It’s Starting!! – Millie Smith

Well Im not so sure where to start.  It has definitely been a whirlwind week. Lets start with Monday.  So Monday last week I ventured out for a longer run, after having a frustrating run the Saturday before.  I decided to run for an hour or so and see how far I get.  I wasn’t going to get hung up on speed, although I still think I’m running way to slow.   I ended up running 9.5kms without stopping.  I felt pretty awesome after this and finally felt that I was back on track to run this half marathon in a few weeks.

Tuesday was another hill run, this was disastrous and I struggled to breath the whole way up to the top, but I did it and it was still faster than my first hill run a week earlier.  However the highlight of my Tuesday was a Pizza Evening put on by my amazing friend to celebrate the end of chemo!  It was so much fun and $1000 was raised to help with my memories list. It was an incredible turn out and I felt very humbled by the whole night.

Wednesday was then upon me, which meant the first meeting with my new Coast to Coast coach, Richard from Complete Performance.  I wasn’t sure how this was going to go and was quite nervous about the meeting.  I definitely needn’t be as Richard is down to earth, relaxed and is going to make sure Im ready to go come February.  So last weeks plan was quite exciting and I loved the mix up.  Thursday was a 2 hour walk in the port hills with instructions of go and get lost, followed by a 2 hour kayaking adventure in Akaroa. Thursday also consisted of a running technique lesson, which I have taken a lot from but finding very hard to implement into my running.  Anyway back to the walk.  What a day to do this on.  it was was still, crisp and the sun was shining.  The view was incredible and I think I may have actually found inner peace during that walk, while scampering over boulders and eating lunch over a hanging cliff.  I really am lucky to have this on my doorstep and to be well enough to enjoy it.

Friday arrive as did our adventure to Akaroa and our kayak on the water.  It is safe to say that I was feeling a little nervous about this as our previous experience had not gone well.  So Mike and I armed with knowledge gained by watching multiple youtube clips, hired sea kayaks (individuals, as tandem was not going to be good for our marriage, te he he) and ventured out.  After, first working out how to go straight we set off towards a point.  Wow this wasn’t actually as hard or as scary as I thought it was going to be and I found myself quite enjoying it. Hmmmm…. It might be too early to say but this may actually be something I can do.

So anyway that brings to today and a new plan for the next two weeks, designed by Richard of course.  This includes an adventure bike ride and an icecream… I think this Coast to Coast training agrees with me.