A Quiet Day

I almost wasn't going to blog about our gaming on Sunday as I've been posting quite a bit over the last few days.....

It's definitely been a busy, but awesome few days.

But then I decided I should still blog about gaming. Even if it is a short post and even if I wasn't really focused on gaming. I was a little tired...

Rob had bought his Ronin modular board which looks fantastic. So I should post some pictures of it. We tried a game of Ronin, but kinda ballsed up some of the rules.... no wonder our Samurai were dying so quickly! :) Still, as a game it looks interesting.

 And there was some more Kings of War... Mark vs. Phil and Phil vs. Rob.

As we have so many different games, we have decided to stick to one game a month. That way we can actually remember the rules rather than try and learn them again each weekend.... 

First up.... Malifaux May. 

Tough Mudder: The Review

Today has been a relatively quiet day for a bit of recovery.... the swelling around my thumb as reduced.... but I'm still buzzing and on an absolute high! Looking at all the posts on facebook... I think the rest of the team are as well!

What a day yesterday. Tough Mudder. We nailed it :)

A team of 11 of us from my local gym worked together to complete the course. The first time Tough Mudder has been here to Auckland.

There were a lot of nerves and not a lot of sleep the night before as our start time approached. Then we were at the start line and there was no going back now.

We pledged and then we were off! Into the mud and the obstacles. The first few k's were tough as we warmed up and got into our stride, but after the first few k's we just started to chew them up.

Suddenly there were only a few k's to go, but the legs were pretty heavy. It took a fair bit of effort to keep them going!

Rob was only to happy to come along to take some unflattering photos of me and the rest of the team. He's already posted some on his blog. Thanks for heading out Rob! The rest of the team are looking forward to seeing the pics.

So, without further ado.... here's a few of me getting wet and muddy, but grinning the whole way....

 

And then it was over and a cold beer was just what we needed! Along with a few more afterwards :)

Most fun: Mud Mile - who doesn't like playing in mud!? This was great fun and so much laughter.

Best obstacle: Walk the Plank - stoked I nailed this one without any fear.

Most shocking: Both electrical ones obviously! Man they packed a wallop!

Toughest obstacle: Glory Blades - damn awkward to get over.

Best team effort: Berlin Walls - we worked well together to nail this one.

Biggest surprise: Everest - got it first go without much difficulty.

Least favourite: Ladder to Hell - not sure on this one, wasn't hard, but with all the mud, it was very slippery.

Most shrinkage: Arctic Enema :)

If you've ever contemplated doing Tough Mudder.... don't think about it. Just do it!

Ooh Rah!

Tough Mudder.

I survived.

Team photo (thanks Rob!)

And it was awesome. Wet, muddy, electro-shocking fun. Took us about 3.5hrs to complete.

And I overcame all fears to complete all the obstacles... including "walk the plank". This was the one I was most nervous about due to not being a good swimmer. But, I was straight up, straight in, no fear, no worries.

A few scrapes, bruises and a sprained thumb later and we're done. All good now other than being rather sleepy (probably not helped by the few beers we had after :) ).

Food queues were too long. We stopped at Maccers on the way home. A Big Mac has never tasted so good!

Will I do it again? Probably :)

Now its time for a whiskey and then bed.

Off for a run

There is a track along the coast line near where I live. I had the day off yesterday, so I thought I'd go for a run along it in preparation for tomorrow (a few mates had said it was a good place for a run).

Sure bets going for a run along the road.

Lots of nice scenery and heaps of wildlife out and about (especially Tui's!). Since it was early morning (about 8am), the birds were really active and close to the track.

So.... I decided that I'd run along there again today, but would take the camera along!

The run itself goes from the top of Somerville road down towards Shelly Beach.

It was sunnier today, so the birds were up higher in the trees. That meant they were not as easy to see this morning unfortunately. Anyway here are a few shots... (I also had another go at doing a few panoramas)

The start:

On the run:

The Tui (when I did find one) were hard to photograph with the light. Especially when I was a little deeper in the track. Good practice for when I do eventually get out to Tiritiri though.

My final destination:

Lest We Forget

Today is ANZAC day. Our day of remembrance. This is the day that our forces landed and entered combat for the first time in Gallipoli 1915.

I've been to the ANZAC day services in Gallipoli and it was a moving, but very memorable, experience.

I'd actually volunteered to work there. It just felt right, so today always brings back some strong memories and emotions.

Sunset, ANZAC Cove, 24th April 2010

"Lest We Forget"

EDIT: I just found the link to the article I wrote about volunteering. You can find it here.

Last night, the Auckland War Memorial Museum had a light display whilst projecting some unseen footage of NZ troops in WW1. Footage from the troops debarking, landing in Egypt and then in the Western Front. With a soundtrack added, it become rather haunting. 

I had a crack at trying to photograph some of the display. A number of crosses were also on the lawn. This represents casualties from the Auckland Regiment and will be added too as the centenary commemorations continue.