There's Always Next Year!

So, Serena has her 5th Australian Open title. She is one formidable athlete! But I was still so impressed with Justine's game. For such a small tennis player, she packs one hell of a punch.

Tonight we watch Federer take on Murray. I hope that is as good a match as last night's!

It's our last day of holidays tomorrow - better go and find a tennis court and throw a few serves down.

Federer the Fabulous

And it took about one hour and thirty six minutes for Federer to simply outclass Tsonga. I've never seen such utterly effortless and graceful tennis. Quick  hands, drop shots, slice backhands and then topspin backhands that sizzled.

So, tomorrow night is Henin vs Williams and Sunday night is Federer vs Murray. We've taken the Monday off so that we can stay up and watch the match!

More inspiration for Cologne...

Did I mention that I am playing D Grade?? Yep, I'll be right up there with Justine and my classy slice backhand...

Allez Justine

We've just come back from watching both women's semi-finals at the Australian Open. I want a backhand like Justine's!

Serena's victory of Li Na was a real battle 7-6, 7-6. Both women are power hitters and they simply slugged it out from the baseline. It was a real war of attrition.

The Henin Zheng match was a complete contrast in styles with Henin using an intelligent combination of power, placement, spin, slice and volleying to simply outfox Zheng.

I have bought the appropriate accessories which will of course ensure my guaranteed success in the tennis in Cologne - yes?? An Oz Open gym towel, a very smart trilby hat, a key ring, and wrist bands. Yep, guaranteed success on the court.

Did I mention that my friend Rae thrashed me hollow yesterday! Maybe better check that ego in at the sidelines...

Tomorrow we go to watch Federer and Tsonga - woo hoo.

First Game of the Summer

And as usual, Rae has thrashed me 6-2! One day I'll get more than 2 games off her!

I did do some damage though when Rae, in fierce pursuit of a short ball, tripped up and managed to graze and bruise both knees, her chin and bite her lip.

She's a trooper though, got up and insisted on continuing to play. It was a different story when we got back to my place though when I sat her down and got out the antiseptic wipe. She was calling out in agony before the wipe had even touched her! Still, she is now cleaned up, wounds are dressed and I'm hoping that there's no permanent damage!

Rae has one of the most difficult games I've ever played against - she was a top squash player and she has excellent placement - gets most balls back and angles them so that I don't have a hope!

Rae and I are playing doubles at the Games - looking forward to that. We are now discussing what we should wear - hmm - this could be the difference between winning and losing!

Week 3 Results

Hmm, well progress is being made - less icecream has been consumed and the scales are showing movement in the right direction.

Time to hit the tennis court! Ace Girls start again next week, and I have decided to give a regular Tuesday evening social comp a try so that I can get some match practice in a relatively un-stressed environment.

In fact, I may just take myself off to a tennis court this afternoon to throw a few serves down.

I've also started re-reading "The Inner Game of Tennis" - I want to do as well as I possibly can at the Games - it's a personal standard not to be measured by number of matches won but more by the subjective measure of how I feel about the way I've played. Well that's the theory anyway.


Weight: 97.7kgs

How to Win at the Gay Games

1. She who looks most fabulous wins.
2. The score is only semi-relevant.
3. Colour coordination between doubles partners is a good idea.
4.Never forget to accessorise.
5. Remember - it's the Gay Games - not Wimbeldon and the motto is Participation, Inclusion and Personal Best!

Australian Open Inspiration

Well, still got a sore hip so no major running around but I did wear my brand new Adidas shoes for the first time - just checking you understand....

We are taking the week off work to watch the Australian Open - I love living in Melbourne.

And now I'm thinking that I really better get serious about the Gay Games - don't want to crash out in the first round....

And just for fun, check out this blog - http://sleeptalkinman.blogspot.com/ - I think my new Ace Girls Support Crew t-shirt will say "I have not put on weight. Your eyes are fat".

Bad Girl!

Today I have eaten nothing but sweet things. I am on a sugar high and I don't care...

Well at least not until tomorrow...

Chocolate should be on the PBS.

Week 2 Results & New Shoes

And the results for week 2 of the transformation project are - no change - but that's dead normal for the second week. But I guess it's time to get a bit more serious!
Rating? Well abut 6.5/10 I gueess. Not too much icecream - apart from that double bowl I had on Sunday... but what's life if you have to give up icecream.

Now it is a truth universally acknowledged that sports performance is improved with the addition of new shoes. Yes it is true - these are personally customised tennis shoes courtesy of Mi Adidas. Get the shoes that fit you!!!

Different widths and lengths available, different inners, different soles and you get to choose the colours and you can put something appropriately inspirational on 'em.

Doing the Hippy Hippy.... Ache

So now that I am officially staring down the barrel of turning 50 it's probably only time that I should be confronted with a doctor telling me that my cholesterol is a bit high, the Vitamin D levels a bit low and that might not be so good for me bones and by the way - you've torn a muscle in your bum and we think an injection of your own blood deep into the muscle would be a good idea.....

