i bought hat

I have toying with the idea for awhile, feeling abit blab of the girlie front for a time. But with the regular "one of the boys" sentiments quiten down and they are being are replaced with strange out-of-blue offers. go me.

I bought a hat.

It looks bloody good: http://www.flickr.com/photos/clairemoava/307408680/
This particular hat was inspired by my faviourite movies "Love actually" .... ... Keira Knightley wearing; http://homepage.mac.com/mukaya/media/LATrailerKeira.jpg

And who can forget that prefect Love Actually moment "http://images.spice51.com/movies/love-actually-2003/pictures/high/love-actually-2003-16.jpg . I had to get that in, it's xmas.

go me.

missions/sports ideas for next year

13/14th Jan Adventure training day/ 42 Traverse MTB
21/22 Jan Hawkes bay trip
27th Jan 750m sea swim
28th Jan Tea dance
4th Feb Police tri
6th - 11 Feb Brothers Wedding
17/18th Feb Art Deco weekend, maybe ? or Around the bays 7km run in Wellington
24th/25th Feb http://www.kawekachallenge.org.nz/ or local Mt Lowry 12km run ?
3rd March Karapoti 50km MTB http://www.karapoti.co.nz/ - my wrist ? um...
4th March - Gut buster run 12km
18th March Martinborough Round the Vines - 21km http://www.roundthevines.org.nz/ , this post my birthday !!!! , move the party ?
1st April Full lenght tri 1500m Swim / 40km Cycle / 10km Run http://tri.scorching.co.nz/ 14th April Xterra 1km swim, 30km MTB,11km run; http://www.xterranz.com/
3rd May Crazyman 12km kayak, 18km run, 34km MTB; http://www.crazyman.co.nz/ (?)

a quote i have been trying to find for months

"They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but then an entire life to forget them."

and now i am trying think about that quote from the "Wah Wah" (2005) - good movie, the only draw back is its slow to start with . (But i do agree every family has there own tagline) .

Anyways .... The Dad is standing infront a crowd of colonialist and says .... "a rich man, is a man with 5 good friends" .. well that is what i think he said . ideas ?

Wellington Starter tri 19th Nov

Well , i decided to do the Wellington Starter tri at scorching bay, it was a easy 600m swim , cycle 24km and run 5km , all on a flat course. I was decidedly nervous about racing as my wrist is still a problem nearly two months on and i have only done one sea swim . ( not to mention the new wet suit i just bought )

I the day started with me picking up Sam at 7am, it was funny see the remains on the Saturday night life with mildly sobering guys walking home . We one of the first arrive, the bonus with this that we got a very good park . I had to have three goes at the actual park has i decided to reverse into the park

I think my next milestone was getting into the wet suit ... this is very "fitting" item of clothing. It seems to attracted a lot of man handling to get the suit on correctly . So my advice to "single" tri guys is to get good at putting on wet suits and you don't where your hands could be required .

One of the highlights for this event was the ramdon visit of pod of Killer Whales aka Orcas ; http://www.flickr.com/photos/clairemoava/304806490/ and has my flirk comment say's "Ocra is also a brand of wet suit in NZ, so there also alot of ocras on beach " , but the competitors were not the same size of course .

So tri are executed in the following order swim , cycle and run . So first up was the swim . This is the discipline i am at least practised at and i have only swam in the sea afew times in my recent history . I decided to just take my time as i know i can swim until the cows come home. In the turn home one of the girls kick the rope around the bouy and its all over for me with my limited eye sight i started to panic when i could not see the buoy or Sam ... So my swim time wasnt the best . I got to transition and had afew moments LOL .

The best leg . the cycle ; http://www.flickr.com/photos/clairemoava/304806488/. I loved the open road with my beautiful bike and even a bit of sun struggling though the weather beaten clouds . It wasn't my best time for 24 km , but it was middle of the road and left of the white. I did enjoy cycling past the priest and waving , she was was surprised but i got a big smile..

Homeward bound - the run to the finish . I found this a bit boring has we were running over part of the cycling course and we did this loop twice too . . But there was an interestedly funny marshell on the turn around which kept me entertained .

My times were ... i was happy with them but i pretty down the food chain in the order:

Total: 01:30:59
Swim: 00:14:17
Cycle: 00:49:12
Run: 0:27:30

I am thinking i need to :

• get some swim swimming lessons (mr_ginger is taking me on Sunday)
• swim once a week, at least
• getting more running in (take 2 mins off that time)
• cycling is ok , just getting back on road bike wil see 5 mins off that time .

I am wanting to do the xterra event in April, to bet my time from last year . 1 km swim , 30 km MTB and 11km run. So i need to do another before then huh ? . There is local one on 1st April , but maybe another before then ?.

Toughen Up Mentally

got this an email today ....

Following are 5 tips to “Toughen Up” Mentally ...

Listen to the Experts - read books or listen to stories from those who have overcome obstacles and setbacks. These people are just like you - if they can do it why can’t you?
Dont think "What If" ? – spend your time and energy focusing on moving forward. Do not dwell on the past and what went wrong, learn from it and move on. If it helps, keep a journal and write down your progress and goals.
Patience, pacing and persistence - understand that success will come with hard work and that it will take time. Learn from others and their mistakes.
Get comfortable with the unfamiliar – try doing something every week that is different from your normal routine. Take a different route to work, try a different gym, or kayak in a different boat. You will better prepare yourself for the unknown and you will be able to handle diverse environments with greater calm and confidence.
Expect the unexpected – you cannot control what nature does and what others do. But you can control your response to them.

Well i read this and thought this is me.

Lets talk about something hard - death

Last Friday i friend died of cancer , he was 31 years old , had a beauitful wife and wonderful life infront of them to create.

He took his last breath on 3rd Nov 2006.

This made me think and really think .......
- why are so many people getting cancer - is it popluation control ? we go to the moon , but cant cure cancer ?
- at least he knew what what love was (remember folks i am pisces :http://www.psychicguild.com/horoscopes_zodiac.php?sign=Pisces)
- must get a mole map
- a widow at 29 ?
- dont miss opoortunity to tell somebody love/care has dont know if you will have another chance .
- my poor uncle who died on boxing day 1999 with lung cancer, 2nd time around
- my cousin , his daughter is dying on "women" cancer now
- and a my mild danger bent(with logic) , UMBUG . Quote: Dad "died doing what you love doing" . So true dad - love you.

I am so lucky to have very single day , very moment - thats why i make the most of it .

Guy Fawkes Night

It was Guy Fawkes last night.

I am amazed/impressed how something so simply has fireworks can bring a community together. The local council put on a beautiful display, unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me to take some shots, that was a bit of oversight. The colors were intense contrasting behind a black sky.

I cant recall anybody who doesn't like Guy Fawkes. ( good on you , Guy, your helping beyond your grave and crime !)