Eat. Sleep. Work. Train.

Returning from a week away on Monday I was met with my training program for this week and very quickly decided these 4 words would dictate the next three months of my life.

It is 3 months, 12 weeks or 89 days until I start walking across the Simpson Desert, and yet it doesn’t seem that long ago that I was travelling along the Capricorn Highway where I came up with the idea. It would be an understatement to say that a lot has happened since then, but I think I’ll stick with it anyway and say that a lot has happened since then. I am not sure where the time has gone, but I distinctly remember writing about how nervous I became when Michael wrote “considering you only have 6 months to go”. I am quite certain that he has realised this and as such has altered my training program to suit.

Generally I am quite self-motivated which considering my trainer lives around 1600km away is certainly a benefit in this situation. I did recently realise however that even living this far away there are some things that you can’t get away with. After the fundraiser in Adelaide the other night I woke up with a burning pain on the outside of my thigh and found it to be extremely sensitive to even the lightest touch. Not wanting to admit there and then that I knew what the problem was, I had planned on seeing it through until I got home and could rectify the situation myself without having to tell Michael I’d been skimping on one tiny little part of the training. However, when a physio turned up on the doorstep I couldn’t pass up the opportunity and enlisted his help to massage the tendon that runs from the hip to the knee. If, like I was, you are thinking ‘I never knew that existed’, then this can be the one thing you learn today. It is called your ITB (and from my grade 12 Phys. Ed class I’m thinking that stands for something like Illiotibial Band), and it can cause pure hell if given half a chance. I’m told this is quite a common problem for middle distance runners, however I am yet to figure out how a 435km walk fits in with middle distance running. Anyway, while the physio got to work he tried to ask me questions and talk to me about this and that, but unfortunately my eyesight was disappearing while tears started to well in my eyes from the pain, and as such left me in no mood to converse about daily life.

Previously I referred to skimping on a tiny part of training but as it turns out it’s not such a tiny part. In order to stretch this part of the body, you lie on your side with a relatively hard foam roller underneath your leg and proceed to roll over it. When the tendon is stretched this exercise should be relatively pain free (however this is only an assumption as I have never managed to complete it pain free). In my experience this exercise pretty much takes the cake as causing the most excruciating pain known, however it gets worse as you grit your teeth, attempt to continue breathing, try and refrain from letting expletives and tears escape, all the while holding yourself up in a sort of side plank position and rolling back and forth. So far the only other stretch that has come close to this and to be honest actually overtook it tonight, is using the foam roller on my calves. Apparently the standard stretches for calf muscles become null and void after a period of time and in order to keep them stretched and loose you need to do things that feel like you are sticking knives into them. Here I was thinking a nice gentle stretch was the way to go.

Now that I’ve explained all the terrible things I have to do, which surprisingly is only 1, I can go on and talk about how excited I am to turn into a hermit for the next 3 months. The past week seemed to rejuvenate me a little and after a ridiculous number of flights, a successful fundraiser and a wedding weekend which took in swimming, breakdancing, viral videos and the great BBQ, I am ready to hit the road and power on to June 25th. This of course though is subject to change at the discretion of my body and mind and unfortunately for my trainer he’ll probably cop the brunt of it so I apologise now. I am however extremely excited at the increase in training and itching to see how much I can put my body through. Needless to say that for the next 89 days my life will (happily) consist of eating, sleeping, working and training, and come d-day should leave me with some chance of making it through the desert with nothing more than some sore feet, a few blisters, a couple of aches and maybe a few lost friends, depending on how friendly we all are at the end.

Adelaide raises the big bucks!

After having just arrived in Brisbane to overnight before heading back to Birdsville I have finally found a few moments to put fingers to keyboard to write about the Adelaide Fundraiser.

Around 90 people turned out to support The Long Walk Home at The Watermark Hotel in Glenelg, raising much more money then I expected for the RFDS. Guests at the event were kept entertained with a few speeches including some words from David Hogan (ex RFDS pilot and current helicopter rescue pilot), Gemma Snewin (RFDS Central Section) and myself, as well as numerous minute-to-win-it games, raffles and auctions. Photos from the night can be seen by clicking here and scrolling down to the bottom of the gallery. I apologise for the photos that are repeated and the quality of some, but you’ll get the idea of how things happened.

There were many laughs had, numerous prizes won and much money raised throughout the night and I would like to say a huge thank you to the following business and people who donated items for use as prizes and auction items.

