That perennial question of motivation for training

Remember one of my recent posts announcing that I am resuming training? Read here. It has not happened. The training, that is.

The training was as brief as the post. But I am not giving up. It's all in the spirit of facing the challenge of climbing a mountain. Giving up should not be in the climber's vocabulary, but props up regularly all the way to the summit.

To seasoned mountaineers, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro is an easy task, but to any ordinary individual who has little training, Mt Kilimanjaro is a tough proposition.

So, as I prepare myself (again!) for the next climb, probably in June 2017, I applaud those who did not give up and reached the summit. I equally applaud those who tried as much as they could but did not reach the summit.

Reaching the summit is great achievement, but it is not everything.

On climbing gear and bragging rights

I am discovering mountaineering from the cart to the donkey, rather than the other way round.

When I first climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2008 one of my relatives, who had climbed Mt. Meru earlier, gave me some high altitude clothing he had used during his climb including a down jacket, and a high altitude trekking trouser, made by North Face. At the time I had no idea where North Face stood in the pecking order of outdoor product manufacturers.

On my first ascent of Mt. Kilimanjaro I reached the summit in the afternoon and spent an extremely cold night in this tent on the crater floor. I woke up the next morning to take this photo of part of Furtwängler Glacier. I was fully clothed in the sleeping bag throughout the night and the North Face down jacket and high altitude trousers provided great relief.

Several years later of climbing Kilimanjaro I have gradually learnt that I was wearing a top-rated brand. I also recently found out that North Face products are popular with college students in the United States. Some of these students have little interest in using their North Face products for outdoor activity; they buy North Face products for the sole purpose of acquiring bragging rights for owning a coveted brand.

I have been slowly adding up my gear for my long-term mountaineering quests, and have recently bought a North Face duffle bag. I have spent money on hiring gear over the years, and I realize it's cheaper to buy some of the equipment.

Continuing with my learning curve on the hidden aspects of mountaineering, I am wondering whether someone may have spotted me with my duffle bag at the airport and quietly sneered at me for showing off.

Back to square one on training

In my penultimate post, I wrote of my preparations for the January 2016 Mt. Kilimanjaro climb. I missed the climb because of a loss in my family and that loss kept me off training for a long time. Now, I begin the arduous task of reminding my mind and my body of the direct link between adequate training and reaching the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro.

This author suggests that once the brain is reminded that training is worthwhile (read worthwhile as also meaning "enables one to reach the summit") then it becomes easier to jump into that routine.

Kibo, as seen from the Marangu route.

Here are more ways to motivate yourself to exercise (written for women, but works just as well for men).

Snowfall in Maryland

I am spending some time in the state of Maryland in the United States and a sudden snowfall triggered memories of home, in more than one way.

I forwarded a photo I snapped from the kitchen window, below, to friends and joked that I had a

 feeling that it was time to go home alluding to the fact that 'home' was warm and sunny and amenable to strolling down the main village road and catching a conversation with friends and acquaintances, or where Zebras roam the plains, whereas in Maryland (at least where I am) it made more sense to remain inside than venture out into the cold weather.

...where Zebras roam the plains.

The flip side of 'home' is where it is much colder than what I am experiencing at the moment: Mt. Kilimanjaro. on reflection, I gradually moved from my stereotypical depiction of home to a more balanced depiction of what Tanzania is: warm in some places, and bitterly cold in others.

A climber, right, with two Tanzanian guides at Stella Point (5,685m) on Mt. Kilimanjaro.

And, surprisingly, I miss both of them.

Training, at an extremely slow pace

Since my last post, I have logged less than 50 kilometres of cycling. As a measure of what distance I should log in my cycling schedule, it is a pittance.

During my last bike ride I can report on some good news, and some bad news, and more bad news but not necessarily in that order.

