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cazrdownunder

cazrdownunder

Tag Archives: cycling

1 MONTH in Adelaide

20 Wednesday Sep 2017

Posted by cazrdownunder in Adventures, Life, Running

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

adelaide, beach, bluesky, coastalwalk, Coffee, cycling, ED, Exploring, Running

Yesterday marked one month since I arrived in Adelaide . . .  I thought I would give an update! I am currently sat on the beach with my thermoflask with this view  #ratherblissful

Time has flown by. I feel like it has been a whirlwind journey with ups and lows and in-betweens! I found the first 2 weeks really hard and had to keep giving myself little pep talks to keep strong and not think of home. I would get so easily emotional and teary. Although I tried to be really organised before I came, it is just the overwhelming feeling that I have moved here and need to set a life up. I have never experienced those feelings before. It isn’t the same as when I came 2 years ago for my elective, as I knew after 4 months I would be returning home. This time around, I have moved to Australia to start a new chapter in my life.

Lets just say, starting up a life in a different country is quite stressful, not straightforward and there are numerous obstacles in the way. It felt like I would take 1 step forward and then 10 back! I am quite an inpatient person and I like to just get things sorted. But I have learnt since arriving here, I just need to not get stressed about things I dont have control over. Everything works out in the end.

I have some family friends -Eve & Crispin- who live on a property (Australian term for a farm!) in the Adelaide Hills. When I arrived I stayed with them for the first week which was just so nice. It meant my first few days I wasn’t alone and had home comforts, so I didn’t feel too homesick. They looked after me and have been such support since being in Adelaide. Their property is in a beautiful location overlooking a valley and is the perfect retreat! I imagine I will be escaping there a lot when I have a free weekend. They also have 2 dogs so I get doggy cuddles!

Hattie on the tractor!

View from one of the paddocks 

SO what has happened this past month . . . 

WORK . . . I have now been working for 3 weeks. I am working in ED [A&E in UK] in a district hospital NW of Adeliade. It is about a 30 min cycle from where I am living now. My first few days were very overwhelming and I hit the ground running, well more trying to hold on and keep up. I felt lost, unsettled and wondering why I had chosen to do this.  My first day I had no induction or orientation, I basically was thrown into the department. Starting work in a new place is stressful enough but in a different healthcare system . . . I was rather petrified to say the least!

I remember my first patient I saw –  she was listing all her usual medication – I was absolutely clueless as to what was she was saying. In Australia, most people use brand names for medications rather than generic. eg cartia is the brand name for aspirin. So I stood there nodding and pretending to look up “guidelines” on my iphone- whereas in fact I was googling and trying to work out what the hell she was taking.

It is a supportive environment and the consultants expect you to discuss every patient and your plan, which is quite different compared to the UK. I am enjoying it, especially now I don’t feel so on edge. I have had some interesting cases over the past 3 weeks and what is rewarding and reassuring is my clinical judgement is often fairly right! Recognising when a patient is sick and needs admission sounds easy but it isn’t always the case. I had a young girl in her mid twenties who came in with “exacerbation of asthma”.  She looked unwell with a fever of 40C and tachycardia (fast heart rate) at 120bpm. Her chest sounded completely clear and she hadn’t had any nebulisers, so I thought an asthma attack didn’t seem right. I did a chest X-ray and her left lung showed a multilobar pneumonia. In a girl so young, it is rare to have such a nasty pneumonia and it made me think of unusual causes e.g. atypical pneumonias or tuberculosis – TB. Interestingly her grandfather had TB last year. I chased her the next day and she was being treated for TB. That felt good as I had recognised she was sick, needed admission and TB was my first differential. #patontheback

In ED you do shift work so that isn’t a Monday-Friday 9-5, instead you work a mixture of normal day shifts, late evening shifts, weekends and nights. When I got my job in April I was told they try to make the rota flexible for UK docs and clump together our time off.  However, when I arrived was really disappointed with my rota as it was pretty shit. I had random days off so it felt like I was at work all the time. Speaking to a couple of the other ED doctors, most were unhappy and felt it was not the rota they were promised. Some of the doctors had worked 6 weeks with no weekends off. I think my hospital was very short staffed and so that was why rota was so erratic. I also know my limits and have voiced my concern saying what I am not happy with. I think it is important to highlight issues otherwise what is the point of moaning. The consultants have been very understanding and are aware people are not happy and trying to improve it. My October rota looks a bit better and I have been promised I will not be given 7 day stretches ever again. Woap woap! So that has been a challenge starting work in a completely unknown system and having little time off. However, I am thinking positively and it looks to be changing. Currently my motto is just take baby steps . . . that way I don’t get stressed!


