Back In The Game

I finally got motivated enough to go out today and resume the 'training' routine I had began back in August. It was in August that I had decided that climbing Mt. Whitney was something that I would really like to do in 2009. If you didn't know, Mt. Whitney, located in 'south-central' California, is the highest mountain in the continental United States at 14,497 feet(Mt. McKinley, in Alaska, is much higher at 20,320 feet, but that's another story.) To get to the top of Mt. Whitney, one must hike eleven miles (one-way) and gain about 6,000 feet in elevation. Some folks like to split the journey up into a multiple day event by spending one or two nights on the mountain. Obviously this approach breaks up the twenty-two miles of hiking over 2 - 3 days, but at the same time, by spending the night, you will need to increase your pack load- which means MORE WEIGHT to carry! So, the dilemma is there. Try to do a single day approach and descent with only the basic essentials OR take some time and spend a few days 'up there'.

Yes, a decision will ultimately be made, but today, I had bigger worries to contend with. It had been over two months since I had attempted any real physical activity and now it was time to pay the piper. The bigger concern with climbing Mt. Whitney is that you can't just show up and expect to waltz up the sheer granite Sierra Nevada face without a little conditioning. Did I mention it was about 6,000 feet of vertical elevation gain? That's well over a mile STRAIGHT UP. I have read that making the trip in one day is comparable to running a marathon (26 miles)! My conditioning 'hikes' have never been over 14 miles and my weight is up to 245 pounds. Needless to say, I've got a long way to go, and a (relatively) short time to get there.

With all the above knowledge wedged securely in the dark recesses of my brain, I went out today with one real goal- come back tired. Since I do not have a lot of recreational options within close proximity, I decided to return to a local 'hike/bike' path that claims to be 3.7 miles one way. So hiking out and back should put one at roughly seven miles upon returning to the trailhead. Now, I know that just walking seven miles is not going to really push me very much, so I like to keep a close eye on the watch to make sure I am keeping up a good pace. This very trail had been the scene of some very HOT August hikes and I had actually began to make some physical progress back then. I had completed the roundtrip hike in 1 hour and 18 minutes the last time I had been there, which was a personal best. Today I knew it would be a real challenge to come close to that, so I went in with a "just do the best I can" attitude.

Along with that attitude I went in with the following "equipment"- one pair of 11.5 Merrell Moab Mid trail shoes, ankle high white cotton socks, extra long 'Under Armour' undershorts, cargo hiking shorts, short sleeved 'Under Armour' T-Shirt, one I-Pod Nano, one pair of sunglasses, one dark blue head-band, one 'fanny-pack' with dual water bottle holsters and not to be forgotten one trusty walking stick. I know, I know. This doesn't sound like someone who is taking this Whitney idea very seriously, but I do have good intentions. I know my gear/equipment is somewhat unorthodox, but I have always believed that grit and determination will take you farther than a lot a fancy bells and whistles.

I had always sworn that I would never wear a head band for fear of being associated with the Richard Simmons movement or perhaps the 80's band Loverboy. Boy was I ever right about that. The first time I broke out the head-band, my hiking buddy makes some obscure reference to 'Mike Reno' and leaves me feeling totally self-concious, as if I needed another obstacle to overcome while hiking. I have got to give the head-band the credit that it is due. It totally keeps sweat out of my eyes (and contacts), yet still allows the furnace vent like heat to escape from the top of my head (something a ball cap will just not allow). The sunglasses were not really necessary as most of the trail is shaded and I was out during the later part of the day when shadows were starting to get long. I think the sunglasses were to offset the head-band and to provide an additional edge of anonymity should I be spotted.

Fortunately, I did have the good frame of mind to take along the I-Pod today. I had just recently downloaded two new albums and really wanted the chance to listen to them under the scruitny that only earphones can provide. I have just recently been getting into some 'otherworldly' good music of the band "Office of Strategic Influence" or "OSI" for short. I had first listened to music from this band back in September while on a trip into Death Valley. I don't know if it was the music or the surreal landscape of Death Valley (probably a combination of the two), but I have been transfixed with absorbing as much of their music as I can since that trip. So today I went in with earbuds affixed and volume set on loud enough not to hear anything else. I must admit there were times when the music kind of 'motivated' me into keeping on moving and not slowing down, even when my body wanted to.

