Sunday 31st January 2010
Exercise: Trailwalker training. 22.5km – checkpoint 3 Grant’s Picnic Ground at Kallista to almost 5 – Cog Bike Cafe, Mt Evelyn. (approx.) 6 hours 15 minutes walking time.
As it was forecast to be 37 today, Jay and Cilla and I decided to meet at 7am at Cog. It was already 26 degrees, but luckily for us this section of the couse is shaded for about 70% of the way.
This may be the masochist in me, but I really like this section of the course. This is the second time I’ve done it now and I really look forward to the hill at Hackett’s Rd (which I just found out yesterday is a 30% gradient) and the hills at Georges Track and Track 13. I just put my head down and go. I get into a bit of rhythm between my breathing and my steps and before you know it, you’re at the top. I also think I’m a bit fitter, so the hills don’t really hurt anymore – don’t get me wrong, they are hard, they just don’t kill me like they used to.
I even like the ridiculously steep decline at Melba Track. I need a stick to get down it and it scares me a little, but when I’m not good at something, I just want to practice it and practice it until I get better at it. This time I think I was twice as fast as last time. On the side of the track there was a narrow path of flattened vegetation where other walkers had gone down and this made it heaps easier than last time when I had to go down the centre on the slippery, gravelly rocks. Jay is so fast downhill, she flies down the hills, even over rocky terrain. Cilla had her new trail boots on which I think helped her alot on this section.
I also wore my new gaiters. I was a vision in pink leopard print! They seemed to work pretty well. My socks were semi-white when I got home, the only parts caked in dust were my toes, which I think the dust got in through the mesh of my shoes where the gaiter doesn’t cover. No rocks got in, no grass barbs or seeds, just dust. I can handle the dust.
I did get scratched a bit on the narrow parts of the trail, I think KC track and Rifle Range Gully track – there are thorny weed type bushes and they grab at your skin and pull as you walk past. I have a couple of battle scars on my thigh and lower calve. It’s alright, they won’t kill me!
It was much busier on the course today, there were heaps of trailwalkers, runners, mountain bikers and vehicles. Last time, there was none. The tracks are so narrow that you just have to stand to the side and let the streams of runners past you so you don’t get collected, the mountain bikes whizz past you at lightning speed before you even know they’re there, the trailwalkers sometimes stop for a chat or to ask for directions and the vehicles kick up heaps of dust as they pass you on the gravel tracks.
Before this walk I had filled 1.5 litres of water in my macpac and ran out of water just at the last stile at the bottom of Olinda Creek track, but at this point there is only about 30 minutes of walking left to go until you reach Cog at Mt Evelyn. Just as a precaution, I did a quick 1/3 fill of my hydration pack at the taps near Mt Evelyn Reserve, just in case, you never know what can happen when it’s 37 degrees outside.
It was hot walking that last bit, through the gravel residential streets from Joy Ave down to the car, not as much shade, but luckily it’s only a short walk. Then we got out onto Monbulk rd and back to my car where there was a cold gatorade and air con waiting for me 
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My TW tips for walking on hot days:
1) take as much water as your hydration pack will allow and take sips often
2) wear sunscreen and take sunscreen with you, re-apply every 2 – 3 hours
3) wear a hat or a cap
4) wear aeroguard and take aeroguard with you
TIP: I put a frozen ice pack (one of the gel ones like you get at the chemist for sprained ankles etc.) in my hydration pack to keep my water cold. My water was still cold until I ran out of water! And when the gel ice pack thaws out, it doesn’t drip and melt everywhere like ice. And it’s slimline and re-useable.
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My TW nutrition tips:
I throw the diet out the window when doing long training walks. You’ll burn so many kj’s that you will negate anything you eat. I find that high kj/high carb foods are best for taking on the trail, because they give you the energy you need. I take things that won’t melt in the heat – ie. chewy lollies instead of chocolate. And snack-sized zip-lock bags are my best friend!
My typical TW food goes like this:
Wake up – have a peanut butter and jam sandwich for breakfast
At the starting point of the training walk - have a banana
On the trail, I take 2 fruit bars (carbs), raspberry chewy lollies (carbs), dixie drumsticks (salty) and a peanut butter and jam sandwich for lunch (protein/carbs). This time I also took marie biscuits with peanut butter sandwiched inside it (cos I had been craving it all week) and I had it when I reached the top of Hackett’s rd hill – like a reward
Tip: Eat/bring things that agree with you and don’t sit heavy in your stomach.
This is in addition to the 1.5L water I bring, and I take sips often. And refill when necessary – be careful that the water is safe to drink, there’s usually signs at the tap if it’s not fit for drinking.
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Other stuff:
I always take Bodyglide or some sort of blister prevention, just in case. So far I haven’t had to use it.
Band-aids – Cilla found that her new shoes rubbed her. Jay and I both didn’t have any band-aids, luckily some other trailwalkers did!
Tissues – Most toilet stops have toilet paper, but some don’t.
Nurofen/Voltaren – again, just in case, pain-relief is always handy to have.
Map book – I used to not take my map book, but it is useful, especially as parts of the trail are new/not well signed.
Money - don’t have to bring heaps, just enough to buy a gatorade at a local milk bar!
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We are 10 weeks away from walking 100kms. It’s a good time now to write down a list of things we want our support crew to bring us/things we want to carry on us.
So far, things like:
one member will have to carry a first-aid kit on them
we will need mobile phones on us to keep in contact with our support crew
support crew will need to bring: changes of socks, clothes, runners, food and cans of coke!
This list to be continued…!
