I Ran the Gap !!!!!!!

What a terrific morning I've had.  Absolutely sensational.  Run the Gap in Halls Gap in the Grampians, which just happens to be my favourite place on earth!  I signed up for the 6km run, there was also an 11.5km run but I'm just not ready for that yet.

We set off at 5.15am with Mike driving on kangaroo watch.  With sunrise timed for 7.30am, it was dark the whole way.  I, on the other hand, was out like a light with my trusty pillow.  We got up there and it was PERFECT running conditions.  It was chilly I'll grant you that, but it was still, there wasn't even a breeze.

Before I go any further I just want to mention my fabulous husband, amazing one-man-cheer squad, proud papparrazzi and incredible hat wearer!!  It's great knowing that someone is cheering me on when I run, gives me that extra impetus to go the distance, and knowing he's there cheering as I come over the finish line, proud as punch, it makes a world of difference.

It was great to meet up with some of the girls from the Warrnambool & Surrounds 12wbt crew before the race.  Pictured here with Rebecca, we were pretty pumped.  Note the guys in the background with t-shirts on, hmmmph I think they were just showing off, it was freaking cold !!

My good friend Lynn who runs with her whole family, she is such a role model to her two children.  She did run behind me for a lot of the race, she said she was checking my butt out, but secretly I think she was hoping that I would find all the rocks to trip over before she did!  Ha.  I did nearly go arse over turkey at one stage and saved myself before completely tripping and ending upface down in the dirt.  Lynn and young son then overtook me at the 4km mark and ran off into the (well I was going to say sunset) but misty distance will have to do!!

The papparrazzi action shot ... how happy do we look.  About to run out of town and then up into the bush tracks.  It was sensational smelling the gum trees and the fresh bush smell, and hearing the kookaburras and cockatoos.  I think our thunderous thumps may have scared the kangaroos away, they probably thought there was a herd of elephants running out of town!!

Oh I hesitate to show this.  How some people come over the finish line and look so fresh and elated is beyond me.  I have a look of utter exhaustion when I finish a race.  Now don't worry, I didn't do the 6km in 8 hours 40 minutes and 1 second!!  That was the actual time at that moment.   I've just checked the race results online.  I ran the 6km in 40 MINUTES 24 SECONDS!!   Not bad considering I was hoping for 45 mins.  Not only that but I came 142nd out of 202 runners in the 6k run.  I'm absolutely elated with my results.

I might have looked exhausted crossing the finish line, but my recovery time is getting better.  This is a few minutes after I finished.  Still exhausted.  But HAPPY !!!  (and BUSTING to go to the loo!!)

Catching up with friends after the race.  Trish on the right looks amazing having just finished the 11.5km.  It was actually really great finishing the 6km and being able to watch the 11.5 km runners come in and cheering two of our girls back home over the finish line.

Done and dusted.   The obligatory finish line shot!!  Ready to go and have brunch.  Kudos to the organiser, they put on a complimentary brunch for the runners afterwards (with a gold coin donation from non-runners).  Hamburgers, sausages, eggs, baked beans, tomatoes, followed by fruit baskets of watermelon, bananas and oranges.  Absolutely terrific.

After the presentations and we said our goodbyes to the girls, Mike and I decided to go walking.  The idea originally was that he wanted to get some landscape shots to assist in his oil paintings (yes, he is a man full of surprises my husband!!).  It kind of wasn't to be.  We drove up to the car park at Mount William - you drive up 10km and walk the remaining 1.8km up a very steep bitumen path and we knew we were sunk when the top of the mountain was shrouded in cloud!  Not to be outdone though, we decided to go up as far as we could before visibility got too bad.  

Mike however thought I'd taken him to boot camp with the pace I set going up the road.  He had to have a little sit on one of the thoughtful chairs placed on the first incline.

Me on the other hand, I was ready for anything.  Hills?  Bring them on.  Ain't no mountain high enough, okay well I'm getting a bit carried away there, but I was still on the runners high.

Now I know there's a mountain range out there somewhere !!!  This was the view that we were getting.  Now unless Mike was hoping to paint a canvas all white a la a snow storm, we weren't going to get any landscape shots at all.

Crazy stuff, we were way up in the misty clouds, Mike's moustache was even going frosty!!  My hoodie was sodden with the mist, and it was cold.  We decided to call it quits before we got to the pinnacle with the promise we'd come back and do it on a visible day.

Everything was wet!  And getting wetter by the minute.

