Mt Kilimanjaro 2014

Mt Kilimanjaro is for many people in life is a challenge that will remain on a bucket list if you will for a very long time, it’s a mountain that seems far too big to conquer for the average person like myself.

But if you try just like I did, in return one of the 7 summits of the world, Africa’s highest peak at 5,895 meters awaits you.

On this trip we had 12  awesome folks, from Ireland, Scotland, United States and Australia each and every person wanted to get to the top of Mt Kilimanjaro with the most exciting enthusiasm and sense of purpose that is hard to find in even the most determined and focused group of people.

27 porters carried our food and gear which included some of the nicest guides, head guides and leader you will ever meet. some didn’t look strong, some didn’t look fit, some looked too old, but you should never judge a book by its cover, these guys knew exactly what they were doing!

We hiked for the next 5 days from the rain forest, to the rocky surrounds on the Marangu route.

It was a sensational hike and I am so glad I stopped along the journey, as I hiked up over the 5 days to enjoy the canopy of the forest, waterfalls, wildlife, the wide open spaces, the vantage points from each hut/camp  and to  look and respect respect the mountain of Kilimanjaro commands in the distance and as it nears closer.

I found the route a nice way to get to the top of Mt Kilimanjaro BUT I just wanted to spend more time out in this great place, so friends my advice pick a longer route! , and a few folks got a little sick from the altitude with the quick ascent.

Day 1 - Mandara hut (2,743 metres (8,999 ft)

Day 2 - Horombo hut (3,760 metres (12,340 ft)

Day 3 - Kibo hut (4,730 metres (15,520 ft)

Day 4 – Summit Day!

Gillman's Point (5,681 metres (18,638 ft)

Uhuru Peak (5,895 metres (19,341 ft) the highest point in Africa.

Descend to Kibo Hut and Horombo hut

Day 5 – Exit Marangu Gate

The highlight for me was making it to Gilmans point, as I set out to on Summit night at midnight, I was determined that no matter what I would make it to the top, the long line of head torches that stretched from Kibo hut to Gilmans point was long, and full of eager, excited, worried faces that just wanted to get to the top.

Stepping out of the camp at one minute past midnight spirits were high with happy new year! from all! My New Years Resolution was set! Make it to the Top!  

Reaching the top of Gilmans point just in time for the breathtaking view as the sun rises over a great land, the snow capped mountain, this one must be seen to be believed! Exhausted I took a seat on a rock just behind the sign, I shed a tear or two as the sun rose, It was out of this world and something special! I will never forget. I hugged some random trekkers with a sense of pride at what we had achieved!

The decision to press on to Uhuru point over the top of Kili was an easy one, I was full of energy, slow, but excited, it took a further 1.5 hours to reach Uhuru point, but it looked so close, trekking over the snow covered mountain was exciting , looking around at the ice formations, the grand crater will be etched in my mind for the rest of my life!

I made it to the peak just after 8am,  with a overwhelming sense of achievement, took my picture at the Uhuru peak sign, reflected on the year gone past, thought about the year ahead and everything I wanted to achieve in the next 12 months, I could not believe the spectacular view from 5,895 meters or 19,341 feet.

With a quick descent right down to Kibo,  Horombo huts  and than the gate the next day, its so true, as you drop in altitude the body gets so much more energy!

Arriving back at the hotel with the help of our small army it was hard to think we had done this in 5 short days, I had the great privilege of shaking each hand of the crew, saying a few short words of thanks and handing out the tips.

This was a great way to start 2014 may it continue the way it has started!

 #inspired #livemore #thinkless #justdo

Race 25: Its been a while

Well well well, its been a while since I have put any sort of post down on this blog, and that is because I felt that I really had not been accomplishing all that much worthy of me writing about.

So here is a snapshot of what I have achieved:
#21. Gold Coast Australia 2011
#22. Chicago USA 2011
#23. Tokyo Japan 2012
#24. Los Angeles USA 2012
#25. Chicago USA 2012












Now between races 21 and 25 there were a few, a lot of challenges, more than i'd care to write about or relive.

5 Marathons in 18 months, I'm slowing down, they ranged from 3:24 to 5+hrs, my body went from fit and fantastic to feeling the pain (understatement of the century) and than back to better than ever!.

