failures and shortcomings, have no prewritten destiny preventing you from making new choices and becoming exactly who you want to be. Choose differently. Start now. Be your own friend and see how helpful it is. The one thing they could find that all successful high achievers have in common? They focus on the GOOD. That's right - the glass has got to be half full and when you lose your wallet it's because you really needed to stop using that credit card anyway :)

SURVIVING EASTER.

I thought some of you would appreciate a quick note on how to enjoy the Easter break without deprivation or derailing your efforts entirely. Here are some tips.

If you are meeting up with friends for a social event, a big meal where you let yourself enjoy and have a few drinks, keep a day between this event and chocolate eating day.

Be SAINTLY around the planned/nominated meals and the chocolate eating. Have your meals planned as very light, low calorie, high nutrition.

Be sure to do more exercise to earn these treats and balance them out!

Modify your expectations accordingly. If you're having a blowout and eating some chocolates, you need to ramp up the exercise just to maintain. Don't expect to lose weight over Easter.

WE WILL SMASH IT HARD ALL MAY!!

Use this information to inspire you and invigorate you. Life might seem like a cycle of breakdowns, but if you use them wisely, they lead to the breakthroughs that get us where we need to go!

I ended my newsletter with this beautiful article on intimacy and food and I'm ending this blog post the same way :)

I hope you enjoyed it!

The Cost of Courageousness

2011-03-26T08:35:00.001+11:00

Not so long ago now, a friend and colleague of mine joyfully confided in me that she had nominated me for a fitness organisation's inspiration award and that management were very excited about my story. It looked like it was in the bag.

After a few weeks of unusually distant behavior of this friend of mine, yesterday I decided it was time to get to the bottom of what was going on.

It so turns out that management of the organisation running the award had located the youtube video of me winning the pole dancing competition in 2009, in which I remove my bra. They were mortified and chastised my colleague for having nominated me without having done sufficient research into my character. They deemed me inappropriate and insisted upon having no association with me whatsoever.

At first I was devastated. I shouldn't be. Technically I'm not even supposed to know I was nominated... I am just so shocked and disappointed that such harsh character judgements are still routinely made.

What this organisation doesn't realise is that the pole dancing competition taught me what it was to WIN. That hard work, dedication, focus and bravery actually work. That my goals are achievable and my methods of succeeding sound. I am a one-armed woman who performed and competed in a sport that is associated with showing a lot of leg and sometimes bit of boob too. It's an aesthetic discipline - much like ballet or gymnastics. Pole dancing empowered me. It allowed me to embrace my femininity and this specific competition gave me the forum in which I could express that, despite my disability, I was not only a talented dancer, but a sensual creature. The experience was the single greatest confidence builder of my life to that point.

I refuse to succumb to the inference that it is something of which I should feel ashamed. I'm not too fond of the fact that my performance is pasted over the internet on umpteen different amputee fetish sites, because I myself find this to be unsavoury - but I don't judge these people even if they make me feel uneasy. When I feel uneasy, I can explore why and achieve personal growth (or at least learn something) OR I can distance myself from it. If you have a problem with pole dancing, don't do it and don't watch it. Don't seek it out. Vilifying those who do, on the other hand, is simply closed minded and entirely unnecessary.

I'm angry. I always knew that my bravest choices came at a price, but I hoped that as this is the year 2011, people would have started thinking more progressively. That respect for the choices of other adults, as our equals on this Earth, would equate to an understanding of their right to those choices, even if we don't agree with them.

The person I am today exists because of the breadth and depth of my life experience.

I wouldn't change a thing.

Rolling with the Punches

2011-03-08T16:55:00.002+11:00

This week's theme appears to be: expect the unexpected.

After a rampant string of cancellations Monday, I received a call asking that I cover a 5:15pm spin class. It so turned out that I had the time available to do exactly that! It was SO MUCH FUN. So I ended my Monday floating above cloud 9 and looking forward to my Tuesday, which was to involve an outdoor session, some riding with Mick, yoga with my sis Bec and catchups with Missy before I retreated to do my admin in the evening time...

As I waited for Mick to arrive in Musgrave Ave Centennial Park, I called my mum to make plans for the weekend and discussed with her at length what a beautiful day it was, especially the incredible colour of the sky. Like the Cote D'Azur. Then it was riding time. I couldn't wait! I decided to try a few new things today. Firstly, the disconnect system for my prosthesis and secondly, some changes to the route. We turned off onto one of the intersecting paths in the park and everything seemed to be going well... Until I had a bit of steering fail and bumped Mick's rear wheel, which knocked me off and nearly took him out as well. All OK though. My head hurt a bit from where my helmet connected with the road and there was some skin off my right ankle, but 5 mins later and I was back in action.

What sweet action it was! I was chatting happily and had a sudden burst of energy, a moment where something clicked and everything felt right. I started pedaling fast, working on riding confidently at higher speeds. For a few minutes, it felt amazing. Then my left foot came away from the pedal. I'm still in sneakers, not cleats. Being a N00b, I panicked and squeezed the brake too hard. I flipped over the handle bars and took a massive tumble... and then the bike landed on me. I was winded. I could neither breathe nor move for what seemed like eternity. A crowd gathered. I came to my senses and realised I was in the middle of the road, so I tried to move, muttering about not wanting to hold up traffic. I was helped to the side of the road, jelly like. I tried to sit on the post/bench, but I was dizzy, floppy, faint and my ears were ringing. I slipped down into the soft, cool leaf litter and lay there for a while. Eventually I was well enough to laugh, then sit, and then to walk the bikes back to the car with Mick. The people who helped were lovely and caring, a little bewildered by my laughter. "How could I be unhappy on a gorgeous day like this?" I had a feed at the suv, cancelled all my plans and instead went to soak in the ocean with Katie. I'd never been to the Coogee pool before. Not the worst place to be on a day like this...

I've been checked over by the doctor and my list of injuries is minor. From the most spectacular crash yet I have the following ailments (preserved here for posterity):

Left breast wounded by Prosthesis
Pulled muscles in front of neck and left soleus
2 grazed and very swollen knees, the left with a big fat egg.
A crushed, bruised and blood blistered pinky with a gash on the finger next to that (the quick has been torn out).

I'm now pretty tired and grumpy, feeling very unproductive and BLOBBY. I'm unhappy that tomorrow has to be an unplanned rest day, I need to get all the inflammation down in time to teach cycle on Thursday and Friday. I want these classes to be HARD! I also want my fingers to stop throbbing.

Anyway, it has been a big week. The new issue of Take 5 comes out tomorrow and my moment of cheesilicious fame comes to an end. I've now taught 2 spin classes (and need to make a new setlist EEK). I've secured sponsorship for physio and massage with Elevate Performance, had further talks about my role as Ambassador with TAD NSW - who will be giving me my very own run around bike in the next few weeks, so I can give Jayme's back. I also presented my talk, The Story of Debzillah the Rubber Bum, to a lovely group of employees from a Sydney based law firm. It was well received - and recorded, hurrah! The biggest win for me, though, was the two 10km bike rides I completed with Mick and Llinos - both without incident. Despite the stacks, I'm making great progress as a rider and I'm aiming to be able to ride to the amputee morning tea at POW Hospital on March 31st. I've got to get a handle on this road riding business.

I'm totally aware that my feelings of frustration and perceptions of stagnant energy are completely irrational. If they would kindly go away, I'd be most appreciative.

The Magic of the Moment

2011-02-27T16:54:00.000+11:00

I can't believe we are two full months into 2011 already! I'll admit to being quietly content though - because in this short time, so much has been accomplished.

It has already been 2 months and 1 day since I started training towards my paralympic dream, with my bike in my possession. I have learned to use my new prosthesis and ride the bike - but this does need considerably more work and application. It's still really exciting for me to be able to say "I can ride a bike!" and, when I'm not stacking it, I love it. At the moment, though, I'm stacking it a lot - and spectacularly. I have more bruises and cuts than when I was pole dancing! Not to mention a nasty big scab on my elbow...

This moment in my life is magical for so, so many reasons. I love what I am living. I have to pinch myself often!

One of these is the Finishing First Group Fitness Instructor program. The course is so, so good - I'm already a cycle instructor, but I wanted extra development before stepping up to take classes. I want to be on the stage knowing that I'm delivering a quality product to the best of my ability from day 1. Obviously there will still be a learning curve, but with good coaching it won't be as steep. The course facilitators are incredible and so are the other students - highly talented individuals, all of us equally passionate about being exceptional group fitness instructors, hungry for success. Then there's the relationship I have with my mentor, Skye, who I team teach with. She is nurturing me, building me, feeding me the tools and information from her knowledge and experience to give me the best possible chances of success. I'm learning so much from her as a coach, a mentor and as a human being. What I worried might test a friendship is actually building into an even more robust and meaningful one. So my outdoor cycle training is taking a little bit of a back seat while I focus on becoming a first rate teacher, but my cycle fitness will surely be growing because I'm on the bike rehearsing my tracks every day.

Another is my relationship with Eddie. We share so many wonderful experiences so often and he looks after me so well. Best of all he is completely non-demanding and understanding of the fact that I am stretched in so many different directions, there isn't always a lot of me left for him. He just does whatever he can to make my stressful times easier and lighten my load, as well as offer a supportive ear and shoulder when needed (which is way more often that I'm proud to admit).

This weekend we celebrated our first anniversary. I was lead, blindfolded, through the city to a beautiful suite on level 34 of the Shangri-La in the city. We then had a spa and massage in the Chi Day Spa and the degustation with matched wines in Altitude restaurant. It was an incredible evening - and all a surprise to me! I also got a pair of Thomas Sabo earrings to accompany the necklace I got for xmas. What a sweetheart, right?

I love what my life involves right now. I love my clients, helping people, cycling, instructing, training, living, learning and loving. Whilst finance and cash flow are particularly problematic right now, I'm hopeful that the upcoming articles in Take5 magazine (March 2) and Body + Soul (March 27) will help me to secure sponsorship, drum up some new business and generate some fresh speaking engagements.

Fortnightly updates might help me make this less of an essay, then someone might actually read this, hehehehe.

Till next time! Xx Dz

Looking Forward 2011

2011-01-19T19:54:00.001+11:00

This Monday I did my last, sad, little jog on the treadmill. It was, in fact, my first run in weeks. I've now, for the time being, retired from running. Why? Because, as Clint so succinctly put it: "cyclists don't run".

Which brings me to my first point of what 2011 has in store for me.

