Tuesday, June 22, 2010
11km Beach Run
It was apparantly 6:30 when my room mate, Edward Boyd, and I woke up. We changed into our running gear and did some stretches. Suddenly Nathan Kapitza came out of his room room and said, "guys what are you doing so early in the morning? Its only 5:30." As soon as we absorbed what Nathan had said, we went straight back to bed thinking how much of an idiot we are. At the real 6:30 we all woke up, did some stretches and went to the bus where we were driven to Hardwicke Bay. As soon as we got off the bus, we all went in a line, and started running. I was feeling pretty good for the first 2km. The first 2km I was running up front with Olly Clarke, Tom Plant, Stuart Harvey, Riley Terrell and Kurt Park. Dale was behind us. We kept running until Dale caught up and broke away from us with Olly and Stuart. I was running just behind them. We kept running until we reached the 5.5km mark. Here made the gap between me and stuart and Olly smaller. Dale was way ahead of us. Soon I got this massive stitch. It was really painfull. I toughed it out though by just shouting randomly in pain when it hurt alot. This kept me running for some reason I don't know. Riley Terrell was catching up to me so I increased my speed. At the 9km mark it was worse but I kept running. I noticed that Stuart broke away from Olly. When I was on the dirt track, I increased my pace again and found that I was only 10m away from Olly Clarke. I stayed with him until the last 100m when I sprinted past him and beat him by one second to have a time of 53. 30min. Dale was sitting down waiting for us. He scored a time of 51. 58m This was crazy. He said that this was his Personal Best by a long way and it was because we were tormenting him on the bus the whole way here. Dale, Olly, Stuart, Riley and I beat the 6th person by a few minutes. Even though I lost againts Dale, I felt great because my time was still fantastic. All of us who finished went to support other people still running for aout 25min and then we all went back to our Wardli's. I ate 10 weet-bix and then had a shower.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Welcome to my Wambana Blog
Welcome family, friends and teachers to my Wambana Blog! I will constantly be adding posts to the blog documenting my Wambana experience. From the 30th May to 24th June 2010, my tutor group from PAC yr. 9 is on a four week programme to learn things we cannot learn at school, such as being independent, recycling, practical environmental study, plus fitness courses such as riding an running.
Our Wardli Members -
Edward Boyd, Oliver Clark, Connor Perin, Nathan Kapitza, Leo Liu, Andy Lam
-Feel free to send a letter to me :) Paul Russo...C/-Wambana...P.O. Box 187...Warooka 5577
( ... means next line)
My Wardli 
Me making roast pork
Our Wardli Members -
Edward Boyd, Oliver Clark, Connor Perin, Nathan Kapitza, Leo Liu, Andy Lam
-Feel free to send a letter to me :) Paul Russo...C/-Wambana...P.O. Box 187...Warooka 5577
( ... means next line)
Myself at the Ethel shipwreck at Innes National Park
My Wardli Me making roast pork
Cycle Tour
The start of our Wambana experience begins with a demanding cycle tour of the Southern Yorke Peninsula. It was a very enjoyable yet tiring trip. At night we also had to sleep in tents. We rode on surfaces such as bitumen, gravel, dirt, swamps and grass. The scenery is also very green and amazing.
Day 1. 31st May -
Our route for the first day of the tour was divided into two rides. The first ride was an easy 19km to West Cowie and back, and our second ride was through the Peasey Swamp to Warooka and back. Everyone was eager to set off on their first day of riding. But first we had to safety check our bikes in case any parts were faulty. From what other people have said, I thought I was going to get a very sore bum from all this riding, but I didn't. My bum must be very tough. The first day of riding was very easy for me as I do quite alot of riding at home. We rode along the Point Turton esplanade and roe on dirt roads on our first ride, which was to West Cowie and back. Not long after we were riding we arrived at an old, rusty, what used to be a school. The school was very old and run down and there wasn't much of it left. Bits of car parts and bits and pieces like shower heads were on the ground around the place. Moff, an instructor who was driving the bus behind us, showed us this old Holden which he really wants and he is going to buy it. The Holden is really old and dirty, though its pretty cool. After this we ate a few snacks and headed off.
Day 1. 31st May -
Our route for the first day of the tour was divided into two rides. The first ride was an easy 19km to West Cowie and back, and our second ride was through the Peasey Swamp to Warooka and back. Everyone was eager to set off on their first day of riding. But first we had to safety check our bikes in case any parts were faulty. From what other people have said, I thought I was going to get a very sore bum from all this riding, but I didn't. My bum must be very tough. The first day of riding was very easy for me as I do quite alot of riding at home. We rode along the Point Turton esplanade and roe on dirt roads on our first ride, which was to West Cowie and back. Not long after we were riding we arrived at an old, rusty, what used to be a school. The school was very old and run down and there wasn't much of it left. Bits of car parts and bits and pieces like shower heads were on the ground around the place. Moff, an instructor who was driving the bus behind us, showed us this old Holden which he really wants and he is going to buy it. The Holden is really old and dirty, though its pretty cool. After this we ate a few snacks and headed off.
