run
I am tired, and breathing fast. A thought crosses my mind: How do you think you are going to survive at 17,000 feet with a 40 pound backpack? I run faster, pushing myself to the limit.
I am with Jackson and Alex, training for our upcoming backpacking trip. We will be hiking the Ausangate Circuit, crossing several high passes (think 17,000 feet). The hike is 6 days long, has spectacular views, and the occasional hot-spring!
Nevertheless, when I roll out of my bed at 5:30 A.M. every morning to start my run, Ausangate seems far away. We have been running to a town and back almost every day, a run of about 4 miles. As we start out, I always feel sluggish. I see Alex and Jackson pushing on ahead of me, and force myself to catch up.
Thankfully, my build lends itself to running. I have long legs, long arms, and not a great deal more. The three of us push each other, one of us takes the lead, and the others catch up. 10 minutes into the run, we are all sweating. My body grumbles to my brain, which returns the favor by mocking and taunting my body, daring it to go faster. We reach the town, and turn around. Now the pace goes up a notch. Breath comes fast and hard, and as sweat trickles down into my eyes, I secretly wish I could still be snoozing in bed. Go, go, GO, just keep going.
We reach the last stretch, Jackson and I are now in the lead, pushing ourselves to the limit. I always like this stretch, my body gets into the groove, and I let it go. I always feel an intense pleasure in this stretch. Every muscle and nerve is straining together with one intent and purpose. I push myself really, really hard. Almost to the end, I take a final lead, almost sprinting now. I finally reach the driveway where we finish by walking in, to let our bodies cool down. Gasping, I wait for jackson to reach me, and we walk the remainder together.
I still don't know how my body will perform at high altitudes. But I am looking forward to the challenge, wondering where I will meet my limit.
I am with Jackson and Alex, training for our upcoming backpacking trip. We will be hiking the Ausangate Circuit, crossing several high passes (think 17,000 feet). The hike is 6 days long, has spectacular views, and the occasional hot-spring!
Nevertheless, when I roll out of my bed at 5:30 A.M. every morning to start my run, Ausangate seems far away. We have been running to a town and back almost every day, a run of about 4 miles. As we start out, I always feel sluggish. I see Alex and Jackson pushing on ahead of me, and force myself to catch up.
Thankfully, my build lends itself to running. I have long legs, long arms, and not a great deal more. The three of us push each other, one of us takes the lead, and the others catch up. 10 minutes into the run, we are all sweating. My body grumbles to my brain, which returns the favor by mocking and taunting my body, daring it to go faster. We reach the town, and turn around. Now the pace goes up a notch. Breath comes fast and hard, and as sweat trickles down into my eyes, I secretly wish I could still be snoozing in bed. Go, go, GO, just keep going.
We reach the last stretch, Jackson and I are now in the lead, pushing ourselves to the limit. I always like this stretch, my body gets into the groove, and I let it go. I always feel an intense pleasure in this stretch. Every muscle and nerve is straining together with one intent and purpose. I push myself really, really hard. Almost to the end, I take a final lead, almost sprinting now. I finally reach the driveway where we finish by walking in, to let our bodies cool down. Gasping, I wait for jackson to reach me, and we walk the remainder together.
I still don't know how my body will perform at high altitudes. But I am looking forward to the challenge, wondering where I will meet my limit.
posted by Jonas at 7:00 AM
2 Comments:
you lucky punk you. I wish I could come down and visit sometime, but school takes precedence over all else at this point...
Enjoying the blog, tho, keep it up!
I'll still race you--but only on a short dash! If you ever get those moose legs moving I'll never be able to catch up.
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