Rotorua

Read Debbie's latest blog here

My name is Debbie Maguigan, and I am so ridiculously excited to be your Tri IT girl for Rotorua.

4 years ago I competed in a womans only triathlon.   It was the most rewarding challenge.  At the time I was getting married, my wedding day was the day before the triathlon.  Neither date would move for me, so there was no time for excuses!   I lost 20kgs in the build up to that event, and felt amazing.

4 years later, I have found all 20 of those kilos again, and a couple extra!!   I look back at my wedding photos with a sense of longing….   I want to be the girl in those pictures again.   

I have 4 and 6 year old boys, and between them, my business, my husband and our house renovations, I find every excuse under the sun to “start tomorrow…”!

I own an Ab Circle, the Zumba CD’s, The Gabriel Method, a Rowing Maching, a Swiss Ball, a Stepper and a years subscribtion to Healthy Food Guide…. They’re all gathering dust in our spare room just waiting for me to “find the time”.    I know in my heart, and from experience, that there is no magic cure… the only way is to eat healthy, and exercise more!   It’s such a simple formula, but so easily lost in the daily chaos of my life.

Well, now it’s time… the date is set (3 March)… it won’t move for me, and I am so proud to have the chance to share my journey on line.  I can think of no better commitment than lining up with all those women on the shores of the Blue Lake.  I hope I will find a huge bunch of like minded woman to join me along the way, I can’t wait to get started, and have big plans on making this the most rewarding journey of my life.

I have pinned the following saying above my desk “I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure – which is:  Try to please everybody”

So, move over Motherhood, ‘Wife’hood, and ‘Business’hood… it’s time for some “me time”.  

Let the journey begin. 

8 Days since I was chosen as an “IT Girl” and what a week it’s been.   I have gone from the absolute excitement from being chosen, to the “I’ll get started on Monday” and everything else in between.

I’ve thought about joining a gym, hiring a personal trainer, following the Tri 8 week plan, writing my own plan …. The list goes on (and that’s the problem – it’s just a list!!!!).

I feel like I am standing at the bottom of a mountain.   I can see myself at the top – I’m standing there in the yellow bikini I’ve always wanted to own, and I am literally on top of the world!     I see the end result so clearly, it’s just the plan to get there that didn’t exist.

This morning I decided to walk around Mount Maunganui…. Just an easy 3km stroll on a beautiful morning, but what an inspiration it turned out to be.

This morning I had a moment of clarity!    I am at the bottom of that mountain – but it’s MY mountain… a mountain of demons, of bad habits and excuses.  A mountain of junk food, of laziness and procrastination!   There is no magic ride to the top, and no matter what I do, who I pay, or who wants to join me along the way… no one can actually make me get there, except me.   I will seek all the help I can, I will look to others for support, encouragement and inspiration, but climbing “that” mountain, “my” mountain… is a journey that I need to take alone. 

Every choice I make will determine whether I take a step up that mountain, or a step back down…. Sleep In or Exercise?  Sushi for Lunch or Hot Chips?   Soft Drink or Water?   Late night TV or a Good Nights Sleep?   Every choice I make I will make a difference as to whether I am going up, or going down.  

All of a sudden I noticed a change… I walked a little faster.  I took longer strides – pushed it on the hills, I couldn’t stop thinking about making right now count!

The top of my mountain had seemed so far away, I didn’t know where to start… but now it’s all so clear, it doesn’t matter how many steps there are to the top or how far away I am… the only thing I can do right now is focus on the one step in front of me.

I love games, and this will be my mental boardgame… there won’t be a dice… I’m not leaving this one to chance!    Every step will be my decision – my success.

Tomorrow I will be one step up that mountain, and I will take great pleasure in looking back down to “where I used to be”… it may be just one small step, but now finally I’m on my way.

So Mount Demon, I say this to you…. “One step at a time – success will be mine!”

I read an awesome quote this week…

“If you want to fly, let go of the things that weigh you down”

It really touched home with me, but I have to admit I am struggling to put it into practice!

I am a YES person.   Doesn’t matter who or what it is, when someone asks me to do something… help them out, catch up for a coffee, go out for drinks, look after their kids, feed their dog, deliver a package…  it doesn’t matter… the answer is always YES.

This is going to be a hard habit to break!!!   I wish I could say… Yep, TV weighs me down, I will give up an hour of TV a day and use that time to exercise, but I don’t think it’s going to be that easy.

The problem is that I enjoy helping people.  I enjoy catching up with friends, and I enjoying being part of pretty much anything that is on offer!   I am not a routine kind of gal…. I go to the gym once or twice, and then stop.  I go to Zumba everyday for a week, and then never go again!    I tried Spin this week, but instantly find myself thinking about what I will “try” next!