One time when we were riding on a dirt road dividing two paddocks, These sheep came running at us. The bike instuctor, Pete, told us they wanted to eat us because us humans have a chemical which is in these sheeps diet (strange). We also had to carry our bikes as a punishment when we sopped as well because Tom Plant and I were caught riding with no hands, I mean come on! Just because we are good ;). When we were back for lunch, I had a muffin bar, a little mars bar, and two chilli chicken salad raps. I was hungry! After a little lunch, we headed off again. Soon after we were riding on a dirt road, we went into this swamp. At this swamp, the mud was really slippery meaning the bus couldn't go through so we were by ourselves. The swamp was really fun because we were getting so much drift in the slippery parts. It was really funny seeing people stack it. Eventually we went onto bitumen road which lead to Warooka. At Warooka, we quickly posted some letters and road back to Wambana. After Wanbana, We had dinner, which was spaghetti Balinese and slept in our tents.
Day 2. 1st June -
Everyone was stiff this morning because we had a very uncomfortable sleep in the tents and it was freezing that early morning. We went on quite a long bus ride to Innes National Park. The bus ride was fun because we were listening to really bad and loud music, and we were all talking to each other. When we arrived at Innes National Park, we took our bikes out of the trailer, and started riding. It was a good change to be riding on the bitumen instead of dirt, wet mud and grass. The views were fantastic. Everywhere you looked you could see something cool like fantastic views, good scenery, kangaroos and emu's.
One time we rode own this massive hill which had a fantastic view of the ocean. Soon we would have to ride back up this hill. We stopped off at West Cape Light House. Today I ate a ham salad wrap. During lunch I wrote a few letters to my family. About an hour later we were ready to ride the 2 and 8 challenge. The 2 and 8 challenge is when you ride all the way back to the end point in the gears 2 and 8. I started this challenge by lifting my bike about 200 metres for doing this massive skid as I was really close to hitting a mate who was on foot. After this I went on my bike and started riding in the gears 2 and 8. I found this pretty easy as i am a strong rider. Though at the end of the day we had to ride back up that big hill. Again I found this quite easy. After I finished my ride, I helped encourage other people to ride up the hill. All of us felt fit enough to ride to Marion Bay to post our letters. So as a tight group we rode together to Marion Bay. That night we had lamb hot pot and a good night sleep was a great way to finish our day.
Day 3. 2nd June -
Today we rode the longest at a distance of 43km. It was mainly gravel with a bit of muddy plains. Today I decided to help one person he whole day. So I stayed next to him and encouraged him the whole way through. I was really proud of him at the end because he didn't give up. Lunch was fantastic again. I had another ham salad wrap.
We were in a geen paddock a Weavers Lagoon with a view of a big lake. Again I wrote some letters to my family and then we set off again. The rest off the bike ride was pretty tough but I loved it because we were riding through slippery swamps. Again we got massive drift. Tom Plant and I decided to go off road and go through bigger and more swamps. This was really fun as we had to jump over bushes and stuff. eventually we arrived at a town where we put our bikes back in the trailor and drove home on the bus.
Day 4. 3rd June -
Our last day of riding felt the easiest as we were used to riding the long distances and also the roads we took were quite flat. The ride was pretty straight fourth. We saw some pretty cool views across paddocks and saw massive windmills. Eventually we stopped for lunch at Suicide Point for lunch. Another wrap gave me the energy to finish off he day. When we set off again we eventually reached those large windmills. They were massive being about 50 metres away from them. We rode along a dirt road for another 3km until reaching Edithburgh. Here we finnished the expedition. We said thanks to Pete, the bike instructer, then went for a swim. The water was freezing. All of us were forced to dunk our heads in the water and jump in deep freezing cold water before we all sprintd out to get warm because if we didn't, we wouldv'e been forced to sleep in our tents for another 3 days. After we were dry we hopped on the bus to go back to Wambana.
Day 2. 1st June -
Everyone was stiff this morning because we had a very uncomfortable sleep in the tents and it was freezing that early morning. We went on quite a long bus ride to Innes National Park. The bus ride was fun because we were listening to really bad and loud music, and we were all talking to each other. When we arrived at Innes National Park, we took our bikes out of the trailer, and started riding. It was a good change to be riding on the bitumen instead of dirt, wet mud and grass. The views were fantastic. Everywhere you looked you could see something cool like fantastic views, good scenery, kangaroos and emu's.
