Noosa dreaming...

Where do you start?

Noosa is so legendary that no matter what I dribble about here I will miss pretty much all the best bits. But maybe it's better that way? Maybe the whole idea is that you have to actually get to Noosa for that first weekend in November and experience all that there is to offer for yourself?

Seriously though. Get the fuck to Noosa Multisport Festival.

Bondi Fit legends in our new kit

This year we had an extra couple of days which was great to hang out with some good friends just out of Brissy for a day before driving up the coast, catching some family and making it our sweet little pad in Little Cove in time to get out and enjoy a bit of mexican with some friends before crashing out.

Garmin Hill

The usual Friday morning course ride was a beauty, remembering that the sun comes up before you go to bed in Queensland which means by 6am it's freakin hot already, always nice. Looking back we made the mistake of caring too much about the race this day, as it was nice and sunny yet we decided that was the day to register and organise instead of soak up the sun and relax on the beach, rookies...especially considering that the rest of our time there would be cast in shadows... booo

Gatecrashing the Witsup Breaky ride

Saturday morning was played a little differently this year with Witsup holding their breaky today instead of Monday, not so bad. I gatecrashed the morning ride before breakfast and got to chat to a fair few people and hear some cracking stories that continue to make me laugh! Aimz came down and joined us for the breaky this year after a bout of food poisoning the night before ruled her out last year, good decision as she managed to win the Specialized helmet as well which means she is one step closer to getting on a bike... ;)
The panel was great; Blatchford, Granger and Snowy are a bunch of great people with a heap of experience and even more stories. You know it's a good panel when you have the likes of Mel Hauschildt and Jamie Jacobs sitting in the back row for kicks. Scored a kick arse goodie bag this year as well, Witsup flat caps? Well played Stef, well played!

Stef and the great panelists for the morning! Thank you all!
Photo credit to Korupt Vision

Saturday is the most awesome day of the weekend I think. There is just sooo much going on. Yes, yes the day before a race you should be feet up chilling out of the sun... But when you score VIP tickets to the Asics 5km bolt, the Legends race and the Women's and the Men's Crit then how could you possibly not go and watch?!?

Benny J from Noosa Bike Shop off the front of the Men's Crit

I did drag myself away long enough to jump in the water with the crew for a swim of the course. First time in my new Huub swim skin also which was good, surely this last minute purchase would dramatically change my race right? Haha. Rest assured that I have been thinking about one for ages as I race in a 2 piece suit, and if you have ever tried to swim in a 2 piece suit you will understand...! I liked it, felt sleek and fast and not restrictive, good sign!

Saturday arvo pre-race swim is always a good laugh!

Most nights before a race I like to sneak away and have a quiet diner to relax, although when in Noosa the race is just part of the trip, so what's a glass of wine and a meal with half the squad the night before? Love it.

Nothing new on race day = wine the night before

I'm not sure who decided to interrupt the weekend with a race (rude), but come Sunday morning I was with the masses setting the bike up for the day. Feeling relaxed and casual, which I'm never sure is a good or a bad thing? Either way my wave start wasn't for 2 hours again so I had time to go home, chill out and relax a bit.

Transition. Well not even half of it actually... crazy place!

Unfortunately my magic swim skin didn't save the day for me, I felt like I had a reasonably good swim to be honest, my wave must have been full of Poms as I'm almost certain that I was one of the first few out the water, as I don't wear a watch in the swim I didn't have any idea of how I actually swam (not great) which meant at least I was positive heading out on to the bike!
 

25-29 Wave start... Punch on lads

I love the Noosa bike course, that slow climb out of town to the bottom of Garmin Hill lets the legs warm up and the body settle down. We were lucky this year to not have the sun beaming down on us which I think made a difference, although it was windier than last year. I hit the base of the hill having no-one pass me which is always a nice feeling, keeping a solid tempo up the hill I let 2 guys go past who looked like they wanted KOM, all theirs... Across the top section I was caught by another 2 guys and couldn't quite hold on as they went past which was pretty frustrating, started to think that my Port 70.3 legs might be coming back to haunt me... From the turn I managed to pick up a TO for pretty much the entire leg back into town... They weren't watching me so much as moving from bunch to bunch up the road from me, although as I was moving quicker than the bunches ahead I kept catching and passing them... not really an issue until they decided to have a conversation with someone on the decent doing about 60km/h and I had to actually scream at them to get out of the farking way as clocked 85 on the way down (love that hill).

Love a bit of speed!

