Kokoda 2023
I turned 40 in 2021 and it was around this time I texted my brother and asked if he wanted to do the Kokoda track with me. I had listened to a podcast that interviewed Michelle Lee (see below for the link) and I thought ‘the Kokoda track sounds pretty interesting’. I really responded to the idea of pushing myself to do something uncomfortable and also something very physical.
I didn’t go for knowledge of the battle, or because I wanted to visit Papua New Guinea. In fact my knowledge of both was pretty limited. Although, when I came back and during the prep for Kokoda my interest was certainly piqued (I recommend the book ‘Kokoda’ by Paul Ham as a thorough discussion on what happened specifically from the Australian side — but it does also touch on the Japanese side as well). But the motivation for me was that I wanted a challenge. I wanted to try something new. I wanted to do something for myself and to really test and explore my limits.
And man, did the limits show up for me! I learned that I needed to set intentions for how I wanted to approach training and the actual track so that I could really understand and work with clarity towards the goals that I set.
My intentions/goals were:
-to challenge and push myself physically and mentally
-to connect with my brother.
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My brother decided to do it with me and I was so happy for it but early on I found myself annoyed that he wasn’t doing all the training I was doing. I really struggled not to be irritated with him about this. Setting the intention of connection rather than anything else helped me really focus on the relationship and realise that when I was annoyed and irritated it was disconnecting the relationship and it simply didn’t feel good. I needed to concentrate on my training and just work on that and leave other people to do what training they needed to do (let go of control).
The next post will be more around how I trained for Kokoda specifically.
Find the info and links:
Ham, Paul. Kokoda. Australia: HarperCollins Publishers, 2005.
Lee, M. Conversations. “Michelle versus the Atlantic Ocean” Aired on ABC Listen App, June 10 2021, 54min. https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/conversations/michelle-lee-atlantic-ocean-solo-row-australian-adventurer/13372992
