Nine Days in the Top End

[Sir Why You Little 37,307]

My God the humidity up there right now will be unbelievable.

It is hard enough just walking to the fridge to get a cold one let alone train.

REHYDRATE EVERY 2 minutes...

I will be fascinated to listen to Dave Misson this year after this commando camp.

He has obviously researched it.

Hopefully this camp will teach the list to keep going in hard in the last quarter.

When was the last time we over ran a side to win in the second half?

Fremantle 2008?

It has been a long time. The competition has treated us with disdain because we have deserved it. Fighting in the last quarter will resurrect this club....

[H_T 3,049]

Gday Fellow Dee's.

As some of you might be aware I'm based in Darwin for work and have been for 8 years now.

I went out for dinner with the boys up here last night and it was great to see Col as I wont get home for Xmas. All the boys seemed pretty happy & nervous from what I could gather. Everyone was joking around, especially about their 5 star (1star) accommodation!!

Robertson Barracks is situated about 20kms from Darwin out the road in the middle of kinda nowhere I guess. They do have quite a full range of facilities there from what i could see.

Now....the weather.... What I can tell you is the last 5-6 days are the hottest for humidity I have ever experienced. Yesterday was Darwins hottest December day in 36 years. The mercury peaked at 36'c, while that may not seem too hot it is very hard to explain the hidden heat of the humidity, the bureau up here says add 8'c generally to get a feel for what it feels like, for eg: 36'c actually feels like 44'c.

This time of year is called "the build-up", it is a build of heat,pressure and humidity where it will be stinking hot all day, threaten to rain but never does until one day it will finally let go and officially kick start the wet season, this is called the knock em' down rains. We have had a little bit of rain which has only made it more humid. It is by far the hottest "build-up" Ive experienced since 2004 & all locals would agree.

Sorry I havent got much footy news but it was just good to see everyone and not talk footy, if that makes sense?! Everyone is gutted about Trenners also. They are catching up with Aussie while they are here also.

Now I'm not au fait with the benefits of training in humidity so if theres any doctors or sports science gurus who would like to inform us??? I just find it odd that Misson says it takes 3 years to reap the rewards of training up here but we only train once a year for 3 years up here...how does that work!!!? He's the expert though so I'm sure hes correct. They will certainly lose some weight!

Anyway guys, thats all I have, sorry its not much but thought you might find the weather interesting at least. Hope you all have a great Xmas & New Year.

The jungle drums are a beating & the Dee's are a comin!

Cheers,

Hells Gates.

Appreciate that HG whilst sitting in air conditioned comfort.

Just hoping it's an injury free trip and wishing them the best. They should have fun in the heat. *sigh*

[Jordie_tackles 354]

Wasn't that some sort of boys weekend fishing trip after the game up there?

Yeah thats it, i thought it was that and the game etc and getting away with a few past players.

[monoccular 17,642]

I understand that. I am also not sure at what height the training camps are at. But Falls Creek has been used for many years by marathon runners as an altitude training venue during the summer months.

Anyway, my point is that what we are doing is new and we are not following the leader, as we have done in the past.

It might not work, but we won't die without knowing...

Go Dees !!

I don't know just where i Colorado the others go, but Denver is at 5280 feet, lower than Kosiuszko, and I think that Falls Creek is about the same.

Good on our guys for trying something different - Missen is "an expert" and I would trust his judgement. There was at one stage talk of using Guangzhou or somewhere nearby for "altitude training" but that seems to have been put aside in favour of "heat and humidity".

[dees189227 12,453]

Its interesting to read matt burgans diaries on the website. It sounds like they are in for some pain but are also there to map out the game plan.

[mauriesy 7,410]

New Zealand has some pretty high mountains as well, and is 16+ hours flight closer to Melbourne than Colorado. Japan is closer and has some big ones too. Heading to the USA for this sort of stuff is overrated, IMO.

You can't get to a higher altitude in New Zealand unless you go mountaineering into snow and ice. Mt Cook village is lower than Mt Dandenong. Even Mackinnon Pass, highest point on the Milford Track, is only 1154m.

I doubt you could train for two weeks on top of Mt Cook (3754m).

[Sir Why You Little 37,307]

High altitude is all about blood thinning.

Training in heat will be about rehydration & recovery to go again.

Both have merit. Which style will win.

Neeld would be aware that he must have at least some success in 2013.

[beelzebub 23,390]

High altitude is also very much about oxygen and efficiencey of breathing. You will labor much harder to do ANYTHING..even skiing downhill is harder,, sounds ridiculous I know but ive skied Colorado's peaks (well some ) and youre buggered just getting them planks to run. So you do it all 'harder'..Come downstairs again and its relatively easy peasy.

My experiences in humidity ( which I loathe ) is somewhat similar. The air is heavier, breathing is labored also , but might be for a totally diferrent actual reason. effect is not dissimilar from altitude. ITS HARD.

Also in heat and humidity the body cant cool efficiently so it will run its core higher. you can keep it personally...lol

Cant wait for Nepal...now that WILL be interesting

[skills32 229]

.

This time of year is called "the build-up", it is a build of heat,pressure and humidity where it will be stinking hot all day, threaten to rain but never does until one day it will finally let go and officially kick start the wet season, this is called the knock em' down rains. We have had a little bit of rain which has only made it more humid. It is by far the hottest "build-up" Ive experienced since 2004 & all locals would agree.

HG look forward to more reports.

Apparently climate change has hit Darwin too. When I was up there the knock'em downs always came after the wet, usually in March.

[ignition. 1,478]

Who is this Robbie Chancellor training up in Darwin with the boys?