This blog has been primarily about keeping myself motivated enough to stay on top of the challenges that life throws at us, its helped me re-define the values I posses as a person, and re-assess what we do in life, how we tackle the challenges we come up against and be the best person I can possibly be in life.

The marathon is a challenge I love dearly and will always run one while I am able on a annual basis, what the marathon has taught me as a person is that our character is defined not only when times are good but its more important when times are tough, its in that final 2 kilometers running, being in the middle of the ocean and having to paddle back to shore on a kyak that we find our most trying times, keep a calm head and bring that journey home, now that is not always as fast as we would like, or with the elegance we desire, but we bring it home.

For me back in 2009, when the chips were down, I seemingly laughed at the idea of running even a half marathon, I laughed at the idea of doing one loop of Albert Park, impossible, simply not to be, everything seemed far too difficult and almost impossible.

One of the biggest lessons I have been able to learn from this last few years is that your best friends in the world can be anyone, you might exchange an email, twitter or talk on the phone, call in for dinner when your passing through,  its the people that like to see you succeed, offer you words of encouragement when you don't and give you a helping hand when you most need it, in turn you get to repay the favor, and some of the people that surprise you the most are those you least expect.

For me the challenge has been two fold, how do you be authentic and not just share the good times with those closest but the challenges.

Life will always be full of challenges, we will want to run faster, run further, be thinner, travel more, spend more time with friends, face health challenges, start a new hobby, meet a new friend,  but for me the key is going to always to: be the best I can possibly be, I might never be the fastest, I might not always finish every race (although it better not be more than once) but I will give it my all.

In 2013 I am going to take on a couple of key challenges:

1. Run Chicago 2013 @ 3hr 00m (god willing)
2. Study with the aim of passing every subject...... (Write a decent essay)
3. Finish off some climbs (time permitting)

But more importantly I set my new years resolution as :

"Life is full of opportunity, 2013 is all about making the most of them, connecting with friends, exploring new places and giving back... "

The most important resolution is above all else to me in 2013 is about giving back, that simply means when I meet some one I can help: don't look the other way, when I run a race see if what I can donate to a worthy charity,  When a friend asks for a hand, give it..... its not always going to be easy but try and more times than not we hope that we will succeed, no one is perfect.

Life has meaning which we find through the values we posses, our meaning than gives us a purpose.

I am looking forward to smashing my 3hr 24m marathon from 2012, kyaking a ferocious ocean (the two most exciting challenges I love), climbing a mountain and living life as the best person I can be while I continue to find that purpose.

Looking forward to the best 2013.

Cheers
Jeff

Race 20: University of Illinois Marathon Champaign

This recent weekend started out full of promise, it was a warm evening about 3/4 weeks earlier that I met with David for dinner in Sydney a good friend from Chicago, when I think I was talking about my LA marathon, before you know it one thing led to another and since I had planned to be in the US over Easter, this must have been that really bad bottle of red we enjoyed, but it seemed like a good idea to get into the marathon down at the university of Illinois.

The lead up to this period seen me work for five weeks straight travelling, United States, Sydney, New Zealand, and in general being very much on the road, a past time I have not had to do in quiet some time and really can live without.

So needless to say prep was not great, in any case as I landed in Chicago, and arriving at the day David picks me up from the hotel in downtown Chicago and we head for the two hour drive south to Champaign the adventure begins!.

Here is the team:

Josh - Truly the superstar of the team, Josh is an amazing runner at 9 years old, doing his very first 10km run, Josh came in at an amazing first place in 1hr 10m, I get so excited when people break a personal best, and this kid deserved all the high fives he could get - truly hope he soaks up the credit he deserves and makes the most of the next few weeks, lets see if he does another or breaks the half marathon distance! with his natural talent!










David - Totally smashed my time in this marathon when he was not even ready for it, way to go David - this was an amazing feat for a weekend and a guy who travels way more than me. David is going to break the 3:30 Marathon barrier and grab that Boston Qualifier he so richly deserves, it’s a tall order but some thing that I am confident he can break! - so confident I am going to challenge David that if he trains for it, than so will I...... although my qualifier is 3hr and 10m Crikey!!!.









