Random Adventures At O'Reilly's And Duck Creek Road

I don't know about you but my family like spur of the moment adventures.

Whenever I plan outings, things always go wrong.  The weather will suck, someone will have other plans, we'll be late blah blah blah.  It's all too stressful and ruins what should be a good day out.

So we're a fly by the seat of our pants family.

Saturday dawned bright and sunny.

One of the kids had to go to a birthday party out in woop woop, so we dropped her off and decided to keep driving into the country and up into the hinterland to O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat.

O'Reilly's is situated at the top of a very long, windy road in Lamington National Park on the crest of the McPherson Ranges.  

It's pretty, it's scenic.  It's balls on fire, the most terrifying drive EVER.

As soon as we got to Canungra the husband took over driving duties while I dived into the passenger seat and cowered in fear.

I hate mountain roads.

The one up to O'Reilly's is narrow and has a fuck off steep drop down the side.

Absolutely terrifying.

How buses full of tourists make it around the blind corners without hurtling to their deaths is beyond me.  Lucky for us, this time we were stuck behind Driving Miss Daisy which left the husband no choice but to drive at a snails pace at 30km an hour.

We made it up there in one piece.

First up on the agenda?  Lunch.

After a week of calorie counting on the 12WBT it was time for something indulgent.  Oh the deliciousness!

Coffee.  Carrot cake.  With cream.  Then ice cream.  Then half a burger.  Followed by a few chips.  With the obligatory scone.

Best.  Cake.  Ever.

Then it was time to brave the cold mountain air and go do stuff.  

King Parrots and Crimson Rosellas make their way out of the surrounding rainforest and into the feeding area beside the restaurant.  You can buy a tray of food from the kiosk or just pick a few sunflower seeds off the ground.  

A piece of advice?  Don't be the mother that freaks out when a bird flies past, screams and scares all the other Rosellas away.  Apparently that's really, really embarrassing.

So we left the birds to it and headed off to the Tree Top walk.

The boardwalk winds its way through the rainforest until you reach the suspension bridges.  Have you seen Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom?

If you have as many times as I have then you'll probably embarrass your kids some more by moaning 'We're going to diiiiiiiiieeeeeeee' each time a plank creaks or bridge sways.

In most places you're 15 metres off the ground.  If you're a lunatic like my son you can climb a ladder up a Strangler Fig to a deck that's 30 metres in the air. 

No thanks.  Sensible people like me stay on the lower deck and take selfies. 

Eventually we remembered that we had to pick a child up from that birthday party so we got back into the car and I prepared myself for the traumatic drive back down the mountain.  

But lo and behold, just out of the O'Reilly's car park the husband noticed a 4WD cavalcade heading down a dirt road.  

The kids egged him on to follow them.  So did I.  Anything had to be better than the drive down the mountain road.

He turned left and we set off down the dusty track.

After a bit of googling I figured out that we were on Duck Creek Road a 'picturesque 4x4 track' that winds its way down the side of the mountain through farm land and rainforest.  

There are a few places that you can pull over and take photos of the scenic rim.  Towards the end of the track you drive through farm land.  We were greeted by a few cows and then bam....CAMELS.

Random safari awesomeness.

When you get to the end of Duck Creek Road you'll see this sign.

If you're in a hurry to get back to the Gold Coast before nightfall don't turn left.  Especially if your wife tells you to turn right.  

By turning left you'll end up lost somewhere in Lost World Valley (how ironic), surrounded by a lot of bemused cows, with no internet reception on your iphone and your wife saying I told you so over and over again. 

12WBT Week 1 Run Down

Week 1 of the 12WBT done and dusted!

I'm so happy that I made the commitment and stuck with it.

I trained hard and ate clean all week.

There were plenty of 'Oh stuff it' moments that nearly had me shovelling a biscuit or a glass of wine into my gob but I stuck it out and made it.

Best part of the 12WBT?  If you work hard during the week you get a day off on the weekend.

