The 20th Wollongong Underwater Hockey 4s Comp was held on Saturday 17th March 2012. It was the biggest ever!

Below is a video of the event. If you’re curious as to what underwater hockey is and how it is played, this video is for you.

On Australia Day, a group of us went Canyoning at Macquaries Pass National Park. It’s a fun canyon which is close to Wollongong; and what I especially like about it is that you park a car at both the start and end of the canyon. So there isn’t the need to walk back up to the start, which is typical in the Blue Mountains.

Below is a short video which I have quickly put together showing the abseils and jumps on the canyon route. Further down on this page is more information about the canyon.

Canyon Information

Typical Duration: ~4hrs.
Ropes are required and wetsuits are highly recommended.

The canyon is at Macquaries Pass (refer to Google Map below). Two cars are required, one at each end of the canyon.

Best to meet at the carpark at the bottom of the pass. If you are driving from Albion Park (from the bottom) that is the car park on the left of the road. Leave a car there, along with towels and dry change of clothes, and jump into the other car and drive up the pass.

Not too far up the pass, you will want to turn off to the left onto Clover Hill Road. You will have to park your car right after the turn off as there is a gate which prevents you from driving down further. It is about a 2km walk past the gate to the first abseil point. The walk does seem to take a while so don’t worry (just yet) that you might have overshot the turn off. Along the walk there will be a fork in the path, take the path to the left. Keep walking until you come to a large clearing. There you will see a small defined path to the right which will take you to the first waterfall abseil (which is the first abseil in the youtube video).

From there it is pretty easy, just keep following the water until the last slide at the end where there is a path that takes you back to the car (it’ll be quite obvious when you get to the end).

In total there are 4 abseils, 1 jump and 2 slides.

The article below was taken from The Advertiser Wollongong on Wednesday March 14th 2012.
I can’t seem to find a website to give them credit for the article, so if anyone knows what their website is, let me know so that I can put it link to them from here.

Click on the article to view a larger version.

On the weekend of 3rd/4th March 2012, the Annual MS 24hr Mega Swim in Wollongong took place. It rained for the most part of the event, but that did not stop the 18 teams from completing their 24hr swim.

Photos for the event are available at: http://edwinkwan.com/events/2012-ms-24hr-mega-swim-in-wollongong/

When: 14 – 15 April 2012

http://runningfestival.com.au

More than 4,000 entrants took part in the inaugural Australian Running Festival, with 2012 set to be even bigger.

Don’t miss this spectacular course, incorporating The Canberra Times Canberra Marathon along with a Half Marathon and fun runs, the Australian Running Festival offers an event for all abilities, from serious runners to joggers, pushers and walkers.

The following runs will be held in the Nation’s Capital this April:

• Saturday, April 14, 2012 – 5km and 10km fun runs
• Sunday, April 15, 2012 – Half Marathon, Marathon and Ultra Marathon

When: 20th May 2012

http://www.smhhalfmarathon.com.au

Be part of Australia’s largest and most prestigious half marathon on Sunday, May 20; The Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon presented by Colonial First State.

Take on the newly introduced one lap course, which will be improved from start to finish for 2012 with City2Surf style wave starts incorporated to spread out the field.

The new course has retained the best elements of the old two lap course while highlighting other great areas of Sydney, like harbourside icons the Opera House, Harbour Bridge and Pyrmont Peninsula.

The event raises much needed funds for more than 600 charities, including Breast Cancer Network Australia.

On Feb 4th 2012, Team Misdirected took part in their first Adventure Race, the Kathmandu Adventure Race at Cams Wharf.

For those of you who haven’t done an adventure race, its a navigational exercise where teams of two make their way to different checkpoints in a certain order. You are given a map an hour before the race and another sheet of paper with a brief description of where the checkpoint will be (e.g: south east of track bend). The race consist of mountain biking, trail running and kayaking, though I have been told that there have been snorkeling and diving to collect checkpoints in some of the races.

This particular race consisted of 5 main legs. It was Coasteering (refer to picture at top of people jumping into the water), mountain biking, run, back on the mountain bike and finishing off with a Kayak.

Being the first adventure race, Samantha and I from Team Misdirected did not know what to expect. We decided that our goal for this first race was to just be able to complete the race. Luckily we were doing this with our friends who were probably doing their millionth adventure race and hence got quite a few tips before the race. There was Brendan and Kate (Team VO2Vitality 1), Anita and Lis (Team VO2Vitality 2), Alex and Jo, Kerrie and Andrew & Ryan and his brother.

Below is the map and course description we received on the day of the race. (click on image to view the larger images)

The start of the race went well and all the participants pretty much stayed together as a group. I would say that this was the case for the entire coasteering leg. This is also my favourite leg, with the beautiful coast and jumping into the ocean. (you can see the jump in the video below). We did good time on this leg. The second leg was the Bike leg, this was particularly difficult as the area had a lot of rain in the week leading to the race making the ground quite muddy. There was also a fair bit of uphill, but the most challenging bit I found in the bike leg was trying to look at the map and where you are going as you’re cycling. There were a few teams which had clipboards mounted to their handlebars which would have made that task easier. The next leg after that was a run leg which went relatively well for us. This was followed by another bike leg then a Kayak before a short bike ride to the finish line.

Below’s a short video of the race.

It was a good first adventure race and we had a lot of fun. Special thanks to Brendan Tuck from VO2 Vitality and Samantha for getting me to do an adventure race. Who knows, maybe there might be another adventure race for me.

Don’t let the silly season ruin all your hard work and efforts over the last year!

Dietitian Anita Graham has come up with some tips to keep the kilos at bay…

Alcohol Fast Facts!!

