Hi All!
Well...it's all over! We did it! 100km in 24hrs 45mins.
It wasn't exactly your average walk in the park, in fact there were some very challenging moments...in the dark....freezing cold.....across quite rough terrain......and up and down hills........... BUT, I don't think any of us would have missed a moment of it!
The weather was perfect - sunny with some gentle breezes during the day, and fine yet crisp through the night. Our support team was absolutely fantastic...in fact we can't thank Kevin and Sam and Jan and Polisi enough for the wonderful job that they did for us. It's not an easy job, being the support crew. It's freezing cold during the night. There's heaps of waiting around. Your walkers can sometimes throw you with strange requests! BUT our team were amazing! Always happy, positive and encouraging, with loads of hugs, sustenance and awesome care. We couldn't have done it without them!
Just a few of the highlights and lower points to give you a brief insight into the event as it was for us. The event started with a hiss and a roar, after a wonerful karakia for protection and waiata from the local tangata whenua. Unfortunately for us a minor technical hitch with Brent and his beloved GPS caused our initial gameplan to go awry. We were keeping to our supposed 5kph (according to the GPS) but were being passed by members of 'over-eaters anonymous' and 'age concern' which became a source of major frustration particulalry for those of us with a somewhat competitive spirit. Thankfully this was remedied at our first checkpoint and things improved immensley over the rest of the course.
The scenery was absolutely spectacular! Our course took us over the Huka Falls (not bound or in a barrel thanx!!), through the Craters of the Lake, over rugged farmlands and through forest and native bush. We are very fortunate to live in such a beautiful country with no fear of poisonous snakes, spiders or other nasties!!
We started passing other teams (or in our terms 'collecting scalps') in the second leg and set our target at a modest 50. By the time we had completed our 24hrs and 45mins we had collected a total of 146 scalps - I think I'd call that a highlight!
Leg 3, was probably the most fun with Rambo (Rames) at the front for the first time ever. He put on such a burst of pace and amused us with his antics so completely that we knocked a full 30mins off our estimated time, charging past teams in front of us with his trademark 'Beep!Beep!' and cheeky grin! The downside of this being that we caught our support team 'on the hop' and arrived at the checkpoint before them. The wait time allowed Brent to 'cool his heels' so to speak in the chilling waters of the Lake, which proved to be most therapeutic in more ways than one!!
From here on (approx 6pm) it was all in darkness till the final few hours. With headlamps and ALL of our thermal gear on for the below zero temperatures, (and looking extremely attractive!), we navigated the next 5 legs of the course.
Interestingly, and after much 'contemplation' our resident 'mountain goat' Kathryn, came to the emphatic conclusion that she no longer liked hills in any way shape or form. This was re-iterated over the course of the remaining legs in quite colourful detail to all and any who would listen, much to the amusement of the rest of the team.
At one point after crossing the Huka Falls for a second time we were welcomed into the checkpoint by a group of young maori lads performing a rousing haka. We had just emerged from the bush when they started and it was an amazinlgy moving occassion, in low light, with their breath coming out in clouds of steam - awesome stuff.
We were amazed to see the number of single walkers or pairs on the track, particularly after the longest leg of 19kms, where they had been left behind by their team members. We felt that it was majorly important for morale (and safety) for us to remain together as the 'fab four' throughout and this proved to be a strength. The terrain covered in the darkness of the night was not gentle in any way. These legs, although generally shorter, had some of the most challenging climbs and downhills, on ground that was rutted by animal tracks and erosion, making the opportunity for injury, particularly by the light of only a headlamp, remarkably high.
There were many competitiors that we passed, who looked like the walking wounded, definitely the worse for wear, be it blisters, sprains, or gorse prickles in their bottoms from unfortunate toileting experiences in the dark (true story).
For me personally however, the last leg was the toughest. 'Someone' or 'Sometwo' - (who shall remain nameless but are not female) decided that it would be decidedly possible for us to break 25hours if we ploughed on at breakneck speeds towards the end!! Determined not to limp despite my one and only heel blister (about the size of a golf ball!) and with Kathryn just about blue in the face from 'holding on' as we passed a number of public toilets, we barrelled our way towards the finish, still collecting scalps. One of the said scalps was heard to cry 'where the hell did they come from?!' as we sped past in our customary, cheery manner.
To say that crossing the line was a 'relief' was probably an understatement (particularly for Kathryn - Ha! Ain't those portaloos grand!!) and also somewhat emotional. I'd have to admit to holding back the tears on seeing the face of my brother and the other supporters as we came down to the finish. We actually crossed the line in 24hrs 45mins (and I've seen the pictures to prove it!), but it took another few minutes to hug everyone and then realise that we hadn't yet checked in so our official time on the Oxfam website is 24hrs 48mins.
All this elation at finishing was perfectly topped off by the wonderful Baz and Jude, who had driven all the way down from Auckland to meet us at the end of the trailwalk and cook us all up the most wonderful breakfast of eggs, bacon, fried potato and sausages to go with our celebratory beverages. Sam got his guitar out and we sang a few numbers to add to the festivities. A suitably awesome finish to an awesome event.
