Personal Best Walking: 50km in a Day!
Note: this is the post that I tried to upload before the library internet connection went down in Ulladulla.
Aka 'A World of Pain'.
It is amazing how well the human body can recover. I have not treated my body very well over the past 28 years. Oh there have been moments where I have, but overall I haven't. I smoked and drank heavily at times for 12 years, my diet wasn't very healthy (although I have been a vegetarian for most of my life) and I have not exercised much. However as I do not have a car or a driver’s license, I walk everywhere.
For just over the past 2 months, I have been treating my body and mind a lot better. In fact, very well. I am almost vegan now, and I say 'almost' because there are moments where I prefer a white tea to black, if green tea or herbal tea is not available, and I did have 2 bowls of ice-cream on Thanksgiving, and boy did my body tell me that it didn't enjoy that! I drink a lot of water, and almost gave up soft drink. I say 'almost' again because I indulged when I met Chris at the service station and bought a bottle of [unnamed brand] cola. And then again for lunch today I had a drink of [unnamed brand] cola and greasy hot chips loaded with salt. Nothing hits the spot like [unnamed brand] cola when you are in need of refreshment! Okay, okay, I shall stop *grins*
Yesterday was the first day that I have had a full day's walk. The first day I started late in the afternoon to Kiama; the second day I started well but strained my thigh by the time I reached Berry; the third day the need to use the internet as well as an electrical storm in Nowra halted my journey; the fourth day started late as I was hoping to meet with a journalist from the South Coast Register, as well as needing to use the net some more, as well as the rain prematurely ending my walk at Tomerang (not sure of spelling since I don't have the map handy: the Log Cabin service station); so by the fifth day, I was pumped and sore and ready to test my mettle. And wow did I test it!
Oh incidentally, I did speak with a journalist from the South Coast Register, and revealed quite a few things that I had wished to talk about on this site, but haven't gotten around to yet. *thinks* Inspiration, depression, living one's dreams, a little history about me, love, loss and grief...I think that just about covers it for now. So to that [unnamed] journalist (my apologies as I missed your name when that truck drove past), thank you for listening to my tale so far, and I hope to see something in the paper soon!
So where was I? Ah yes, testing my mettle. I started the fifth day nice and early, at perhaps 6:45am, and didn't stop walking until 6:30pm (including rest breaks). I have often watched athletes on television, who, after a gruelling race, break down into tears. I have never understood why, that is, until yesterday. Yesterday I was on the verge of tears, for a number of reasons. I was in a lot of pain, and I don't mean the kind of pain where you say 'ouch' to let someone know that you have suffered some minor ill. I mean the kind of pain that shoots up and down your legs, permeates every joint, and vibrates with every step as you plod along, trying to stay focused on putting one foot after the other. Yesterday I hurt, I really, really hurt.
As I mentioned in the previous post, for about 7km I had to sing to distract myself from the pain. But the pain wasn't the only reason I was on the verge of tears. It was partly relief at finally arriving at civilisation again, after walking more in one day than I ever have before. And it was also due to fear: fear that I am doing this all in vain. Fear that I shall undertake this walk, and will not gain the support that I need to begin the neg leg of the journey. That niggling little voice known as doubt often tries to speak to me during my most vulnerable moments, such as the one I had early yesterday evening. I ignored it. I replaced doubt with positive thoughts. It takes practice, and slowly but surely I am getting better at viewing the world with a positive outlook, and I see a wonderful world that could do with a little bit of healing. Or perhaps it is myself that still needs a little healing? I have noticed that one's own mindset can often determine one's perspective on life.
So 50 km (31 miles) in one day? Pretty impressive eh? That wasn't the only reason that I gave myself a day off walking today. Tomorrow I depart for Bateman's Bay, and will see how my body copes with walking 52km!
Hopefully I can upload some more photos to the photo gallery tomorrow at Gatt's Cafe: a great place to use the net and have a cuppa in Ulladulla! Jon and Kathy were kind enough to give me my third pot of peppermint tea today on the house. So if you happen to pop in there some day, tell them that 'Blake the crazy walking man' sent you!