Daniel - The guy who is new to running, he knocked over 50 miles in the preceding week training, hmmmm I’m not so sure. This guy is an absolute natural, blowing all of us out of the water this weekend, he glided through this course with relative ease, he has some natural talent and something some of us find difficult to get, the ability to just toughen up and smash through the course, a truly competitive nature brings out the best in this runner, congratulations go to Daniel who came in first in the group!






Matt - our awesome host and David’s son, Matt was great showing us around town, introducing us to the bars and places in this great university town and nice enough to put me us up in his senior house..... a great guy - people like all four of these guys are very rare to come by in this day and age and really nice people.





Oh and than we come to me, who managed to finish the marathon, I had no excuse apart from the muscles in my legs giving out, and my lack of consistent running in the past 5 weeks. I came in last in the group, however I am very pleased I finished, my favorite saying came into play this weekend, a quote from Dean Karnases, "Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must, just never give up!" yes I said this over and over and over again.





The course this weekend was not full of landmarks or call out places, it was the people and spirit that made this weekend special, a energy that you must have!, I did a respectable 10k, 13.1m but it went down hill from here, and I think from this point I wont even bother to recall the last 13.1 miles of pure hell! - enough said!

Every Marathon I take on teaches me a new lesson in life, and when you least expect it you are handed some of the most valuable lessons....... this weekend was one of those lessons.......... the tough thing for many is to recognize the lesson and grab it with both hands than run with it!

Now its no news to anyone that my life has seen a significant shift in the last two and a half years, i've had more change than some people have in an entire life time.

What a lot of people don't know is at the start of this change I started the biggest battle of my life, on a number of fronts, and this journey continues today, the journey must have an end, but for the moment I’m only half way there - and a lot of hard work is required to return to the life I once enjoyed – but for me this life will be like we all should live, to enjoy every moment like we have no tomorrow.

Running for me is the solution to this journey.

This weekend, I realized that people do exist in the world that have no desire to bring you ill fate, that even when things don’t go to plan, and your down and out you wont get kicked at the same time, hey its not the end of the world.

The thing I’m missing right at the moment is the return of my competitive nature, now anyone who was slightly close to me in business knew that I was indeed a competitive person, and I played to win all the time, and second was never good enough.

Dan, David and Josh all showed me that competitive nature weather it be against yourself seeking that elusive personal best, or against your brother, son or friend.

I’m glad I got this lesson because as I left this weekend, the worst marathon time, actually 2nd worst time ever, I have the start of my competitive spirit back!

I am starting the journey to Boston, that’s right inspired by David and Daniel from this last weekend, and the can do attitude they posses, I’m setting myself this goal.

I have let my current trainer go, and will search for a new one, someone that has my way of thinking in mind and can push me hard with this essential can do attitude and positive nature, that even if they think I cant crack that 3hr 10m time they will push me like there is no tomorrow so we will get as close as humanly possible.

I have just received confirmation of my entry to the October Chicago marathon and will make this the target, If I’m going to qualify this is the event. 5 Months …… and counting down.

In many ways the worst marathon weekend on the calendar so far, yet so many rich lessons learnt!

A great weekend!

The training for my Chicago 3hr and 10m marathon start!

Cheers
Jeff

Race 19: The LA Marathon - March 2011

The La Marathon was pure FUN! - that's right it was one of those very special events that gets you all excited and allows you to just do not over think! - on this occasion it was the thing that made it possible for me to clear my head, and for a number of reasons.

The LA Marathon started down at Dodger stadium and wound its way around the course through LA finishing at Santa Monica Pier......

Lets step back a few paces and understand how this one transpired,

1. Monday prior to the event I "googled" the marathon, and secured my place.

2. Tuesday I made a reservation, Thursday I paid and locked in the event.

3. Friday I caught a plane to LAX - Insane!

4. Sunday I ran the LA Marathon

5. Sunday Night I caught the plane home.


The Marathon had an insane start time to be at the shuttle bus to take us to Dodger Stadium on the other side of town, 4.00am, BUT this is where the journey started and why it ended up becoming one of those very special events, and a huge success.

Boarding the bus with my Coffee in hand, and bag of food and goodies, I was half asleep, but before long the excitement of the event transpired, I met a few fellow runners, and we managed to chat for a while about all things running, just nice people, in this day and age this is very hard to come by........ and I value these types of chance meetings more than anything along the marathon journey......

After a few hours of waiting around we all headed out to the start line, parting ways never to be seen again! - but a nice way to kill a few hours.