Someone was VERY glad to be heading back down, made it in record time too!   With the promise of the thermos of coffee in the car.  :-)

What a day! With the alarm going off at 4.30am, it will be early to bed for me.  

A Head Spin for sure !

Well I had a bit of a mind blow out head spin today, so thought I'd share. 

I'm doing the Run the Gap on Sunday, ooooooh I'm so excited.  My favourite place on earth is Halls Gap.  My favourite thing to do now is run.  Combine the both ... a fun run *AT* Halls Gap and I am one happy chicky!!!!  

But I am presuming it is going to be waaaaaay cold up there first thing in the morning so I went to a sports store today looking for a long sleeve running shirt.  I ended up being the only person in the store with two male attendants which made me feel uncomfortable anyway having a strange guy help me pick clothes.  I'm old fashioned like that.  I was going to take flight but for whatever reason, I have no idea, I threw caution to the wind and went with it rather than walk the other way. 

Told him what I was after, we found a couple of shirts and we were sorting through sizes and he asked what size I wanted and I just said 16 (puffing my chest out quite proud it wasn't the old 18 to 20 I'd be asking for).  He took one look at me and said...

"Get out, that would swim on you, you'd be... (sizing me up) ...I reckon a size 12". 

Holy shit are you freaking kidding me???  You know it's one thing to TRY to believe it in my head and still not quite making the connection, even though my friends and family and of course Mike tell me I look so different, I've come so far, yada yada yada.  And of course I see it in the photos but I still sometimes FEEL FAT, if that makes sense.  But to have a complete stranger tell me, he had no idea I had lost 30-odd kilograms, he had no idea I was having body issues, he had no idea I worry about my lumpy and bumpy bits, but for him to tell me I was a normal size, made me stop in my tracks.  

THEN to have it fit as well, well I must admit I nearly lost it there and then in the change room, I had such a head spin.  I might finally be at a point of it sinking in.  I didn't have long to be lost in thought though as he started handing me more tops over the top of the change room.  He had turned into a regular girl !!! (or a very astute salesperson) ha.  I had 10 tops in there trying them on.

I found a mean looking black Puma long sleeved top, in breathable fabric, and it was so light, but at the same time warm.  Plus it had retro aqua stripes on the side which I'm sure will make me run faster.  :-)

It has kind of messed with my head today, in a good way though. 

Night Running ... eeeek !

Night running ... love it !  Now before you tsk tsk and think I'm being dangerous or putting myself at risk or being fool hardy, remember I live in a very small country town where just about everyone knows everyone else.  Maybe not EVERY one but you get my drift.  I think I could quite happily say I know families in a number of houses in every street in town, so if I got into trouble there would be help at hand very close by.  Plus I carry my phone and a torch that could send a mighty whack.  So I'm quite sure I'm not going to be splashed across the evening news that something drastic has happened to me, lest I fall over my own two feet.  

So I'm lucky I have the opportunity here that just because day light saving is well and truly over, that I can still get out about after I get home from work.

It can be cold, I'll grant you that.  On nights that I'm not at the gym, I get home from work, get changed and it's dusk by the time I go out.  You can see I take precautions by wearing a fluoro vest with reflectors front and back.  And trust me, if my husband thought I was in any danger he'd be stamping his feet and telling me not to go.

Now these photos looks like it's pitch black when I get home, it's not THAT dark, I think it's just the focus on the camera.  I can still see but your eyes do need to adjust and yes the sun has gone, street lights are on and it is dark but not pitch black,  and I do use my torch.  Particularly as we don't have many footpaths in town so I run on the verge of the road and the odd times a car comes the other way I shine the torch on my vest and move over onto the naturestrip.  I don't like running ON the actual naturestrip for any length of time though because they're so uneven.

Some pics here setting out and getting home.  Oh and these photos were not taken tonight, they were from last week.  Tonight's run I hobbled back home running like the Hunchback of Notredame ... darn blister!

So I am very fortunate I know that I have the freedom to run at night and not feel any trepidation in doing so. Put me in another environment and I'd be a scaredy cat, trust me, and no way I'd be out there after dark!!  

Oh and I swear there is a wolf in town.  I am sure I hear it howling as I run.  Even though I know there are no wolves in Australia.   Funny though how sounds are amplified in the dark.  Probably one of the odd people in town howling at the moon! ha

The kindness of runners

I received a lovely parcel in the mail today from a runner who I find very inspirational.  Hearing of my continuing blister plight (yep, I can't stop talking about it!!) she kindly sent me some Body Glide to try out and a pair of great running socks.  Thank you so much D !!   This is definitely a pay it forward type moment for me, and hope that I will be able to reach out to someone in their hour of need (or blister desperation!) also.

