Aconcagua 2009 Expedition

Well, despite a horrible workout to start the week on Monday, my training the last two days has been fantastic… I’ve felt stronger than ever, ran faster than ever, and been able to keep pushing longer than ever… It feels good.

Tuesday June 23rd – BRICK:
     90 s @ 7.0, 60 s @ 3.5, 180 s @ 6.5, 60 s @ 3.5
     90 s @ 7.0, 60 s @ 3.5, 180 s @ 6.5, 60 s @ 3.5
     90 s @ 7.5, 60 s @ 3.5, 180 s @ 7.0, 60 s @ 3.5
     90 s @ 8.0, 60 s @ 3.5, 180 s @ 7.0, cool down

Wednesday June 24th – Trainer:
New fun regimine:
     10 jump pullups (rest)
     10 jump pullups, 10 pushups (rest)
     10 jump pullups, 10 pushups, 10 – 10lb curls (rest)
     10 jump pullups, 10 pushups, 10 – 10lb curls, low punches, military presses, reverse flys, high cross-punches, 10 jump squats (rest)
     10 jump pullups, 10 pushups, 10 – 10lb curls, low punches, military presses, reverse flys, high cross-punches, 10 – 10 lb jump squats (rest)
     10 jump pullups, 10 pushups, 10 – 10lb curls, low punches, military presses, reverse flys, high cross-punches, 10 – 10 lb jump squats, 10 straight-arm swing (raise) with 25 lb curl bar (rest)
TRX pushups (3 sets of 15)
weight bench step-ups (2 x 20)
weight bench side-step-ups (2 x 20)
off-level jumps (forward leg high)
off level jumps (side leg high)

In preparation for my high altitude climb of Mt. Aconcagua at the end of this year, below is my 1st impression of several energy snacks I tried this week…  I will be posting more updates as I evaluate other snacks, and zero in on my favorites…

Edibles:

• Jelly Belly Extreme Sport Beans (Watermelon) – Sour, pretty good, thought I percieve a slight bitterness (caffeine?), and a bit of a chemical aftertaste.  definitely NOT a jolly rancher watermelon flavor.  My Rating - 4/10
• Jelly Belly Extreme Sport Beans (Cherry) – definite bitter flavor, and fake cherry flavor…  very disappointed in the extreme beans… I had high hopes for these as the regular sport beans are tasty.  My rating – 3/10
• Honey Stinger Organic Energy Chews – fruit smoothie – similar consitency as Clif “shot blox” but WAY better taste and a little chewier…  There are 3 “flavors” that I saw – dark red, light red, and orange… orange was definitely citrus flavor, the dark red seemed like a sour cherry, and the light red tasted like hawaiian punch…  These things tasted great, and are mostly organic.  My Rating – 8/10
• Sharkies Fruit Chews – Berry – These were (and are) good.  The flavor was good, and the consistency was pleasant (though not great).  they were a bit less chewy (no rebound) but this might be an advantage when the goal is to get them in your system fast.  My rating – 7/10
• Honey Stinger protein bar – dark chocolate cherry almond – chalky!  extremely dense and somewhat difficult to eat.   The chololate broke off and made a mess, and the bar itself crumbled some… there is no way I would want to eat one of these while in my sleeping bag.  The flavor ironically struck me as a bit artificial “cherry” even though it was real… the crunch of the almonds was a pleasant change from the chalkyness, though there were very few.  I was really disappoineted in this bar… I hope they improve it.  My rating – 4/10

Drinks:

• Accelerade (Lime) – insteresting drink at first… lime is pleasant but the milky whey flavor is a bit to get used to… after a little it tasted OK…  My Rating – 5/10
• Endurox R4 (Orange) – well, since this one has whey protein as well I was hoping for an Orange Julius / creamcicle flavor, and I was disappointed.  The first oddity was how much powder there was to mix into 12 oz of water… then the taste – orangecicle for an instant, then a chemical punch and strong aftertaste that was really unpleasant…  I have taken suppliments in the past like glutamine, creatine, etc… and it was just like taking them, slowly (instead of my preferred pound then flush my mouth with something that tastes good).  My workout prior to the Endurox was tough but not brutal, and I could definitely see having trouble drinking this at altitue or with any slight nausea…  My rating – 3/10.  How well it works with recovery, I will see tomorrow.

Overall – not much luck on the drink side of things… though good old vitalyte (gookinaid) is still at the top of my list, since I’ve been drinking it since I was running in San Diego as a child over 25 years ago (holy smokes, that sounds OLD!).  The honey stinger bar was a disappointment, as were the extreme sport beans (though the regular sport beans I enjoy, and will detail out in a later post)… the sharkies were good, but the honey stinger chews were a huge winner…  I am eyeing the bag of “cherry blosom” chews, but am going to try to wait until next week to try them out.

1/2 way to Trail Crest climbing up the snowfield of Mt. Whitney

So… Here is the trip, in a nutshell:

1. Leave San Jose Friday afternoon with Jon & Brett
2. Arrive in Lone Pine around midnight
3. Leave the motel at 6:30, drive to Whitney portal and begin hiking.
4. Stop to put moleskin on blisters (20 minutes later) 
   

   Brett & Jon at Trail Crest, Mt. Whitney

5. Arrive at Trail Camp around 4:00 PM.
6. Camp Setup, dinner around 6:00 PM, bedtime around 8:00 PM
7. Get up at 4:00 AM
8. Leave camp at 5:00 AM
9. Crampons and Ice Axe to Trail Crest (arrive around 8:30 I believe)
10. Summit by 12:00
11. Back to camp by 3:00
12. Twisted knee by 3:15
13. Off trail, lost by 6:30-7:00
14. Jon (aka Super Man) takes my pack and his the final 1.5 miles or so.
15. Leave Lone Pine around 8:30 PM
16. Denny’s in Bakersfield by midnight
17. Home around 3:30 AM

Jon, Chad, Brett, and I on the Summit of Mt. Whitney

Once we got back… poor Jon had to drive back up the peninsula to his house, probably another 20 minutes…

My Solomon Super Mountain 8 Mountaineering Boots are now available for anyone that wants a pair… there is a 99% chance I will never wear them again.

Summit of Mt. Whitney, April 20th 2009

All-in-all, it was a great trip, but the nagging knee problems really had me concerned (and questioning) my likelihood of doing well in November.  After seeing the doc again a couple weeks ago, he recommended plyometrics.  I also decided to hire a personal trainer to help me get in shape for the 20 days on Aconcagua…  With all that I am investing in the trip… I should invest in my preparation, so I contacted my gym, and as it turns out, one of the trainers has been to Everest Base Camp, climbed several other mountains, and can help me with my knees, getting in shape, and being physically ready for Aconcagua.