You may well think that this would be the end of the excitement......but no! On the way back home in our luxurious campervan we stopped in at the BP in Kawerau. Brent, Rames and i were sound asleep in the back when all of a sudden we were jerked awake by the campervan coming to an abrupt halt. Next thing this complete stranger popped her head up over the back and said 'did you know you were moving!!' The campervan's handbrake was faulty and the van was in such a hurry to get home that it had started rolling away off the forecourt towards the buildings, all by itself while the rest of us slept blissfully unuaware in the back!! The woman who saved us had also competed in the Oxfam and had apparently sprinted across the forecourt , opened the door and managed to get her hand on the foot brake. The funniest thing however was the look on Kevin's face from inside the shop as he tried to work out why the hell that woman was parking his truck there!!! Ha!
As teams go...i'd have to say i couldn't have picked a better one (support team and Baz and Jude included). We had a very happy, positive energy, which made for a great overall experience.
Injuries - 0, blisters - 1, aches and pains - countless, enjoyment of the experience - priceless!
Photos to folllow thanks to the wonderful Polisi who ensured we were all 'smiling for the camera'.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
no more training ........ just 3 days to go!!!
Kia ora koutou! We are well and truly on the downward slope to the start line now - only 3 days to go and the excitement in the air is palpable! The whole team including our wonderful support crew met for a meal together on Good Friday to iron out the last bits of admin and our final training walk was a jaunty 25km on Easter Sunday. All of us have now invested in Nordic Poles, which may make you look like a bit of a dork when striding about the streets of Auckland but certainly make a huge difference in reducing the strain on leg joints! I have been religiously doing my stretching and strengthening exercises for a strained calf/achilles and the progress made has been good - last physio appointment on Friday morning.
We expect to leave Auckland about 1pm and (thanks to Kathryn) have a place to stay at 5mile Bay on arrival in Taupo. Registrations and briefings close at 9pm on Friday night so we should be there well before that. Our start time is at 7am on Saturday morning, the second wave of starters.
Sincere thanks to all of those people who have sponsored us already - it's a fabulous cause and we really appreciate your support. For those of you who have been thinking about it, it's not too late! We have raised 72% of our total so far, thats about $1800, but still need another $700 to make the total required.
If you would like to folllow our progress during the trailwalk, we have signed up to use TWACK with which we can send SMS messages from our mobiles to our Oxfam page. So to see where we are just logon to the Oxfam Trailwalker HOME page (http://www.oxfam.org.nz/oxfam_trailwalker/) and enter LOOSE COVERZ (with a Z not an S) in the space on the left hand side where it says 'FIND A TEAM'
For any of you who may have had a 'windfall' of late or just be feeling mighty generous, we also have about $1300 worth of costs in vehicle hirage, petrol etc. If this sounds like you, please send your donations to 03-0228-0315180-000 and if you would put your name in the particulars and OXFAM in the reference we woudl be most grateful.
AND THEN.........no, it's OK, I'm not going to ask for any else, other than your prayers and good wishes for our team on the day!
Arohanui
'the team'
PS - if you get the Central Leader there's an article about our team on page 2, Friday 2nd April.
PPS - Don't forget to circle April 24th on your calendars for our 100km celebration party!!!
We expect to leave Auckland about 1pm and (thanks to Kathryn) have a place to stay at 5mile Bay on arrival in Taupo. Registrations and briefings close at 9pm on Friday night so we should be there well before that. Our start time is at 7am on Saturday morning, the second wave of starters.
Sincere thanks to all of those people who have sponsored us already - it's a fabulous cause and we really appreciate your support. For those of you who have been thinking about it, it's not too late! We have raised 72% of our total so far, thats about $1800, but still need another $700 to make the total required.
If you would like to folllow our progress during the trailwalk, we have signed up to use TWACK with which we can send SMS messages from our mobiles to our Oxfam page. So to see where we are just logon to the Oxfam Trailwalker HOME page (http://www.oxfam.org.nz/oxfam_trailwalker/) and enter LOOSE COVERZ (with a Z not an S) in the space on the left hand side where it says 'FIND A TEAM'
For any of you who may have had a 'windfall' of late or just be feeling mighty generous, we also have about $1300 worth of costs in vehicle hirage, petrol etc. If this sounds like you, please send your donations to 03-0228-0315180-000 and if you would put your name in the particulars and OXFAM in the reference we woudl be most grateful.
AND THEN.........no, it's OK, I'm not going to ask for any else, other than your prayers and good wishes for our team on the day!
Arohanui
'the team'
PS - if you get the Central Leader there's an article about our team on page 2, Friday 2nd April.
PPS - Don't forget to circle April 24th on your calendars for our 100km celebration party!!!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Long time no hear! ONLY 15 days to go! Yeeha!
Alas.....i have been remiss and bloggeth not for thine viewing pleasures these past two weeks!
No excuses - just the same old same old!
As you can all see from the title, time is flying by, catapaulting us toward the 'big day'!