Becoming Debzillah: the competitive cyclist.
I have my beautiful race bike, my coach and my prosthesis. I have been adjusting to using the prosthesis, doing base building cadence and heart rate training in my loungeroom - where on the 2nd day of 2011 I had quite a serious spill. I hadn't secured my bike into the stationary trainer properly and was 6 minutes into my workout when the whole thing came crashing down like a house of cards. After checking that the bike was not damaged and disconnecting from my prosthesis, I lifted the bike to be greeted by my pink patella! My prosthesis had opened up my knee and my knee cap was staring back at me. I got 5 stitches - my first ever for a cut! I've since lost 3 stitches and the cut is healing open, but it doesn't hurt and isn't interfering with my training. I'll have a nasty scar - but it's on my knee, so who really cares?

The amazing team @Fox in Alexandria fixed the elbow in my prosthesis last Thursday and for the past week I've been on a fairly serious mission to learn to ride. Thursday afternoon was torture for my coach, holding onto the back of the bike while I tried to pedal, running back and forth. He researched a better way and came up with this little gem which saved both his back and his sanity. By Tuesday evening, I'm at the stage where I can coast down the hill with my feet on the pedals at a fair clip. The dismount, however, is proving problematic and my shins are scraped and bruised.

It's an amazing journey and one I'm enjoying immensely. Something most children do I am doing as an adult, complete with tumbles over the handlebars. Grass is soft and I am fearless and I feel so privileged to be going through this! There's a deadline, though. Classification day is Saturday, February 5th at 9:30am. Nothing like a little pressure to set you on fire :)

I'm also on the path to becoming a freestyle cycle instructor. My mate Skye has agreed to mentor me while I complete the Finishing First preparation program. This is challenging too, but will be so rewarding! I've been up on stage twice with Skye and will be there again tomorrow, and every Thursday and Sunday until I complete the program on March 18. Hopefully I'll get a class of my very own not long after.

So I have some pretty clear goals in that arena, to become a cyclist and group fitness instructor. It gets a bit more complex, in that I want a great sporting year and to stay injury free. It means taking a much saner approach to my training and I pay a great deal of attention to my nutrition and supplementation, too. I want to look my best, feel my best and perform at my best. Not just when I'm competing, but every single day. Yoga and more down time (as well as recovery strategies) play a big role in that. I didn't get a lot of down time in 2010 and it impacted me tremendously. I have to keep a handle on my workaholism and do a little more sitting down.

I've cleaned out the bookshelves and the wardrobe: thrown out loads of papers and sold my once loved treasures on ebay. I'm determined to make efficient use of both my time and space to allow myself to enjoy life more.

I've got goals around my PT business and building my speaking career, too, but I won't bore you with the business talk.

Taking my lessons in acceptance from 2010 and building on them through 2011 will make this an even better, bigger and more amazing year than the one it promises to be.

I'M SO HAPPY TO BE HERE AND LUCKY TO BE ALIVE!!!

And I'm breathing that in :)

Looking Both Ways - 2010.

2011-01-03T11:32:00.000+11:00

It is with fondness and a strong sense of accomplishment that I bid farewell to 2010. It was an amazing year for me that passed in the blink of an eye. It has brought amazing people to me and my life has been enriched in countless ways.

The first quarter of the year was devoted to learning how to operate my business and become Debzillah the PT, as well as getting my mileage up as a distance runner. It was also about establishing myself as Debzillah the single woman and learning to live as my own will dictates. I experienced the frustration of injury and tackled my frustrations head on. I've dealt with them much better this year than ever before. Through yoga and self awareness, I'm able to challenge my instinctive mental inflexibility and practice patience. I have developed a much stronger sense of curiosity when dealing with myself, my actions and my emotions, so I exercise much less self criticism, judgement and negative self talk. I also learned that expressing gratitude as often as possible, especially in the face of adversity, is so very rewarding and fulfilling. It feels a whole lot better than dwelling on the negative and indulging in self pity and despair.

February 25th I was in a burlesque show with my sister, which was a lot of hard work and a lot of fun. This is the night I met Eddie.

At Easter I went to SWEAT Sydney's running camp in Jindabyne with Mark Chandler and we met so many lovely, inspirational and talented people, like Milov, Nathan, Nikki and Pip. As Mark and I summited Kosciusko, I temporarily released myself of fear and self doubt, embraced the joy I take in being in my body and admitted that I desperately long to inspire people on a big scale: that I want to be a motivational speaker. Just as I had found the requisite courage and hope to change my life in 2009 and leave telecommunications to work in health and fitness, I found the requisite strength and courage to build on the dream that I was realising.

I haven't stopped since. I am building, layer upon layer, the life that is genuinely representative of all my hopes and dreams. Despite injuries in March, May and again in June, I completed a sub 2 hour half marathon with a severe upper respiratory tract infection. In May I also moved out into my dream flat, on my own for the first time in my life, in my ideal location. I then bid farewell to the green hair I had so cherished as one of my defining traits for over a decade. I decided to experiment with being approachable, warm and open. What good things that brought!

Not long afterwards, I met Geoff. He saw the potential in me to be a motivational speaker and positive role model. He also set me on the quest to obtain my first prosthesis and learn to ride a bike - my idea being to participate in triathlons... On my quest, however, Richard from APC Prosthetics put me in touch with the paralympic talent search team and on September 12th I participated in a talent search day. 2 weeks later I gave my first motivational keynote speech, shortly after which I received my letter from the Paralympic Committee encouraging me to train in both athletics and cycling... I love endurance, though, so I elected to focus my energy and efforts on becoming a cyclist.

I spent October away on the trip of a lifetime, trekking through Nepal and visiting Everest Base Camp. I made amazing friends, like Jim, on this journey as well as seeing so many beautiful things. I journalled every day I was away and grew so strong - mentally, emotionally and physically. As I had left Sydney, things were reaching fever pitch and this resumed immediately upon my return.

It was not much more than a week after my return to Sydney that I received an email from the Paralympic Committee advising me that I should mark an important set of dates in my calendar for classification - the track nationals February 3-6 2011. I still had no bike or arm, but I was resolute and not lacking in conviction. I knew I had to raise 10k to get my bike and kit - the problem was I had to do it quickly. I appealed to the people around me, using the internet and forming a relationship with TAD and this was truly the experience of a lifetime.

Feeling a net of support form beneath me, extending such good will and generous donations, my goal was achieved. By the good nature of the people I have contact with, I was able to collect my beautiful racing bike and all the trimmings and kit anyone could ever dream of on Christmas eve. (Thanks again Mark and all the team at Clarence St Cyclery!)

It all worked out and through funding from Centrelink, I got my prosthesis, too. I was able to start training on my stationary trainer in my loungeroom on boxing day and spend the last precious days of my incredible 2010 by building the base of who I will be in 2011. Debzillah the cyclist.

The reading highlights of the year were the Millenium Trilogy and Lance Armstrong's "Its Not About the Bike". That book there has really helped set me in the right frame of mind for things to come.

This is the first of 2 installments. I've looked into my past and next I will write about my plans for the future. I've written this more for me than anyone else, but if you've read this far, I hope you got something out of it :)

On The Right Track

2010-12-11T08:26:00.001+11:00

Thanks to the incredible support of the amazing people I'm surrounded by, throughout the global network of connected individuals, everything is progressing swimmingly.

Centrelink approved funding for my prosthesis and it is currently being configured by APC Prosthetics in Northmead. I have to head to the office, bike in tow, to test it on Tuesday. While I'm over there, I need to go in and meet all my friends at TADNSW, who have let me piggyback off their charity to raise - can you believe it - $10,100?! Wow! I'll come back to this point.

I've changed bike supplier and what a great choice that has turned out to be! My coach suggested that it would be beneficial for me to work with Clarence St Cyclery because they're close to my work, he has a great relationship with the manager and because they have developed a support relationship with the Paralympic team. They are very sympathetic to my cause, also, and have given me a great deal, as well as being tremendously attentive and helpful. Danni and I went in to get me fitted up for the bike and there is only 1 part missing from completion. If that part can be sourced locally (it is currently on backorder), then within a week from now, I'll have my bike and stationary trainer in my home!! The funds raised are sufficient to cover my bike and trainer, helmet and cleats, proper clothing, a good lock AND insurance.

Learning to ride, on the other hand, is the biggest challenge I've faced yet. I met coach Tom out at Dunc Grey velodrome on Tuesday to have my first lesson... It was super tough. 28 years of my oblique slings functioning in their specific and unique alignment, which involves my right ribs slotting over to the right hand side of my right hip, is a difficult thing to correct and is prohibitive to me finding the balance point and position to allow for solo riding. Technical and complicated, I know, but essentially it lead to me being exhausted within 10 minutes! The other problem is that, unlike my coach, I'm not very patient. Seeing me try to ride for the first time, he just smiled and sighed and said "this is going to take a while."

Raising over $10 000 in such a short time has not only done amazing things for my confidence, but it has exposed me to the beauty of the human spirit and the power of human generosity and kindness. The wonderful ways in which people contributed and the ideas people had were ingenious and touching. I need to make a couple of shout outs:

To Skye Jones, for calling for paper bag donations in all her spin classes.
To Diane Azzopardi for auctioning her dvds to contribute.
To Jules, who sold his artwork at a discount and donated a percentage to me.
To Louise and Steve Kovacs, for their generous donation and requesting that I write to their nieces and nephews - which I did.
To Fitness First Bond St for running a charity day with $10 sessions and all proceeds going to me - thanks also to the PTs who volunteered their time for me.
To FSP for their $1500 contribution and complete support.
To the friends I didn't know I had or hadn't heard from in so long who surprised and delighted me with HUGE donations.
To Donna and Alison, for all your advice and encouragement.
To Ingrid, for the posters, for listening, for being patient, for my website, my newsletter, for everything.
To Eddie, Chandler and Danni: for being my tripod of closest friends, who support me in every way, every day. It takes a lot of flexibility and patience!
To Scott and Louise, who jumped in at the very last to push me over the line.
To everyone who contributed in any way. For Donating. For spreading the word. For believing in me. For caring. For being part of something bigger than ourselves.

Thank you <3

This Amazing Journey

2010-11-25T09:39:00.003+11:00

I am pretty positive most of the time that I lead a particularly charmed life. I live in a GORGEOUS city, it is a beautiful time of year, I love my work because I find it so satisfying and rewarding to help people change their bodies, minds and lives. I have found my soul mate and life partner and I live exactly how I believe and see fit. I run when I want to, swim, dance, move, live, breathe, share, eat and cook. I experience so much joy.

It wasn't always like this. In fact, I've been through times tougher and darker than many. That's another thing I'm glad for - that most people can be spared those experiences, but also that I'm strong enough to shoulder them.

I'm happy as it is and I'm totally glad to be here... I'm an ambitious creature though and I love a good challenge, so the opportunity to work towards a gold medal in cycling at the paralympics when I've never ridden a bike alone is something I simply can't pass up. In fact, it frightens me to admit I've never wanted anything so badly in my whole life.

So I'm just back from a month overseas, trekking in Himalaya - hard to be me, right? I start planning some fundraising events and plotting some ideas for February - when people's wallets have had a chance to recover from Christmas and New Years, and so my ideas and events are well conceived and well executed.

