Well first and foremost big congratulations to everyone for their efforts over the past six weeks. The Challenge has finished and I am told the completion forms are streaming in from families right across the state.
I am proud to say I completed the Challenge on Friday afternoon, when I joined hundred’s of other community members at a working bee at the local Montrose Recreation Reserve. The Reserve is currently undergoing a major redevelopment and all the exercise I got out of painting and carting mulch was enough to notch up my 30th day.
As I returned home and crossed off the last block I couldn’t help but think that the Challenge wasn’t as difficult to complete as I had imagined. Of course there were mornings when I struggled to get out of bed, or evenings when I thought it would be much easier to stay on the couch than join Meagan at the pool but overall getting in just 30 minutes a day could be found through just a few small changes to our lifestyle.
At a forum of community sporting groups in Williamstown last night I said that the success of this Challenge will be the level of attitude change towards how easy it is to lead an active lifestyle. So my message is, while the Challenge has finished make sure you continue with the habits you have developed over the last six weeks - half an hour of exercise a day is all it takes.
Now I must encourage all participants to submit a completion form, because there are some terrific prizes up for grabs. Everyone who completed the Challenge will receive a certificate from the Premier and have their name listed in a souvenir lift out in the Herald-Sun. But that’s not all - families will also go into the draw to win:
- A family pass to the 2008 Toyota AFL Grand Final on Saturday 27 September (two adults and two children)
- One of ten Australian Football 150 Years Sherrin footballs signed by your favourite player
- One of six family memberships at the YMCA
- One of 40 $200 Rebel Sport
These certainly are fantastic incentives - although winning a football might cause more problems than it’s worth, in our house I know there would be a big battle over whether it’s a Lance Franklin signature (me) or one from Robert Harvey (Meagan).
Finally a big thank-you to the over 8,000 families and 28,000 participants who been part of the Premier’s Active Challenge over the past six weeks. For those that missed out it will return in 2009 and you can start training today, remember it only takes 30 minutes a day!
Well we are into the home stretch and I was quite surprised to yesterday realise we are into the last week of the Premiers Active Challenge. That’s right, this time next week thousands of families will have (hopefully) completed their formal 30 days, but will (again hopefully) continue on with the exercise pattens they have developed since we began back on the 9th of March.
I previously mentioned I was apprehensive about how much exercise I would be able to get in during last week’s sitting of Parliament but I am happy to report it went much better than expected and I have several young people to thank.
Firstly I began the week by doing an interview with the SYN FM Breakfast team; the same team which did their very first 30 minutes of the Challenge live on air. I thought the hosts may put me through the same treatment during our interview so to prepare I got the shoes on and went for an early morning walk. Thankfully the interview was conducted in the normal fashion, so my training was not necessary but it did add to my overall tally.
Then on Wednesday morning Sophie, who is now 10 months, beat the alarm by a full hour, waking up at 5am in need of some love and attention. Once Meagan and I settled her there was still another 45 minutes to pass before the alarm, so instead of going back to bed I hit the street again.
One thing I have learnt very quickly is that the mornings are getting much colder, back in March we began the Challenge in shorts and t-shirts, now it is tracksuit pants and jumpers.
I must also note that Meagan is more than making up for the times we can’t go as a family, continuing with her swimming and running. Actually I think she appreciates me not holding her back!
We now only have three boxes left to cross off before we have completed the Challenge, and I will post again as soon as it is achieved (I’m tipping it will be Friday).
Good luck to everyone for the final five days!
I managed to add another beautiful part of Victoria to my Challenge list this week, having set out for a walk along the Warrnambool foreshore just before daybreak on Wednesday. It was slightly damp, windy, and a little fresh but a great experience nevertheless.
I was in the south-west of the Victoria on a two-day trip making several announcements and it gave me the opportunity to visit close to a dozen of our local community sporting clubs who are priming themselves for another big winter of competition. The other benefit of the trip though was that I would have chalked up a couple of day’s worth of Challenge targets walking around so many footy grounds and recreational facilities!
I did look at the chart this morning and notice the Merlino’s had notched up 18 days, which obviously means to complete the Challenge we need only another 12 before April 20. I must say I am fairly confident we are going to get there, but before I put us completely over the line I should point out there are back-to-back Parliament Sitting Weeks over the next fortnight, and Parliament has been the one time I have struggled so far during the Challenge.
If any of you need any motivation you should look no further than some great new Challenge vodcasts that have been posted online. Comedian Julie Morris has given us her interesting take on fitness (not sure about her choice of shoe!), while our very own Go For Your Life team has some slightly more practical tips.
Good luck for the week ahead.
Easter was about two things: plenty of chocolate and plenty of walking.
Thanks Mary for your post (21/3), but I must admit the house was filled with eggs on Sunday, they were impossible to avoid given the weekend was spent at mum and dad’s in Tarwin Lower with extended families including plenty of little kids.