We have not....as you might be thinking......been sitting around contemplating our navels. Brent and I were observed (but not by many) taking to the Hillary Trail from Arataki to Karekare. This was a gruelling 10hrs / 39kms of rugged trails. We started at 4.30am with headlamps on through to the Huia dam, then on to Whatipu. At one point we climbed from sea level to 400metres above in 30 mins - parts of the track were very steep and slippery, and very little flat ground. BUT...the scenery was spectacular (we are so fortunate to live in such a beautiful country) and as Hillary himself would have said....'we knocked the b**tard off!' While we were doing this...fear not, the other musketeers where not dormant. Rames was competing in a dragonboat racing competition, and Kathryn (bless her little tigery socks!) did a 40km walk solo around the Auckland volcanoes!!!
Last weekend we were all back together again as the 'awesome foursome' for a 30km trot down to Mission Bay and back - the highlight of which was my very traumatic toilet experience, which caused great mirth amongst my three 'friends?'!. Dying for a pee, I had looked forward to reaching the public toilets at Victoria Park and was relieved to arrive and find that only one of them was occupied. Gaily chatting and smiling with that wonderful sense of relief at finally being able to let go, I opened the door and started in, only to be confronted by a large brown naked body - male. In very exaggerated terms, the noise I (apparently) let out was something akin to a seagull in full voice, as I leapt back out like a scalded cat! My heart didn't stop pounding however until many kilometers were placed between me and my 'David', and I strangely lost the urge to pee!
Only two weeks to go now - it's all very exciting/terrifying! No major injuries - just the odd calf muscle strain, joint creakiness and tender feet, which is a major blessing! So far we have reached 60% of our sponsorship target, so...if you were planning on making a donation...now would be a really great time to do so. :-) Many thanks again to all of you who have donated so far via the web page, and also to all of those who have left encouraging messages and supportive comments - all much appreciated.
Here endeth this week's missive.
Love, light and peace!
No excuses - just the same old same old!
As you can all see from the title, time is flying by, catapaulting us toward the 'big day'!
We have not....as you might be thinking......been sitting around contemplating our navels. Brent and I were observed (but not by many) taking to the Hillary Trail from Arataki to Karekare. This was a gruelling 10hrs / 39kms of rugged trails. We started at 4.30am with headlamps on through to the Huia dam, then on to Whatipu. At one point we climbed from sea level to 400metres above in 30 mins - parts of the track were very steep and slippery, and very little flat ground. BUT...the scenery was spectacular (we are so fortunate to live in such a beautiful country) and as Hillary himself would have said....'we knocked the b**tard off!' While we were doing this...fear not, the other musketeers where not dormant. Rames was competing in a dragonboat racing competition, and Kathryn (bless her little tigery socks!) did a 40km walk solo around the Auckland volcanoes!!!
Last weekend we were all back together again as the 'awesome foursome' for a 30km trot down to Mission Bay and back - the highlight of which was my very traumatic toilet experience, which caused great mirth amongst my three 'friends?'!. Dying for a pee, I had looked forward to reaching the public toilets at Victoria Park and was relieved to arrive and find that only one of them was occupied. Gaily chatting and smiling with that wonderful sense of relief at finally being able to let go, I opened the door and started in, only to be confronted by a large brown naked body - male. In very exaggerated terms, the noise I (apparently) let out was something akin to a seagull in full voice, as I leapt back out like a scalded cat! My heart didn't stop pounding however until many kilometers were placed between me and my 'David', and I strangely lost the urge to pee!
Only two weeks to go now - it's all very exciting/terrifying! No major injuries - just the odd calf muscle strain, joint creakiness and tender feet, which is a major blessing! So far we have reached 60% of our sponsorship target, so...if you were planning on making a donation...now would be a really great time to do so. :-) Many thanks again to all of you who have donated so far via the web page, and also to all of those who have left encouraging messages and supportive comments - all much appreciated.
Here endeth this week's missive.
Love, light and peace!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Just 31 days........that's one month, to go!!
Kia ora folks! Another week closer and training is still going well.
This weekend found us trekking up and down the 7 volcanoes again, but in the heat of the day this time - just for the heck of it!! Well, actually it was just me and 'the boys' - Kathryn had a better offer of a weekend away with friends, so who could blame her. We started in full sun, singlets, hats, blistering heat, but by the time we reached One Tree Hill, we were being soaked as it bucketed down huge raindrops. Here began the first lesson of the day - be prepared!
Fortunately Brent had thought to bring the lambs wool as I was trialling the 'two pairs of socks' theory. By the time my feet were wet from the rain, this theory was well and truly defunct so I was very thankful for the wool on my feet for the rest of the journey and thankfully suffered no further foot trouble. Unfortunately, I had not thought to put any other clothing in my pack and was feeling the chill, or rather, not feeling my fingertips before too long. The inclement weather however did not last too long and we were soon in bright sunshine again. The entire route was about 27km this time around as we 'needed' to take a detour/shortcut home via Eden Park to find out the cricket score (not good at the time either!). We kept an average speed of 5.8kph over the distance, with the highest elevation being 200m above sea level. Thank goodness for Brent's fab new GPS so that we can report back with all of these wonderful statistics.
This next bit is a request for assistance.
