Archive for February, 2023
Day 13 – Livigno
Day Thirteen: 20/02/23
Resting Heart Rate: 83bpm
Blood Saturation: 93
On my 13th day of training here in Livigno I managed to climb 1000m of elevation – I’m quite satisfied with my climbing fitness. I woke up with blisters on my heels which means tomorrow’s climbing will be super painful, even with compeed plasters. Choosing the correct socks is super important – as well as making sure your boots and crampons are always super tight. Climbing crazy steep sections in the snow (with crampons) means you need to have a lot of ankle strength; my ankles seem to be holding up well. Apart from having super sore muscles, I feel most fatigue in my lower back and hip flexors – these will strengthen during my next (last) few weeks of preparation.
Day 12 – Livigno
Day Twelve: 19/02/23
Resting Heart Rate: 80bpm
Blood Saturation: 93
Back at it! Straight up the mountain. 500m vertical elevation, burning quad and calf muscles. Today I found myself crying a lot, mourning and letting out my emotion on the mountain. My anger from yesterday had turned into pure sadness. Sadness realising I’ll never be able to have those long chats with my friend again. Sadness that his wife will need to carry so much weight and sadness that the boys have lost an amazing father. I was just sad.
The snow was fresh and soft near the top so as I took a step, I would just slide back to where I was. The crampons wouldn’t grip on the steep soft powder snow. Hard work, my heart rate was above 180 hiking up the steep slopes. On the way back down the heart rate drops dramatically however the load on the lower back, knees and leg muscles is very intense. The slopes are so steep that I need to balance leaning back in the right position and get the weight of my step just firm enough to lock me into the snow, ready to safely take my next step. Descending is a constant load on the body.
Day 11 – Livigno
Day Eleven: 18/02/23
Resting Heart Rate: 78bpm
Blood Saturation: 92
A day of mourning. Today I lost one of my closest friends (hit while out cycling), a guy who was one of a kind. A dedicated family man, committed husband, son and the absolute best Dad to two young talented boys, who are becoming amazing young men. My day has been very tough, helping the family through the first 24hrs however possible; booking drivers and flights to bring the family together as soon as possible. I spent the afternoon angry with the situation, it’s not fair etc etc… Why do we lose the good ones, why should such a beautiful family lose such a wonderful kind hearted and generous man so soon.
Day 10 – Livigno
Day Ten: 17/02/23
Resting Heart Rate: 75bpm
Blood Saturation: 92
Terrible sleep! As you can see by my ridiculously high heart rate, I’m not recovering very well. My coach has demanded I take a full day off, serious rest and recovery!
I watched a bit of Netflix, made a few phone calls and caught up on paying bills and responding to emails etc.
Activity: Stretching
Day 9 – Livigno
Day Nine: 16/02/23
Resting Heart Rate: 72bpm
Blood Saturation: 92
Another active recovery day needed. Fair to say that I really over did it the first couple of days. I went from zero fitness to a green light… the light really should have been flashing orange however I’ve never taken too much notice of the colour orange.
One thing I must remember to tell my guides and sherpa’s before my Everest attempt is that my mind is much stronger than my body!
My leg muscles where so tight again when I woke up – I knew what they needed, a PEDAL! So, before lunch I went on a mission to rent two fat tyre bikes. Mission accomplished. The next was to convince my brother Wazza to come exploring with me.