Then on Monday I received an email from the Paralympic Committee advising that the National track championships are on February 3-6 2011, and that I need to attend for classification and to put down a time.

BUT I HAVE NO BIKE OR PROSTHESIS!?

So after a minor panic attack, I resolve to set to work on Tuesday to raise funds for my bike with the special gear set that will enable me to ride one handed and the stationary trainer that will enable me to ride MY bike, indoors, without an arm. I got up early and wrote a plan and brainstormed with my close friend, graphic designer and web site producer, Ingrid in Canada. I was on the phone by 9am, spoke to my accountant about the possible ways I could raise funds without the tax man eating them instead of them going to my bike and the donors receiving the tax deductions they deserve. The only feasible solution was to partner with a charity.

I got onto the Everyday Hero site and went through the list of charities geared towards helping people with disabilities... When I got down to T, I discovered TADNSW - Technical Aids for the Disabled. A charity with a service called Freedom Wheels - specifically aimed at assisting the disabled to ride bikes! Well YAY - that's exactly what I want to do! So I got on the phone secured an authority to fund raise. I see the beginnings of a beautiful partnership... While its fantastic that I found this organisation just when I needed them most, I must say that I'm completely baffled and bewildered by the fact that I have not once heard of this service in all my 28 years. I could have started riding long ago!

I spoke to the team at Renegade Cycles and made sure they knew about my order and were happy to help and I also contacted my friends at Financial Service Partners, who helped launch my motivational speaking career. Then I built my fundraising page and got Ingrid to help me writeup the facebook event.

At 1pm Tuesday I launched my fundraising campaign on Facebook and Twitter. I sent my email campaign shortly after. To my astonishment, the donations started rolling in immediately, accompanied by beautiful messages of encouragement and support. It was an incredible feeling to be connected to so many people in the faith and hope that I will reach this lofty goal of raising $10 000 in 10 days, and ultimately success in para-cycling. At the time of writing this entry, less than 48 hours later, I have raised $4535. INCREDIBLE.

Wednesday was another big day! Fitness First have offered to run a fund raising event where the PTs will give 30 minute training sessions for $10, with all proceeds going to my cause. FSP have a plan to raise funds for me and another friend is pitching me to her company in the hopes of securing corporate sponsorship (thanks Donna!). I also met with my cycling coach, Tom Skulander, and will be headed out to the Velodrome to start training with him (see: learning to ride a bike, Jayme Paris' old one!) on Tuesday.

This morning I did another big thing and instructed APC Prosthetics to go ahead and order my arm from the US. I am confident that funding for the prosthesis will be secured when required.

The response has been completely overwhelming. This amount of support is something I never dreamed I was destined for. I just keep trying to keep on top of the donation emails, responding with my expressions of gratitude, regardless of how insignificant and unsubstantial they seem to me as compensation.

My eyes keep welling up with tears. This journey is amazing. I have never felt so loved.

If you have made it this far through reading my post, please share this link to my fundraising page and my story with everyone you know.

<3

13 Hours in Hell: The Detox Debacle

2010-11-12T19:49:00.000+11:00

I think I'm about to start vomiting. I keep burping the flavor of vital greens which I vow never to drink again. I've just eaten a carrot and I'm wondering when I'll start feeling better. I have been crying and barely have the energy to type. This is awful.

Those are the words that crossed my mind more times in the past 3 hours that at any time in memory.

This. Is. Awful.

It started with great intentions. Dani and I booked this 7 day fasting detox in before I went to Nepal. The goal of the exercise is to remove plaque and mucus buildup from the intestine and eliminate lots of stored toxins from the body, resulting in improved energy levels, mental clarity, skin condition - not to mention digestion. It sounded like just what I wanted to achieve. A bodily toxin reset. Besides, I'd never tried a fast before and as a health professional it appealed to me as an area I would like to be able to discuss from having personal experience.

Never. Again.

The method was taken from Daniel Reid's Tao. We are meant to drink psyllium husk, hydrated bentonite (a clay to attract toxins) and vital greens on a rotating roster 5 times per day. His method suggests home colonic irrigation daily. I decided on a professionally administered colonic at the beginning and end of the detox. The first colonic would be my first ever.

I'm not at all hungry, though I was at 10am. It passed. I've been awake since 5:30. I've been mildly dizzy and light headed since 11am. Throughout the day, this dizziness has increased, as has the light headedness. It peaked at 6:30pm when I lay on my bed crying, hoping beyond hope for the room to stop spinning. Any movement of my head amplified this a hundredfold. The nausea rushed over my in waves. It felt horrible and depressing. It did not feel like I was being nice to my body. It felt (and feels) like punishment, torture and deprivation. Not AT ALL like the nurturing or supportive outcome I was trying to accomplish.

This is not practicing self care. This is not balanced. This is not healthy. My brain is completely deprived of glucose, my body weak and my vision blurred. My skin tingles and my ears ring. This is destroying my metabolism AND I'm running 34km in 14 days.

In short, this was a very bad idea.

I have, however, learned some really cool stuff.

Today I had my first colonic. I learned not only through the experience of what happens, but from the advice of the practitioner who administered it. She talked to me at length about nutrition in terms of the foods best suited to both my blood type and the symptoms my bowel displayed. I learned that green tea dehydrates the bowel as much as coffee and my interest in an alkaline diet was renewed.

I had made some resolutions as to how I would eat following the detox and I'm going to skip straight to them - eating primarily organic fruits and veg, sprouted grain and raw, with the addition of making alkaline food choices. But I'm definitely not going to torture my body one second longer. Holding walls in order to walk, sitting to dry retch whilst feeling incurably miserable were all great signs to quit. When I reached that conclusion and called on my support crew, she was already on the same page and eating turkey.

We had realised, in the words of James Yates, "that life is too short to be skinny, dizzy or boring".

The End.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jog.

2010-11-10T11:40:00.000+11:00

Why Hello There!

I have returned from an amazing adventure, trekking through Himalaya. I took LOTS of beautiful photos. The ones I took sightseeing in Kathmandu you can see here and those from the actual trek are viewable here.

This is a great little map of the trek itself:

I cleared customs in Brisbane, Australia and headed to Byron Bay for the Lighthouse 10km, an annual event and a favourite of mine. Boy oh boy I could tell I hadn't run in 4 weeks! It was TOUGH. I even needed walk breaks. From the turnaround point down on the beach, I started chatting with a lovely speech pathologist from the area named Cathy. It definitely made those last 2km much more enjoyable.

I arrived home on Monday evening, November 1st and my tenants were wonderful. They left my apartment in better condition than I had given it to them in! It was such a blessing.

I had been well for the entirity of my nepalese adventure. I had 1 day of stomach upset in Namche and 1 day of a sore throat. And then I came home.. I got gastro AND a chest infection once I had returned! So the germs of a developing country are no match for my immunity, but apparently Australia is. I think it was the air travel. I'm finally recovered from that and easing back into work at the gym.

Last Thursday I had another fitting for the socket attachment of my prosthesis, which is very exciting and coming along nicely :). On Monday, I was visited by a staff member from Work Focus to assess the requirement for my prosthesis in my place of employment. Hopefully this will result in the government's Employee Assistance Program providing funding for me. On the downside, the process is a little slow.

In slightly disappointing news, I didn't win the New You Awards and will have to get cracking on serious fundraising for my $10 000 road bike in the new year. I'll focus on the arm first. I think it will be far less stressful if I tackle one thing at a time.

As we hurtle towards the end of the year, I decided that the best gift I could give myself is a finely tuned version of myself. I decided to embark on an 80 day transformation on the day I left for Nepal in order to ensure I enter 2011 in improved mental, physical and spiritual shape. Regular journalling is key and there is a whole list of objectives contained within my entries. Completing the trek in good health and without injury was another goal, so hooray for having ticked that one off already!

The next stage of the transformation is a little scary. My friend and fellow trainer Dani will be accompanying me on Daniel Reid's 7 day fasting detox, which is all about cleansing and purification. I've never done a detox before, and I've certainly never gone 7 days only drinking supplements and not eating. Add to this that I've never had a colonic, of which there are 2 through the detox, and you'll get an idea where my trepidation stems from :)

There's lots more in the works, but I'll leave you with this for now. Until next time!

<3

Loving The Journey

2010-10-02T06:42:00.000+10:00

The Toyota Paralympic Talent Search was an incredible experience and I got so much out of it. Meeting bronze medalist Jayme Paris and her devoted mother Trayce was a huge gift. This is a relationship I look forward tremendously to developing over the coming years.

Fast forward 10 days and my first motivational speech for a Financial Service Partners dinner was a great success. I couldn't have done so well without the tremendous support, guidance and encouragement of Andrew May, or without Geoff organising the event. I was completely unprepared for the positive response I received or the amount and quality of support offered. More great contacts made, more amazing relationships to nurture and grow.

2 short days after that and I was sitting in APC Northmead with plaster drying on my arm - my first ever mould for creating a socket for my first ever prosthesis, the arm. My phone rang and it was fitness first calling to tell me that I had made the finals for the $30000 New You Awards.

Another 2 days and I received my letter from the Paralympic Committee, encouraging me to continue training for both cycling and athletics! 2 more days and the New You Awards came and filmed an interview with me in the gym and a request for permission to contact the local media followed.

In short, the good news has flowed freely in my direction. I am with a man that I love passionately and on a journey that I feel the same way about. I know what I want. I have clarity. I have direction. My goals are clear and success would feel amazing, but RIGHT NOW is better than the end game. I'm really loving the journey. Every moment is incredible. I'm living my life from the heart and I honestly feel that this is the biggest reward in itself. Once I took that first step in the direction of my dreams, everything around it has fallen into place so naturally. I never want this to end.

I do so love life all its challenges and my next one begins Monday, when I fly out. I'll be overseas for a month, and for 25 days I'll be trekking through the Himilayas, headed for Everest Base Camp. You can find plenty of information about my trip here. I'll have my best friend with me and a fully loaded kit of supplied we have spent months accumulating. I've no doubt this will be the trip of a lifetime.

I'm also using the trip as the start of an 80 day challenge to mentally, spiritually and physically prepare myself for 2011. I want to finish 2010 in the shape that I want to maintain from day 1 of the coming year and I will do everything in my power to ensure that the next year is the best one so far. Once I'm back, I will be detoxing, goal setting, programming and planning. I will write in a journal for 20 minutes every single day starting Monday. I'm going to head towards this years' end having taken stock and expressed gratitude for all that it has brought me and for the person I have become - and I'm going to do everything in my power to ensure that person is everything that I can be :)

See you in November! Xx

The Snowball Effect

2010-09-03T09:23:00.000+10:00

I'm 9 days away from participating in the paralympic talent search day and I need to turn my head space around.