Here's a quick run down of my week.  I've included a food & exercise diary this week to keep track of what I'm eating.

The Nutrition plan on the Michelle Bridges 12 WBT comes with a fully planned menu that you can chop and change to satisfy your taste buds and budget.  You can even print off a shopping list.

I'm lactose intolerant and have an iffy gut so I used the menu for ideas and used my calorie allowance and the Calorie Lookup tool to tweak the suggestions.

Monday Day 1

Nutrition
Banana smoothie with soy milk & MB chocolate protein powder
Protein shake with protein powder (after training)
3 small pieces Bergen Soy Linseed toast spread with tinned sardines in tomato sauce and diced tomato, lettuce & red onion.  1 soy coffee no sugar.
Apple
Chicken vegetable soup with vermicelli noodles

Exercise
9 am 1 hour MMA training session
4pm Day 1 12WBT 10km running program (school oval)

I know, I know...just seeing the word sardines in my food diary makes all of you want to barf.  

I get it.  I used to be the same.  Then one day when I had nothing left in the pantry but a tin of sardines in tomato sauce I smooshed some on toast  and ate it.  

Surprisingly good.

It satisfied my salt craving and left me full for hours.  They're cheap, low in mercury and are rich in omega 3s, iron, calcium and potassium.  

Try them.  You may be surprised.  

Back to the 10km training program.

I'm a treadmill runner which is easier than running in real life.  You just pick a speed and let the machine dictate the pace.  Not recommended on the plan (unless it's raining I guess).

I couldn't figure out how I'd be able to get a run in with 5 kids in tow.  Day 1 and I was already struggling to get organised.

Then when I picked the big ones up from school I had a brainwave.

The school oval is the best babysitter!  I did my laps while the kids played in the playground and chased me around the oval.  They're used to their mum doing embarrassing stuff in public.  The distance around the oval is 400m.  The lines on ours were a bit faded and muddy from the rain so I guesstimated what I couldn't see.  I need to get a good stop watch.

Come 6.30pm and the old bones are feeling the pain.


Tuesday Day 2

Nutrition
Scrambled eggs on two small pieces of Bergen Soy Linseed toast.  1/2 cup lite soy milk.
2 small pieces Bergen Soy Linseed spread with sardines and topped with cucumber & spinach.
1 soy coffee.
1 x sachet of Be Natural 3 grain porridge
Chicken Vegetable soup
Banana Protein Shake

Exercise
6am 30 minute treadmill walk HR 129  Incline 4
11am  12 WBT Toning session at home

Murphy's Law - when you sign up to an outside exercise program it will rain cats and dogs.

After tossing and turning all night long with sore hips, legs and the neighbours stupid barking dogs I managed to haul myself out of bed and drove to the gym for a light walk on the treddy.  Got home, took all the kids to school, did a grocery run and put the baby down for a nap.

Toning session done on the lounge room while watching Made In Chelsea.

Sore, tired.  Over Bergen Soy Linseed bread.  Over reality TV.

Realise that the dreaded Day 2 I'm Overititis (the reason why I give up every time) is kicking in.  Daydream about wine and KFC in the shower.

After school pick up was hard as it's el cheapo Tuesday and all the kids bought themselves a Cornetto.

Needed a 3.30pm carb hit.  Saw these Be Natural 3 grain (oats, barley, rye) porridge sachets on the bench that I'd gotten as samples at Woolies that morning.

Checked the calories (195 with light soy milk).  Bunged them in the microwave and voila!  Hot, filling snack.  Got me through the next 2 1/2 hours of kid sports.

Dinner was the same as Monday night.  Desperate for a chocolate hit I made up a Chocolate banana smoothie with the MB Figure powder, 1/2 cup lite soy milk, 1/2 cup cold water.

Watched Game of Thrones without my usual bottle of wine.  Went to bed.

I SURVIVED DAY 2 - WOO HOO!!!

