Wanderlust 108

I did a triathlon last weekend! Well, not your typical triathlon. Wanderlust 108 is a mindful triathlon, advertised as "a field day for your mind, body and soul". Instead of the gruelling swim/bike/run of a traditional tri, Wanderlust is a 5K walk/run, 75 minutes of yoga, and a 30 minute guided meditation. When I heard about it I thought it was exactly up my street and my friend April agreed. I'm so glad we did, it was one of the best events I've participated in in a long time!

The event was held in Catani Gardens in St. Kilda. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, clear blue skies and 21 degrees... pretty good for Melbourne in May! Upon arriving at 9:30am I already felt that this was going to be completely different to any other event (run or triathlon) I've participated in in the past. First of all, this was a much more humane time to start an event (I can remember having to wake up at 4:30am for my first ever triathlon in England) and there was no stress at all getting everything in place for in time to start the run. Also, very importantly, the toilet queue didn't ever seem that long, and the toilets stayed clean ALL DAY which is much more than I can say for the state of toilets by the end of a running event!

Wanderlust, Catani Gardens

The 5K started at about 10am, and it was a very casual affair. No timers or kilometre markers here and absolutely zero competitiveness. There were lots of people with prams and young children and I kind of wished I had talked Andy into coming along, as this was totally something Ella could have been a part of too. Something to keep in mind for next year! My only criticism of the whole event was that the run/walk route was an out and back along Beach Road, but there were no road closures or anything so it was a bit crowded. But that is a very minor complaint.

April and me, about to start the run

Beautiful view of the bay for the run

Once we had finished the run we had time to check out the food stalls before the yoga class at 12pm. There were plenty of healthy options but of course April and I went for something a little more... delicious. These little Danish doughnut balls from Jamm'd with toppings like cookies and cream, and salted caramel, were delicious! We then went of the hunt for coffee but at first could only find a sample of a Turmeric Latte, which seems to be the health craze de jour. I liked it, it is a warm, spicy drink, but April wasn't a fan, and to be honest we both wanted a little caffeine. Thankfully there was a TOMS shoe stall (love!) with a coffee cart so we were saved. During this time there were Acro Yoga classes, slacklining and other things on offer but April and I registered too late for the event to get into any of them. There was a giant massage circle as well, which we did not participate in, but actually looked pretty cool.

Mmmmm doughnuts!

Yoga started at 12pm and was led by Michael James Wong and The Boys of Yoga, whose aim is to get more men involved in yoga. The yoga practice was both fun and challenging, and set to some pretty cool tunes. I definitely love yoga that is set to fun music, rather than the traditional music that most people would associate with yoga. Luckily the teachers at the studio I currently practice at, Kindred Movement, always have amazing playlists for our sessions. 

After yoga we were led into a 30 minute guided meditation by Jonni Pollard of 1 Giant Mind. I'm not sure what to say about this except that I was absolutely blown away by how powerful this was. I was left feeling not just clear-headed and relaxed, but ridiculously happy and grateful for both the day and my beautiful life. I also felt inspired to do something more for... who or what I'm not sure just yet... but just convinced that as I am so blessed in my life I should be doing something to give back. I also feel, more than ever, that it is my responsibility to help Ella become a kind and compassionate human, and that she will only be this if she sees the same traits in Andy and myself. I hope that we can raise her to be this way, and that this feeling does not wear off!

Andy and Ella met up with us and a few other friends after the event and we enjoyed lunch and a play in the park before heading home. It was a perfect day, and could only have been better if Andy and Ella had been there with me.