<p>Oh, yeah. He’s kind of the poster boy for the current practice of dragging rich guys up Mt. Everest for a hefty fee. I’m in the camp that thinks the whole idea of Everest as a tourist destination does a disservice to the explorers. But, it’s not an issue for me. I know better. </p>
<p>I figure that, if I really set my mind to it, and trained for years, and spent umpteen thousand dollars, I could maybe trek to base camp (which is basically one big open sewer these days). That’s a 38.5 mile trek and most tours take 8 to 10 days to get there (the uphill leg!) and about half that on the return leg. I couldn’t do it today, but I can see maybe getting to that level of hiking fitness in a year or two. The altitude is the main problem. I don’t think the actual hiking is harder than what I’ve been doing. I’ve got a few hiking challenges in the White Mountains left before I’m in that kind of condition.</p>
<p>I went for a run today for the first time since Sunday December 9. I got a bad cold that night after getting a flu shot on Saturday Dec 8. I am still a little congested, but it felt good to exercise and be outside.</p>
<p>Alas, I’m not there yet. Mt. Washington is a very demanding climb. The route up Tuckerman’s Ravine is 8.5 miles round trip with 4200 feet of elevation gain (and loss coming back down). Realistically, I would have to get a lot faster on the uphill slogs to try that on a day hike. I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to do that as a day hike. Maybe, maybe not. I might have to pull a Rosie Ruiz, take the cog railway to the summit and hike down! :)</p>
<p>I am, however, thinking about an April Fool’s day snow hike partway up Tuckerman’s Ravine trail to the foot of the headwall to watch the crazy skiiers. That would be about a 5 to 6 mile round trip with about 2000 feet of elevation gain. If not a snow hike in April, I definitely have that one on my list for next summer.</p>
<p>I don’t know if they have one-way tickets on the Cog Railway but it’s certainly something to check out. BTW, the ascent on the Cog Railway is really steep.</p>
<p>Back in my 20s I used to go backpacking in Sierras. The first day when we went from 0 to to a 12,000 ft high pass was always murder and the rest of the week hiking at about 10,000 was still pretty bad. No way I could do Everest ever.</p>
<p>3 rounds of:
4(ea) TRX Lunge loaded in suitcase position 6kg KBs
4 Push Presses (65# bar)
4(ea) Single Leg Deadlift (8kg KB)</p>
<p>Go through all three then rest and reset.</p>
<p>Monster Walks</p>
<p>30:30
Alternated KB Swings with 30# KB and Single Arm KB Swings with 6kg KB. I was getting about 21-23 swings per 30 seconds. First set I lasted 3 rounds of each. Second set I lasted two rounds. I developed and busted a blister on my pinky finger so I quit. And I was exhausted too!</p>
<p>I think an achievable goal for me is to make it up the Lake of the Clouds hut on a day hike. That would be a steep 6.2 mile round trip up that trail. From the video, it looks like a spectacular hike. I’ve been trying to slowly increase my speed, my endurance, and my comfort on steep, rocky bits as there are bunch of hikes in that same category that I want to do. </p>
<p>It’s quite possible that hiking Mt. Washington for me will entail climbing up, spending the night at Lake of the Clouds, and then hiking to the top and back down to the car the next day.</p>
<p>OK, while I was in basement doing my workout, I grabbed a tape measure and took a few shots at a standing broad jump. Best I could do is 64.5 inches, from the line to where my toes landed. I guess the good news is that I didn’t break, sprain, or bruise anything, which is probably saying a lot at my age!</p>
<p>Never say never. When I started exercising, I had avoided squatting down with bent knees for years because of “knee pain”. For example, to scrounge around for food on the bottom shelf of the fridge, I would have to kneel down on one knee because it hurt to just squat down.</p>
<p>Turns out there was nothing wrong with my knee at all and I no longer feel any discomfort squatting down. Of course, everyone’s knees are different. With no cartilage, BC and Emerald aren’t going to see a miraculous end to their knee pain. But, for me, and probably for a lot of people, my “knee pain” was a symptom of poor function of the entire leg – primarily hip, I suspect.</p>
<p>The single leg squat is a popular ACL surgery rehab exercise, so I don’t think it’s inherently rough on knees. Like you, though… I remember thinking that my knee was not going to be happy on those.</p>
<p>I was driving to work this morning and saw a young women running along the road. She was wearing sweatpants (loose), a hat, a hoodie (the hood was down), and a scarf! I’ve never seen someone running in a scarf before. I checked the outside temperature and it was 36 degrees outside. I still don’t see myself running below 50 degrees without a major wardrobe adjustment. Especially when it’s too easy to run inside.</p>
<p>The new Jaybirds (bluetooth headsets) are nice. They aren’t perfect though they’re better than everything else.</p>
<p>BCE- I’m the most cold blooded person there is, but it is actually not unpleasant to run in the cold with the right clothes. You warm up VERY fast. Wind is awful and so is cold rain or ice, but otherwise I go outside and avoid the dreadmill. I haven’t been on the treadmill since about March, and that’s with running every day. I know I will be in there some this winter. In fact, today is a candidate, but I didn’t bring indoor clothes. It was raining with up to 60mph gusts of wind this morning and, no, I didn’t go out at all. It is supposed to stop raining but get a lot colder and still be windy after work, but I’ll have to suck it up and get out there. I have 6 miles to go for 2000.</p>
<p>They are close to zero drop, but with huge cushioning. They look like clown shoes, but are very light. Supposedly it keeps your legs from getting tired. They are expensive, but claim to last long. Altra is coming out with a similar concept in January and I will try it. I also have some new Brooks Drifts (not yet released) on order. AND- in really good news, Brooks has responded to customer input (lots of it) and will NOT discontinue the Launch after all. I like seeing a company actually listen to the customers.</p>
<p>BCE- you were asking about stock tips. Think rural retail…for life out here…</p>
<p>I weigh 149.8 this morning. I worked very hard yesterday because I knew I was close to breaking 150. Probably counter productive. I am pretty sore today. Pretty beat up. I am hoping my body loosens up pretty soon. :)</p>