How to follow Sus and Stu on their Kimberley Caper

Hi Everyone

Well we are getting very close to our start date ! Stu is already in Darwin and Sus leaves on Thursday !

We thought it would be good to send you the details of how you can get in contact with us while we are away.

Go to the Racing the Planet website : www.racingtheplanet.com. ( RTP )

And you have a few options;

RTP will be posting hourly updates to the website during each stage – these are known as "Breaking News." These updates will keep you abreast of the leaders, the middle of the pack, the back of the pack, weather conditions, etc. In addition this, at the end of each day, a Stage Update will be posted summarizing the day, as well as videos clips and several hundred photographs.

To follow the RacingThePlanet: Australia 2010, click here.

To sign up for Breaking News, click here.

To have family, friends and colleagues send email to you, click here.

At the end of the day we would LOVE to get an email from you and we do not care if all it is what the weather is doing or that Carl WILLIAMS was beaten to death in his Melbourne jail !!!

We will not be able to reply but we will update a blog ! We are going to be creating RTP Blog's as we cannot update this one so go to the blog page at RTP and search for your names and you will be able to find our blogs !!!!

Once again , thanks so much for your support !

We will be in touch via the RTP Blogs

Sus and Stu

Hello from the Top End!

STU: Well, hello fronm the top end! Landed in Darwin late last night and been relaxing by the pool, watching Stanley Cup Hockey and carb loading. Pancakes with syrup and bacon (carbs, fat, protein - a balanced diet really!). Hmm, lunch was ice coffee and a 6 pack of cinnamon donuts.... hmm, donuts!

Been for a run this morning and saw heaps of dragon flies. now they reminded me of home on the farm in Devon when I was growing up. We had lots of dragon flies as we had a pond. Nice memory. Anywho, the good news is that dragon flies means (according to the locals) END OF THE WET SEASON! Right on time!

Shopping for last minute items in Darwin proved a winner. $2 shop got a work out and found some possible meal supplement in Woolies (in addition to the donuts!).

And would you believe it. I'm walking down the main street and I run into my old flat mate from Sydney. Now, he knew I was coming, but we did not arrange to meet in the street by chance. lesson? Man walking with eyes open, see many things! :-)

Take another run later with some kit changes to make sure of the old rule 'nothing new on race day'.

Later gator! Stu

Last training session ......

SUS : Last training session at Coogee this morning with Pete and the surf club girls and Pete was kind to us and we went for a 40 min run and walked the South Coogee stairs once !

A HUGE thank you to Pete and the Surf Club girls for these training sessions , they have been invaluable.

And the reason we look all bedraggled on the photo is that we got caught in a massive downpour at the end of the session this morning !!

Down to the pointy end of it all now !!!!!

SUS : It was " freak out " city yesterday ! It was pack the pack day after getting the email from Racing the Planet on Friday saying that the " wet " season was going on for a bit longer this year and needed an emergency bivvy and also when you get to Kununurra the medical team will be giving instructions about how to handle a snake bite !!!! So more gear needed to be purchased ...... so then the challenge is getting it into the pack ........

UMMMMM .. not easy .. took a few hours .. and doing this process I personally had a freak out and thought no will not ring anyone .. suck it up .... next minute get a call from Stu ... having the same issue .......... PHEW .. but that is the thing about this race .. will never be alone ....

Stu landed in Darwin today and I go Thursday .. last training session in the Tuesday AM ....

We are ready .. just want to get there.

Check out these links from the course , posted on you Tube today by Racing the Planet ( RTP )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM5EnAK-uaA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bLWXXFKg60

Just ignore the part about the crocs .......

It is getting down to the last of the sessions .....

SUS : It is now getting down the the last of the sessions .. so last sprint session at Centennial Park this morning , a great hit out by the team, a lovely autumn morning. As I was doing the last 400m I thought .. well this is good will not be doing this for a while, that is a relief , so pump it out ...... and then articulated this to Dickie and he goes " oh yes but what about the 250km that you are about to do !! " . REALITY CHECK !! We are into the taper so tomorrow is a comfortable 2 hour run " sans pack ' LUXURY !!!!

The all important iPod playlist............and of course it is an orange iPod !!!