One time we rode own this massive hill which had a fantastic view of the ocean. Soon we would have to ride back up this hill. We stopped off at West Cape Light House. Today I ate a ham salad wrap. During lunch I wrote a few letters to my family. About an hour later we were ready to ride the 2 and 8 challenge. The 2 and 8 challenge is when you ride all the way back to the end point in the gears 2 and 8. I started this challenge by lifting my bike about 200 metres for doing this massive skid as I was really close to hitting a mate who was on foot. After this I went on my bike and started riding in the gears 2 and 8. I found this pretty easy as i am a strong rider. Though at the end of the day we had to ride back up that big hill. Again I found this quite easy. After I finished my ride, I helped encourage other people to ride up the hill. All of us felt fit enough to ride to Marion Bay to post our letters. So as a tight group we rode together to Marion Bay. That night we had lamb hot pot and a good night sleep was a great way to finish our day.Day 3. 2nd June -
Today we rode the longest at a distance of 43km. It was mainly gravel with a bit of muddy plains. Today I decided to help one person he whole day. So I stayed next to him and encouraged him the whole way through. I was really proud of him at the end because he didn't give up. Lunch was fantastic again. I had another ham salad wrap.
We were in a geen paddock a Weavers Lagoon with a view of a big lake. Again I wrote some letters to my family and then we set off again. The rest off the bike ride was pretty tough but I loved it because we were riding through slippery swamps. Again we got massive drift. Tom Plant and I decided to go off road and go through bigger and more swamps. This was really fun as we had to jump over bushes and stuff. eventually we arrived at a town where we put our bikes back in the trailor and drove home on the bus.Day 4. 3rd June -
Our last day of riding felt the easiest as we were used to riding the long distances and also the roads we took were quite flat. The ride was pretty straight fourth. We saw some pretty cool views across paddocks and saw massive windmills. Eventually we stopped for lunch at Suicide Point for lunch. Another wrap gave me the energy to finish off he day. When we set off again we eventually reached those large windmills. They were massive being about 50 metres away from them. We rode along a dirt road for another 3km until reaching Edithburgh. Here we finnished the expedition. We said thanks to Pete, the bike instructer, then went for a swim. The water was freezing. All of us were forced to dunk our heads in the water and jump in deep freezing cold water before we all sprintd out to get warm because if we didn't, we wouldv'e been forced to sleep in our tents for another 3 days. After we were dry we hopped on the bus to go back to Wambana.
Introduction to Statistics
Our introduction to statistics has taken place over the past few mornings. Moff has ben our maths teacher at Wambana and he has been doing a geat job. He has taught us about the mean, medium, mode, range, Q1, Q3 and IQR. These are all statistical terms that help sort out sets of raw data.
This morning we focused on the 5.5km run. The 5.5km run is from Wambana to the end of the jetty and back. Thes are our best results in minutes:
Wardli 3: 23, 25, 24, 35, 36, 41 Sorted: 23, 24, 25, 35, 36, 41
Wardli 4: 23, 24, 24, 25, 40, 43 Sorted: 23, 24, 24, 25, 40, 43
Wardli 5: 33, 24, 32, 27, 34, 24 Sorted: 24, 24, 27, 32, 33, 34
We can organise this raw data into a dot plot:
23 x x
24 x x x x x
25 x x
26
27 x
28
29
30
31
32 x
33 x
34 x
35 x Lowest= 23min
36 x Highest= 43min
37 Range= 20min
38 Medium= 26min
39 Mode=24min
40 x Mean= -
41 x Q1= 24min
42 Q3= 35min
43 x IQR= 11min
This shows we have two distinct groups. One between 23 and 27 and another between 32 and 43. This is called a Binomial dot plot.
Fitness Program
during our Wambana experience, we have a strict course of running long distance everyday or doing fitness games and power training. All the fitness is done with Dale. Everyone is to wake up early so we can start running at 7:00. The distances are either 3.4km, 5.5km, 9.2km and a challenging 11km run.
Friday 4th June
We woke up early in the morning to the sound of Paul, an instructor, playing the bongo's. Other than the stiffness in my legs from riding for 5 days and sleeping in a tent, I felt pretty good. I knew I wasn't going to run my best at all this programme because of the after effects I've had from a cold which has given me some serious asthma. Today we are to run 3.4km. The run starts at the Wambana shed, continues down the esplanade to "The Sacred Stone". We then run back the same route back to the shed. Today I was leading the pack until my asthma kicked in and forced me to slow down. Olly Clark then overtook me on the half way mark and I finished with a time of 14. 35. I was happy with this score because I knew I had asthma. After this we had to do the 100 100. This consists of 100 push ups and 100 sit ups.
