walking...it's what we are made to do. For most of our species time on this earth, we have been nomadic people, moving place to place on foot. So in a sense, evolution has shaped us into walking machines. While most people might cringe at the idea of walking 100km in 48hrs, that is what we are made to do. Humans have only had the luxury of a life in which walking is not a necessary component for a tiny fraction of our evolutionary history. It's pretty cool to have the opportunity to go back and, at least for a weekend, live the basic lifestyle of our ancestors (Speaking of going back...). While they didn't have any canned tuna, gatorade, or quick dry clothing, at the core of things, we will be trekking over the same mountains and across the same rivers.

Humans have also done these journeys in groups, just as our team will be doing it with a bunch of other people. Another basic things about humans is our social nature. During training our team has certainly learned how important it is to have others around you when doing something like a long walk. While our ancestors walked as a way of life, I am sure they struggled at points and relied on the group to pull them through tough times. There are a ton of stories about how teamwork can drive humans to accomplish amazing things. But, back in the day, it wasn't about winning a game or finishing a race, it was about surviving. I hope it doesn't come down to that for our team, but just going through the same exercise is a pretty cool connection with our ancestors and humans as a species. When I feel the pain the bottom of my feet, I can at least say, "Hey, they did this their whole lives. I'm only doing it once. Stop whining and keeping walking!"

Labels: ken

Polypropylene:
Can never spell you. Why can't
I just use cotton?

It happened again
I smashed the same old bruises
Hate my stupid bike.

Mountain top: silence
Except for a whisper of Jeff
Making some new theme song.

Rae, the pot, and I,
The kettle. "OCD" she says,
Then writes a to-do list.

Pounding on pavement; then:
"One foot in front of the other."
Ken's words: invaluable.

ハイキングしたい
けど、足が痛い
１００キロ、無理？

Labels: jessie

Yesterday, we finished our 43K hike to prep for The Big One. We hiked part of the Oxfam trail itself, starting at 9:00pm on Friday - after a day at work - and finishing at 1:15pm the next day, about 15 hours in total... or 15:15:15 as Ken's watch read when he happened to click 'stop'. We didn't sleep all night; we just hiked. This is us before our hike, at around 9:00pm:

Labels: 43km hike, jessie

Hey all,

I just woke up from after 43km and 16 hours of hiking. We did it. We completed about half the course, and we are all really sore. We went by train and bus to the 4th station and continuously walked with as few breaks as possible for about 16 hours. It was incredible.

My right knee is slightly sprained, but there's enough time before the hike to recover. Our team did really well. I'm very proud of everybody.

Throughout the hike, we played games (like 20 questions), wrote short, silly songs about our team, and made inside jokes (a tree-climbing, monkey-eating turtle, for example). We hiked a mountain over night (using head lamps), then in the morning it started pouring but we had to climb another mountain. As long as we kept moving we could stay warm. Our feet were in so much pain when we were finished, especially because during the last portion of the hike we had to walk on a lot of pavement.

When we finally got to the train station at the end, everything we had with us was completely soaked through, so we had to take a two-hour train ride in half-dry and very light clothing. It was ridic, but we made it all the way and now have invaluable experience for when we walk the 100k. The team's heading to the hot springs today to relax, so take care and wish us luck.

Fluff Dog

Labels: jeff

So I am minutes away from heading out the door on our trial trailwalk. The forecast is calling for steady rain for most of the time we are going to be walking. While this is certainly going to make the walk a bit harder, I am taking the optimist approach and looking forward to the unique opportunities that rain brings. Spontaneous mud fights, hilarious wipe outs, and rain pants. While the pictures might not be as brilliant and the tan non existant, I am hoping these next 24hrs out in the wild will bring some good times with my fellow biters toughing it out in the elements. Watch, now its just going to sprinkle on us and I won't get my chance to pelt Jeff's punk ass with a big wad of mud....I might just have to go raindancing.

Look out for a report on what should be an epic weekend.

Last thing, with Jessie shooting down Kanye without me even proposing it as a theme song, I will take the challenge on and offer some alternative choices.