The beauty of Tarwin Lower though is that the region has so many great places to exercise and in perfect timing on Saturday I had the pleasure of being able to officially open the new Tarwin Lower - Venus Bay Walking Trail. It is a beautiful track that follows the Tarwin River before connecting into Venus Bay. And it was ideal for post-Easter exercise.
Every day over the break Meagan, Sophie and I (and various other motivated family members) managed to spend at least an hour walking. By the end of the weekend I can proudly say the amount of exercise done far outweighed the amount of eggs eaten. Although that fact didn’t stop Meagan, mum, my sister, and my sister-in-law all vowing that next year only kids get eggs. The men had no say in the decision at all!
Moving on, and after checking the calendar I have noticed we are already almost 20 days into the Challenge, or in other words we are nearly half way through! For those of you who are making the most of getting outdoors or using your free YMCA passes then keep up the good work – while for those that have started slowly there is still plenty of time to complete the Challenge, and Victoria looks beautiful in Autumn so make the most of it!
PS. Mary we did pull into Leongatha and were going to do the usual fish and chip stop, but in the spirit of the Challenge we dropped into a café on the main street for something slightly healthier. It all counts!
One of the great things about this Challenge is the way it has been embraced by so many families and individuals, many of whom are developing all sorts of novel ways to get their 30 minutes of activity in.
A great example of this was brought to my attention last week and involves a group of presenters on community radio station SYN FM. The station’s breakfast shift is hosted by three young people who have joined the thousands of us in taking up the Challenge, only the trio did their first 30 minute session while live on air.
They posted their great effort on YouTube and it should remind us that if they are able to get their 30 minutes done while hosting a live show, we should have no excuses!
On the family front this week brought fairly good results. It started strongly on Sunday with Meagan and I taking Sophie on her very first outing to the Melbourne Zoo. While Sophie didn’t quite know what to make of the elephants (we think she thought they were giant dogs!), the outing enabled us to get in well over an hour of walking.
The next morning, to the surprise of my staff, I arrived at work in my runners and shorts on having completed a 30 minute early morning walk around the Fitzroy and Treasury Gardens, while yesterday the family headed to the pool again.
While all this walking and swimming has been relatively trouble-free, my first real test came this morning (Thursday) when I joined Melbourne Vixens vice-captain Bianca Chatfield for 45 minutes of indoor rock climbing in the CBD. With the Vixens first game just weeks away (April 5) Bianca was in peak fitness, but I must admit my forearms and calves have been feeling fairly sore all afternoon!
Meagan, Sophie and I are spending a couple of days in South Gippsland over the Easter weekend, and with all the region’s beautiful parklands and walking trails I am tipping that the Merlino’s will have completed over one third of the Challenge when I post again!
Have a safe Easter.
So one week down, five to go and I can tell you it has already proved to be a bit of an effort finding the time to get the runners on and get active.
To be honest, with Parliament sitting Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I got the majority of my exercise done running between my office and the Chamber whenever a vote was taken on a piece of legislation.
(For those that don’t know, when it comes time to vote on a bill in Parliament MPs have exactly three minutes to get from wherever they are in the building to the Chamber before the doors are locked and the vote is taken.)
I did finish the week strongly as I was able to get in a good walk around Montrose this morning before work, and I have vowed to make up for lost ground this weekend. However with 36 degree days forecast that will probably mean back to the Kilsyth pool!
Thanks to those that are posting comments (including my niece Melissa!), it is great to see this Challenge has really taken off. And in response to CanineClub (posted 3/3/08) dogs are most welcome to be part of the Challenge, my Labrador Retriever Darcy joined me at 6.30 this morning.
Good luck to everyone for week two.
Ps. Don’t forget to always write down your daily activity. That way it is a lot easier to keep on track for the 30 minutes of exercise a day over 30 days.
The Premier’s Active Families Challenge has kicked off and it’s been a
solid start by the Merlino family, as I hope it has been for other
Victorian families taking the challenge.
Only a few days in and we’ve managed to get in a visit to the Kilsyth pool,
where my wife Meagan swam 14 laps (she has just joined a triathlon club)
and I splashed around with my daughter Sophie.
We’ve also made a concerted effort to go for walks as often as possible,
just around the local area pushing the pram - but that’s the great thing
about the 30-minute challenge, it all counts.
With Parliament sitting this week though, it’s going to be a real test to
try and get in some serious exercise.
The challenge has begun and more families are joining up every day, so keep
up and keep active!
My wife Meagan organises a walking group for mums and plays softball, so because she is already very active, she’s taken up the role of team leader to make sure we stay motivated even when we’re busy or feeling tired.
I’ll keep you posted on our progress and I look forward to hearing stories of how you and your family are tackling the Premier’s 30-minute Challenge!
