A little summer weather

After being allowed to go for a short run this week, I finally went out this afternoon for about 15 minutes.  Earlier in the week my knee was acting up again (I swear it does that every time it rains), but I felt more comfortable about running on it today than I did when I considered it yesterday.  It was a clean run, but wasn't without a little twinging at times.

In an otherwise busy weekend I've attended the Little Athletics Christmas fun day (in the scorching heat - ok, it was the humidity that was the real problem), bottled our Canadian Pilsner brew, and caught up with some of the current/ex/soon-to-be-ex GBSTers for coffee (or in my case, iced chocolate as it was too hot for coffee).

And summer's finally kicked in.  There was no real breeze at my house today thus making it a little warm even with the windows open (although it was cooler than standing outside in the sun).  One consolation - it wasn't any cooler out by the coast either.  The sea breeze that usually appears out Cleveland way was sadly missing yesterday...  Am going to have to check out the pool at some point!

Weekend projects

Still sick of muscle stretching! Have probably done more of the "plie" stretch than the others because it's easier to do when I'm out and about; simply angle feet outwards slightly, turn legs out at the hip to align all the joints, and bend at the knee making sure to hold the alignment.

Anyway.... Sarah and I've arranged to fly down to Sydney to celebrate the new year before flying back early on NY Day (and sleeping!). Partly because accommodation in Sydney is impossible to find at a reasonable price this late in the year. If I can buy a dress, shoes and bag for less than my half of the room costs then the room is too expensive (particularly if I'm not going to be in it) and I'm better off keeping the cash for the aforementioned dress.

Bought more plants at Bunnings today in my latest attempt to prove that I must be able to keep a plant alive for more than a few weeks. Will see how that turns out, but for now I have a small garden to the side of my house with some strawberries and coriander. I also added a meshy barrier along the base of the fence (it's actually a gutter guard for which I paid about $2 / 8m rather than $30 / 6m for a "proper" garden barrier) to keep my nicer potting-mix infused dirt off my neighbours side of the fence.

Also started cleaning the BBQ (which I don't think my ex-tenant had ever cleaned) - will hook up some gas later in the week and switch it on for a while to try and kill all the good cleaning chemical germs and anything else I missed. It's still a little icky but tons better than it used to be. I'm sure one day I'll buy an actual BBQ, but when my parents take theirs back, I'm going to need to use the already installed version and I'd rather know that it's not covered in crap.

Can't run, can't walk...

I had my parents, Greg and Lisa over for dinner last night therefore had a "proper" dinner with actual courses: basic green salad (to kill time while waiting for mum and dad), pad thai, corned beef with vegetables, and cheesecake with cream and liqueur-soaked strawberries. As always, my favourite was the cheesecake. Surprise crowd favourite was the pad thai which, despite informing the boys that it contained tofu, went down an absolute treat.

I had another physio appointment this morning which basically reaffirmed my suspicion that we're going to work on my ability to turn my leg out from the hip in an effort to resolve the knee issues. So now I don't know how I should walk because the way I'm used to is wrong, and the correct way feels all kinds of uncoordinated. I'm hoping that I become more used to it because I have enough trouble concentrating on turning my legs outwards while walking; I have absolutely no chance of doing so while running (so it's just as well I've been advised against it for a while). I'm basically left feeling irritated that I can't run because of the niggling knee aching, and annoyed about re-learning how to walk. The only way I know how to fix that is to run or eat so I suppose it's just as well that I have half a cheesecake in my fridge!

I suspect I'm going to have to delay that half-marathon training program...

There's twisting, and then there's...?

Went to see a physio today for my recurring knee issue.  Apparently my knee hurts because when I walk / run the upper part of my leg twists in and the lower part twists out (I'm sure there's a technical term for this, but I didn't ask what it is).  Sure, it sounds odd (actually, it sounds like "knock-knee", although my knees don't look anything like those over-exaggerated demonstration pictures), but at least it's less scary sounding that ligament or cartilage damage...

The next work "conference" event is at New Farm Bowls; that's right, the dev centre is going barefoot bowling :)  A little reminiscent of the 2004 Christmas party, perhaps, but should be fun nonetheless.  Will have to remember to pack sunscreen and a hat given that last time we all ended up tipsy and sunburnt!