Calamity has snowballed over the past 2 weeks: I have dropped and smashed my PDA twice in ten days ($120, $150) and last night locked my keys in my apartment ($120). These things don't really impact me in any meaningful way, but I think energetically I may have drawn them to me by my mounting dread and negativity.

Yesterday was the worst day I have experienced in recent memory. I have been training exceptionally hard and had an extremely tough and rewarding hill session on Wednesday morning. It was physically draining and my legs have suffered. I have also been limiting my carb intake. My first practice run of the beep test yesterday afternoon really reflected these two factors and my result was terrible. My legs just wouldn't serve me, though the lungs were OK. My attitude was terrible going into the test and I let myself down from the very beginning. Worse than the result itself was my emotional reaction to it. I was a tearful mess for the hours following. Its a good sign that I'm carb depleted, over-trained, but most of all, I'm completely overwhelmed.

As a child, I was kicked off the school netball team. I was always the last girl picked for any sports team. My self esteem in the sporting arena was abysmal and my performance reflected my sentiments. In 9 days time, when I step onto that field, I don't want those memories to come with me. I don't want those feelings to hinder me. This fear of failure I'm currently battling is at risk of paralyzing me. I want to send it packing. I want to summon the internal power, the strength and will to make all that negativity turn on its heels and flee. I want this entry to be the turning point to setting me on track to positivity.

The people I will meet at next Sunday's talent search will likely have had very similar childhood experiences to me. They have all faced adversity. Their bio-mechanics are all going to be challenging them in different ways, just as mine challenge me. This is my opportunity to compete on a level playing field. It's also my opportunity to shine. What I would love to be able to do is go in there and beam. I have this light inside me. This power to inspire people just through my radiant love of being alive. I want to generate that energy and to produce enough of it to motivate ALL of us next weekend. I want the experience to be a positive one for every athlete on the field, but especially so for every single person I come into contact with. I want us all to be enriched and feel like winners on the day and for the outcome to be secondary to the experience.

Please send me your love, thoughts, well wishes and positive energy to help me make it so. <3

The Roof Of Australia

2010-08-15T21:05:00.005+10:00

Nearly 20:30 on a Sunday eve. I've just arrived back in Sydney and spring is definitely in the air. It is the conclusion of a fantastic weekend, filled with fun and adventure.

At 13:30 on Friday afternoon, El Flangers picked me up from my apartment in Randwick and we set off for my first ever adventure in the snow. We ate dinner at Angie's Italian in Jindabyne, and just after 21:30pm we pulled up at our accommodation, which until that point had been kept secret from me! We stayed at Rodney the Rocket Fox's Rivergum Lodge, in our own private log cabin with a wood fire and everything!

The mission was to unpack and quickly get to bed, as we needed to be up shortly after 6am. On Saturday, we breakfasted at 7am then headed into to town where we met our guide, Nick, at the Wilderness Sports store and collected our snow shoes and other necessities. Finally, we set out for Thredbo village. It was such a sloooooooow journey because every man and his dog wanted to get to the snow! The weather was beautiful and there had been recent good falls. We, however, were not heading to the fields in order to ski or snowboard. We were headed on a trek from Thredbo to the summit of Mount Kosciuszko on a journey entitled "The Roof of Australia".

As we approached the Kosciuszko Express chairlift, I went into sensory overload, surrounded by glistening white for the very first time and about to embark on my first chairlift experience! It was with much awkward nervousness that I sat between my mals counterparts, but once we were headed up the mountain I quickly began to enjoy absorbing all this new input, the sights and sounds of a busy snowfield. By the time we reached the top, the situation had drastically changed and we faced very different conditions on the mountain. Once we had attached our snow shoes, we started making our way into a very strong headwind, but for the first half hour, we still had clear sky.

It was magic. In the sunlight, I marveled at the way the snow glistened like diamonds. I noticed the different textures of snow; soft, hard, icy, bumpy, flat - all of it incredible to me! As we approached Rams Head, the strong headwind became fierce and the weather closed in. The blue sky was ancient history and we experienced frequent white outs. It was very tough going and as the feeling came and went from my fingers they burned and ached. It was also extremely challenging mentally and just 30 minutes away from the summit, conditions became so bad our guide made the executive decision that we should turn back... But we didn't. We agreed to go another 50m and if it didn't improve then we would abort... Improve it did - albeit very slightly! 30 minutes later and I was ELATED to find myself at the summit of our highest mountain for the second time this year - but under strikingly different conditions to my first encounter with this mountain. That magical place where I feel so centered and alive. Where all things are clear to me and I am able to release myself of all fear and anxiety.

After a quick photo stop, we headed towards Rawsons Pass and homeward bound. Less than 2 hours later, we were back at the chair lift and on our way down to Thredbo village. Of course, once we reached the bottom, the weather was just as perfect as when we had embarked on our journey, if a little windier than before. We essentially trekked the red trail on this map:

Overjoyed but thoroughly spent, we stopped in at the Wild Brumby Schnapps Distillery for a tasting on our way back to Jindabyne. We spent the evening chatting with Rodney back at the Rivergum - as it turns out, he's a city2surf legend and we had much running to discuss :)

Today we made our way back to Sydney at a very leisurely pace and along some very scenic roads.. Secure in the knowledge that our gear for Everest has been successfully tested and that we are made of the right stuff to tough it out! Adam was fantastic company and I am so so grateful to him for taking me on this adventure and organizing it all :) I just had to pack and tag along!

Forging my Way!

2010-07-19T09:20:00.000+10:00

What a roller-coaster the past 7 days have been! The wonderful human being who has sparked me up to commence this big adventure shall now be known as Geoff, and subsequent to our meeting on Monday, I have a meeting set up with Tony Adams and Melissa Moon on Thursday morning! Very exciting stuff :)

This week I also met with 2 providers of prosthetic limbs and selected who I am going to proceed with, as they have contacts within the AIS and paralympics.

The first meeting I had on Tuesday left me feeling quite despondent, though of course I never allowed that to show through my determination face. The reality, though, is that upper limb amputations make up only a very small percentage - something like 5% - of all amputees and only a very small percentage of those upper limb amputees are above the elbow. Due to us making up a small minority group, there is no money or market to have stimulated the research, development and production of load bearing, motorised elbow joints. Simply learning this fact left me feeling insignificant and very isolated. Although I learnt that I could acquire tools to assist me in riding a bike, holding a dumbell/barbell and even balance me while I run, my hopes of attempting two-handed push ups and handstands were effectively crushed.

That didn't feel very good. What compounded my sadness and frustrations was that I had no access to speak with anyone like me who would really understand what I was feeling. As a one armed girl in a two armed world, the more I spoke to my friends about it, the more frustrated I became by the fact that they couldn't really get it because they didn't know what disability meant. At the same time, my understanding of what being disabled really means and how it can feel grew tremendously. As my limb deficiency is part of who I am and part of my experience, it would serve me well to become more comfortable with handling these emotions instead of rejecting them in defiance. I'm an adult now and the time has really come for me to embrace and accept the whole package. It is, however, quite a difficult and daunting journey to be embarking on alone. The road is very interesting, but I have no shoulder to cry on when I hit speed bumps. Whilst I'm enjoying the freedom and flexibility of single life, it is difficult facing these challenges alone and a bit sad not to have anyone beside me with whom to share my journey. On the other hand, when I come through the other side, I will really own my success and the pride that will accompany it for having done it alone. I try to hold onto that thought.

Friday was a big turnaround day, though! First I met with the Amputee Association of NSW and hope to develop a relationship with them that is long lasting and super strong. There is great promise for a mutually rewarding and beneficial future delivering improvements to the amputee community at large. Someone just needs to bring them all together... It was at this meeting that I was shown a picture in a magazine of an athlete using a sea leg with an elbow joint as an arm to ride a bike! Such a resourceful and understanding bunch of people at this association... And it was armed with these new resources and information that I then went and met with APC.

Subsequent to this informative meeting, I elected to continue my journey with APC. Firstly, we are going to get everything sorted to enable me to ride a bike, weight train and run balanced. Stage 2 will look at using the power knee joint to make an adapted elbow for load bearing activity.. But that one is a mission of a couple of hundred thousand dollars and not in my immediate future. The meeting was very positive and filled me with hope and marveling at the possibilities of how my future will unfold. I left smiling. It was exactly what I needed.

What does the immediate future hold for me?'

I'll need to get a script raised for the prosthesis and see how much funding the government will supply.
The gap will need to be sorted out through fundraising activities of an EPIC nature! More on that when I have the quotes and dollar figures.
I need to research Amputee Athletes within the AIS and Paralympics to see how I can get on that path.
I need to write my story... *gulp* This needs to be done post haste as I appear to have my first speaking gig the first week of September.

And in other marvellous news, I have recovered from my injury and was able to run this weekend! Watch out bay runners and city2surfers!

Til next time! Xx

Serendipity

2010-07-06T14:00:00.000+10:00

Last Wednesday morning at 10:05am, less than 48 hours after my previous post, a gentleman who was starting his workout approached me on the gym floor and asked if I could tell him my story. I replied that I was on my way to a meeting but gave him my card.

Luck had it that the meeting was cancelled and I was able to go back and have a very interesting conversation. He asked me if I was interested in public speaking. I said it was my dream. He asked how I lost my arm. I told him my story. He is the CEO of a financial services organisation and interested in my motivational capabilities.

The outcome of the 40 minutes that we spent together is that he intends to have me trained in public motivational speaking and has events already earmarked for me to present at. I have been tasked to research the prosthesis that would best serve my requirements and to start working towards breaking the record for one-armed push ups.

It dawned on me at the conclusion of our conversation that, one day very soon, I will ride a bike. I could be on my way to being a role model. This brought me to tears, completely overwhelmed and needing to be pinched.

With cautious optimism, I sent out an email to my close friends to say what had just taken place. We are all so excited about what lies ahead.

Since last Wednesday, I have completed 50 push ups. That was Saturday. I still hurt! The record is 105 in 10 minutes. I reckon I'll go for 120 - by Christmas.

My next meeting with this gentleman (who shall for the time being remain nameless) is scheduled for Monday 12/07/2010 at 11:30am. I'm also meeting a prosthetician the following day, to spec out my exact requirements.

Watch this space!

Adversity Addled

2010-06-28T11:08:00.000+10:00

Last night, when I started this entry, I was seated on the floor of my new residence in Randwick, icing my ankle. I have been plagued by running injuries these past months and the latest is Tibialis Posterior Tendinopathy. I was hopeful that 2 weeks of massively reduced training load would be adequate to have me fit to run the Gold Coast Half Marathon, but a test run Sunday morning has very loudly confirmed that I'll be walking the race.

