July 2, 2015
"It's ok, I'll sleep in the trunk."  I found myself saying illogically as Darrin, our friend Jeff, and I were making plans for a one-day ascent of Mt. Rainier.  The plan was to "sleep" in the car for a few hours at Paradise, then start climbing an midnight and be home for dinner.  Making the climb  in one day would afford us the luxury of carrying light packs and moving quickly.  

We started off on the familiar trail which seemed completely different without a parking lot full of cars and people.  It felt peaceful to move in the warm night air.  Moths flew in patterns in the light of my headlamp and everything felt still and quiet.  Under the full moon we made good time to Pebble Creek and stopped to top off our water bottles before pushing to Camp Muir.  With the exception of a glissading cowboy - which I still think may have been a mirage - we were alone on the Muir snowfield.

This is where things went awry.  Remnants of greasy yakisoba started to torment Darrin's stomach and our pace slowed.  We weren't able to make it to Camp Muir by our three hour time limit, and Darrin didn't feel strong enough to push on.  Frustrating for us all, but it's a team sport and it just wasn't coming together for us.  I'm already planning my next Rainier-in-a-day trip.  Hopefully I won't have to sleep in the trunk.

Oh, and I kicked cancer's ass 3 months ago :)

July 4, 2015
Since I didn't achieve my objective on Rainier, I needed to gain some vertical.  I opted for a quick hike up familiar Mailbox Peak, making it to the top in just 1:47, which I think is a new record for me.  Jeff's time is still 10 minutes better, so I have some work to do!  In order to keep my heart rate above 130 bpm, I jogged down the new trail.  4,000 feet of vertical gained and lost in 3 hours and 11 minutes.

July 5, 2015
I leave for Nepal is 7 weeks!!!  It's time to transition my training regimen from max strength - low reps with high weights - to muscular endurance.  The muscular endurance phase is designed to reach muscular "burn" in about a minute without raising my heart rate above my aerobic threshold (which is now 160 bpm).  Achieving muscular burn in this way will increase the endurance of the affected muscles.  For my first muscular endurance workout, I started by warming up with a few core exercises (hanging leg raises, L-sits, kayakers, and sit-ups) and did two sets of weighted pull-ups (18#) and step-ups (60#).  When I was warmed up, I did one minute each of squats, step-ups, and lunges with a 22.5# weight vest.  I'm embracing the burn!