It's Always Won By A Brown Horse

Melbourne Cup Day today. I entered one of the office sweeps and my horse finished somewhere in the middle of the field (doesn't everyone's?), although I was informed that it's always a brown horse that wins (whatever). The winner was a very disputable shade of brown/clack/grey. Lunch was pretty decent though, and was followed up by some entertaining post-champagne-lunch foosball.

I spent pretty much all of today hacking codebase to move to a newer exception strategy. My original plan of a series of small changes pretty much fell through about ten minutes in when I realised just how many interdependencies we really have. It wasn't helped by the methods that are declared as throwing an exception without actually throwing it. Maybe tomorrow it'll all just work :)

Cars

Sill have a car I can't drive....

Last week while investigating / working on the firewall in my townhouse the contractors broke one of my roof tiles and it fell from the roof onto my car windscreen.  Sure, they're having it fixed, but it's not done yet and it's about day 5 of having no option but to use public transport or leech of other people.  The roof, on the other hand, is all fixed.

Apparently it'll be done tomorrow.  Initially I was expecting Friday (which didn't happen) and then today (which I've been advised won't be happening either).  I guess we'll see...

In the meantime I've been looking around at what kind of car I can buy to replace my current car once I (a) save up enough money, and (b) have removed all the boxes from my garage and can actually put a car inside.  Been reading about the Toyota Yaris today which is a smaller car than I have now from what I can tell but seeing as I don't drive a lot that doesn't seem like a hugely bad thing.  And my budget will buy a reasonably new vehicle rather than something nudging 8-10 years.

Vegetable Overload

Off to Thailand for two weeks tonight! Am still running around madly at the moment trying to find a spare battery for my camera (which for some reason appears to be out of stock just about everywhere both in and out of the city - although I've been informed that there are some in transit and with any luck they'll be unpacked by lunch today).

I'm really sick of vegetables at the moment too. After doing my usual pre-race carb loading late last week (and therefore eating less of the fruits/vegetables at home) I found myself 3 days ago with around 3 kilos of potatos, 1 kilo of carrots, 1 kilo of zucchini, half a cauliflower and two head of broccoli that needed to be eaten. Oh, and the 9 eggs. So for almost every meal since lunch on Sunday I've been eating nothing but vegetables. Tonight I'm finding meat (and will be perfectly happy with something like sausages on bread).

After the race on Sunday I dropped Mintie off at Greg/Lisa/Mum/Dad's place. Jasper, as expected, appears to consider him a new toy and will run from one side of the cage to the other to get closer to him. Or at least he did until we moved the cage off the floor. And Caddie just watched. I'm not sure if she didn't really care, or she's really just one of those deadly silent stalking types, but I'm sure they'll all have fun. The dogs took me for a few sprint sessions up and down the street (and for animals with really small legs they run pretty fast).

Women's 10k Classic

On Sunday morning I ran my first ever 10km race. This course did a loop around the City Botanic Gardens then headed out via the bikepath under the Expressway and parallel to Coronation Drive until the turnaround point at the Park Rd ramp.

At some stage, all parts of this course have been part of my training program: my short run often follows those paths along from the Gardens until either the Queen St or Ann St ramps, and my 12 km run goes from the Ann St ramp along the Coro Drive path. So perhaps that's why I didn't particularly seem all that excited about the course (although it's a lot easier to run it properly when there are other people around). Maybe it's just that I prefer to run on the other side of the river... Each to their own :)

My right knee had still been feeling a little twingy last week so I started slowly(ish) but found myself back into the pattern of staying with then passing people near me. By around the 3km mark (when the field had spread out) I found myself running with the same handful of people. The four or five of us alternated places for around the the next six kilometres - I think it was at around about the 4.5 kilometre mark that we were passed by the race leader running in the reverse direction (after the turnaround). For a while around about the 7 kilometre mark I had to continually tell myself that I wasn't allowed to stop and walk because tired (which I was) is not the same as in pain (which I wasn't).

At the marker signalling one kilometre to the end I increased by pace a little and didn't notice any of them follow so I focused on the person about 50 metres in front of me. When I caught up with her we both tried to out-pace each other over the next 400 metres or so, but after rounding one of the last corners (a few hundred metres from the end) she too slowed a little. I attempted to catch the next person in front of me, but didn't quite manage it before the finish line. I saw the clock counting down towards 52 minutes as I ran the last 50 metres but wasn't looking at the clock to see my time.

Official time was 51.57.18, and I placed 52nd overall (out of 285) and 16th in my age category (out of 70).

