KateOnTheNoGo - Shutting Down

Dear Friends,

KateOnTheNoGo has posted her final post.

Dont be concerned. For all of my known regular readers, I will be contacting you individually to let you know my new blog address.

For all of my unknown or unrecognised regular readers, please contact me at kateeighty@gmail.com for the new address.

Thank you all for following my journey.

K x

The Hardest Day of My Life

The alarm rang in my ear loudly. It startled me but then the reality set in. It was 5am and it was time to get up. Bags to check, protein shakes to drink, toast to eat, endurance race to run. I sat on the edge of my bed, listening as my race partner was downstairs pacing the kitchen. I wondered what it was that drove me to do something like this - the fun? the opportunity to meet people? the challenge? The reasons would not come to me. It was still dark outside and my thoughts were still back with the pillow, wondering what it would feel like just to lie down one more time... just for a couple of minutes.

I couldn't. I needed to get up. I stood up and felt a twinge in my right thigh. I wondered whether it would be a problem in the coming hours. I then realised that a twinge would no doubt soon be a burning sensation, not just in my right leg but my whole entire body.

These were the thoughts that entered my mind - and I was not even out of the bedroom yet.

Team Adventure Crabs (our team name) dropped our bikes off at the transition field and then drove a further 10km back to the registration park. There were buses there to take up back up to the starting gate. First though, were needed to sign in and receive our maps - the first time we were to see our planned route, at least for Stage 1 of the Race.

We immediately had to get to work. You see, all we were give was a map with the letters from A - J on it. The letters were spread out in a vast, dense piece of bush. It was our task to reach each of those letters and get to the "exit" of Stage 1 as quickly as possible. You did not need to reach each of the letters in any order. The idea was to develop a strategy to get each of them or else suffer a time penalty. We had to decide whether we were to take on Stage 1 on foot (making it, in essense, a trail run) or attempt to design a track to take our mountain bikes with us. This would allow us to gain as much distance on the bikes between the letters - as long as we did not pick a route which exposed us to a "technical route" (ie. almost like a black diamond run equivalent in mountain biking terms). We had to consider which way would be the best, which way may require us to carry our mountain bikes (if it got too technical for us) or whether we got to certain points, dropped our mountain bikes and ran into the technical area to grab the letter and run back. We had little under an hour to decide what we were going to do. We soon resolved that we were just going to take our mountain bikes in and hope for the best.

We were lucky enough to have a couple of supporters (my wonderful mother and wonderful aunty) come along to keep our spirits high as we watched the other competitors arrive. It was pretty clear that there were some very serious adventure racers and athletes and we decided then that we were just best to go at our own pace and just enjoy the event. Out of 100 teams, there were only 5 all female teams.

A couple of checks of the bike, the pumping up of tyres (the one thing i forgot to do the night before!) and another laugh and chat with Team Crab Cheer Squad (mum and aunty) and we were just about ready to begin. It was so wonderful for my mum to be there - on her birthday!!!

Everyone gathered to receive their pre-race instructions but it was clear that everyone was more focused on working out a way to get to the letters quicker than anyone else. It was a concern for a lot of people that the most popular (and more accessible) letters to obtain would be grabbed first, creating a possible bottleneck. Joy (my partner) and I decided that we would take a somewhat alternative route and take a chance. By now, you aren't thinking about how much pain you are about to endure. You are wanting the start to arrive so that you can put your plan into action. And then it was ready, set, go....

We started off and soon realised that a lot of people had the same idea as us. This didnt matter to us - we were happy to hold on and wait up the back than get caught up in the barging and pushing amongst the all man (more serious) competitors. Soon enough, we were on our way.

While some decided to trail run to a couple of letters, Joy and I decided that we would train run to collect our "control card" (ie. the card that you had to mark the letters on) and then race back to get our bikes. This proved to be a fairly sensible decision, because it meant that we could avoid the big boys belting down the trails.

Joy and I emerged from the 800m sprint to the control card and headed straight to our bikes. I felt a little average after the first 800m and began to wonder whether i would really be up for the entire race.

However, I was cheered on by Team Crab's cheer squad once more and decided that quitting was not going to be an option. I hadn't trained hard just to quit now. And I was about to get on a bike - the leg which i knew i would feel more comfortable on than any of the others (kayak, run).


Joy and I grabbed our bikes and off we went. It felt good to be on the bike and I must say, riding a mountain bike is a far more comfortable ride than the carbon fibre road bike. The wheels are far thicker, and there is suspension. This suspension would prove invaluable in the hours ahead, due to the technical MTB trails that we were about to face.