Wednesday Day 3

Nutrition
MB Chocolate Banana Smoothie
1 apple, 1 manadarin
Tuna with large salad (lettuce, cucumber, carrot, beetroot, white wine vinegar)
2 soy coffees
2 pieces of toast with sardines with cucumber, bite of watermelon, bite of bacon
1 protein shake 

Exercise
6.30am MB running drills & time trial
7.45pm 1 hour MMA training

After another restless night (damn you baby & snoring husband & barking dogs) I rolled out of bed, chucked on my workout gear and headed out the door for some running drills.  I had to go to the gym for my Wednesday weigh in.

The result?

I started the program 79.6kg.
Today?  78.1kg.
Boo YA!

I'm still irritable.  Short tempered.  Always hungry (in my mind).  Luckily I had a 40 minute phone call to Telstra this morning to distract me from munching on something I shouldn't.

Seemed I wasn't the only one moaning about Tesltra on facebook.

After an afternoon at the kids swimming lessons, six hundred loads of laundry and a slight disagreement with the husband about lost car keys (probably my fault) I escaped the family and did an hour of MMA training.

Thursday Day 4

Nutrition

Scrambled eggs, 1/2 glass lite soy milk

1x sachet Be Natural porridge + 1 soy coffee 

Ham & salad sandwich 

A few pieces of watermelon

Chocolate protein shake

Vegetable Bake (egg, brocoli, peas, carrot, sweet potato, onion, beans)

Exercise
9am 1 hour MMA training

Went to my usual Thursday morning training class at Women FightFitMMA.  It sounds badass but it's really just a bunch of mums getting out their aggro with Mixed Martial Arts style fitness drills.  You work hard without feeling like you do.

Got home and checked my Thursday MB 12WBT training checklist.  Score!  Turned out we'd covered most of the strength training in class.  Tick!

Most of the irritability and hunger pains that I'd experienced at the start of the week have disappeared.  Someone at class mentioned that my butt had shrunk.  Gotta be happy with that!

Note to self - avoid baked veggie bakes.  They just make you feel bloated before bed.

Friday Day 5

Nutrition

2 scrambled eggs with spinach on 1 piece toast & 1 cup coffee

2 small apples

3 small pieces of toast spread with sardines & topped with cucumber

1 mandarin

JUNK FOOD 

1 x Hungry Jack's TenderGrill Wrap 409 calories

6 squares of dark almond chocolate 248 calories

Exercise

6am 40 min power walk HR135 Incline 6
9am 1 hour MMA class (abs & weights)

Lots of abdominal work in my MMA class today (which is also on the MB 12WBT plan for Friday).  First time I've been able to suck the belly in and feel 'empty'.

As much as I love wasting time on the internet, I'll be spending less time browsing the forums on the 12WBT site.  Too easy to spend hours reading on other people's progress when I could be doing something active.  Or the laundry or dishes ha ha ha!

This afternoon was a massive chauffeuring mission with the kids.  Starvation was imminent so we pulled into the Hungry Jacks Drive Thru.  I'd usually have a Bacon Deluxe meal with fries and a diet coke.  Horrified to learn that the burger alone has 561 calories.  Add an extra 512 calories for the large fries.

Bloody hell.  Might as well save time and just staple them to your thighs.

Time to test drive the healthy options range.

A TenderGrill Wrap (grilled chicken, low fat mayo & salad) used up all my dinner calories and 6 squares of dark chocolate once home used up the rest of the snack calories.  Cravings for junk were appeased.

Saturday

Nutrition - Clean Eating DAY OFF
1/4 sausage roll, a bite of a jam cream donut
1 banana protein smoothie
1 small apple
1 piece of carrot cake, scoop of ice cream, 1/2 scone with cream, 1/2 beef burger, coffee
1 piece of birthday cake
3 canapes
3 glasses champagne, 3 vodka lime & sodas


Exercise
8am 30 minutes walk, 7km run (treadmill)

Saturday is long run day in the MB 12WBT.  Check.  Though I'll be honest and admit that today I got slightly off track.