In hindsight I don't think I was quite in the mental space I needed to be in for the run - maybe it was that I didn't really know where the course was until just before the race. Or maybe it was just one of those days. In any case, I did still manage to run faster overall per kilometre than my B2B performance (which is a good thing) and finished well under by "realistic" goal of 55 minutes (despite being slower than by "ideal" goal of 50 minutes - oh well, something to aim for next year).

Happy Birthday To Me

A late afternoon invitation from Lisa meant I had dinner with the Keegan clan last night (minus Dad, plus Mum's parents) which probably beats my original plan of cooking my own roast dinner and cake. I don't know if corned beef actually counts as a roast, but it is a singular lump of meat and that's not all that comment in my house. And sure, I made the cake the day before but that's not the point. (I actually made two and took one to work. Apparently people seem to think there's a rule that says I'm not supposed to make my own birthday cake?) So yes, I had butter chicken and a whole myriad of cakes for dinner (because everyone made/brought cake - a cheesecake pavlova [Lisa], chocolate cake [me], sponge cake [Nanna]).

Mum's present is a swirly-type painting (ok, maybe swirly is the wrong word - it looks a little like flames if you hold it the right way) which will probably hang in the stairwell. It's pretty and orange-brown-like... and I don't describe artwork very well. Greg and Lisa gave me a one of those Lonely Planet books with lists of places to visit. Full of interesting trip planning ideas :)

What else? Met up with Mel after work (who gave me cooking stuff and a Thai phrasebook that I think I'm supposed to study). Thanks Mel! Jasper and Caddie (the dogs) were insane last night (I think it's all the people). Saw Bill and Betty's shiny new laptop. Filled in my tax return. All pretty normal stuff really :)

Kim And Nicole's Birthday Party

Kim and I both have birthdays in mid to late August so Saturday night we headed out for a joint birthday celebration. There were eight of us in total: Kim and Josh, Dennis and Jenesse, Mel, Dylan, Sarah and I. We met up for dinner at Campari's who were very accommodating in allowing us to order a banquet (despite them not really offering those anymore) and providing us with some fabulous Italian food: antipasto, pear and rocket salad, seafood risotto, beef and orrechiette, garlic bread and fettucine with salmon and dill in a vokda cream sauce.

We then moved to the outdoor tables for a few more drinks (long enough to make fun of what I think was a hen's night group with a girl who was really only wearing a shirt) before wandering around to West End. The Lychee Lounge (our intended destination) was packed so we wandered across the road to the Pavillion for one drink before heading back and snaring seats out the front. The Lychee Lounge loses part of it's appeal when it's so busy you can't move, and everytime I go there it's busier than the time before. Also note, the passionfruit vokda infusion is better than the toblerone one (which when mixed with milk doesn't really have any flavour).

Sarah, Dyland and Mel all left by about 11.30, and the rest of us only hung around for another 45 minutes or so. I ended up walking to the Myer Centre before realising the night buses don't leave from there, but seeing as I had about an hour to waste before the bus came I dawdled back to the Cultural Centre to wait with the other 50 or so people at the station.

Bridge To Brisbane 2007

I've been meaning to enter this for a few years and always got "too lazy" or just never got around to filling in the entry form, but decided to run it this year.

A few months back I had a plan of running the 12km in under one hour (well, I could do 6km in about 30 mins, how hard could it be to do 12km in an hour with all those months of training), but after my running training became more walking training (for the Kokoda Challenge) and I injured my knee (on KC) I kept telling myself to be content with jogging the whole course in about 90 mins.

So yesterday morning I got back into the routine of waking up well before dawn and attempting to force feed myself breakfast, and joined the other 30,000 people out on the course. Possibly the toughest part of yesterday was standing around at the foot of the Gateway Bridge waiting for the start.

It took me about a minute or so to get to the actual start line (trying to dodge walkers as I went), and the jog up the bridge was also fairly slow (again, dodging walkers - why there were so many up the front I don't know...). As a whole the speed picked up a little down the bridge and heading into the first water station (about the 2km mark), but I still felt like one in a mob of stampeding people for at least the next few kilometres. I don't remember much of the surrounds - once or twice I'd look over and think "hey, there's the river", but as a whole I spent most of my time looking for spaces and avoiding other people's feet. Also at one stage had to duck because the guy to my left decided to pose for a photographer by throwing his arms out. Thanks, mate.