I did realise though tonight I need to wait until the poor old skin on my foot has completely healed before the Body Glide has a hope of working.  Hence my running like the Fluoro Hunch Back tonight!!

Was this really me before 12WBT ?

We've had quite a few new local people join 12wbt this round and it's great to see the camaraderie already developing in our little Warrnambool & Surrounds 12wbt crew.  A number of us 'oldies' ... well who knew I'd still be hard at it a year down the track, normally I'd have given up by now ... recently displayed our before and (well I'm going to say) 'during' shots (not quite an 'after' shot for me yet) in an effort to bolster up hope and enthusiasm and get the fire in their bellies as to what can be achieved.

Now I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the WWW is just not quite ready to see me in my undies.  It's all very well that the administration at 12wbt get to see it, but that's as far as it goes.  Maybe one day, who knows.  Then you can compare apples with apples, as when Mike takes my 12 week photos he makes sure I'm standing in exactly the same spot holding the exact same pose each time.

So until then, undies shots aside, I went delving through my photos to find a before shot, and it was like a slap in the face when I found this one from a month or so before I started pre-season Round 2 of 2012.  It's hard to even remember looking like this any more.  My eyes look so small on my face, because my face was so round.  I remember this day, it was a presentation at my work and I thought I actually looked alright.  But right now it is actually painful for me to look at my before photo and it hurts me, and I'm actually quite angry at myself to think how much time I wasted.

Oh yes, there's a smile on my 'before' face, but it's only a surface smile, it doesn't quite reach my eyes.  And sitting here at the computer looking at these photos side by side it has brought me to tears.  I actually have a pain in my chest looking at it.  The feelings of being uncomfortable, tight chested, self-conscious, awkward, and just plain heavy are all flooding back.  It's a very sad feeling.

This is going to be my wake up call, any time I start to get complacent with my exercise or if my calorie intake looks to be in excess during the day, I'm going to flick out this side by side photo and it will be enough to steer me back on the straight and narrow.

Another PB if you please  :-)

Hubby has been away camping  this weekend with his gold detecting group and a year ago when these weekends rolled around I would get in the comfort food, visit the road house for hot chippies, chocolate, you name it, sludge around on the couch and not do much at all.  Not any more.  I cook something amazingly healthy and enjoy it.  I exercise. I play with the animals.  I get out and about.  I drink my water.  I get through the weekend with so much energy.  This weekend was no exception.

I bounded out of bed on Saturday morning knowing I wanted to go for a good run.  And I did it again, my longest non-stop run to date.  10.6 kilometres in 1 hour 17 mins.  I must admit though the last 2 kms were not pretty, not by a long shot.  About the 7 km mark I developed a blister on my right foot, always in the same place on the inner side of my foot just down from my big toe.  I persevered but when I got near to my house there was no way I was going to do another blockie and try to make it to the 11km, so I called it quits at 10.6km.  Still so incredibly proud of myself.   Couldn't wait to ring Mike to let him know.  He was whooping and hollaring on the phone.

But now I'm nursing a blistered foot yet again, only the right foot this time.  Must get it better for Sunday, I have another fun run on the horizon.

Do tears count as Calorie leakage??

I wonder, because if so I lost a stack of calories in bucket loads tonight.  My mum has done it again, reduced me to tears.  Yep we've certainly had our ups and downs over recent years since my dad passed away, but we are most definitely making huge leaps forward on the way up and continuing on this path over the past year or so.

I got home tonight from work and there was an envelope on the table.  That's my mum for you.  She doesn't have the internet, can't work out how to send sms's on the phone for the life of her, but loves to sit down and write handwritten letters.  That and send every cut out and tidbit of news from the local paper down there to me.

So anyway I open the envelope and there's a card inside.  I started reading and cried like a baby.  How is it that I get to 48 and yet words from my mum can turn back the clock and I'm a young girl once again getting praise from a parent?

But it's all good and I'm still tearful and smiling just reading it again.

In case you can't read her little writing here in the pic, and I'm sure she won't mind sharing, here is what she wrote:

"Dear Carol

I am so very very proud of you.  From where you were to where you are now.  You have achieved so much.  To see you run was so emotional and to see you finish was so great.  You have made such great friends on the way and you look so fantastic.  Keep up the good work.

