Sports Archives - Sara Napier

Surf Coast Trek 2021

Sara Napier — Wed, 02 Jun 2021 03:59:06 +0000

We walked 40km…in one day!!

To read about the background of participating in this event, please visit my previous blog post.

Basically we were going to do it in 2020, but COVID-19 meant the event was cancelled/postponed. And we were then able to participate in 2021 (in between further lockdowns). In fact, as I write this on 2nd June 2021, we are in our fourth COVID-19 lockdown!!

…

So, just popping in to say. My friends are better than yours! So bloody proud of these guys, and the 26km team members who were gone by the time we finished.

Massive effort through some tough terrain. Thanks @surfcoasttrek for putting on such a well run event.

Massive thanks to our personal support crew Joe Amelia and Archie, top work from these guys

If you would like to make a donation to Kids Plus and Love Where You Live:

https://givewhereyoulive.secure.force.com/…/TheTactical…

Follow my Strava profile: https://www.strava.com/athletes/30265198

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Keeping Hydrated

Sara Napier — Sun, 01 Mar 2020 22:06:03 +0000

Today’s advice is around keeping hydrated

It is super important to be and stay hydrated for the Surf Coast Trek. About 60% of your body is made up of water – so you need to maintain that level.

Water is the best drink. The event organisers tell us we need to have minimum 1L of water with us, in a NOT single-use bottle, which can be refilled at the rest stops. A hydration pack can be useful, but depending on the kind of pack you have you might find it easier to refill a bottle at the rest stops.

There’s a raft of conflicting advice regarding how much water our bodies need and how much water we should drink day to day, but as a guide, one source suggests 0.033ml/kg for an everyday sedentary individual. So, for example, if you weigh 70kg, that equals 2.31 litres of water a day when it’s a normal temperature and you’re not doing any activity. During exercise you are also drinking to replace what you have sweated and urinated. This could be between 400-800mL per hour.

What about electrolytes?

Electrolyte balance is important too. If you are sweating a lot, and only replacing with plain water (or no water at all!) you might find your blood’s sodium levels decrease. You can add electrolyte tablets like hydralyte to your water bottle to address this. These are available at supermarkets and pharmacies.

If you’re worried about being unable to drink because of the lack of toilet stops – don’t be. Here is a list of all the toilets along the route…

Toilet Stops (and official rest stops)

Rest Stop 1. Start (Aireys Inlet Reserve)
Facilities: toilets, water.
Rest Stop 2. Urquharts Bluff Car Park (6.8km)
Facilities: toilets, fruit and snacks, water, first aid
Additional Toilets – Point Roadknight (11.4km)
Rest Stop 3. Anglesea Information Centre Car Park (14.4km)
Facilities: toilets, fruit and snacks, water, first aid
Rest Stop 4. Point Addis (23.3km)
Facilities: toilets, fruit and snacks, water, first aid
Rest Stop 5. South Side (31.3km)
Facilities: toilets, fruit and snacks, water, first aid
Additional toilets – Bells Beach (32.4km)
Additional toilets – Bird Rock (35.2km)
Additional toilets – Jan Juc (36.2km)
Additional toilets – Back Beach (38.9km)
Additional toilets – Cosy Corner
Additional toilets – Front Beach
Final Stop 6. Finish Torquay (40km)
Facilities: toilets, playground, parking, cafes, shops, water, snack, first aid and BBQOver the next few weeks try upping your water intake so you are better prepared to manage it.

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Helpful Hint – Lacing Techniques

Sara Napier — Sat, 22 Feb 2020 22:06:31 +0000

First of all, massive well done to our Wheezers putting on a great day at Timboon for the Trestle 10! ?Belinda, Al, Simon!

This week’s training sessions:

Wednesday Walk from 5.15pm at Naroghid
Friday Night – Noorat-Terang Fun Run (6km) and then we will turn around and walk back to Noorat Pub for dinner. Please let me know numbers by about Thursday night so I can let them know.
Sunday – Great Ocean Walk – Wreck Beach to 12 Apostles.

