How's The Weight?

I've had this question asked of me many times since arriving back.

To catch everyone up, one of my concerns in preparation for the climbs was my weight. It was it's own type of struggle to put weight on before leaving, add to that my training regimen, and a metabolism that just wouldn't have any of it.

During it all, I stopped enjoying food, and would just be eating on schedule because I had to. With one bout of the flu, I lost what I had gained, and another 4-5lbs, and near the end I dipped as well. After 6 months of eating approx 2x the calories I would normally consume, I put on a big 5-6lbs.

Knowing what I was in for, I ate as much as I could whenever I could (with few exceptions), especially on the mountains. I think my group would agree that I probably ate more than anyone in our group on Kilimanjaro. Some people would be heading to bed while I'd still be filling my face.

Though there were no scales in Tanzania, I could still guess the old fashioned way... Coming down Kilimanjaro the last day, my pants were half way down my butt, likely signaling my lowest point of the trip. My guess here is that I'm about 10lbs from my peak at this point, 5lbs below normal. Fear not, as the food on safari was unbelievable, and I ate it all. Food was good again! I'm sure that on more than one occasion, while passing by the food and the cooks before dinner, I could be quoted as saying 'I am going to eat all of that.' I kept my word as best as I could. :)

After arriving back in Canada, I was back to my normal weight, no more, no less. A thank you goes out to the fantastic cooks on the mountains and the safari lodges, without who I would be (more) stick & bones.

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This is what you've waited for

Dustin called me about 20 mins ago, it was 6am and they were just getting up to have a quick shower, eat and then it was off for their first leg of the Kili trek. A few more text msgs have trickled in over the last few days. He shared with me some interesting things that some of us will only dream of experiencing. Whether it be trekking up a mountain in freezing rain trying to keep yourself going (both mentally and physically), or standing on the ridge of a mountain with 100km winds nearly blowing you off the side, either would be more challenging then most of us will ever experience. He talked about seeing 11 giraffe along the trails and encountering some of the poorest people he'd ever seen, both of which will stay in him memory for the rest of his days. He'll be on Mt. Kilimanjaro for 7 days, and he will push himself to his limits to make it to the top. Not many of you may know how hard Dustin has trained for this trip, although you may have some idea from reading his posts on this blog. Dustin trained for over 6 months to gain muscle as well as weight for this trek. He wore those crazy hiking boots everywhere (and I MEAN everywhere) for months trying to break them in. He would lug around a 30 pound backpack on evening walks, running up and down black strap mountain with it on, run on the elliptical machines and snowshoe for hours in the field behind his house in the winter trying to get his cardio up, not to mention the weight of a pack on your hips. He DOUBLED the amount of food he ate everyday, consumed some pretty nauseating protein bars and drank power shakes on a daily basis. He cut out many foods that didn't give additional nutritional value (and we ALL know how much that kid loves the candy) even getting to the point where he actually stopped enjoying food itself. For the most of us, gaining weight seems so simple, I can't tell you how many times I wanted to strangle that boy (sorry Shirley) for not being able to gain weight, must be nice right? Not so much. Watching Dustin struggle with his weight became very worrisome in the last few weeks. If he missed a meal, he would lose up to two pounds, something he worked at for months and months to gain. In the end, it was 6 pounds. 6 pounds in 6 months, and today he makes his trek up to the roof of Africa to accomplish a dream he and his dad have talked about for years.Be careful up there, so you can come home safe to me and share your stories of this once in a lifetime opportunity you have in your hands. We're all thinking about you guys.With love,Stace.

Gearing Up

The countdown is on. Just a few more 'sleeps' and I've been busy tying up all the loose ends that always seem to pop up when you're about to leave regular life for a month. I've now started sprawling all of my gear over the floor in neat (hah), organized (hah), piles (bang on) in hopes that I can curb a last minute panic for a piece of missing '___.'

My body has been taking a bit of a beating as I train it to carry more weight than I'll need to on the climbs. The idea is that by putting a bit of extra weight in the pack now, it'll be a bit easier when I've got a wee bit less in later. Admittedly, nothing too serious going on the training front now. Just doing rounds with the pack and working my stretches and whatnot. Keeping it simple and injury free.

Camera(s) ready to go, lenses outfitted, and filters loaded up. Looking forward to spending some time catching up on my photography for sure.

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Winding My Training Down

After the seed was planted 3+ years ago, planning began 9 months ago, and training 5 months ago I'm now only days away. I was actually due to finish my strenuous training by running a leg of the Saskatchewan Marathon this morning, but a little cold took that off the table. Better now than a week from now!

With five months of training behind me, I'm now just trekking with my pack. I'm actually at a point now where I'm a little concerned with a last minute injury, but fortunately, the real prep is done.

Now it's getting the last of the gear together, tying up all the loose ends, and getting some rest. I'll be 1/2 way across the world in no time...

Keeping Healthy Away From Home

Never mind the animals, or the mountains, being so far from home in a country very unlike our own has it's own risks. Diseases and illnesses that we don't have to worry about in Canada can be devastating while traveling. For myself, this means a bag full of prescriptions, and immunization through vaccination.