The Watermark Hotel, Phil Hoffman Travel, Neil ‘Noddy’ O’Dea, Skin Things – Glenelg, Chris and Sarah Scott, Andrew Mackie, Sean Kirchner, Steve Martin, The Birdsville Roadhouse, The Birdsville Hotel, The Holdfast Hotel, The Alberton Hotel, The Chef’s Toolbox – Jungle Jayne, Maggie Beer, Anne and Terry Townsend, Emelaine Photography, Elders, Panda Hats, The Barn Bistro, Rob and Shelly at The Railway Hotel, The Metropolitan Hotel, Lucy Schulz, Karen Brook Studios and the NAB. I really hope I didn’t forget anyone there…

I would also like to thank the hard work of Gary and Karen Brook who helped me with the planning, recruitment of guests and promotion of the night. Without them it would of been much harder to organise the night from my isolated little patch of paradise in Birdsville.

I think I can easily say that at least a third of everyone who attended walked away with a prize or item of some sort. While everyone also took home a piece of The Long Walk Home in the form of their entry ticket which was a very funky keyring, that I hope now sits proudly on your keys.

Altogether the night was a resounding success and proved much more entertaining, crazy, hectic and fun then I was expecting. In total we raised over $4000 for the RFDS on the night, and when combined with the rest of the money it takes the total to nearly $13,000.00. Yes, you read that correctly, nearly THIRTEEN THOUSAND dollars. How amazing is that! As of today I have 3 months until I take that first step across the desert and we are already well over half way to the fundraising goal. Keep up the great work everyone. Each time I get an email to say a donation has been received it serves as a reminder of why I am doing this, and gives me a little kick up the bum to train harder and get back on the publicity bandwagon.

Thanks again to everyone who turned up for the night, and to everyone who has donated, shared, browsed or commented on The Long Walk Home. Although I say it all the time, I really do appreciate the support.

Jenna

Dedication takes on a new meaning.

This post is dedicated to Scott Pannunzio (aka one arm)…please stay tuned for a run down of the Adelaide Fundraiser as I am yet to get 5 minutes to write about it, and keep an eye on the gallery for photos from the night.

As I write this I am sitting on my flight from Brisbane to Adelaide for the fundraiser being held tonight at the Watermark Hotel. After getting only 4-5 hours sleep last night due to nerves and my brain going into overdrive thinking about all that needs to be done not only for the fundraiser but also for the walk itself I thought I should write about my last training session. I’m sure my lack of sleep had nothing to do with the fact I ate the minibar out of chocolate, and all with the blessing of my trainer!

Last Saturday morning I woke up with a message from Michael asking that I skip the bicycle session and instead go out and take a walk in the desert for a few hours. Seeing as though I had been given the week off from training while I was away I thought this would be a great way to get in a solid work out before travelling. Before setting out I made sure I had enough food and water to last the day and headed down to find my travelling buddies that were going to come out with me and play around on motorbikes while I got stuck into the sand dunes. Considering these people were Irish and it was the day after St. Patrick’s Day I was therefore surprised to see them in a healthy state and nearly ready to go. Knowing they would be shortly be behind me I set out for the desert and my first real taste of walking in it.

Although I was aware it had been raining a few weeks before and that there had been a few inches out towards the desert, I seemed to have forgotten that the road was dirt. Heading out towards Big Red I came across a hill and could see that the detour had a long sheet of water covering it and thought risking it was a silly option. Instead I carried on along the main road and where there once was a lake I saw nothing but dry land as I crested the last hill before the dunes. To my excitement I thought ‘great, there is no need to use the detour anymore’, however my excitement was squashed as an expanse of water appeared on my horizon sitting at the foot of the sand dune and seriously squashing my hopes of talking a walk in the desert.

I estimated the water to be 150-200m wide, however as I was unsure of its depth my shoes came off and I started trudging. I didn’t have to trudge far to realise my legs were sinking into the mud up to my shins and that walking across it with my pack on my head was not an option. Deciding I had one last option I rushed back to the car and drove until I got back into mobile reception and called the Paddy’s who much to my relief and confusion were still  in town. I asked them to stop by home and pick up the canoe’s.

It’s not every day that you find yourself in a canoe paddling to get to the desert so you can start training but alas that’s what happened to me. Given I had already been out there for nearly 2 hours, by the time I got out of the canoe I was raring to go, and after trying to re-stick my ankle tape (aka blister prevention) and wash the mud off my feet I pulled my boots back on and started walking. Just as I was walking down the other side of the first dune I realised I had left Walter (the walking stick) in the canoe. I stood there and contemplated my options and decided that walking back over to fetch him and then start again was not going to happen. I am dedicated, but not that dedicated.