I gave the supporters one more wave and then it was head down. This was when it started to get tough.

Joy and I were gone at least 2 -3 hours. The orienteering was tough, the trails were, at the beginning, hard to find. We soon got into a rhythm and slowly marked each of the letters off from our control card. We opted to jog down a number of the technical trails, with the more experienced men on the MTBs absolutely flying down past us. These guys seriously had no fear - and they all wanted to be first at the very end.

Joy and I were very proud of our efforts, having managed to get all of the letters and make our way out and back down to the Stage 1 bike transition to Stage 2 (the run/kayak leg). The first 50 people to arrive were to run first, and the last 50 were to kayak first. Lets just say we were closer to 100th than we were 1st so we were required to jump in a kayak first.

Before we went off onto the kayak though, we had to plot the map of Stage 2. The map and location of the markers #1 - #17 were mapped out on the blackboard and we had to quickly transfer them onto our map.

It was pretty clear from the way I felt that this was going to be a long day. I had already used up my 2 litres of water plus the 1 litre of gatorade and I wasnt sure where i was going to get more water from. I was cranky, my blood sugar levels were down, and my legs were throbbing. The competitive streak had kicked in and I was frustrated that we were in the last group of people to reach Stage 2. Its so hard having this competitive streak whilst being just a beginner at the sport.

Nevertheless, Joy (who was so good at keeping my spirits high throughout the whole event) hurried me along and we made our way into the bush doing a quick 1km run to the kayaks. This was to be the last time we would see the Team Crab Supporters for a further 3 or so hours (hence no photos).

I would say that the 3 hours that followed were the hardest 3 hours of my life. While the kayaking gave the legs a rest, it required a lot of cardio and upper body strength. The kayaks were hard to control, as they did not have a keel, so we found ourselves zig zagging. With a little bit of patience and a whole lot of might, we managed to get into a rhythm and slowly make our way almost 3-4 km up the wide Nepean River. It certainly didnt help with water skiers and jet skis flying past us, creating waves which rocked the kayak.

The end of the kayak leg felt like it would never come but it did. We clambered out of the boats and began the "Trek".

This is when you begin to learn so much about your body. While your legs are screaming and your heart is poundering, you find yourself in this "space" mentally where you know that if you keep running with one foot in front of the other, you will cope. It was hard to trek and keep out for the numbers at the same time. The numbers were often concealed by dense bush and on a couple of occasions we nearly missed them.

Just as we were getting into a good rhythm, the trail stopped and we found ourselves in amongst a massive Gorge. Cliffs were as high as sky scraper buildings, the glare of the sun pounding down on us, and we had a rocky landscape to navigate. The only way we knew we'd eventually get back home was if we stuck close to the river. By now, we had picked up another team of 2, and we ended up trekking with them for much of the way back. When I say way back, I mean nearly 2 hours of traversing boulders, through the river, through dense bush and often, up steep inclines. We later found out that one of the male competitors had broken their leg at this point. Looking back, it simply amazes me how those men would have sprinted across this landscape in the time that they did it. It defies belief.

At this point, you want to go home. However home is nowhere in sight. Cliffs in the distance, running water and just a whole lot of rocks. Your ankles hurt from the constant impact of going up and down the boulders. Your knees hurt every time you land. Your palms hurt from pushing bushes away. Your eyes hurt from the glare. Your neck hurts from the strain of climbing. Your quads hurt because they are doing much of the work. It is at this point that your mind starts wandering and you often misstep because you are tired. On occasion, one of us would slip and fall but on each occasion, we willed the other to get back up. This is when you do most of your complaining. You ask yourself "why did i do this?" You swear that you will never do something so stupid ever again. You angrily snap at your partner when they say even the slightest thing. Dehydration kicks in. You want to give up, but you realise that you actually cannot get out - you have to just keep following the river.

By now we had received 12 numbers, with only 5 to go. We look across the river to find number 13 and realise that there were two options. Either take the long way around the river to get to the other side, or it is up to one of the team members to swim across. Having never been afraid of water since birth, i did not hesitate to take the gear off, shoes off and dive in. Getting to the other side of the river and up onto the rocks was the hardest thing to do. Your shoulders are aching because of the kayaking. Your legs are screaming because of the mountain biking and trekking but the water is cool enough to give some relief, even if it would be temporary.

