Mad Mom Zelda

Ho Hum Winter

2011-07-05T12:28:00.000+01:00

It's freezing at the foot of Africa and I'm finding it particularly difficult to get motivated enough to get into the gym to shake off much un-needed kilograms! I have therefore decided to embrace my voluptuous curves for the worst of winter and delay the shock of exercise for a time in the near future when it would be more seemly to strip off the outer layers of clothing and build up a sweat. I'm using lifting Chaeli several times a day as the description of my 'regular exercise programme'! I call it power lifting ...

Our elder daughter, Erin, heading towards writing her final Matric exams is more of an edventure as I learn to open my fingers even further - knowing that my beautiful first-born child is heading helter skelter into adulthood. Now that is scary: coming to the realisation that your child is fast becoming independent and making decisions without you and forging ahead in a life that she is shaping for herself. It all seems so sudden. Where did all those years of growing up go?

And as sad as I feel when I reflect on the various stages of Erin's life I can't help celebrating the emergence of an assertive, strong, beautiful young woman who has taught me so much over the past 18 years as a child and will be teaching me so much more as she spreads her wings into an unknown but exciting future.

What an adventure for all of us ...

The Madness Escalates ...

2011-05-03T13:47:00.000+01:00

Yup - not only have I committed to doing the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour EVERY year I have also signed up to do the Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge in Jozi on 20 November 2011. Insanity! We want to grow our Chaeli Rider contingent in Gauteng (especially for all the peeps who don't get to Cape Town for the Argus Cycle Tour but do the hot-and-hilly 94.7 on the Highveld). So come along all you cycling fanatics in Johannesburg - we'd love to have you cycling in Chaeli colours!

Maybe I should SERIOUSLY consider losing some of my body (as I already seem to have lost my mind) and also train a little more to make these cycling experiences enjoyable and not just challenging. Maybe in my next memo to myself ...

Here I'm 3km into the 2011 Argus Tour on Eastern Boulevard - clearly still having fun ...

Oh So Nearly ...

2011-03-17T12:06:00.001+02:00

I know the question lurking uppermost in your mind this week is: “Did Mad Mom Zelda survive the onslaught of the 2011 Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour?”

Here are a few things I learnt from my time out on the road on Sunday:
1. Two bananas does not a breakfast make
2. Goo is not a viable replacement for real food – a peanut butter sandwich would probably be better (maybe even a banana?)
3. Factor 20 sun block does not protect my lily white skin (especially the 2 inches visible between the bottom of my long gym broeks and my secret socks)
4. The lighter your bike, the easier you wheel it when walking uphill
5. The Flying Custard (and my own voluptuous form) get heavier with every km

And now to cut to the chase: I started like a rocket, with the weather being perfect and feeling strong. I was still smiling at Ladies Mile bridge as I roared beneath our banner that welcomed the Chaeli Riders and did enthusiastic air pumping to Chaeli and the rest of my family shouting encouragement from atop the bridge. I made it to Lakeside in record time (for me!) and the smiles of the Terry family and a most welcome Energade. And here started my first (of many) designated walk – Boyes Drive. All went well for the next forever kilometres, stopping to drink, sucking on Goo sachets and living in the moment – focusing on one push of the hand cycle at a time. Even the baboons heading into Scarborough did not deter me and I raced towards Chappies full of the joys of another magical day in Africa. Then the loooooong energy-sapping walk up Chappies, with an invigorating swoop down into Hout Bay. It was wonderful to see Bruce Wright dance across the road in Hout Bay Village (complete with Jade on his hip) and I heeded his warning that I needed to make it to the next set of robots (just over the next hill - which seemed a long way off) in 5 minutes. He even offered to help push my worthy steed (which I was dragging along again, walking as fast as I could). Power walking with a multitude of huffs and puffs followed as I stomped towards the crest of the hill, hopped aboard the Flying Custard and ended up being the 2nd last person to make the cut off time at the bottom of Suikerbossie. I was exhausted but elated!

