This post is the final installment of how Life Spark Wellness has come to be. If you haven’t read the first two installments you can start at the beginning if you like, or jump to the middle, to catch up.
so…. I am now in 2013, having lost 17kg, and maintained that weight loss for 2 years, fitter than I ever had been and looking for a new challenge to keep me motivated. You see the beauty of achieving my initial weight loss and fitness goals throughout 2011 and 2012 meant that when 2013 rolled around and I started to to think about ‘New Year Resolutions’, ‘losing weight’ and ‘getting fit’ were no longer things that even crossed my mind. I was now looking for a bigger challenge something to keep me motivated and accountable. Something that would last longer than a few weeks or months and perhaps ‘pay it forward’ in some way too.
I struggled for a while to come up with a grand plan but it was playing in the back of my mind. Then, on a sunny, cloud free Easter long weekend, it came to me, and I hatched plan….. After much thought and research I decided to choose a number of fun runs and cycling events to complete between April 1st and March 31st, 2014.
In order to complete these events I of course needed to train for them. With some calculations and advice from my then personal trainer, Angus, we worked out a training plan for the next 12 months. When I added up the kilometres that I need complete over this time, it worked out to be approximately 3,550km – almost the distance between Albury and Timor Leste (which is 3,755km)!
CARE Australia, a charity which I admire and support, undertakes a range of projects in Timor Leste. CARE is an international humanitarian aid organisation fighting global poverty, with a special focus on working with women and girls to bring about lasting change to their communities. As a busy full time working mum, with a daughter of my own, I wanted to find a way to help raise awareness and funds for this fantastic charity.
So, armed with a training plan to help me reach my goal, I chose nine events to complete to raise awareness, and pledged to complete 3,755km in training and events, with my ultimate aim to raise $10,000 for CARE Australia and Timor Leste by March 31st, 2014.
- 3 x 10km running events
- City 2 Surf
- 3 x Half Marathons (21.1km)
- 1 x 85km ride and 2 x 100km rides
I also competed as a part of a team in a local triathlon, completing a 500m swim in January 2014.
I complete
d total of 209.5 hours of exercise in 12 months – averaging 4.2 hours per week (in addition to the 1 hour I spent with my Personal Trainer each week to ensure I remained strong and injury free), and an average of 72.2km per week.
During my challenged I raised $5100 for CARE Australia, and hosted 3 dedicated fund raising events:
- Trivia night raising raising $2342
- 2 x “Ladies Nights” raising $366
Although there were times I wanted to give up and thought ‘no one will really notice if I just stop’, the public pledge I had made and the desire to achieve the goal I had, set saw me keep plugging away. Several times throughout the year I had to re-evaluate my plans (weekly and monthly) in order to deal with challenges such as injury, weather, life commitments, boredom and other set backs. Essentially, however keeping the big picture in mind (i.e. completing the challenge and raising funds and awareness for CARE Australia) kept me going.
I completed the challenge and raised $5100 for CARE Australia ( a little short of my initial goal, but a worthy achievement nonetheless) in March 2014. This experience in goal setting and training led me to two decisions 1) that I wanted to learn more about health and fitness and 2) that I wanted to help other ‘ordinary’ people like me achieve THEIR goals.
During 2014 I completed my Certificate III and IV in Fitness at Wodonga TAFE, and Level 1 & 2 Wellness Coaching through Wellness Coaching Australia, while working full time, studying towards my Masters and training towards my own fitness goals.
The combination of my knowledge, qualifications, experiences and goals led to the creation of Life Spark Wellness in 2015. I am incredibly passionate about helping others achieve their health and fitness goals, no matter what they are or where they currently are at in their life.
It is my goal and mission, to inspire, motivate and empower YOU to achieve yours.
