LET THE TRAINING BEGIN..........

Immediately after signing on, I donned my knapsack and runners, left the house and started walking.  It was a beautiful summers day.  I took a couple of bottles of water and filled the knapsack with books, bringing it to a weight of 8 pounds.  I felt good - strong - motivated.  I walked on and on and on......10 kilometers!  It took about two and a half hours and when I got home, I couldn't move - for three days!  I saw on the climbing itinerary that you should expect to hike for about 6 hours a day, ranging from 5 to 11 kilometers, depending on the stretch, packing 15 to 20 pounds.

How could I ever do this if  walking 10 kilometers on flat cemented terrain packing 8 pounds nearly did me in!  I started to panic and wondered what I got myself into.  I was waking UP at 2:00 AM with low grade anxiety, not really knowing why and then remembering what I had signed for, which generated a full blown anxiety attack.

But I remembered the commitment and the excitement that got me to where I was - I put the runners back on (after a week of rest) and did it again.  This time it was a bit easier.....so I did it again after five days and so on, until I was hiking three times a week with ever increasing weight on my back. 

Around September I begin to incorporate some strength training, which was recommended in our Kili Guidebook.  I started with three times a week, interspersed with the hiking.  At this point I began to feel increasing pain along my upper leg that just kept getting worse.  It worried me because after 2 or 3 hours of hiking the pain was excruciating and I knew that I had to get it managed or I wouldn't be able to do the climb.  I consulted with a physiotherapist (thanks Sandi!) and learned that I had an IT band problem......he gave me a series of stretches and exercises to work on each day and slowly but surely the problem resolved.  He also helped me with strengthening my core muscles, confirming that it would be my core strength that gets me up the mountain and that this was as (if not more) important than cardiovascular fitness......we'll see!

So now it's January and two weeks before I leave for Africa.  I think I'm as ready as I'll ever be from a physical perspective.  The training has been a journey in and of itself - an extraordinary experience, even if I never climb a mountain.  I learned so much about focus, discipline and giving a bit more when I thought I couldn't move another step - my body has changed and I feel strong...Who woulda thunk it!