Suikerbossie is a very, very, very long hill. Having done my daring dash through the village I think I squeezed out the very last bit of energy I had remaining. My mind fogged up (I didn’t even think of popping one last Goo) and I tried to push and pull the FC from every angle (even ended up pushing from behind the seat and tried to get it uphill that way). I was literally drooling with effort and after what felt like forever I looked up to find at least another 800m before the bend in the road (and I knew there was yet more uphill to come) and that’s when the uncontrollable shaking and nausea started. I knew I probably had another 45 min/1hr left on the road and I’m afraid my resilience ran out. The bad news is that I did not get to finish the Argus Cycle Tour this year. The good news is that I completed 92km (10km more than last year) in 9 hrs and 10 min (the same time as last year) – so I see this as progress! I’m aiming to make it 3rd time lucky in 2012 …

A HUGE thank you to the many friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances who reached deep to support this marathon venture. Thank you for pledging support of my current insanity before I even took to the road and thank you for making a tangible difference by making sure that your pledge reached The Chaeli Campaign coffers. Our children who participate in the various programmes will benefit greatly from your generosity - please accept my humble thanks for making such a huge difference in their lives.

Me (on yet another designated walk) up Smitswinkel Bay ...

Off Again On Again

2011-03-04T10:20:00.001+02:00

Three months of dithering ... two months of deliberating the various aches and pains of my overweight, ageing body ... one month of extreme guilt at not wanting to do what I have said I will do ... and now the moment has come for a final decision: Yes, I AM doing the 2011 Pick n Pay Argus Cycle Tour on the Flying Custard next Sunday!

Last year I had 8 weeks of training rides (3 a week). This year has been chokablock with all kinds of things that I've fabricated to keep me from dropping my ample bottom into the low-slung seat of my hand cycle. I think that I have had 10 rides in total. "But," I tell myself, "you are fitter than last year." Yeah, right!

The major difference is that last year I was blissfully ignorant of what awaited me on the Argus Trail, and I talked myself through 9 hours and 10 minutes of extreme effort to make it to the top of Chapman's Peak, where the organisers (thankfully) put a stop to my folly as they needed to open the roads to traffic.

This year I don't have the protective cover of ignorance. I know what's coming my way. And more than anything else - Wynberg Hill TERRIFIES me! No other hill has that hold over me and I'm afraid it's hubris that is my worst enemy. For any other hill I have a plan. Lurking in my little black bag attached to the Flying Custard's frame is a rope that I use for all my designated walks (Boyes Drive being the 1st) but there is NO WAY that I will walk the Flying Custard up Wynberg Hill in full view of wall-to-wall supporters chanting encourgament to cyclists flying past on their worthy steeds.

It's going to be a grind and I have commissioned my nephews, Jadon & Matthew, to be on duty to push me up that hill. Yup, the sad reality is that I refuse to walk, but being pushed is not beneath my dignity. Any other volunteers who might wish to push before they see a fountain erupt from the top of my head would be welcomed with whoops and gasps of delight ...

Soooooo ... 9 days to go and the adrenaline has started pumping, the nightmares are invading my slumber and I'm doing positive visualisation of the glow of achievement that will wash over me as I cover the last 27 (downhill) kilometres of the course. The 27km I did not get to ride last year. Of course Chaeli reckons I should start at Chappies and only do the last 27km - complete the Cycle Tour over 2 years. She makes a compelling argument ...

My How Time Flies ...

2010-08-19T09:23:00.002+01:00

More than a month since my last promise to start training for the Cycle Tour and now, 32 days later - KENAKO: It is here! This past week I have been to the gym all of twice and had my first 5km training session on the Flying Custard (I've decided some things shouldn't change and the original name for my bright yellow steed is perfect - thanks, Stuart!). Perhaps I should stagger my training and not go to the gym for a hectic session and then try to drag my large body around on a hand cycle afterwards? Need to organise my life better ...

