55 days to go: Three random and recurrent thoughts

Well...actually 54 days now.  Time sure is flying by.  I am chomping at the bit to head off but a few more things remain for me to sort out.  Below are three randomly recurring thoughts from the past few days.

1.  No matter how fit or prepare I am for these expeditions, there is always something that sneaks up and bites me.  That something is likely to be my sinuses.  I get sinus infections about 3 to 4 times each year.  The only year I successfully avoided them was when I prepared for my marathon swims.  For some odd reason, I seem to be able to fight them off when I am swimming every day for many hours.  Right now, I have a raging sinus infection.  Hopefully this one is the last infection I get before I leave.

2.  Training my brain is probably more important than training my body.  I spent the past 208 days training hard for this climb.  What I gained from it was more than just physical fitness; I gained mental fitness to help me overcome those points in the climb when I really need to dig deep.  My recent training days consist more of higher intensity training and less long, moderate slogs.  These higher intensity days test my mental resolve but no more so than the long "Summit Saturdays" I spent over the past few months.  I am ready mentally and know I am fit physically for any challenge.  The only problem...I have 53 more days until I depart.  My objective now is to stay healthy and refine any training to be ready for most if not all the mountain has to offer.

3.  Days off are just as important as days of training.  I am learning in my 5th decade that rest is just as important as exercise (and diet).  Combined, these facets of training offer me the most in preparation for this climb.  I take the rest when I schedule it and when my body seems to need more.  My recent sinus infection could be traced back almost two weeks ago (65 days remaining or 11 days ago) when my HRV readings started to indicate that my body was not fully recovering. Had I rested fully then, I might not be fighting this infection today.  Perhaps.  Maybe I am not that disciplined but I do plan to be more judicious about my rest moving forward.

I leave you once again with just a few tidbits of what inhabits my head these days.  All is well - despite feeling exhausted from this infection.  Over the next few weeks, I plan to do more strength training and maintaining my already strong aerobic base.  Next update (on Friday) will include some video of what I actually do on most of my workout days; come back and check them out.  Remember....

Work + Rest = Success!

Thanks for following.