Off the bike in 1:04ish I thought was reasonable considering how I was feeling, 2mins slower than last year but that's cool. Really wanted to have a good run, so eyes up. Plus Tommy hadn't caught me yet where last year he got me as we came in to T2 so that was a good sign.

Telling myself I feel great heading out on the run

Hit the run and tried to settle down, running around 4:05-4:10's which I was comfy with as I just wanted the legs to come good so I could have a real crack in the back half. What's that saying about best laid plans? Hrmmmm.... Once again the few km's either side of the turn I struggled, slipping back to 4:20-4:30's for a while there... Someone always used to tell me to talk yourself through the run when you are tired and focus on form, so I was just going over and over in my head to run tall and have quick feet. Must have worked to some degree as I managed to come good (well better) the back half and run home reasonably strong. No where near what I wanted, but happy that I managed to dig myself out and come home strong, good mental win.

Anyway, that's enough race talk. Finish chute was amazing as always, over the line, grab a cup of water and flop back in the river. Done. Beer time.


Quick bite to eat and the first of a few vodkas for a mate who won't take no for an answer before heading to the Surf Club to enjoy the afternoon. Like every year th.... --INFORMATION MISSING-- ..r pizza which was delicious!

Epic party image

The next day in Noosa is usually beach day, but with the rubbish weather it was a let down... A quiet BBQ on our rooftop was about all that could be mustered. Pretty quiet night with some good people and not a drop of alcohol to be seen anywhere as we are all athletes.

Unlike last year, we managed to stay around for the Melbourne Cup this year. Excellent decision. Ended up a pretty good crew who stuck around for it.

Civilized and glamorous Melbourne Cup

It's a shame that the sun came out to play on the day we were dressed to impress. Really would have been a great day for an afternoon on the beach and a bit of a swim. I bet the water would have been warm and inviting... Shame that we will never know... Right?

What Watts? Port 63.7

It's official. Summer is here. And that's not just the sunburn talking... First race of the season under the belt in Port Macquarie definitely marks the beginning of Summer.

 

Port Macquarie in all it's morning beauty

It has been an up and down kind of winter, and a damn cold one at times... My running has come a long way which has been a good positive. Which reminds me, I never followed up on my last blog with an ambitious goal of 56min for the City-2-Surf... Well I'm happy to say that something clicked that day and I pulled out a 55:16... Winning!

That final painful km of the C2S

So really from a results perspective it was a great winter, perhaps the only up and down bit was inconsistent training and some mindless personal issues that are seemingly irrelevant. I can live with that.

So roll on the first race of the season. One of the most honest courses on the calendar but also one of the most scenic, Port Macquarie 70.3. It's a great tough course in a great little bogan town, and I say that with endearment.

This race has gone from a goal race, to a B race, to a don't care race, back to a training race and then to a what the hell have a crack race and back to a training race (see above personal ups and downs over the winter! haha) so when I checked the bike in on Saturday I really had no expectations at all and stomach full of nerves... go figure? At least I had my #1 fan up there with me this year to take me out to a pretty cracking lunch on the Saturday and put up with a 5:30pm dinner :)

Aimee's stellar lunch from Grape & Petal

This year was a strange start, we were herded into the carpark at the swim entry before the race start (missed out on a warmup swim!) and held until our wave was ready to start, then funneled into the water and out to the start bouys where we floated around and joked about waiting for instruction and then a horn went off! I guess that was the start then? Good thing we all knew what was going on... A 30 second warning would have been nice, but I guess not!

So the usual 25-29 age group start was amplified as we grew this year to include 18-29 which ensured that we started like there was a shark in the water (maybe that's what the horn was?). Pretty sure that I didn't punch anyone in the head this year which is nice, considering that I didn't get punched in the head either, maybe we are getting soft?

Swim start, no punches thrown...?

