Week 11 of 26

Happy Memorial Day to anyone reading this!

I feel like this last week had some breakthroughs. On Monday I went to Lady Footlocker, where a couple of years back I purchased some inserts for my sneakers. They have an incredible deal, where they will replace the inserts with brand new ones at no charge if you bring them in with your receipt. I have done this several times now, and with moving the inserts from sneakers to boots, one got cracked so I wanted to replace them. I took the new ones to the Foot N Shoe store I mentioned last time, to be ground down in one spot to fit my foot. I had no trouble getting them into sneakers, but getting them into the narrower boots was a struggle. So I bought a second pair and had them ground down and then trimmed them to fit into the boots better. And I now have a dedicated pair for the boots and another for the sneakers. Once I get them all settled and get some miles on them I am hopeful I won't develop any more blisters.

I also was informed by Ryan at the Foot N Shoe store that the sneakers I have been pounding the pavement in are all wrong for me (I sure know that after 5-6 miles in them my feet are sore -- not blistered, but all the muscles ache). So I got two new pairs of sneakers as well, with more structure to them.

I am still alternating between sneakers and boots for walking (I have retired the trail shoes). I am also mostly still walking on streets rather than mountain trails as the weather persists in being cool and wet. I have also developed a method for increasing my mileage, which feels a bit like cheating: I walk twice in the same day, once in boots, and later in sneakers, with a rest in between. By rest I mean grocery shopping, vacuuming, yard work, run other errands etc. I don't take a nap.

I guess I am getting stronger as I can walk almost every day now, and did a couple long days back to back this past week. I am still afraid I won't be ready in time (if ever!). I am looking forward to getting off the streets and getting onto trails.

This week:

May 24: 5.2 miles at 6000 feet
May 25: Pilates
May 26: 5.2 miles in AM, 5.2 miles in PM, all at 6000 feet
May 27: 8 miles on old Geiger Grade, 4700-6300 feet
May 28: Nothing
May 29: 4.5 miles in AM, 5.2 miles in PM, all at 6000 feet
May 30: 6.2 miles at 6000 feet

Total for Week 11: 39.5 miles

Pictures: (1) The old Geiger Grade toll road, looking back toward Mt Rose (2) Lunch spot at the top of Geiger Grade, with wild horses grazing nearby (3) My front yard on May 28

Week 10 of 26

This last week was more of the same: cool weather, some snow, walks mostly on roads. I have been walking with the inserts in my shoes and boots, and went an ENTIRE WEEK without any new blisters (the old ones are still with me, sad to say). I am not feeling any real improvement. I still get out of breath going up hills and the boots still feel pretty heavy, although maybe a tad lighter than last month. I have tried to be more faithful to the pilates and have started adding new moves and more reps. It is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO boring. I am still quite worried about doing this.

The week:

May 17: Golf got snowed out after 7 holes. Did Pilates
May 18: 7.8 miles at 6000 feet (they removed the porta-potty that added the .4 miles of additional motivation in earlier walks)
May 19: Pilates
May 20: 6 miles at 7940-8911 feet, and another 4.5 at 6000 feet in the new boots
May 21: 3 miles hike up Ophir Creek. Had to turn around at swift stream (no crossing)
May 22: Pilates
May 23: 6.9 miles at 6000 feet

Total miles: 28.2

Below: (1) Hiking up Ophir Creek, (2) My backyard on May 22, (3) The view of Lake Tahoe from where I park the car for the 8000-9000 foot walk

Week 9 of 26

I didn't understand how the time/date stamps on this blog work, so you have to look at the post for May 1 to see the past two weeks, Weeks 7 and 8 of 26. I had thought I could post by month, updating weekly, and have the time/date stamp reflect when the post was updated (a kind of normal expectation for computer files), but it retains the original stamp. So from now on I'll post once a week and hopefully this will be clearer! From the start in March, I had a total of 26 weeks to prepare.