On the positive side - Pedal Power Association has provided funding to The Chaeli Campaign for another 2 hand cycles. One is being custom-made for Juan (disabled in a car accident at the age of 19 - now 22) as part of his rehab and we purchased the Black Mamba from Andrew Stodel, who completed the Cycle Tour using the Black Mamba in 2010 (great time round 5hrs+). Mukhtar Lee, who is a member of the wheelchair dancing school Chaeli attends has expressed an interest in hand cycling and has now had two training rides - and his 1st two crashes! As he has never been on a bicycle before he has a lot to learn about road craft and which way to lean when you turn at speed (hence the crashes!) but he is as keen as mustard. Mukkie will also feel much better about it as soon as the bike is adjusted to suit his bod - in this pic we were just trying to let him get the feel of it. We promise to remove the pillows and scarves and get more serious about posture and equipment!

So what can you expect to see out on the road on Sunday afternoons as we head into serious training for next year's Big Race? Mukkie on the Black Mamba and Mad Mom Zelda on the Flying Custard: a formidable sight and we're excited about training together!

PS: Did I mention that the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour entries open in 13 days' time? EEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKK!!!

Starting Up ... Again!

2010-07-13T07:56:00.003+01:00

July 2010 - the World Cup has come and gone, soccer has a new champion and the world has a new soothsayer in the shape of Paul the Octopus. Time to turn away from the global and focus on what awaits me in my near future.

Taking stock reveals the following: 1 July saw Russ and I celebrate our 21st wedding anniversary; I'm in the middle of doing my Masters at UWC (another manic decision that is squeezing me in some very interesting ways!); work is as challenging and rewarding as ever; I haven't lost a kg since March and I also haven't had any significant exercise (barring a few random visits to the gym). In short - it is time to make a stand and declare my intention regarding my onslought on the 2011 Pick n Pay Argus Cycle Tour ...

Yup, I WILL be attempting the 109km around Table Mountain again in 2011. Yup, it WILL be on a hand cycle ... again. Yup, I WILL be raising funds as a Chaeli Rider in support of the work we do with differently-abled children. Yup, I AM crazy!

Today is 13 July and Cycle Tour 2011 happens on 13 March - exactly 8 months to go. I'm scared ... so much to do - so little time. I have to start getting out on the hand cycle to get some miles on my arms and I also need to lose some weight so that there's less of me to drag uphill by my arms. Watch this space - it promises to get interesting!

Again in 2011?

2010-04-04T12:29:00.000+01:00

A day after the Argus Tour I discovered a myriad tiny muscles in my lower arms that I had not even known existed. Two days after Race Day I was still tired but feeling better. Three days after the Long Haul I decided that I will be doing the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour again in 2011, using a hand cycle. I have unfinished business out on the mountain and need to finish the 109km course. Mad? Of course I am. Viva, MadMomZelda, Viva!

DONE!

2010-03-16T12:23:00.002+02:00

So - the 2010 Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour has been and gone - and I'm still alive to tell the tale! I got to the start (late as usual!) so did not get to the front of group NH with the other hand cycles - instead lolled at the back. The 1st 3 kms nearly killed me: uphill onto the highway with a mean wind pumping straight into our faces. My heart dropped into the seat of my pants when I saw "106kms to go" and I was already huffing and puffing! Hospital Bend was fabulous and I was delighted to scream past bikes as Firefly sniffed the downhill. Wynberg Hill was a butt-breaker of note and I'd like to thank the angels of mercy (there were a few of them) who took the initiative and pushed me for a few metres - just the kind of help that I needed at that point. Seeing Big Mike at the top of the hill was a delight and then on to the Blue Route.

I loved Ladies Mile bridge. From a distance I could see our huge Chaeli Campaign banner and I knew that Erin, Chaeli, Russ and a whole group of our friends would be there cheering wildy. I wasn't disappointed. Hard work to Simonstown (having chewed on the beach that visited my mouth from Fish Hoek onwards) and I disembarked for the first time. This is where I nearly gave in to the temptation that my arm muscles were shrieking at me to stop. I decided to have a rest and took out my cell phone - a message from Erin: "Mom, I am soooo proud of you!" How could I disappoint my child by throwing in the towel after a mere 25km? So onward and outward I went.

