March 2009

Well we did it! The three Ultimate Walking Warriors teams (ICHI, NI, and SUN) completed the 2009 Melbourne OXFAM Trailwalker in about 35 hours. There were a few injuries, a lot of blisters and muscular aches, some tears, a lot of smiles and a sense of achievement.
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Last night my upcoming Black Belt grading became real. Ever since getting my brown belt (3rd kyu) the “big one” has been in the back of my mind, but far enough away to not worry. For the first three months of the year I’ve been able to psychologically avoid it by saying to myself “well if I’m not ready I don’t mind putting it off for six or twelve months”. Even last week when we had our pre-10-week-program grading, I went into it not fussed whether I got through or not. Getting the “you’re on track” from Shihan was a great confidence boost.
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I have been using a plugin (application) on my LinkedIn page that shows the books you’re currently reading (and have read). It’s been annoying my colleagues as every update to my booklist appears in their LinkedIn email digest.
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We’ve just had a huge Trailwalker-based weekend. Saturday night (14th) was our major fundraiser comprising Trivia Night and Silent Auction. Yesterday (15th) was our second-last training walk over the last leg of the course; CP8 over Mt Little Joe and back to the finish.
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The weekend just gone was due to be the pinnacle of our OXFAM Trailwalker training; walks on both Sat and Sun of about 40klms each. We had planned to use sections of the trail, but the fires put paid to that. So we opted for a few laps of climbing Mt Dandenong on the Saturday and about 40klms along the Dandenong Creek bike trail on Sunday.
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