Spot's voice was ringing in my head as usual and this year I did listen (a little) and backed off a bit. The pack did it's usual swim the wrong way trick so by the time they had figured it out, corrected and half of them blown up already I was pretty much swimming next to them all again. I didn't jump on the back as they were still all over the place so I just swam my own way again. Turns out it wasn't a bad idea as I had a pretty good swim for me, well that or they all got lost out there somewhere... 27:14 and 11th in my division... I'll take that (and damn right it was short! haha). Even saved a spectators sunnies as I ran up the carpet to T1 (at the cost of my Huub goggles which I dropped...! :( )

Doing my duty, note the flying sunnies top left ;)

Heading out on to the bike I figured I had a pretty good swim, although I don't wear my watch in the swim so had no idea really, but I felt good and that's all that matters. I did wonder though if I had put in enough work on the bike lately to get through the next 90km on the bike at the speed my head wanted me to ride... Only one way to find out, hit the road and keep an eye on the power.
I said keep an eye on the power.
Shit.
Power meter not working... at all... Reset watch... Nope... No HR either...
Watts? What watts?
This is gonna be fun

Transition

I'd love to know what I was actually riding at out there, although it was great to ride blind to some degree as it definitely helps you to understand your body rather than rely on numbers, I think I may have pushed a little too hard considering the lead up I have had... haha. Not sure exactly when I figured that bit out, perhaps when somebody tried to slow me down by sticking 2 dozen knives in my quads the second time up Mathew Flinders... Fun

Heading out for Lap 2

The bike course was the same as I remember, just with less people. Maybe the early start wave? maybe the better swim from me? Or just less people in the field? All 3 I think.
Whatever it was, for the most part I didn't have anyone infront or behind. Was a pretty lonely 90kms, aside from the adoring fans up Mathew Flinders and my #1 fan clapping solo for me as I rode through the outskirts of town. I kinda like it that way.
Just wish I knew why the course was so slow this year...? I'm sure that we must have ridden over carpet at some point. 10mins slower than last year... anyway, that's starting to sound like an excuse, so I'll stop.

Coming back in to T2 feeling a sting in the legs

Coming in to T2 I felt every minute on my black pocket rocket. The quads were shot to pieces. Woo Hoo! So load up the crotch with some chamois cream, throw the Mizuno's on and hit the pavement. At least my watch decided to display my pace on the run, still no HR, but it was an improvement.

Feeling good at the 7km mark

Like I said, I felt pretty average, so forgot about the pace and just focused on form. I settled down eventually and the legs started to come around. Not where I would have liked them, but I was looking down the road at a 1:35 and thought I'd settle for that. This is a training race anyway. Right? I'm confused.
I carried on through the first lap holding that together somewhat, slowing a little up the hill in the back end which is normal. Although my body forgot to speed back up again. I got stuck in that gear. Either that or someone poured concrete in my legs while I was distracted. It took every ounce of mental strength not to stop when the nice lady gave me my 1st lap completed wrist band... The energy I had left after that went towards the walk/jog second lap. Hrmmm... Never quite had an explosion like this one. I had nothing. Slipped back to a 1:49. Ouch. Should have made this one a 63.7 rather than a 70.3...

Pretty glad that is over...

Nice to know that I found my limit. Now as I try and pick up the pieces and put the puzzle together I just hope that I can learn from this so that it doesn't happen again. I know that it might take a while (like forever) to get the balance right, but it was not a nice way to finish what started as a reasonable day in the water (no, I'm not a swimmer, stop smiling) so I need to take some lessons away

Now I have 2 weeks to remember how to walk before ripping what's left of my body to pieces in Noosa! Hell, at least there is a holiday and one hell of a party attached to that race. See you up there!

*note: I have learnt a lesson from this that is unrelated to my racing, although it's a lesson none the less... If someone has a bad race, you don't have to try and tell them it was a good race, they know they had a bad race, they are not looking for someone to pump them up and make them feel like they are a winner, not everyone wins a prize, it's OK to have had a bad race. I had a bad end to a race, that's OK, I know that, I'm not looking for sympathy, it's just a race, shit happens.
NB: I am absolutely totally 100% guilty of being 'that person' who tries to pump others up after a bad race... guilty as charged! I'll save you the long list of apologies that are due, but those people know who they are, and to them; "I'm sorry, you had a shit race hey" :)

Redundancy. Not always a bad word...

Well I've pretty much been a professional athlete the last 3 months... It's been fantastic as well as scary. But one thing is for sure, it's given me a good chance to think about my life and what I want out of it.

A hard life being a pro... Bondi in all it's glory

It's been three months now since the company I worked for since completing my degree had to make me redundant. Sure, at first I was upset, angry, confused... I had given almost 7 years of my life to this company including spending countless hours/days/weeks away from my friends and family with projects trips all around the state as well as months spent in Melbourne and finally culminating in a move to Sydney with the uncertainty of whether Aimee would follow me or if we would spend even more months or years living apart...

