Week 11 Update (Rest Week): September 1st, 2013 - a bit late but better late than never.

Week 11 Update: Sep 01, 2013

Ah rest! What a nice week of rest and relaxation. I climbed, drank wine, slept in, and swam in a meet. Not terribly restful but certainly a change of pace from my usual workout routine. Here are some thoughts from the week.

• Rest isn't always restful. I felt more tired this off week than I did during my workout weeks. Perhaps I am getting more accustomed to the workload.
• Swimming in a meet is a very bad idea for an off-week. I never felt comfortable in the water and should never try to race when resting. No matter how much I told myself that the meet was just for “fun,” I still felt some pressure to perform. No more meets when resting.
• Wine tastes great and I need to remember that no matter what stage of training I find myself. Smell the roses and taste the wine.

Workout Progress

Week Off!

I climbed with my son and Dan Mazur on Tuesday. Since I do not have a specific category for climbing, I split the 8-hour climb into 4 hours of running and 4 hours of biking - a bit arbitrary but good enough for record keeping.

Right on the cusp of 200 hours! Next week should put me over the top of that number.

Weekly Summary

As I said up top, rest isn't always restful but one thing I did to rest was to stop logging my daily mood measures. I was not sleeping in a tent nor was I doing any hypoxic training. Thus, I took the week off. The figures below reflect the extrapolated values observed from the previous 10 weeks.

Mood

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Hypoxic Training

One note on my hypoxic training. While we were climbing on the Nisqually glacier (on Mt. Rainier), I had no trouble at any altitude. The hypoxic training seems to be paying off. Typically, I can feel the altitude after about 5,000 feet - not this time. I felt as if I were still at sea level. So far, I am happy with my preparation.

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Updates for the week

My updates…

1. Climbing with my son was truly the highlight of my “vacation.” He was a terrific sport and really put in a great effort that day. I doubt many 13 year olds would gladly spend the day on a glacier with two old dudes - especially if one of them were his father. Patrick enjoyed the entire day save for the 30 minute scramble up this shale scree slide. I think we would have preferred his X-box over that bit.

2. Dan Mazur is an awesome leader. He was so patient with Patrick and I really enjoyed spending the time with him. We had great conversations and he hosted us the night before our climb - despite the fact that he was in between expeditions and had to take off for China at the end of the week. Patrick and I were grateful for his hospitality and good nature throughout our two-day visit. Thanks Dan; I can't wait to climb Everest with you.

3. Good friends and good wine make for a great day. We spent Thursday visiting two vineyards in the Willamette valley. Lange and Cristom vineyards gave us great wines to taste and enjoy. Thursday was truly the most restful day I had in some time - even more restful than my usual Wednesday evening sail outings.

4. I swam in the Pacific NW Long Course Zones meet on Friday and Saturday. It was a great event and I performed well below my potential. Nevertheless, I met many people and enjoyed myself to the best one can enjoy lousy performances. Never again will I swim a meet without full preparation. I think I would have enjoyed two more days at the vineyards rather than these two days swimming. Still, I learned that even after climbing and drinking wine that I can swim a competitive time. Perhaps that insight was worth the time. Nah. I'm drinking wine next time.