Blog Post #11
It is not how you start…
…it is how you finish.
A number of different things have finished recently, culminating together in some coincidental fashion, or was it…?
First up – the running programme. Back in March when I returned from Melbourne I decided to attempt a 16-week running programme, a decision which was almost immediately followed by the Covid-19 lockdown. One might argue this lockdown somewhat facilitated the completion of this running programme. Removing distractions, limiting leisure opportunities, and actually turning running into not just a welcome escape, but a sought after freedom from the cave that was my bedroom working environment. At the time of the last blog post I was up to week 11 and had completed a half marathon. Well my loyal readers, I can confirm that post was 6 weeks ago and I finished the programme last Sunday by running a marathon!
The forecast was looking pretty sketchy at the beginning of the week but fortunately Ranginui gifted near perfect conditions. I was also gifted by having 2 avid supporters of mine, who have been a regular feature in these recent blog posts having been through lockdown with them – mother dearest and my sister. They stationed themselves on the course yelling support and giving me water every lap of the river (9.5km). The first three (of 4.5) laps went fine, together the taper week and sports massages had put my body in a good, rested condition. HOWEVER, upon passing my family for the 3rd time as I’m staring down the 30km mark, the infamous ‘wall’ approaches. I knew it was coming up any minute, my pace had started to slow, but then out of nowhere guess who pops up beside me on their mountain bike…my mentor. He rode alongside me for the last 1.5 laps giving me motivation, held me accountable for not stopping, and who’s pure presence helped me finish that marathon in under 4 hours. Kudos to you Travis Wood, honestly one of the best kiwis I know. So what now the running programme has finished? Well I’ve rested up this week but have certainly got other things in my sight, which we’ll come to at the end of this post.
So what else have I finished? My latest contract. Back in March I thought Covid-19 was going to cancel my contract, however on Day 1 of lockdown the contract went ahead. This featured in my last post so I won’t repeat myself here, but I will say I was fortunate enough to secure work throughout the lockdown. The work changed as time went on and I even moved from one project to another, finishing by providing support to my client across a number of different asset management areas. The lockdown has taught me a lot about working environments, what environments I enjoy, what working environment I find most conducive to productive work, and that getting up every morning and driving to the Barista Boys truck for coffee is fully worth it. Hail the naughty Irish cream lattes on a Friday!
One of the reasons I decided to switch to contracting was to get more time off during the year to explore this country. Selfish I know but I couldn’t help myself! At the beginning of the year as the contracts started to shape my calendar, I decided to lock in a 7-week trip to Europe. I was going to cycle from Germany to Romania along the Danube River, I was going to 4 football matches at the Euros 2020, I was going to see my brother in Spain and visit a number of other countries with friends. Well all that didn’t happen. I should be in my 6th week and should be in Spain recovering from multiple hangovers after the Euros 2020! So I’ve been pining for some time off. I kept my original departure day of May 29th in the calendar, however as circumstances changed over the recent months I extended that to the end of June. So here we are, the contract is wrapped up and now I look forward to some extended time off. So what am I going to do? Well the ferry is booked and the tramping bag is ready. Plan A is to arrive in Picton and spend 3-4 weeks walking to Arthurs Pass. Plan B is take the car down and seek out whatever adventures I can find! First stop though – Ohakune next weekend for a friends birthday; I cannot wait to get back on the mountain and see some more action similar to below from Winter 2018!
And the last thing I’ve finished? Oh I am finished with working in this box of a room! Now that lockdown is over and this contract has finished, I am very much looking forward to some time away from the screens and outside of this room. I think I’ll be on the lookout for a new working space, in fact I am actually on the lookout for a new working base… Alas, for now one will be detoxing the mind and relaxing the brain because there’s two more contracts coming up on the near horizon, as well as a number of other exciting ventures! More on these in the next post. Speaking of which, this is me going off the grid for a while now. I look forward to updating you on my adventures in the next post, whenever and wherever that will be from!
Kia kaha e te whanau