In order for us to get to Taupo and for our support group to be able to follow us to checkpoints we have hired a campervan. If there is anyone who would like to make a contribution directly to help us out with the cost of that, we would be very appreciative. OR anyone who knows of a place where we could park up for the night in Taupo on the Friday night 9.April), before we start, we would also be very grateful to hear from you.
Please feel free to leave comments on this blog at any time. You just put the cursor over the bit where it says (0 comments) and click. Atext box should come up that you can type into. Have a go - even if it's just to say hi!
Huge thanks again to all of those who have made a donation via our page or left a message/comment in support - it is a very humbling experience - thank you.
You can check out our progress on the following link, and also check out on the Oxfam Trailwalk page the different sorts of things the money you donate will be used for.
http://www.oxfam.org.nz/events/teams.asp?a=show_team_pages&eventid=24&teamid=4064 .
Well team, it's good night from me, and it's goodnight from him (indoors - aka Brent!)
Ka kite ano :-)
This weekend found us trekking up and down the 7 volcanoes again, but in the heat of the day this time - just for the heck of it!! Well, actually it was just me and 'the boys' - Kathryn had a better offer of a weekend away with friends, so who could blame her. We started in full sun, singlets, hats, blistering heat, but by the time we reached One Tree Hill, we were being soaked as it bucketed down huge raindrops. Here began the first lesson of the day - be prepared!
Fortunately Brent had thought to bring the lambs wool as I was trialling the 'two pairs of socks' theory. By the time my feet were wet from the rain, this theory was well and truly defunct so I was very thankful for the wool on my feet for the rest of the journey and thankfully suffered no further foot trouble. Unfortunately, I had not thought to put any other clothing in my pack and was feeling the chill, or rather, not feeling my fingertips before too long. The inclement weather however did not last too long and we were soon in bright sunshine again. The entire route was about 27km this time around as we 'needed' to take a detour/shortcut home via Eden Park to find out the cricket score (not good at the time either!). We kept an average speed of 5.8kph over the distance, with the highest elevation being 200m above sea level. Thank goodness for Brent's fab new GPS so that we can report back with all of these wonderful statistics.
This next bit is a request for assistance.
In order for us to get to Taupo and for our support group to be able to follow us to checkpoints we have hired a campervan. If there is anyone who would like to make a contribution directly to help us out with the cost of that, we would be very appreciative. OR anyone who knows of a place where we could park up for the night in Taupo on the Friday night 9.April), before we start, we would also be very grateful to hear from you.
Please feel free to leave comments on this blog at any time. You just put the cursor over the bit where it says (0 comments) and click. Atext box should come up that you can type into. Have a go - even if it's just to say hi!
Huge thanks again to all of those who have made a donation via our page or left a message/comment in support - it is a very humbling experience - thank you.
You can check out our progress on the following link, and also check out on the Oxfam Trailwalk page the different sorts of things the money you donate will be used for.
http://www.oxfam.org.nz/
Well team, it's good night from me, and it's goodnight from him (indoors - aka Brent!)
Ka kite ano :-)
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Shock Horror! - only 38 days to go!!!
Kia Ora! Yes......I'm late again - work is definitely getting in the way of my life!Ha! Had an excellent outing on Saturday morning - just under 30kms at an average speed of 6km/hr ... not bad considering that Rames is still recovering from surgery, and Brent from his latest outing with the 'Huia Bush Runners' on Thursday evening, which left his quads and hamstrings screaming on the hills! Kathryn (aka the Mountain Goat) set a cracking pace from the outset, taking on the Bullock Track, uphill at breakneck speed! I've seen her again already this week and she has some very sexy new trail shoes with plenty of grip for the off-road AND glow-in-the-dark laces, so I hate to think how fast she'll be now - we may have to put a governor on her! :)
We had a brilliant suggestion from the lovely Ellie ter Haar to wrap our feet in lambswool to prevent blisters, which we tried on Saturday, with great success. We are all sold on this idea, so huge thanks to Ellie for the benefit of her experience doing this same trailwalk last year!!
We had our first 'meeting'of the team and support crew over a bbq on Sunday night and managed to sort out a few things, like who would be bringing the Rum and whether they could fit in a quick nine holes while they were waiting for us.(Don't fancy our chances!! Ha!) No...Our support crew actually looks really fabulous of course and are already well onto making their prep in readiness for April! The support crew are Kathryn's husband Polisi and her friend Jan (she obviously feels she needs lots of support! ...... just joking Kathryn, yeah, I know I need to change my attitude! :), my brother Kevin, and Brent's son Sam....an awesome crew!(photos to follow).
We have had an awesome response from friends and family in support of this madness and once again we'd like to send out a big thanks for your contributions and words of encouragment!
Here's the link again if you missed it last week......................
http://www.oxfam.org.nz/events/teams.asp?a=show_team_pages&eventid=24&teamid=4064 .
Don't forget to keep the 24th April free for our 'post torture' celebration.
That's all for now folks - Have a great week further!
Ka kite ano.
We had a brilliant suggestion from the lovely Ellie ter Haar to wrap our feet in lambswool to prevent blisters, which we tried on Saturday, with great success. We are all sold on this idea, so huge thanks to Ellie for the benefit of her experience doing this same trailwalk last year!!