Saturday 5th June
I didn't feel as stiff this time because we slept in our wardli's in beds. Though we still woke at about 6:35 to be at the tent before 7:00 to run at 7:00. This run we do the same run but pass the Sacred Stone and continue on to a jetty and back. This is the 5.5km. I pulled in a solid score of 23.10. Considering another unpleasant run of asthma I thought it was an alright score. After that we had to do 100 100.
Sunday 6th June
3.4km
A Disaster! I forgot to take ventolin to control my asthma therefore I could hardly breathe the whole way. Alot of people that I easily won againts over took me and some supported me. When I stopped at the finnish line, I had a bit of a coughing fit then went to get my ventolin to open me up a bit. My time was 16. 25. I had to do my 100 100 afterwards as well.
Monday 7th June
Today we didn't do a long distance run but played a fitness game. after doing a few laps around a small oval, we did some agility drills. Alot of this was sprinting ten metres, picking up a cone, and sprinting back that ten metes and dropping the cone. We did this 9 times so we sprinted about 90 metres. After about 20min of this, we moved on to another "fun" game where two teams were in two parallel lines about 20cm apart. If the teacher, Bairdy, called crumbs, we would have to sprint 5 metres towards our side without being caught by the other team. If crusts were called, We would have to chase the other team ad catch them before they reach the other side.
Tuesday 8th June
Today we were to run a 5.5km. I made sure I was in good shape today by taking my Ventolin. My muscles felt ok today and I was breathing well. I improved my time by 5 seconds at 23.10. I hope to get my next 5.5km time under 23 minutes next time. We then did 100 sit ups and 100 push ups then went in for breaky.
Thursday 10th June
Today we ran 9.2km. I woke up feeling sick therefore i thought i had a cold. I didn't have enough time to have some lemsip so I got dressed and went out to the shed. There were two groups. The first group was to run 7km, and the second group was to run 9.2km. We all had a choice and i chose the 9.2km. The first 5.5km was on a road therefore we had to run in a group. It was only until we reached the sand when we were allowed to split up and un at our own pace. The last 2km was extremely hard. Everyone was starting to cramp up a little bit and the sand was soft. Near the end I over took Olly Clarke and took the lead in 1st place. Though a kilometre later He caught up with me an we finished the run together with a time of 50.30. After this I felt dead. Though I was very proud of myself. Within ten minutes after my shower I felt good again and felt even happier that the run was over.
Friday 11th June
We are to do a fitness game today. But first we ran around the oval a few times and do a drill. The drill was for a whole wardli to carry one person in their group to the other side. They would then run back and carry another person to the other side. The person that was carried would just stay on the side he was carried to, so everytime there were fewer people to carry. After this we played team poison ball.
Saturday 12th June
We ran a 3.4km today. I felt really sick running because I had a cold. This virus really slowed me down. because i couldn't breathe through my nose and my asthma was worse. I felt pretty depressed running today because I was only sick a fortnight ago and I was sick again. My time was 18min. After the run I could hardly breathe. and didn't really do the 100 100 bcause I physically couldn't.
Sunday 13th June
I was sleeping out in a tent tonight and no one woke me up. So when I eventually did, the sun was right up and it was really bright. I thought to myself, "This can't be 6:30am". So I ran to my Wardli to find out that the time was 7:35. I freaked. I was shocked, and I felt totally lost and betrayed that out of all 20 people on campus, no one woke me up because how was I to know what the time was? I was in a tent! The other morning I was woken up by people but this time everyone left me. So I walked all depressed with my head down to the shed to get killed be Dale. Though all Dale said was, "Go run a 3.4km". So i ran the 3.4km with dunlop volleys on, no stretches and no Ventolin. I was really angry so I ran the whole thing but with no effort at all. When I arrived back, My muscles were aching and there was a note on the white board saying I would have to run another 3.4km at free time. This was all I needed. So in the end I ran a total of 6.8km that day and it wasn't healthy for me as I was sick. So at free time I slowly walked to the shed to run my second 3.4km that day. As my muscles were aching I put on some deep heat to make it feel better. I set off. Within the first kilometre it was hard for me to breathe. I couldn't believe I was doing this. I didn't really do anything wrong. I eventually finished the race with a lot of hatred and negativity in my mind.
Monday 14th June
Instead of power training we decided to use the new chin-up bars. We did this for half an hour then did the 100 100. Today's fitness session was pretty easy for me.
