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You are here: Home / Archives for New Zealand

New Zealand

The End At Tarawera

02/22/2021 by John 3 Comments

Before we get into it, I want to be clear that I could not have crossed the finish line without the help of my support crew. Mary Fingeroff and Monique Lynch were there for me throughout the weekend. Crucially, between the two of them they ran the last 40 kilometres with me. I didn’t complete the Tarawera Ultramarathon, we did.

Something felt wrong. It’s hard to describe. With only a few kilometres to go in the Tarawera 100 Miler, I started wondering if I should stop and seek medical attention. I was scared. I kept going. To the finish line. In a daze I choose my pounamu. After all the work to get to this point, I couldn’t really appreciate it at the moment.

Finishers of the Tarawera 100 Miler are given a pounamu (New Zealand greenstone) carved in the shape of a Toki, a Maori symbol of strength, reverence, bravery, and mana.

Every competitor must go to the recovery tent. They asked me questions. I was given over to the medical team, my temperature taken. Other vitals. My core body temperature was too hot. Next thing I know, I’m on a stretcher, getting ice poured over me. It wasn’t enough. Off the stretcher, and into an inflatable kayak, so that more ice and water could be put around my body. My temperature fluctuated, down a bit, up again, apply more ice, stable temp, then down a bit more.

I actually almost fell asleep. While in an ice bath. I had to pee. Dr. Tom got me out of the tub and walked me to the furnace box that was the port-a-loo. Thankfully, he didn’t make me get back into the tub. Instead, he sat me down in front of a big fan and wrapped me in wet towels, bringing on more uncontrollable shivering. But my vanquished appetite had returned, and I got to eat some excellent vegan food from the end of race banquet area. And then, I almost fell asleep in the chair.

After two hours in the medical tent, I was cleared to go. The free beer tent was already gone for the day and the last competitors were crossing the line or still out on the course hoping they would make it before the thirty-six hour cut-off which was fast approaching. It was about as climatic and anti-climatic as it could get for me. I didn’t want to celebrate. I just wanted to go back to the hotel to rest.

A shower. Half a beer, my first since New Year’s Eve. Asleep for a spell. Wake-up. Eat a little more food and finish my beer, then asleep again. The day is done after being more or less awake for the past 40 hours and over 100 miles of movement on my feet.

I am fascinated by what happened. What happened? I don’t know. I felt good. I was moving well. Then in the final 20 miles or so the wheels started to fall off.

The memory of that last downhill when every step caused a grimace of pain is fresh. I can still see myself almost breaking into tears at the last aid station and saying that I wanted to quit with only a few miles to go. The ice bath was an experience I’d rather not repeat. During much of the later half of the race, I kept telling myself I’d never run another hundred miler.

But the mind has a way of transforming difficulties into resiliency and determination. Only a day or so after the race, I started asking the questions. What could I do better next time?

Filed Under: Running Tagged With: New Zealand, running

100 Mile Jitters

02/09/2021 by John 2 Comments

Race week is here. I can’t believe it. I’m nervous, excited, and afraid. I’ve had a queasy feeling in my gut for days that I don’t think will subside until the starting gun goes off. This weekend I am running in the Tarawera 100 Miler.

I don’t know if the fact that I’ve run a hundred miles before makes it harder or easier. It feels easier in that I know I have (had) the capability to do it. Harder in that the now I know how difficult it is. The first time, I didn’t know what I didn’t know. And this time, I’m afraid I’ve forgotten whatever it is I learned the first time around.

It’s been almost six years since I’ve run this distance. Six years more age on my body. Six years during which I have not been running many big events.

Am I ready? What does that even mean? I ran what a piece of paper told me to run almost to a fault, ignoring those silly instructions about speed work. Does anybody like speed work? My body doesn’t feel particularly ready, but did it last time? And what does that feel like anyway?

As for the mind? What I know is that a version of me did this in the past and that when faced with a difficult challenge, I often get through it. I can see the finish line by the lake in Rotorua. I picture myself bowing so that the pounamu can be hung around my neck. It’s just one step at a time. That’s all anyone can ask of themselves.

Filed Under: Running Tagged With: New Zealand, running

alert( ‘Hello World!’ )

10/22/2020 by John 5 Comments

In computer code, alert( 'Hello World!' ) creates a pop-up window on the screen that says “Hello World!” Consider this post me as that pop-up box. Back in May and early June, I wrote a post a day about moving to New Zealand. And then…

Cue the crickets.

So what happened? Maybe you’re wondering if we have the internet in New Zealand? The answer, of course, is yes. We have the internet and it has been the focus of most of my attention for the past four months. I recently completed an intensive 15-week long, coding boot camp at Enspiral Dev Academy in Wellington and have now begun working there.

In one of my previous lives, I was a computer coder. In between stints working for North Carolina Outward Bound and guiding bicycle tours, I obtained an Associates Degree in Web Technologies. I then worked full-time as a software developer for a year before deciding to sell the house and go nomad. That was five years ago.

In that time, my wife and I have lived in six different locations in the United States, have had two extended stays in Spain, and moved to New Zealand, back to the States, and now back again to New Zealand. Whew!

During all that movement, the idea of being a full-time software developer has travelled with me. Along the way, I’ve built a few websites for friends and pottered away on various learning platforms like Udemy, freecodecamp, and Codecademy. I was interested in working in technology but had not fully committed myself to it.

That started to change in 2018. When we first decided to move to New Zealand, I intended to enroll at Enspiral Dev Academy. I went there to watch a graduation ceremony and the space and atmosphere instantly felt like home.

It seemed perfect: a fresh start for my life in a new country. One problem: they could only accept New Zealand citizens and residents, and I did not fit into this category. So I spent that first year in New Zealand wondering who I was and working as a cook.

But the idea of a coding boot camp was ever-present, and I started to research doing one online. I was close to signing up for one when we rather abruptly decided to return to the United States in 2019.

When we arrived back in New Zealand this past June, I again was unsure what I would be doing for work. About a week into our quarantine period at an Auckland hotel, we received the news that our application for a Skilled Migrant Visa had been accepted. We are now officially residents of New Zealand, meaning I was eligible to enroll in the coding boot camp. I did so immediately.

It was a great decision. I learned so much about software development, but more importantly, I got to build strong connections with a small group of participants and staff during an intense period of learning. It was an experience similar to being on an Outward Bound course.

My days were full: up by 5 a.m. at the latest to go for a run, at Dev Academy around 6:30 to study before class started at 8:45, and home around 6 p.m. to eat and relax a bit before an early bedtime to do it all again the next day. Dev Academy emphasizes personal growth alongside the technical skills required to get a job as a software developer. We would begin each day with a few minutes of mindfulness and twice a week participated in yoga sessions. My first impressions were correct. This place felt like home. Fortunately, even with boot camp over, this is a home I won’t have to leave for a while.

This week I am transitioning from the role of a Dev Academy student to that of being a boot camp Facilitator. This means that I’ll be aiding the Lead Teachers with delivering the program to students. It’s an incredible opportunity for me to be able to keep learning while helping others.

It has been a whirlwind since we landed in Auckland. I have not been this busy in years and it feels great. It is a reminder to me that having the courage to try something I’m not sure I can succeed at usually leads to unimaginable positive outcomes.

Filed Under: Employment, Lifestyle Tagged With: New Zealand, travel, Work

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