We had our first 'meeting'of the team and support crew over a bbq on Sunday night and managed to sort out a few things, like who would be bringing the Rum and whether they could fit in a quick nine holes while they were waiting for us.(Don't fancy our chances!! Ha!) No...Our support crew actually looks really fabulous of course and are already well onto making their prep in readiness for April! The support crew are Kathryn's husband Polisi and her friend Jan (she obviously feels she needs lots of support! ...... just joking Kathryn, yeah, I know I need to change my attitude! :), my brother Kevin, and Brent's son Sam....an awesome crew!(photos to follow).
We have had an awesome response from friends and family in support of this madness and once again we'd like to send out a big thanks for your contributions and words of encouragment!
Here's the link again if you missed it last week......................
http://www.oxfam.org.nz/
Don't forget to keep the 24th April free for our 'post torture' celebration.
That's all for now folks - Have a great week further!
Ka kite ano.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Week 6 - 45 days, 10 hours, 41mins (or so...) to go!
The blog's a bit late this week I'm afraid - it has been a bit of a hectic weekend! We saw an amazing talent from Malaysia - Bala, on Friday night, went to a delicious banquet to celebrate Chinese New Year with the Singaporean Club, courtesy of our wonderful neighbours, Matthew and Irene Ng, entertained the crowd at the Auckland 'Relay For Life' at Ericsson Stadium on Sunday morning and still had time to tramp around the Waitakere Ranges for just over 6 hours on Saturday!
We started Saturday's excursion with a hearty breakfast of porridge at 6am, then headed out to the Waitakeres. Entering at Exhibition Drive, we headed up the Pipeline track then the Summit track to the Upper Nihotupu Dam. From here we hit Christies track which proved to be somewhat more challenging than it appeared on the map!! The gorgeous Kathryn was severely handicapped through this section by her gripless shoes, which saw her performing some quite outstanding acrobatics, with spectacular landings. These daring feats had her poised, balanced on the edge of a precipice, landing rear-end first in mud and even losing her hat, all on separate occassions. Brent was engrossed in the workings of his new handheld GPS, which at one point had us doubling back, retracing steps........just a few minor teething problems!? The scenery was spectacular, the terrain challenging at times and the company, as always, was of the highest callibre! We then covered the Lower Huia Dam, the Parau track to the Lower Nihotupu Dam and the Huia Road back to Exhibition Drive and the car.
There were a few minor injuries as a result of the terrain - scratches and cuts to legs and heads, a strain in the top of my foot, and a couple of blisters due to having wet feet after fording a stream, but all in all a good test of stamina and teamwork. The thing I really like about this bunch though is that only minutes after we had completed this endeavour they are all planning next weeks excursion over coffee - 'what do you reckon, shall we just do 30km next week?' That's awesome stuff guys!!!
I know this is a long one and blogs are supposed to be short but......a big THANKS again to those of you who have deposited funds via our Oxfam page - much appreciated, especially the nice wee messages!
(this is the link: http://www.oxfam.org.nz/events/teams.asp?a=show_team_pages&eventid=24&teamid=4064 . )
..............ALSO you probably all wonder what we talk about as we trudge about this city for hours on end......well, lately it's been all about our celebration party at the end of all this, so stay posted for more details, and keep Saturday 24th April free! TTFN :)
We started Saturday's excursion with a hearty breakfast of porridge at 6am, then headed out to the Waitakeres. Entering at Exhibition Drive, we headed up the Pipeline track then the Summit track to the Upper Nihotupu Dam. From here we hit Christies track which proved to be somewhat more challenging than it appeared on the map!! The gorgeous Kathryn was severely handicapped through this section by her gripless shoes, which saw her performing some quite outstanding acrobatics, with spectacular landings. These daring feats had her poised, balanced on the edge of a precipice, landing rear-end first in mud and even losing her hat, all on separate occassions. Brent was engrossed in the workings of his new handheld GPS, which at one point had us doubling back, retracing steps........just a few minor teething problems!? The scenery was spectacular, the terrain challenging at times and the company, as always, was of the highest callibre! We then covered the Lower Huia Dam, the Parau track to the Lower Nihotupu Dam and the Huia Road back to Exhibition Drive and the car.
There were a few minor injuries as a result of the terrain - scratches and cuts to legs and heads, a strain in the top of my foot, and a couple of blisters due to having wet feet after fording a stream, but all in all a good test of stamina and teamwork. The thing I really like about this bunch though is that only minutes after we had completed this endeavour they are all planning next weeks excursion over coffee - 'what do you reckon, shall we just do 30km next week?' That's awesome stuff guys!!!
I know this is a long one and blogs are supposed to be short but......a big THANKS again to those of you who have deposited funds via our Oxfam page - much appreciated, especially the nice wee messages!
(this is the link: http://www.oxfam.org.nz/
..............ALSO you probably all wonder what we talk about as we trudge about this city for hours on end......well, lately it's been all about our celebration party at the end of all this, so stay posted for more details, and keep Saturday 24th April free! TTFN :)
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Week 5 - 53 days to go!
