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I felt a bit the same. I think the whole story was about 7 minutes. Not long enough at all. I would have liked to see more….but bloody good achievement on his part, nonetheless.
I'm a little torn in two ways about this story, even though I truly appreciate his amazing effort and courage.
I must say, two days from the end of our trek when my knee suddenly gave me incredible pain and I could hardly walk, my carrier mentioned the other boys told him to make sure I took it easy, because they weren't going to help him carry me (jokingly). I said (very indignantly LOL), "You can tell the boys I WILL NOT be carried out of here! If a guy can crawl out of here in the middle of a war, I can darn well WALK out with a bit of knee pain!! Besides, your knee is sore, too, and if anyone's going to be doing any carrying, I'll carry YOU out of here!" LOL, yes, I'm stubborn!
I'm looking forward to watching the story….sigh…with a box of tissues, no doubt. Kokoda can do with the positive press right now.
QUOTE(Mrs Moo @ 6 Nov 2009, 03:07 PM) [snapback]10922[/snapback]Good luck. All you need to do now is find a toilet seat to put it on!
LOL There are a couple.The thing that was the 'issue' for me was the tarp doors. You'd get comfy (sitting or squatting) and the wind would pick up and blow the damn things open. Sometimes it paid to go in pairs.
I think the idea of disposable covers is kinda funny…and means one more thing to carry, plus it's rubbish to take out with you. Squat and hover. It's free.
Hi Simone,
If you have limited space and/or options of where to train, these are things you can do anywhere, with no equipment. If you have knee or joint issues, walk/step the exercises, rather than jumping or bouncing.
Mountain climbers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IO5KVEoEbo4Burpees
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5oXadjFAlQPlus step ups, lunges, squats and walking/running backwards, as has already been mentioned. Do some work on core stability and balance, too. I also suggest taking a good quality fish oil starting now, to help your joints. Start your training without a backpack, but start wearing it after a few weeks and increase the weight over time to *more* than you expect to carry at Kokoda. It'll make things a little easier once you get there.
Eve
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Br…afe/89659449138Hi Rob, do you have a time line for completion of your Thesis? I'm trying to get a project started that you might be interested in (and involves doing a Kokoda trek some time in the next six months). Don't worry, I'm not trying to sell you something, or anything of that nature. I did Kokoda back in August. I'm a personal trainer, but Kokoda (and preparing people to trek) is my special interest.
You can contact me at eve.cardiocafe @ gmail . com or through my Facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Br…afe/89659449138
Eve
Congratulations Brooke!
Sounds like the first bit of your trek was the biggest challenge. It's mentally and physically overwhelming, so I wouldn't feel bad about having a hissy fit. I reckon most people would, even if they don't show it haha. (Did I ever tell you the first day was my worst? Baaad reaction to the malaria tablets! Thought I was going to be sent home!)
I'm glad you made it and had such a great experience.
I'll look for you on FB.
Eve
Brooke, it could just be the increased blood flow….that sometimes causes that itchy feeling.
When you combine heat, pressure, exercise, blood pumps more freely. When the hot blood just underneath the skin reacts with the cooler outside temperature, you get that itchy sensation (drives me nuts, too). I don't know how you get rid of it, but your body should get used to it. Maybe talk to a pharmacist about an antihistamine, or similar. There might be something you can put on your legs before you put on your skins.
Brooke,
You've prepared yourself mentally and physically and you're smart enough to recognise your own limitations. I'm sure you'll use common sense and look after yourself on the track – just keep your trek leader updated along the way. It's not a race, so there's no need to push yourself past where you're comfortable. Just take your time, practice and concentrate on controlled breathing. I think I mentioned in an email a while back, use the flat sections as your 'recovery' – long, deep breaths to slow your heart rate down etc.
(And yes, lots of little steps. Bigger steps use more energy. It's better to take lots of small steps, so you're not having to use those bigger leg muscles to keep lifting your weight longer distances.)
Incidentally, I signed up a new client yesterday who has exercise induced asthma. I agreed to take her on, on the understanding that she first get clearance from her doctor, so I know what HE thinks her limitations are, how her medication might affect her, and what she shouldn't be doing (or what she can), but also that SHE be responsible for telling me when she is having any kind of difficulty. The communication needs to flow in both directions.
Eve
I guess I see it from a number of perspectives. My dad is 66 and completed the trek with no problems. I was the one who had knee issues at the end. He, however, trained MUCH longer and harder than I did, and with more weight in his backpack. He also has a background of running marathons and the like. I, on the other hand, have medical issues. I'm a personal trainer, but I have auto-immune problems and take medication every day. On that basis, I had two out of three doctors ask me if I really thought I should go. None said I should not. Incidentally, the first thing one of the PNG leaders asked me before we even started if I was "doing the whole track", implying he didn't think I'd cut it. Perhaps because I'm small and blonde and don't appear strong. I don't know.