Having now experienced, first hand, the toughness of hand cycling I hold my differently-abled friends who practise hand cycling as a sport up as absolute heroes. Firefly (as I named my faithful steed – called The Flying Custard by its previous owner) has done the Argus before, but I’m sorry to say we did not complete the course yesterday. After 9hrs and 10min on the road I was stopped at the top of Chapman’s Peak – 82km completed and 27km from the end. I started the race at 7:07 am and finished at 4:20pm. I’m chuffed though, especially as my furthest training session was 32km and the biggest ‘hills’ I climbed in training were a few bridges (I was terrified of training out on the road). It was a long, hard day but a good one!

This experience has truly changed my perception of what is possible and has made me realise how many challenges our differently-abled children face every day in just trying to get through the day to succeed in living normal lives. My 82 km was a slow hard grind, and I salute our children who live with grit and determination every day in their quest to claim their place in their schools and in their communities. It was tough, but all in all a good day that left me with a smile on my face (even though my body ached like crazy)!!

Thank you to the angels who helped push me up various hills - from Grant at Smitswinkel to the young boys at Ocean View. The shouts of encouragement from fellow cyclists was amazing and having some of them know why I was doing it was awesome. Thank you to the man in the BoE outfit who called out as he passed me: "Chaeli would be very proud of you!" All this helped to get me pumped up enough to keep going. And lastly, a HUGE shout out to all the people who sponsored me and gave me the added incentive to keep on keeping on. Our differently-abled children will benefit greatly from your generosity - thank you!

getting closer ...

2010-02-26T13:48:00.001+02:00

Two weeks to go to Race Day and the last two weeks have been slow in the training department. I had a massive molar removed a week ago and fooled myself into believing that the grinding of my teeth as I inched uphill would adversely affect my dental health - so no cycling for 5 days. On Sunday morning I went out on a 30km ride and felt FABULOUS! What message is that supposed to send to me? That once a week is OK? Sheesh - this head stuff is starting to get to me ...

And now to all who read this blog: if my chronicles have made you smile, if you can relate to the magnitude of the challenge at hand because you are middle aged or overweight, or if you simply delight in the ludicrous pursuit of a massive adventure because it's so good to have a dream that's seemingly ridiculous to others - all of you - I appeal to you for your support! The more people I get to sponsor my efforts out on the road, the greater the incentive to persevere and finish, because the more lives of differently-abled children will be positively impacted. So - check out the flyer below and reach out generously - I'd love to hear from you!

What Do Mad Mom Zelda & Lance Armstrong Have In Common?

2010-02-10T12:21:00.000+02:00

They're both doing the Argus Cycle Tour, but this Mad Mom is doing it on a hand cycle!

Lance might even be starting in the same charity group as I am as he's flying the Jag banner as I race in Chaeli colours. Would it be foolish of me to issue some kind of challenge at the start? The pic above is the 1st pic released of madmomzelda hurtling along the road. It is blurred because of the extreme speed I was travelling as I whizzed past my garden gate, with Russ at the ready with our point-and-shoot camera. I'm hoping for a better pic soon (Photoshop version where make-up is immaculate and my body has the curves correctly proportioned). Until then - observe the challenge presenting itself in this pic ...

On the downside: uphills are going to be interesting considering that I have to drag my voluptuous curves up the hills - and my arms are all I have to help me. On the upside: I'm as obstinate as an ox and I truly WANT to finish this 'race'. On Sunday I completed my 1st 30km training ride in 2hrs 10min (and I have a daft half-arm suntan to prove it). There was an interesting test that presented itself at the bridge on Princessvlei Road. A dude (approx 40 and on an old-fashioned 'dikwiel' bike) and I arrived at the robots leading to the bridge at the same time. With my superior arm thrust I pulled ahead of him. Due to my larger frame (mine - not the bike's ...) he overtook me as I slowed on the lower slope. And then, halfway up the bridge, he got off his bike and started walking. Driven by oestrogen (and knowing that I can't afford any hill to beat me before I get onto the road on 14 March) I powered my way up the bridge at 2km/hr, one armswing, one heartbeat, one moebie deep breath, at a time. The dude was clearly embarrassed to be 'beaten' by this grey-haired old duck going at a snail's pace and lagged behind.