Who needs drugs to get a high!! Today Brent, Kathryn and I acheived our own dopamine induced "runners high" after completing just over 30kms in the rain, covering not 5....but 7 of Auckland's volcanoes! It must have been quite disconcerting for the other patrons of this small Pt. Chevalier Cafe to see three appearingly sane, but somewhat smelly adults in fits of uncontrollable giggles over.......well, who knows what it was about!!
Despite having completed almost this distance before, today was something of a challenge walking for 5 hours in wet feet, up and down said volcanoes, resulting in 3 x sore bums, 6 x aching feet, 1 x sore toe and a blister!
Many thanks to those of you who have made donations onto our official 'Loose Covers' (that's our team name) Oxfam webpage. The link for this is in last weeks post and here again if you missed it
http://www.oxfam.org.nz/events/teams.asp?a=show_team_pages&eventid=24&teamid=4064 .
It's very cool....when you make a donation, we get an email telling us this has happened, your name goes on the webpage and our donations thermometer total goes up - just awesome! This makes all of our hard work seem worthwhile! :)
Despite having completed almost this distance before, today was something of a challenge walking for 5 hours in wet feet, up and down said volcanoes, resulting in 3 x sore bums, 6 x aching feet, 1 x sore toe and a blister!
Many thanks to those of you who have made donations onto our official 'Loose Covers' (that's our team name) Oxfam webpage. The link for this is in last weeks post and here again if you missed it
http://www.oxfam.org.nz/
It's very cool....when you make a donation, we get an email telling us this has happened, your name goes on the webpage and our donations thermometer total goes up - just awesome! This makes all of our hard work seem worthwhile! :)
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Week 4 - 60 days to go!
What a great week! The extra holiday on Anniversary Day, Monday allowed for Brent and I to slip in another quick 19km trot up Maungawhau and Owairaka. Hoorah! It was an excellent chance to try out our new 'Skins' compression gear which worked remarkably well! We have clocked up another 64kms this week, the highlight of which was a 21km night walk at Stillwater organised by the Oxfam people on Saturday night. This was the first time that our whole 'team' of 4, has been out together and it was an excellent test of how well we went on off-road tracks and in darkness. We completed the 21kms in 4hrs and were mostly still feeling pretty chipper at the end. All of us enjoyed the 'off-road' stuff, the scenery was beautiful and we managed to pick up some excellent tips for the 100km event, both from the organisers and those who had done it before (-yes...I know, you all think we are mad doing it once, BUT there are people out there who are doing it for their third or fourth time!)
I forgot to tell you all last week that Brent and I played our first 'gig' for Oxfam at the Tuakau Tavern and as well as collecting our fee that went straight to Oxfam, the Bar Manager also passed the hat around at the end of the night for further donations to the tune of $64.40. What an awesome gift - we were stoked!
We have been thrilled by the response we have had from friends and family to sponsor us in this endeavour and support Oxfam.
Just a little reminder of why we are doing this;
Oxfam go into areas immediately after disaster strikes and firstly restores water and sanitation.
You can help Oxfam right now by donating directly through our webpage on the following link
http://www.oxfam.org.nz/events/teams.asp?a=show_team_pages&eventid=24&teamid=4064
In the top right hand corner click on the
'Make a Difference DONATE NOW' button
You will be emailed a tax deductible receipt and these donations will show up against our team name - Loose Coverz.
That's all from us for this week. Coming soon to this blog space.....the support team strategy meeting; tackling the 70km Hillary track and dealing with all of those blisters and injury niggles that creep in as the mileage increases........I don't know about you, but I can hardly wait!!! :)
p.s. don't forget to check out the new pictures of Kathryn (as promised!) and the team doing our night walk (aren't those headlamps we are wearing impressive!!)
I forgot to tell you all last week that Brent and I played our first 'gig' for Oxfam at the Tuakau Tavern and as well as collecting our fee that went straight to Oxfam, the Bar Manager also passed the hat around at the end of the night for further donations to the tune of $64.40. What an awesome gift - we were stoked!
We have been thrilled by the response we have had from friends and family to sponsor us in this endeavour and support Oxfam.
Just a little reminder of why we are doing this;
Oxfam go into areas immediately after disaster strikes and firstly restores water and sanitation.
You can help Oxfam right now by donating directly through our webpage on the following link
http://www.oxfam.org.nz/
In the top right hand corner click on the
'Make a Difference DONATE NOW' button
You will be emailed a tax deductible receipt and these donations will show up against our team name - Loose Coverz.
That's all from us for this week. Coming soon to this blog space.....the support team strategy meeting; tackling the 70km Hillary track and dealing with all of those blisters and injury niggles that creep in as the mileage increases........I don't know about you, but I can hardly wait!!! :)
p.s. don't forget to check out the new pictures of Kathryn (as promised!) and the team doing our night walk (aren't those headlamps we are wearing impressive!!)
Monday, February 1, 2010
WEEK 3 - 67 Days to go!