And - that's right - there's more - the injection will hurt for about 2-3 days and you should feel better 4-6 weeks later.

But seriously,  I have had a lot of pain over the last 16 months and nothing much has really helped so far. So this needs to work!

I've made contact with the Tennis Vic people and they run a weekly social comp at Melbourne Park (where they play the Aus Open). I need to get some regular competition to get over my horrible nerves.

Inspiration to come on Monday when the Aus Open starts - yay

Results (kinda)

Well the results are in for the first week.... drum roll please... despite eating copious quantities of icecream, I am officially 1.5kgs lighter.

How would I rate my commitment and effort this last week - oh about 6/10. I am hopeless when it comes to chocolate and other sweet things. I did work hard at my personal training session on Saturday (thanks to the evil torturer Alicia) but my only other exercise was walking and I think I need to do more than that.

But of course I won't be doing that today - not in 43 degree heat - no sir..

We watched a heap of tennis over the weekend - simply amazed at the athleticism and stamina and skill of Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin - by far and away the best match to watch all weekend.

I have to confess to one thing though. We were watching the match on delay from Brisbane and I couldn't bear the tension so I was following the scores online about 90 minutes ahead of the Melbourne broadcast. I knew there were going to be sudden reversals and championship points won and lost ....made watching the match a whole lot easier. But I was good, I didn't let on to Judy...

It's absolutely clear that you've got to be match fit - have the stamina to sprint over and over and over again without losing technique. I think I have a very long way to go before I can claim to have anything like a moderate degree of stamina.

The Ace Girls were going to start tonight but we've been reprieved because of the weather. If it gets cooler during the week I think I'll try to get a bit of court time to get my serve going again.

This week I get the autologous blood injection in my hip that should relieve the pain I've been experiencing for over 12 months. I think I am required to rest that joint for a couple of weeks but I can still do upper body work so my aim this week is to do my personal training on Saturday and at least two other upper body workouts ... oh and to only have icecream twice.

Weight: 98.8kg

The Pitfalls of Icecream

What is it about icecream - especially with chocolate sauce. Two big bowls and I am in desperate need of reminding about what it is that I am to attempt on the 1st August!

Well, you can't un-eat the icecream - I guess.

And to (mis)quote Ms O'Hara - "tomorrow is another day"....

The trip is starting to fall into place - hotels and apartments booked, and the Australian Open starts in two weeks and I'm hoping that will re-energise my motivation!

Day One

And since I'm an all or nothing kind of girl - today has been a modified fast - protein shake, tea, water, vitamins....and a piece of poached salmon for dinner followed by four (very little) biscuits and two chocolates - yes my resolve strong it is (not).

But we've nearly booked our air tickets - looks like we'll be spending a couple of days in Milan before we head up to Gstaad where me and my mate Roy (Emerson) will spend a week grooming my game in preparation for the tournament.... well that's my excuse anyway.

Starting Point

The Gay Games are held every four years. Around 12 000 participants will gather in Cologne, Germany on the 31st July for a week of competition in just about every sport you can think of ... and possibly some that you can't.

You can find all the usual sports like swimming, athletics, diving, and martial arts. But what you may not expect are the sports like physique and ballroom dancing. The one sport that attracts the single largest number of participants is the tennis. Around 1000 people will pick up a racquet and strut their stuff on the clay courts of Cologne.

This will be my fourth Gay Games - my first was in Amsterdam in 1998 where I partied a lot, drank far too much, and then got up on the last day and ran 10 kms. I was second last over the line within the maximum completion time for the event. It wasn't pretty but I was ecstatic and hooked on the Games.

My second games was in Sydney 2002 where I played tennis for the first time. Much to my incredible surprise, I actually won my way into the round of 16 (in D Grade I hasten to add).

Chicago was a step up in 2006. Things were very different. I was living in Melbourne and I had joined the AceGirls - Melbourne's lesbian tennis club. I had a go at C Grade but was knocked out in the first round 6-4, 4-6, 4-6 in 40 degrees and very high humidity against a woman with about 20 years and 30 kgs on me!

And now, it's time to gear up for Cologne. I'm back in D Grade - I plead increasing age and stuffed knees as justification for retreating a grade! I've registered to play D Grade singles and C Grade doubles with my friend Rae.

Apart from my partner, Judy, my sister Moira, Judy's sister and brother-in-law, and our good friends Paula and Yvonne are coming to the Games - so NO PRESSURE RIGHT!

The plan is to do my best to get as fit as I reasonably can in the 7 months that remain before the Games, play lots of tennis, try to get a bit of competition practice, and see if I can win through a round or two.

I'll post as I go - at least weekly but maybe more often!

Starting weight: 100.4kgs