Mountain Training - Day 26 - Shoulder Pain

My separated left shoulder

I’m in a lot of pain this morning. My left shoulder, the one that is separated, is a giant cramp. I go through this often, times of cramping with a spells of no pain in between. Today hurts and it radiates across my entire back.

I hiked 2.25 miles in the snow wearing a 20 lb weight vest and 5 lb snow boots yesterday which is what set off my shoulder and back, but I need to get used to carrying more weight than that if I want to go backpacking.

I’m not someone who looks for pity so any time I mention pain or difficulties, just know it’s because I’m using this as a personal diary of my journey as well as sharing it with you.

To catch you up since Day 4, not a lot has happened aside from me going to the gym five times a week. I do cardio, then do a variety of fitness stuff, kettlebell lifts, squats, leg raises, platform step ups, etc. I’m ready for this spell of bitterly cold weather to end so I can get outside and start training better.

Indoor cardio equipment is a poor substitute for actually running, sprinting, or climbing stairs outside. Once I can get out of the gym and into the real world, I know the number of posts will increase. I’m just in a gym rut right now waiting for spring.

On a final note today, I’ve recorded several videos, but I haven’t figured out a way to post them on my website. My site provider, Squarespace doesn’t let you upload videos to it. I don’t want to post them on my YouTube channel since they are not my normal type of videos. Hopefully I can come up with a solution soon so I can start sharing more with you.

This stuff is amazing. Better than IcyHot, Bengay or Biofreeze

This stuff is amazing. Better than IcyHot, Bengay or Biofreeze

I’m going to go pop some ibuprofen, lather my shoulder in tiger balm (not sponsored) and then hit the gym again this afternoon.

Mountain Training - Day 4 - Sweating

Since I set my goal to climb a mountain, I’ve been exercising 5 days a week. My first concern is to start losing weight. Over 2018, without exercise, I’ve put on 20 pounds after shedding 25 lbs the summer of 2017.

The working out part has been easy so far. My gym has a good selection of cardio equipment: ellipticals, a stationary bike, a rowing machine and my personal favorite, the stair spinner

stair spinner.gif

The Stair Spinner

It’s easier on your knees and works your hips better than a traditional stair stepper

It’s hard to hold back in the Green “Aerobic Zone” when I just want to push

It’s hard to hold back in the Green “Aerobic Zone” when I just want to push

It hasn’t been hard to push myself for 50 minutes of exercise, elevating my heart rate to maximum levels at times.

All I have to do to push harder is to tell myself that I can’t let the mountain defeat me. I don’t know how hard it is going to be to carry my backpack over 18 miles, up and down a total of 12,000 feet of elevation in a day at altitudes between 10k-14k feet, so I just say “It’ll be harder than this” and I push on.

In the first few days with my excitement peaking, I tried jogging 2 miles wearing my my backpack loaded to 15 pounds which pushed my heart rate up to 198 bpm, which in retrospective was probably too intense, but in the determined drive to beat this mountain, I felt no fatigue until the end.

No, the thing I’ve been struggling with is adjusting my calorie intake. I’ve switched about 75% of my meals to smoothies, lean frozen dinners, and high protein options like omelets loaded with veggies, but either I’m still eating too much of those, or the other 25% is still too many calories because I haven’t lost any weight in the 13 days I’ve been at it.

I know it takes time to achieve results, but it’d be nice to see something lost besides sweat.

Mountain Training - Day 1

jasonflahertymountainportrait

My Name is Jason

I’m 35 years old and I’m going to climb a mountain.

I’ve always wanted to climb a mountain and I figure right now in my life is the perfect time to do it.

My plan is to train and prepare over the next 160 days and on the week of my 36th birthday, i’ll climb my first mountain.

I am blogging my journey to keep a record for myself and share it with any of you who want to follow along with my journey.

I’ll share my training, gear, plans and do weekly vlogs (videos) explaining things in further detail. Please leave comments, ask questions and share encouragement if you want.

I made my decision last week, picked my mountain and started training doing cardio to get my body used to exercising again. I’ll be picking individual topics to discuss on future blog posts, but to end today, let me introduce you to my mountain.

Mountain Stats
Name: Mount of the Holy Cross
Location: Colorado, USA. 39°28'05.5"N 106°28'47.1"W
Elevation: 14,005 feet
Trail Length: 12 miles
Total Elevation Gain: 5,600 feet
Difficulty: Class 2
Exposure Risk: 2/6

Mount of the Holy Cross Trail - Ryan McSween - December 2017