For safety reasons and the fact there was no way to get a car to me quickly if something went wrong or I trod on a snake, the Paddy’s and I decided I would just walk back and forth between the first 2 sanddunes so they could easily spot me if they heard an almighty wail coming from my direction. I must admit, I found walking alone through the desert very refreshing and certainly different from all the times I have driven out to just sit atop a sand hill. There is something about walking through the environment with no cars or other people in sight. You almost become entranced with putting one foot in front of the other. At one point I found myself walking along dingo tracks which had been made when the ground was soaked and it was interesting to actually see where the dingo had slipped or where it has changed route to walk on a part not so muddy. Animals can teach us humans a lot when it comes to taking the path that uses the least amount of energy.

I made a few other friends while walking: in fact I made a few hundred of them. They were tiny little black winged creatures who seemed to have a persistent love affair with my nose, eyes and mouth. To counteract these pesky little critters I found myself a coolabah tree and borrowing a little branch I made myself a fly swatter David Attenborough style. Unfortunately I had forgotten my trusty fly veil given to me in my survival pack I got for Christmas, so the makeshift one had to do.

Now some people may not see a tiny crustacean as exciting but as I as busy trying to walk on water and not let it get into my boots I noticed something move in the little pools that had formed in the tyre tracks. On closer inspection it looked like a tiny stingray only it had a hard shell and was, well, tiny. No bigger than a 20 cent coin and with a tail only a couple of centimetres long, I later found out they were called Shield Shrimp and the eggs can survive in the dry and cracked mud for decades before emerging after rains for only a short period of time. On learning this, I was quite excited that I had seen them and counted myself lucky to have got a couple of photos of the alien looking creatures.

So after taking in all that I could and trying to out freeze a goanna in order to get a photo of it as it tried to hide behind a push (which I failed miserably at doing), I decided my few hours of walking were up and it was time to get back to the Paddy’s. While walking I found my hands as per usual had swollen and my fingers looked like stocky little fish fingers, my feet which hadn’t been in my hiking boots for over 6 months had a couple of aches and the spot on my legs between pants and socks was growing darker by the minute even with sunscreen. On my last crossing of Big Red I took a seat on the dusty ground at the edge of the lake which has remained on the claypan for over 2 years and listened to the wind chopping waves into the lake surface, while the Paddy’s made their way to me. After all this it was a couple of kilometres along the lake’s edge back to the canoes and home for a big feed and good stretch.

What would you like to win?

Today I have been busy completely blocking up everyone’s Facebook by advertising all the amazing, delicious, relaxing and unique items on offer at the Adelaide Fundraiser. Considering not everyone is on Facebook I thought you may like to know what you could possibly walk away with after a night of fun filled entertainment. I would like to thank all those who have donated items for the night and to say that your support is very much appreciated. Be sure to hold onto your funky tickets (which you will collect at the door) as the lucky door prize might be just what you’re after.

Neil ‘ Noddy ‘ O’Dea – Queen size blanket box upholstered in your choice of fabric

Chris and Sarah Scott – Signed Geelong FC guernsey

Sean and Jane Kirchner – Signed Port Adelaide FC guernsey

Karen Brook Studios - Dust storm photo print

Emelaine Photography – photoshoot and photograph package valued at $600

Phil Hoffmann Travel - 4 piece luggage set valued at $399

Skin Things, Glenelg – Facial and hot rock massage valued at $109 and a product pack valued at $99

Jungle Jayne and The Chef’s Toolbox – Knife block and sharpener valued at $195

Holdfast Hotel – $50 voucher + 2 for 1 dinner vouchers

Birdsville Hotel - Wine pack and bar mat valued at $63

Maggie Beer Farm Shop – $60 gift voucher to use for their picnic fare lunches

The Metropolitan Hotel – $50 dinner voucher

We also have a number of other prizes in the pipeline so stay tuned for more information and get your A-game ready to win!

Visitors making a difference in Birdsville.

