Mid-Week 7 Update - "It's not an adventure until something goes wrong"

An intermediate update

"It's not an adventure until something goes wrong..." -- Yvon Chouinard.

Ugh!  Monday and Tuesday were harsh days.  Monday, I ran out of time to complete my workouts.  My son had a swim meet and when I got home at 9pm, I could not muster the enthusiasm to workout.  Instead, I crawled into bed and had a restless night sleep.  Tuesday morning, I awoke exhausted and my spO2 reading was an all-time low (88%; any level below 90% is dangerous).  Damn!  Just when I thought things were going well with my acclimation, I have a setback.  Kathy even registered a low spO2 level (89%).  Misery does like company but not this type of shared misery.   We both felt crappy.  Our resting heart rates were very high too (10-15 bpm higher than usual).  Now the important part....we did not change the O2 levels in the tent; we remained at 9,000 feet for the past 10 days.  My brother (Sean) recommended we sleep at normoxia (20.9%) on Tuesday night.  He said we were probably battling a summer virus and that battle compromises our oxygen transport and resting heart rate.  Bummer!  I am tired.

To make matters worse, I bruised my foot running during my Sunday run on a rocky trail.  A bruised foot is not much worry.  I incur minor injuries all the time doing fun activities - bruised, blistered, and bloody is the norm but I bruised my left foot that was surgically repaired in 2006.  I run in really lightweight running shoes and the soles are so thin that I feel every stone.  

Usually, the trail is not terribly rocky but the folks who keep up the trail replaced some gravel after the recent heavy rains.  I now have an aching left foot and feel exhausted.   Last night was hell.  Kathy and I both sweat pools and awoke several times throughout the night.  We slept in an opened tent but the ambient room temperature remained high (94 degrees).  I think we are both battling some virus.  Sean was right I fear.  

I am writing this update on Wednesday morning while sipping a cup of tea at Starbucks and enjoying my favorite cinnamon scone.  Am I down?  Heck no!  I'm sailing this afternoon and that outing will help me shake this bump in the road.  Chouinard was right; adventure requires adversity.  My preparation for Everest will present me with many setbacks.  What matters most is how I deal with these setbacks.  The past few days were troubling but trivial in the long run.  

Have a great day.  Time for my day off.  Ice, rest, and beer heal all ills.

Week 6 Update: July 21st, 2013

Week 6 Update: Jul 21, 2013

Three weeks of hypoxic sleep and now I am holding steady at 9,000 feet (or 14.8% Oxygen - down from 20.9% at sea-level). Here are some things I learned this week:

• Twin fans in the tent dramatically reduced the temperature but not enough to really provide me with a cool sleeping environment.
• Napping at sea-level really helps me recover from my hard days. Bring on the naps!
• Skipped the compression tops and bottoms this last week and I now think they actually do help. My recovery seemed slower and I felt like my warm-ups were less effective. A few more weeks of alternating between wearing and not wearing them will tell me more.

Workout Progress

Front-loaded weeks just work for me. The more tired I feel, the better my workouts feel. Go figure. I tried something novel this week by training an equal amount of time for both the bike and the elliptical each day. The elliptical trainer gives me a great warm-up for running and the bike crushes my quads. Together, they give me a good all-around workout that closely mimics the fatigue I feel when climbing. I intend to stick with that routine over the next few weeks. Also, last week I went sailing on Sunday so I only swam - hence the big increase in workload from Sunday to Monday. Next week, I do not plan to sail because I have too much work to do the following week; thus, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday wil be three tough days. Should be a good test of my endurance, fitness, and recovery program.

The figure below shows how much I am shifting toward the front-loaded week. Lighter colors are the more recent weeks. Last week's total was 18 hours. The following week will be 21 hours…almost a half-time job now.

You can see from the figure below that I am slowly climbing up the Everest training incline. Last week put me over 100 hours.

Weekly Summary

Back to the grind last week with a total of 18 hours of training. Hit all my training goals for the week and managed two consecutive 4.5 hour days on Monday and Tuesday. Next week, I plan to train 4.25 hours on Sunday followed by two consecutive 4.75 hour days to see how I recover. Stay tuned for that update.

Mood

Feeling more motivated for working out. The only glitch from this week is my soleus keeps acting up. I'm not injured but I feel that damn muscle in my calf and it constantly reminds me to back off and stay away from hill intervals. The roller and ice are my friend these days. Note that I am way less fatigued this week. Like I said above, as my workload increases, I feel less tired. I don't get it but I don't need to get it. Hopefully the feeling lasts throughout my training program.

Hypoxic Training

Yes!!!! Sleep quality on the rise. Thank you Amazon and thank you dual fans. Kathy and I are now finally sleeping through the night without awaking in two pools of sweat. My resting heart rate is also going back down to normal levels. Notice, however, that my spO2 levels keep creeping downward. All readings were above 92% but there were a few initial readings that I had to check, recheck, and recheck again that began at 88%. Not sure what those readings meant but I want to make sure I am not messing up my acclimation routine.

Updates for the week

Just a few updates.

1. Tent temperature seems under control but I remain concerned about the occasional low spO2 levels. These low levels - usually the first reading in the morning after waking up - can be as low as 88%. After a few seconds of breathing and relaxing, the levels go back up to 92% but I am concerned that I am increasing my breathing rate and not really getting an accurate read on my spO2 levels when I am sleeping. My inclination is to purchase a meter that records an entire night's levels by the minute just to make sure I am acclimating well to the reduced O2 levels. Perhaps I will ask Brian Oestrike about this on Monday.
2. Need to get out on a few climbs soon. Training without climbing gets a little boring. On Monday, I plan to finalize plans with Dan Mazur and Dave Kellogg so we can meet in Washington and do some climbing. You ready guys?
3. I cannot tell you how appreciative I am to have a wife who is as crazy as I am. She continues to support me through this entire endeavor and even revels in the craziness. Thanks Kat for your help and support.