But. The day after I was given the news I was lucky enough to be able to get on a plane and head north to Noosa for the Noosa Triathlon festival. After a great weekend away in Noosa I started to realise that it might not be such a bad thing. I only really told a few people that are really close to me what had happened, and it made me realise exactly why those people are really close to me. Such amazing support and full of positivity no matter what they were going through in their own lives. They made me realise that I had been in the same company for so long that it was going to be a good thing for me to be able to have a change in my life! You all know who you are, so thank you :)

Absolutely loving Noosa National Park!

So with that change in attitude I decided that I wasn't even going to entertain the idea of looking for a job until the New Year, giving me almost 2 months to try and enjoy a summer in Sydney. A big part of that was being able to focus on my training and really get some solid sessions in.

Two of the best training buddies you could ask for

Hence the life of the pro athlete... there were lazy coffee sessions after the morning training, double swim sessions, midday core sessions... it was great. I rediscovered a love of the sport again.
I had all this time to relax and sleep on the couch, although I don't think I ever really did... it's amazing how the day gets away from you so quickly... I did manage to complete some great tasks while I had the time, including setting up a new website for one of my best friends as well as taking our coffee addiction to another level by starting a blog to voice our untrained and totally biased opinion. I was resident chef and dishwasher in our household which (hopefully) made life a little nicer for everyone, and took to baking pretty heavily! The no-sugar “diet” (I use that word loosely as I don’t like the word) had officially ended, although it had caused a permanent shift in our mentality and now we still follow it, although allowing a few more exceptions ;)

The 9am Mug

 
So this pro life was always going to come to an end. And this week was that time. I have now started with a new company and the role is really exciting and something that is outside of my comfort zone. Something that if I was still with that same company I would never have looked at. But given my time and my assessment of my life this new role fit the mould perfectly and would allow me to explore the industry from a different light and add another feather to the cap so to speak which is never a bad thing I don’t believe.
I discovered that my life, although needing challenges, needs to be supported by my working world rather than the other way around. My old company had (past tense) some great perks, although they soon became further and further apart until to be honest they almost disappeared... it was never a bad company and I learnt a lot, but the culture started to change... My new company has a sensational culture and attitude towards the work life balance. One that promotes a great flexible work environment, in which people are comfortable, which in turn promotes hard work and loyalty. That's a good thing and I’m very excited to be able to be a part of it.

Not all doom and gloom

Now that I have started a new role I have had some time to think about the old company a bit. One of the things that I never really thought about at the time I was made redundant was the customers I dealt with and how the news of my redundancy was treated? The word 'redundancy' is generally a cuss word, so I wonder what they were told when I didn't show up again? Did they get told 'Shane is no longer with us'? Which seems like a generic and harmless statement. But is it? If someone told you that the person that you have been dealing with was 'no longer with the company' what would you think? Me, I would probably think that they were fired or they had found a new job (although if they had a new role would I not have been told and had a handover with the replacement?). So no matter what they think when told, you can be almost guaranteed that they think it was my decision or my action that has caused me to not be 'with the company anymore', where in actual fact I was made redundant, which means that it was neither my decision nor my action that caused the result. It was in fact in part the company’s action and decision that has caused the result as well as the market, including potentially the customer, which would no doubt change the perception of me in their eyes, which might seem trivial, until your paths cross once again in business...

So I hope that the people and customers that I was lucky enough to work with during my time that were delivered the news of my departure were told the truth. There's nothing I could do about my redundancy, so I hope that my previous company and the people in it didn't (unintentionally) harm my image in the eyes of those that I dealt with. Next time you have to deliver the news to a company that a former colleague is 'no longer with the company', do them a favour and tell the truth.

Now, please excuse me, I have a new challenge in my life and I want to get out there and attack it.

Noosa meltdown

Thank you Noosa!

Wow, you can take me back anytime you want.

After a week I'd rather forget, the flight to Noosa opened a different world far away from the troubles in Sydney, a world that I could have quite comfortably stayed in...

We arrived in Sunny (but not actually that warm) Brisbane Thursday morning, threw the bags in the back of the hire car and went off in search of food. The decision to fly to Brisbane was a good one as there was only one other bike on the flight so we had no issues (unlike some unlucky people who flew into the Sunny Coast...). Arriving in Noosa is always a wonderful feeling and that afternoon was no different, we pulled into our lush apartment in Little Cove and instantly knew that we had made a good decision!
Keeping low key the first night Aimee and I snuck off to a nice restaurant for dinner to try enjoy part of the weekend not related to triathlons :)

Our apartment for the week! Freaking awesome!

