7 MORE SLEEPS

My time is winding down - we leave in one week...... it feels surreal - the seven months of training was such an intense focus of my time that it took on a life of it's own - I almost forgot that the end goal is to climb a mountain....indeed!!

When I got back from Florida in early January I really cranked up the training - bad move!  My physiotherapist did warn me that for the last few weeks I should be slowing down and giving my body a rest and maintaining only.  But in my mind, I worried that if I "let up", I would lose strength and momentum.  How wrong I was.....I managed to aggravate my IT band problem and have been limping around the past few days in a complete panic.  After seeing the therapist again, I was relieved to learn that I'm not injured - just sore - and that I really need to start taking it easy..............so, I've cut back alot.  It feels weird.

I never in a million years would have thought that I would enjoy exercising........I'm not sure when I turned the corner from "ugh, do I really have to do this" to "I'm off to the gym - and IT FEELS GOOD".  For me, it's meditative.  I'm constantly counting in a rhythmic way...........counting repetitions - 3 reps of 15......counting stairs - 15 steps is one flight - 12 flights, 10 times........counting minutes on the treadmill.....counting kilometers on the pedometer......counting steps on the stairmaster......and there's visuals with the counting:  the people that I know on each of the floors when doing stair climbing......12 reps equals 12 months......40 minutes on the treadmill is 40 minutes on the mountain...........funny how the brain works to get you through things.

I have fears......many many "what ifs".  What if the IT band problem doesn't settle down?  What if my body won't adjust to the altitude?  What if I can't sleep while on the mountain and I have enormous fatigue?  What if I get bitten by a tsetse fly?  What if the lack of oxygen makes me crazy?  And my more recent obsession - What if I get a cold and the tour company won't let me climb?

The tour company sends out "tips and advisories" every so often.  One of the advisories warned that if you have a cold you wouldn't be able to climb.....A COLD!  So, here we are in Canada in the middle of winter,  where having a cold is like getting a tan or sunburn in Florida...........but I do take the advise seriously and have been very diligent in keeping healthy and sanitized.....call me bubble girl...... I'm washing my hands regularily and keep a bottle of Purell at the ready.  Anyone with so much as a sniffle is not allowed near me!  Sorry everyone, but the thought of cancelling the trip because I have a cold is a horrid prospect and one that I want to avoid at all costs.

Oh well, there comes a time when if you've done everthing that you should do to prepare and there's not much else that you can do, you really should relax and do nothing (or very little) - and that's where I am today.....I'm leaving it to the universe and putting my trust the "climbing" Gods" that nothing will interfere with a successful trek - and even a summit.................I'm off to bed!