Lucky for me, I'll have walking company! I have been on 2 running camps this year with Sweat Sydney and both were SO enriching! I have met such inspirational, amazing runners and made some life long friends. My friend Nathan Hayes is also currently injured and will be walking the half next Sunday. Its a huge shame for him because he is a lightning fast runner, but with his first full Marathon to look forward to in New York later this year, its important right now to recover from current injuries and nurture his body.

I need to really embrace that injury recovery and healing are key, as I have a major event to look forward to later in the year myself: El Flangers and I are off to Everest Base Camp!

For the month of October, he and I will be trekking through the Himalayas and it is absolutely critical that my body is injury free. Adam has offered me this trek as my birthday gift this year. No one has done anything quite so amazing for me in my entire life and I feel so blessed and honored.

With all this in mind, though, today really hurts. I'm grieving. Frustration and depression are rattling me and I'm struggling hard to hold it together.

The most amazing thing happened for me on the Easter running camp in Jindabyne. Our long Sunday run was from Charlotte Pass to the summit of Mount Kosciusko and Mark Chandler was my running buddy. I loved the run and was grateful for his company. It was awesome to share the experience with him. Once I had reached the summit of our nation's highest peak, I was able to release myself from the fear of failure, if only temporarily. I realised who I am, what I love, where my passion is and what I want from life.

I am a distance runner. I am girl with one arm who finds joy and freedom in running. It is my truest love and my greatest passion. I embraced my power to inspire people. I embraced that I wholly enjoy creating connections with people and sharing stories of our experiences as well as sharing the experiences themselves. I long to ignite the spirits of those people I come into contact with and I want to illuminate them with fresh hope, courage and bravery as they share in mine. I want to travel the world from age 30 running marathons and speaking to people, motivating, inspiring and enriching them. I want to be sponsored to do this.

I want to experience balance in my body and the fullness of function that a human can experience. To this end, I would like my sponsors to assist in funding a functional myoelectric limb. I desperately long to ride a bike and this would allow me to broaden my horizons, expanding my view as an athlete to encompass triathlon.

I guess this injury I am currently suffering does help the triathlete's cause: I will need to get in the pool and on the bike, because it will be some time before I can run again.

It is the accumulation of these desires and experiences that leads me to my grief today. I am separated from the outlet that allows me to connect with my joy, my freedom and my passion. The love and support of my friends right now is vital.

My friend Clint, who is also a PT from Fitness First Bond St just messaged me with some sage advice;
"You can't allow injury to break you mentally. It's a set back, yes, but not the end of the world. You just need to change which half you're going to do. There are heaps more. Nothing will break you if you roll with it. Our job is to keep people motivated and mine is especially to show you that there are opportunities out there every day. Reevaluate yours and move forward - it makes you stronger."

From Strength to Strength

2010-03-28T20:37:00.000+11:00

A few weeks ago whilst out on the bay run with dotmef, I had a very bad fall. I was marvelling at what a beautiful morning it was in Sydney and how blessed we are when I should really have been paying attention to the roots and rocks beneath my feet. As a result, I tripped and fell. I took a very pointy rock in my already problematic left knee. That was the worst of my numerous injuries.

I hobbled around in pain for a few days, humiliated by my inability to walk quickly or negotiate stairs, but with time, I healed. I rested. I listened to my body. I saw doctors and learnt that it was not broken. They said the swelling was not normal, though, and that I need to see a specialist to have that looked at. Its not urgent for me, though. I saw my physio who cleared me of any ligament damage and said the residual pain was the result of bone bruising that could take a few months to settle. I was given the go ahead to start upping my kilometres once more.

So 48 hours later I was on the grass at centennial park, and I ran again the following Thursday and I ran AGAIN Saturday morning and my knee has never felt better! I'm very excited because this time next week I'll be in Jindabyne, having already completed 2 or 3 training runs and preparing to run up Australia's highest peak - Mount Kosciusko!

Conny is back here from Switzerland, so a group of us are going along with Sean William's Sweatsydney training camp to do some running as well as some catching up and chilling out. I cannot wait!

Check out our itinerary!

After an idyllic Sunday spent tandem biking around La Perouse and Little Bay, followed by my nephew's 2nd birthday party, I've just spent 2.5 hours in the kitchen preparing my food for the following week. On the menu are the following items:

Hummus (my recipe)
Salsa (my recipe)
TONNES of crudites - snowpeas, capsicum, carrot, celery, cucumber
A massive salad dressed in seeded mustard and lemon juice with lots of olives and cherry tomatoes
3 grilled fish fillets
A huge batch of DELICIOUS spinach and chick pea soup
4 boiled eggs.

Om nom nom and bon appetit! :) Time to check in on my challengers! Xx

Good Food and Gratitude!

2010-02-01T14:28:00.003+11:00

I can't believe I'm already on day 29 of the 12 week challenge! Holy cow, it just flies. The first month of 2010 is already over and that just completely blows my mind.

I've lost 1.5kgs, which is pretty sweet considering I'm already a very active person and a healthy eater with little to lose. I though that seeing as the challenge is 1/3 of the way over, I'd share some of my favourite foods with you.

Today I made Tanya Dyhin's breakfast smoothie. Her base ingredients are fruit, soy milk, an egg, cinnamon and ice. Mine had an egg, malt free organic soy milk, half a frozen banana, some frozen mango chunks and raspberries with cinnamon. Pretty tasty indeed!

I make another type of smoothie as an afternoon snack. It has soft or silken tofu, cinnamon, frozen berries (no bananas for me after midday cos of the carb content) and ice. If you add water or juice its a smoothie, but I like to eat it like yoghurt, with a spoon.

I eat loads of tinned and frozen fish - I know fresh is best, but its just not that convenient for my lifestyle, eating out of my backpack. I eat the tiny tins of smoked salmon in springwater as well the coles brand spanish, italian, morrocan, mexican, japanese and spicy tomato and chilli tunas. I split a tin of sardines in spring water into 2 serves.

I make my own hummus using chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic, tahini and I add chilli and cumin. I dip celery, carrot, capsicum and cucumber in it, as well as the occasion wholegrain 9 grains vita wheats or a couple of multigrain or soy and linseed corn thins. I might also spread a little macro organic nothing added crunchy peanut butter on one of those as a treat. Whilst on the subject of chick peas, I buy the bag of chick nuts from woolworths and divide it up into little snack container portions which are great on the go.

I also love fruit as a snack with a couple of almonds and sunflower seeds to make the energy last. I keep apples and bananas for the am.

I have first lunch, around lunch time, and second lunch, later on. For first lunch I might have a version of a lentil stew i make at home. Sometimes I use regular lentils, sometime yellow, sometimes both! I cook them slowly with onions, garlic, spinach and tomatoes (tinned, fresh or both) and any number of herbs or spices - chilli, ginger, tumeric and cumin are all wonderful. I throw in mushrooms and olives if I have some. Sometimes I'll mix that with a tin of salmon post reheating.

Second lunch is usually a salad with a tin of fish and a piece of fruit (nectarine, blueberries, peach). My salads contain loads of green leaves and cherry tomatoes, cucumber, olives and mushies. I dress it with seeded mustard, lemon juice and a splash of olive oil. Sometimes its steamed firm tofu with chilli, broccoli and various other vegies.

I try not to eat dinner after 8, but that's not always easy working my hours! My favourite meal is grilled salmon and steamed vegies - carrots, brussel sprouts, broccoli, beans, peas, zucchini, capsicum - I'll eat them all if I've got them! I will always use vegies as the base of my meal and also like to make a stir fry using a frozen hoki fillet. Both are very quick, very easy, tasty, satisfying and ultra healthy.

Hopefully this gives you all some healthy ideas that you can introduce into your days!

Onto the next subject, I'm going through some pretty tough times in life right now, but I think its important to express gratitude for what we do have, especially when worried, sad or suffering. So today, I choose to express gratitude in the form of a top ten list. Here goes:

I'm thankful for the car my mum bought me. Stellar is the basis of my independence and is a wonderful machine that brings me immense pleasure and joy.
I'm thankful for my mum and all my brothers and sisters who are there to hear me and support.
I'm thankful for my wonderful friends and clients who make a huge and positive impact on my life in so many ways.
I'm thankful for my chosen career path and my business, which provides me with the amazing opportunity to help people find better health, better confidence, greater happiness and longer life. I truly believe that society at large has an immense need to recconnect with body and breath, that being trapped inside our minds and stuck behind desks is a tremendous problem, but one I aim to combat.
I'm thankful for being in this body that allows me to dance and run. YAY I LOVE TO DANCE! YAY I LOVE TO RUN! Also, the specifics of my body and how I was born give me greater connection with it, as well as enabling me to inspire people! That's a huge gift :)
I'm thankful to live in Sydney! It's such a beautiful city with so many benefits. The sea, the weather, a beautiful harbour, every modern convenience, access to fresh food, water and air... This list could be a long one!
While we're at it, I'm just thankful to live! To experience the fullness of the human condition, for all its ups and downs.
I'm thankful for the internet! It allows me to connect with you all in so many ways and is a fantastic research tool! I only wish I had more time to take advantage of it.
I'm thankful that, for the most part, I do not want for necessities. I have shelter, food, clothing and transport. Already I have so much more than so many millions of people I share this planet with.
Finally, I'm thankful for Hayden. I know what it is to be truly loved, nurtured, supported, looked after and cared for and it is such a tremendous blessing that I'm truly grateful now for every single day that it was mine.

It has begun!!

2010-01-06T16:07:00.006+11:00

I guess some of you might be wanting to know more about the challenge than just my facebook status updates give away. Besides, that's my version of the challenge!

So here's how it works:

It doesn’t have to be about doing something drastic. It needs to be a commitment to making a difference.

You might want to pull out all the stops and do everything possible to be your ABSOLUTE best in 12 weeks. Or you might prefer to look long term and use my 12 week challenge as the first step in sculpting your lifestyle to be healthy forever, by implementing small changes, week by week.

We can work it how you want it. I’ll design this with you. It’s an individual program which is specific to your needs. The essentials remain the same:

· We track your diet and teach you how to eat properly to optimize your body function.

· We schedule your exercise routines and get you active, moving, breathing and burning.

· I keep you focussed and on track.

· I monitor your progress and record your results.

And those results are universal. You WILL have a better body in 84 days.

What you need to do:

1. Nominate a start date.

2. Maintain a food and exercise journal until such time as we are both satisfied that you know how to eat and properly to achieve your goals. Nominate your preference - paper or online.

3. Commit to a weekly weigh-in around the same time one morning each week and submit the results.

4. Submit a weekly exercise schedule to me – in advance.

5. Accept my weekly challenges and homework tasks.

My Commitment to YOU:

· If you’ve selected an online food and exercise journal, I’ll create that account for you and get you set up.

· I’ll track your progress, keep score and reward your efforts!

· I’ll keep it interesting! No 2 workouts with me will ever be the same, and no 2 weeks of your challenge will ever be the same.