Once i had to get the wet socks and shoes on, i realised that this would make it more difficult to run. Wet socks and shoes create blisters on the feet and they came quickly thereafter. The end was near but it seemed so far away.

The last leg was one final kayak of about 1.5km - some five and a half hours later, we were heading home. And this was when the mind and body seems ready to fail. Thankfully, my partner was far the strongest out of the two of us, and she continued to push me right to the end. I had never felt exhaustion like this before. All i could think of was "what would have happened had i not trained like i had trained in the last month?" There was simply no way that I would have made it.

We had no idea where the finish of the kayak leg was, until we heard my name being shouted out amongst the trees above. The Team Crab Supporters were following us to the end, cheering us on. I could see my mum looking at me, concerned. By then, i could not even muster a smile. By far the hardest part was to come - Joy and I needed to pull the kayak up a 80 degree incline up to the finish banner. This was what nearly broke us. No one was allowed to help us lift the kayak and on a couple of occasions, both of us fell.


We finally got up to the top and there was a small cheer. We were home. We ripped off our life jackets, and stumbled to the finish line, holding hands as we crossed. The feeling through the pain was indescribable. We had finished.

And to satisfy my competitive spirit, there were at least another 7 or 8 teams behind us.

We had done it.

Smart Cookie = Funny Shoelaces

So some brainiac who wanted to race triathlons and/or adventure racing tried to work out how to take their running shoes on and off as quickly as possible. They soon realised that it was the whole "tying-of-the-shoelace" regime that was slowing them down. So what does the brainiac athlete do? Invents shoelaces that allows them to put the shoes on and pull them off as quickly as possible and with as little effort as possible.

[Exhibit A] See top of laces - no tying required. You put a "tie" at the end of the shoe lace and it is actually the linking of the top of the laces and the bottom of the laces [see Exhibit B] that tightens the shoes. [Exhibit C] is just an excuse to show off my sexy leg. he he he

Its Just a Case of Waiting....

Tapering is frustrating.

You know your body is going to need to endure pain in the coming 48 hours so the natural thing to want to do is to condition your body ready for the event. Tapering though means that you have to just sit... and sit... and sit.

After training up to twice a day for the last 2 - 3 weeks, just sitting it out is torture.

Worse still, you're piling up on carbs while you do it.

Eek!

Grand Slam Time!

Guess who is going down to Melbourne for big Grand Slam event that is the Australian Open! Yup - Quarter Finals, baby!!! ME!!

I've had such great luck lately. It's all about just staying positive!!!

:)

Another Event In the Pipeline

This time its a 48 hour enduro trek in a team of four. Your team needs to trek 100km in 48 hours!

We are still in the early stages of planning but we need a certain amount of $$ fund raised for the Wilderness Society in order to gain entry into the event.

I suspect we will need to hold a couple of trivia nights in order to fundraise the money needed!

Stay tuned for more details soon!

Good Fitness Karma - Woohoo!

I "won" three free personal training sessions in a competition at the gym today. I placed my name on a sheet last week at the gym (was highly skeptical doing so!) and surprise surprise, my name was picked.

Woohoo!

During the Race - Fuel

Particularly for Adventure Racing, what you consume during and after the event is just as important as what you consume before hand when you train.

You see, given that you are going to be running, biking and kayaking with all of your belongings, there is a hard decision to make - whether or between not using up your energy by carrying a big pack, and then carrying enough food so that you can get energy into your body to be able to last the distance.

You have to consider whether or not you are prepared to load your pack up with food and drink for energy or leave a lot of it behind for the sake of performance.

Thankfully, someone worked out that you can actually carrying around very little with you and still get the benefits of a whole heap of food. They put it in the form of "Energy Gel".



You consume one of these 15 mins before the race, and then one every 45 mins.

I have to be honest (I am sorry to the makers, GU) but this stuff is revolting. Imagine melting down toffee then throwing in a can of Red Bull (energy drink) and then mixing it all in together to form a thick, sticky honey like paste. Its the stuff that dentists would cringe at.

Thankfully its all over in a second. You throw it down your throat, chase it with water and off you go. Within 10 - 15 mins, you get a burst of energy that is indescribable! They dont generally recommend using this stuff unless you really are doing endurance activities!!!

Ah, the things we do for the love of the game!

Tapers and Carb Loading

Sounds like foreign language, huh! Nope, this is what an athlete does 2-3 days prior to his/her endurance event.