I’m not sure whether I need to just get stuck into a routine, or whether I need to find something that I actually love so much, that I can’t wait to do it again.

For now I have decided that every morning I will make time in my day for me, for exercise…. It might be something different everyday, but at least I will have scheduled it in, and when those requests pop up…. I will happily be able to say “No, I’m sorry I can’t right now…. I’m off for a walk, a ski, a zumba, a spin, a swim or who know’s what…. But at least I won’t get to the end of the day being annoyed that once again “I didn’t have time to exercise"

Ouch!

That about describes my entire body today!

I have been feeling really disappointed in myself that the days and weeks seem to be passing quicker than I am making any real progress.

So this week I decided to investigate a Personal Trainer!   I had a trial session yesterday and holy cow!   At the time it was fantastic, as I know I would never push myself that hard if I was training alone, but man do I have sore muscles today!   I am pretty sure that every single muscle in my body was given an extreme workout… Even my fingers hurt – is that even possible?!?!?!?

This coming week I am planning on testing out my cycle… looking forward to that.

I have also entered the TECT Off Road 14km Walk at the TECT All Terrain Park (on the back road from Tauranga to Rotorua) – information is available on Facebook (Smiths Sports Shoes Tauranga Trail Run) if anyone is keen to join me!

Hi – I’m Back!

Oh my goodness… just 9 weeks til my Triathlon and I think I fell off the wagon about 6 weeks ago!!

On 3rd November (my birthday of all days) my landlord advised me that he was not going to renew my lease on my shop as he wanted the building for himself…. Holy Crap, just what you don’t need when you are desperately trying to juggle an already far too busy life to find some time for yourself.   The timing couldn’t have been worse - right at the start of Wedding Season, and right before Christmas!   Suddenly 6 weeks have passed by just like that, and now that we are out of the old shop, and in to the new one, I suddenly feel a sense of fear and desperation!

I have done a couple of swims, and a couple of walks and a couple of laps around the block on my bike… I’ve been taking a boxing class at the gym but absolutely nothing close to what I had planned to be doing, and no where even near to where I had planned to be at this stage.  

I have been feeling really down hearted and disappointment in myself as I have been literally working every waking moment for the last few weeks, and about to head into Christmas/New Years and then 2 weeks of camping!  I am gutted that I haven’t done more already, and wondering how on earth will I make up for lost time, and get some serious training in - by the time we get back from holiday it will be just 6 weeks til my triathlon! 

Then, like a flash of inspiration, I see this on Facebook:

Don’t look back – you’re not going that way.

Wow… talk about just what I needed!   Today it is 73 days till my triathlon.  I am going to, not just complete that event, I am going to impress myself.  I am going to swim without standing up (and without drowning), I am going to ride my butt off, and then I AM going to RUN that run!!  That was my plan, and that is what I am going to do!

I AM going to update this page every single week till 3 March with a PROGRESS report! 

No more tomorrows, no more excuses.  This is important to me, and it’s time to make it happen.

The days are just flying by… just 31 days to go til the Rotorua Tri.

I’m half excited, half nervous already!!

I am focusing now mostly on the running – this is without a doubt my weakest part, and by “weakest” what I really mean is I can’t really run at all!!

I have finally found the perfect combination to inspire me – the Mount Maunganui base track (3kms), a carefully selected playlist (one uplifting track, followed by a slower one), the “Get Running Couch to 5K” program, and a stopwatch!

If anyone is struggling with the run section, I highly recommend trying this combination.

The Mt base track is perfect as it is a loop….  No running “out & back” - once you’ve started you have to keep going around – no short cuts, no corners, and it’s a nice achievable 3km distance.

A playlist that inspires you & uplifts you… mine includes “I am Woman”, “Queen of Hearts” “Country Roads – Dance Version” and some Zumba Tracks!

The stopwatch pushes me… every walk/run I simply HAVE to beat my last time.

And as for “Get Running”, I can’t believe I haven’t discovered this application before – it is simply fantastic!   This lovely voice comes over the top of your music and literally tells you what to do “start running now”, “you will run for 1 minute”, “just 10 seconds to go” etc etc…. She is Brilliant!!!

I don’t yet ‘enjoy’ running, and can by no means run very far, BUT I do feel fantastic at the end of each session, and crazy as it seems, look forward to (finishing) the next one! 

At the moment I’m still at Run 1 minute, Walk 1 ½ minutes, but I am still planning by the 3^rd of March to be able to run that Blue Lake Track!