And then theres 'the stick'. Yeah, I've got a set of fairly decent hiking poles, but that just didn't seem right for what I had in mind today, so I left them at home. "The Stick" is nothing more than that, as a matter of fact I found this stick there at the Hike/Bike trail back in August and have been carrying it around in the bed of my truck since then (couldn't do that with hiking poles). It was originally too long when I first found it, but with a couple of swipes of a hand saw, it now is the right size. Weird that this stick has accompanied me on about 8 hikes now. It serves a couple of purposes other than the obvious. First and foremost it is used for balance and support and alleviates a bit of stress from the knees. Secondarily, it is a weapon. A deterrent should anyone out there on the trail try to 'give me the business'. Wild dogs, snakes, the list goes on and on as to what this stick COULD potentially save me from. Walk alone and your vulnerable. Walk with a four foot stick and you are armed!

As always with this 'hike' I know that I am going to try to complete it as fast as possible, which means jogging as much as I can endure. So with my watch 'lap counter' pressed, I set off on the seven mile round trip with stick in hand. The first part of the trail is uphill, so I am more or less walking at a fast pace which quickly leads to elevated breathing and a flush feeling within the first few minutes. After the initial uphill section, the trend is downhill for a bit which leads me into the first attempt at jogging. Walking is easy - I can walk for hours on end without a break, but throw in a little bit of jog and I tire fairly quickly with my current state of conditioning. I have always been haunted by the thought that, as an 8th grader, I completed a mile in the fastest time of my life- 5 minutes and 25 seconds (which, by the way, was only good enough for second place at our Middle School All County track meet). I can only dream about the skinny kid who really never knew the feeling of just being flat out TIRED.

The first section of jogging went rather well today though. I managed to get about twelve minutes of jogging down before I slowed back down to a walk. After the initial 'break-in' period, I finally got my second wind and eased into a jog/walk rotation of 2 minutes jogging/ 2 minutes walking. I must say that I am on my third set of I-Pod earbuds and I still haven't found a set that will actually stay in my ear while jogging. So needless to say, I often find myself fumbling with one dangling ear-bud as I lethargically trod with the grace of a dazed wildebeast. Having the rhythmic, mesmerizing, (and at times)all out jamming of OSI in my ears was quite the contrast to the scenery that surrounded me. It was fall in central Kentucky and the leaves here were really in their full autumn display. I wanted to stop and take a picture it was so beautiful, but I didn't have a camera and I certainly didn't have the time. I continued my jog/walk routine for twenty-three minutes with an untied shoelace, and I only stopped then to retie it because it felt funny on my foot and was distracting me from concentrating on reaching my goal.

My goal, at this time, was the halfway point- at which I would 1)touch the park-like gate 2) Press the 'lap' button on my watch and 3) turn around and come back. The fastest I had made it to the gate before today was 38 minutes. Today I saw 38 minutes come and go as I still had about 1/3 mile to go. Well, I eventually made it, but it was 43 minutes before I made the swift turn and headed back over the familiar terrain I had just travelled. Half way home--- but the easy part was over. I was now feeling the affects of my sedentary daily life over the past two months. Even though I do not have an 'office-job', its still not common for me to break out seven miles at the drop of a hat in my daily routine. I eventually settled into a pattern of jogging 1 minute / walking 1 minute. This is what I had been reduced to, all the while envisioning ultra-endurance athletes crossing Death Valley on foot, 135 miles, in the middle of summer no less. Talk about an inferiority complex, "keep moving" became my mantra, it was all that I had left.

And so I did. Jog one minute, walk one minute. I came to notice that minutes while jogging last longer than minutes while walking. It was on the way back that I passed a young girl and a small boy- each with a large dog on a leash. I'm jogging, I'm jamming, I'm passing these people with OSI in my ears. Although I can't hear a thing, I move to the extreme right hand side of the trail and throw up a hand to say 'hi' in a non-threatning manner (afterall, I do have 'the stick'). I see that the dogs are very interested in my passing and begin to pull at their leashes in my direction. I never felt threatened as they looked like they just wanted to jump up and lick my face or maybe jog down the path with me for a bit. In an instant, they were gone behind me and I never looked back. I was too close to home now.

The last leg of the trip was uneventful. The day was coming to a close and the trail had prematurely darkened due to all the covering of foilage. I actually exposed my true identity at this time by pulling the sunglasses up onto my forehead; no fear. The crisp cool fall air felt good as I had truly broken a 'for-real' sweat by now. And just like that, I spotted my big red truck though the yellow and orange leaf mosaic. I was back at the beginning of the trail and pressed the 'stop' button on my watch to see that I had finished in 1 hour and 23 minutes, 5 minutes slower than my best time there. All in all though, I was pretty happy with my time considering the layoff over the last two months. Hopefully I will be able to report back here with updates from time to time as to how my 'conditioning' is going.

After all, Mt. Whitney IS the tallest mountain in the states. I gonna need a bigger head band.