We went from never having really known of the little island that is so close to ours to visiting there regularly and making friends with those that live there.
This February James spent two weeks there intensively studying Preying Mantis Kung fu with Yoshida Sensei and John Sensei and the dojo seniors there.
I stayed in Okinawa looking after the dojo, running the classes and working at the bar before meeting James for the final weekend where we had signed up for our third adventure trail race.
The first was the 'Formosa Trail' in December 2017.
The second was 'Ultra Maokong' In October 2018.
This one was 'Run through the Jungle'- February 2019.
This was by far my favourite of the three runs we have done so far. It was definately the wettest and most challenging physically but was such fun in the end.
We had to follow up a river, through the thick jungle and across a few more rivers.
The people we were racing with were so so friendly, no matter the language or where we came from it was our mission to all make it through the jungle together and so everyone made sure everyone else was o.k which was a really great thing to be a part of.
At the beginning of the race i really didn't want to do it.
The rain was constant and everything was already wet. And it was cold. Colder than Okinawa.
My bones were cold and it was 5 am hence i was not very happy. What stupid decisions i make sometimes.
But once i started, it consumed my mind immediately.
The course was difficult and if you lost concentration for even just a short few seconds you would slip and be in trouble- lots of places you would just fall over into the mud but there were some parts where you could fall down quite a bit of mountain or into a very rocky river. That would genuinely be pretty dangerous.
Concentration and carefulness was key to make it out safely.
It took me and my mind and body away from stressing about absolutely anything and everything.
My body was in nature- running in the jungle and heavy rain was exhausting (and washing) the stress away.
There was no part of me left to worry about anything but the challenge right in front of me.
It was to make it around the entire course without dying.
Although it was my slowest race yet and it was definately the worst conditions but the most beneficial and enjoyable.
James did really well and came 20th of about 80 people, and was finished way before me.
This one took me 4 hours (ish) and was around 50th.
we finished and decided to go back to Taipei and the guest house.
we stopped at the family mart to get a much needed cider.
But once there i changed my mind and got the cafe mocha with a shot of cherry chocolate Baileys. Now, it might not have actually been as good as i remember and it might have been better because i had just spent 4 hours trekking through the jungle.
But i'm not joking when i tell you it was probably the best drink i'd had in my life.
We went back to the guesthouse to sleep and rest for a while and then went to dinner with John Sensei and Ting. The food was SO good.
The array of Taiwanese food that they presented us with was just incredible and it just kept growing.
We have one more race in the series of races that the Taiwan Beast Runners present each year.
'The Beast Trail'.
It's definately going to be another challenge.
Maybe the most difficult so far but i'm excited to finish the series of runs and bring this epic adventure to its finale in May.
From there, maybe take a break from Taiwan and visit a few of the other countries around Okinawa.
Hong Kong and it's mountains and giant Buddha intrigues me, or maybe Korea or the Philippines.
I'd like to try a spartan race at some point and climb mount Fuji, but for now, i'll focus on the Beast and see where it takes me.