When I hit the crest of that hill I could hear the roar of the crowds, could feel the warm glow of accomplishment and could taste the victory of a challenge well met. Or maybe it was just the rush of blood through my temples as I knew that after every uphill the sweet exhiliration of a downhill awaits. And as I zoomed downhill at 40km/hr I knew that the only voice I need to hear is my own, egging myself on to attack the next long stretch, the next hill, the next victory ...

Oh the hills and dales ...

2010-02-01T09:38:00.001+02:00

Hmm. So my arms DO work, they ARE strong, but when they have to multi-task at speed it gets a bit hairy. Changing gears, breaking and turning whilst trying to power your way around a corner going uphill - there's a trick that I'm constantly practising. Not so easy. But on the positive side - I AM moving. The slowest I have gone is 2km/hr (the disastrous killer hill on Firgrove Way just before you hit the circle on Ladies Mile Road) and the fastest I've clocked is 40km/hr (same hill going in the opposite direction - my much preferred option!).

Two weeks ago I started with a 5km ride and this Saturday I clocked my first 20km ride (with a 15km ride on Friday and Saturday). I'm getting there. I am consciously trying to get a few hills in without killing my start-up enthusiasm, so am opting for conquering bridges as opposed to 2km mountain uphills. The bridge on Roscommon Road has started featuring on my route and please keep in mind that I'm still wary of traffic and terrified to be on the road, with my wheels being so low and so wide.

All in all, I'm excited about the progress and I'm getting interesting comments from all kinds of spectators. The ones I fear the most are the large dogs who find me particularly interesting. They are on eyeball level with me and I find them pretty daunting. I keep hoping that their owners have them on a short leash and that I only meet them on a downhill ...

Eureka!

2010-01-22T11:58:00.000+02:00

As luck would have it somebody wanted to sell a superb racing hand cycle and last Sunday Russ and I went to check it out. The Chaeli Campaign bought it to be used in our rehab programme (post Argus - Juan is amped!) and on Tuesday the worthy steed arrived at my door. The moment of truth had arrived!

I stole the short pillow off Chaeli's bed to make the canvas seat more comfortable, once again donned the headgear and gloves and took my first circular sweep of the arms as Firefly (yup - I've named the bright yellow frame that will be my constant companion over the next few weeks!) rolled onto Hampstead Way - ready for my first training ride through Bergvliet. What a feeling! Being in charge of my own mobility on a wheeled object (after so many angst-filled months of hoping that my knee would recover in time) and having the wind whip my face felt astoundingly good. It also made me realise what an awesome device hand cycles are - as this is precisely how people who can't use their legs must feel when they compete using these amazing cycles. And somehow I just felt that my doing the Argus on a hand cycle had become so much more meaningful - it just felt RIGHT.

Russ followed me (afraid I was going to be squashed like a toad in the road - I am only six inches off the tarmac!) and it was not a speedy journey. What looks like the straight and narrow does actually have a sloping uphill gradient and learning to control two sets of gears on each handle, break on one handle, steer with hands, turn corners and control direction as well as power the bike with your hands, is quite a mindblowing thing on the first attempt! But it was magic! Russ convinced me that 5km was enough for my 1st trip, and I eased back into our driveway, excited that I could do it. The Argus is ON and I am IN!

No "first" is ever free of war wounds. We had not adjusted the height of the handles and my thunder thighs had got in the way when I had to turn corners. I discovered that in my eagerness to complete the course I had powered my way through the pain of the handles cutting a groove into my thigh and an impressive purple/blue bruise had already started emerging. I even smiled at that. And then the anxiety set in as I asked myself: "How the heck am I going to get up from this very low seat - with the handles in the way - with my crock knees that cannot bend and cannot absorb the pressure of getting up?"