I was only supposed to do a 20 minute run but I got into the zone and didn't feel like stopping.  Which in hind sight, after all the cake I consumed today, was probably a good thing.

I was reading Runner (or Running) magazine while I was doing my walk on the treadmill and they recommended doing 3/4 the distance you can comfortably run, have a cool down and then do half that distance again.  So I did 25 min, walk 5min, then run 12 minutes.  I managed to do 7km without feeling worn out.  Personal best!

Then it was time for cake, cake and more cake.

We started the day at Fosters Bakery at 7am to pick up a birthday cake for my son.  Fosters Bakery is famous for its jam & cream donuts.  They are amazing.  $3.80 for that slab of deliciousness.  I was restrained and only inhaled a bit of the base.

Then we had carrot cake for lunch at O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat, more cake in the afternoon for my son's 12th birthday and then a few canapes and drinkies in the wee hours to celebrate a friend's 50th birthday.

Carb overdose but look - cheek bones!  Long time no see.  One chin down, one to go.

Photo courtesy of Katriina Kilpi Photography at Black & White Lounge Sanctuary Cove 

Sunday

Nutrition
Scrambled egg on toast
Mandarin
Grilled fish, a prawn & scallop
Avocado, ham & cucumber sandwich on turkish bread
Toasted cheese sandwich on wholemeal, 2 glasses white wine


Exercise
Morning at the beach on the SUP board

We planned to go and spend the morning at Currumbin Creek but Burleigh Beach looked so beautiful when we drove past that we spent the morning there instead.

One of my goals this year is to learn how to stand up paddle in the surf.

It freaks me out because I'm not a surfer, have a distinct fear of sharks and of making a fool of myself.

The ocean was pretty calm and flat today so I sucked it up and gave it a go.  The biggest motivator was watching little 12 year old girls jumping onto their boards and paddling out.

Getting out was a bit effing scary but once I got out there WOW.  The water was so crystal clear, I was about 100m out and I could still see the bottom.

I only had one wipe out moment in the breakers when the waves flipped the board into my legs.  I expect to see a nice big bruise on my shin tomorrow.

One week down - 11 to go!

If you're a fellow 12WBT participant how did you go in Week One?

For The Love Of God Kim Take Off Those Shoes!!!!

It's Foot Fetish Friday peeps, that day of the week when we ooh and aaah over footwear.

 This week I just couldn't let the day go by without including this reader submission featuring my fellow shoeholic  Kim Kardashian.

Now, I love Kim and have used her for blog style fodder oodles of times but this is getting ridiculous.

For the love of God, your feet, your spine please

TAKE OFF THOSE BLOODY SHOES!!!!!!!!!

12WBT Fitness Inspiration Board

Here's my 12WBT Fitness Inspiration Board.

A few images and quotes to keep me on track and put a smile on my dial.

Lots of running, some fun on the stand up paddle board (SUP Yoga - in awe/crazy!) with a goal of losing the jelly belly and getting back some abs.  

Fun & fitness.

My tongue in cheek motto for the next 12 weeks?  Be proud of yourself.  Just do it.  Even if you suck.

Team IBOT

Michelle Bridges 12WBT Blogger Blog Roll

Round 2 of the Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation kicks off today.  

My husband must have picked up on all the (probably not so subtle) hints that I've been dropping about needing new running shoes.  These neon purple Adizero Feather running shoes popped out of the gift box on Mothers Day.

My old sneakers felt like I was running with bricks on my feet.  These are feather light and I managed to cut 3 minutes off my 5km run (completing it in 30 mins) on the treadmill.

I've printed out this weeks training plan so I can tick off each activity once I've completed it.  Being a newbie to long distance running programs  means that I'm going to have to do some googling to find out what some of the work outs mean.  

For example - 3 x Interval Sprints 8/10 RPE or 80% HR max = Tempo.

Say what now?

No idea.

Anyways, to kick Round 2 of the 12WBT off I thought I 'd compile a list of other 12WBT blogs.  Feel free to add your own using the inlinkz gadget.