All my love, Mum. xxxxx

PS.  Dad would also be so proud of you xx"

I knew she had a great morning at the Mothers Day Classic, and I was excited that mum was going to see me run for the first time, but I didn't realise just how proud she was of me.  And I just know that my dad would have been looking down at me and whooping and hollaring with the best of them urging me on.

Okay off to go sob some more.  Photo here taken by the ME Bank (sponsor) photographer.

Now, go hug your mum, or say a prayer for your mum, or ring your mum.  She's probably feeling the same way about you as mine is about me right now.

(on second thoughts, don't ring her RIGHT now, it's late and she'll probably be pissed at you for getting her out of bed!!)

By the way, first weigh in today and I'm off to a cracking start.  800 grams gone.  Considering the last 12 weeks I lost a sum total of 3kg, I'm feeling pretty darn positive with my first week's weigh in of the round.

Weekly Challenge - Inspiration Board

I am going to make a concerted effort to join in more challenges this round, just to ensure I embrace everything.  I want this to be the round that I seriously kick butt with myself, ha!

So the Week 1 challenge was to create an inspiration board.  That is to collate images, words, phrases and objects to inspire me to reach my goals.  Well I've done that in previous rounds, but this round I wanted to take a different tact.  I have achieved a lot of goals over the last 12 months and I want to celebrate that.  I want to bottle the enthusiasm I feel when I am out there and achieving.  Wouldn't that be great.  Bottle it, take a swig any time you needed, for a pep me up and spring in your step.  But seriously, I've climbed mountains, I've lost a huge amount of weight (sure, there's still some to go),  I've run fun runs, I've taken part in exercise challenges,  I've changed my whole look, hair, colour, clothes, I've moved into a new position with my work, I'm more confident, I'm more accepting of compliments and nice comments that people are making, I've made huge inroads into a new me.

So I wanted to celebrate it, remember it, remember how I have gotten to this stage, and keep motivated to continue on this path.  So this is my inspiration board.

This would have to be my most favourite photograph ever that Mike has taken of me.  It was just as I had arrived in Noorat for the Noorat to Terang fun run.  I was chomping at the bit to get started.  Life really is just the best!

The Results are in !!

Found out my official race time for the Mothers Day Classic 8km run.

I was aiming to be under 60 minutes, so I'm thrilled to find out I did it in... (drum roll please) ...

• 56 minutes and 37.3 seconds.  Yahooooooo!

• Overall placing in the 8km run was 663 out of 735 runners.
• 108th place in the Female 40-49 age group.
• And 468th female over the line.

The last two out of how many I have no idea, and no inclination to count through the people under my name on the list.  :-)

This quote pretty much summed up how I felt on Sunday.  For sure.

And a new round starts...

Day 1 today, I'm feeling so positive this round.  I have two main goals for the next 12 weeks.   

Firstly my mini-goal is to get into the 70's.  I will be thrilled the moment the scales say 79.999999999kg.  It's kind of like a ledge to get over, if that makes sense.

My major goal for this round is for my weight to be lower than Mike's, for the first time in our relationship.  He's hovering around the 75-76kg mark.  I figure if I just keep buying him icecream for dessert and Turkish Delight chocolate (which I won't come within six feet of) I should have this in the bag!!  ha!  Only kidding about the icecream and chocky, I wouldn't do that to him ... although ... wistfully looking out into the distance.

OH AND A PS:   I did wear my MDC princess sash to work and I'd still be wearing it right now if I hadn't left it there! tee hee.  I'm getting mileage out of being a princess this week.

Mothers Day Classic

What a terrific day it was today.  I went down to Geelong to do the Mothers Day Classic, also so that mum could see me run for the first time.  It was quite a different feeling this fun run, not having any of the girls from our local crew or friends there also.  But mum sure made up for it.  Talk about proud, she decked herself out in pink too!  When they called to line up for the start of the race, mum gave me a hug and started crying, she was so happy.

Thought I might get a few tips from one of the lifesavers before the race!!  Hmmm, he was the strong silent type for sure.  Wasn't giving much away.

I was running today for three people.  Firstly my very special Grandma Ivy who passed away in 2006.  Secondly my wonderful mother-in-law Pat who passed away in 2008.  Both not having passed away from breast cancer, but both very special women in my life, so my run today was dedicated to them.  And thirdly I was running for my workmate and friend Trudy who is fighting the fight against breast cancer right now.  Having just finished chemo she is about to start radiotherapy, and it was such a motivating factor during the run that when I hit the rises in the park and breathing got labored and legs got heavy, I just thought of Trudes and how crap she feels with her chemo and it kept me going.