My head spun with so many options that I rendered myself totally useless and could not think of a single sensible thing to do. In desperation I flung my body sideways off the seat onto the ground and then tried to lift my left knee over the handles. And there I sat. I turned onto my hands and knees, and as my stiff and injured right knee does not bend, the only way I can get up off hands and knees is pushing off with my hands and keeping my legs straight and out to the side - bum in the air - like a giraffe at a watering hole. At this stage Russ and I are hysterical with laughter and Russ is desperately sorry that he does not have a video recorder handy. Will the spectators on Boyes Drive and Chappies be frightened by this spectacle if I need to dismount Firefly in order to walk up the hill? Clearly I need to find a more dignified exit strategy ...

Finding The Way

2010-01-18T09:33:00.001+02:00

My euphoria regarding the bending right knee was short-lived, with a good dose of reality forcing me to accept that there is no way that my knee gingerly going through a 360 at full stretch is ever going to translate into being able to pedal with force for 109km in 8 weeks' time. The sad reality = my crocked knee could prevent me from competing in the Argus Cycle Tour on 14 March.

The good news is that I LOVE crisis and the challenge has now merely changed shape. The lesson I have taken from this? DON'T try to use what doesn't work - harness what DOES work. My hands and arms are amazing - and lifting Chaeli for 15 years has made me as strong as an ox - soooo ... I will now be competing on a HAND CYCLE. Please feel free to forward the contact details of any good shrinks. My friends reckon I need one. Badly.

Nothing ... then a sign

2010-01-14T12:06:00.000+02:00

Nothing, no action, gymless for a good (or is it a bad?) 6 weeks. Christmas holidays were fabulous: I ate drank and was definitely merry, read 4 books in 7 days and never gave a thought to my big challenge. My legs reverted to jelly and I undid all the good work and focus that happened with 6 weeks of being grilled by the biokineticist. Today I kicked my own butt back into the gym!

14 January 2010: A new day, a new year, and EXACTLY 2 months to go before I have to do my thing on a bike for 109km! Nervous tension awoke me at 5am and I dragged my festive season-supplemented body out of bed, donned my slimming black track pants and headed for Virgin Active (wondering if my membership had been revoked due to poor attendance!). 20 minutes on the cross trainer, 5 minutes on that torture machine for your arms (my mind had started heading in the direction of possibly needing to look at hand-cycling the Argus?!) and then I headed upstairs for the adductor muscle machine - my favourite. I wondered why the other early morning fitness fanatics were giving me such strange looks, and then I saw myself in the mirror in front of the adductor machine. Oh, the horror ...

I am definitely not your movie star look-alike who cries copious on-screen tears and still has clear eyes and manages to look frail, fragile and whimsically beautiful. In the same vein, when I exercise I do not gain a ruddy, healthy tinge, I go beacon red and puff up and out with extreme exertion. And there was the proof of my labour staring back at me: my face looked like a nuclear reactor waiting to wreak havoc and chaos on the world. It was WAY beyond a glow ...

So, I smiled winningly at the concerned faces I saw staring back at me from the rowing machines and started adding to my radiance by doing 100 reps to remind my adductors who was in charge. As a last-moment act of defiance before I left the gym I ambled across to the cycling machine that has defeated me for the past months, with limited rotation in my right knee preventing me from getting both legs to do a full 360 on the pedals. Effectively, I have not yet been able to cycle (despite many sessions of noodling in the pool with simulated water cycling). Lo and behold, with the seat on 7, full extension of my left leg and gritted teeth, for the FIRST time I managed to get my right leg to do a 360!

I mince my way through five minutes of gingerly executed cycling movements, with mounting excitement! I WILL be able to ride a bicycle on 14 March! Now I need to do something about putting sufficient miles on my legs (not to mention toughening up my nether region - sore after 5 minutes of stress and strain in the saddle)! Oh the joy! Oh the possibilities! Oh the fear!

In the Big Pool with the Big Boys

2009-10-24T10:28:00.000+02:00

Today I got to play in the big pool with the big boys. Picture this ... 08:00 on a Thursday morn, Virgin Active swimming pool surrounded on ground level by the dudes who pull and pluck weights attached to thick reinforced threads of steel, looming above the pool are bikes, spinning machines and treadmills. But the real action is down below in the swimming pool where the big boys swim ...