LIVING . . . Before I arrived, I organised a short term let via airbnb for a month. I am currently living at South Henley Beach in a small unit. It has actually been the perfect base and I am so glad I chose to live at the coast rather than the city.  The coast is about 10km East from the city centre.  I have loved living so close to the beach, it is a 3 min walk from my unit. Most days I will go for a run/stroll along the beach and I still cant believe this is my home! I feel so lucky to have this on my doorstep. I find it very therapeutic and even when I feel homesick or stressed, just going out for a walk with the sea breeze and beautiful beach, is the perfect remedy!

View from my unit- sunrise

Henley is quite a small sleepy beachside town with a couple of cafes, restaurants and a supermarket. It has a beautiful beach and sometimes it is almost like I have to myself! I love it and think it will remain as one of my favourite places. However, I have decided to move to my neighbouring town called Glenelg. It is larger with more going on and think would be a better place to settle and create a social network.

Photos in Henley


Compulsory brunch photo!



EXPLORING . . . 

I brought my road bike from the UK and I have loved having it here with me! It is my mode of transport to work and gives me the freedom to explore. Adelaide is quite bike friendly with most roads having a cycle lane. Also along the coast is very popular for road cyclist, at weekends, there are packs of them cycling !

I love exploring the coast line on my days off,  there are some beautiful coastal trails. The photos below are from the Marion Coastal Boardwalk, which passes through the Hallett Cove Conservation Park. It was stunning with the rugged cliffs and rocky coast line.


One of my days off I headed to the Belair National Park which is  13 km South of Adelaide. I did the waterfall hike which is a 6.5km circuit and has stunning picturesque escarpments of 2 waterfalls. There were some challenging inclines though but it was so worth it!


… I then got raynauds !


My unit is located right next to the mouth of the River Torren which runs to the city and out to the hills. There is a cycling trail that follows the river, which is great to cycle into the city and avoid the roads. Except I learned that magpies can be quite aggressive here. After one flew into my helmet, I was really confused and thought maybe it saw its reflection. After the third time of it happenning, I thought it couldn’t be a coincidence. Google, my friend, informed me Australian  magpies when nesting can be really aggressive, especially to cyclists if you are near to their nests. Lesson learnt!

Little things make me happy

  • Having my bike here – it is like my travelling buddy. It was such an effort to bring out. I had to get a special bike bag [thanks dad!] and dismantle my bike … putting it back together was interesting! But I love having it here. I can just hop on it, cycle along the coast and gives me that independence.


  • Living right next to the beach – most days I will go on a run along the beach or just walk along the front. It makes me feel so at ease and I can’t believe it is on my doorstep. I sometimes forget I am living here and not on holiday!

  • Getting a takeout coffee. I love coffee and australia really knows how to do Good coffee, trumps the UK! I have got into a habit of after my run, getting a takeout coffee and walking back along the beach to my unit.

  • Australian blue sky – I can’t explain it but there is something about the blue sky in Australia that is special. It is so blue and bright, like that feeling you get when you have clear blue skies when skiing.
  • SO much open space- I already know that my work life balance is going to be a lot healthier and happier here. The outdoors lifestyle Australia suits me so well. For example, there are so many hiking trails around – coastal walks or nearby national parks. Fresh air and exercise is such great self car and love!

That is a rambly update! I am now going to enjoy rest of the sunset and head back to my unit for dinner, as starting a stretch of night shifts tonight boohooo.

