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New York, New York!

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A few weeks ago one of our BEXI Runners, Michelle Savage and hubby Matt, headed to the ‘concrete jungle where dreams are made of’…. and achieved a dream-come-true.  Michelle shares her experience below:

One year ago my husband Matt asked me if I would run the New York Marathon with him. I said “what the hell are you thinking?” Then the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to give it a go (well really I just wanted a trip to NY). So we entered the race in early 2015 and had 8 months to train for it.

I should also mention, at the same time of registering, we started renovations to our house, moved 3 times and changed our kids school! What were we thinking?!

Once in our new house, I stumbled across Beauty of Exercise. Once I told Debbie what my goal was, I was soon armed with a training program and surrounded by the most supportive people I have ever met. I have never experienced this before – it was absolutely amazing! 8 months later, we were on a plane to New York.

Race day arrives, I am calm and ready to do this marathon-thing. We arrived at the start at 7am, however our wave was only due to head off at 11am. I spent the time watching people from all over the world (good thing I love people-watching). Running attracts a great sense of camaraderie!

11am, time to throw the jumpers off and we are off. The first 21km were breezy and comfortable. Locals cheering us on, bands playing loud music, people dancing, police and security on every corner. I hit the 25-30 km mark and started to feel the fatigue. Dizzy, sore, tired, weak – so I started to walk/run and stop at every drink station. Matt stayed with me the whole time – he kept saying we are doing this together till the end! That kept me going.

We reached Central Park with 3-4km to go. This felt like an eternity! Jogging and walking quite strangely – until I see the finish-line. With one last final surge, I pick up the pace and head across the finish line – 6hr 5min.

We did it! It was over… and hard to understand what we just did. It wasn’t until the next morning that the reality set in.

The atmosphere in NY the day after was so special – people having breakfast in café’s, wearing their medals, limping, smiling, laughing. A truly amazing sense of camaraderie!

I never thought of ever running a marathon, but now I can look back and cherish the experience!  Thank you to all my BEXI buddies for making me feel special and supporting my journey. I hope some of you get go to New York and share in this experience — it is worth every penny. Thank you so much!

Michelle Savage
Marathon Runner

There’s nothing you can’t do
Now you’re in New York…

Congratulations Michelle and Matt – an absolutely awesome experience! You will always cherish that first marathon.

Debbie Solms
Run Coach | Personal Trainer

This Girl is not for Quitting!

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Felicity Douglas is one very gutsy and determine lady! A mother of 4 x very active teens, a wife, a business owner, an  inspirational BEXI (Beauty of Exercise) runner… and also someone who has Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Her world was rocked 10yrs ago when she was diagnosed, but with the support of her family, friends and a fiercely ‘I-will-succeed’ attitude – Felicity has gone on to accomplish a huge number achievements in her life.

Below is Felicity’s recent account of her awesome PB at the SMH Half-Marathon:

Early Sunday morning I lined up for the SMH Half Marathon. The race had been a long time coming! I had commenced training with the Canberra Race-Fit crew in January but had not traveled to Canberra.

Training had been a mixed bag, full commitment is hard with 4 kids and work, but you need to accept that you can only do what you can. I love the Race-Fit training and was very inspired by the other BEXI Runners. I lined up in the Blue (fast) start – this was ambitious, but starting in the slower group the previous year proved frustratingly slow.

After a fast start… I was feeling fantastic and confident of a great time until I hit about the 12-14km mark. The quick start and the hills then caught up with me. I was hitting the wall – and literally had to repeat my mantra “one foot after another”. I didn’t give up… much as I wanted to. Other runners were very encouraging.

About 2km to the finish I was almost at a crawl. I stopped to ‘reset’ – stretching my arms in the air. A fellow runner called out “go on you can do it”… I took off to finish my race on my terms. Stumbling across the line into the arms of 2 first-aiders… but not before stopping my watch at the credible 1:52 time (7:30min PB!). The poor fellows were dumbstruck that I was more interested in my PB than being able to stand up!

I want to remind you all that so much of your race is in your head. I was aiming for a pleasant sub-2hr half-marathon but went all-out when I felt great on the day. Thank you Debbie and my fellow BEXI Runners for all the support and training. Love the BEXI support network!

Now bring on Gold Coast Half-Marathon! They tell me it’s flat and I now have a sub 1:45 to chase.