Four lanes of team swimmers, 5 to a lane, seriously churning up the water as they notch up megamiles on their well-toned arms, pecs, six packs and legs. And in the 5th lane closest to the wall , reserved for casual swimmers? That's where I am, cycling atop a pool noodle, very much resembling a seahorse. I do hold a certain fascination for the fitness fanatics around me, because I have my own personal biokineticist gently easing me into the various complicated permetations of where the noodle needs to be positioned and exactly what I should be doing to the errant knee (and at this stage - the many other errant body parts that have forgotten that they need to work in a certain pattern in order for me to propel my leviathon bod across the length of the pool).

My progress is sedate and laborious in comparison with the team swimmers zooming through their multiple lengths, bragging with the prowess of being able to do those fancy flip-flop turns at the end of each length as I reach for the wall and gasp my last breath, having managed to co-ordinate my legs in cycling backwards for the first time. Memories of having been a provincial sportswoman in my youth are feint and fuzzy - or is that merely the result of lack of oxygen to the lungs due to inordinate effort? How are the mighty fallen ...

Let it suffice to say that my heart rate was raised and yay! Today I felt that I had a great workout - I got to sweat!

Water ... me ... my knee ...

2009-10-01T11:34:00.000+02:00

And I DID look as gorgeous as I thought I might in my cozzie! I decided to forego the lumo orange bathing cap and went with the more sophisticated little black number that hugged my ears enticingly - and prevented me from hearing the biokineticist's instructions, so I had to tuck it behind my ears. Oh, the horror ...

And then came the actual exercise routine in the pool. Walking forwards, backwards, sidewards, frog marching and knees up Mother Brown - all designed to get my knee to listen to the intent of my mind. Sloooooowwwww ... After an hour in the pool where I felt that I had not worked out because I hadn't even broken into a sweat, I heaved my body from the water and took my first step back on Mother Earth to discover that an additional 100kg (at least!) had been added to my frame as I entered the world of gravity. Maybe the water exercises do work after all?

To Be or not To Be ...

2009-09-28T14:32:00.000+02:00

... a muscle. That is the question.

Apparently most of the muscles that support my knees and lower back don't work. Not such a hot starting point for an aspiring Argus cyclist (yes - that IS the image I'm creating in my mind's eye). Simple starts yield amazing results and so the biokineticist has given me 3 simple start-up exercises to re-train the muscles-that-were to become the muscles-that-are:
ONE: stand on one leg at a time - if this gets easy close your eyes. Can you believe it? Apparently the little muscles that help to provide balance have been compromised due to my over-mothering of a knee prone to surgery. By not allowing my errant right knee to work properly it has enticed a whole range of balancing and support muscles to become marshmallows.

TWO: Lie on your back and lift your feet to touch your buttocks. After 20 of these bend your knee and and lift your upper leg off the bed. Sounds simple but the first 20 were murderously painful and I was left shaking like a jello ...

THREE: Sit upright with a straight leg in front of you, bend the foot out and lift the entire leg. This didn't go too badly.

WHY? I hear you ask ARE YOU DOING THIS? Two simple goals:
1. Finish the 109km Argus Cycle Tour - no matter how long it takes
2. Raise R50 000 in support of the work that we do through The Chaeli Campaign

And then there's a small matter of being pig-headed in the face of adversity and needing to accept a challenge head on ...

It's getting serious ...

2009-09-18T10:06:00.000+02:00

I've been to gym several times and am even waking up at 04:30 (without the aid of the faithful alarm clock). I reckon getting up and going to gym beats staring aimlessly at the ceiling - the thought of not getting my knee to bend sufficiently to do the revolution required by a bicycle pedal is giving me sleepless nights. Knee surgery 3 years ago (and my consequent laziness) still has me dealing with a very stiff knee, which still has a steel pin embedded in it to ensure that I don't strip the entire ligament when I trip, slip and fall - which tends to happen with alarming frequency. Progress: I can now walk up steps one foot at a time instead of doing one step at a time with both feet hitting the step (kadoonk, kadoonk). I celebrate every small victory ...