Debate was strong as to if the rain would hold off, and the Answer was, Just until the start,...... literally a few minutes later the Sky's open up and the rain falls down.

The start was slow, with 20,000+ runners getting out of the start line I lost a good 5 minutes as the runners slowed to a crawl getting out of the gates, Although it was not long before I got away, clawing back those valuable minutes before I knew it I had passed the 3:30 pace team, yes and I was a good 4 minutes later starting than them a quick calculation a little later in the course and I was on track for a 3:20 finish, HECK!!!!! AMAZING how on earth did this happen and than I find myself saying to one self, DON'T SCREW IT UP !!!!

The garmin gets set to a pace and I am not allowed to let it drop below the required pace for 3:20.

30 Km and still going strong, happy happy happy! - I might just pull this off I think to myself.

But than a couple of KM later after I passed Rodeo Drive, the worst case scenario happens, the cold, wind and rain has got to me and I come to complete halt! (Oh bother, well I said a lot worse) here I am for minutes that seemed like hours stretching my legs in every which way I can, consuming Gels, and the jelly baby things from Gu, it come back together again but all I could manage to pump out was 10km / hr - :( :( :( :( Jeff got very sad :( :( as I realised I had just lost my first sub 3:30 ......... a little while longer I managed to gain the enthusiasm of the crowd, the thing I find about life is you cant do it alone, and a marathon is the same thing, I looked to the crowd to give me just that energy, and that's exactly what the people of LA did - hey maybe even a few movie stars did too ;) .

But I was back on track to finish, hoping for a 3:45 as the 3:30 pace crew re-caught me and over took me, than the 3:40..... this was not just a marathon given the conditions it was Survivor, a war zone and a marathon all in one.

The conditions made it similar to what I will experience on May 15 in the extreme challenge of the 100Km North Face 100.

So I am very happy that I finished this one in around 3:48 .

I was really surprised when one of the fellow runners Reid that I had met hours earlier finished at almost exactly the same time, and he come over and shook my hand! - this was Great as we congratulated each other for the champions we were after an experience that we had just been through.

You had to draw every piece of physical and mental energy to finish this one - dig deep and keep on target.

So as we walk down the finish line, it was kinda cool, we found a little hotel that managed to get us out of the shivering cold, only steps from hypothermia - bundled into a conference room, food, towels we managed to finish up...... parting ways congratulating each other!

A very cool run and a nice way to finish and I hoped I didn't get a cold, upon returning home I found that Reid had beat me by a whopping 19 seconds, so I think I need to race this guy again.......

In any case.... getting to the airport a few hours later, Qantas had managed to get me an upgrade to Business Class on the A380, a flat bed to sleep the way home, Thank Goodness.

Now I had said I was planning a revamped plan....... here it is! If decided come June 22nd, Ill head back to the US for a good 6 months to base myself on the coast of sunny California, a place that I can just train, and re-energize from the year gone past........ I find that sometimes we need to totally remove our self from the negativity and beliefs of our surroundings to make something as big as I'm trying to work! and this is part of the shot at it I'm going to give myself! Ill take my Bike, Runners, Camping gear, and energy to setup camp somewhere near Santa Monica!, I'll head back prior to do some apartment hunting, but this is exciting stuff and gives me a HUB to Sydney, Melbourne, New York, Canada, Chicago, San Francisco......... oh and Hawaii! - and maybe some of Europe.

Some Pictures from LA - The Face Book Link!

LA Pictures

Marathon Pictures


Also since I got more out of this weekend, friendly people, tough running conditions and I made yet another unexpected big decision, I am going to donate $350 to the Life House @ RPA in Sydney Australia, Cancer Research and Treatment Facility........ a cause that is near and dear to my heart, running inspires the greatest from me, and I am honored I am able to give back in a small way.

Till Next Time,

Cheers
Jeff

The LA Marathon

This weekend I set out to take on the LA Marathon, Well well well what can I say, BUT i'm unfit and lacking motivation, I have been spending more time than id like working, (even though that comes to an end @ the stroke of 12 Midnight on 22nd June 2011!!!) there will be a celebration planned for my 33rd Birthday and the end of my Information Technology, Contracts and Negotiations and general counsel to the UN...... no truly it feels like it some times, my executive director sent me a thankyou recently and said "to persevere with a contract negotiation, yada yada like this, requires neveres of steel and a lot of grit and determination!" I appeciated the thankyou, and I hope to take that same determination into my full time job "yes trying to be an athlete" just in case you missed it the video below:




So this weekend is a new beginning for me, its a benchmark and a chance to clear my head and start fresh, rid myself of the unnecessary noise that others give us and refocus on the goals.