Around the 7km marker (it was one of the few I noticed on the way) I felt as though the pace picked up a little (or perhaps I'd just run past more of the slower paced runners). I remember trailing near the pink pace runner (70mins?) and then just deciding to pick random people in front of me to catch up to.

Somewhere after we turned into Longland St I saw a sign that I thought said 2km to go (and having no sense of direction in this part of the city I believed it) and decided to just dig in an push my way to the finish. I don't know what that sign was actually for, but it wasn't a 2km to go marker because maybe a kilometre later I came across the 10km sign... By then everything was beginning to hurt (lungs mostly - I began to pay more attention to my breathing for the first time in a few kilometres) but I just stayed with the other runners and occasionally ducked through gaps when I found them. Those last few kilometres aren't wide enough for the number of people trying to crush through them at times!

But I eventually found the finish (actually, I made it to the funky "200m to go" arch and then realised I still had more to do.... sometimes it bites not wearing glasses when running :) ) - the clock showed 1.06.46 but I imagine I'll find out the official time sometime during the course of the week (1.03.34 is the official time). All in all it's a good run, and I'll definitely be back next year!

That Big Hill Is My Buddy - Kokoda Challenge 2007 (Team Vodka)

July 14 & 15 2007

Section 1: Mudgeeraba to Hinterland Leisure Trail, 3.5km (Cumulative Distance = 3.5km)
It was rather 'fresh' outside early on Saturday morning, but the nearly 700 people present were all fairly upbeat about the mammoth task ahead of them. Luckily the first 3.5km were fairly flat and consisted mostly paved footpath. We also had a police escort with flashing lights, which is always fun! The whole section ended up being fairly close to a single file procession (there wasn't a lot of overtaking - who really wants wet shoes from dewy grass this early on?) and it was impressive watching the huge line of people snake around various bends. We bounced past checkpoint one without stopping.

Section 2: Hinterland Leisure Trail to Mt Nimmel Lodge Ridgeline, 9km (Cumulative Distance = 12.5km)
Our first bushland section! This was a relatively comfortable off-road section despite a short, steep uphill and a longer more moderate uphill. The section boasted a few firsts: Dennis and Jenesse's first use of the hiking poles for the day, Jenesse's first knee issue for the day, Mel and my first bushland pee-stop for the day. We were also passed by Mal Meniga's (sp) team in this section - and so ended my unofficial quest to beat them! Nevertheless a clearing at the top of the second ascent afforded a good view of the Gold Coast before we headed back down via a fairly gradual hill towards the first major checkpoint and our support crew. Matt and John had carried all our supplies (and some recently purchased items at the request of various team members) to the checkpoint and were there, video camera in hand, to welcome us to the checkpoint. Excellent work guys!

Section 3: Mt Nimmel Lodge / Tallowwood Rd, 3km (Cumulative Distance = 15.5km)
This section was almost entirely road (both sealed and unsealed), mostly flat, and presented few difficulties except for having to watch for vehicular traffic. It was fairly uneventful, but also not very taxing (and therefore has to be labelled a "good" section). We breezed right past the checkpoint without any care (although there was raiding of a lolly jar by some team members).

Section 4: Mudgeeraba State Forest / Austinville Rd, 6km (Cumulative Distance = 21.5km)
After cruising past the checkpoint 3 tables we encountered what would be out first truly energy-sapping incline of the day in the Mudgeeraba State Forest. From the profile of the course we were given I knew that there was a hill here, but it looked shorter on paper! This section also boasts one of my least favourite downhill sections, which of course would have nothing to do with the fact that this is the one downhill I fell on (twice) but all was well because the nutella and 100s & 1000s sandwich in my hand (mostly) survived. All hail the ten second rule!

Later in the day I would discover that this downhill had played havoc with my knees, but for the time being my main concern was to avoid sliding down uncontrollably on the dusty trail. At one stage Mel and I even followed another team through the bushland alongside the trail in order to hold onto the trees, but once at the bottom it was a simple matter of following Austinville Rd for a few kilometres through welcoming, cool, rainforest surrounds to the checkpoint where we broke for lunch.