Being that this is my first time out of Canada/USA, I've had to start from an empty plate. The International Travel Center has done a number on my limbs, all in the name of keeping my body healthy when I'm away. Following is the list of immunizations I've had in the past month:

Hepatitis A/B (Twinrix)
Yellow Fever (Required to Re-enter Canada)
Varicella (Chicken Pox)
Tetanus / Diphtheria / Polio
Meningococcal
Influenza (Flu)

Typhoid (oral, next week)

Some of these require several doses over a period of months.

The idea behind an immunization, is for the body to be exposed to foreign molecules and orchestrate an immune response. Not only can the body deal with this threat (often weakened or dead), but quickly respond if you ever run into it again (immunological memory). Now the process is not without it's side effects. The Tetanus shot kept my arm sore for days, and the Flu shot had me fevering and achy (still as I type this). All for the best though!


There are also a few prescriptions that I will be taking with me:

Doxycycline (Malaria)
Diamox (AMS Acute Mountain Sickness)
Ciprofloxacin (Antibiotic)
Tylenol 3

After speaking with a nurse @ the International Travel Clinic for over 90 minutes, discussing all of the diseases & risks in Africa, she playfully asked 'Still want to go?'

Of course !

Training Update

Well the countdown is on and instead of months, we're talking in weeks now. I'm down to about 3 weeks of serious training left before winding things down before I leave. I have upped my cardio & resistance training steadily, and will be adding a lot of hiking hills with weight as well. Gotta prep the knees for the beating they'll be taking... as best as I can in the flat Saskatchewan we all know. Finally more focus on my abs to be sure they'll be able to handle the extra weight being put on my back day in and day out.

My weight (or lack thereof) has been an issue I've been concerned with since the the first stages of planning, but I'm very happy to say that I'm up about 5lbs (2.25kg) or so up on my normal weight. This puts me right about where my target was that I had set out at the beginning... which is great! Now I'm happy to say that I'm now both bone AND muscle hah! Achieving this has been quite the challenge, and the new one is to make sure it sticks around before leaving.

Training Update

With my flu & bronchitis behind me, I'm back on track. My cardio training is going well and improving rapidly, and my weight training is progressing equally well. There is a noticeable improvement session to session which is a great motivator! Over the next few weeks, I'll be ramping up the intensity of the workouts as well as the length of my cardio sessions until about 2 weeks before I leave where I'll be winding things down.

My immunizations are coming up next week, and I'm preparing for my fair share of needles. Hepatitis A&B, Yellow Fever, Malaria (meds), and a few more (surprise!).

Finally my training diet is in full force with an overall increase in calories and protein. I'm back to my peak weight that I managed to get to before I was sick.

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Working on a Comeback

Well I'm on the tail-end of this flu / bronchitis, and eager to get back into training. It's been nearly 4 weeks since I've been able to train, and a bit of panic set in as we're approaching 3 months to go.

One particularly difficult challenge I've had has been my weight. I'm in the somewhat enviable position of having a metabolism that seems to run @ hyper speed, and keeps my weight at the same as it was when I left high school. Eat more or less, and day-to-day it doesn't change.

Now the two climbs, with 8-16hr a day trekking at altitude, will burn major calories. For people like me, after I burn the energy I have from food, the body next goes to the fat deposits for energy. That isn't a very big tank for me, and once that's burnt off, the body starts eating the muscles. Not something I can have happen!

So for four weeks from mid Jan to mid Feb, I ate larger meals, as well as smaller meals in-between, snacks, and shakes in an attempt to put on a little weight. I was eating so much, I didn't even want to eat because I was hungry, I was just eating for the sake of eating. Even more on days I was working out. This added about 600-700+ additional calories/day to my regular diet. After 3 weeks, there was no change, and after the 4th week, I was up by 2lbs. With a bit of research seems that for my body type, it's a normal timeline.

To fast forward to today, I'm down 5lbs from my peak (and that's up from a few weeks ago, thanks flu+!), and working hard to get back up to that target and add a couple more. It'll be even tougher as I ramp up my training.

So if you happen to see me around, don't let me miss meals and book through lunches!

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Just a Temporary Setback...

Well over the past couple of weeks I've been down for the count with the flu, and then a bout with bronchitis. I'm only now just getting back up and running with work after two and a half weeks away. This has also meant I've had to cease training for the time being as well, which really is too bad because I was just getting into it. The good news is that I have a lot of clients in the medical field making sure I'm getting my rest, drinking my fluids and taking it easy. :)

The warmer weather is a good sign of things to come, and I'm looking forward to getting back into the groove of things. So far my training has consisted mostly of:

Cardio:
- Recumbent bike
- Elliptical Machine
- Snowshoeing (With Backpack & 20lbs)
Weight Training (Bowflex)
Stretches, hiking-specific exercises, etc etc

With the spring fast approaching, I'll be moving outdoors for more activities and a few challenges before Tanzania. I'm planning for a 10km or 1/2 marathon in May, and also a few days in the mountains at altitude in the weeks before we leave.

... but for now, it's just rest, fluids and taking it easy to get back to 100%

::Dustin