One to match our name (Matches....but is it the right message?)

For the kids (This gets my vote)

Mix the old and new (Jessie is not voting for this one)

Labels: ken, rain, theme song

Long when you're not actually getting any sleep.

It was hard waking up this morning knowing that I won't be going to sleep tonight. I pulled my doona up over my head and tried to shut out the daylight and squeeze out every last bit of sleep I could.

Tonight we're hiking overnight from Oxfam checkpoints 4 to 8 over near Hakone. It's going to be one helluva long night. Last weekend we hiked just over 20km. Tonight we're hiking 55km. A slight jump in distance in what is going to be not just a physical test but a psychological one in staving off the curtain of sleep.

I think I'm ready. During lunch time yesterday Jessie and I went to Spopia to pick up things we'll need for the weekend and for the big one. Things like headlamps, water bottles, spare batteries, clothes made from quick drying materials etc. I got home from school yesterday and went straight to the supermarket to collect my list of food items to take tonight. I'm going home at lunch time to cook some fried rice to put in zip lock bags. In my mind I'm mentally ticking off things as I pack them.

Urgh... It's going to be a long night. I hope I have enough warm clothes. I still don't have gloves and I really need them. I might sneak out sometime during school and go buy some.

Oh, and I was reading up on the Oxfam walk. Turns out we might run into bears. Real bears. With sharp teeth. The worse I run into back home are fat wombats, pademelons and sometimes Tasmanian devils.

Labels: rae

By Jeff.

So far, our team has been training hard, for the reason we’re worried about the difficulty of the hike, but I think our team would benefit by a shift in the way we’ve been thinking. When we talk about the Trailwalk, there seems to be an element of fear in our tone of voice: “Oh my God, it’s so far.”, “How much elevation gain is there?”, “30-35 hours? Oh NO!”. I think it is so important for us to be proud of how motivated we’ve been to prepare for the walk, not only as a team, but also as individuals. Of course, we must continue to push ourselves and each other hard to ensure we’re in good enough shape to finish the walk and enjoy it, too. Furthermore, we have to plan our hiking strategy, prepare our food, buy gear, and make sure our support crew is well informed. However, a confident team with faith in itself will make it far beyond a team consisting of members who don’t believe their team has what it takes to succeed. What I’ve seen in our team is a strong balance between physical fitness, communication, and organization, so, based on how our team has been working together, I think we have a really good chance to finish the race (me ahead of Ken, of course). Let’s have confidence in our team. Trailbiters UNITE!

Labels: jeff

Tomorrow is April 22. What does this mean? That from tomorrow, we have one month until our 100k Trailwalk.

So last night we had a meeting. Ken, Rae and Jeff came over to my place to make dinner and talk. First, we cooked Chicken Thai Rice... well, it was supposed to be Chicken Thai Rice, but we decided to fry the brown rice with some egg. What happened was what we call "Mush 1" (the first batch) and "Mush 2" (second attempt). Brown rice, apparently, doesn't fry well, especially with egg. We ate it anyway. Except for Jeff, who tried to scrape his serving of his own masterpiece, Mush 2, back onto the communal plate.

After our feast of Chicken Thai Mush, we had our meeting. We talked about some new developments and important things. Of note:

1. We have a Support Crew! Toby and Sarah have agreed to meet up with us via car on parts of the trail to provide support, new clothes and food. Thank you, girls.
2. This weekend, we are hiking 60km for the Shizuoka Trailbiters' last big hiking venture together before the Big One.
3. Camping and hiking last weekend in Fujieda, with 20 friends, was a definite success.
4. We'd like to make t-shirts, but we're lazy.

But what was the most important subject of all in our meeting last night? What is the thing that gets us talking, reassures our purpose, and motivates us before our big 100? That we have received generous donations from our friends and family. Last night, we saw that we have surpassed our minimum donation amount of 120,000 Yen... which means we are officially eligible to walk the Walk. And, we are one-third of our way to reaching our target of 300,000 Yen. Sincerely, thank you!