Section 5: Mt Nimmel Rd / Hinterland Centenary Trail / Polly's Country Kitchen, 15km (Cumulative Distance = 36.5km)
Another team had issued us with a warning about the hills from the previous section after they heard we'd not practiced this part of the course. They also warned us about Fairview Mountain at the start of this section. To those people (whoever they are) I say "good call". Fairview Mountain is one of my other least favourite uphills mostly because it, like all the other nasty hills, was long and steep. But pretty much everyone around us was struggling with the ascent. After Mel and I made it to the top we had a tiny breather while we waited for Dennis and Jenesse. While we were waiting we ran into Whitey and the guys from "Everest Sucked" who informed us they'd passed Dennis and Jenesse on the way up. After they appeared at the top we taunted Whitey for a moment with talk of our support crew finding us takeaway later in the day before his team scampered off and we never saw them again. Yeah, you might have won this time guys, but don't worry, we'll be ready for a rematch!

After the hill it was all fairly cruisy for a while as we followed the ridgeline - there were a few small variations, but it was mostly flat ground until we exited the forest onto Mt Nimmel Rd and began walking down along the bitumen road. I'm glad it was bitumen; I was having issues with my knees after the earlier downhill work (which was odd - I've never had issues in training) and despite the surface being harder on the feet than grass or dirt, I could spend less effort keeping my feet in place and more focus on taking the weight off my knees where possible. It took me longer to walk down the hill than it did everyone else, but I was able to make up some ground and catch up to my team when it began to flatten off and move back into undulating tracks.

Having not practiced this section I assumed that once we moved off the bitumen road that we'd be fairly close to the checkpoint, but apparently we still had at least 5 km to go. This section was mentally draining for all of us because it just seemed to go on forever, particularly when we reached a checkpoint 4a only to realise there was another 3 km to go. The last 3 km was through some scenic surrounds and would have made a nice afternoon walk, but all we really wanted was to reach the end. We all perked up a little after receiving a message from our support crew asking if we'd like coffee and/or sausages (would we ever!), and even another creek crossing (which I attempted barefoot in the freezing, cold water) couldn't deter us from bounding to the checkpoint and the tens of enthusiastic support crews in the area. As promised, coffee and sausages were procured and consumed as we rummaged for the night gear we'd need for the next leg.

Section 6: Polly's Country Kitchen / Numinbah State Forest / Environmental Centre, 7km (Cumulative Distance = 43.5km)
After leaving the checkpoint we stopped for another random bathroom break giving us enough time to realise Jenesse's torch was fairly dim. But the crisis was averted after much searching when spare batteries were located. This leg of our journey consisted of the one of the nastiest sections of the trek, but having practiced it previously it didn't seem as bad second time around. Much as we did in practice, we tackled the ascent by stopping to catch our breath on the occasional flat ground. Something that surprised me was that we were passed by a team that didn't have torches - it must have been hard to see in the dark as there was no moonlight for assistance, and even with a torch the difference was noticeable. It was also difficult to find the pink ribbons that marked our way along the course in the darkness, and I found it more helpful to just look for the torchlights of other teams in the area.

Once we reached the top (and admired the lights in the distance) it was time to tackle the downhill. We took it slowly; this descent was steeper than what we encountered in section 5, I was still having trouble with my knees and the trail was a lot more worn away from all the trekkers than it was during our practice. We passed another team with one member in a lot more pain than all of us along the way, but eventually all made our own way back to flat ground. Once at the base of the hill there was only a small distance to cover before we came across the next checkpoint (where I was confused by some glowsticks that looked like an arrow but apparently weren't) and found our support crew. Matt and John had setup chairs and had hot water waiting for our soup, noodles and coffee requests. A job well done! I also finally gave in and followed Mel's advice to take something to lessen the knee pain.

Section 7: Environmental Centre / Waterfall Creek, 4.5km (Cumulative Distance = 48km)
As we were preparing to check out of the checkpoint we were asked if we minded travelling with two people from another team (Rodney and JT from "The Lion Park Trekkers") who were on their own. We decided this would be ok, and we therefore started this section by expanding our team from four to six people.

This section is almost entirely flat, the defining feature being the seven (or was that eight?) creek crossings. Having practiced this several weeks earlier after some rainfall we were prepared for any hazardous crossings, however with little or no rainfall recently the creek levels had significantly dropped since our last visit and now required next to no effort to cross. Aside from the one girly-screaming moment as a spider walked across our path, there were few problems in this section and we cruised into checkpoint seven.

Section 8: Waterfall Creek / Environmental Centre, 5.5km (Cumulative Distance = 53.5km)
This section began with a slight disagreement over whether we should break before heading up the short but steep hill, with one side suggesting we take a 10-20 minute break before continuing on and the other maintaining it was too cold to stop. In the end we stayed long enough for several of our party to visit the bathroom and then kept moving, all six of us making our own way up the hill and resting when needed. Once we reached the top there was a short downhill section on a slippery, dusty trail before we hurdled a fence and landed on Chester Road.

