Thursday, January 28, 2010

January 28, 2010

Breathing - not something I think about on a daily basis but a serious consideration whether hiking in high alititude or SCUBA diving.
The idea of breathing under water seems more foreign to me, and it's ridiculousness, weirdness, freakiness more immediately apparent. One giant stride off the back of a boat into the water and you are plunged into a choice of survival - hold your breath or jump in equipped with an oxygen tank and breathing apparutus.
I remember our first SCUBA instructor. Breathing under water, he said, was as easy as sitting on your couch watching television. You just do it.
I didn't believe him.
My first time breathing under water, I sat in the shallow end of the pool, my left hand gripping the metal railing just above the spot where it was bolted to the bottom step. The top of my head was probably two inches below the surface. I counted to seventeen and stood. Breathing under water was neither natural nor easy!
The conundrum is that I love to SCUBA dive. Life forms under the ocean are unbelievably incredible and diverse, and weightless hovering - even though I'm still working on mastering it - is indescribable.
After 100 plus dives and lots of practice pacing my inhale and exhale - I can now take that giant stride without my heart racing in panic. I can breathe under water in a way that is natural for me, and usually not even think about it.
Breathing at high altitude usually takes me my surprise. Why is it suddenly so difficult to carry my backpack? Oh yeah, I am hiking above 10,000 feet. I was amazed that it took me an hour to traverse one mile once I had passed the 13,000 foot mark on Mt. Whitney.
The thinning of the air is so gradual, I often blame my slower steps, the heaviness of my legs, the feeling of walking in deep sand on my age or the difficulty of the terrain.
I read on one website that the breathable oxygen at the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro (19,000 plus feet) is less than half the amount commonly found at sea level.
I am building my aerobic fitness (bicycling, long walks, stairmaster) and hope that my breathing or lack of breath won't be a factor next July.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

January 21, 2010

Is it possible to prepare for the worst? Someone once told me that we worry because we think our worries will get us ready in case the worst happens. That has never worked for me, and I have come to realize that worrying is taking away time from what I should be doing.
The San Diego Chargers lost their playoff game on Sunday. I know their loss isn’t the worst thing that could happen. However, it got me thinking about their game day preparations and all the talk about how penalty free and professional they played during most of the regular season. Some of the players behaved poorly during the stress of the playoff game, and the team was penalized. Did the pressure cooker of a single elimination game reveal their true characters?
I wish I could say only my best character traits rise to the surface when I am in a stressful or worst case situation. But isn’t that what the regular season is for? To give me the time and opportunity to develop good foundational character qualities that will emerge when I am rubbed raw?
When we hiked Mt. Whitney, I injured my right foot on the way down. We were hurrying to get to the burger shack before it closed and I rolled my ankle twice. The first time stung, the second time, I couldn’t get up, and I collapsed in tears. I was exhausted – we had already traversed 20 miles since 5 a.m., it was getting close to dark and we had two more miles to go. I am not proud of what I said.
My daughter very calmly wrapped my ankle and foot with the bandage we had brought for just such an occasion, and helped me hobble the rest of the trail.
LaDainian Tomlinson, the Chargers running back, was booed by the fans on Sunday. He is a star player, has broken many records and is on his way to the hall of fame. Most important, he is a man of good character. He has said he is more interested in making a difference off the field than on the field. After Sunday’s game, LT was quoted as saying he didn’t take the fans’ boos personally. He knew they were frustrated with the team’s performance, and he just happened to experience their anger.
Now that’s a response even a disappointed Charger fan like me can celebrate and hope to emulate in my own worst- case scenarios.

Friday, January 15, 2010

January 15, 2010

I haven’t gardened much in the past two months. Although San Diego has only a pseudo winter, plant growth does slow, and I’ve found in December and January, I don’t have to beat back my neighbor’s vines on a near daily basis so they don’t engulf my palm trees. When I finally pulled on my gardening gloves the other day, I was surprised to discover weeds flourishing around my fruit trees. Last summer, I spent many sweaty days uprooting and conquering (I think) the crab grass in the same area. This weed is of a different variety and, being a newbie gardener, almost looks like ground cover. I have been fooled by other weeds before; especially ones that look like daffodils or iris’s in their newly sprouted state: tiny lime green spears poking through the dirt. The worst are the weeds camouflaged in the leaves of thriving bushes – sometimes I don’t catch those until they push their greedy heads out of hiding.
Those sneaky weeds and my lackadaisical gardening made me think of exercise. When I have a goal, a 5K, a half-marathon, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, I can be disciplined in exercising because I know if I don’t, I will pay the price. But it is all too easy to skip a walk or – even easier – a trip to the gym especially if it involves the stair master when the goal is simply general like staying in shape. And staying in shape falls away so quickly. I haven’t run since August. I could run 13.1 miles then. There is no way I could now. Work your butt off at the gym for a year, take off a few months, and it seems to all be gone when you return.
So it looks like I will need to stay more on top of those pesky weeds, even in the “colder” winter months. Maybe I should have the goal of a garden party to keep me motivated. =)