Aka 'A World of Pain'.
It is amazing how well the human body can recover. I have not treated my body very well over the past 28 years. Oh there have been moments where I have, but overall I haven't. I smoked and drank heavily at times for 12 years, my diet wasn't very healthy (although I have been a vegetarian for most of my life) and I have not exercised much. However as I do not have a car or a driver’s license, I walk everywhere.
For just over the past 2 months, I have been treating my body and mind a lot better. In fact, very well. I am almost vegan now, and I say 'almost' because there are moments where I prefer a white tea to black, if green tea or herbal tea is not available, and I did have 2 bowls of ice-cream on Thanksgiving, and boy did my body tell me that it didn't enjoy that! I drink a lot of water, and almost gave up soft drink. I say 'almost' again because I indulged when I met Chris at the service station and bought a bottle of [unnamed brand] cola. And then again for lunch today I had a drink of [unnamed brand] cola and greasy hot chips loaded with salt. Nothing hits the spot like [unnamed brand] cola when you are in need of refreshment! Okay, okay, I shall stop *grins*
Yesterday was the first day that I have had a full day's walk. The first day I started late in the afternoon to Kiama; the second day I started well but strained my thigh by the time I reached Berry; the third day the need to use the internet as well as an electrical storm in Nowra halted my journey; the fourth day started late as I was hoping to meet with a journalist from the South Coast Register, as well as needing to use the net some more, as well as the rain prematurely ending my walk at Tomerang (not sure of spelling since I don't have the map handy: the Log Cabin service station); so by the fifth day, I was pumped and sore and ready to test my mettle. And wow did I test it!
Oh incidentally, I did speak with a journalist from the South Coast Register, and revealed quite a few things that I had wished to talk about on this site, but haven't gotten around to yet. *thinks* Inspiration, depression, living one's dreams, a little history about me, love, loss and grief...I think that just about covers it for now. So to that [unnamed] journalist (my apologies as I missed your name when that truck drove past), thank you for listening to my tale so far, and I hope to see something in the paper soon!
So where was I? Ah yes, testing my mettle. I started the fifth day nice and early, at perhaps 6:45am, and didn't stop walking until 6:30pm (including rest breaks). I have often watched athletes on television, who, after a gruelling race, break down into tears. I have never understood why, that is, until yesterday. Yesterday I was on the verge of tears, for a number of reasons. I was in a lot of pain, and I don't mean the kind of pain where you say 'ouch' to let someone know that you have suffered some minor ill. I mean the kind of pain that shoots up and down your legs, permeates every joint, and vibrates with every step as you plod along, trying to stay focused on putting one foot after the other. Yesterday I hurt, I really, really hurt.
As I mentioned in the previous post, for about 7km I had to sing to distract myself from the pain. But the pain wasn't the only reason I was on the verge of tears. It was partly relief at finally arriving at civilisation again, after walking more in one day than I ever have before. And it was also due to fear: fear that I am doing this all in vain. Fear that I shall undertake this walk, and will not gain the support that I need to begin the neg leg of the journey. That niggling little voice known as doubt often tries to speak to me during my most vulnerable moments, such as the one I had early yesterday evening. I ignored it. I replaced doubt with positive thoughts. It takes practice, and slowly but surely I am getting better at viewing the world with a positive outlook, and I see a wonderful world that could do with a little bit of healing. Or perhaps it is myself that still needs a little healing? I have noticed that one's own mindset can often determine one's perspective on life.
So 50 km (31 miles) in one day? Pretty impressive eh? That wasn't the only reason that I gave myself a day off walking today. Tomorrow I depart for Bateman's Bay, and will see how my body copes with walking 52km!
Hopefully I can upload some more photos to the photo gallery tomorrow at Gatt's Cafe: a great place to use the net and have a cuppa in Ulladulla! Jon and Kathy were kind enough to give me my third pot of peppermint tea today on the house. So if you happen to pop in there some day, tell them that 'Blake the crazy walking man' sent you!
posted by Blake Elliott | Saturday, December 18, 2004
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