The good news is that, after having repeatedly cycled on the mildly challenging 12+ kilometre Muryaza roundabout route, I finally mustered the courage to raise the challenge slightly by resuming the 22+ kilometre Mwanza Highway junction route. This route involves a long downhill ride to the turnaround point and then an almost constant uphill ride all the way back to Butiama. 

Part of the scenery along the 22+-kilometre route.

In better times when I regularly cycled it was an easy route. Having lapsed into a long period without training, I discovered it was a huge challenge. That was the second piece of bad news.

The first piece of bad news is I broke my headphone MP3 player as I was about to begin my ride. Both earpieces had broken apart, but I could still play the music. I managed to hold the earpieces in their original positions and placed the headphones over my head and the inward tension held the broken pieces firmly over over my ears and I cycled off to the music of some of the best musicians that I acknowledge including this one.

Finally, the training is on for the January 2016 Mt Kilimanjaro climb

I finally managed to cycle some 8 kilometres a few days ago, beginning my preparations for climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in January 2015. Too late? It is not the Butiama to Dodoma trip by any stretch of the imagination, but much better than not training at all.

I cycled through part of what has been one of the easier routes on the several routes that I have used in the past. What I call the Butiama to Muryaza roundabout route takes me to the nearby village of Muryaza where I circle the only roundabout there and return to Butiama. It is a 10+ kilometre run, but I cut it short to about 8 kilometres because I stopped along the way to visit this elderly woman (also in photo, below).

Although I have not cycled for a long time, I felt I had a potent reserve of energy. I hope to clock at least 500 kilometres before I climb Kilimanjaro in January.

Related post:

http://blogkili.blogspot.com/2015/11/how-not-to-and-how-to-train-for.html

How not to (and how to) train for climbing Kilimanjaro

I have yet to find a good way of preparing myself to tackle Mt. Kilimanjaro. I am due to climb Kilimanjaro again in January 2016 and I have not yet surprised myself by any drastic behavioural change in my training schedule. Avoiding what I have done, and concentrating on what I failed to do, should provide guidance to a better way of training for Kilimanjaro.

Cigarette smoking

Once in a while, I smoke a cigarette. That in itself is the worst thing for preparing to climb Kilimanjaro. The trouble begins when one cigarette becomes a few, and before long it becomes a whole packet. My cigarette craving normally lasts for a few weeks and I have always possessed the will-power to quit smoking. This time it took a little bit longer and stretched to a few months. Quitting became a formidable challenge.

Cigarette smoking and mountaineering is not a good combination. The higher one climbs the less oxygen is available in any single breadth, and I felt when breathing that I was gasping for enough oxygen at the height of my smoking spree - even without the endurance of mountain climbing.

Photo credit: Philippa Willits

One study reports that smoking at high altitudes can impair acclimatization, and if inadequate acclimatization produces mountain sickness then a pleasant trek could very well become a nightmare. Ideally, a climb should be enjoyed. It should not be an agonizing experience.

But I do not need findings of medical studies to realize that smoking has far more detrimental effects to the body than merely messing up an enjoyable climb.

If you need suggestions on how to quit smoking read this excellent article:

How to Quit Smoking

Length of training

I always suggest to first-time climbers to devote at least three months of training prior to climbing Kilimanjaro. I admit I find it easier to prescribe this "medicine" then to take some yourself. So, as has become my custom now, I have not devoted enough time to any serious training. I plan to begin within the next hour and I hope I will report back about that great leap of willpower in the next post.

Mountain biking only

I have concentrated most of my training around cycling on my mountain bike. From my experience, a three-part well-rounded training regime requires a combination of building:

• lower body strength (the bike serves this), 
• upper body strength exercises (I hardly do these), and 
• a good dose of exercises that builds cardiovascular fitness (these I rarely do, although cycling provides some benefit)

My problem is that I travel regularly and it is only when at home that I can train on the bike. Professional trainers would offer the best advice to meet the objectives that I mention.

On Google Search one can find a lot of useful information on these three areas:

• Lower body exercises
• Upper body exercises
• Cardiovascular exercises