The family and I decided to do the Kokoda Memorial Walk (1000 Steps) on Mount Dandenong. It is a beautiful part of Melbourne with mature gum trees and amazing ferns. I felt confident heading to the walk given that I have been training a little and generally felt good. But was I wrong.
The trail itself starts off gradually on a well worn path. It takes about 800 metres or so before reaching the foot of the climb... all on stairs, totalling 700+ steps with steep gradient. The walk itself is dedicated to the soldiers who perished in World War 2 in Papua New Guinea's Kokoda Trail. The entire path is littered with plaques and boards telling of the story of these war veteran and their journey to fight for freedom.
Freedom is one thing I didn't feel. By step number 100 or so I was struggling. My 10-year old son who was behind me had had enough trailing and decided to speed up and run all the way up. By this time, my wife also decided to take the lead. By the half way mark, I was literally grasping on to the limited oxygen that was entering my body. My heart was pounding and sweat was poring down from my bald head. I thought I was going to die.
Thankfully, my wife was kind enough to encourage me all the way to the top. I was panting when I reached the peak, with my son grinning from cheek to cheek loudly proclaiming for all to hear that he was no.1! But other concerns were raising through my mind, such as if I can't even do a 15 minute climb, how am I to survive 100km? How did I allow myself to get so unfit? Will I ever be able to achieve my goal?
I don't know the answers to any of these questions, but all I can hold on to are, like the soldiers at Kokoda during World War 2, courage to believe in what I am doing, endurance to persevere the next 487 days and sacrifice the comforts that I have grown accustomed to like lazing around.
The trail itself starts off gradually on a well worn path. It takes about 800 metres or so before reaching the foot of the climb... all on stairs, totalling 700+ steps with steep gradient. The walk itself is dedicated to the soldiers who perished in World War 2 in Papua New Guinea's Kokoda Trail. The entire path is littered with plaques and boards telling of the story of these war veteran and their journey to fight for freedom.
Freedom is one thing I didn't feel. By step number 100 or so I was struggling. My 10-year old son who was behind me had had enough trailing and decided to speed up and run all the way up. By this time, my wife also decided to take the lead. By the half way mark, I was literally grasping on to the limited oxygen that was entering my body. My heart was pounding and sweat was poring down from my bald head. I thought I was going to die.
Thankfully, my wife was kind enough to encourage me all the way to the top. I was panting when I reached the peak, with my son grinning from cheek to cheek loudly proclaiming for all to hear that he was no.1! But other concerns were raising through my mind, such as if I can't even do a 15 minute climb, how am I to survive 100km? How did I allow myself to get so unfit? Will I ever be able to achieve my goal?
I don't know the answers to any of these questions, but all I can hold on to are, like the soldiers at Kokoda during World War 2, courage to believe in what I am doing, endurance to persevere the next 487 days and sacrifice the comforts that I have grown accustomed to like lazing around.
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| The Kokoda Memorial |
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| Breathing again at the top |
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| Downhill time |
Exercise
A walk up the Kokoda Memorial walk
Diet
Breakfast - Karl's Energy Boosting Smoothie
Lunch - Nothing
Dinner - Roasted cauliflower and Roast chicken pieces
Dinner - Roasted cauliflower and Roast chicken pieces
Weight
87 kg and 26% body fat
Looks like I have not lost any weight, or more importantly body fat. I will have to fine tune my diet further, and perhaps cutting down on my fat intake a little to kick-start the usage of my own body fat as an energy source. I will have to lose weight if I am to succeed in running 100km!
Looks like I have not lost any weight, or more importantly body fat. I will have to fine tune my diet further, and perhaps cutting down on my fat intake a little to kick-start the usage of my own body fat as an energy source. I will have to lose weight if I am to succeed in running 100km!
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