Now the fun can REALLY begin.........................

After a glorious 2 week holiday with my family in Victoria the time has come for my OFFICIAL training period to commence. Gone are the late lunches, long lunches, take out, take in, super amazing yumminess of holidays.. as I say hello to a regime of sweat laden fitness, many km's of riding and of course salad 101 ways!

In all seriousness though, it's a tad exciting to think about getting my slightly sloppy and a little floppy self into a healthy routine of working out, eating well and of course RIDING.. something I have never really done before, but am looking forward to.

I picked up my training bike this past week in Canowindra, unloaded it here at home and now I have to keep focused on actually riding it around .. time has already flown since I signed up for this big amazing trip and now it's time to knuckle down and really start getting this body into the zone of being physically able to complete the mission. Now I am not scared of the fitness, I am not even scared of the "seat" muscles I will require to be able to walk each afternoon I ride (ok that's a lie, I am a little freaked by the whole "seat" fitness required) but getting it done is going to be a HUGE challenge for me. Timing is everything, I have armed myself with a huge family organizer and a diary into which I am plugging every minute I have already assigned in my year (which with family commitments, work, these 3 cherubs and a couple of committee's is already HECTIC to say the least)... now the focus must be on getting ready - the gym and actually cycling around are now being thrown into the planner and I can tell you THAT has me running a little scared.

All that aside however I am being supported by an amazing husband and family, and of course my team mates who are all facing the "juggle" too... I am not the lone ranger at all - we are all putting so much on the line to make this journey and it is such an achievement, something we will all look back on with wonder and amazement when we are old ladies no doubt!

I can't go on any further without giving a HUGE Thank you to everyone who has made a donation to our cause so far - you are all amazing and have catapulted us to our half way mark for Arthritis NSW. Of course our dream would be to smash our target and go for the heavens, but to be halfway this early is really uplifting and just means the world to us all. IF you are yet to make a donation or are coming along to an event we are running, buying a raffle ticket or just giving us your moral support - THANK YOU, every bit counts, helps and continues to inspire us on our journey for Arthritis!

So sit tight folks, I am launching this body into the realm of sweat, pain and hurt - always keeping my goal at the front of my mind, my resolve is concrete and I will not give in. I am sure there will be moments where I waiver and no doubt a Sauv blanc or two get slurped along the way (yes with cheese and crackers too OH MY), but I figure they don't say "Rome wasn't built in a day" to be funny, it's true - One day at a time, one challenge at a time - I will get this body ready for the ride of a life time in November... I WILL!!!!!!!


     

Well, here I am.. sitting at my computer thoughts at the ready for my first EVER blog!
I wanted to start this blog to document the HUGE and MONUMENTALLY life changing journey I am embarking on with two of my besties and another lovely new friend.

If you are reading this you most likely know what I am referring too... a fundraising adventure for Arthritis NSW.. cycling from through Vietnam and into Cambodia.

The moment Jane told me about her intention to cycle across Vietnam for Arthritis research my interest was sparked. Jane was diagnosed with arthritis in recent times and knowing her struggles and daily routines with it ,all I could think was.. this lady is amazing, a little mad (sorry love), but mostly an inspiration and well, I just wanted to sit beside her as she made this incredible journey - sore "seat" and aching muscles and all!!!!!
I looked over at my husband as Jane described the trip and he mouthed.. "GO FOR IT"!!! Well I laughed at this point and I think I said something like.. "I can't, what about the kids????"

Of course we all laughed and made jokes about Adam handling the kids for 2 weeks ALONE.. but deep down my heart was racing with just the notion that maybe this was do-able. So in true Macrae fashion (those who know me well will know I don't tend to half do things and when Adam and I decide something is a go-er... well, that's that then, case closed) we chatted for a while once everyone was in bed and wham bam thank you Adam... I was going to push bike it around Vietnam with one of my besties!

Telling Jane I was joining her on the ride was beautiful, there were a few tears but mostly excitement and we jumped on and signed me up straight away before I had a chance to over think the whole thing.

Since then another bestie (don't you just love that word) joined the crew and all of a sudden we were three young mums leaving our (between us) 8 children in the care of their fathers and taking the plunge into a huge cycling challenge unlike anything we had ever done before.

But ofcourse you can see we are FOUR fit ladies, cue Sal's entrance into the team! Sal is an inspiration all on her own, mum to one our dear friends Scoots, Sal is officially our team trainer and is the only experienced rider in our little bunch!

And then there were FOUR!

So for now we are taking it one step at a time, Sal & Jane in Canowindra, Marissa and I here in Coonamble - a foursome of strong, dedicated & enthusiastic ladies all geared up to tackle this challenge head on!

Over the coming months we will fundraise our "seat" sore butts off for ARTHRITIS NSW, ride our bikes ALOT, get fit and most importantly prove to ourselves we can do something amazing. Come along for the ride on facebook and follow www.facebook.com/FourFitLadies

 As an aside, I told Oscar (my eldest bub) that I was going to ride a bike in another country for two weeks.. the cutest thing in the world was he thought that was cool, but he teared up because he was going to miss me. I think one of the most challenging things for me is going to be walking onto the plane and leaving my three beautiful babies behind.. I consider myself to be a strong person mostly, but seeing his little eyes tear up 10 months before I am actually going anywhere.. well it just makes me unbelievably honoured to be his mum and TERRIFIED of what is to come. But hey, that's part of my journey and I think a part that is going to make me a better mother out the other side.

I look forward to sharing this with you, lumps, bumps and all. This is my journey and wow what a whopper!