Thanks to all those who have responded either as followers or by email to this madness we are involved in! Much appreciated! This week clocked up 70km in our quest for fitness and we have welcomed a new member, Kathryn Sandford, into our team. We have seen Kathryn on Owairaka since we started walking up there each morning and have exchanged pleasantries. She has a wonderfully warm personality and positive outlook which is what drew us to her. So, last week, after our usual greetings I said to Brent - what about that lady? Kathryn obviously has a great sense of adventure, because I'm sure that the majority of us women would have turned and fled at the sight of a sweaty bald man running after them yelling and waving his arms. instead she stoppped and came back, and unlike countless others did not immediately balk at the sound of 100km. We exchanged numbers and were to phone her the following day after providing her with the website to go check out this walk. On catching up with Kathryn the following morning we were thrilled to hear that she was keen - in fact a defininte yes!! It wasn't till our planned Saturday morning 30km hike that we found out 'the rest of the story'. Kathryn had been at friends on the Friday night telling them about this Oxfam Trailwalker that she had agreed to take part in as a team - you know 25km each. When her friends started laughing she had no idea what was so funny until they told her that she had in fact signed up to do the full 100km. At this point, poor Kathyrn was gob-smacked, slack-jawed and in definite need of at least one, if not more, stiff drinks! To her credit - she turned up on Saturday and completed the 30km with ease, no aches, pains or stiffness - AWESOME! (photo of Kathryn to follow).
We are now 'fully registered' for the TrailWalker and are required to fundraise at least $2500 before April 10th to support Oxfam. To those people who have already pledged financial support a huge thank you. AND if there are any others out there who would like to make a financial contribution of any size to this very worthy cause we would be most grateful. Please either leave a comment on the blog with your contact details or email us direct on bb.xian@gmail.com or brentonrice@gmail.com. All donations are tax deductable and are not required until the end of March 2010. Have a great week further. Catch you on Sunday with next weeks update. Bless ya! :)
We are now 'fully registered' for the TrailWalker and are required to fundraise at least $2500 before April 10th to support Oxfam. To those people who have already pledged financial support a huge thank you. AND if there are any others out there who would like to make a financial contribution of any size to this very worthy cause we would be most grateful. Please either leave a comment on the blog with your contact details or email us direct on bb.xian@gmail.com or brentonrice@gmail.com. All donations are tax deductable and are not required until the end of March 2010. Have a great week further. Catch you on Sunday with next weeks update. Bless ya! :)
Sunday, January 24, 2010
WEEK 2
A days rest after the Waiheke ordeal, we were back in training early Monday morning with a quick jaunt up Mt Albert, easing out those screaming muscles and trying to remind them just who is the boss of these bodies!! Tuesday followed with a longer trail - 15km up to Great Nth Road, on to the summit of Mt Eden and back home via Pt Chev shops for a well deserved coffee (not sure if this is part of the recommended nutritional guidelines for this training ... but hey?!). Wednesday was another light day, back up Mt Albert and by this time the bodies were finally starting to feel almost normal again. Thursday brought its own interesting challenges - we had decided to start painting the outside of our house, but the weather had turned somewhat changeable, so we spent most of the day up and down scaffolding and ladders, dodging showers. Being very aware of our leg muscles by this time, it became extremely obvious just how many leg muscles are used to balance atop said scaffolds and ladders. Then at 5pm we headed off to Huia to join the 'Huia Bush Runners' for our first outing with them into the Waitakeres. The run started with a gruelling uphill on Exhibition drive, leaving me questioning my own sanity, never mind Brent's. Then it was up and over the fence and into the bush, over roots and trees, through the mud and finally out into a clearing. From here the track took us along the old train tracks, through a tunnel then onto the Hillary track. The upper part of this track had been recently upgraded and was nicely gravelled, however this soon petered out to become aptly named 'the Slip'. Running totally out of control down steep, muddy, uneven tracks certainly gets the adrenalin going, but did nothing for my beautiful new pink and black trail shoes which came out the other end looking more like bumper boats than high end sports shoes!! - edged in at least 5cm of mud all round, The rest of the run/walk was on gravel roads, past awesome scenery, up and down for what Stuart informed us was approx 5km round trip. All in all a rather pleasant hour in the bush. Friday morning we were back to Mt Albert summit and home via the coffee shop (if this coffee thing isn't part of the training diet, I strongly suggest that it should be!). Our local coffe shop is 'Trinity of Silver' in Mt Albert, and the lovely owners Prabhakar and Estella, have kindly agreed to be our first sponsors on our Trailwalk - Thank you! Awesome stuff!
Saturday dawned and it was time for a bit more distance. I had been checking out a few destinations and mapping them on 'MapMyRun' (an quick, easy to use tool if you are training for something or just to see how far you are moving - check out the link in our favourites). We finally decided on a warmup walk/run to Onehunga Basin (Beachcroft Ave) - which was just over 9km, follwed by the Coast to Coast Walkway from the Manukau to the Waitemata - another 15km, making a total of 24kms. The weather to start was somewhat cool, with intermittent showers, however we were setting such a scorching pace that the rain dried off instantly - yeah right! (You can check out the walkway on the Auckland City Website - see the coast2coast link in our favourites.) This time we were prepared with more 'on-the go'-type snacks and of course plenty of water. Things on the leg front went suprisingly well, however this time I was plagued with stomach issues, which ensued in regular and somewhat hasty 'pit-stops' at various public facilities! So, if you ever need to know where to locate a public toilet in Auckland - just ask me!!! Today is a rest day - aaaaaaaaagh! Time for much needed R & R, and to reflect on where to from here. As far as fund raising goes, Brent & I, are planning to do some busking - at the very least we figure people will pay us to stop playing if they don't like it OR alternatively, offer up their donations to hear more and support Oxfam.