Speak soon and miss you all

Love from Adelaide

 

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Race Recap: #BristolHalfMarathon

19 Saturday Sep 2015

Posted by cazrdownunder in Running

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

6weekplan, cycling, fitness, halfmarathon, Halfmarathontraining, HIT, marathon, parismarathon, race, roadbike, Running, training, trainingplan

 I am going to start of by saying I am a little bit chuffed with myself as I have been working for less than 2 months, in my new job as a junior doctor, AND I managed to train and run a half marathon #yougogirl. At the start of my job, I was questioning myself as to whether it was a sensible idea doing a half marathon so early on. The last 2 months have been bloody stressful and exhausting, working long hours, doing on calls, coming home from work and just wanting to crash on the sofa. But instead I committed myself to my training and i did a bloody good job!

Training wise, I knew that I wasn’t as fit as I was when I was training in Australia. I can’t be too harsh on myself, as I was in a great form in Sydney, eating well, sleeping a decent amount of hours etc. Now I am lucky if i have time to pee during my day at work and eating lunch is pretty much a luxury. I know I could run the distance no problem but whether I could improve on my time, I highly doubted it. I decided that I wouldn’t put pressure on timings and entered it with pretty low expectations.

Two of my lovely doctor friends- Sina and Cathy- who I work with – came to support me. It makes SUCH a difference when you have some support. I wasn’t nervous at all really, just excited that they were coming to cheer me on. Also it really motivates you to keep running when you know at certain points you will see a familiar face

IMG_9820

How did training go?

My training plan was fairly similar to my Sydney one. I worked on a 6 week countdown with 3 runs a week, gradually increasing my distance up to max 18km than tapering off in the last 2 weeks. However, last time I was doing reg yoga x2-3 a week [this is something that has been lacking from my training- and i am paying for it now – incredibly tender muscles]. Also exciting . . . I treated myself to a gorgeous [notsocheap] road bike with my first pay check, so incorporated that in my training plan. I am based in a hospital, on the coast in Kent, and i am really enjoying exploring the coast line on my bike.

IMG_9650

[sunset cycle]

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My training plan

WEEK 1: 2 short runs [5,5km] and a cycle

WEEK 2: 2 mediums and 1 short runs [4, 8, 8] and a cycle

WEEK 3: 3 medium runs [8,10,12] and a cycle

WEEK 4: 2 medium and 1 long run [10,10,15] and a cycle

WEEK 5: one long run [18] . . . I was on call this week so working long days.

WEEK 6: 1 short, medium and long run [5,10,15]

WEEK 7: two medium runs [8,8] and a cycle

RACE end of week 7.

How did the race go?

The first 5km i ran with the lovely Lauren – I was running at quite a slow pace but I was enjoying running with someone. Lauren then needed a toilet break but I decided to carry on and pick up my pace. 3km later i hear someone shouting “CAZ” and it is Lauren behind! I was super impressed, as i was running quite fast but she caught up. We carried on the next 4km together, then i decided to pick up my pace again. Now this is properly where i ran too fast, too early. I had been sucking on an energy gel and it just kicked in so fast, i ran the next 3-4 km at 5”00, 5”10, 5”05. At around 14km the route re-enters back into Bristol so the crowd support was great. I was running really well at this point and then saw my GIRLS at the side line, shouting my name.

IMG_9831

I then sped up more [error] and didn’t realise until i looked at my watch and my heart rate was going at 187!! I dont like it to go above 170 as i find i will exhaust myself and begin to slow down considerably . . . this is what happened. The final bit of the route i really didn’t enjoy as it was over cobbled streets and you kept going back on yourself through the city centre. All that kept me going was seeing my girls again, near the finish line. I saw them just before the 12 mile mark which i didn’t expect and that really boosted me on. I then saw Lauren when i looped around on the last mile, she was doing amazingly and had really caught up a fair amount of distance. I sped up for the last mile but was beginning to feel rather light headed and my heart rate was now creeping up to 185. I was being stubborn and didn’t want to slow down . The last 300 metres i sprinted partly because I could see the time and realised how close i was to my last race! When i crossed the line my heart was thumping SO hard at 195. Woapsies.

My race time really surprised me – it was 1 min slower than my sydney speed. With my training, I was anticipating on being maybe borderline sub 2 hours.

Also my friend Lauren got her PB which she has been chasing for awhile. I was super proud that I could share it with her and especially since we had a run a section of it together!

IMG_9810

What I learnt?

