Feb 17

At basecamp! We ferried a load up to camp 1 yesterday at 16,200 ft. It was a 9 hour day and I was fried. Internet is spotty, i have about 2 minutes left. One member left the group already. We leave for up the mountain tomorrow. Winds are up to 60 mph at camp 3. More later.

February 7, 2010

This is just so cool. I leave tomorrow and I just got an email from Ed Viesturs. THE Ed Viesturs. He wished me luck on the mountain.

I'm reading his new book K2, which is intense and down-to-earth. Ed will go down in history as being one of the most skillful and level-headed American mountaineers of all time.

February 4, 2010

Before our very eyes, my trainingforaconcagua blog has turned into the Aconcagua Experience blog. I'll write from Mendoza, Plaza Argentina Base Camp, and Plaza de Mulas Base Camp.

So now that I can transition into this new phase of the blog, here's more information. I'm going with Tusker Trails http://www.tusker.com the folks with whom I summited Kilimanjaro, Tanzania in 2004 and traveled to Mongolia with, in 2008. This will be their last trek up Aconcagua because the success rate on summiting Aconcagua is significantly lower (30%-40% success) than Kili. Tusker likes a high success rate, which they are good at with Kili.

My new friends Guy and Brett at Dynamic Earth in Overland Park, KS have been outfitting me and have really revved up my anticipation of the climb. I just bought from them today a Solio Classic solar charger for my ipod. Also, Guy re-vamped my pack and it fits like a glove now. These guys have singlehandedly turned me into a gear-snob and I love them for it. I'm all about Arc'Teryx, thanks to them, and NOTHING BUT merino wool. Dynamic Earth is THE place to buy great gear in Kansas City. Backwoods holds their own too, and I will continue to be a customer at both places, but I have to admit that the guys at DE know their stuff.

Despite an occasional frenzied flash of fear, I'm starting to visualize the starting line and wild horses can't keep me away.

February 2, 2010

There is just no way around this....it's coming and it's coming fast. Ernest Hemingway's theme of Grace Under Pressure is the rule of the day. It's all good.

The Lawrence Journal World contacted me and will interview me for a story on Friday. It should be fun and a decent diversion from their usual sports drivel.

I lifted weights today, and just warmed up on the treadmill for a few miles. I'm still stiff from my big workout on Sunday so I figured it would be ok to go lite; after all, if I'm not trained now, I'm toast.

This is turning into not just a training blog but an over-all-diary-blog. It's not as if I have to apologize to my readers (all 4 of you!). Creating this blog has been enormously cathartic, and yet, self-indulgent too.

Sometime I must read about blog etiquette, if there is such a thing....but not now. I'm much too into my own blog to be worried about pleasing anyone else.

January 31, 2010

Whoa. I ran a 5 k road race this morning in Kansas City, refueled and rested a few hours, and just trekked 1.5 hours with a loaded pack here in Lawrence. Something interesting is happening to my body core. I used to feel that my legs were my powerhouse, but since training with a loaded pack, my core is getting super strong and trumps my legs. Plus, my stabilizers (adductors and abductors) are working on over-time, giving my quads and hamstrings a break.

Tomorrow I have my last massage with Holly, my body-work therapist, who has been my musculoskeletal system's BFF.

I'm getting really amped.

January 28, 2010

I really have been working out, honestly. I just haven't blogged....honestly. I went to Florida for 5 days and ran every day, combined with the Stairstepper. Lifted weights. Increased my calorie intake. Tomorrow I'll do a workout with a relatively heavy pack for me....about 32 pounds. This is the final stretch before the trip.

Then there are the other preparations, not part of the training, but part of the deal. Those 'what if' preparations, like "what if I die up there" or "what if something happens to someone in my family while I'm gone". I've tended to those details over the past week and I now have an unusual serenity about the 'what-ifs' because I addessed them and made some interesting choices. These are the things I have control over.

But life itself is just so darned unstable at times. The weirdest things can happen on a dime and I tend to think about this frequently. Haiti happened. My dad's death happened. All without any warning. Undertaking a high-stake endeavor has put me in touch with the things I have control over, and the things over which I haven't a speck of control. Staying in tune with this is amazingly powerful to me. David Hahn, a world-class mountaineer once said, "The big mountains have a powerful way of organizing your mind".

I get that.

January 17, 2010

Trekked for 5 hours today with a 25 pound pack and tonight I feel solid. I've learned from my triathlon coach Ryan, that eating certain foods immediately after a long workout will aid in recovery. It did the trick today.......a protein shake with berries......it was perfect. Then shrimp, vegetables, and brown rice for dinner.

