FITNESS
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To build our core fitness, we've spent the year getting out into the local mountains
as much as we can. 10 kilometres in the Ruahines is like 20 kilometres down south. The Ruahines and Tararuas may look small compared to the Southern Alps...but their intense geography and undeveloped tracks makes them a perfect training ground for Te Araroa...unless we fall off. One session a week at Kelly's, Palmy's grungiest, cheapest and most relaxed gym, is helping us build some muscle strength. One session of pilates a week is doing a great job of holding our-stressed out bodies together. A COUPLE OF MONTHS LATER It's a month before we leave. We've got heaps to do and we've let the training schedule slip. It's partly Norman Croucher's fault, but we're also saving ourselves from injury and trying to put on a bit of weight. No more gym, big walks or mountains. Except perhaps for one more trip up to Iron Gate Ridge to check the new traps before we leave in January...but we'll see how we feel. It's time to eat and drink. We're still stretching out in a weekly pilates session and we've also started to walk to and from work when we can wake up that early - an 8k round trip - wearing our boots. It probably looks weird, but we reckon it's a good way to harden out feet. It might be a good plan...we'll see how we go. MORE PREP
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Whiona leaving Iron Gate Ridge to head up to Mount Tunupo. Since this photo was taken, a trap-line has been started up and over this mountain on this track.
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