City to Bay

It was a gorgeous Sunday morning and a perfect day to do something I had never done before - take part in my first fun run!  City to Bay is an annual event which is over 40 years old.  Participants can sign up for 3 km, 6 km, or 12 km walk or run.

Being my very first time, I decided to go for the 6 km run, with a goal of running the entire thing (no walking/resting).  It was actually easier than I thought and I feel really good!  I have already entered a 5 km 'Colour Me Rad' run in November so that should...hopefully...be a piece of cake now that I've got the first one under my belt.  My goal is to run the 12 km City to Bay next year which I should be able to manage if I stay consistent with training.

I joined a group called Step into Life upon my recent return from Canada and it is truly one of the best things I've ever done.  The picture above shows several SiL members who completed either the 6 or 12 km run.  It is such a supportive group and very motivating.  For the last 12 weeks I've been doing training which includes cardio (running/speed drills/circuits), tone up (weights/resistance band/core ball) and box kick (my favourite, a great cardio and strength work out for the entire body). I have managed to get there at least 3x a week, generally 4-5x a week, and sometimes even 6x a week if I'm extra keen (and don't go away for the weekend).  It's not even a struggle to get there, and I've met some awesome people so it's a social activity as well which has really proven to be exactly what I needed while Jeremy has been away.

The girl standing next to me wearing the purple shirt is Pam, one of Jeremy's co-workers at the QEH. She is from Brandon, Manitoba.  She studied medicine in Adelaide and has decided to stay in Australia, as many of us have. I told her about my group and she decided to give it a try and is also really enjoying it.  We are going to work toward our 12 km goal together - possibly trying for a 'sub-60' finish (under an hour).

The remainder of my weekend has actually been rather sports themed as well...it was the preliminary AFL finals and Port Adelaide was playing against one of the Victoria teams.  This game would decide which team would make it to the Grand Finals.  I was invited to watch the game at a friend's house and then eat yummy BBQ food.  Sadly, Port Adelaide lost by 3 points - ask Jeremy, he will tell you how close of a game that is!  Speaking of Jeremy, do you even recognize the guy in this picture???  He went out to 'barrack' for the aboriginal football team that many of his coworkers play on.  I think it's pretty awesome that he is getting so involved with local events in Port Lincoln.