Make it to as many as you like, or none at all. 34 days to go!

OK, here’s this Sunday’s helpful hint (This is going to be a thing for the next few weeks until the 40km!)

Lacing Techniques for different feet!

As always, just like new shoes, try these out on shorter walks and see how it goes.

https://runrepeat.com/top-10-running-shoe-lacing-techniques

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Surf Coast Trek 2020

Sara Napier — Mon, 03 Feb 2020 04:45:51 +0000

Around about June last year, I embarked on a bit of a fitness journey. I had been told by my doctor to lose a few kilos (who hasn’t) and that if I lost at least 10 per cent of my body weight, it would alleviate/reverse the health issues I had developed (type 2 diabetes and fatty liver).

A couple of days before my 39^th birthday, I kicked off with a solid long weekend of walking. I set myself the goal to walk at least three times a week. By the end of June, I was achieving this, and had, in fact, walked every day straight from the 20^th June to the 30^th June.

I devoted some time to reshuffling my work calendar so that I could finish work earlier a couple of days a week, in order to squeeze in a one-hour walk before it got too dark during the winter months. Big thanks to the GBM technology team, for making this possible!

A great team of friends supported this new adventure. We organized catch-ups that involved walking 6 kilometres to the Noorat Hotel, having Sunday brunch, and then walking 6 kilometres back to Terang (in the rain). What a team! By the end of September, I had exercised (closed my Apple Watch Green Ring) every single day – 102 days in a row! As an added benefit, I had lost 11kgs, and felt more confident about going backpacking in Europe for a then-upcoming one-month long trip!

Around about this time, I threw around the idea of joining the Surf Coast Trek – a 40km fundraising trek on the Surf Coast Walk, to be held on Saturday 28^th March 2020.

I was blown away by the ongoing support from my crew. Our team The Tactical Wheeze now have 12 registered participants! Massive thanks to Alison Buccheri, Lisa Bernoth, Mali Glendinning, Craig Cole, Steven Welsh, Sharna Whitehand, Melissa Rees, Clare Dunn, Belinda Bennett, Ulick Napier and Simon Buccheri for supporting this idea, joining the team and being all-round top people.

We have been training both individually and on team treks. Team treks have included:

Sunday treks to Noorat from Terang, with a stop at the Mount Noorat Hotel for brunch
An epic 33km walk from Naroghid to Timboon, via the Rail Trail. The ice cream and whisky at the end was an awesome reward
A 17km walk along the Old Beechy Rail Trail from Barongarook to Gellibrand – ending with a yummy pub lunch at the Gellibrand Hotel
Walks up Mount Leura
A 17km walk from Naroghid to Cobden and back to Naroghid on Melbourne Cup Day
Followed by a long walk (25km) on the beach from Port Fairy to Warrnambool on the Saturday following Melbourne Cup Day
Mount Noorat Summit and Crater (to and from the pub)
Narrawong Mount2Mouth Beach Walk (17km)

Wow, when you put it into a list like that, it seems crazy! But it has been fantastic to work together towards this goal.

We now have less than two months until the big event, and in addition to the ongoing training, we need to raise some funds for the Surf Coast Trek beneficiaries – Kids Plus Foundation and Give Where You Live Foundation.

Our team has a combined target of $3000 to raise, and we have currently raised $461.

Your fundraising dollars will be split evenly between charities Kids Plus Foundation and Give Where You Live Foundation.

Kids Plus Foundation is a community organisation that delivers programs for babies, children and young people with neuro-development conditions including cerebral palsy, brain injury and stroke.

Give Where You Live Foundation raises funds and allocates them to the less fortunate in the community within Geelong and district.

If you would like to support our team, please visit https://givewhereyoulive.secure.force.com/Fundraise/surfcoasttrek2020/TheTacticalWheeze

To follow our training treks, follow my Strava profile: https://www.strava.com/athletes/30265198

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