Tuesday 15th June
Today we ran the 3.4km. This was the first day when I was actually well and not sick. My legs felt good today and I ran quite solidly. I ended up with a time of 14.10min. For the next 3.4km I am hoping to get under 14min.
Wednesday 16th June
I felt like there was no fuel in my legs today when I ran the 5.5km. Therefore I was much slower than all my previous times. today's time was 25min. I was not happy because I have not improven my 5.5km time a lot since my very first run.
Friday 17th June
Today we played a fitness today. After running a few laps around the oval, we did a few agility drills and then played a sort of netball game. There were two teams and it was keepings off. If one team passed the ball to each other ten times in a row without dropping it they would get 1 point. After this we played brandy. This is when you would throw a ball and try to hit someone. When a person is hit, they have to help the person that hit them tag everyone else. Its a bit like 'Gang up'
Saturday 18th June
Today we ran the last 5.5km. I really wanted to get a good time today because I know I haven't been running too well lately. My aim was to run at a pace which was slightly faster than my natural running pace, and run even fastr the last kilometre. This was really hard for me and I struggled. I was running with 3 people - Olly Clarke and Stuart Harvey. The last 800m I coughed up a lot of flem and I weased a bit, but I toughed it out and finnished with a time of 21.10min. I was stoked! A time like that felt alien to me. I felt lke I achieved the impossible and the smile on my face that day was unbelievable.
Sunday 19th June
I really wanted to run well today. For the first 100m I was sprinting when suddenly Tom Plant started sprinting next to me. He said "I want to keep up with you Paul". About 2 seconds later I heard this massive BANG and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tom hit into something really hard and fall to the ground. He didn't look in any good shape. I checked if he was ok, he didn't answer because he was in so much pain, so I sprinted back to the shed where Bairdy, an instructor, was getting on his bike for a ride. I shouted while sprinting towards the shed, "Biardy! Toms just totally ran into a pole and he's in bad shape. He's on the ground in pain as we speak". So I sprinted back with Bairdy to where tom was.
There was no point in me running the 3.4km fast today because I was too tired from all that sprinting. So I jogged it slowly.
Monday 20th June
Today my room mate, Edward Boyd, and I woke up late and therefore were late to the 5.5km. Well we were on time but we couldn't stretch because we had to run in 30 seconds. So I ran a very sore 5.5km and had to stop and stretch a few times. Its probably good that I haven't ran well the last few days because it will make me hungry to run the 11km as well as I can tomorrow.
Friday 4th June
We woke up early in the morning to the sound of Paul, an instructor, playing the bongo's. Other than the stiffness in my legs from riding for 5 days and sleeping in a tent, I felt pretty good. I knew I wasn't going to run my best at all this programme because of the after effects I've had from a cold which has given me some serious asthma. Today we are to run 3.4km. The run starts at the Wambana shed, continues down the esplanade to "The Sacred Stone". We then run back the same route back to the shed. Today I was leading the pack until my asthma kicked in and forced me to slow down. Olly Clark then overtook me on the half way mark and I finished with a time of 14. 35. I was happy with this score because I knew I had asthma. After this we had to do the 100 100. This consists of 100 push ups and 100 sit ups.
Saturday 5th June
I didn't feel as stiff this time because we slept in our wardli's in beds. Though we still woke at about 6:35 to be at the tent before 7:00 to run at 7:00. This run we do the same run but pass the Sacred Stone and continue on to a jetty and back. This is the 5.5km. I pulled in a solid score of 23.10. Considering another unpleasant run of asthma I thought it was an alright score. After that we had to do 100 100.
Sunday 6th June
3.4km
A Disaster! I forgot to take ventolin to control my asthma therefore I could hardly breathe the whole way. Alot of people that I easily won againts over took me and some supported me. When I stopped at the finnish line, I had a bit of a coughing fit then went to get my ventolin to open me up a bit. My time was 16. 25. I had to do my 100 100 afterwards as well.
Monday 7th June
Today we didn't do a long distance run but played a fitness game. after doing a few laps around a small oval, we did some agility drills. Alot of this was sprinting ten metres, picking up a cone, and sprinting back that ten metes and dropping the cone. We did this 9 times so we sprinted about 90 metres. After about 20min of this, we moved on to another "fun" game where two teams were in two parallel lines about 20cm apart. If the teacher, Bairdy, called crumbs, we would have to sprint 5 metres towards our side without being caught by the other team. If crusts were called, We would have to chase the other team ad catch them before they reach the other side.
Tuesday 8th June
Today we were to run a 5.5km. I made sure I was in good shape today by taking my Ventolin. My muscles felt ok today and I was breathing well. I improved my time by 5 seconds at 23.10. I hope to get my next 5.5km time under 23 minutes next time. We then did 100 sit ups and 100 push ups then went in for breaky.