· I’ll send you new information and resources every week to educate and motivate you.

· I will be there for you. If you need your hand held, I’ll do it. If you need an ear, I’ll listen. If you need advice I’ll give it!

· I WILL support and encourage you and I WILL NOT let you down.

If there’s anything else you need, please tell me! I’ll do my best to accommodate you. I want you to succeed and I’m here to help!

Check out my spiffy promo flier from the inimitable Ingrid of Frankenmedia Design!

How awesome is that?? I love it!!

On The Eve of my 12 Week Challenge!

2010-01-03T22:12:00.001+11:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Welcome to 2010 :)

I trust we've all had a fantastic break. I know *mine* was indulgent and spectacular, but as of tomorrow, all that is going to change.

Tomorrow, I'm starting my own 12 week challenge. 84 days from tomorrow, on Monday, March 29th, I want to look in the mirror, stand on the scale and be 100% certain that I look and feel the best I have ever looked. I want to be the fittest, leanest and meanest me that anyone has ever seen. And I want to stay that way for the rest of my life.

I'm planning my workouts for the next week, and I'm starting off with 6 days of strict detox. No refined flours, no sugars except those in fruit, no red meat, no dairy, no numbers or anything artificial. I'll be eating loads of fresh fruit and veg, silken tofu, organic malt free soy milk, chick peas, lentils and beans.

I'd go for longer, but on January 10th I have a 'girls picnic' planned at the winery. No problem! I have a strategy for coping with that. Food events just signal that I have to do an hour of hard workout on both the day, as well as the day after the event. That's all planned. Everything is negotiable and forewarned is fore-armed!

I have loads of other strategies to help get me through the challenge, a weekly weigh in to keep me accountable and a support network to hold me to it, too.

I also have a whole stack of online resources I'll be taking advantage of to keep me motivated and informed on how to eat clean and be healthy.

I will gladly share these with strategies and online resources with you, as well as inform you of my progress - just respond and say you're interested - but better yet:

JOIN THE CHALLENGE!

Experience the Debzillah Difference and Be Inspired to find your fittest, most fabulous self in 2010!

Kick off the new year like never before. Witness the incredible transformation your body can undergo with this program combining diet, exercise and expert motivation.

Makeover and photoshoot opportunities as well as skin care and beauty services, not to mention inspirational books, await the winners!

BE FIT. BE FABULOUS. BE INSPIRED!

I will guide you, provide interesting challenges for bonus points from week to week, and help you develop strategies SPECIFICALLY to suit you and get the most out of the 12 weeks. I will be with you and keep you on track EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.

So who is with me? WE CAN DO THIS!

C'mon. Get in touch. Tell your friends. Let's get started :)

The Foibles of Frustration

2009-12-30T21:53:00.000+11:00

Having one arm, whilst not a living nightmare or anything of the sort, comes with a whole lot of frustration.

Washing cutlery, carrying multiple items of any description, plaiting hair, tying corsets, cutting vegetables, bike riding, opening jars - the list of daily tasks that bear the burden of causing frustration because I find them so inherently difficult is quite long.

I'm quite independent, and I do as much as I can for myself as often as I can, but I do tire of it and most certainly appreciate when others offer assistance. I, personally, am always reluctant to request assist because I don't want to bother others with any of the annoyance or frustration that is part of my experience.

I usually do an OK job of not letting it get to me, of just getting on with it, of accomplishing bigger and better things to ensure that the small annoyances are kept in perspective....

There are a few things I do struggle with, however, and I happen to feel like like sharing them.

I never wanted an artificial arm growing up.

I was never made aware, at any time, that there might be a cut off date for my decision. That I might not be able to get a useful artificial limb once I turned a certain age. I only discovered that when I looked into my options 18 months ago, seeking any possible improvements to my quality of life and any possible reduction to my frustration level. What I learned was that the government would not provide funding for me to be equipped with any sort of bionic limb as I was over 15 years old and apparently unlikely to get any beneficial use from it.

No health professional assessed my unilateral condition and prescribed exercises to balance my physique, nor did they suggest that lever length and weight bearing activity on my left hand side would be necessary to stimulate muscular development or bone growth. These are conclusions I've come to myself, now that I'm an adult and qualified health professional.

I need that blasted artificial limb and the plastic, immovable barbie arm will not cut it. I need something to balance me out, something of comparable weight to a real arm. Something that can GRASP, so that I can lift weights, or hold stuff to open lids or chop vegetables or carry things.

Constantly lifting with my right hand side, conducting frequent weight bearing activity, always through one single side of my body - its not good! I'm prone to frequent injuries caused by strain and overuse, my pelvis is unstable which impacts my knees when I run, my abs develop asymmetrically because of core compensation - if I were to list all the physical consequences we would be here until xmas 2010!

The point of the story is, it took me a good while to swallow my pride and admit that I needed something more than what nature has granted me. In addition to my daily frustrations, it is further frustrating that if I am to procure a functional bionic limb, it would be to the value of a very large deposit on a very nice house in a lovely Sydney suburb from my own pocket, because no one bothered to tell me anything about anything as I was growing up this way.

I could throttle the general practice where I grew up. My parents were never offered any form of advice, consultation or referral on appropriate management of the development of limb deficient children. It came as a complete shock to everyone when the bone in my short left arm grew through the skin, creating infection, causing me tremendous pain and requiring surgery. In reality, it could easily have been predicted if I had effective management. I have no phalanges on the left hand side. Without creases in my elbow or knuckles on that side of my body, there was no way the skin could stretch to keep up with my bony growth spurt.

I don't want to moan, though. What I do want is to run. To ride. To climb. To lift. To lengthen my left trapezius and strengthen my latissimus dorsi. I need a functional lever in order to achieve these things and now I'm faced with the frustrations of not knowing where to turn and not being able to throw money at a solution.

I hope to find a solution to this pickle by the conclusion of 2010!

Thanks for reading :)

Yule and Yippee!

2009-12-26T12:30:00.000+11:00

Boxing day is upon us and we're wrapping up from xmas 2009 - my best xmas yet!

Not because of gifts (though they were excellent and plentiful!), but because of the amount of joy happiness contained within one day.

I woke at 620am and quickly dressed. 30 short minutes later I embarked on an 8km run to my sister's house in Concord for xmas breakfast. It wasn't a great run, my body complained loudly, but I ran at my own lazy pace and enjoyed listening to a podcast, which I hadn't done in some time. It was the gift I wanted to give myself - the gift of a run listening to my body. I arrived at the same time as mum and Hayden, which was excellent and got all the presents inside. My sister laid on a delicious breakfast feast with all sorts of delicious xmas naughtiness, everything from traditional xmas slice and fruitcake to smoked chicken and cranberry sauce and mango lychee salad with gippsland yoghurt. I played with Angus, my nephew, for a long time, running around in the garden, hopping jumping squealing and skipping. Then at 10:30 it was time to come home.

I had a run sheet listing in detail all the things that needed to be prepared for our xmas party and Mum and Hayden were just exceptional at assisting in executing every preparatory step. Hayden had spent days in advance preparing the house and setting up, we had glazed the ham and made the stuffing and custard the night before, so on xmas day we just focused on preparing each dish in order at set times. It was all amazingly stress free.

Frank brought 4 dozen oysters and a kilo of the nicest prawns I've ever eaten, Claudia and Chandler brought white wines and a selection of hard cheeses, Lauren brought red wines and a selection of soft cheeses and Vanessa brought a smoked salmon and cream pastry for entree. Hayden and mum had prepared boccinci basil and kumato skewers, as well.

My menu of mains included all manner of roast vegetables in fresh rosemary and sea salt, steamed broccolini with toasted almonds, parmesan pear and rocket salad, blacked and ginger glazed ham and, of course, the turkey, which contained a mango and macadamia stuffing.

We were all completely stuffed but everything was so delicious! I served my famous and popular mango trifle for dessert. This was accompanied by duelling dessert wines - my lillypilly and Chandler's De Bortoli. No one had room for coffee, brandy snaps or even a shot of limoncello. My stomach screamed in agony and I knew I had pushed too far! So painful, moaning from being overstuffed - I had to change my dress!! I'm not proud to admit I crossed the line and ate far too much for my little tum to handle and committed in massive overindulgence. It felt really bad and I don't ever want to do it again!

The cleanup was even easier. Everyone pitched in and 98% of the washing up was done and put away before our final guests left at 1130pm!

Today, however, I feel a bit like I've been hit by a truck. All I'm capable of is sitting here in my dressing gown. I have loads of admin and research to do though, and its not often that I get the opportunity to spend a day either on my bottom nor at home. Building up my business is consuming about 65 hours of my week, all of which are spent without net access. Next week, however, is looking particularly quiet, so I'm hoping to finalise details and prizes for the Debzillah 12 week challenge! But more on that later :)

Here, have a few photos.

Time to watch a movie and finish reading Born to Run :)

Merry Christmas Tigers! Xx

Bliss in Byron Bay

2009-11-08T16:27:00.001+11:00

On Saturday October 24th, late in the morning after I had finished both my sessions at Personal Best Leichhardt and Shazzas Boot Camps, Hayden and I set off for a few days in Byron Bay.

I had planned on going to Byron for my first time in order to run the 10km lighthouse race, however my injuries from the half marathon had still not yet adequately recovered to allow me to cover the distance. So Hayden registered as well and we agreed to walk the course together.

We caught the regional bus from Ballina Airport and checked into our accommodation (Ruskin House) which was just lovely, and then set out to find Mongers for fish and chips. We ate them on main beach, which was super super gusty! We nearly got blown away :) We then rented 3 Colours Blue and later ventured out for late night ice cream and were again nearly blown away - but this time by the sheer quantities of raucous trash and bogans that descend on Byron Bay of a Saturday evening!

We were up before 6am on Sunday morning, in order to head in early and register for the Lighthouse Walk. After we collected our bibs and timing chips, we milled about the start line with about 500 people, then at 7am it was off - and for many - running! We had completed the strenuous, hilly and very picturesque walk by 830am. We collected out commemorative drink bottles, ate some watermelon and headed to The Balcony for breakfast. I had hot chocolate and brioche with lemon macadamia butter. Hayden had coffee and the big brekky. It was fab! Later, Hayden's sister (Mel), her partner (Dan) and their ~~children~~ dogs, collected us and took us to ocean shores beach. It was the middle of the day, though, and scorching hot, so we didn't last long. Then it was off for lunch at Yami's in Brunswick Heads. Delicious felafels, hummus and baba ganoush were plentiful and we left absolutely stuffed.