Let me briefly sketch my 1st attempt to re-introduce my backside to a bike seat. It was a rainy Thursday afternoon and Russell convinced me that I should get out on the brand new Giant Mountain Bike which he had bought for me in honour of this historic (2nd!) attempt at conquering the Argus Tour. For starters I found it very hard to lift my stiff right leg over the saddle/cross bar and it's impossible to do this from the left side - I'm right-handed, and it just doesn't 'feel' right, after all! At this stage Erin and Chaeli are still trying to be polite and are hiding smiles behind their hands - supportively shouting encouragement. I eventually put the bike down on the ground, straddle it while it submits to my obvious superior strength, and lift it into the conventional 'ready' position. I'm wearing the aerodynamically streamlined helmet, feel totally in charge with the cycling gloves with the cute peep-finger effect and decide to forego the water bottle as this will be my 1st trip out on the road on my new steed - and it's going to be a short one. Much shorter than anticipated, I'm afraid ...

Having successfully mounted the bike, I stagger/wheel it off the verandah as Russell sweeps towards our gate, ready to lead me on the adventure that is cycling. Not having been on a bike since the summer of '91 when I last did the Argus, I feel a little insecure lifting my ample buttocks onto the seat and gingerly place my feet on the pedals - ready for action! The horror of finding out that my gammy right knee does not bend enough to make not even ONE single revolution required by being attached to the pedal dwindles into insignificance as I try to eject myself from the bike before I do irreparable damage to the offending joint (and the other body parts attached to the joint and the bike). By now, Chaeli is in danger of falling out of her wheelchair and Erin can scarcely breathe through the hysterical laughter.

It gives me joy to entertain my children with such mundane and ordinary examples of my physical prowess. And now, surely, you understand my problem ...

Having put it out there that the Argus is beckoning me I am determined to get my bum on a saddle as soon as possible. Later today I have my 1st meeting with the Biokineticist, who has already mooted emulating the cycling motion in the pool. Big white body, small black cozzie, lumo orange headgear. I can't wait ...

18 years and 18 kgs later ...

2009-09-03T11:54:00.000+01:00

3 September 2009
I remember it well ... March 1991 and the perfect conditions for my 1st Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour. I was 30 years old, playing hockey (and pretty fit, I'd say), had done one 10km practice ride on a bike I'd borrowed from my brother-in-law and I was as keen as mustard! I walked up Chappies, admired the view from the top for a good few minutes, walked up Suikerbos and still managed to finish in 5 hrs and 1 min. Ahh, the golden memory of that moment ...

And then there's the here and the now. I'm pushing 48 years of age, pushing considerably more kilograms in the midriff and buttocks areas than 18 years ago, and ... wait for it ... signed up to do my 2nd Argus Cycle Tour on 14 March 2010. "Why?" you may well ask. Mad. Mad. Mad ....

I had my ailing gallbladder removed a month ago and this has shocked me into a realisation that my overweight, exercise-free existence is slowly killing me, and there HAS to be more to life than I'm affording myself. So, I have joined up as the 1st 2010 Chaeli Rider, using my hours on the tarmac to complete the 109km course on 14 March 2010 to raise funds for The Chaeli Campaign. This organisation was started 5 years ago by my daughters, Chaeli & Erin, and their lifelong friends (Tarryn, Justine and Cheslea Terry) to get a motorised wheelchair for Chaeli (check out http://www.chaelicampaign.co.za/ for more info). And now it's MY turn to let my wheels do the talking!

This blog is an attempt to document the epic struggle to get fit, lose weight and raise funds to make a difference in the lives of children with disabilities across South Africa. 7 months ... hmmm ... And when you think that I can't even bend my knee (result of knee surgery 3 years ago!) at this moment, I certainly have my work cut out . Follow my journey and share the hilarity of re-learning how to get onto a bicycle ('they' say you never forget how to ride a bicycle; 'they' lied!), finding a way of dismounting with a locked knee, and revisiting muscles that I'd forgotten existed in my body.

It's going to be an incredible journey - follow me ...