Tapering means dropping the level of training down to very low intensity or no activity whatsoever. It allows the body to not only rest, but allows the "Carb Loading" to take effect.

Carb Loading often mistakenly gets called "carbing up" but it just doesnt mean sitting down to a big bowl of pasta just before the event itself. Rather, Carb Loading is all about moving your diet from low carbohydrate (high protein) to high carbohydrate. It means breakfast, lunch and dinner plus snacks will generally have things like breads, potatoes and pasta in it. This goes on for 2-3 days prior to the endurance event.

Why do they do this?

Its not as simple as "carbohydrates give you energy". Yes, they do give you energy but through the process of tapering and carb loadings, you are effectively allowing your muscles (which are unusually resting) to store up glycogen in abnormally large amounts so that when its time to require your muscles to perform over a long period of time, your muscles can do it.

So, tomorrow, i'm gone to sit on my backside in front of the TV and eat a huge big bowl of pasta and ENJOY IT! Its been so long!

Can This Be Sustained?

For the last two weeks, everything has centered around preparing myself for the event this Saturday and the forthcoming triathlon. I don't need to do it and I don't have to do it. I could either not attend the events or go to them and just try really hard on the day like I used to do when i used to do this kind of mad training years ago.

However, this time around, I wanted it to be different. I wanted to use this last fortnight to really test myself - both physically and mentally. I wanted to put myself into the shoes of someone who lives this existence every day of their lives.

Realistically, I could not sustain this level of training and hold a job down like mine. I was able to do this and hold down the job only because it was over New Years, where work wasn't so busy.

So this is the way I am living my life.

________________________________

Physical Training

Sunday - Kayaking 1.5 hours (morning);
Monday - Running Interval Training (morning); Bike Race Distance 12km (evening);
Tuesday - Swimming Drills (lunch); Gym Session Upper Body (evening);
Wednesday - Yoga (lunch); Running 2.5km (evening);
Thursday - Rest Day (Stretch);
Friday - Swimming Drills (lunch); Rest (evening);
Saturday - Half Distance Bike/Run (morning); Gym Session Upper Body (evening);
Sunday - Long Bike Ride (35km);
Monday - Running 7.5km (evening).

Eating and Drinking Habits

Breakfast
Every day begins with a high protein/low carb breakfast - either muesli with low fat greek yoghurt loaded with fresh fruit, or rye bread with eggs, avocado, tomato and mushrooms (i've got a special order i always put in at the local cafe);

Mid Morning
I try and snack on as much fruit as i can but after such a big breakfast, i find myself not really that hungry. Knowing I have a training session at lunch though, i generally need to fuel-up!

Lunch
After the first training session, I have my protein shake. Theories show that muscles form better, and recover quicker if you have a protein shake in the half hour after the training session. I then go down to my local fish shop and get grilled fish and salad, or i use up the salad ingredients from home.

Mid Afternoon
This is when the cravings strike. And boy do they hit hard. This is when you want to run to the nearest candy machine and raid it of every snack that even so much as has a grain of sugar in it. All your mind can think of is sugar, sugar, sugar. This is the typical slump that everyone gets each day, but mine seems to come at me at the speed of a mack truck down a highway. I generally will grab fruit, but i have been known to sneak the odd handful of sweets (preferably jelly beans or other candy - not chocolate though, dont really like that).

Evening
Having survived the sugar craving, and managed to get through the second training session, I get home and have my second protein shake for the day. I generally dont struggle for energy in the evening sessions, unless i've been totally consumed by the mid-afternoon slump. Dinner generally consists of a whole lot of different vegetables and some meat, or a mixed bean salad.

Night Time
Second sugar craving of the day and this one hits late at night and there is no candy bar machine to be found at home! This is the hardest period of them all. This is when I raid every cupboard in the house, looking for anything and everything possible. Anything to stop the cravings!!! I generally pace the kitchen at around midnight, but often go away empty handed. I deliberately leave my cupboards empty for this reason. Importantly, i make sure i don't go for the loaf of bread or any kind of carb.

Evening
Having survived the sugar craving, and managed to get through the second training session, I get home and have my second protein shake for the day. I generally dont struggle for energy in the evening sessions, unless i've been totally consumed by the mid-afternoon slump. Dinner generally consists of a whole lot of different vegetables and some meat, or a mixed bean salad.