With Mike not down for this run, mum became chief paparrazzi, screaming madly as I ran past.  

Poor mum looked more than a little scared at my enthusiasm after I crossed the finish line!  8km under my belt, running the whole way, first fun run I've done that in (my last fun run being back in February).  I felt absolutely amazing.  Mike even commented that having just finished in this photo, I didn't even look as exhausted as I used to look, although my legs are certainly feeling it tonight!!

THE SPOILS OF VICTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!   My little medallion and a banana!!  Oh and a Princess sash which I just may wear to work tomorrow.

So after this, home to shower and change and then off to a special Mothers Day lunch at Empire Grill.  Being that one of my step-daughters now lives in Geelong she came with us and it was just lovely.  LADIES WHO LUNCH!  That's what I want to call us.  We had a terrific time.  And this is what it's all about, to be a good role model for my family, for my stepchildren, and to live a good, honest and healthy life with enthusiasm.

Shhhhh ... don't tell Mish!  But I thought 8km run meant I could partake in dessert.  Between us, okay?  Lemon cheesecake, orange shortbread and mango sorbet.  OMG . IT . WAS . GOOD !

Hope that your Mother's Day was as brilliant as mine!

Melbourne Finale Weekend (part 2)

So much fun, had to break it into two posts!

I love the video played on the big screen and there was a little thrill when I saw my photo on the film clip slipping across the screen. Yay!  My favourite photo ever that Mike has taken of me jumping.

Round 1 of 2013 Finale Video

So after the party the party goers of our crew went off to party some more.  But myself and a number of others just wanted a coffee!  So ended up at a coffee shop at Crowne and each of us partook in coffee and cake.  Yeah yeah, I know.  But it was a planned indulgence.  ;-)

Foot sore and very tired we then slowly made our way back to the hotel.   I think all of us had trouble sleeping that night.  All the dancing we'd done played havoc with our feet.  I remember trying to find a position in bed where my feet didn't hurt.  But ... no matter because I was down in the foyer bright and early at 7.30 waiting for my other crazy friends, even after all last night, we were going to run The Tan.

Err not my finest pose, no core strength happening there!  But what a great run it was, and I got up the Anderson Street Hill without stopping.  Not having run the whole week before, I was amazed at how quickly you lose form.  No matter though, I've certainly upped the ante this week and am firing on all cylinders.

Well our last group activity was breakfast on the Sunday morning and some of our crew had booked into The Langham for their very sumptuous and special buffet breakfast, this was to be the big treat of the weekend.  OH MY!  I can't even begin to explain.  Breakfast goodies of every persuasion - fruits, cereals, the most delicious bircher muesli I have EVER tasted, breads of every description, a whole display full of different juices, pastries (stayed away from those), all the hot foods, a chef that would cook an omelette to your specifications then and there on the spot, or an egg to exactly how you wanted it, an array of Chinese breakfast delicacies, and meats and cheeses and ... THE CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN!  (insert music of doom here).

Now we didn't go overboard, I had a very nice breakfast, but yes I had a play in the fountain, but I figure skewering fruit and dipping in the fountain - kind of cancelled each other out right?   Here are Casey and Sam enjoying the chocolate way too much.  We really all did turn into big kids ... look away now Mish!!

My fellow Tan runner, Debbie, really concentrating on the exact ratio of marshmallow to chocolate!

And quote of the weekend would have to go to Lisa

"Hey these Chinese dumplings are really sweet ... oh! woops! That's the M&M stuck to it!!"

In her defence Lisa got to brecky late and piled everything on her plate at once! 

And here we are, brecky over, one last pic at the top of the swish grand staircase.

You know one of the good things ... no ... the GREAT things about 12wbt is the friendships I've made.  Not just with our local crew, but from all over.  Blogging has been a great way to connect with people too.  So it was thrilling once again to meet up with people I have known online.

I was more than thrilled to meet Di of the UltraPrimed fame.  

I haunt her blog regularly, she is so inspiring and just soooo nice

and even though I do believe I gushed at times, she appeared to take it in her stride!!

So great to meet you Di.  Being photobombed by Jules here.

Being quite the photobomber myself, I'm impressed with Jules' style.

She just snuck in whenever she could.  

This is Jules from Julie's Journey from Fat to Fab

With the wonderful Dayna in the middle, who I nearly didn't recognise without blonde hair

Dayna writes You've got to move it, move it

And yep, here's Jules again!  ;-)

Bit bummed that this photo is blurry, but we are with the amazing

Kate from Coco Butter blog fame.