Our group began to break up a little at this point; Jenesse was experiencing some issues and progressively slowing, Dennis staying with her, and one of our additions, JT, was beginning to feel a little under the weather (having been ill earlier in the week and a combination of the night air and distance travelled not helping). At intervals Rodney, Mel and I would wait for them and check on their progress, but it was cold and we'd usually try and find a sheltered spot to wait.

About halfway through the section there was a small argument over whether we should all be travelling at the same speed as the person at the back (in this case it was Jenesse). Given that I'd just spent the a while attempting to be the midpoint between those in front and those at the back (and failing because most of the time I couldn't see either group) I still stand by my opinion that I was tired, cold, and sick of being told that I wasn't waiting for those at the back. (By the way, apologies to Rodney and JT - at no point was I referring to you guys, and you shouldn't have had to put up with our dummy spitting anyway). In the end the argument went nowhere and we continued as we had done before - roughly two groups of three meeting up every so often. My torch batteries were beginning to fail, and the painkillers beginning to wear off so all I wanted was to get back to the checkpoint. But along the way I spent some time trying to come up with some kind of solution to our pacing issues.

It was around 1.30 am when we finally made it back to the checkpoint (yay - bathroom, coffee, ibuprofen and batteries). We had another argument based around two questions: is everyone physically and mentally able to finish, and if so, are they going to make it to the line in under 39 hours. I was feeling a little better on painkillers and was keen to keep moving, feeling that I'd made it halfway and wasn't prepared to stop now. Mel seemed to be in pretty good shape - injury free and still somewhat perky despite it being cold and nearly 24 hours since she'd woken up. Jenesse was in some pain (although also on painkillers) fairly well strapped up and adamant that she could continue. Dennis seemed confident that he was ok. Given that we had 42.5 km to travel and just over 18 hours in which to do so, and that it'd taken us around 18 hours so far (travelling fairly quickly at the beginning but progressively slowing down to just over 2km/hr) I do still stand by asking people if they considered it achievable. But everyone declared themselves up to the task and we checked out of the Environmental Centre a little before 2am after being fitted for some very stylish orange reflective vests.

Section 9: Environmental Centre / Syd Duncan Park, 12.5km (Cumulative Distance = 66km)
This section starts by walking along the main road for about 5 km (in bright orange reflective traffic vests - making covert road-side bathroom breaks an interesting experience). We proceeded to walk past the gate we were supposed to enter (because "the GPS says it's around the corner") but backtracked when we realised we'd gone to far (sorry Rodney - you were obviously telling the wrong people that it was the correct gate). Just beyond the gate was another 4WD trail up a hill, and we stopped at the bottom momentarily as JT was beginning to appear unwell again and Jenesse declared she just couldn't do it (what happened to the insistence of an hour ago I don't know). But eventually we began the ascent: Rodney, Mel and I attempting to walk slowly up the hill, but apparently not slowly enough for everyone else as we continually found ourselves waiting and trying to shelter ourselves from the cold winds blowing over the hill. I discovered that crouching into a ball reduced my surface area and helped a little.

During this leg JT's condition began to deteriorate to the point that he was vomiting on the side of the trail (and declaring himself to feel warm despite the conditions). We suggested sending two people ahead to bring back assistance but he insisted he could finish the section. Jenesse was also slowing in pace and it began to be difficult to everyone to walk within the same small area. Nevertheless we all managed to meander along a road, a grassy "avenue", and through someone's backyard (encountering great views of the Gold Coast in lights) before tackling one last hill and making it to Syd Duncan Park.

Section 10: Syd Duncan Park / Belliss Rd, 7.5km (Cumulative Distance = 73.5km)
We lost three people at the Syd Duncan checkpoint: JT retired from illness (he was still sitting wrapped up in the checkpoint tent when we left) and Dennis and Jenesse pulled out from injuries (and hitched a ride with our support crew). Just before 7am Rodney, Mel and I scooted quickly out of the checkpoint, eager to warm up and keen to make up some ground. Not having practiced the infamous Hellfire Pass, I was expecting this section to hurt. The first few kilometres, however, were along bitumen road and in the first hour after sunrise provided a nice warmup. Reaching another mini checkpoint we handed back out not-so-stylish reflective jackets and entered the trail for the Hellfire Pass.