SUS : Well it is time to get the all important playlist sorted out for the iPod .. particularly on the long day .. I am saving the iPOd as a wee reward for that day ..... as I will need everything that I can to get me through. My colleagues at work have not been very helpful with the following being high on the playlist:

• Melissa Etheridge " Bring me some water "
• Proclaimers " I will walk 500 miles "
• Journey " To the centre of the earth "
• Burt Bacharach " Raindrops keep falling on my head " ( as the rainy season is going on for a bit longer in the NT this year and big chance of rain for most of the journey )
• Midnight Oil " Beds are Burning "

My choices are clearly for the classics, Micheal J, ABBA, Boney M, Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack and any NZ music ..

Any suggestions ?

Choice

STU: It was 'Choice' and it is all about choice.

Monday was feeling more than a bit tired in the morning and wimped out. Monday night was strength training and was good. Tuesday felt tired again and once again wimped out.

Wednesday morning and kicked myself into gear a bit more. 8km in the morning. not bad but neve really felt that good. long day at work and was not looking forwards to the run home from Strathfield. Then as I was throwing the pack on my back leaving the office it just fell into mind that I had a choice. I did not HAVE to do it. I could get the train all the way home if I wanted. But then, there are people out there that don't have a choice. No choice in what they eat, where they sleep, what clothes they wear or indeed what they can beleive in.

I have more choice than I know what to do with and I'm whinging about having to run a few km's! Suck it up and get on with it.

I chose to run and it felt bloody great. I feel great. I'm feeling on top of the world to be able to make the choices every day in what I do. I choose to run because others can't.

Tomorrow? Track. Last session before departing for the top end......

Kit Test and night run

STU: Well, that went very well! all kit passed with flying colours. shoes awesome. feel great. Injinji socks pretty cool and gators not rubbing too much at all.

Tonights run? Start with M.O.S at Queens Park, down to Clovelly, upto Bondi, Bondi up to Cooper Park and through to Ocean street, around Centennial Park and back to Queens Park. M.O.S. had to check out so I went back down to Clovelly and headed south to Coogee and then back. 26km in 2:33.

Home in time to make mash potatoe and eat it with my new Spork.

Tomorrow? maybe 10 in the morning and then a strength session. later running friends!

Equipment nearly sorted (nearly)

STU: Equipment alley (and my bank card) got a work out today!

Gators purchased and already modified to suit the event and terrain. I figured the elastic cords that stretch under the sole of the shoe were not going to last the 250km of rocks in the Kimberley terrain. Cut those off and purchased some gator ties made of steel. Get some ratchet style shoe lace fastners and use some elestic shoes lace to connect the cable to the gator - sorted!

New shoes 2 weeks out form the event? Risky yes, but a necessary move. The Lafuma's I have been running in are good and the right foot is great. The left foot rubs on the little toe, pressures on the heel and has also blistered my sole a few times. Hence some new Salomons are now on my feet. BRIGHT yellow, and when I say BRIGHT, I mean BRIGHT! I figure if I get lost they will see my shoes!

New socks, new cap and a head mounted light will all get a work out tonight for my first night run (which yesterday afternoon I realised I had not done yet!).

I'll let you know tomorrow how it all goes!

A tale of two runs

Sus : My weekend of running was a challenge , physically and mentally. Saturday was an interesting day when I started running I felt a bit sore and tired ( no wonder really ) and had some aches in places that I have not had before but anyway this is what is going to be like so " just get on with it ". So a couple of kms into I tried to relax and as I was doing that I started to think about swimming and that it was going to be a great day at Bondi and all the STG Stinger crew were there and the all important coffee afterwards and that always makes me feel good and looking forward to that over the winter months ...... however ..... I also forgot that it makes me so relaxed that I fall over ( has happened a couple of times before ) and so as night become day I went for a big plant .. fell over and scrapped my hands and made a hole in my pants. But there are not too many options and will not be in the Kimberley's apart from getting back up and getting on with it. And as per Stu's report we managed a big run. By the time I got home I was feeling a bit sore. Woke up Sunday and was very sore and was not sure if I could run. It took me 45 mins to get organised and get out the door ( even watched some morning commercial TV ...which I never do ! ) And I headed out the door .. the first 10 mins were terrible and I started to cry and the thoughts of " what was I thinking about doing this race " I am not going to be able to do this. Then I gave myself a good talking to and kept on putting one foot in front of the other and started to think about my Aunty and friend Kath who no longer have a choice about what they do as cancer took that away from them... so then I got a rhythm and kept going and ended powering up Heartbreak Hill and beyond for a 2 hour run. After starting off so badly and that I managed to turn it around .... it was good to know mentally that I can do that .. as it will be needed every day .....