Thursday 10th June
Today we ran 9.2km. I woke up feeling sick therefore i thought i had a cold. I didn't have enough time to have some lemsip so I got dressed and went out to the shed. There were two groups. The first group was to run 7km, and the second group was to run 9.2km. We all had a choice and i chose the 9.2km. The first 5.5km was on a road therefore we had to run in a group. It was only until we reached the sand when we were allowed to split up and un at our own pace. The last 2km was extremely hard. Everyone was starting to cramp up a little bit and the sand was soft. Near the end I over took Olly Clarke and took the lead in 1st place. Though a kilometre later He caught up with me an we finished the run together with a time of 50.30. After this I felt dead. Though I was very proud of myself. Within ten minutes after my shower I felt good again and felt even happier that the run was over.
Friday 11th June
We are to do a fitness game today. But first we ran around the oval a few times and do a drill. The drill was for a whole wardli to carry one person in their group to the other side. They would then run back and carry another person to the other side. The person that was carried would just stay on the side he was carried to, so everytime there were fewer people to carry. After this we played team poison ball.
Saturday 12th June
We ran a 3.4km today. I felt really sick running because I had a cold. This virus really slowed me down. because i couldn't breathe through my nose and my asthma was worse. I felt pretty depressed running today because I was only sick a fortnight ago and I was sick again. My time was 18min. After the run I could hardly breathe. and didn't really do the 100 100 bcause I physically couldn't.
Sunday 13th June
I was sleeping out in a tent tonight and no one woke me up. So when I eventually did, the sun was right up and it was really bright. I thought to myself, "This can't be 6:30am". So I ran to my Wardli to find out that the time was 7:35. I freaked. I was shocked, and I felt totally lost and betrayed that out of all 20 people on campus, no one woke me up because how was I to know what the time was? I was in a tent! The other morning I was woken up by people but this time everyone left me. So I walked all depressed with my head down to the shed to get killed be Dale. Though all Dale said was, "Go run a 3.4km". So i ran the 3.4km with dunlop volleys on, no stretches and no Ventolin. I was really angry so I ran the whole thing but with no effort at all. When I arrived back, My muscles were aching and there was a note on the white board saying I would have to run another 3.4km at free time. This was all I needed. So in the end I ran a total of 6.8km that day and it wasn't healthy for me as I was sick. So at free time I slowly walked to the shed to run my second 3.4km that day. As my muscles were aching I put on some deep heat to make it feel better. I set off. Within the first kilometre it was hard for me to breathe. I couldn't believe I was doing this. I didn't really do anything wrong. I eventually finished the race with a lot of hatred and negativity in my mind.
Monday 14th June
Instead of power training we decided to use the new chin-up bars. We did this for half an hour then did the 100 100. Today's fitness session was pretty easy for me.
Tuesday 15th June
Today we ran the 3.4km. This was the first day when I was actually well and not sick. My legs felt good today and I ran quite solidly. I ended up with a time of 14.10min. For the next 3.4km I am hoping to get under 14min.
Wednesday 16th June
I felt like there was no fuel in my legs today when I ran the 5.5km. Therefore I was much slower than all my previous times. today's time was 25min. I was not happy because I have not improven my 5.5km time a lot since my very first run.
Friday 17th June
Today we played a fitness today. After running a few laps around the oval, we did a few agility drills and then played a sort of netball game. There were two teams and it was keepings off. If one team passed the ball to each other ten times in a row without dropping it they would get 1 point. After this we played brandy. This is when you would throw a ball and try to hit someone. When a person is hit, they have to help the person that hit them tag everyone else. Its a bit like 'Gang up'
Saturday 18th June
Today we ran the last 5.5km. I really wanted to get a good time today because I know I haven't been running too well lately. My aim was to run at a pace which was slightly faster than my natural running pace, and run even fastr the last kilometre. This was really hard for me and I struggled. I was running with 3 people - Olly Clarke and Stuart Harvey. The last 800m I coughed up a lot of flem and I weased a bit, but I toughed it out and finnished with a time of 21.10min. I was stoked! A time like that felt alien to me. I felt lke I achieved the impossible and the smile on my face that day was unbelievable.
Sunday 19th June
I really wanted to run well today. For the first 100m I was sprinting when suddenly Tom Plant started sprinting next to me. He said "I want to keep up with you Paul". About 2 seconds later I heard this massive BANG and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tom hit into something really hard and fall to the ground. He didn't look in any good shape. I checked if he was ok, he didn't answer because he was in so much pain, so I sprinted back to the shed where Bairdy, an instructor, was getting on his bike for a ride. I shouted while sprinting towards the shed, "Biardy! Toms just totally ran into a pole and he's in bad shape. He's on the ground in pain as we speak". So I sprinted back with Bairdy to where tom was.