I will be writing an action plan! yes an action plan as if I am co-ordinating a business strategy for one of my old clients with a never say die attitude and always succeed out come!

Wish me luck, Ill be posting my plan from sunny california on sunday live from Venice Beach!

Stay Tuned

Cheers
Jeff

56Km from Dromana to Cape shank down by Frankston....

This run was filled with lots of different feelings, I was not feeling 100% and I went into it with a great amount of Fear, Fear of not finishing.

The thing about running is that one should never ever fear doing it, you should always simply enjoy the experience and do your best.

Waking up for the morning a stone throw away from the start line, I was optimistic but still apprehensive, I quickly got my gear together:

LESSON ONE: don't carry so much crap on a trail run, my kit consisted of Muesli bars, jelly cups, a camel pack of water, Gatorade's, a jacket, compass, two mobile phone (oh but why ???) , first aid kit and the list gos on, probably 10kg later I'm off and running.

ANSWER ONE: ditch all the crap bar the food and a little less water.

Before one realises it your lined up on the start line and the feeling is electric, off one sets, this course promised to be full of wonderful sights and a few hard hills, as always I didn't bother to study the maps and was in for one serious first hill, a up hill battle for the first few Kilometers.


One that was over I settled into the course, the trail run was different, rocks, sticks, not a flat road coarse which is my comfortable running environment, the shoes I had on proved not to be appropriate

LESSON TWO: for a trail you need a pair of tougher shoes, I managed to destroy my feet, my toes went through the front, the base of my feet were in pain.

ANSWER: new trail shoes.

The course went on and with a few nice people about I chatted a little along the way, upon reaching the 28km marker, the half way point I was pretty much satisfied until I realised I would need to turn around and do it all over again..... On the exit.... my face, expression and comments said it all, the lesson here its a mental challenge, the half way point in any distance is always a nice spot to think about opting out, but you really need to finish what you started

LESSON THREE: don't give up half way.

ANSWER: finish what you started.

From the 35th Kilometer I think I passed the Mayor of Dronmana on his journey still coming across, nice chap wished me luck along with many others still on the way across.

When the people faded you realised the long hard slog was coming, with muscles becoming worn down, the count down of kilometers started, 38, 39, 40 ...... 45......... 50.........51,52,53,54,55,56!


The hills that we had come down over were now MONSTERS to climb, I could do nothing but a slight jog up, or a shuffle or a walk...... people passed me, BUT I would than be able to catch them on the return to some flat.....

LESSON 4: The hills are not my friend

ANSWER: Get better at climbing.....


Coming upto the 50+ Kilometer mark, some took the down hill race to the finish as a time to go faster, this is right, but on such a steep descent you need to watch those muscles especially after 50 kilometers, I paced myself and slowly passed each of these people to come on into the finish at a nice consistent pace picking up a little of the lost time from the hills.


Overall a successful weekend, I made the finish line, a few lessons learnt all be it simple lessons, and the recovery period after a longer distance is also something to watch out for.


Cheers
Jeff

Tomorrow I have a 56km Run...

Tomorrow I am supposed to run in the two bays trail run, I'm still deciding weather to go on down to the mornington peninsula, as I'm not 100%.

Friday morning I was dead, this morning I was improved, but still well below peak conditions.... and only just got my butt down to the beach for a paddle session but surprisingly finished, thout i wouldnt last the distance

I have done events in harsher conditions, and the Dr I was talking to on Friday (Possibly in the off chance he would tell me to take it easy) told me I should do exactly what I would always do and keep on doing it, so I would go out and do this event.....

Ill tick away this morning and see if I can build the energy and motivation and convince myself that this will be a productive event.

Lets see what the rest of the day has in stall for me, and if I front up in the morning, BUT Im guessing most people can predict the answer (Gold Coast????) hmmmm. Insane this ones just longer......

Cheers
Jeff