Rodney had advised Mel and I that it might be easier to jog parts of the downhill depending on the slope. He was pretty much spot on with that advice. The downhill was broken up into 20-50m sections with small "speedbumps" allowing us to both walk and jog the downhill. Rodney, having practiced this section previously showed little fear in tackling the descent. Mel and I trailed marginally behind until we had completed most of the downhill. I have no doubt that this section was much easier for us in daylight than it would have been for the teams just a few hours ahead of us in the dark. The downhill was most punishing on our toes and soles of our feet, but we could practically see the finish and weren't prepared to stop now because of some pain. Rounding a corner we found checkpoint 10 and greeted the people (who were chatting in a circle - obviously not expecting us) by cheering ourselves towards the line.

Section 11: Belliss Rd to Nerang State Forest, 5km (Cumulative Distance = 78.5km)
As far as hills go in the Challenge, Mt Morgan was almost baby-like. "And," I scoffed, "it can't be worse than Barney". While that was true, the ascent was still steep. It was during the ascent that we encountered (and passed) the first team we'd seen in about six hours.

The descent into checkpoint 11 was a long sloping walk through fields of cows before returning to suburbia and the checkpoint. The biggest surprise for me was that the checkpoint (the last of the support-crew stops) was full of other teams. I don't know where they'd been all night, but apparently we'd made up some ground and it gave us a much-needed burst of energy.

Section 12: Nerang State Forest, 5km (Cumulative Distance = 83.5km)
Having passed through Nerang State Forest once on a practice and once for the mini-Kokoda I knew that we'd make it to the end now that we were here. Rodney kept insisting it was a boring section, but little could diminish my enthusiasm as we set out as there were other teams within sight - passing one maybe 15 minutes in. But given that this section was only 5km, it seemed to drag on forever as we'd continually wonder if the mega-hill preceding the last checkpoint was around the next corner. And it never, ever was (well, obviously it was at some point, but it took forever to get there!). But eventually we did find the hill, and we made it to the checkpoint (passing yet another team on the way up) where we ate some of the provided fruit before moving on.

Section 13: Nerang State Forest to Finish Line, 12.5km (Cumulative Distance = 96km)
From this checkpoint to the finish the course is reasonably flat (compared to the rest of the terrain) and we were able to settle into a walking pace that didn't involve too much thought, didn't completely kill us but allowed us to make up some ground. Being pretty tired and sore the common thought was that once we finished we'd be able to take off our shoes and sit down. We began to spot more teams along the way and passed another 5 or so teams as we plodded along. Plenty of other teams had knee and muscle issues as we'd seen in our own team.

Eventually we began to come across the signs indicating out progress towards the finish line - 8km, 6km, 4km, 2km and 1km - and it seemed to take an absolute eternity between each marker. Every so often we'd see something in the distance and think it was another marker when it wasn't. I also began to see tree stumps out of the corner of my eye and think that they looked like puppies (and occasionally people). But we finally came to the 1km marker and headed back down the last section of Nerang State Forest and out across the road to the Velodrome.

We'd requested that our support crew use the pom-poms Mel had provided them with, and as we approached the finish line they didn't disappoint. Both Matt and John were bouncing around on the side of the road. I have vague memories of cheering back at them, but my memory is pretty hazy. I've been told I was skipping at the end and I don't remember that. I do remember a large bunch of people with cameras (I'm pretty sure most of them were Rodney's team and support crew), and I remember person at the finish line asking me to try signing something (which proved difficult with swollen fingers!). The three of us were then presented with our Challenge dog tags and we were finally able to sit down!


Thank Yous
Given that the Challenge was a mammoth undertaking I'd like to congratulate all of my team (Mel, Dennis and Jenesse) for their efforts both during training and over the weekend, and the other teams on the course (including our travelling companions Rodney and JT) for putting up with us! And a huuuge thanks to our fabulous support crew Matt and John! And to Monica (who had to withdraw as support crew at the last minute) - thanks for volunteering and for being brave enough to come out on some of our training sessions.

I'd also like to say thanks to everyone who donated money to the Kokoda Challenge Youth Program by sponsoring us to enter this. We all really appreciated it.

There are plenty of other people I've not mentioned specifically - those who came to see us finish, all the people at the checkpoints, everyone who checked we were still alive and able to move on the Monday following - but thank you to you as well.