12WBT Finale

This post is going to cover a lot of ground so I suggest you get comfy J

Life has been a bit hectic for the last couple of weeks so haven’t been here to post a lot. But there has been a lot going on in my life.

The first week of May saw the end of Round 1  Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation for 2012.  Lots to be done with final weigh ins, Dexa scan and the all important after photo.  I managed to do exceptionally well for the 12 weeks and lost a total of 26kg and 83.5cms off my body.  It was 12 weeks of total focus, commitment and sheer hard work that got me to that point.

Since the start of the year I have been on a massive roller coaster ride of emotions as I struggled to come to grips with events in my personal life that affected me deeply.  To be honest I have still to fully accept or adjust to the situation as it stands and it still causes me immense pain.  I have learn though to not let the way I feel hold me down and stop me from working to be the best I can be.  Hence with nothing else to focus on I put every fibre of my being into my training.  I used it as a way to survive and distract myself from my ‘stuff’.

It was strange getting to the end of the 12 weeks and knowing I had exceeded even the goals I had set for myself. Somehow I kinda thought getting to this point would magically fix everything and make me ok. But I quickly learnt that what I had been doing was distracting me from that stuff and not actually fixing it.  I kinda felt a little flat & hollow, like it didn’t feel the way I thought it would.  Took me a couple of days to get my head around where I was.

I travelled to Queensland to compete in the open day hosted by Crossfit North Lakes. They have only been open a couple of months & it is owned & run by an inspiring crossfitter, Belinda Azzopardi.  She brings so much energy to her sessions as a participant and I know she will do the same as head coach!!  It was a fantastic day and I got to meet some really cool people.

WOD 1 was ‘Grace’, always a tough test – For time 30 Clean & Jerks.  I managed a PB for time and was stoked with that. I was pretty nervous beforehand however.  But am learning that nerves are a good thing, means you are ready to go. 

The second WOD was a tough mudder style obstacle course which sounded daunting at the start but was really a lot of fun. We got to clamber over and under obstacles and they even had an old school water slide happening J . 

The whole day was an awesome experience and I loved every moment of it.

After that trip north it was time to focus on the 12WBT Finale weekend which was in Melbourne.  Lots of organising to be done with dresses, shoes, tans & bags to be sorted.  I was lucky enough to be staying with some friends who I met way back when I first commenced 12WBT in May 2010.  These guys have become good friends and I know we’ll be that way for life. We had booked an apartment down towards the casino end of the city, and wound up on the 33^rd floor with spectacular views of the city.

I had been notified the week prior that I was one of the Top 20 Finalists for the program, which meant at the Finale party I would be standing on stage with all the other finalists as they announced the winners.  A little nerve-racking to say the least.

Friday was spent wandering the city with my friends Kris & Tina.  There was no pressure or stress on our day we pretty much did whatever we wanted.  We had lunch at an awesome Café in Federation Square and as an added bonus James Reyne was doing a performance for Triple M at the same time so we had a awesome accompaniment to our lunch.  Next stop I had an appointment with Dr Dave, Kris’ hubby, who is a sleep specialist.  I have never been a great sleeper so it’s time to get some plans in place to get it sorted.  I’ve come away from that with some plans and structure to try get it improved.

After that we wandered around a bit more then I had booked in for a 1:1 Mind Fitness session with Emazon.  I have to say I was quite daunted by the idea of this session and wasn’t sure how I would manage it.  I have to say she was lovely and made me feel quite comfortable. As the session got underway I just started listing all the stuff I had going on.  I didn’t feel like it made much sense to an outsider but she very quickly and easily put the pieces together and show me the patterns and behaviours that had gotten me to this point.  It was a very powerful discussion about what I needed to  do take my life forward and also why certain things have happened to me.  I came away from that with some areas to think further on and ideas to explore.  A very worthwhile session.

All too soon Saturday rolled around and it was D Day.  I was feeling pretty apprehensive and nervous all day. Woke with a very unhappy stomach which persisted throughout the day.  I was committed to doing a Crossfit session with the twitter #crossfitbuddy Leander over at Crossfit St Kilda.  I like going to visit other boxes to see how things work and how they are set up. Every box is truly unique.  Sadly for us the WOD was Karen-Su which is – For Time 150 wall balls and on the minute every minute 5 burpees.  I can’t burpee at the moment because the bursitis in my hip is not playing nice. So my option was push ups. Very unpleasant for my arms lol The WOD took me 19m41s so was pretty much 100 push ups I had to do. Chest was still a little sore yesterday

We then wandered over to where Mish was going to have the Finale group outdoor workout.  This round she was going for a World Record so there was a bit of excitement in the air. Mish as always was full of energy and cranking out the moves and working everyone into a sweat!!

Shortly after that I headed back into the city to begin preparations for the evening.  The afternoon just raced by after the girls and I had a cruisey lunch and before I knew it, it was time to jump in a cab and get to the party.

