6 days at Mooloolaba, Sunshine coast

travelled last week to my last mooloolaba tri Aust uni games comp. Many memories with me and my bike bag

its such a big festival for this suburb, there were fireworks by the beach. loved loved it. this photo doesnt do it justice.

met up with Sam, who came down for a short hol. Angela and her had a great time learning to surf. Also went for a run tog....which turned more into sit-down and admire scenery and take pics! LOLEmma Snowsill, Beijing olympic games gold medalist in triathlon made her appearance, much to Angela's anticipation.

Sunday- race was good. I came in 21st in my age gp with a time of 2:35. i think its my best time for this course so far. My swim sucked, did 29min but what made the diff was the bike coming back was not as bad as previous years. headwind not so strong, so managed to maintain pace. though the event was non-drafting so couldnt get any faster...my run was goot! i was 10th in my age gp for running split, 46min. Horrendous hill x2 though running down that hill, seeing the beach sort of made up for it. I nearly cried on the run cos I was so sad this was my last race. but the pain was quite bad so had not enough energy to feel emotionally sad.

so, i am wondering why this year's time is better than previous years, given i was better trained then and was lighter too. Def wasnt over 60kg few years ago. Just 2 weeks ago, i couldnt bike more than 50km. So i know my cycling sucks. Swimming- havent been going for squad training due to laziness and trying to save money. Just my own 2/3km easy swims. Running- no fast runs, just slow short ones randomly at most twice a week. So....I think the reason is cos

1. wind on bike was to my favour

2. i knew this was my last race and pushed through the pain

3. met this top triathlete the day b4 and seeing him race in hot conditions, pushing through his pain gave me confidence in my race

4. i had a 'go emma' tattoo on my arm which i looked at on my run when i needed more strength

5. I was very familiar with the course and knew what to expect

6. I believed that God was looking out for me

- so lots of factors, but most importantly don't underestimate the power of the mind

Crazy us, day after triathlon, Angela and I attempted to cycle 90km(in total) to Noosa. I was aching, she was in pain but this was a cycle not to be missed. Thats an old volcanic crater in the pic, Mt Coolum, which we cycled past.
we finally reached Noosa headlands after 45km....omg. it was worth it:) rested by doing some shopping and eating lunch. I had a kebab!

one of the many beaches we cycled past. though we had to get over many hills along the way.

Next day, went for a tour with the backpackers to ginger factory, Nut factory, Montville and Gardnella falls. This is a sick looking pup outside the ginger factory, he was with his owner who was driving down the coast. He became the attraction, rather than the ginger factory. sad sad that the weather turned wet and couldnt swim at the waterfalls:( Ayden at the backpackers also lied to me, said the waterfall could swim with turtles....haha. it was all a lie!

Last day, walked along the beach with Angela to the spit. I got a running shot taken by a hunky lifegaurd who described this picture to be "fantastic"