After much persistence by my sister and a family friend, I didn’t so much as agree to speak at a Local Government conference this week, as was directed to. On Tuesday morning I trotted down to the local hall where 40 odd managers from local government were meeting for a conference. I thought I’d find talking about my walk difficult in front of so many people, but I’m told I was the most interesting speaker of the day which was a bonus. Perhaps it was the topic or that fact I turned up in my ripped jeans after tilling the vegie patch and proceeded to talk underwater about the walk, why I was doing it, what it was and how they could support me. At least I did have the decency to tuck my shirt in and take off my hat which I thought should count for something. It seems the lovely people were listening as I spoke and they later raised over $500 for The Long Walk Home which was an amazing effort. My thanks goes to all the people who donated at the barbecue, as it was certainly a surprise to hear the amount when I returned the next day to collect. My lesson learnt from this experience was to just say yes. With only 3 months to go until I take those tentative first steps across the desert I need to say yes more. The fundraising tally has gone over $7000 which is a fantastic achievement and thank you to everyone who has kindly donated to The Long Walk Home.

Talking underwater at the LGMA conference. March 2012

LGMA delegates. Thanks for the donation!

Preseason fun in Birdsville!

Yesterday a few locals from Birdsville partook in some pre-season fun, making the most of the time before the visitors start arriving in town and making lazy Saturday’s like this impossible. Minute-to-win-it games were on the top of the list, with games such as Floatacious, Yank Me, Caddystack and Toss the coin all making an appearance. Some punters quickly became frustrated with some games which resulted in a smattering of soft drink cans or the tinging of M&M’s on the floor. For each game contestants were asked to donate a coin donation to the RFDS and the tin feels surprisingly heavy for the numbers at the show.

My personal favourite was the eating contest in which teams of four had to go blindly into a food challenge and had to consume a raw egg, a Weetbix, shot of vinegar and a teaspoon of cinnamon. I was unable to complete my job of handing the next item to the teams as fits of hysterical laughter ensued when I saw the cinnamon start to blow out of nostrils. A big thanks goes to everyone who turned up, everyone who laughed while people tried to stack baby blocks on a paper plate on their head, to the Birdsville Roadhouse and Birdsville Hotel for donating the prizes, and to JB for scrounging around through people’s pockets to rid them of loose change. It was so wonderful to see everyone there and to know they support The Long Walk Home and the RFDS.

Congratulations to all the winners of the day, especially to Kylie Scott for taking out top honours and winning a pannikin, stubbie cooler and cooked chook courtesy of the Birdsville Roadhouse. Below are a few pictures of the day, however I think my constant laughter left the quality of the pictures a little below par. For anyone still thinking about coming to the Adelaide Fundraiser you can expect a few of these games and more!

Getting frustrated at Yank Me!

M&Ms making life difficult for the contestants.

An update.

Hello Friends!

I got a comment on my facebook this morning from a friend in Spain who said he checks my blog daily for updates, so I thought it time I give him something new to read when he wakes up this morning.

The Long Walk Home is keeping me extremely busy at the moment, with trying to fit in organising the Adelaide Fundraiser, training, keeping social media updated and writing letters for sponsorship around work and study, not leaving much time for play! Things are however going from strength to strength with the walk, with lots of people and businesses starting to donate items from raffles, prizes and auctions. You can see who all these wonderful people are by checking out ”proudly supported by” on the sponsors page. We are down to the last week to purchase tickets to the Adelaide Fundraiser so be sure to email me at thelongwalkhome2012@gmail.com to secure yours! At the moment I am feeling very sorry for anyone who knows my brother Gary, as he is in recruiting mood and I’m sure has put the hard word on everyone he knows down in Adelaide. Needless to say he has easily signed up more than 70% of  the attendees thus far! Details for the shindig are below:

Fundraising has taken a huge step forward in recent days with an extremely generous donation from Pip and Dick Smith. They are amazing people with huge hearts and I thank them for their support, belief and generosity towards The Long Walk Home and the RFDS. The tally is now officially well over the $5,500 mark, with more sitting in RFDS collection tins around the place. Considering the goal is $20,000 and we still have over 3 months to go I think we are sitting pretty at the moment. The Birdsville Hotel has also been very generous with their support by holding a chook raffle every Friday night, and donating an array of prizes to ensure almost everyone in the town has won something over the past month! I would also like to acknowledge the support of the people from Birdsville and surrounding areas, as their enthusiam is infectious and I look forward to having a few of them join me towards the end of the walk! Thanks also goes to them for giving into temptation and purchasing more stubbie coolers then they needed the other night…Birdsville really is a wonderful community to be a part of! For more on fundraising or to donate click here.