I had had the opportunity to ‘meet’ so many inspiring and brave people through the 12WBT forums and the various FB pages.  There are so many people who overcome so much to achieve what they do.  I love being a part of this community and having the chance to interact with these wonderful people.  The finale weekend was going to give us all a chance to actually meet in person.  This is one of the first finales I have been to where I actually got to say hello to most of the people I wanted to. These weekends go by in a blur and all of a sudden you are home and realising you didn’t see the handful of people you really wanted to. 

There are a small group of girls who have invited me into their world and have accepted me completely. They knew I was a bit nervous about going up on stage for the Finale so on Saturday afternoon then sent me this picture…….

It very nearly brought a tear to my eye as I was so touched but I didn’t want to ruin my new makeup.  It was such a thoughtful message and I was so grateful for it.

We arrived at the party and the whirlwind started.  I got to see some of my favourite people as soon as we arrived and we all spent time busily chatting and catching up before we got let in to the function room. Once inside the room looked spectacular.  Lots of happy voices and chatting. A million hugs.  Below are pictures of some of the amazing friends I caught up with on the night.

Soon enough it was my turn to assemble with the other finalists and head on stage.  Nerves were through the roof at this point.  Luckily I knew 3 of the other finalists so was great getting to share that experience with them.  A cool moment for me as we stood out the back together and Mish recognised me & gave me the biggest hug, telling me she thought I looked great. One by one our names were announced and we were escorted from the side of the stage to stand with the other finalists.  The sound of the crowd as we walked out was phenomenal and was such a high. Nerves were momentarily forgotten.

Mish worked through all the results then it was time to announce the Transformation winners, first up was third place and a remarkable transformation by the guy who won that.  Next up she began to read the details of the person who came second, a few lines in I realised to my joy she was talking about me.  I could hear my friends in the crowd going nuts and I was so overwhelmed and excited.  I walked over to Mish & she gave me the biggest hug and said some amazing things to me.  It was an incredible moment.  I couldn’t believe it was actually happening to me.  Not something I ever dared to dream about.

The overall winner was Heidi Scott Wilson from Victoria and she did a massive job on her Transformation.  She is trained by Hoffy as part of her Intensity crew, and Hoffy is one f my closest friends.  Hoffy wasn’t able to be there on Saturday night as she is un Europe but we knew it would mean the world to her to have both of us up there as winners.  It was a special moment when Heidi’s family got on stage with her.

From that moment on my night got manic. We had photo’s with Mish and then I wanted to find my girls and share the moment with them.  As I walked back through the room so many people stopped me to congratulate me and some took the time to share how I have in some way impacted on their story.  The things they had to say totally blew me away.  I never had any concept that the things I said or wrote could have that much impact on people.  One friend even mentioned to me how 12mths before when she went to her first group training session I was one of the first to greet her and make eye contact and make sure she felt ok.  When she told me about it earlier in the week in a message it stunned me and then to discuss it with her in person was amazing.  I’m just me and I do what I do and am pretty unaware of the impact a simple gesture can have on another person.  I guess that saying is true that people won’t always remember what you did but they will always remember how you made them feel.

I am still trying very much to get my head around the things people said to me and I know I certainly don’t see myself in that light.  As I said, I’m just me and I’m simply trying to be the best person I can be. I don’t profess to have all the answers to help people or be some mentor to the masses. I still have a lot of questions I am working through myself. But if something I have been through or learned can help just one person & makes their path easier or they don’t feel as alone then I am happy.  Many people have done that for me and to pay it forward is the greatest thanks I can give.

I very much proved to myself that I could do this on my own. Yes I had lots of ‘virtual support’ from my friends online and the friends who were but a phone call away. But physically I was alone and as a very good friend said to me that each day I was the one who made the hard decisions about what to eat and to train. How hard I pushed myself in training was up to me.  It’s funny but as I stood on that stage I thought to myself that this is your moment, you’ve worked hard, don’t give away the credit to anyone else because you did this yourself.  In the past I have given credit for my achievements to a myriad of people.  But not this time.  There were many who have helped me and pushed me along, at times keeping me afloat when I was sinking, and I couldn’t have done it without their support. But I did the work, day after day. I made a commitment to myself, to my friends and to Mish and I kept that commitment.  I am proud of myself for that.  I know I could not have done any more. I exceeded my own expectations and pushed myself hard.  I didn’t do it to win anything. I did it so I could reclaim my life and give me something to focus on.

So now it’s all over, back to work and reality. The next round starts in 2 weeks and of course I am signed up and looking forward to seeing what everyone achieves.  My challenge this round will be consistency and losing the last of my weight and getting the body I want.  I am working on my next set of goals and these goals will mean something to me, something that will have a positive impact on my life.

See you out there………….