Friday morning was a beauty. So Reidy, Donkey and I headed out for a morning lap of the course. A 5:30am departure ensured that the sun was completely up before our ride started (QLD, seriously, daylight savings!).
The course was familiar as some of us were lucky enough to spend a week in Noosa only a few months ago on the Turbo Studio Noosa Camp (which was amazing!) so getting to reacquaint myself with Garmin hill was nice, besides a few over zealous locals in their cars almost killing us it was a nice morning ride and a great way to start the day! A quick coffee with some of the crew on the main street and it was back to the pad.

In Noosa you have such amazing places to train on your doorstep and it would be just rude to not take advantage of them. So Aimz and I got our gear on and went for a great run through the Noosa Heads National Park, I love that place so much I could move there just for that!

Enjoying our run through the beautiful National Park

Capping the day off watching the Eyeline Noosa 1000 Ocean Swim and getting seeing coach get a 3rd place (and bust a lung trying) and the rest of the crew all having a great race as well was great. Sid and I snuck off for a quick swim out around the point and back to stretch the arms mid-race as neither of us fancied the actual race.
Dinner at the surf club (for something different) with the crew and a few sneaky beers was a great way to finish off a great day!

It's all about the photo! Coach starting the Eyeline 1000

Bondi Fit dinner (and beers) Friday night

My old training buddy and partner in crime Tommy got into town on Friday night and it would have been rude to break our tradition of riding the course together the day before the race, so I joined him and Sid and headed off early again (and in full sunshine...) to ride the course. It was quite possibly the highlight of the trip getting back on the bike and riding with these two legends. Always such a pleasure.

Having a ride with these two legends: Tommy and Sid

Tommy departed and Sid and I carried on to meet the Bondi Fit team who were just getting started on their morning of mini-tri's around the island. Seems the Bondi Fit bus arrived the night before as the numbers had swelled dramatically overnight! So we joined in for a few swims and runs and had a good time before all heading off for a team breakfast (man I love breakfast!)

Mini-tri's Saturday morning

One of Sid's sponsors Shotz Nutrition was holding their SSNLRSNWBB Championships (long story) so we wandered down to see the crew and have a laugh while they attempted to body surf the swimming pool that was Noosa main beach... Was good to meet some of the team and also to meet Darryl from Shotz and put a face to a name finally.

The Shotz team debating the rules pre-SSNLRSNWBB Championships

After an afternoon of chilling out on the couch I headed down to rack the bike and hang around for the swim round the island with the team, felt good through the swim and was feeling very relaxed, which was a big change from a few days ago back in Sydney....
I also managed to rack my bike right next to Tommy which was a bit of a laugh :)

The amount of bikes in transition was unreal!

Just like old times. Parking up next to Tommy in transition

The SUBARU Australian Open Mens Criterium was on just after and local bike shop name and friend Ben Johnson was racing so we jostled for a spot to watch the action. Being the first Crit that I had watched it was an exciting race with Robbie McEwen coming through for the photo finish!
A quiet meal tonight and an early night to bed was in order before the big day tomorrow...

Mens Crit race, great to watch!

Sunday morning. Race morning.

Love & Hate relationship. But mainly Love.
Aimee got up (bless her) and helped stick the race numbers on and off I went to setup transition. My wave start wasn't until 8:45 (!!!) but I had to be done in transition by 6am like the rest of the field. Tommy and I were lucky that we found some empty racks on our row so we could move our bikes (shhhh) and space out a bit to make it easier in transition.
At first a start time of 8:45 had me doing back flips, although I soon realised that it would mean I could watch Sid in her first race as a Pro. So it all of a sudden became a great thing I had a late start!

Sid's first Pro start!

Out of the water and starting her hunt on the bike

Most of the team were down at the swim start for the pro race, and we made sure that we gave Sid her tunnel into the water before her first pro race, much to the surprise of all the other pros and people who wandered what all the noise was about :)
It seemed her first race wasn't going to be without drama with a snake in the water scaring the life out of Moffy just before the buzzer went on the start line! We hung around and waited at the swim exit to make sure we gave her a good cheer before she got on the bike and started her hunt. And hunt she did! Tommy and I quickly ducked off to grab some breakie and got back in time to see Sid come back into T2 having ridden through half the field (into about 7th place) and with a smile on her face that you could see from miles away, super effort!
Starting the run we shouted support at her until she started shouting back something like "I thought it was only a swim and a bike?" when we stopped shouting support and started shouting abuse!