Preparation wise and logistically the walk is slowly coming together. However I had to chuckle the other day when Michael said  ”so I’m thinking we’ll work pretty hard over the next 2 weeks and you can have week 12 off Sound fair?”….last I checked I didn’t see Michael on the treadmill next to me with sweat pouring out of him, so I’m not sure what this “we” business is. I am though starting to feel the changes of his training schedule and am certainly fitter then when I started, however yesterday I needed a little kick up the bum to get off the floor and drag my feet onto the treadmill. We also had the RFDS Rural Women’s GP Service in town yesterday which I made use of to get a pre-walk check up and got the all clear. Luckily enough for me the doctor has done a lot of trekking so was a wealth of knowledge about shoes and foot care which will ultimately be the defining factor in my walk. The service is fantastic for rural women as although the fortnightly RFDS clinics are sometimes run by a female doctor, with this one you are guaranteed access to one which is a nice little luxury to have.

Getting my pre-walk check up courtesy of the RFDS Rural Women's GP Service.

On that note I think it’s time to get back to reality and say thanks again for the support. If you’re in or around Birdsville this weekend be sure to drop into the hotel on Saturday afternoon for a few hours of fun raising money for The Long Walk Home. Also, don’t forget to get your tickets for the Adelaide Fundraiser, and more importantly don’t forget to keep spreading the word about The Long Walk Home. The more people we reach the more awareness and money we can raise for the service of the RFDS!

Thanks

What did you learn today?

One night I came across the beauty of adventure.

Whilst scrolling down the recent posts on my facebook I came upon 2 lads (namely Cas and Jonesy) who have just walked from the edge of Antartica to the South Pole and back (2200km+), Peter Muller who at 69 years of age has just completed an ultra marathon in the Yukon in Canada where it is -39 degrees, Ebony Newman who is riding her horses from Cowell to Cummins, and Jeff Johnson who is walking East/West across Australia. All four are raising money for various charities and all four show the beauty of adventure.

While sitting in the dark scrolling through the links attached to these people, I decided to 1. get up and turn a light on so I could see what I was doing, and 2. start to write. Very rarely do I get the urge to write, but after stumbling around the coffee table to turn the light on, I picked up my computer and starting writing this.

What if people who climbed mountains, trekked through harsh landscapes, jumped out of planes, swam incredible distances or rode their bikes around the world weren’t actually eccentric or crazy, or whatever other describing word people use: What if they were just normal people who loved seeing new parts of the world and testing the limits of their body. I often wonder who they compare adventurers to in order to classify them as adventurers, when does a hiker, or biker, or paddler become an adventurer?

While I was reading about the walk undertaken by Cas and Jonesy I found myself with butterflies in my stomach as I realised that these 2 guys are creating a new generation of adventurers. After seeing pictures of kids waiting for them at the airport holding signs of “welcome home”, it dawned on me that they are an inspiration to so many people, and for me anyway, they make me extremely proud of what a couple of Aussies can achieve.

I am often caught saying that people who climb Mt. Everest or those who partake in cross-continent marathons are an altogether different breed, but after seeing what the ordinary person can do in the face of adversity I am starting to change that opinion. Yes I do believe that they have another level of mental toughness, and a pain threshold much greater then most, but in the end aren’t they just ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Are they not just people who woke up one day with an idea and had the opportunity, passion and drive to make it happen?

Shouldn’t we all strive to achieve something new each day, and in doing so make the imprint we leave on the world an extraordinary one. We don’t all have to climb Mt. Everest or run until our feet fall off, sometimes a simple hello can change someone’s day, and when we look at all the amazing feats that the human body and mind can achieve, we must not forget about the everyday heroes who make the world a nicer place to live just by being in it as well. The mums and dads who teach and nurture their children into becoming caring adults, the friends who make us laugh when we want to cry, the people who give their lives to save others and the ones who with a simple phone call can make someone smile. These people along with those who push their body to its physical limits, all play their part in creating extraordinary things everyday.

I am a big believer that everything extraordinary in this world comes from learning new things. Whether that be learning how to paint the colours of the sky, learning how to paddle a kayak, learning how to accept people for who they are, or just learning how to take in the beautiful things in the world. In the past few weeks I have learnt a couple new things including how to reseal a leaking tap, how to grow plant cuttings, the recipe for a delicious marinade and how to use a trencher on the dingo. Although I’m not sure if anything extraordinary will ever come of learning these things, they were quite interesting to learn none the less. Somewhere between unscrewing taps and realising I had run out of washers, I got to thinking about how many new things we learn each day. The more I think about it, the more I realise that there are so many times in a day when I learn something new, and so many times when we create the possibility of turning the ordinary into the extraordinary.

So what did you learn today?