General Rules
No white flour, white bread, white rice or anything that contains complex carbohydrates;
Good carbohydrates are obtained through wholemeal goods, and vegetables;
Eggs are my good source of protein but for every 3 eggs, I take out 2 of the egg yolks (egg contains a high degree of fat);
I do not avoid fat altogether - butter is good in small doses, avocado is the best source of good fat, and soy products are okay if you can handle it.
Strictly one coffee a day (I make it a large strong skim milk cappuccino though - wont let that opportunity go to waste!);
No soft drinks, only water and juice, but not too much juice as it contains a high level of natural sugar.
No alcohol - strictly NO alcohol.

Supplements
6 x omega 3 fish oil
2 x multi vitamin
1 x tumeric
2 x Liver Support Tablets
4 x Glucose Tablets
2 x Protein Shake

________________________________

So this is the way I live my life. Very regimental. Hardly sustainable when you have a high level job and a penchant for lollies and coffee - like me!

But this is all about discipline right now. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Brand New Purchase!

Woohoo! Beautiful new Scody cycling jersey, my first ever cycling jersey... in pretty purple!

Live. Sydney.

An awesome sunset tonight!!!

While the World Is Sleeping....

People in Gaza are dying.

Sorry to darken the mood, guys, but this kind of stuff messes with my head.

I have been somewhat an "observer" of this conflict for many years. I started trying to understand it after I watched a very biased documentary in favour of the Palestinians. I vowed that before i came to my own conclusion as to who was wrong and who was right, I would learn as many facts as possible.

To this day, i have not cast an opinion on who is right or wrong, despite reading so much about it. Why? Because it is such a complex issue and its very hard to find unbiased reporting on the issue.

Therefore, I choose not to take any side.

This frustrates me, because I feel as though i am being ignorant in some way.

But then i see the mess that is Gaza right now and I think to myself "surely the bombing needs to stop, the rocket launching needs to cease, and surely the relevant parties can put their civilians before their need to 'win' any form of senseless war." And when i mean "senseless war" i mean any war. Any war fought these days is senseless, particularly when we were faced with World War II. Wasn't that the war to end all wars? What did we learn from that??? Nothing, it seems. The US is supporting Israel, good old Chavez is egging on Hamas, and whilst all of this is happening, Russia is ceasing the provision of gas supplies to the Ukraine - IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER!

This world really sucks sometimes.

:(

I Conquered Everest!

Okay, that was a dramatic post title but it feels like I conquered at least a BIG psychological mountain today.

I decided that today was the day I would get the 2.5km run out of the way. Rewind to the previous post about the fact that I do not "desire" running in any form or fashion.

Well, i did it. I ran the 2.5km. Furthermore, if i wasn't watching my distance closely, i think my mind or body could have allowed me to run further - 3km, 4km, who knows.

I felt comfortable doing it, despite the fact that it was 31 degrees celcius (nearly 90 degrees fahrenheit) here in Sydney Australia this afternoon. It was still at 31 degrees at 7.30pm too!!.

I got into a pretty steady rhythm and just kept jogging.

It doesnt seem far, 2.5km, but for someone who up until today had only jogged on treadmills, its a HUGE achievement.

Woohoo!

Yes, I Am Blogging Lots

This training induced insomnia means that I have plenty of time at night to sit and post.

Prior to getting active again, I was struggling to keep my eyes open past 9pm (no kidding!).

Now, midnight passes and I am still running about the house, climbing the walls, playing on the PC.

So frustrating! My body is craving sleep!!!!

A Day In The Life Of.....

My days are very long at the moment.

Given that I am coming into the final two weeks before the first event, I have had to step up the training regime. Call me a little bit crazy, but I have based my training over the next two weeks on a training system that the National Interagency Fire Center has designed for its firefighters who have been sitting out the winter season and are just about ready to get back into fire season. It sets out the following core aims:

(1) cardiovascular development;
(2) muscle strength
(3) muscle endurance
(4) flexibility
(5) rest.

I then did a bit of research on triathlon training and am trying to incorporate the training required for that into the NIFC plan.

In short, i am training two times a day.

For example, yesterday involved interval training (running on treadmill at high speed intervals, three mins apart) and then a 10km cycle as quickly as possible.

Today, it was a run to the pool, series of swim drills over a 1000m distance, and then a quick run back to work. I then had a 1.5 hour session at the gym doing upper body weights.

Tomorrow is a scheduled "light load" day which is a relief.

I am having to eat a massive amount of food - veggies, fruits, protein shakes, more veggies, wholegrain breads and the odd glucose jelly bean for quick energy source. If I am not careful, I will empty the shelves of the local supermarket!!