Later, we went bushwalking around tallows head beach and had beautiful sunset cocktails at The Balcony. We picked up some gelato for the road and caught some live music at The Buddha Bar. Later we ate noodles from Noodle Box... Some things I shouldn't bother mentioning :P

Monday was chillout day... Kind of... After another early start for scuba diving, we got massages at Osho's House and saw UP! at the cinema. Later we went to Dish for their degustation dinner. They even did a special menu for me, as I'm pescetarian, with specially matched wines. It was AMAZING.

On Tuesday morning, I left Hayden sleeping in bed and donned my backpack. There were bushtrails I longed to walk (I hadn't seen the most easterly point of Australia yet!) and a swim in the ocean was in order, to cleanse me of the sins of the night before. I saw a man set out on his jog and sighed to myself wistfully "that sure looks like fun..." and I gave it a shot. I ran. It felt incredible. I cried with joy. I gleefully greeted everyone I passed with a chirpy "good morning!" and beaming smile. I didn't run the whole time, but whenever I felt I could, I did, and as I ran I listened to The Runners Round Table on my phone, which featured the amazing Kristen Armstrong... It was the best morning of my life. I felt connected, whole, stable, safe and FREE.

At the end of my run I cooled off in the water at Main Beach and trudged home in my towel and thongs. Breakfast at Bohemia concluded our visit to Byron... you can see what we ordered on facebook!

I can't WAIT to go back next year... I loved Byron. It was easily and by far the very best holiday I have ever had. In three days.

Check out the photos.

Xx Debzillah

Taking Stock

2009-10-17T21:07:00.005+11:00

Just because I still can't run doesnt mean that life isn't wonderful! It definitely is. Just have a look at the weather we've been blessed with the last 2 days.

I, in particular, have been blessed as I've been able to enjoy that weather fully. Yesterday I walked with Conny from The Spit to Manly and today I walked myself into Haberfield to check out Primavera - part of Crave Sydney.

Yesterday's walk was long, hard, magnificent, spectacular and limitlessly rewarding - 11km in under 3 hours. It was also the last time I will see Conny until her return from Switzerland in January 2010. But today was pretty special in its own right.

I became familiar with my 'hood. I walked streets, tracks and paths that I didn't know and hadn't explored. I felt like an adventurer and it was awesome. I had set off after my team meeting at Personal Best and I discovered a new universe in my very own backyard. I enjoyed every moment of it, all on my own.

Had I only remembered to wear sunscreen whilst out walking in the middle of the day, I wouldn't have come home, fallen asleep and woken up reincarnated as a lobster. Oops.

In news of things foodie, Hayden and I have started a weekly trip to The Big Brekky. Its close to home, listed amongst the top ten cafes in Sydney, and for good reason. We're lovin' it. Hehehe.

And looking further back, Wednesday evening we attended the Merivale Ash St Long Table Dinner - a 120 person communal dining experience as part of Good Food Month. It was INCREDIBLE. The best value meal we've ever had - $50 a head and the food was exceptional, bountiful and the wine flowed as if it were water.

Looking forward, tomorrow we'll be walking to check out Summer Hill Global Village and preparing for the week to come. I'm also hoping to go swimming with Trogdor.

Next Saturday we'll be off to Byron Bay and - GOOD NEWS! - my lovely physio says I'll be in shape to run the 10km!! I'll be slow, I'm sure, but I'll BE RUNNING!!! I'm so excited I could EXPLODE. Seriously. Put your rain coat on - there's real danger here.

Now that I'm onto the topic of running - which we all know I HATE discussing ehehehehe - listening to The Runner's Round Table podcast about barefoot running on Thursday afternoon whilst I walked from Wynyard to Leichhardt has me DESPERATELY hanging to get into the Vibram Five Fingers store in Waverly. As far as my xmas list goes, they are no. 1! I must find out my size. The podcast did inspire me to splurge and indulge myself in a copy of Born to Run, which should arrive in my hot little hands next week.

Now, as I'm so bummed about not having been able to participate in the World Wide Festival of Races last weekend, I am determined to actively participate in this years Sydney Summer Twilight Series and encourage you to join me! I'm thinking that Sunday Brunch runs will take place on the alternating weekends throughout summer and start at 8am to avoid heat stroke, with distances between 8 and 15km.

Llinos and I will be racing in the first annual Run4Fun at Homebush on November 8th - please have a look at participating, the best thing about running is the community. Be part of something bigger! There's no donation plate here...

Before I wrap it up, I have to give myself a bit of a plug. My domain has been registered and is currently under construction and a business is being built. The hard yards truly have begun.

A massive THANK YOU to all the people who have joined my Facebook group and fan pages! I'm completely ecstatic and overwhelmed by the support on there, but a business doesn't run on online fans alone. I need CLIENTS and I need to fill the group session I'm teaching, which are detailed on the fan page. Please come along to a class, refer me to a friend, or book in a PT trial session! The first one is free, how good is that?!

I should probably keep it shorter next time, huh?

<3

A Week Without Running...

2009-10-01T19:56:00.003+10:00

Is, for me, a week without sunshine. I had a ten day hiatus from one of my favourite pass times, but judging from the poor results of Wednesday morning's run, it looks like a much much longer break may be necessary. My heart thuds resoundingly against the walls of my chest cavity, reflecting my deep horror at such a prospect...

What got me here?

Let me first begin with a happy announcement: I completed my first half marathon! But I probably shouldn't have...

(I'm going to interject here with a big shout out to Conny, Chandler, Claudia and Llinos - CONGRATULATIONS TEAMSTERS!)

I know where I went wrong. There were a couple of faux pas. I tried to get back into some pole training after 6 weeks off with very little warmup. I then ran into a wall. As a result, I displaced some ribs, as well as putting a few of my neck vertebrae out. I compounded the issue by insisting on continuing my training whilst injured. I then increased my training load dramatically 2 weeks out from the race. Boy, don't I feel silly. Because then I killed my knees, too.

I ran the half at my comfortable training pace and focused on my form. I ran with both knees strapped. They later swelled up like soccer balls and are yet to completely deflate. I have ice on them at this very moment! So that, unfortunately, rules me out of this weekend's 10k at Brighton.

I am, however, booked in for a weekend away in Byron Bay!! I'll be running the 10k Lighthouse race on Sunday, 25th October.

If I ever get time, I'd like to write a separate post about what muscular imbalances and disruptions to the kinetic chain caused my various injuries, how they can be prevented and how they will be resolved, because I'm the kind of girl that finds all that sort of stuff fascinating, but for now, I need to move along.

Just because I can't run doesn't mean I'm any less obsessed with running. I now have my HTC Touch Diamond 2 and we're getting along swimmingly. Feeling confident with technology, I decided to take the plunge and dive into the world of the podcast. I've been going on some long walks and have taken to listening to Running with the Pack, as well as the Runners Round Table. I am a zealous convert. It's official - Podcasts are made of all things win.

I've also added another blog to my list of favourites. I rank it as highly as Amelia Burton's, which is definitely high praise! If you get a chance, head on over to Cranky Fitness. I'm sure it will still be awesome despite the loss of one of its writers.

In other Deb news, yesterday I taught my first Stretch n Core class for ANC Health. Tomorrow morning I'll be taking my first Bootcamp session for them, also! This is in addition to my continuing involvement with Personal Best. Don't worry: there's enough of me to share!

More news as it comes to hand...

Yours in unwaning obsession,

Debzillah xx

Eat - Drink - Run - Well

2009-09-04T08:24:00.003+10:00

I'm breaking a promise here, posting about running again instead of social activity. OOPS!
It's really important though...

For those of you joining us on tomorrow's run, make sure you have plenty of carbohydrates today, all day, to fuel you tomorrow, as well as carbs up to 830 tomorrow morning. Your task is to challenge your body to go the extra mile. You compensate by taking it extra slow, but you need to have the energy to do the distance. That energy is going to come from carbs, the slower burning the better.

I have extra oats in my breakfast porridge, a big double banana smoothie as a morning snack, sweet potato and 4 bean mix for lunch, a big hot chocolate in the afternoon and I'm having indian for dinner - basmati rice, daal AND naan. Om nom nom.

Plenty of whole grains, low gi rice, pasta, low gi starchy veg, fruit, dairy and juices will give you what you need. These are good guidelines to follow for anyone planning a distance run.

Ideally, for 2-3 days before a distance event, you should increase your carb intake from 4g/kg bodyweight to 7g/kg. I really struggle with this, but there you have it!

And don't forget - you're going to sweat. As little as a 2% decrease in hydration can negatively impact your performance exponentially, so get your 2L of water today, and refer back to this post for more details on pre event hydration strategies.

Go the morning coffee too - the caffeine will keep you focused! Be aware of how it impacts you as a diuretic, though.

See you tomorrow! Xx

Long Time No Blog...

2009-09-01T15:24:00.003+10:00

It has been a while, hasn't it? My apologies!

Today I received my welcome package from Nuffnang, so it is with great embarrassment that I once again embark upon the adventure of regular blogging.

About running, a look into the future:

COME ONE COME ALL!

This weekend we're doing things differently. We're running on a Saturday (ooo, aaaah) and we're running at 945am!!

YOU can all sleep in!! This is actually to accommodate my work schedule, I'll be up from 5am, but enjoy the rest in my stead :)

To make up for it, can you meet me at my work? Personal Best, 356 Norton St Leichhardt, where Norton meets the city west link. We'll walk up the hill and then jog gently down the hill to the bay run, (cos my knees KILL) and you can drop off whenever and wherever you like!

The die-hards amongst us, and those training for the half marathon, will be running the following route:
http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/australia/leichhardt/467125055268187895

I have an event to dash off to afterwards (which I'm sure I'll feel like after running 18kms.. yeah) but I highly recommend the Perry St Cafe for a cuppa and brunch once you've had your trot. Its faaaaaaaaaabulous.

Here's an interesting piece on what makes us eat, courtesy of Amelia Burton (and time magazine)

Followed by a look into the past:

We ran almost 17km on Sunday morning. In heat and sun and wind, up hills and stairs and through throngs of people along the shore. I hurt then and I hurt still. I was out of action for a week with the flu and apparently my body is of the opinion that a spin class Friday night and a long run Sunday morning were too much and too soon. As a consequence, I'm unable to run with the Kirribilli Runners tonight, which I'm missing for the third time in a row and am very unhappy about. On the topic of things I'm unhappy about - my cat. She has taken to sitting on my keyboard and mauling me for typing instead of patting. I'm not sure how to remedy this behavior - because I just can't give pats all the time.

Anyway, my knees are very sore and so is my shoulder. That was definitely the toughest run of my life, the arm and the knees both hit me half way. Tonight I'm stuck running laps of the grass at Centennial Park... I hope I can make it all the way around on Saturday!

Next post will be about food and social activities, not running. Promise!

Talk to me, readers! Don't make me beg..

We Built This City on ROCK AND ROLL!

2009-08-13T05:21:00.001+10:00

City2Surf, that is, which my crew rocked! Conny even rolled - her ankle, the poor dear.