I'm taking Endurolytes with me on the mountain for electrolyte replacement.

I leave three short weeks from tomorrow, so I will keep up the intensity for two weeks and then will taper.

I've started to assemble all my gear in the bedroom. I can count the few small items I need one one hand--another compression sack, my snacks, some Dr. Bonner's liquid soap.

January 13, 2010

Yesterday I walked 1.5 hours on stairs with my pack in the Allen Fieldhouse at KU. My calves are SO SORE today. I thought I was beyond being sore but NoooOOOooooo. Tomorrow I will attempt about 2 hours there.

The Lawrence Journal World contacted me and said that a reporter will be calling me this week to do a story on the climb. Cool.

My fellow climbers have all emailed each other to introduce themselves. One of them, Cern Basher, had an awesome article written about his upcoming climb. Cern is climbing to raise money and awareness for 22q13 Deletion Syndrome, a rare chromosomal disorder which his 10-yr old son Dane has. Dane can't walk, talk, and he has a major delay in his cognitive development. Only 350-400 families in the world have children afflicted with it.

I can just imagine.....won't it be a little emotional if we all make it to the summit, given the goals that we've personally met?

January 10, 2010

Yesteray was a monster of a day for me. I trekked 4.5 hours through ice, snow, and some cleared paved surfaces with a 28 pound pack. The temperature was about 10 degrees F for most of the day. Lee came with me and we stopped for one hour to have lunch at a place in Lawrence. I recovered quickly for the most part......sore last night, but a good-night's sleep revived me. I get the sense that my body is adapting to the increasing work demand placed on it. I still think I need to do several 6-8 hour treks with a pack for endurance. I know I need to increase my pack to at least 30 pounds, but it's so darned hard to walk with that load.

Knowing that my top-of-the-line clothing is working for me is a huge confidence booster. I still have a few gear items to buy, but I'm good-to-go.

Oscar mike!

January 2, 2010

Walked three hours today with a 20 pound pack and 7 degree F temps. Covered in down gear. Starving when I returned home.

What to eat? Having just seen Food, Inc., I have taken my food choices a step further towards health. On my desk for reading: The Omnivore's Dilemma, Fast-Food Nation, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto.

January 1, 2010

Crazy the way time travels so fast. Training is good, mental health is good. I've been watching the 2009 Everest series Beyond the Limit on the Discoverey Channel, and of course, I'm riveted. I've read and watched everything about Everest. The crazy voice in me wonders where my imagination will take me if I reach the summit of Aconcagua next month. Denali next? Island Peak in Nepal (down the valley from Everest)? If I don't make the summit, I'll return to finish the job, like I did the Half Ironman in 2008. I like to finish the job.

Training has bumped up. I'm doing stairmaster (the revolving stairs) in the gym with a 25 pound pack and boots. I climbed stairs for 1.5 hours yesterday. Tomorrow I'll walk about 3 hours, outside towards Clinton Lake with my pack. The pack is an entirely new variable to add to the workouts. I've had some shoulder strain, some hip strain, but I'm adapting. In the next few weeks, I'll increase the weight to 30 pounds, which will be about right. It's been fiercely cold outside, but with my Feathered Friends expedition parka, I am so toasty warm. This thrills me because the -40 degrees F on Aconcagua scares me and my 108 pound body. There is a wind on the mountain called Viento Blanco--the White Wind--which can reach 100 mph. Will it blow me over? Will my digits freeze in my new Mountain Hardware expedition mitts?

Mental health is so much a part of this. Acknowledging my fear is good, but fear shouldn't hold me back. I try not to listen to doubtful voices because they don't serve me. It's so similar in the world of triathlon. Taking a mantra like, "I know I can, I know I can, I know I can" will take me farther than, "I don't think I can" or "Maybe I can".

One of my 2010 yearly goals is to meditate every day for at least 10 minutes. Meditation keeps you in the here-and-now and keeps the mind still. This is so important in mountain climbing and triathlon. Some people pray, but I prefer to do it in my own spiritual way, which is meditation.

As I come closer to leaving for my trip (February 8) I do feel more spiritual. I recognize the risk I am taking. There are casualties at such an altitude and it's very humbling to attempt such a challenge. I feel closer to my family and friends lately, and there is a lot of love and concern. I am enormously greatful for my life and for the opportunity to pursue my dreams.

