2009 NSW Paddy Pallin Rogaine

On the 14th of June, I participated in the 2009 NSW Paddy Pallin Rogaine, held this year at Coolendel, a wildlife preserve west of Nowra. I didn't have a partner for this event, so I just put my name up on the partner finder page. Just before the deadline, I got an email from a girl name Olga from Queensland. We chatted a bit on the phone, and seemed to be a good match as far as ability, competitiveness, and tolerance of scrub. The day before the event, I picked her up in Nowra, where she was rock climbing all day. I've ended up meeting a few interesting people via the partner finder services of rogaines. Olga happens to have immigrated from Ukraine, so of course we talked a bit about some Russian experiences, as well as Australian experiences. Good conversation is a great addition to a good rogaine. This rogaine was on a really pretty course, right on the Shoalhaven River, and there were over 600 people participating in the event.

Camping the night before was quite nice. The park had proper toilets and showers, and a local Scout troop provided dinner. As it is early winter here, the temperature dropped off once the sun set. We pitched the tent and set everything up for an instant crash after dinner. The nice thing about camping next to the car is that a person can carry along whatever comforts desired without regard for weight. The next morning, I was up at 5:30 a.m., so I quietly set up the table and chairs (so as not to wake anyone else). Around 7 a.m., I began cooking breakfast. I woke up Olga, and in short order we went to get our maps. While I made the last part of breakfast, one of the male peacocks on the reserve decided to take a closer look at what I was cooking, but I gently brushed him away when it appeared as if he was going to start pecking at the contents of the fry pan.


We plotted our route, which included a couple of river crossings. It was a last-minute scramble to finish getting ready by start time, and we ended up starting about 10 minutes late. The first river crossing was early in the route, so it wasn't even worth removing shoes (although numerous competitors did). Our second target was on an island in the middle of the river. This part of the course was quite fun. We got the target, then finished crossing to the other side for the rest of our route.


Overall, we covered a decent distance, about 25 km, in the six hours. We did end up skipping 3 high point targets, simply because of time constraints. At the final river crossing, we had to scramble through a few hundred meters of dense scrub to reach the clearing where it was shallow enough to cross. (The winning team did a successful swim across and likely saved a great deal of time by doing so. But the river was quite cold.) We did one last sprint for the home stretch, and finished with about 8 minutes to spare. In the end, we got 800 points, which was still a very respectable score. We were both exhausted. Before grabbing lunch, we took down the tent and packed up the camping gear. Lunch consisted of a couple of homemade soups and hot dog sandwiches -- modest, but still very satisfying to exhausted people. While everyone finished their meal, the awards were handed out amidst random prizes and routine camaraderie. I'm looking forward to the next rogaine, and will likely partner with Olga again as opportunity permits.

Musings and Mumblings...

I've only managed to publish a new post every couple of months, so it must appear as though perhaps there's not much I would care to write about. However, the truth is I have much to say, and many experiences I'd love to share. The final year of my PhD is proving to be very challenging -- mostly because I feel left in the dark by my supervisors as to the real status of my work. I have no choice but to focus on each day at the lab, and one project at a time. I'm still confident of reaching my goal here, but I just don't have an accurate pulse on my progress meter. I suppose I'm doing just fine in my work, but I wish it felt a bit more significant.

Additionally, the regular exercise schedule, while thoroughly revitalizing, requires commitment, too. Sometimes I wish I had the time to train like a professional athlete. On the positive side, though, I do have far more time for fitness here than I did back in the States. Exercise is a fantastic distraction from the rigors of everyday life. At least when I finish a decent run with improved timing, I feel a sense of accomplishment, which makes up for not feeling that way about my research. Honestly, I never realized how out of shape I had become until we moved here (and I was still in better shape than many of my peers).

We have also been doing much more cooking from scratch, nearly every night. Those meals are always the best, but preparation does take time. Even so, it's become more of a ritual for us, a transitional period from our day to winding down to a television show or two. On the weekends, we usually buy some bulk vegetables and fruit, then make some large dish that we eat all week. Given the space constraints of most homes here, meals from scratch with fresh food is the only way to go. There's simply not enough space to store lots of processed foods.

The weather of the subtropics is very easy to adapt to. We often have picture-perfect days where it's a given that we must get outside for awhile, whether for leisure or fitness. With pleasant weather being such a regular occurrence here, we will be very hard-pressed to go anywhere else.

That pretty much sums up the pattern of our lives, which won't change much for at least the next six months. We are fortunate that despite all the turmoil in the modern world, we have little to complain about, and life is generally good. Post-PhD, I expect to write far more often here, and may very well take the blog to further levels.