Pushing Limits and Raising Ceilings: A Journey to Bold and Brave Living

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Why I love pushing limits and raising ceilings!      

 

I believe we can change the way we think, act and feel. Life truly is ours for the taking, we just really really need to look deep down inside and say ‘Hell Yeah, Lets truly live the only chance we get’.

 

Pic: FOHER Co Ambassador Monique Bortoli Williams. Survivor & Adventurer being as bright and seen as possible!

 

For me, my adventure life started by choice, by learning to say yes to me and to taking charge of my life, not the one I was living, the one I truly wanted, the life that was calling me from the very depths of my soul, the scary one, living bold, brave and with a hell yes attitude. Yes to everything that I wanted, yes to the things I've always wanted to try and never had the confidence to do, yes to the really scary adventures that I dreamt of.

 

I cannot wait to see the lives we create when we start teaching ourselves to be bold and brave and that nothing is beyond our reach. Every goal big and small is our journey to take and I love it. I love seeing the amazing communities sport creates.

 

That’s my excited rant over! Now, back to my story.

 

I started my journey by deciding to take my life back after domestic violence and learning how to be confident again. For me this came through sport, hiking, exploring and meeting some amazing women in my community. 

 

As I became more and more confident the adventures grew and so did I. I stood taller, I smiled and laughed a lot more and the hurt started to fade. I chose to be a role model of survival for myself and for my children. This would not define us, but strangely it did but in a really positive way. As my confidence grew, I decided I would give back to the community that helped me and I started a series of adventures that I called 10 months, 10 challenges, $10000 to support my local domestic violence service in Port Stephens.

 

Pic: Monique rocking her GRL PWR Game Changers!

 

Over 2018 I did numerous ultra events, I competed in adventure races, I did a 60km Stand up paddle board, we kayaked, we hiked, it truly was a year of adventure and raising awareness about DV. It was about my story and my journey.  It’s difficult to explain, but it was hard to relive the emotional journey and speak about so much of my life, but the lives I’ve touched whilst doing that has made it worthwhile. I also met Ben, my now husband during what I call my year of healing. There are still people who tell me to this day, that they are inspired to help themselves after seeing my story and  I speak about love, life and adventure regularly on my facebook page.

 

Fast forward a few years, some awesome adventure races, a 100k trail run, events I thought were the pinnacle of my athletic adventures! But there was a race that kept burning my soul, still does to be honest. Only a few issues with said race. I couldn't swim well and road bikes scare the bejesus out of me. Lord knows why you would ride your bike  on the highway for training or swim in a public pool, gross! But Ultra Man in Noosa just kept popping up. Damn you social media 😊!! I knew that with my injury (I need a hip replacement ) the cutoffs just weren't in my favour, but I wanted those distances, and I wanted to be and Ultra Woman for my 50^thbirthday.

 

So I created my own version of Ultraman locally! I decided to support another community service that supports my family, Harbour Combat Sports who sponsor veterans, first responders and current service defence force members to manage mental and physical health through Jiujitsu programs. My husband Ben is a veteran and a sponsored athlete with Harbour and he gives us his all. He supports every crazy idea I have and helps me run with it.  

 

So with a home made ultra in mind, I dragged my 2 best friends along for the ride, well run, ride and swim. Both Juzzy and Leaf are also veterans and truly awesome people each with their own incredible stories to tell. More than 18 months preparation and training went into this crazy wild ride, for a chick that couldn't swim and if you saw me on the bike for the first time, you would have wet yourself laughing. You just can treat a road bike like a mountain bike they said! Well, roadies don’t really like that and neither do your bits. But by now I was way in over my head. Shit! Time to find a coach, game face on and lets really do this properly.

 

Pic: Monique during her Ultra training.

 

I was lucky I was able to work with a coach who knew I was raw, so undercooked, but knew we could make it happen. She believed in me from day 1 and she knew exactly when to push. Don't get me wrong I've done big stuff before, but this was huge for me. The more I trained, the more I wanted it. I had to make so much work to make this happen. We have 2 teenage boys still at home, I was working 2 sometimes 3 jobs and running my own business and generally just trying to keep my shit together all whilst dealing with menopause that threw every training rule out the window. I suffered a couple of bouts of pneumonia all amid the chaos of my husband and our family transitioning from defence force life to civilian. 

 

Ultra day came, and let me say it was one hell of a wild ride for sure!! And whilst it sounds crazy, there are more highlights than I will ever get to tell around the campfire. I will be writing a blog about the event itself when the time is right. There's so much to tell, but I’m going to end this blog on the following note. 

 

Pic: Monique in her FLUORO FOHER Co kit with Ultra Pal Leaf 

 

I hope my journey inspires others to truly live the life they love. Please be kind to yourself, chase down life with all that you have, set goals, truly live your life the way you want and enjoy the ride. Adventure is calling and I must Go. x Monique.