Happy New Year!!!!

Happy New Year everyone!
I admit I was a lightweight by NY. I always get a bit over all the drinking and eating and by New Year’s Eve I’m a party-pooper! This year was no exception.
But my holiday started when Ironman Western Australia finished on Dec 5th…

not our usual race destination baggage

We flew straight to Bali from Perth- only 3.5 hours- and you are in paradise.
We were extremely fortunate to be staying at a friend’s luxury villa…highly recommended. It was our first trip in a very long time- perhaps 6 years, with no bikes! We also went offline for a week. Triathlon and work talk was banned and we totally unwound…

Love the Balinese day beds

I

did I tell you the Balinese food was AMAZING??

Kristian did some surfing here, and I had a lesson at Double Six, from a Kiwi guy named Marcy, he was fantastic.

Our sunset viewing point...

We were back on the Sunny Coast for Christmas and we had my parents over from the UK…

We finally settled on our land- so we had some bubbly on it to celebrate

building starts late Jan early Feb

My Christmas present- we also used it as our Christmas tree and put parcels underneath it

Christmas Day started with a trip to the beach...

...followed by French Toast made by Kristian...

lunch and playtime at the Gage's

followed by dinner in Noosa at the Granger’s brand new pad. All the usual suspects were there; it was a meeting of the McKenzie, Granger and Paul families.

2009 was one of the best years of my life. I raced in 6 different countries and competed in 5 Ironman and 5 Half Ironman races. The most I’ve ever done in one year. I admit it was too much-I probably could have missed one of each mid year. China took a lot out of me and I think I should have had an extended break after that. Hindsight is a wonderful thing! But it was an experiment, and sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t! In the haze of training and racing fatigue it’s sometimes hard to really see things as they really are. More on 2009 later…

I look forward to some new challenges in 2010 and a fresh start.
Best wishes to you all- I hope you all fulfill your goals and dreams.

Charlotte