The prize is almost in sight! 25 days until we leave and only about a week and half of training left. Sorry to be scarce over the last month. There were vacations, travel, my wife Agi getting a nasty cut on her forehead as well as a concussion, and the whole basement getting flooded with sewage thing.
Through it all I have kept training. I'm going to hit the gym as soon as I finish this post. Since it was a hot summer, and I was in the Carribean for part of August, I have been training mostly indoors. One thing I now know is that training indoors is much easier than training outdoors. I can do 7 or 8 kilometres on a treadmill or eliptical and feel like I am just getting warmed up. A 5 kilometre run through Toronto's ravines still kicks the crap out of me.
It was quite unexpected, but I found scuba diving in the Carribean to be a helpful addition to the training regime. It really made me focus on my breathing and heart rate, in a way I hadn't before. On my first dive, I sucked through my tank of air in less than 40 minutes. I actually borrowed my diving buddy's octopus (reserve regulator), so I wouldn't cut everyone else's dive short. By the end of my 8th dive, a tank was lasting me about an hour. Now when I am running or hiking, I try to get into an almost meditative state where I am relaxed, breathing slow and steady, and keeping my heart rate down. I'm hoping that I can translate that experience to something useful at high altitudes, so I am making the best use of less oxygen.
What else is new? Last week, fellow climber Kerry Freek and I visited the Stormtech showroom in Markham, Ontario. We picked out some pretty high-tech gear (i.e. appropriate clothing) and we are getting it embroidered with the Kilimanjaro Climb For Life logo. So Kerry and I should look pretty swank for photo opps, but more importantly, it will be a nice reminder of the trek for years to come.
In terms of fundraising, I am delighted to announce that I am up over $15,000. For those of you keeping track, that is triple the amount of my original goal. And there are still a few outstanding pledges to come in. I am so grateful for the tremendous support everyone has shown. Over 600 people in East Africa will now have access to clean water and basic sanitation FOR LIFE as a result of the generosity of my family, friends and colleagues. It seems so simple, but providing those basics means better health, more education and well-being for a community. Thank you so much everyone.
Going forward, I am going to try and do shorter blog posts from my Blackberry. I need to practice, so I can keep you all posted on what transpires in Tanzania.
Ciao for now.
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