BUT…as a personal trainer and knowing my body, how it works physically, and how I am mentally, I knew it would be attitude that would mean my success or failure, not my medical problems. Fitness was not a concern. If I had any concerns in that regard, I would have postponed my trip. THAT is where I pull my soap box out. Every single individual needs to take a long, hard look at not just their physical fitness (aside from, and related to, any pre-existing medical conditions), but also their mental fitness. If you're not ready in some regard, this is not the trip to decide to plough on and tough it out anyway. Bad things happen when you don't prepare for things. Under-prepared for Kokoda, to me, is close to not preparing at all. Why would you take the risk?
One cannot point out from a line-up who may or may not have a heart attack. However, you can gauge people who may have problems along the way. Regardless, it highlights, at least to me, the need to require some kind of fitness assessment in addition to medical, before being accepted.
I guess I have major issues with the media historically promoting stupidity. Shows about how overweight and unfit people are doing the trek sends out a massive implication that it's not as hard as everyone says and it's all talk and hey, anybody can do it. THAT is the attitude that needs to change, because there are people out there who won't be responsible unto themselves, because the media has affirmed their naivety.
A death on the Track affects the experience of all trekkers on that trip, and all those associated on the trek company side (and an obvious flow on effect to the likes of us). Nobody can protect people from themselves and nobody can predict a freak accident or unknown medical condition that might cause a death, but I will do what I can to educate people – even if it's one person at a time. A bit more effort, a bit more training, a bit more awareness…doing something is always a better alternative than doing nothing.
I HOPE this DOESN'T mean that people who truly want to do Kokoda will refrain, or that parents will have second thoughts about sending their children.
I HOPE it DOES mean people will do more research, become more informed and take more precautions before they take that first step.
We got one lovely night of below zero temperatures and ice on *everything* at Myola. I was freezing with thermals, track suit, beanie, gloves, two pairs of socks and sleeping bag! LOL
MOST unexpected!
Definitely take a sleeping bag!
I loved my Thermarest mat, but those are a bit more of an investment and maybe something cheaper would suffice for a one-off trip.
Hey Fluppy!
I had to take "controlled drugs" with me. I just made sure I had the letter with the rest of my travel papers. The most important thing is keeping your medications in their original containers in case you do get checked for some reason.
Getting close now!! Best of luck!!
Eve
(I got my letter/medication list a week before I left.)Marshall,
Get a referral from your doctor to see a respiratory specialist if you don't already have one. You don't say how bad your asthma is, but a good degree of lung capacity is required and there are tests that can be done to determine that. There are parts of the track that are quite strenuous and require quite deep, diaphragmatic breathing. If you cannot do that successfully, you may need to rethink.
The best judge of your own ability is you. Be completely honest with yourself. It may be a case of needing some prolonged cardio/endurance training, as well as taking your medication. But if you have severe asthma, you should be having a serious and honest discussion with your doctor as to your fitness and potential for problems.
Good luck.
Eve
I just find this so sad and distressing, but also frustrating! My thoughts are with his family and all those concerned.
In my opinion, every single person who attempts Kokoda should have some kind of fitness clearance in addition to medical clearance. Trek operators have a duty of care for the trekkers they take, but trekkers should have a duty of care for themselves. It is a selfish act to put your safety and care into the hands of another person when you've not done the same for yourself.
It absolutely makes me more determined to provide good quality, supervised training and preparation for as many people as possible in Melbourne who want to take on this amazing journey. To be honest, I don't care if people do not come to me for training and an assessment – I'm just one person trying to help. But all potential trekkers should go to *someone* for piece of mind. Supervised training is not a cost, it's an investment. Death is a cost and too high a price to pay!
Sorry about the soap box rant. More needs to be done to prevent preventable deaths.
Gail, I hope you don't mind me posting my email address for anyone who wants more info on fitness training and preparation for Kokoda. eve.cardiocafe@gmail.com
Eve
Hi Fluppy,
We all had journals, but I fell into the latter category – just wanted to sleep. That was more to do with having narcolepsy than not wanting to write, though lol.
I tried to write sometimes. My dad wrote every night religiously and I know others caught up when they could. I would have written more if I knew how much I would have appreciated that I wrote more once I got home.
I did see a camera (not sure if I mentioned it in my email?) that can do 'voice tagging' on photos. Instead of putting a time and date stamp on the picture, you can voice record what you're taking a photo of and where you are. I think that would be a really effective way to keep track of each day (and I took over 6GB(!) of stills and video, so that would have been a LOT of notes). The cool thing about that camera, too, is that when you're viewing your shots later, you also get to hear your voice from that moment, so the memory stays more clear. If I recall correctly, those cameras were upwards of $500, though.
Next time, I'm going to record a LOT more video, so I don't have to take the time to write so much.