Friday, January 8, 2010

January 8, 2010

Pikes Peak was the first 14,000- plus- foot peak I climbed: the one that taught me the necessity of quad and glute workouts to succesfully traverse a trail that mostly goes up. The mountain towers over Colorado's front range. I don't think you can go anywhere in Colorado Springs (or Monument where we lived at the time) and not see the peak. My husband and I had driven up the mountain many times, before I decided I wanted to hike it. A friend and I picked a Saturday in August: a Saturday because our husbands could watch our children; August because afternoon thunderstorms were not as frequent then. At the last minute, my friend couldn't go so I invited my husband and we got a babysitter. We got to the trail head early in the morning. Our plan was to hike to the top, have hot chocolate and donuts at the snack shop/visitor's center and take the cog train down. Piece of cake. I knew someone who regularly hiked up and down the peak for a easy day's workout - of course, he spent a few months hiking the entire John Muir trail. Someonw else I knew trained and participated in the Pikes Peak Marathon - running up and down the trail - go figure. She did pop a lot of aspirin.
We knew we needed to be at the summit by late afternoon to make sure we could get on one of the trains going down. At the time, it wasn't possible to purchase one way tickets on the cog railway. We would have to buy them at the summit store, and hope there was room on a train.
The trail is beautiful, lots of aspen and pines. We got passed several times by runners training for the upcoming marathon!
We were close to the timberline when my muscles started cramping - I didn't want to turn back, the summit was closer than the trailhead. Stretching helped a little and we plodded on. The higher we got, the more we had to stop, the longer each mile took. The trail was easy, a path over tundra. A misty cloud engulfed the summit, and it started to rain. Luckily, no thunderbolts. By this time we were wearing all the clothes we had brought underneath our rain ponchos - I have heard that the day we summit Mt. Kilimanjaro I will be wearing all of the clothes I packed. Finally...we reached the summit. It was so nice to be greeted by amazed toursits. Somehow, I don't think that will happen on Mt. Kilimanjaro =)
I climbed Pikes Peak again the next weekend with my parents who were in their 50s then. They seemed to have no problem,and the second time around was easier for me.
This morning I worked out on the stairmaster and did squats, building up those quads and gluts!

Saturday, January 2, 2010

January 2, 2010

This is the year we climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, and I must confess, I am getting a little nervous about the whole adventure. Some have questioned our desire or should I say our sanity in planning to summit the famous mountain. Most who do don't know that the climb does not entail serious mountaineering with ropes, pick axes, etc. Still, I am somewhat nervous about the cold as I tend to get cold pretty easily. When we go SCUBA diving, I am the one in the 3/2 mm full wetsuit with a hood while others are wearing swim trunks and t-shirts in the 80 degree plus water.
Just before Christmas, I ran into a woman I know who climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro a few years ago. She told me they made it to the summit in a freak blizzard. What does this say to me? Layers, layers, layers and more layers. =O
We climbed the local Iron Mountain the day after Christmas. It is a very popular trail in San Diego County about 25 miles east of us. The ascent was more than 2,000 feet in just under three miles. I felt pretty good going up. Coming down was another matter. As I think I have shared, steep downhills - especially those laden with loose gravel over bare rock - scare me. My 17-year-old was very kind, however, and held my hand so I wouldn't fall. Having two labs excitedly racing around us, bumping our legs, added to my anxiety (I mean fun).

A final view of Mt. Kilimanjaro

A final view of Mt. Kilimanjaro

It's Official

It's Official

At the Roof of Africa

At the Roof of Africa

Crater

Crater

Glaciers

Glaciers

Barafu Camp

Barafu Camp

Looking back at Karanga Valley Camp

Looking back at Karanga Valley Camp

Morning Send Off

Morning Send Off

Barranca Wall

Barranca Wall

Top of Barranca Wall

Top of Barranca Wall

The Dining Tent

The Dining Tent

Trail to Lava Tower

Trail to Lava Tower

Shira Camp

Shira Camp

Machame Trail

Machame Trail

Machame Gate

Machame Gate

Half Dome cables

Half Dome cables

Towering Tree

Towering Tree
this is a former house plant that I tired of, I didn't want to throw it out, so I dug a hole for it in the dog yard. It's thriving despite me.