I can REALLY push myself. I was running sub 5 mins in some segments. My max HR [sprint at the end] was 195! My pace was a bit all over the place, normally when i run i like to keep at a steady heart rate. That strategy just flew out the window after the 10km point, where it just exponentially increased.

Most importantly, the race made me realise I am a good runner and I have potential to run faster and better, if I really want to.

What is next?

My current thoughts switch between

1. Continue with halfs and run faster
2. Train for a marathon
3. Train for a triathlon

I have been seriously thinking about whether i want to do a marathon- ideally I want to do one next year or the following. The issue is do i really want to commit to the training? The idea of 26 miles, really does not appeal to me, but who does it appeal to? No one really runs a marathon for fun. It is a challenge and a bloody achievement. The Paris Marathon is on 3rd April next year, that is an ideal length of time to train for it and also it is in freaking Paris! Most runners i have spoken to have said you can train for a marathon in 20 weeks if you already run well. So 20 weeks would be mid November. . . on paper it is feasible. Am i crazy though??

BUT then since getting a road bike, I have played with the idea of entering a triathlon. The AJ Bell London Triathlon [Olympic distance] happens in early August every year. I am tempted, but the issue is i just dont do swimming. I would need to find a local group that i can train with.

Instead of thinking about it, being sensible and weighing up all options . . . what have i gone and done . . . ENTERED MYSELF INTO THE PARIS 2016 MARATHON #letsnotpanicnow

Screen Shot 2015-09-17 at 19.12.49

My current thinking

1. Work on interval training [HIT]- to increase my speed

2. Join the Thanet running club [I need to train with other people, especially in the winter]

3. Enjoy my bike more

4. Convince my family and friends to come and cheer me on in Paris [#hinthintmajorhint]

BALI Part 2

17 Wednesday Jun 2015

Posted by cazrdownunder in Adventures, Life

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

bali, breakfast, chilling, cycling, Exploring, gili islands, lembongan, night market, sunrise, sunset, yoga

Here is the second upload of my Bali photos…

I ended on a beautiful sunset at Gili T, so heyho lets start on another one! I have SO many sunset photos but I just have to share them as they were pretty stunning.  

One evening we tried the night market- i think i paid £4 for my dinner! They cook it on a BBQ next to the stall, but jeeez they use a lot of chilli! 

  

Next: Gili Air [my favourite island]. It was smaller than Gili Trawnagan, I could run around it in 30mins! Also a more laid back kinda vibe, so perfect to end our time at.

 … Breakfast on the beach

Our mode of transport around the island 

  

 …. It is actually quite hard trying to take a selfie when cycling!

I ditched Frances… My new friend Marmalade

Our favourite place to chill

We got up for sunrise 

 I dragged Frances to yoga… I think she secretly loved it. Beautiful outside studio.

Thought we would make a bit of an effort …

 

The beach on our doorstep

Divine dinner at Scally Wags 

  

 

Our last night  … and it decided to rain for us 

    

Our taxi to the boat- horse and cart!

Then it was just me- Frances headed back to UK 😔 and I got a boat to Lembongan. It was probably one of the roughest boat journey I have been on. I sat outside at the back and usually never suffer from sea sickness, but jeez 4 hours of roller coaster waves was something. There were quite a few people on the floor suffering badly and being sick.

Found a fabulous little cafe for a delicious breakfast [cashew and date smoothie was heavenly] 

Local kids playing on the beach

Watching the sunset [passtime favourite!!] 

 with icecream and beer! 

Exploring the island on motorbike… Locals unloading water bales  

  

An enormous Banyan tree:  such bizarre trees with aerial prop roots growing like thick wooden dangly arms!

Seaweed drying: apart from tourism, seaweed farming is one of the main drivers of the local economy on the island. Two substances are obtained from the seaweed. 1. Carrageenan which is used in cosmetics and 2. Agar which is a vegetable gel.    

 

Poor little chicks, i asked why they were being kept in a cage and the man said food 😦  

 

Dream beach    

Last day of yoga

BACK TO OZ I GO!

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Recent Posts

  • 5 months in January 29, 2018
  •  Update . . .found a place to live! October 14, 2017
  • 1 MONTH in Adelaide September 20, 2017
  • Why HELLO August 3, 2017
  • #Stockholmmarathon February 19, 2017

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