December 13

Oy, trekking around Lawrence on the hills of KU with a 35 pound pack is a challenge. The added weight is really making all the difference in doing stairs. I may add another 5 pounds to the pack by January, but I definitely need to increase the time variable. I only did 2 hours today and I was really feeling the weight on my shoulders and core. Of course, 35 pounds is approximately 1/3 of my body weight!

I leave town tomorrow for two days and then also out of town Fri through Sun so this week will be a light workout week.

December 8

A day of physical rest so I can mentally focus. The mental training for climbing Aconcagua is similar to training for a triathlon. Negative thoughts are just a waste of time and progress. All the mental chatter clutters the focus. It's best to keep a 'present' mind which is still and sharp. Self doubt can be felt and recognized as easily as lactic acid in the muscle.

My massage therapist, Holly works on me in preparation for the climb. After a crazy swim in a sprint triathlon this season, when I 'lost-it' in the crush of swimming bodies and struggled to a life boat, Holly worked on my ribs and diaphragm, helping me to open those areas during inhalation. I had no more problems with the swim the rest of the season. For the climb, Holly will do more of that work, because at 23,000 ft. in altitude, the body works on the equivalent of one lung. There is so little oxygen, that the tiniest finger wound doesn't heal.

I discovered today that Aconcagua is the 2nd highest of the Seven Summits--the highest being (of course) Mount Everest.

December 7

I've added a gallon of water to my pack for weight and I'm ready to add more. This AM it was a windy 23 degrees F and I debated just staying in bed instead of hitting the hills. I'm reminded of a saying by the auther David Kessler: RULES WORK WHERE WILLPOWER DOESN'T. If you make a rule and if you have disciplin, the power of the rule will trump a weakened willpower. I followed my rule today, which was, GET UP AT 5:30 AM, DO HILLS FOR AN HOUR.

December 1

Oy, it's December 1st and quite a while has passed since my last message. First there was a flu-like sickness, then a medical procedure which zapped my energy, Thanksgiving, and family STUFF. The good news is that I really didn't miss too many workouts and today I kicked it in.

I did an 1.25 hours of hills and stairs, then went to the gym to lift weights. What an amazingly awesome morning it was, at the Campaneli at the KU campus, as the dawn broke. Quiet and still. I've started to visualize the mountain--Aconcagua in all of its windy glory--waiting for me to give her the respect she deserves so that I will hopefully reach the summit. Only one-third of all climbers make it to the summit--the others succumb to altitude sickness or to the viento blanco (white wind), which will often blow at 100 mph. This mountain makes its own weather.

Weight-lifting is going well, although my neck has been stiff from upper body workouts. I'll start to see Holly, my massage therapist, next week and she will work her magic.

.....and my weight it good. Thanksgiving didn't entice me into total gorging......I was conservative in what I ate and kept portions just right. My light scales say 108 lbs, my heavy scales 112 to 113. Yup, I'm a freak about weight.

Tomorrow I'll hit the hills again very early, with a light backpack. It's time to start simulating the real deal.

Training for Aconcagua: November

I am settling in to the November Plan and this is what it looks like:

Mon-Wed-Fri: wake up at 5:30 AM and go to KU to do stairs and ramps for an hour at different spots on campus.

Tues-Thur: lift weights, upper and lower.

Sat or Sun: hike for > 2 hours in hiking boots to include hills.

Sat or Sun: rest day, whichever day I'm not hiking.

Wildcard: add two additional workouts to the week, which may include a run, bike, swim, or another weight lifting day. If I'm tired, I'll rest (I have coach Ryan to thank for that suggestion).

This plan totals about 8 to 9 hours per week of working out. This shouldn't be too difficult, since I did more than that last year training for the two half ironmen.

Today's hike lasted 2.5 hours--it was just so gorgeous outside--Indian Summer in Kansas at its best. I am feeling very positive.

Training for Aconcagua

Wow, my first blog, and I have coach Ryan to thank for it. There is something about putting your endeavors in writing which validates them and gives them a certain gravity. So, here goes.

I've climbed Kilimanjaro, trekked in and around Everest and Nepal three times, explored Bhutan up to the Tibetan border, got up close and personal to the Kazakhs in Mongolia and consider myself an OK age-group triathlete. Now is the biggest adventure yet--a summit attempt on Aconcagua in Argentina, the tallest mountain outside of the Himalayas, soaring to 23,000 feet. I'll be blogging on my training from now, until I leave on February 8.

More to come.