Six Foot track 'Round Two'

Saturday morning 5am. No rain, great! Boil the kettle and make oats with nutella (not bad, try it!). sit on the balcony sipping coffee. 6am Kingy, Steve and Dicky arrive. Off we go up to the Blue Mountains. Arrive at the drive into The Diversion to find 'Car Rally - Forest Roads Closed'. Uh oh! no fear, drive on to Caves road crossing. Met a few walkers who had been on the track and reported the track is all clear. GREAT!

Off we trot fronm the Caves road crossing, through The Diversion, across the Black Range, down Pluviometer hill, over a few water crosing (refusing to get my feet wet and managed to succeed) and on up to Mini Mini. Now, just got to get home again...

Steve kept us entertained by 'singing' for most of the journey until he got a jump on us and took off up the hill about 5km from home. Dickie slogged the mid section and came home strong leaving Kingy and I to bring up the rear.

36km. 5h 16m

Tired & hungry but satisfied with grinding out a tough run when needed. The treat for all this running? A chicken pie and a cold beer in Blackheath. It didn't touch the sides!

Running in circles

Stu: Some nice cooling rain at track tonight. running in circles for 6km. good speed work out and then some core strength to finish off. 12km today so upto 56km for the week so far. should make it to about 110km with friday rest day. next update Saturday.

Zweibrücken (two bridges)

training when it's raining! what fun! I must admit the thought of running in the rain was not such a bundle of oy then i considered that in a few weeks we'll be begging for rain instead of the relentless sun. Ran from Pyrmont to George street and then across the Harbour bridge and back upto town hall to catch the train. dayswork then train to Strathfield and run home through Concorde, Five Dock, Haberfield and Balmain and home across the ANZAC bridge (hencetwo bridges). stopped the watch at 1:00:01 which was kind of spooky! I figure that was about 22km for the day which is on target.

feet feel good after a sand run

STU: Well, ended up in Cronulla. Tip to Toe the Cronulla beach (including Elouera and Wanda etc) is 6 km. Out and back twice gives a 24km barefoot sand run. No rough skin left on my feet! Avec pack weighing in at just over 8kg, scrambled Eggs and bacon well deserved!

What Easter break ????

SUSAN : There was not much of a break for Easter ...it was a good chance to make the most of un-interrupted training time. A sprint session in Centennial Park on Friday morning ( Pete let us sleep into 7.00am at least ) then Saturday it was off down to Ottford where Kelly, Nadi , Stu and I set out on the Ottford to Bundeena walkway .. we walked/ran with packs on for about 5.30 hours. It was challenging terrain and rugged coastline. Then back to Sydney and Stu and I went shopping for some more of the all important " kit " . No time for a nana nap today ! Then Sunday up for a two hour run with pack on , then Sunday it was " sans " pack for a lovely coastal run with Dickie ( my other ACE training partner ) . Then I could relax for the weekend and went to support my STG Stinger buddies in the Tama to Cloey swim ( and that event was a whole other story ) .. then Tuesday back on the weekley training regime .....

LET'S GET GOING!

Well, bit of ground to cover here in terms of blogs and the story!

STU: Did 2 hours this morning. Pyrmont, opera house, Kings Cross (no, did not stop!), Oxford Street and on up to Centennial park. Awesome run. Just had to get back home then! I reckon that was about 20km. No pack today so easy running. Did wear two running tops to raise the temperature ready for the heat. Guess who I saw out on the road??? KINGY! She had just set off from home with back pack. 4.5 million people live in Sydney and we bump into each other on different training runs by pure chance. How does that work?

Tomorrow? Not sure. Wanted to run on the beach bare foot down at Culburra (there is 10km sand beach that stretches from Culburra Beach to Currarong) but rain stopped the motorbike trip down there so not sure where to go. I'll let you know where I end up! Stu