#34. TWALK

In the spirit of training, the Mighty Midgets (at least the two of them that were actually in the country) and a friendly ring-in decided that we should take part in TWALK - the University of Canterbury tramping club's 24 hours of madness. This involves turning up at the university in a ridiculous costume, being driven to somewhere in the middle of nowhere and being left on the side of the road with a map. Then it's up to your navigational abilities (or lack thereof) to work out where you are and how to get back, while looking for tiny pieces of plastic hidden in cryptic places.

So three Mighty Midgets, adorned in stunning invisibilty cloaks, set off across the countryside with compasses and maps in hand.

After a triumph on the first control, we strolled off into the glorious sunshine. and we walked. and we walked. and we scrounged under a matagouri bush for a tiny piece of plastic. and another matagouri bush. and another one. and another. and then we found said piece of plastic. and then we walked. and walked some more. Matagouri. mud. walked. matagouri. mud. walked. matagouri. matagouri. mud. walked. and then it got dark. more matagouri. a tunnel through the matagouri. with mud. in the dark. mud. dark. matagouri. small piece of plastic. dark. walked. HASH HOUSE! food. rest. planning for more walking in the dark. back out into the dark. walk. mud. giant hill. in the dark. with matagouri. piece of plastic! slide down the hill. walk. walk. lost in the dark. search for plastic. fail to find plastic. walk. walk. barbed wire fence. walk. walk. find piece of plastic! walk. walk. matagouri. walk. mud. walk. walk. walk. HASH HOUSE! TENT! SLEEP! Beep beep beep. Turn off alarm. sleep. sleep. drag self out of bed. eat. get in bus. sleep. sleep. home!

a great weekend with matagouri, mud, madness....all part of the fun of twalk. Looking forward to doing it all again for Heights of Winter

#33. Sign up for the 12-hour Spring Challenge

Oh dear...what have we done?!

In a possible bout of foolishness, the Mighty Midgets have signed up for the 12-hour Spring Challenge - the big girl's version of the 6-hour which we have successfully completed in the past. And it definitely will be a challenge. The idea is that the top teams will finish in 12 hours, so we're expecting to be out on the course for 18 hours or so. Arrgh!

Luckily, we've signed up super early and fear will be a huge motivator when it comes to training! No longer will our training be able to be dominated by tapering! On the plus side, it will definitely help me to be rid of the Antartic excesses and make the most of the Christchurch winter!

In fact, training has started already with a superb trip up Mount Richardson over the weekend in glorious weather.

Here's to a good winter of trips and training!