We tied up many loose strings at our meeting last night. The only thing left bothering us was our lack of a team cheer; we've been sapping our creativity for a good one. On our early hikes, we tried making a cube with our hands, but Ken the Naysayer refused to add his hand and complete the cube. Out camping, we created the "Rocket", where we put our hands together and 'shoot' our hands upwards. Things got rediculous last night; particularly, the idea that we stand in a circle facing out, then Jeff turns inward and throws his hand into the circle, yelling, "Jeff!"; then, Rae turns around throwing her hand in and shouts, "Rae!" and then me, then Ken. And that, friends, was the unfortunate end to the meeting.

Labels: jessie

Today I am aching in places I didn't know existed. Of the places I do know exist, my shoulders are tensed up, my feet feel like jelly and my back is crying. It's all understandable since I hiked 20km through mountains and slept on wooden boards two nights this past weekend. Oh, Japan. You have a funny take on "camping."

To help raise funds for our team we went camping near Utoge Falls at the weekend, a mountainous area out the back of Bourke, as us Aussies would say. After running around like a chook with its head cut off on Friday afternoon, trying to get my act together and trying to get to the train station on time, we arrived at the campsite around 7ish unable to see a damn thing except the outline of tents and a Swiss-style reception building that sold ice cream and water pistols. Settling in for the night, we found all the tents set up and ready to go, something I'm not used to at all. I was a boy scout back in my day and camping meant fumbling around in the dark trying get the tent to stand up straight and banging anchor poles into the ground with the back of my shoe. It also meant sleeping on the warm earth. Not in Japan. Here "camping" is sleeping on wooden boards installed underneath the tents. No wonder my back is crying.

Our team was joined on the first night by Maureen, Adam, Kory and Nate. After stuffing our faces with food after a long day at work and scrambling to get to the campsite we had a little bit to drink and then discovered a zipline. A lot of fun in the dark when you're intoxicated.

Fast forward to the next day. The Shizettes turned up early and we all set off for a day of hiking in the mountains. We walked to the picnic table at the top like we did last time and the split in two, some of us continuing on to find the mythical pond and some returning back to the campsite. I call the pond mythical because we followed the signs to where they said the pond was supposed to be and then found a new sign that said the pond was actually a further 10km away. Maybe next time.

It was a tiring day to say the least. I was physically and mentally exhausted by the time we got to the steep uphill battle through the leaves but I quietly pushed on. I knew that if I thought about it too much I would want to stop and I didn't want to do that. Eventually we got back to the road and then the waterfall and walked down to the combini for some well-deserved ice cream. The Shizettes joined us before an old man bought us all ice cream (nice!) and then proceeded to ask where we were all from and then make fun of our features (mmm...)

We got back to the campsite to find our group had expanded and everyone was already having a nice time drinking and waiting for the yummy smelling food to cook. A huge thank you to Luthor and Toby for bringing food and cooking and just being fantastic. They definitely made it a successful night. Later in the evening Jeff and Luthor got onto their guitars and belted out a few tunes for some impromptu karaoke. All in all it was a great night with great people.

Labels: rae

I went out for sushi with Adam last night. It was a rather pleasant experience. We drank green tea and ate salmon and tuna sushi. I kept away from the skanky looking fried chicken. But after dinner I did the unthinkable... I went to McDonalds.

There are only 36 days left until our 100km hike – 36 days of NOT eating McDonalds. I've been doing my best to train – I ride my bike everywhere, often into central Yaizu; I stretch as often as I can; I run and I walk with my awesome hot pink handweights. But last night I lapsed.

I often wonder why Japanese children are so small, like little beetles, running around squealing their unintelligible nihongo. I especially wondered this last night when I ordered a McDonalds Happy Meal – complete with pancakes, fries and a coke. If I had kids and I was making them lunch I would not pair pancakes and fries. I couldn't think of a worse dietary combination. Yet, this is what I ordered last night. After eating teeny, tiny sushi I was still hungry and the pancakes were crying out to me. I had to eat those little pancakes...

