The Final Countdown

So its 7 days until the marathon, the event that I have been talking about for 6 months but kinda forgotten that I am actually going to do. Squeal.

A moment of madness in the staff quarters at my job in Broome this February has transpired into hardcore pavement pounding the streets, beaches, rubble and main roads of 5 countries. 

Moments of pain, tiredness, excitement, beauty, achievement and sheer amazement at this insane instrument we have at our expense. Our unbelievable bodies. It has been a journey to say the very least! sitting here now I cant really believe how far I have come, from being a reasonably fit woman able to run a good 6 miles comfortably to now being a full on marathon runner. My body has astounded me, my mind has astounded me, what we are capable of as human beings has yet again blown my mind. 

There is a saying that I love, 

I believe every word, we are made up of so much greatness, so much more then we could ever begin to understand until we need to. Until those moments in life happen where we have to step upto the plate and see a personal, professional or just damn right tough challenge through. That moment where you are left speechless at what you have overcome and the strength you had inside you to do so.

There has been so many moments in the last 5 months where I have just thought I cant do this today, in India it was humid, hot, toxic with people gorping at you. In England I was busy spending precious time with friends and family, in Thailand it was wet season. We still had months to go, surely I could leave it until next week? Don't me wrong it is a blessing to be traveling but marathon training and travelling through every country in its off season is something else! Every excuse was a valid and no one would have blamed me for giving up but there was this little voice inside of me... This voice that kept whispering to me to carry on, to not give up, to just keep putting one foot infront of the other. That was all I had to do, forget the rest.

Moments like this morning where I have a bit of a panic that I have been living in Wollongong for nearly 2 months.. where did that go? Do I even really know anybody yet? Have I made the most out of my time here so far? The moment that I have every few months where I have to reassess what and why i'm doing what i'm doing and if i'm living the best way I know how. It has zoomed past so god damn fast and I kinda gotta cut myself some slack, we landed into a new town, a new house ( thankfully with some familiar faces) with little money, jobs to find to actually fund this trip to Cambodia and in the most important phase of our training. Not to mention the fact that we came to the Gong was for me to evolve my journey as an aspiring yoga teacher! With that said there has been little time to do anything but do what we need to do to make this event happen. Make money to actually get a plane ticket, train for the marathon and most importantly raise the money and funds for these souls that I hold so dearly in my heart. 

Their faces, their smiles and as I sit here in bed eating vegemite on toast we have raised £1700 for Holding out hope… that is over 8 months of care for potentially the Sofia home.  I have spent so many weeks with these amazing and worthy little beings, weeks where I have been left in despair at the thought of the progress we have made with these children being left as soon as we walked out of the door.
Every single person who has donated is a life changer in my eyes, I don’t care how extreme that sounds because it is true. I have seen it, I have felt it and I know the power of change that hiring and guiding a carer will be. It makes me want to dance and scream and be so god damn thankful that out of just running around for a few hours we have been able to help change peoples lives. Its insane and stupid to me but I am thankful for it.

My first trip to the Sofia Institute 2012

Well we did it, we achieved what we set out to do.. it took 3 weeks to get a job and 5 days a week of running to get to this point now. Trained, bruised and slightly battered but marathon ready. I have snuck as much yoga reading and practicing as I can in although it has been hard not to loose focus on the task at hand and not fall into the thing I am best at.. trying to dedicate myself to a million things at once and ending up frazzled and slightly frustrated I didn’t just do one thing and do it really well. So I have taken note this time and put my marathon training at the forefront of everything and if I have had time, the mental or physical capacity to do anything else then I have. From reading and writing yoga assignments in my lunch time to running in the dark in gale force winds then falling into the yoga class in the late evening, I am very proud and safe in the knowledge that I have done what I can with what I have. That is all you really can do in any given moment.

Im excited to get on that plane on Wednesday, im nervous but more excited to rock this challenge, get my backpack back on ( ok ok I know its only been 2 months but once a backpacker always a backpacker) and to be back in the thick of the travelling buzz, spend time with gorgeous friends and have a million petrol fuelled buckets I can get in my hands and dance until my feet fall off. It is challenge and celebration time and boy am I ready!

Once this amazing and insane challenge is over is onto the next, life for me is a series of challenges and focuses, i never want to be left to complacent and dandering for too long through my days. Don’t get me wrong its beautiful for a while but I like to always have travels, challenges, people to keep me inspired and purposeful. 

 

Im not sure what the next challenge looks like in its entirety yet, its still dancing around in my head until it gets to its final position and my gut will know where I need to go and how to do it. Until then we have a marathon to do WOOF! 

See you at the start line.....

mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/angkorwatmarathonchallenge

Hells x

Humankind is amazing

Fundraise, eat, sleep, run, repeat...

This weekend myself and my wonderful teacher, friend Rachel held a yoga fundraiser at her beautiful and uplifting yoga studio here in Wollongong, Ray Of Light. All In support of the marathon im taking part in in 11 days in Cambodia ( squeal) for the charity Holding Out Hope (for those who want to know more here is my inspiring and informative fundraising Video)

Rach suggested that we put together a class centered around hope linked in with readings from my blog as well as emotive and uplifting music and sealed with my voice singing the class through meditation. Following this we gave the class a beautiful homemade Indian meal made by our partners. It was magical and I am still reeling from it. 

My heart feels so full and i have so much faith and love for human kindness. Yes! Hence why my words are falling to the page, my thoughts on how incredible we are all, how much beauty and love there is around us when we look to see it.

The energy in that room was magical and moving, some wonderful ladies had seen the event randomly on facebook and drove an hour to attend. Amazing amazing amazing. Thank you social media and thank god to being born in the age of it.

We rasied $520 that evening and I couldn’t have been more made up, the fact that all 4 of us just got stuck into something and look what was created? It was no great strife to do it yet the result will genuinely help towards changing lives. Imagine what would happen if we all took a little time out to do something we were passionate about? my dad always said that if we all spent 5 minutes a day on something we wanted to change we would change the world. He is so right.

I can feel quite uncomfortable at times like this, I am so fortunate. Im living in a beautiful country, a beautiful town with amazing people. Im going to another country to compete in an amazing challenge. See a different country. How am I so blessed? How it is that I can have all this in my life yet other people are being blown up in other countries? Yet we are living these completely different lives alongside each other? They didn’t ask to be there like I didn’t ask to be here. It just happened, it wasn’t a choice. We were born into it. It blows my mind. I am so aware of the things I have, it just makes me want to give give give. That is the only way I can comprehend or sit consciously with the great things I have. So after a beautiful birthday on Friday the fundraiser was the perfect yang to the ying.

Im tired, i hurt a lot as does my whole body most days. Christ I just had no idea how draining and crazy this marathon would make me feel. Its unexplainable. I have missed a good few runs the last few weeks and my confidence has been knocked with self doubt creeping at my door.. thankfully marathon runners blogs have helped me realise that most of what I am experiencing is totally normal and expected having put your body through such an ordeal. Thank god for the internet and thank god for blogging, im sat nodding at the screen to other peoples words and feeling them speaking to me personally in comfort that I am not alone.

A week today I will be a marathon runner. Amaze. Just got to keep on pushing through and listen to that inner flame of belief that will burn out any lingering self -doubt. 

The world is a crazy place. We are all on this crazy journey. This weekend it felt great to have a positive impact in some small way on the world.

https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/angkorwatmarathonchallenge