Let me put it into perspective for you. My family is what I would call an active family. Between us we have completed a number of the Queensland triathlon series (QTS), along the south east coast, with either all of us in the series as competitors or with the others cheering us on, but always together.
We have completed a number of Mooloolaba triathlons, Noosa triathlons, full marathons, walks in Spain, 100km bike rides, 100km Blackall cross country races, comrades and half marathons in Las Vegas, I could go on but you get the drift…..
With parents in their sixties I am so proud to say I have finished a number of the above alongside both of them or with one of them! What an achievement!!
However sometimes I wonder if we are sane or insane to be doing such things!
Our latest idea – well you can be the judge of where we fall, sane or insane.
I do believe it was my older sister who sent me a message one day and it read something like this; ‘do you want to walk 60km?’ I thought what, and then why not…
Sooooo here we are on Mother’s Day of all says setting out to do a training walk, just a stroll, mind you a 30km stroll around Brisbane as training.
You may be thinking why would you do something like that, or even, I don’t think I could hold a conversation with my family, let alone walk with them for a training walk for 6 hours. Keep in mind the actual walk in July will take us approximately 12 hours!!
By now you are thinking insane!!!
So it’s Mother’s Day, think about it, what would Mother’s usually be doing? My ideal day would be to sleep in, cook nothing, do nothing and spend it relaxing at home with family..
Instead it’s 5:45am and my sister, my mother and I are strapping the toes, packing our water bladders, first aid kits, applying the sunscreen and are about to head off for a training walk.
The men were ‘on call’ for a spare set of shoes, a water refill or even a ‘pick us up, we are done’ phone call. Mind you they are also looking after the kids!
The walk – start in St. Lucia, along the river and past all the university colleges, a back way round into rowing, along the rover (coronation drive side) all the way along until the story bridge, cross the bridge on the northern side and along to Southbank. Cross back over to the coronation drive side at the go between bridge and back the way we came. SIMPLE ……
On the bright side though, now having finished the 30km it was quite an amazing morning.
It has to be the longest amount of quality time I have spent with my sister and mother since ‘the girls weekend’ in 2016.
We did become slightly hysterical at about the 24km mark, in fits of laughter, snorting water and realising your bladder was filling up and laughing was not helping, but it was quality time and who knows what sparked the mild hysteria. Imagine what we will be like at the end of the 60km!
It started at with a cold breeze and a beautiful morning, well that did not change throughout the walk. It was also amazing at what we encountered. I don’t know about you but have you ever walked around your neighborhood and really looked at what’s around you. Taken the time to enjoy the sights, the beauty and life that surrounds us.
I was amazed at what we saw and some of these things I would never have known existed. Taking the time to enjoy the moment. To be positive, have a ‘green cape’ experience…. this is where my sister would laugh hysterically at me… I will have to explain this analogy to you another day.
Here are some of the moments we enjoyed! Come along on our 30km journey.
Coffee and toilet stop: 8km
A nice stop along the way, The Regatta hotel. The Regatta brought back some amazing university memories. Such an excellent part of my life!
My sister and I discussed this and we believe it is or was such a great time due to the lack of responsibility!
With two amazing women, near the pedestrian bridge heading along the river.
A rushing down pipe, a hidden waterfall on the walk, an amazing sound to hear walking along path on the edge of Brisbane CBD.
A random wooden eye matching the Brisbane eye.
How was it placed there or a better question who put it there?
The pathway along the river, surrounded by nature and the mangroves.
Ducks in the city, what a contrast.
If we hadn’t already had coffee we may have been enticed to stop again!
The story bridge in all its glory, what a beautiful day!
The Story Bridge, about to start heading over it and head home… well with another 16km to go!
A hidden coffee shop at the base of the Story bridge, a beautiful stop.
An artwork made from metal car parts, near the Riverlife centre on the edge of the Brisbane river.
Taking part in celebrating how far we had come!
A man taking on the wall. Can you spot the spider?
I spotted the spider in the first image. Man vs spider – who will reach the top first?
The Climbing walls near kangaroo point.
This amazing tree which was so beautiful and shows us that when nature is untouched it will produce beautiful things.
A panoramic view of the city, Brisbane really is a beautiful city!
The Bougainvillea archway along South Bank.
There is always something nifty to do at Southbank, this shows a garden which has been made and is cultivated where you can sample the produce, even pick it for yourself!
A waterfall along the South Bank walkway.
A beautiful art work dedicated to those who owned the land before us.
Amazing art work along the bridge which meets Coronation Drive. A beautiful way to let people express themselves and their talents.
And we made it! Collected by family at the end! 30km done and dusted!
I must say 30km, 6 hours and 19 minutes on Mothers day was the perfect Sunday. I am exhausted and know that tomorrow steps may be an issue, but all in all it was worth it and I spent it with two incredibly amazing and inspirational women!
The idea is about challenging oneself, after all we only live once!
Oh and I think we are both sane and insane all in one!
Parenting, patience, relationships and resilience! 