Aimz had wandered down by this stage and it was nice to see her before the race start. Proudly displaying her supporter sticker for the day :)

My biggest supporter! :)

We snuck away and started to prepare for our own race and headed to the swim start, ...like we wanted to race now having been watching people already finish.....! About to jump into the water for my own race I noticed Sid had just come through into the recovery area so I had the chance to go and give her a massive congratulations which gave me the boost I needed to get back into race mode.

My swim was alright. Although I instantly regretted the 2-piece tri suit choice to swim in. Muppet. The top became an instant float and I knew that was going to suck. Oh well. The buzzer went (no snake) and off we went. Pretty sure I threw my fair share of punches at the first can, but I received my fair share as well...
My wave (as usual) swam the most zig-zagged route through the swim, so I had to make the choice to chase feet or swim my own lines. I chose my own lines and pretty much swam solo the whole way again.

Out into T1 and Tommy's bike was still there (he started 3 mins behind) which was a good thing considering how I had been swimming lately. On to the bike (after pushing past countless people stopped on the mount line... Arrgghhh!!!) I heard the familiar voices of some of the team and of Aimee on the sidelines.
I wanted to push the bike pretty hard and set about trying to get into a rhythm. About 5km in Bacon moved past me and I paced off him for a little while before realising that I wasn't going to hold on for long and went back to my own race. Garmin hill came and went quite quickly and before I knew it I was at the turn around. Still no Tommy? or anyone else for that matter... The only person to pull past me had been Bacon which was a good feeling. The return trip down the hill I was lucky that the traffic cleared up lot and I was able to just put the head down and go, nudging 85km/h on the way down.
Back into town and the traffic got worse, I apologise to anyone I screamed at (especially on the bridge) but be stuffed if I was slowing down! Quick look at the watch and it was a 1:02 bike split which made me smile. Nice.
Into T2 I heard a familiar voice behind me. Tommy! Classic moment in T2 together getting our shoes on like rookies, we almost had a picnic... I gave him the news that Bacon was gone, but chase him anyway, turned him the right way around (you still owe me a beer) and off we went.

Data from the bike

Out the gates and the familiar voices were there again. Although this time it felt like my legs had been run over. There was nothing there. It was hot and it was not fun. The whole run I tried telling myself that I felt good and that I love running, but it didn't help, the legs just wouldn't turn over... I managed to hang on to what I could and run a 45min split which isn't what I had in mind. Although the last km was amazing and I would do it again and again no matter what the pain. The banners, the people, the grandstand. the big screen. Awesome. Coming down the chute and having the Bondi Fit alcoholic supporters along with Sid and Reidy hanging over giving the high fives was epic just before hitting the line. Loved it.
If you had asked me to sign up again right then I would have. What an awesome end to a race!

Party time!

Straight to the surf club (after a quick shower) and into the beers! We sank a handful of cold ones with the team there and inhaled a few bowls of food for good measure.

Although when the message came through to get to the Oakley house I didn't hesitate and we headed off for a great night with some great people and athletes. Will remember that one for a while!
Might have even given poor Ashleigh Gentle the freight of her life on the way to get pizza afterwards... Sorry Ash!

Recovery...

Monday started with a hangover and a craving for breakfast... Sid had mentioned the WITSUP girls were hosting a breakfast with a few of the top female athletes on a panel, so Tommy and I didn't think twice and tagged along for the fun. It was a great event with Liz Blatchford, Emma Snowsill, Emma Jackson and Charlotte McShane there to answer all sorts of great questions. It was one of the better panels I have listened to, led fearlessly by Snowy!

The rest of the day was dedicated to the fact that we had given up sugar for the last 6 months and this was the first cheat day we had! There was gelati, chocolate, chocolate, chocolate, gelati.... It was amazing.
But also not that satisfying... Weird?

Did someone say chocolate?

Aimee and I snuck away for a quiet dinner at Noosa's newest restaurant which was lovely (besides not being capable of bringing me a drink for the entire meal.... again, long story) It was nice to have another dinner and enjoy some non-triathlon time...
We caught up with Sid for some more gelati afterwards and a quick drink to celebrate the trip and her first pro race (very proud!)

Tuesday I decided that I wanted my favourite breakfast that I haven't been able to have for months (sugar....) Eggs Benedict! So Aimz and I went out to a local cafe and sat there patiently waiting for the awesomeness... low and behold, it was rubbish... So I have put it back on the list of things I miss and will search out a better one later...


So until then...