And here's Carolynne from Ararat.  I met her when I went to Emazon in Hamilton recently

so it was good to meet up again.  Carolynne is a pocket dynamo, I love following

her runs and walks on facebook to see what she's up to next

And then of course there's Leitchy (Jules' hubby)

Leitchy from 20 Years of Living in the Dark. 

He is inspiring and funny and supportive and well as you can see here

very VERY confident!!  

And then just as I was leaving the finale party I was approached by a stranger

and found out it was Karen Mathie who reads my blog

and wanted to meet me.  How extraordinary that we should both catch up

just as we were leaving.  Karen, so glad you came up to me, I'm looking a bit stunned

in this pic! ha.

And then it was time to go home, very lucky to hitch a ride with Michelle.

Mike was glad to see me, waiting to see what I had got him.

Yeah yeah, he was expecting a pressie.

Woops, way too busy to shop for boy things, so I gave him the

coffee I had pinched out of the motel room!!  

Hey, it will be good for when he goes camping right?

 So that's it, the end of another finale, the second one I've been to and by far the best.  I enjoyed the weekend, the team spirit, the enthusiasm, the frocking up, the excitement ready for the next round, immensely.  Roll on Round 2 of 2013, I'm waiting.   :-)

Melbourne Finale Weekend

Well finally I get to put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard as the case may be.

MELBOURNE FINALE! What a weekend.  The Warrnambool & Surrounds 12WBT crew totally rocked it.  I love being part of this group, I call them my "health and fitness sisters".  They keep me honest, they keep me sane, they keep me motivated and inspired and continuing on this path.  I sometimes get lost in the forums, as inspiring as they are, but with our local group there is that connection.  And it was wonderful to spend the weekend with so many of them.

Here's a quick run down of the weekend.  Excuse so many photos, ahh heck, you do want to know what I got up to right??  :-)   This may extend over a few posts, we'll see.

Friday night meet and greet drinks courtesy of the Vic Crew.  Thanks Vic Crew!!!!  It was fun to have the time to talk and enjoy company, here's some of the Warrnie crew that attended.  We also got to meet up with old friends from around the state and beyond, and make some new ones.  I'll leave some of those pics to another post.

Saturday workout with Mish.  It was terrific.  Having our own Debbie from our group in the fitness challenge, we were so excited to cheer her on.  So excited that the compere came down to interview us.  Oh dear.  I felt a huge push in my back towards the man with the mike to be the spokes person.  You think I got a little bit excited???  I don't even remember this.

Now not sure what's going on here with Tania, other than to say we were either doing the hokey pokey, or working out which foot was which.  But then again Lynn in the background is doing a moonwalk, so anything really is up for grabs!

Our sensational group looking quite spiffy in our new workout t-shirts and hoodies and caps.  I tell you the hoodies came in very handy early in the morning, it was c-c-cold.  

The reason we were all there, the motivating factor behind all of us, the fantastic Mish.  Looks like she was a wee bit cold too!  

Thanks to Alison, one of our crew who wasn't able to exercise, she took hold of my camera and took photos of our team.  Lots and lots of photos, to which I'll be putting together a little surprise for the girls in the next few weeks.    It was a good workout.  The grass stains on our t-shirts became battle scars.  We jumped, we ran, we dropped, we lifted, we had a ball.

And here's the pic we were wanting.  Our crew with the fabulous Mish.

After a leisurely stroll back into the city and a bit of shopping and lunch, the afternoon flew by.  Soon enough my roomates and I were ready for the party!

We had gotten to Crowne and had made our way up the staircase with some of the crew and a man and his two young boys happened to go past and I asked if he'd take a pic.  "Sure" he said.  Then 10 cameras were thrust his way.  I saw a fleeting look cross over his face as to whether to take flight.  Lucky for us he patiently took a pic with all the cameras.

We had a ball, our Warrnie girls surely know how to party.  I didn't stop dancing all night, we celebrated our friendships, we celebrated our weight losses, and we celebrated the night.  Oh and I promise I did not pinch Charlie on the bottom!  Loved the Hollywood theme.  

Loved this fun pic of my friend Lynn too!   

We danced the night away.  And I just loved my dress.  I felt absolutely rockin'.  So . much . fun !

I'll leave this post here and come back to it tomorrow, the weekend was not over, not by a long shot.  Still fun to be had with our crew.  Melbourne surely did put on a show for us.   Don't go anywhere, more to come!