There was no point in me running the 3.4km fast today because I was too tired from all that sprinting. So I jogged it slowly.
Monday 20th June
Today my room mate, Edward Boyd, and I woke up late and therefore were late to the 5.5km. Well we were on time but we couldn't stretch because we had to run in 30 seconds. So I ran a very sore 5.5km and had to stop and stretch a few times. Its probably good that I haven't ran well the last few days because it will make me hungry to run the 11km as well as I can tomorrow.
Hardwicke Bay Revegetation Project
At Hardwicke Bay Community Centre, we helped plant and re vegetate plain areas of the bay. We did this by planting native South Australian plants and mulching the ground. My group, Wardli 3, were given pitch forks and we had to shovel large amounts of mulch into wheel barrows and take it to gardens nearby. This was very hard work. We were pretty stuffed by the time we finished two giant piles of mulch so we went in for lunch. At the Community centre, we had soup and bread an butter pudding waiting for us. It was very nice. After lunch, my group set off again to plant plants this time. The planting was pretty straight fourth
Q1. Why are weeds so bad for the environment? Name 3 weeds you have learnt about today
Weeds are not native therefore they interrupt with the ecosystem. They steel water, dirt, and the sun from other plants. Foreign weeds also send unnatural chemicals into the ground which affect other native plants. 3 weeds I have learnt are : 1: Box thorns
2: Kikuyu
3: Sour sob
Q2. What role do humans play in the distribution of weeds?
Humans can spread weeds by seeds accidentally being on the bottom of someones boot and bulldozers and big trucks disturb the ground which makes i harder for plants to grow there.
Q3. What are some of the common ways that weeds spread.
Some of the common ways are that the weeds may spread are that the wind can blow seeds to many different locations and birds and ants may also spread seeds by transporting them into other places.
Q4. Are weeds the same all over Australia?
No, this is because the weather, the soil and climate is different all over Australia.
Q5. Is climate change likely to add to the weed problem? if so, how?
Yes, because these foreign weeds can adapt to the climate better than our native plants making them thrive so they could even spread to other places inm South Australia.
Q6. Why do people volunteer to weed and plant local plants in public reserves and areas?
Because they want to make a difference and change a growing problem.
Q7. What can you do?
You could join these groups that do something about this problem or you and deel with the problem yourself by weeding the unwanted plants and planting native plants.
Q1. Why are weeds so bad for the environment? Name 3 weeds you have learnt about today
Weeds are not native therefore they interrupt with the ecosystem. They steel water, dirt, and the sun from other plants. Foreign weeds also send unnatural chemicals into the ground which affect other native plants. 3 weeds I have learnt are : 1: Box thorns
2: Kikuyu
3: Sour sob
Q2. What role do humans play in the distribution of weeds?
Humans can spread weeds by seeds accidentally being on the bottom of someones boot and bulldozers and big trucks disturb the ground which makes i harder for plants to grow there.
Q3. What are some of the common ways that weeds spread.
Some of the common ways are that the weeds may spread are that the wind can blow seeds to many different locations and birds and ants may also spread seeds by transporting them into other places.
Q4. Are weeds the same all over Australia?
No, this is because the weather, the soil and climate is different all over Australia.
Q5. Is climate change likely to add to the weed problem? if so, how?
Yes, because these foreign weeds can adapt to the climate better than our native plants making them thrive so they could even spread to other places inm South Australia.
Q6. Why do people volunteer to weed and plant local plants in public reserves and areas?
Because they want to make a difference and change a growing problem.
Q7. What can you do?
You could join these groups that do something about this problem or you and deel with the problem yourself by weeding the unwanted plants and planting native plants.
Moff's History Tour 1
Today we started our first history tour with Moff. The tour started just outside Wambana. We were in the bus and Moff pointed out a tree. This tree looked just like a pine tree. Though it had big branches and smaller as the branches went higher. The tree was perfectly balanced and shaped so the sun could hit every branch from any angle. The tree was called a Nothfolk Pine. The Northfolk Pine has been around since before the dinosaurs. After an explanation we continued off and took a quick detour to the Point Turton caravan park. Here we found out that The caravan park used to be a lime stone mine. that's why the Northfolk Pine's were here, because they have ships that comes here and if the masks break, the trunk of the northfolk pine is perfect to repair them. On the way to Innes National Park, we stopped at a small house. Here we were told that South Australian emigrants though they were kings when they immigrated here because they could have one home to themselves. They thought they were kings because in that time in Europe, 3 families used to take turns sleeping in one dirty bed. This was a 24 hour cycle. The materials people used to build their houses were limestone. This is because it was being mined from Point Turton at that time.