Week 9 began with three days off due to the awful blister on my left heel. I still find I have to alternate my sneakers, trail shoes, and new boots to keep my feet in any kind of shape. I also am finding that I can't do even two days back-to-back of long walks (8-10 miles) mostly due to blisters. OK, it's only been two months and the boots are clearly not broken in, but I am kind of worried. A friend told me about a cool foot and shoe store. So I went with boots in hand to get advice. The guy who runs the place informed me that my left foot is longer (which I knew) and narrower (which I didn't) than my right foot. Meaning that my foot is slopping around inside that boot even though it felt pretty solid. So he put a pad-like thing on the tongue to take up some space, and I went home and walked only 3.5 miles and ended up with three new blisters in new spots. Great. He did say I should put better arch support in the boots which may help some day, but hasn't so far. I'd like to have my feet surgically removed and replaced with someone else's. Anyone else's.

Joe loaded up an iPod nano with a bunch of books and this enormously helps relieve the boredom of walking on roads. So far I have listed to "Dark Harbor" by Tess Garritsen and am halfway through "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown. His grasp of science (or lack thereof) always irks me, but the book makes the miles go by. I invested in a new nano as this old one (probably the first off Apple's assembly line, if I know Joe) has some issues going backward and forward and doesn't hold a lot.

Snow, rain, mud and ugliness continue at elevation (golf today was abandoned after only 7 holes in favor of Italian food for lunch....50 degrees, fine rain, wind). So I have a tradeoff between tougher, steeper walks at 6000 feet in my neighborhood, and the gentler climb on the main highway at 8-9000 feet. Interestingly, the higher walk is easier. I wish I could say I can feel myself getting stronger and more fit every day, but I'd be lying. Some days are just a slog. I'll be happy when things dry out and I can get on trails in the mountains. Although the cost of that will be time, I know. Already this is taking a LOT OF TIME! What did I used to do? I have forgotten. Housework has taken it on the chin, I know!

May 10: Pilates, no walk due to blisters
May 11: Nothing, due to blisters and Lilli home
May 12: 5.2 miles at 6000 ft
May 13: 8.2 miles at 6000 Ft
May 14: 4 miles at about 4700 feet (saw a fox with a rabbit!!) and 3.5 miles at 6000
May 15: 6 miles ar 8400-8930 ft
May 16: 5.2 miles at 6000 ft

Total distance for Week 9: 32.1 miles

Cheers until next week,
Marlene

Month #2, Weeks 1-3

I set out some goals for myself when I got the dayrunner. Month one was to get up to 7 miles at 6000 feet, which I did do but it was a big struggle. I had meant to get up to 7 miles EASILY, ho ho. Month 2 goals were to get up to 10 miles at 6000 feet (EASILY!!) and up to 7 miles at 8-9000 feet (EASILY!!). I think this might be too aggressive. I haven't set any goals for month 3.

The beginning of Month #2 started April 15th with inactivity, as the family went to Monterey to show the baby the ocean and the aquarium. It was a fun trip, but I did nothing but one round of pilates, 4.5 miles and 8.2 miles at 6000 feet in 8 days. Yikes. No way to make it up the mountain!

I added a new walk of 8.2 miles with 5 uphills interspersed with flat or downhill, all at about 6000 feet. Surprisingly, this takes as long as the killer 7 miler, about two hours and 20 minutes. This is Walk #5 and it is pretty hard. I have tried to do it two days in a row and failed. Maybe I'm too old for this.

Because the weather has been absolutely abominable (daytime temps around 40, snow, rain, sleet, hail, high winds, fog--YUCK) all the walks so far have been on streets around my house. Hiking the mountain trails probably won't happen until June.

"Week" 2: Total of 32.9 miles mostly at 6000 feet:
8.0 miles (daughter picked me up for the last .2 miles!) at 6000 feet
3.0 miles at 8500-8900 feet
5 miles at 6000 feet (really, really tired today, legs just dead)
a day of much needed rest
8.2 miles (in snow, fog, hail, some sun, wind--YUCK) at 6000 feet
3.5 miles (33 degrees, fine hail, strong winds, snow) at 6000 feet in new boots
5.2 miles at 6000 feet

No blisters, but the boots are not getting any lighter. This weather has to get better (it'll probably turn into summer and I'll be complaining that it's too hot!)

