We made it!

Just a quick post to let everyone know that we made the summit of Mt. Adams yesterday.  It was an arduous, grueling, hike but well worth the effort to get there.  I will post some pictures as the team had more cameras.  Here is one from our base camp 8,300 ft for now:

Minor Injury

Well unfortunately basketball left me with thumb jam that is black and blue and turf toe.  Turf toe hurts the most and it is hard to walk but I can still bike and swim.  I went for a hard charging 9 mile bike ride yesterday in 104 degree heat.  I am looking forward to Mt. Adams just to get out of the heat.  I continue to work on core strengthing exercises.  On thursday, I went and saw the doctor that gave me the epidural steriod injection.  She was very pleased that everything is progressing fine.  She was not happy that I played basketball but I said I needed to test the back out.  2 more weeks!

Rock Climbing - Part 2

I went back to the indoor rock climbing gym yesterday and really tested myself.  There is one wall that has a completley horizontal ridge that you need to manuever around.  I could not do it this time but I will be shooting for this as a micro-goal before our climbing trip. 

New Toy for Climbing Training

Yesterday I went out and bought a mountain bike - the Trek Paragon.  It has 29" wheels and is built very well.  It is probably 3 to 4 times heavier than my road bike.  Since I live in Dallas, you would think that a road bike is better suited for the terrain.  Dallas is one of the cities in the US with the fewest bike paths per citizen in the nation.  You can't find a trail unless you drive to it.  We moved a couple of months ago to an area that is near the Trinity River.  The Trinity intersects Dallas and Ft. Worth and their is a levee system built through it.  This is very close to my house and yesterday I rode 13 hard miles on the dirt trail a top of the levee.  It was great fun and you can only ride it if you have a mountain bike.

Some pictures of the Bike

Lower Back Test

I played basketball last Tuesday to test out the steroid shot that was put into my L5/S1 the week before.  This was against doctors orders but it felt good enough to go out and try it.  I am happy to say that it felt better than in the previous 8 months.  I was very spry in my play.  Both my lateral quickness and jumping ability returned.  I continue to do agressive core strenghening which will help on the climb.  I have lost about 3-4 pounds which will help when we carry up a 30 lb pack. 

Team Call, Update & Thoughts

We had our first team call yesterday and it was great to speak with everyone.  I like our team a lot and each of them really likes this course.  I am most behind on my training due to my back but I will be rectifiying that.  Kyeth told us that he had AMS on Mt. Whitney and said it was not fun.  I am swiming as many laps under water in our pool to supress my breathing and increase my vital capacity.  I could not find anywhere if any climber trained for altitude this way but we will see if it helps.  I can go 3 laps in our pool which is about 12.5 meters in length. My goal is to do 4 laps.  I am highly impressed with one of my teamates, Michael, who rode 48 miles and did 5 mile hikes with a 65 pound pack.  He will be fine on the mountain and I hope I can keep up.  The last time I hiked was in 2005 from the bottom of the Grand Canyon to the Top.  It was 1 mile in vertical distance and a 5 mile hike.  It was one of the most challenging physical activities I have ever done.  I had to carry my sisters pack, which by coincidence, was 30 pounds - about what we will carry for this climb.

P.S. My resting heart rate was 49 and blood pressure was 118 over 78 when I went in for the steroid shot at noon on Wednesday.  The nurse said that was good.

Rock Climbing

My wife and I went rock climbing yesterday.  It was a great time.  I learned how to put a harness on and be the support for the climber.  We went to a highly rated climbing facility in Dallas and it had multiple walls that provided plenty of challenge.  My forearms are paying for the the work today.  I thought it was great exercise and it was great to reach the top each time.  I will be incorporating this as part of my training for the event. 

Steroid shot

On Wednesday this week I received my first ever steroid shot in between the L5 and S1 vertabrae.  It was the first IV I have ever had.  The surgery did not last very long but it took about 24 hours to fully recover.  After about 3 days, my back has seemed to improve.  This is the kick-start I need to train for the Mt. Adams climb.  I am in full cardio/weights routine to make sure I am step-by-step with my team, Southern Exposure.