• The festive season is associated with the highest amount of alcohol intake in Australia
• Each standard drink is the equivalent to eating 1 x apple or 1 x muesli bar or 1 x fun size mars bar in calories!
• 5 standard drinks are worth the equivalent of 2 main meals worth of calories!!
• Alcohol is not fattening, but is a rich source of calories which can lead to fat and weight gain
• 1 standard drink takes 30mins of jogging to burn off.

Hints over the Festive Season

• Always have a breakfast- this will keep you feeling satisfied for longer and limit your cravings for unhealthier options later in the day.
• Attending lots of social events? Tempted by the nibblies? Tend to over do it on the finger food and realise at the end of the night you’ve well and truly eaten a days worth of calories and still feel hungry? Try having a light meal before to stop you from over eating and help with all the temptations.
• Lots of chocolate, candy canes and high fat snacks around your work environment? These calories add up in the day and can really start tipping the scales. If you do indulge count them as a snack and don’t eat your usual snack in addition to the festive goodies.
• Make salad your friend!! Fill your plate up on salads they are low in calories, packed with nutrients and keep you feeling full for longer.

 Get Moving…

• Don’t be a couch potato!- Get out and enjoy the Summer weather while you have the time off
• Get out and play with the kids at a park, beach or backyard
• Go for walks with your visitors and guests- it doesn’t have to sweat defying effort- just MOVE MORE!
• Staying ACTIVE keeps the Kilos away!

Neat’s wishes all a very Merry Christmas and a healthy, safe & happy 2012!!

Vegetarianism is increasingly a way of life for many Australians for many wide and varied reasons. Whatever your reason (and all kudos to you!) make sure you try and do it right for your health’s sake. Following a vegetarian way of life can make you feel healthy, ‘clean,’ environmentally friendly and can often limit bloating that clients claim meat causes them. However, like anything that is restrictive there can be pitfalls. You may inadvertently be limiting your body of desired nutrients that are ordinarily sourced from meat and meat products.

Vegetarian Nutrients at Risk

Despite the healthy lifestyle and outlook that is Vegetarianism, it is important you are aware of nutrients you may be missing out by avoiding meat.

Nutrients to be mindful of:

• Iron
• Vitamin B12
• Zinc
• Calcium (particularly in vegan based diets)
• Protein
• Calories

The Healthy Eating Vegetarian Food Pyramid

Breads and cereals create the core of a veggo’s diet.

Its important to include the following food sources in your diet to prevent dietary deficiency which can lead to a ‘veggo’ feeling tired and lethargic with poor energy levels:

Iron ‘veggo’ sources

dried figs, prunes, prune juice and raisins, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and soybean nuts, navy beans, lentils, tofu, Iron-fortified cereals (i.e. Sanitarium Light ‘n Tasty). Don’t forget Vitamin C rich foods taken with iron sources boost the absorption, like a cup of orange juice- this is particularly important for those ‘veggos’ out there. vitamin B12 ‘veggo’ sources- eggs, yoghurt, milk, ice cream, Nutri-grain, Just Right, veggie burgers, textured vegetable protein (TVP). Also if you’re growing your own veggies, don’t rinse them off too thoroughly, as you’ll be rinsing off the vital microorganisms from the soil that are vitamin B12 producing. It’s worthwhile getting your iron and vitamin B12 checked annually by your GP if you are following a vegetarian diet.

Zinc ‘veggo’ sources

cooked dried beans, sea vegetables, fortified cereals, soy- based foods, nuts, peas, and seeds

Calcium rich foods

milk, fortified soy, rice milk, yoghurt, soy yoghurt, cheese- all cheeses but vary in their content of calcium, rice puddings- such as LeRice, custard

Protein rich ‘veggo’ options

dairy products- see calcium rich foods, TVP, quinoa, soy beans and soy products, nuts, legumes, lentils, veggie burgers, tofu. Veggo diets tend to be lower in protein due to the quantity of food needed to consume compared to 100g of meat. I.e. 100g red meat provides 23g protein, 100g quinoa provides 12g protein.’

Calories

often the veggie way of life is chosen as a way to restrict calories in one’s diet. This is fine, but when it is done in an unhealthy and uninformed way it can lead to macro and micronutrient deficiency as you are not providing enough calories to provide the minimal amount of nutrients for survival for your body. Eating a wide variety of foods- fruits and vegetables, breads and healthy grains, nuts, fats and dairy will help to achieve a healthy weight and lifestyle.

A Veggo’s Healthy Eating Plan

Below is a diet framework for someone wishing to maximise their vegetarian diet. It is a framework and gives structure and may not be suitable for certain levels of activity/exercise! If you are concerned about your diet or meeting your nutrients please feel free to email me- neat_graham@hotmail.com or visit an Accredited Practising Dietitian.

VARIETY IS THE KEY! Choose different coloured vegetables- this maximises the different vitamins you receive from these veggies, use lots of herbs and spices- make your meals exciting, tasty and interesting to eat, eat differently most days so you don’t get bored with your diet. If in doubt- try a daily multivitamin. You know what they say… “Variety is the spice of life!”

Wollongong 24 Hour Mega Swim

The Wollongong 24 Hour Mega Swim raises money for MS Australia’s Go For Gold scholarship program. This year we aim to fundraise $40,000 through team sponsorships and donations

Where: University of Wollongong Recreation & Aquatic Centre – Building 13, Northfields Ave, Wollongong NSW 2522

When: 12pm Saturday 3rd – 12pm Sunday 4th March 2012

Find out more at http://www.megaswim.com/enter-wollongong.asp