Felicity Douglas
1:52 Half-Marathoner
Inspirational BEXI Runner

SMH Half-Marathon

SMH Half-Marathon

 

Junior BEXI shines at Canberra

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It was indeed a family-affair at the recent Australian Running Festival on 11/12 April. Dad Shawn running the marathon; twin-sister Kristine running the half-marathon; and mum Suzanne & son Austin (6yrs) running the 5km. An awesome event to do as a family. Young Austin had the time of his life – proving that you’re never to young to follow in your parents’ footsteps. We’re so proud of our Junior BEXI superstar.

Here’s how Mum Suzanne captured the moment…

Austin chose to run the 5km to participate in Canberra alongside his dad … and also to get a well earned running medal!

Austin and I trained for a couple of months leading up to the event, gradually increasing our distance.  He complained a bit, but he didn’t give up…and he got better and better each run.

With race day upon us, our goal was to run as much of the race as possible and to keep positive.  My target was to cross the finish line under 45 mins. Austin was very excited and took off from the start.  He ran a very consistent first km in 6.45 – not a bad pace.

We walked up the hill to Parliament House and then sprinted down the hill, approaching the last km of the race.  A few tears came at this point, but with the promise of a Rainbow Paddle Pop at the finish line, Austin found his second wind and ran home strongly.  He sprinted the final straight to the finish line and was thrilled to collect his medal!

Shawn and I are both so proud of Austin.  Our Junior BEXI is already chasing that elusive PB – next stop is the 4km Mothers Day Classic in May.

Suzanne Elliott
Mum to Junior BEXI | BEXI Half-Marathoner, April 2015

Camaraderie at the Fore

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The Oxford English Dictionary defines Camaraderie as ‘the mutual trust and friendship among people who spend a lot of time together’.

That is exactly what our community at Beauty of Exercise (BEXI) is all about. We support each other through the lo’s, celebrate the hi’s… or just have a good laugh with each other.  

A perfect example was at our interval training session earlier in the week. We had three groups training together – 1) Run-FIT; 2) Race-FIT half-marathoners; and  3) Race-FIT marathoners. It was a very tough session – 2km | 1.5km | 1km | 800m – all at fast tempo paces. The final 800m rep was intended for the marathon group only.  The other two groups were gloating that they had finished and didn’t have to do another rep… until they noticed their ‘buddies’ getting ready for the last rep. Not wanting to leave them unsupported, they jumped up and rallied around them for their final 800m rep.

This truly highlighted what an awesome Beauty of Exercise community we have fostered over the past 3yrs. One which is filled with a great sense of camaraderie, team support, motivation and inspiration. Our BEXI community are always there for each other – if someone needs a buddy to run with, we are there to support them. If someone is having a bad day, we are there to lift them up. If someone  is lacking motivation, we are there to inspire them. The true spirit of our BEXI community. That’s what makes us so special. That’s what we love so much!

Debbie Solms

Debbie Solms is an accredited Personal Trainer, Run Coach and founder of Beauty of Exercise – an inspiring women’s running group on Sydney’s Northern Beaches

 

The Power of Setting Goals

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Why are goals so powerful? Because they give us a purpose; they help propel us forward; they help us believe in ourselves; they hold us accountable; and they help us live life to the fullest.

Three months into 2015, we are proud of the progress our Beauty of Exercise members have been making:

  • Our Run-FIT team completed their 10km Sun Run event in February – huge kudos to Amanda Green for placing 3rd in her age-group;
  • Our BEXI Trekkers completed their 55km Coastrek event last week; 
  • Our committed Race-FIT team are in serious training-mode for the marathon and half-marathon events at the Australian Running Festival in April; 
  • Our inspirational beginner runners and walkers are four weeks away from achieving their first 5km parkrun; and
  • Our fabulous beginner swimmers are gaining confidence in the water as they prepare for their Pinkie Triathlon at end-March.

Goals drive success! So if you’re looking for success, we’ve got some awesome programs planned for the upcoming autumn term:

– Gold Coast Airport Marathon (& half-marathon/10km)
– RUN BETTER Workshop
– 5km-FIT
– Walk-FIT
– Swim-FIT

Put your feet up and read about the above in our latest newsletter – http://goo.gl/Louw8x

Everything worth doing starts with being scared

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Beauty of Exercise is all GO for the Australian Running Festival in Canberra on 11-12 April 2015. Choose from 10km, 21km or 42km events.

The autumnal colours, cooler temps, iconic buildings, great atmosphere and awesome team camaraderie, make running in Canberra during April really enjoyable!

Which is why we have made the Canberra Marathon a regular fixture on our race calendar. We are offering coached training programs for the 10km, half-marathon and full-marathon events.

Training for the marathon starts Saturday 6 Dec 2014.