Woah, Mumma!

My Mum was my inspiration today. I had to come back across town (I live over the other side from my parents, and Cali) to teach this afternoon, so I locked in a session with Mum for the afternoon before class. She's never done the 1000 stairs in Upper Gully, so I picked her up and we went for it.

I bought her a HRM for her birthday, so we both strapped on and set off up the hill. For those of you that don't know, the 1000 stairs is a trail up a mountain that starts with a 1.5km walk and then there's 1000 stairs to the top (mostly concrete cut into the mountainside). Along the way there are markers and plaques with stories from the Kokoda Track - it's kind of a tribute/memorial for the diggers (and their 'fuzzy wuzzy angels') who were made to walk the Track in WWII.

Both our heart rates got ridiculously high just walking up the hill. Mum's kept beeping as she was over her max rate, and mine even had a go once or twice. After a short stop just before the stairs started, we continued up to the top. We stopped every few minutes for a breather and a drink and to let our hearts catch themselves. There was a group of walkers who we kept swapping with - we would pass them, then they would pass us - we got talking and encouraged each other to keep at it. It's pretty tough!

A few times I would look behind me and Mum was focussed on the steps in front of her. I was leading the way, but checked every so often if I couldn't hear her breathing behind me. Her expression was one of determination, but I could see the doubt creeping in. She's heard that it's torture and I could tell that she was pretty ready to give up at the halfway mark. I made a point of not stopping where the markers were - so she couldn't see how far we had gone, or how far we had to go. I've done it myself a few times so know the points where I usually stop, and the points I want to give up, and also the point where you're almost there. About 200 steps from the end, the slabs of concrete get longer and the steps take 2 or 3 steps between each one. This is my favourite part, because it's nearly over!

We made it to the top in about an hour from the time we left the car. There are people who do the whole thing 3 times in an hour, but they're freaks. Haha. After a little rest, we came back down. It's a killer on the knees coming back down - your legs are all shaky and the concrete isn't even and the steps are uneven and the rail is sometimes out of reach. Mum had to go pretty slow, but I made sure she was with me or that I waited for her to catch up on the hard bits.

We got down to the bottom, and the relief on her face was priceless. She was shitty that I burnt more calories than her (I did 624, she did 550) but I reminded her that I'm 10 kilos heavier than her so bloody deserved the extra burn. On the way down, she'd mentioned that she would NEVER do it again - it was on her bucket list and was crossed off! But then in the car, she was talking about me ringing her whenever I was coming over to do it (I'll need to for my 50km walk training) and that she wants to beat her time next time.

My Mum is 52 years old. She's always been a big girl, but she tries really hard to eat well, and goes to the gym 4-5 times a week. I don't think she's ever pushed herself that hard, or believed that she could do anything that big. She didn't really believe in herself today, but I certainly did. She amazes me!