So today I repent. I drink my cleansing green tea and nibble on a Soy Joy... while daydreaming about greasy fish and chips at Fish Frenzy in Hobart.

Labels: McDonalds, rae

Ken... please tell me you didn't just hyperlink to Kanye West's The Good Life. And no, before any ideas get started, this will not be the Trailbiters' theme song.

I'm excited for camping this weekend, too. And - good news - my knees are getting a little better. It's been almost two weeks since The Accident, and I had to stop training so I could recover. It's frustrating - my mind is in "go" mode, but my body won't let me. To quench that urge, I really considered getting some pink hand weights to work on my arms, but... no. I definitely feel less in shape than I was two weeks ago, but I also hope I've developed enough muscle memory to pick up again quickly. Last night, Rae and I went on a run... we ran for about 30 or 40 minutes with minimum walking breaks, and I was able to pull through! But this weekend will definitely be the make-or-break weekend: can my knees survive 6 or 8 hours of constant hiking? I'll find out on Saturday.

Things are crazy at work right now, too, so we Biters definitely have a load on our hands. It's April, so it's the beginning of the new school year in Japan. New fellow teachers, new students, new classes and a completely new schedule. No problem, right? Except during this time, if, say, a certain ALT didn't lesson plan in the month of March, hypothetically they would have to cram all their lesson planning at this time. Just saying, hypothetically. If an ALT didn't do the work they were supposed to do. A friend of a friend of a friend of mine. Not me. Then it would be a busy time, with training and all.

But... like we keep raving about on our blog, it's finally springtime in Japan. No more lonely nights under the kotatsu watching How I Met Your Mother while eating frozen vanilla ice cream (again, a friend of a friend of mine). It's really getting warm out! And I really can't wait for this weekend. Fingers crossed that my knees pull me through.

Now, we just need a theme song.

Labels: jessie, Kanye-West-hating

....This guy! This weekend, our team along with a bunch of our friends are heading up to the mountains of Fujieda for a weekend of camping and hiking. With the weather swinging into full Spring mode, this is gonna be well....awesome, sick, rad, tubular....take your pick. A day full of hiking through the stunning countryside sandwiched between two nights of hanging around the campfire with friends and s'mores = the good life. What are you doing this weekend? I bet you won't be enjoying life as much as me....or this guy.

Now, if I can just find something to keep me warm at night...hey, what's Jeff (my soft and cuddly teammate) for?

Labels: ken

Thank you to everyone who has donated to our team's effort to raise money for Oxfam. We love you! Walking 100km is only a minor aside to the money we're raising to help Oxfam's initiatives around the world to aide people living in poverty.

We'll get free food at pit stops along the walk, but people in Mozambique have little to eat as they endure an ever-worsening drought, depriving their crops for more than three months a year: Oxfam's programs in Mozambique.

We'll be hitting the 100km trail in the best of health, but in South Africa 5.3 million people (more than 1 in 5 adults) are living with HIV and AIDS: Oxfam's programs in South Africa.

We are lucky to be living in one of the most peaceful countries in the world, but in the Philippines, a country close to my own heart, economic and political stability is making it difficult for children to get a basic education: Oxfam's programs in the Philippines.

Your donations will go to doing good in the world. Thank you for helping us to help others.

Labels: rae

So for a while now, I have been going on day to day without something that has been a part of my daily routine for the last 8 years of my life, running. Bad shin splints that refused to go away after many attempted short breaks from running forced me to take more than a month completely off from running. Luckily I was able to walk and do most daily life things without any pain, but I missed running a whole lot. Saying no to playing soccer or just going on runs with my team members was nothing I enjoyed, but it has allowed me to get where I am now, back running. I just finished my first week back running (just 10min a day on soft, cherry blossom pedal covered ground) and my legs(shins) feel good. The time off from run training was not without its benefits as I was able to get on my bike and explore the area we live in. I had even begin to acclimate to life without running by the end of my break, but now being back I wouldn't trade this for much. I am excited to use the combo of run training and our team hikes to get back into great shape before the walk. While I am pretty confident that even right now everyone on our team is physically capable of getting across that finish line, a little added fitness can't help. The more I think about the walk the more it becomes clear to me that while there is certainly a physical aspect to walking 100km, this is more an individual and team mental challege than anything else. Having three teammates who I get along with (except for Jeff during that time of the month) and who have brought a great attitude to this challenge, is reassuring to say the least. Now (about a month and half away from the walk) I am leaning to the side of overestimating this walk, but I have a feeling that come about midday on May 23 you will find 4 trailbiters crossing a finish line near Mt. Fuji collectively pumping their fists.