Our team 'Loose Coverz' is to be made up of 4 people. At present we are being joined by our good friend Ramesh, and are still looking for our 4th team member. Any takers??? If you feel that this is you, please contact us asap by email or text or phone. We need to confirm our team by Wednesday 27th January, so ..... rattle your daggs!
Saturday dawned and it was time for a bit more distance. I had been checking out a few destinations and mapping them on 'MapMyRun' (an quick, easy to use tool if you are training for something or just to see how far you are moving - check out the link in our favourites). We finally decided on a warmup walk/run to Onehunga Basin (Beachcroft Ave) - which was just over 9km, follwed by the Coast to Coast Walkway from the Manukau to the Waitemata - another 15km, making a total of 24kms. The weather to start was somewhat cool, with intermittent showers, however we were setting such a scorching pace that the rain dried off instantly - yeah right! (You can check out the walkway on the Auckland City Website - see the coast2coast link in our favourites.) This time we were prepared with more 'on-the go'-type snacks and of course plenty of water. Things on the leg front went suprisingly well, however this time I was plagued with stomach issues, which ensued in regular and somewhat hasty 'pit-stops' at various public facilities! So, if you ever need to know where to locate a public toilet in Auckland - just ask me!!! Today is a rest day - aaaaaaaaagh! Time for much needed R & R, and to reflect on where to from here. As far as fund raising goes, Brent & I, are planning to do some busking - at the very least we figure people will pay us to stop playing if they don't like it OR alternatively, offer up their donations to hear more and support Oxfam.
Our team 'Loose Coverz' is to be made up of 4 people. At present we are being joined by our good friend Ramesh, and are still looking for our 4th team member. Any takers??? If you feel that this is you, please contact us asap by email or text or phone. We need to confirm our team by Wednesday 27th January, so ..... rattle your daggs!
THE PREPARATION BEGINS
As is our way......we jumped into our preparation at the deep end, going from a 5km morning walk to a 25km hike across Waiheke - the Wharf2Wharf (16.01.10). We caught the ferry from downtown Auckland at 6:45 to Orapiu, and by 8:30am we were off on our way to Matiatia wharf 'a pied'. The first 13km to Palm Beach were reasonably pleasant with the excitement of a beautiful day, some interesting company and great scenery making the up hill and down dale terrain quite bearable. From this point on however certain parts of our anatomy were reminding us of thier existence and demonstrating their dislike of this prolonged exertion. We kept up a steady 6km/hr pace however right to the end, despite the last 5km being the longest that I have ever travelled. From Matiatia wharf we hobbled onto a ferry home 3hrs55mins after leaving Orapiu. By the time we arrived in Downtown Auckland we were both almost seized up in our seats and very aware of the fact that we had some SERIOUS training to do before we would be able to complete 100km!! For the next few days we 'winced' about the house, even something as ordinary as getting on and off a chair became an event of epic proportions.
What we have learnt from this:
1. Preparation is everything!
2. Having a spa helps soothe aching muscles
3. Make sure you take snacks that you can eat while you walk. (We had scroggin, muesli bars, and lots of water which were great energy boosters along the way but we could have done with some more as by the time we got back to Auckland we were ravenous!)
4. We need to put some serious mileage behind us before we will be ready - Oxfam suggests about 75km a week at this stage going up to 100km before the big day - APRIL 10th!!!
What we have learnt from this:
1. Preparation is everything!
2. Having a spa helps soothe aching muscles
3. Make sure you take snacks that you can eat while you walk. (We had scroggin, muesli bars, and lots of water which were great energy boosters along the way but we could have done with some more as by the time we got back to Auckland we were ravenous!)
4. We need to put some serious mileage behind us before we will be ready - Oxfam suggests about 75km a week at this stage going up to 100km before the big day - APRIL 10th!!!
Friday, January 22, 2010
SMALL BEGINNINGS
Once we moved to our new house in Mt Albert, Brent and I started a daily tradition, walking to the top of Mt Albert and back. I don't know how it came about but from this small beginning, and our desire to 'pay it forward' we found ourselves registered to complete the Oxfam Trailwalk - 100km in 36hrs. (for more info see the Oxfam Trailwalker Link on our list of favourite sites). This blog will be a record of our training, trials and tribulations and eventual completion of said task. As well as the physical side of this endeavour, each team is required to fundraise for Oxfam to the tune of at least $2500, however the more money we are able to raise the better. Oxfam are very visible wherever there is help required after a major tragedy such as the recent Tsunami in Samoa and the Earthquake in Haiti. So... this is a majorly good cause to be supporting; a chance for us to test ourselves, physically and mentally and for you all to share vicariously through our blog and hopefully this will inspire you to become involved yourselves or just get moving!
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