Week 32 Update: Jan 22, 2014 for the week beginning on January 12th, 2014
Another fine week but busy due to work and training. I kept with my work/hypoxia program along with my “summit Sundays.” Here are several highlights:
- Hard Sundays make recovery difficult but prepare me well for those long, hard days on the hill. Also, now that the semester begins and my daily workload (training, work, and family) increases, I need to be cognizant of time. Long Sundays free me up for the rest of the week. Imagine a 3-hour training day as a “light” one. I am there now. Reminds me of my 20's.
- Kathy and I are progressing on our sleep altitude. She was reluctant at first but now is excited to go up to 15,000 feet with me. Above 15K, I sleep on my own. Not sure I look forward to those days.
- Learned a few days ago that I will be climbing with Scott Patch as expedition leader rather than Dan Mazur. Scott leads the Summit Climb Tibet expedition while Dan will lead the Nepal side. I remain committed to climbing from the Tibet side. Scott - by all accounts - sounds like a good fit with my outlook. We shall see….
Workout Progress
“Summit Sunday” number 2 was a success. If you grant me my New Year's Day summit push then I have 3 under my belt to date. Here are my big days so far since my week off:
| Date | Workout Duration (hrs) |
|---|---|
| 12/15/13 | 4.2 |
| 12/22/13 | 7.5 |
| 01/01/14 | 6.1 |
| 01/04/14 | 8.9 |
| 01/12/14 | 7.6 |
I had several 4 hours days as well but those days are starting to take the form of rest days. Climbing is a long, low-intensity activity. Training my brain might be more important than high-intensity training. Plus, my brain gets tired and I lose motivation when I press too hard for too long.
Recovering well from long days. This week, Sunday was 7.6 hours. I had an additional day off while my cousin and I finished some home renovation projects. Not sure working 12 hours constitutes as a rest day but I'll take it. The beer sure tasted great.
I eclipsed 550 hours this week and now am on my way toward 600 hours midway on week 34. Only 13 more weeks before I depart for Nepal - sure seems like time is flying by quickly.
Weekly Summary
Sleeping well these days. The tent altitude has little effect on me (or Kathy) now. We typically awake with oxygen saturation numbers in the mid-90's unless we are battling some bug. Feel great and recovering well.
Mood
All good with mood these days. My cousin's visit really boosted my morale. Plus, our productivity made Kathy really happy. Motivated, optimistic, productive, and energized is a good way to go through life.
Hypoxic Training
The long-term trend is that I am getting accustomed to hypoxic sleeping. My training has taken a more dramatic turn for the better. I intend to post separately on that matter later. For now, the data below reflects a combination of normoxic training, hypoxic training, and hypoxic sleeping. The figure might be a bit misleading over the next few weeks as I climb in altitude in both my training and sleeping.
Recovery (Restwise Data)
Sleep is king! When I sleep, I recover. Also, I feel great now that I am gaining weight. The weight gain process has been slow and deliberate. Right now, I tip the scales at 168 and plan to be about 175 when I take off. The extra weight (muscle and water I hope) will enable me to have residual weight and strength after long climbing days at high altitudes.
Updates for the week
A wonderful week that helped me settle back into a routine. I only have one more full week before returning to teaching. Too much to do right now to elaborate on much. More updates to follow from next week's post.
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