Labels: ken

So, like, I totally got some new pink hand weights the other day. My arms are going to be soooo toned like Paris Hilton's. I, like, put a framed picture of her on my desk at work to inspire me during the day. I want 2 look just like my hero!

But seriously, I did buy hand weights the other day. The 1kg weights were only available in unfortunate pink. Those who know me know that I loathe pink. When I was a small and impressionable child my Mum would set to work on her sewing machine, creating pink monstrosities with bows and ribbons and other junk stuck randomly here and there - hence my aversion to the colour pink.

But the hand weights are working out really well. I've been going for long walks in the evenings under the cherry trees next my place. The weights work my arms and I can feel the burning into the next day. I need to tone up my chicken wing arms so I can look hot in the strapless wedding gown I plan on wearing.

Apart from walking I've been trying to do more stretching on top of the runs and bike rides I do every week. I've been a bit lazy this week, though, because I was bailed up in bed on Sunday with a migraine and I still haven't recovered from it yet. It's turned into a five-day long headache so I'm thinking about seeing a doctor. I'm sure I'm fine, just practicing caution.

A big shout out to those who have donated to the Trailbiters fund! So far the list includes: Adam Kennedy, Dave Rinehart, Jess Wilson, Maureen Rafferty and Jessie's Mum. We've had other pledges so hopefully we can make a dent in the ¥120,000 minimum we need to raise before next month. Yes, next month. We don't have long to go at all.

Labels: rae

I almost got myself into some trouble this weekend.

So it's cherry blossom season in Japan. If there's one time of year where the Japanese wear their party hats, it's now. When the cherry blossoms are out, there are hanami parties every day. Hanami comes from hana (flower) and mi (to see): literally, "flower-watching" parties. As you ride your bike along the river, you can see whole families mingling together on blue tarps under the trees, and you can hear old ladies warbling into portable karaoke machines and drunken salarymen gushing over the tiny white blossoms. So of course, on the weekend a group of us made plans for a hanami party in Fujieda. Unfortunately, it started raining heavily, so instead we made our way to Jeff's apartment.

Well, Ken and I (who had just come from a hanami party in Shizuoka city) were riding our bikes on our way to Jeff's. It was already dark, and raining (like I mentioned), and we started biking fast to cross Route One before the signal turned red. We were still on the sidewalk when my bike suddenly skidded on the wet cement and I flew over my bike onto the pavement. I just lied there in shock, but luckily I had Ken, who remained totally composed and reassured me that I'd be ok. I was worried that I'd broken something. I rolled onto by back and finally managed, "I'm okay... I'm just a little shocked... my knees are hurt." After a bit, Ken helped me up and we found to our relief that everything was intact. Limping, I walked my bike alongside Ken the rest of the way to Jeff's house, and cleaned up. The only thing that really bothered me was my right knee, which has since swollen up to what Jeff called "a globe." Still, I can't believe how lucky I am; I distinctly remember flying over my bike basket. Anyway, the only concern I had was whether I'd still be able to do the hike... which Ken confidently reassures me I will. That's all I need to hear.

Last night, the four of us went to an onsen (hot bath) to soak, and for me to ease the pain. After, we talked over dinner in the onsen's restaurant and laughed over a Japanese game show that was playing on an overhead TV. Things are looking up, and hopefully I'll be well enough to continue my training while the cherry blossoms are still in bloom. I love this season!

Labels: jessie, spring