Everyday Heroes

All too often people spend their lives searching for the perfect answer, the perfect teacher, the perfect solution to make their life a little bit more perfect. Yet few of us realize that we don't need to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to find that inspiration to change who we are and to become who we want to be.

I am constantly inspired by my friends and family and the more I think about it the more I realize that everyone in my life has something to offer me on this journey if only I look a bit harder and listen a bit longer. As I blog along I hope to mention everyone I know at some point on the way, but today I would like to pay particular homage to Adrienne Jerram and Michael Stelzer who have inspired me to aim for a goal that at the moment seems totally impossible, but through their experience I know will somehow be achieveable.

I'm sure if a year ago I had told Adrienne that she would run in a half marathon or Michael that he would row in the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic they would have laughed at me. Yet during the last year I have seen in both of them the difference a goal can make. Adrienne has already completed the City to Surf, the Sydney Half Marathon and now has her eyes set on the New York Marathon (though maybe not this year) and Michael is currently gearing up for his big race in a couple of weeks. 

What I have learnt from them is that the very act of setting a goal changes who you are and how you think about yourself and your life. As I have started to focus on the 100km Coast Trek that we have committed to do on March next year, I have discovered an amazing clarity of purpose that spills over beyond the challenge into other aspects of my life. 

After several days back on our usual walk to Chatswood and back, albeit at a slightly speedier pace, Neil and I set off yesterday (Sunday) for the first 'big' walk in our training schedule. We'd marked out roughly a 15km course and were hoping to do it in under 4 hours given that about half of it was trekking up and down in the bush. Along the way an amazing feeling took over. We knew we could do the distance but just having the 'big' goal in the background  made us more committed to plough on and actually do almost 20km. 

We got home and we felt great. Sure the feet were a bit worn, but we were pumped.  The energy that we got from the walk and the lovely sights we saw along the Middle Cove foreshores motivated us to do a bit of gardening and other chores that somehow had kept getting put to one side.

And this morning I woke up with the feeling of victory, having already achieved something more than what I set out to do. Day by day, week by week as we build up to our 100km walk I am in awe of how our lives may change and excited for who we are already becoming.

Thank you so much Adrienne and Michael for being such an inspiration!!