Training Coup

The most amazing people have come into my life lately! Some have been around awhile, some I’ve met face to face, and others I’ve connected with virtually.

First, there’s my long time friend Anda. When she retired a year and a half ago, she replaced her full-time job with exercise. She might disagree with me, but just about immediately after retiring, she started taking exercise classes, and since that time she’s been encouraging me to get fit too. It took me until September 2008 to listen, but Anda is a bit persistent and finally got through. She keeps a pretty constant eye on me to make sure I’m continually doing something physical to stay in shape. She’s a great friend and a good motivator.

Then there’s Aaron, the young man who tackled Kilimanjaro in 2007. I hooked up with him through his mom, Susan. She and I reconnected last summer after 35 years, through Facebook. It was the pictures she posted of his climb that gave me the idea of making this climb in the first place. Aaron was kind enough to spend a good hour and a half on the telephone with me to share his training techniques and knowledge of what’s needed for the climb, simply because an old friend of his mother’s asked. He made valuable recommendations about working out with air restriction to prepare for altitude and warned that Kilimanjaro is no easy walk up hill. After my conversation with Aaron, I knew I needed help with getting physically ready to make the climb.

So, then came Darnell, my personal trainer. He is the only trainer I met with, and I met with several, who would take me seriously and who believed that I could be ready for the climb by next July. He’s creative with the training plan and he’s excited about the climb. His suggestion that I need to work on nutrition initially fell on deaf ears, and he gracefully gave me room to come around to the realization that I do indeed need nutrition support, on my own. He was firm on one thing that I tried to skip by, he insisted that I have a metabolic assessment before we started training. I did and it has been so beneficial in a very short time. He’s a wise and obviously patient person, and I know he’s a good trainer and that he will make sure I'm ready to climb when the time comes.

Then, the coup de grace…

A few weeks ago I noticed through a Facebook post that Susan, the sister of Karen, an acquaintance from my high school days, had just finished a Half Ironman Triathlon. (a Half Ironman Triathlon is a 56 mile bike ride, a 1 1/2 mile swim, and a 13+ mile run, which equals 70.3 miles - definitely an athlete's challenge!) I thought about contacting her for a few days, kind of seesawed back and forth - a little nervous about talking to someone so advanced in skills…my insecurities kept jumping around in my head and then finally I decided, what the heck. I took a chance, sent her a note, and asked for her help in understanding training for strength and endurance and what it took for her to get in shape for the Half Ironman. Well, I have to say, the decision to contact her was one of the best I’ve had - ever! She REALLY knows what she’s doing when it comes to training and nutrition. We initially connected on Oct 16 via email and by Oct 18 we were talking on the phone. One of Susan’s emails was entitled “our discussion for today”…That more than anything told me that she is all business when it comes to training! She forwarded her personal nutrition spreadsheet, which is remarkable, so that I could better understand that it’s not just about eating right, it’s about fueling ones body. The spreadsheet is chalk full of nutritional stuff that I’ve never heard of. She knows – has calculated– at any given moment exactly the fuel her body needs before, during, and after cycling or running and has it all mapped out. She also forwarded a link to a website for Compression 2XU, which if you’ve watched the Olympics the past few years you’ll recognize it as the same kind of suite worn by speed skaters and cyclists. She explained that this suite actually helps move oxygen to muscles to increase endurance (I really hope I said that right.) After talking with her, I realized that I’d completely missed the boat when Darnell suggested that I need nutrition support, and that I actually had a pretty weak view of the time I’ll need to dedicate to training. I thought I’d need to be working out about 7 hours a week and now after being gently nudged by Susan, I know I’ll need to be actively training about 15 hours a week, perhaps not initially, but I’d better be there soon! It’s a little scary, but I’d much rather be prepared than be the wimp of the mountain. I’ve lived my entire life trying to blend in and crying after the first half day of being on the mountain is certainly not a good way to blend.

So, armed with new nutrition knowledge (or at least the knowledge that I need help), a forthcoming nutritionist (Darnell promised to hook me up), and a little better understanding that I don’t know anything at all about training and getting physically ready for this climb, I’m moving forward. I’m watching my intake of things like protein and carbs and calories, and I’m watching my heart rate when I workout so I know how many calories I need to refuel after. Granted it’s only Wednesday, but I’ve been to the gym every night this week and I plan to have an extra long hike on both Saturday and Sunday. (Champaign/Urbana friends, if you’d like to join me, please speak up; I’d love to have some company!)

With support like this, there’s really no excuse and no way I won’t be ready for this climb!