"Week" 3: Total of 29.4 miles
May 1: Rest
May 2: 10 miles @ 6000 ft. This extra 1.8 miles took a whole HOUR more!!
May 3: Big blisters from yesterday, no walk
May 4: Pilates, no walk (granddaughter home) Ripped out a dead tree
May 5: 5.2 miles at 6000 ft in new boots. 4 blisters
May 6: played golf with a cart
May 7: 5.2 miles at 6000 ft
May 8: 9+ miles at 6900 - 8028 feet in new boots. Blister on heel, swollen instep. Walked with El and her sister A my neighbor:





Gotta stay out of the higher elevations until it stops snowing!! Current conditions in my back yard (May 10, 2010) in last photo

Cheers,
Marlene

Month #1

Let me start by saying that I am in very good health and have been a walker my whole life. But I started having hip pain in December 2008, and had major surgery on the hip in March 2009. The recovery has been alarmingly slow and I really spent the whole year being quite sedentary. So when El invited me to go on this adventure, I knew I had a lot of work ahead of me!!

Our house is at 5880 feet in the Carson Range of the Sierra Nevada mountains. So for the first two weeks of this first month, I walked from my front door to the stop sign on Joy Lake (I'll refer to this as Walk 1) which is 3.4 miles round trip. It is uphill all the way to the stop sign, and obviously downhill all the way back home. It used to be my "long walk" and now will be my "short walk." I did this as often as I could, but didn't keep track. The hip complained about this a bit, and I swore to resume pilates in earnest (I have a Reformer in my bedroom). Beginning April 1 (the start of the second two weeks) I started keeping track.

Week 3: Walked the golf course (an estimated 7 miles at 4500 feet), did Walk 1 in the new boots (see below), did the 4.6 mile walk to Mt Rose Highway (Walk 2) twice, did a 7 mile walk (Walk 4) from my house to the bottom of Joy Lake and then straight uphill for 3.5 miles and back home with about 3-4 pounds in a backpack. (This last walk is something of a killer and goes from 5370 feet to 6280 feet. Joe has been going with me on almost all of these walks and he hates this one because it is boring). The next day I took a cart to play golf! TOTAL DISTANCE: 26.4 miles all at about 6000 feet.

Week4: Did Walk 4 twice more with sneakers and a light pack, did about 4 miles in howling wind and freezing rain, did a version of Walk 2 (same distance, different roads). Vowed to always take a cart for Thursday golf. All walking should happen at elevation! It appears my commitment to pilates was a myth. TOTAL DISTANCE: 22.5 miles all at about 6000 feet.

GEAR: I rambled through my closet and found I already own most everything I will need. I fretted over boots a lot during the first two weeks. I did a couple of walks in my old Raichle boots and found that at about 3 miles that pain in the ball of my left foot was starting up (I have this pain when I walk around my house barefoot and saw a couple of docs about it last year, since I had already met my huge deductible with the hip surgery. They recommended leaving it alone and quit walking around barefoot!). So, long story short, I bought a pair of Asolo's as they are the only boot narrow enough for my foot. They are heavy. Really heavy, and as of week 6 I have only worn them for about 3-4 miles at a stretch. I worry about this. I haven't yet gotten a blister, but they feel like I am hauling around an extra 10 pounds on each foot.

So I wanted to buy something, anything, for this trip so I bought a Smartwool undershirt and some sock liners. Whoopee. And I bought a dayrunner so I can keep track of the training.

Also during this time I found out there is another woman going with us (Lori), and they might change the route up the mountain from the Machame route to the Umbwe. If you go look these up you will see how horrifying this news was! But El lives near the guy making the decision, and she talked to him and we all felt much better about the change; he also said we could do any route we want. I started reading some blogs about the climb which probably was a mistake (very scary stuff). I have regretted more than once that I already have plane tickets for this adventure!! El and I also decided on the particular safari we wanted after the climb, and I signed up to see gorillas in Uganda after that! Might as well get as much out of this as I can, right? And I read Dian Fossey's Gorillas in the Mist.

Cheers,
Marlene