Congratulations to all who participated on Sunday! What were your times and how did it feel?

I finished in 78:35 and I still hurt! This is largely due to the fact that I went to bootcamp last night when my body had definitely not yet recovered. It screamed abuse at me the entire time and this morning on my regular 7:15am run with Llinos from World Square around Mrs Macquarie's Chair, my legs were like lead. It was a difficult slow plod, but we'll come good.

My crew on the day were Conny, Mark Chandler, Claudia and Llinos who all came in under the 100 minute mark. In fact, I think if Chandler had run in the green group instead of the blue group and faced less human obstacles, he would have beaten me!

After the city2surf, Conny and I tried a deep fried mars bar:

It was gooey and squishy and made of junk food love, the likes of which I've never before eaten and will never eat again! Hahaha

I'm SO AMAZED with my time - It beat my expectations by HEAPS. This is largely thanks to the support of Conny who, despite having rolled her ankle in the first 5km, ran with me all the way and kept me focused. She is going to head back to Switzerland via asia at the end of the month and I will be so lost without her. ♥

ANYWAY, moving on (before I cry):

THIS SUNDAY AT 9AM we are meeting where Lilyfield Rd meets the bay run to do the bay to the quay in 14km. We've done this run before and it was really great! When we arrive in the rocks, its breakfast at Pancakes.

What a sweet, sweet reward!!

DONT BE AFRAID! This is a long slow distance run, we don't go any faster than 6 minute kms because the focus is on recruiting type 1 muscle fibres and getting our bodies really comfortable with running longer distances. For some of us, this is the beginning of a new adventure - training for the September Half Marathon!

But more on that later...

Who will I be seeing??

Xx Debzillah

A Big Week

2009-07-25T12:57:00.003+10:00

What a week it has been! I finished the last of my Personal Training exams with a 95% result in Business. I should have my Professional Practice completed and ready to hand in by next Friday, as well. Otherwise, Monday.

Tuesday morning my gorgeous friend Pinky took me out for breakfast. We went to il Vizio in Leichhardt and it was FANTASTIC. I ordered the fresh fruit salad with muesli and yoghurt which was massive and the hot chocolate I had with it was the most luxurious I've seen outside a chocolate cafe! Pinky enjoyed the il Vizio breakfast of bacon, eggs and turkish with grilled tomato. She took photos, too. Now why didn't I think of that?

Thursday night Hayden took me out for the fondue chinoise at Suissotel restaurant JPB, as it was blogged on Grab Your Fork and the 2 for 1 special is ending. It truly does represent amazing value and was immensely enjoyable. Mustard fruits are indeed an oddity to be experienced!

Dinner preceeded the show "Meow to the World: Crisis is Born" which we saw at the Opera House Studios. Hilariously funny and beautiful, energetic and charismatic, Meow Meow was fantastic. The only problem was that the show started at 930pm - when I'm normally going to sleep. It was an uphill battle keeping my eyes open.

The food adventure continued yesterday, when I met my legendary mates of FIA fame, Lauren Albon and James Raftos, for lunch at Corelli's, Newtown. We had intended to meet at Macro Cafe, but found to great dismay that it had closed!! We all enjoyed the fish of the day - grilled Barramundi with mango salsa. It was an absolute delight.

Last night I performed an energetic jazz/exotic routine to Suck My Kiss by RHCP at the "Nothing to Wear" designer markets in Newtown. My preparation for this was pretty last minute, but it came together in the end. If only there had been more people there for me to infect with my bounciness! Thanks though, to my fine friends that did attend.

Pre-performance I have a sugar-hit ritual. Courtesy of Hayden, last night this was a triple chocolate mousse cake on a cheesecake base. Pinky got me a soy mocha to go with it. After the show, Cecil, Mark, Conny, Llinos, Hayden and I headed to Saray for the finest Pides Sydney has to offer :).

This afternoon, Hayden and I will be joined by Matt and Tammy for 2 for 1 mains at the Red Oak boutique brewery. This is a lead up to 2 events - the first being a performance by the Tigerlillies at the Opera House Studios yet again; the second a visit to Baskin Robbins for their two NEW flavours of sugar free ice cream!!

OM NOM NOM NOM NOM!!

Don't worry, I did an aerobic power training session yesterday morning and did the bay run after work this morning. I work for my food safari!

After tomorrow's 15km run with my running group (2 weeks to city2surf guys!), I'll be heading in to Balmain with Avanti and Swah for treats of the Adriano Zumbo variety...

Watch this space ;)

Xx Deb

Full of Freebies!

2009-07-05T17:35:00.003+10:00

The problem with me and blogging is that I have so many things to rant about and such little time and by the time I have time to blog about these things the cumulative list is so extensive I know that there's no point blogging about all of it because no one wants to read mountains of endless text based ranting. I guess its a moot point because this blog only has one follower anyway.

In the past week I passed both my nutrition and resistance training exams for my cert IV. A pretty good feeling.

I have started working at Personal Best Training Studios in Leichhardt. I think my boss is pretty awesome and I like that he has a lot of faith in me.

Thursday night we dined at Chophouse, for their amazing $18 roast deal. Yesterday was impromptu visiting of Cove for strawberry cheesecake and Zumbo's patisserie for an as yet unnamed cake purchase and delicious macaroons.

Today, after completing a 10km run between Clovelly and North Bondi, Hayden and I went to the Good Food and Wine show where we ate ourselves stupid and have come home painfully stuffed. FOR FREE. I was even gifted free bananas by the lovely lady at the eco banana stand.

Hot damn there were some tasty treats. We saw Matt Moran make tempura prawns, a chicken thing and a raspberry tart. He's a funny dude. I saw Manu at the Campbell's Real Stock stand, but he didnt even look up :( I wanted to say hi! I didn't see Chocolate Suze or her mum, but I did score a subscription to BBC's Good Food with a copy of a Gordon Ramsay cook book, courtesy of Hayden.

And with his bonus, my lovely boyfriend has ordered me a new camera. Another Lumix, but this time 12MP and with 3 years warranty in case we face similar mechanical failure. This means that soon my blog posts and adventures will be accompanied by photos, awesome and maybe even a dash of win!

Now if only our internet hadn't been shaped...

Upcoming performances: Fashion Pop Up Store, July 24th, Newtown
Hellfire Club, August 21, The GAF, Darlinghurst.

I guess for posterity I should mention on my blog that I wont the title of Miss Amateur Pole Dance 2009. It came with a trophy and $1000 prize money. That paid for my car insurance. W00t.

Madlove to kittens,

Xx Debzillah

Training Run Calendar

2009-06-21T21:33:00.005+10:00

There are only 5 training runs until the practice race and the big one, so tell me now if there are particular days that are better than others.

Here are the dates and distances to be ever conscious of:

RACE: Sunday, August 9th - City2Surf - 14km
RACE: Sunday, August 2nd - Bay Run - 7km

TRAINING: Sunday, July 26th - Centennial Park to Waverly loop - 12km - MAP
Sunday, July 19th - Bay to Quay in 14Km
Sunday, July 12th - Centennial Park with Queen St Hill - 11km - MAP
Sunday, July 5th - Clovelly SC to North Bondi SC - 10km - MAP
Sunday, June 28th - Centennial Park External Loop - 8km - MAP

Great run yesterday, guys. You're definitely ready to step it up. We will be meeting at the same time and place next Sunday.

City2Surf Training Update

2009-06-17T09:57:00.004+10:00

For my running group.

As long as I have recovered from this wretched cold, training will be on this SUNDAY AT 830AM. We'll be taking training to the next level, moving away from the 7km Bay Run (until the race day - August 2nd) and into Centennial Park.

REMINDER: please advise me if you would like to register for the Bay Run as part of the group to receive discounted entry!

The meeting point is inside the gate at Martin Rd, just off Lang Rd:

Google Map here.

There is plenty of on street parking and if you want a lift, let me know, I'm all for car pooling.

The run will be a 3km warm up on the inside grass track followed by a 5km circuit incorporating a hill, making a total of 8kms. You are welcome to join only for the 3 or the 5, up to you.

Please be mindful that the aim of the session is a long slow distance run. You need to be doing your own fartlek or high intensity interval training through the week to improve your speed. The aim of the slow distance run is to recruit type 1 slow twitch muscle fibres and for mitochondria, increasing aerobic and cardiovascular comfort. This is not speed work, but it is the corner stone on which any speed work must always be based.

FOOD/DRINK BEFORE A DISTANCE RUN.

Ensure proper hydration the day before the run as well as plenty of carbs through the day, then finally eat a high carbohydrate dinner to ensure your glycogen stores are full.

An hour before the run you need to have had 2 x 300ml of water and a carb snack such as half a banana, toast - whatever you can stomach, again to ensure your glycogen stores are prepared for distance training.

Caffeine does enhance performance but have your coffee or tea before the water and be aware of any diuretic effect.

If you pee when you wake up and again before you leave home, you should be right for the duration of the session.

This is something you need to start experimenting with now so that you are comfortable with what works best for you BEFORE we get to race day.

A Day of Both Firsts and Lasts

2009-06-16T22:05:00.001+10:00

Seeing as I have this blog, I should probably post something to it. I'm a bit worried that once I start writing, I'll never stop - I'm simply so out of the blog habit.

So here I am. Sitting at home about to go to bed, having finished my ginger and lemon tea. I have a cold. This is annoying as in 48 hours time I will be performing in the semi finals of the Oxford Tavern Amateur Pole Competition. Tomorrow holds many hours of rehearsal and a photoshoot at the Kirk on the heart lyra...

But today? Today was the last day of my course at the Fitness Institute of Australia - Certificate IV in personal training. I've grown used to my weekly routine of heading in there and have loved the lectures and really value the new friends I've made - especially Loz... Its the end of a chapter in one sense, but in truth the work is only just beginning.

There's one good thing about having a cold and that's that I get to attempt to consume my own bodyweight in laksa. I believe they have magical cold-curing properties. Yesterday after class I wandered into Chinatown to visit the Happy Chef and ordered one extra hot.

Today I visited the Sam Satay Cafe in Surry Hills for the first time and tried their laksa. Both very different laksas, very good, but my favourite is still from Malacca Straits in the eatery on Pitt St under Woolworths.

Sam Satay's cafe opened 4 months ago and is super funky and cool. Retro and ecclectic tunes pumped through the sound system and, as I helped the manager navigate facebook, I learned that a David Caradine tribute film night was being held there tonight. How cool! Definitely one to visit again. Maybe next time I'll be the owner of one functional camera and be able to take pictures!

I also had my first job interview for a personal training position. I'm pretty comfortable with my interview performance, but this is still a very interesting time for me - the future is uncertain and exciting!

Well I think that's quite long enough for my first post - I don't want to get any form of overuse injury such as runner's knee or what have you. Til next time!