A big problem about South Australian settlers were that there were problems with the aboriginals. When Settlers had sheep in their paddocks, they blamed the aboriginals for their shep dying and therefore, wiped them out within 3 years. The problem wasn't the aboriginals though, it was the grass. The grass had a chemical in it which killed sheep. Know adays, another chemical is sprayed into the grass to allow sheep to eat the grass without dying. All this was told to us by Moff
Water holes were used by the aboriginals so they could have a water source.
When the white settlers arrived, they claimed land which had these water holes. So to get the water the aboriginals would have to tresspass into the land and therefore, if get caught, get shot. One time on a cycle tour, Moff accidentally found some of the holes. He showed them to us. They were about 3m deep. Most of them were very skinny but some of them little kids can fit through. Snakes go to these waterholes because small animals like mice will want to drink out of them. On the way to the water holes we saw a human bone from an aboriginal. Mof alo said thee are a few aboriginal skeletons around the place. 
There used to be a busy town at Innes National Park. There a bits of what used to be a railway everywhere around the National Park and there are still old abanded homes everywhere. When we stopped at Innes National Park, we looked at lots of homes. They were really old and were made out of rock. Some of them didn't even have gutters on the roof. A lot of these homes were made for really small people because the roof and windows were really low. The homes were really interesting. Some were run down. We saw an old chalk factory and some gears used to make it. There was also a really old and run down school. Dale used to go to this school because there is a picture of him with some other students on this informa
tion sign.
At Innes Naional park we also saw two ship wrecks. One of them was a big ship and the other one was a tug boat. The ship was called the Ethel and the tug boat was called the Ferret. It was pretty amazing. You could see why these ships sunk because the water was extremely rough. It was very windy on the sand when we were looking at the Ethel. There were only bits of it sticking out of the water. Though there was enough of it to see the layout of the ship. The only bit of the Ferret we could see was a big boiler. The rest of the Ferret was under water. The boiler was big, round and rusty. We could stand on it. Moff said the Ferret was pirated and went to places around Indonesia and China. Though one time an Englishman saw this ship, reported it to the police, and the pirates were arrested and was brought back to the area of Innes National Park where it sunk in a shipwreck not long after the Ethel.
A big problem about South Australian settlers were that there were problems with the aboriginals. When Settlers had sheep in their paddocks, they blamed the aboriginals for their shep dying and therefore, wiped them out within 3 years. The problem wasn't the aboriginals though, it was the grass. The grass had a chemical in it which killed sheep. Know adays, another chemical is sprayed into the grass to allow sheep to eat the grass without dying. All this was told to us by Moff
Water holes were used by the aboriginals so they could have a water source.
When the white settlers arrived, they claimed land which had these water holes. So to get the water the aboriginals would have to tresspass into the land and therefore, if get caught, get shot. One time on a cycle tour, Moff accidentally found some of the holes. He showed them to us. They were about 3m deep. Most of them were very skinny but some of them little kids can fit through. Snakes go to these waterholes because small animals like mice will want to drink out of them. On the way to the water holes we saw a human bone from an aboriginal. Mof alo said thee are a few aboriginal skeletons around the place. 
There used to be a busy town at Innes National Park. There a bits of what used to be a railway everywhere around the National Park and there are still old abanded homes everywhere. When we stopped at Innes National Park, we looked at lots of homes. They were really old and were made out of rock. Some of them didn't even have gutters on the roof. A lot of these homes were made for really small people because the roof and windows were really low. The homes were really interesting. Some were run down. We saw an old chalk factory and some gears used to make it. There was also a really old and run down school. Dale used to go to this school because there is a picture of him with some other students on this informa
tion sign.At Innes Naional park we also saw two ship wrecks. One of them was a big ship and the other one was a tug boat. The ship was called the Ethel and the tug boat was called the Ferret. It was pretty amazing. You could see why these ships sunk because the water was extremely rough. It was very windy on the sand when we were looking at the Ethel. There were only bits of it sticking out of the water. Though there was enough of it to see the layout of the ship. The only bit of the Ferret we could see was a big boiler. The rest of the Ferret was under water. The boiler was big, round and rusty. We could stand on it. Moff said the Ferret was pirated and went to places around Indonesia and China. Though one time an Englishman saw this ship, reported it to the police, and the pirates were arrested and was brought back to the area of Innes National Park where it sunk in a shipwreck not long after the Ethel.
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