The rest of the training!

Weeks Left Day Walk Distance Time Grade
7 Saturday Bye (Renee's birthday) 30 cocktails, in 8hrs, done Easy
6 Sunday Start - CP3 35kms 7hrs Medium
5 Saturday CP2 - 4 25kms 6hrs Hard
5 Sunday CP4 - 7 30kms 6hrs Medium
4 Thursday CP5 - Finish 45kms 8hrs Medium
3 Thursday TBC TBC 6hrs Medium
2 Sunday CP8 - Finish 9.5kms 2hrs Hard
1 Sunday Start - CP1 12.5kms 2hrs Easy
Week before Sunday CP8 - Finish 9.5kms 2hrs Easy

An official "Bye"

An official "Bye" was confirmed by team members this weekend in honor of Renee's 30th birthday celebrations.

We don't have photos from the night (I find cocktails and cameras don't mix well)
...and we are hoping the poor unsuspecting patrons of Madame Brussels in the city remember to take out of their pockets the pieces of paper with the Moovette's Oxfam sponsorship details that were giving out through the night. Don't want them to go through the wash, we want them to be used.

To show you that we aren't slacking off we have pretty much confirmed the rest of our training schedule.

Looks monstrous. I have to admit, week seven was actually pretty hard... well the next morning was particularly difficult for the Moovettes.

Happy Trails!

It's time for tanty town!

"I think it's time for a tanty" Katherine cries as she looks up the "cliff" that is Hacketts Road, Olinda. It even says it is steep in the Melways. Since Perianda Gardens has been closed to walkers the trail has been re-routed to include the climb from hell.





Stats for Sunday, 17th February.

Practice #: Week 7 on the training board (5hrs HARD)
Location: CP2 (and a bit - Birdsland Reserve) to CP4 (Olinda)



Birdsland Reserve (between CP2 and CP3) to CP3 (Grant's Picnic Ground)



CP3 - CP4 (Grant's Picnic Ground to Olinda)

Distance: just under 20 km
Climbing: UP a total of 800 meters with one part being 200 meters in just over 1km. Hence the "tanty".

To put it into perspective... the image below is a comparison of the world's tallest buildings....

We walked up the equivalent of the tallest one on the left (Taipei 101 at 449 meters to the roof).... and we did it TWICE!




Walkers: 3.5 (Renee had only a couple of hours sleep so "she wasn't all there")
Conditions: Beautiful warm day, perfect walking in the shade, hot in the sun
Time: 4.5hrs
Speed: averaged 5 kms/hr which is huge for this stage
Fastest walker: Renee & Bridgo who powered up those hills
Slowest walker: An even tie between Bridge and "Tanty Time" Katherine
Topic of conv: How much walking up hurts and Renee's comments that going down hill doesn't make sense on this part of the trail... it just means more UP!

How we pulled up: EXCELLENT! The training works!

And to prove the magical board exists. The Bible for our training and "keep it in perspective" mechanism.

I'm a little tea pot!

It's official, Renee is nuts!

I am confident that the surest way to get any team through 100kms in less then 24 hours is to have a team looney! Someone a little kooky, manic and just plain good old fun.

Stats for Sunday 10th of February, 2008

Practice #: lost count, but on the training board it says 5hrs easy
Location: Warburton Trail
Distance: 28.5 km
Climbing: none, mostly involved climbing into the car at the end
Walkers: 4 (yay team)
Conditions: Beautiful fine day, perfect walking in the shade, slightly warm in the sun
Time: just over 4 hrs walking with total of 50mins in breaks
Speed: averaged a speedy 7+ kms/hr
Fastest walker: Renee aka Energizer Bunny
Slowest walker: Bridge (you aren't seriously thinking we need to average over 7kms an hour, my legs aren't long enough!)
Topic of conv: Renee's birthday present and how boring the Warburton trail is, how much easier it would be if we hid some bikes along side the trail and cursing the teams of runners cruising past us.


Click on Image to enlarge: We walked this!

How we pulled up: We now know the importance of understanding your feet and where you are prone to blisters. Legs are OK this morning... ask me again tomorrow.

Oh no, less than 9 weeks

It's serious now. We have less than 9 weeks to go before the real pain begins (really got to stop associating the walk with pain).

Three weeks ago Katherine made us acknowledge what is ahead and drew up our training program. (Thanks OXFAM for the program suggestions)


We have really started the serious training.... on the actual trail! (No more chucking laps around Princess Park and perving on the Carlton footy players!)

On the 27th of January we undertook the 9kms from Check Point (CP) 1 to CP2. It ended up being a few more kilometers then the planned 9 as vandals had destroyed the sign for Bell Bird Track and we had a slight detour. However we managed this section of the trail relatively easily.


Done! CP1 to CP2.

On the 3rd of February we took off from CP4 in Olinda to walk the 16.5kms to CP6 at Graham Colling Reserve, Mt Evelyn. On the elevation map this section looks primarily down hill... THEY LIED! I think the Moovettes have finally realized the undertaking they have in front of them. This includes the goat trail and ridiculous climb out of Mt Evelyn Reserve. It is where I envisage having my hissy fit. Residents in the surrounding area be warned, you may require ear plugs as I will be cursing my way up this cruel climb.


&

CP4 - CP6, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

I am wary of this weekends training walk.... 28.5kms along the Warburton Trail. It is the psychological factor of conquering only a quarter of the overall trailwalk and the fear of if you can't do this then you are in real trouble.

My team mates think I am overly anxious..... I call myself a realist!