The only problem at the moment is that when it comes time to sleep at night, i cant sleep. My body is still running at its fast pace and i am finding it hard to settle. This isnt very helpful when you are so exhausted by the end of the day and you have a huge amount of training to do the following day.

Anyway, this is my life.

All so that I can achieve one very straightforward goal - to enter and finish my first triathlon.

K

Confessions of a Beginner Athlete

[Pic courtesy of http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2006/03/14/tough_love_narrowweb__300x421,0.jpg]

I am scared. It is true. Three people in as many days have said "you know, i'd do triathlons, but it is the running bit that is what stops me from doing it." I too shared these same sentiments. Over the past couple of years and as late as 2 months ago i had adopted the attitude of "cant run, never will." I am not the best of runners, in fact, I can barely make it down to my local cafe and back in a slight jog without feeling like my chest is about to explode.

So what the heck am I doing?

I believe that my fear of running, like everyone elses, is borne not from their body's inability to do it but their mind. Yes, I fear that I will struggle through the Kathmandu Series' run legs, and yes, I fear that i may cough up a lung half way through the run leg of the triathlon in 4 weeks time.... however, its all psychological.

I can swim for miles without drowning, I can cycle 25-30km in an hour, so what is it that stops me from running? It isn't a physical issue because i have been checked out my a doctor. I am fit as a fiddle, no blood pressure problems, no joint issues, no back problems, no knee injuries, no blocked left ventricle in my heart.... It is a mental issue because when i think of running, i think "DISCOMFORT" and "PAIN".

"Discomfort" and "pain" doesn't equal "can't do it." It equals "i would prefer not to do it."

So, I would prefer not to run. I would prefer not to run because it causes me pain and discomfort. This is my fear. However, when you know you are physically able to do it, and you know that doing a triathlon has always been a lifetime goal, its enough to put those fears of pain and discomfort aside for nothing more than 20 - 30 mins of running.

That is all. 20 - 30 mins. Out of 24 hours in that particular day, i will only be in pain and discomfort for 20 - 30 mins.

Doesnt seem so scary now, does it?

Shout Out to the United States

First of all, thanks for the emails/comments of support for my quest for athletic world domination. I have noticed a whole heap of people from the US coming across to say hello from Mel's Blog so this is a shout out to y'all and a "thanks for dropping by". Oh, and thanks to ye ol faithfuls, EC, Angel, Jin, Maria and everyone else!

I figure, the more people I can get onboard, the better. Not only can I use it as motivation to keep on going, I can hopefully promote the idea that activity and exercise CAN change people's life. While I have been on and off the wagon for many years, i have commenced working solidly over the last 2 months to get my body into better shape. I am not even CLOSE to where i want/need to be in terms of fitness to achieve some of the things i have in mind in 2009, i feel like i really am beginning to see results - in mind AND body.

Thanks again to everyone. It means a lot.

And also a shout out to my life coach, J. I wouldnt have started this if it wasnt for you. You are truly a wonderful soul. x

I've Done It. I've Done It.

I have entered into my first Triathlon. An entry level one, but its still a Triathlon.

On 1 February 2009.

That is only four weeks away.

I am already training hard for the Kathmandu Adventure Series, so I thought, why not extend the training period for a further 2 weeks?

Call me crazy, i dont mind.

Training for the Challenge Series

After 6 days of indulgence and laziness, i realised today that i have TWO weeks left before the Kathmandu Adventure Series so I had to get out again. I choose to kayak from Point Piper to Shark Island and back.

(Map provided by www.airviewonline.com.au)

While the weather wasnt so great for kayaking, I still managed to take my camera with me to get some great photos. Obviously I couldnt take the shots while i was kayaking across the harbour, i managed to get some when on Shark Island.

My kayak!

Shark Island has one of the best views of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.

Jet boating is a relatively new activity for tourists in Sydney. I havent tried it yet. I was concerned at one point that the jet boat would run straight over me. He didnt end up doing it, but the waves created by these things are hard to kayak through!!

As I kayaked, sightseeing planes zoomed up and around me. There are about four zooming around the harbour at one time.

See above for what looks to be one of the entrants of the Louis Vuitton Cup which is to be held in New Zealand later this month. That said, i investigated on google just then and I cant see this boat as a confirmed entrant... nevertheless, I've had the pleasure of being on one of these boats, and boy, are they amazing!