Presumably training.

https://twitter.com/bobbyjchance

[beelzebub 23,390]

Some pix from today.... looks warmish

Matt Burgans commentary

[Hells Gates 505]

HG look forward to more reports.

Apparently climate change has hit Darwin too. When I was up there the knock'em downs always came after the wet, usually in March.

Knock em down rains has and always will be the very first rains of the wet season, not the last. The idea of the knock em down rains, which normally occurs in Nov/Dec, is that it knocks down all the spear grass that has grown during the dry. What you say doesnt make sense as it would already be flat from the whole wet season, someone has led you up the garden path.

As for climate change, dont agree. Weather is a cycle thing that has happened for thousands of years. At the moment the weather is confused as to whether it will be an El Nino or La Nina, which is due to sea surface temps and levels in the Pacific Ocean. Whilst I agree there are holes in the ozone everywhere, these weather patterns have been happening for many years.

Not trying to beat you down mate, but weather is something I do know a bit about. Enjoy your weekend.

[binman 44,530]

Not trying to beat you down mate, but weather is something I do know a bit about. Enjoy your weekend.

Should change your posting name to Storm Boy

[Hells Gates 505]

Should change your posting name to Storm Boy

Funnily enough..........That is my real life nickname!!!

[Hells Gates 505]

As we speak there is a thunderous storm developing, should be some nice cooling monsoonal rains in the next hour!

[Grapeviney 9,909]

Some pix from today.... looks warmish

and looks like mitch is going at a pretty decent gallop. good to see

[CBDees 3,167]

For a start Falls Creek is much lower than Colorado.

As regards Darwin, I suppose you have all seen the photos of Day 2 posted on the club website. The boys seem to be working very hard (especially Jonesy) and they all seem in good spirits. i suspect that it will work from both a fitness and a team-building point of view particularly when they do their 38km hike though Kakadu. It should sort out the men from the boys at least and (judging from the photos) all our lads are up to the task!

[hardtack 10,859]

High altitude is also very much about oxygen and efficiencey of breathing. You will labor much harder to do ANYTHING..even skiing downhill is harder,, sounds ridiculous I know but ive skied Colorado's peaks (well some ) and youre buggered just getting them planks to run. So you do it all 'harder'..Come downstairs again and its relatively easy peasy.

My experiences in humidity ( which I loathe ) is somewhat similar. The air is heavier, breathing is labored also , but might be for a totally diferrent actual reason. effect is not dissimilar from altitude. ITS HARD.

Also in heat and humidity the body cant cool efficiently so it will run its core higher. you can keep it personally...lol

Cant wait for Nepal...now that WILL be interesting

They should take them to Japan in the summer and get them doing the ascent and descent on Mt Fuji... they will get the unbelievable humidity in the lower part of the climb and as they get towards the top, the air is thin to the point where your leg muscles (well mine did) scream for relief and it can be extremely cold (ice remains year round). The descent is terrible for different reasons as it is very hard to keep your footing on the volcanic gravel that is like very very coarse over-sized sand (it gets into everything).

So, they get endurance, altitude high/low temperature and balance training all in one day :-)

[Longsufferingnomore 1,670]

They should take them to Japan in the summer and get them doing the ascent and descent on Mt Fuji... they will get the unbelievable humidity in the lower part of the climb and as they get towards the top, the air is thin to the point where your leg muscles (well mine did) scream for relief and it can be extremely cold (ice remains year round). The descent is terrible for different reasons as it is very hard to keep your footing on the volcanic gravel that is like very very coarse over-sized sand (it gets into everything).

So, they get endurance, altitude high/low temperature and balance training all in one day :-)

balance training great for the core.

[beelzebub 23,390]

Fuji...sounds like fun ....hi !!!

[BangkokDemon 96]

They should take them to Japan in the summer and get them doing the ascent and descent on Mt Fuji... they will get the unbelievable humidity in the lower part of the climb and as they get towards the top, the air is thin to the point where your leg muscles (well mine did) scream for relief and it can be extremely cold (ice remains year round). The descent is terrible for different reasons as it is very hard to keep your footing on the volcanic gravel that is like very very coarse over-sized sand (it gets into everything).

So, they get endurance, altitude high/low temperature and balance training all in one day :-)

And they'll get to eat the best ramen in the world and have lots of local Asahi to wash it down...won't get spoilt like that in Kakadu !!

[BangkokDemon 96]

High altitude is all about blood thinning.

Training in heat will be about rehydration & recovery to go again.

Both have merit. Which style will win.

Neeld would be aware that he must have at least some success in 2013.

If we could afford it, both would be beneficial.

But, as we don't play too many games high up...except for Max Gawn (joke) but will play several in quite hot weather, this is a good decision.

[jnrmac 20,276]

I hope they don't all lose 6-10kgs. That would be a disaster for Watts in particular. But also Fitz, Gawn etc....

That's what tends to happen in the high heat...

Just sayin...

[Biffen 12,949]

If we could afford it, both would be beneficial.

But, as we don't play too many games high up...except for Max Gawn (joke) but will play several in quite hot weather, this is a good decision.

If i was single again I think a month in Bangkok would be beneficial.

Or at least a month on the islands.

Good luck to you Bangkok Demon-you lucky bastard.

[rjay 25,304]

I hope they don't all lose 6-10kgs. That would be a disaster for Watts in particular. But also Fitz, Gawn etc....

That's what tends to happen in the high heat...

Just sayin...

Usually just fluid loss that picks back up quickly, have seen a lot of overweight northerners though.