54 days left
RHR 60
Fluid intake 1.5 L No beer....No wine...what is going on????
Sleep 5 hours

WOD
I got up early to run the stairs at Glenora. I did set in 30 minutes.....and the legs are actually feeling good. I'm feeling a bit tired, but did manage a few hours of sleep on the plane.

58 days left
RHR ?
Fluid intake 1 L plus a huge beer in Germany
Sleep 4 hours

WOD
I got up super early for my last run in Lucern. It is still snowing here, and we are wondering if our flight will be delayed. We had breakfast at 0545, then headed out to the airport at 6am. My last morning to have chocolate spread on my croissant....I will soon be in withdrawl. Everywhere we go there are bowls of chocolate for us. We just have to get to the airport early enough to buy some to take home. We had a 3 hour layover in Frankfurt where we had a working lunch, then headed home. The flights were delayed, but I made it home by 8pm. I'm glad it wasn't any later as I have to work in the morning.....and there won't be any chocolate to spread on my toast....what will I do????

56 days left
RHR?
Fluid intake wine and beer.....and some water!
Sleep 4 hours

WOD
I woke up at 5am for a short 30 minute run before an early breakfast, and a long work day. I started off easy, then did some speed work. 30 seconds hard run followed by 30 seconds of easy running x 10, then finished off with an easy run back to the hotel. We are on the outskirts of Lucern, and although we can't see the mountains because it is snowing so hard, it's nice to see the houses. We worked for 12 hours today then went out for a great supper. After supper we walked around Lucern a bit and walked across the old bridge that I remember Ted and I walking across on our honeymoon 23+ years ago. Nice memories. It would have been nice to do a bit of shopping, but we are here to work. We will have to buy our chocolate at the airport.

57 days left
RHR ?
Fluid intake 1L plus some wine
Sleep 5 hours

Rest day.
I woke up early, but stayed in bed instead of doing a work out. We spent the day working inside, and when we went out for lunch, we noticed that it had been snowing heavily all day. I looked like about 4 inches of wet snow. One of our Swiss guides is a paraglider pilot, and he was hoping to show me the local launch site, but not practical with all the snow, especially since I was wearing heels. I had to settle for the pictures he took last summer.

58 days left
RHR ?
Fluid intake 1.5 L
Rest - a few hours on the plane ride over

WOD
Arrived in Switzerland at 1230 local time and we grabbed a bite to eat while waiting for the last two to show up. We then piled into two vehicles and drove from Zurich to Lucern. On arriving at our hotel on the lake, I was told that we had dinner reservations in 45 min. I quickly threw on my running clothes and headed out the door for a 30 min run around the lake. I took me 10 minutes to shower and change for dinner. We were hoping for a fondue, but instead we were taken to a great Italian restaurant close to the hotel. Very good food, but we are all a bit jet lagged and were looking forward to our beds.

58 days left
RHR 58
Fluid intake 2L plus beer

WOD
I got up early to get a work out in before flying to Switzerland. I did stairs with 50 lb pack, 3 x 28 stories which took just under an hour. I had enough time to get home, pack, shower and change before heading out to the airport.

60 days left
RHR?
Fluid intake 3L
Sleep 6 hours

WOD
Workout with Jeff in the morning power/stregth for 60 min.
Then hit the stairwell with a 50lb pack. Total of 7 sets of 28 floors. Did the first 4 in just over an hour, then after plugging the meter I did another 3 in 55 minutes. Thats a total of 24oo feet in 2 hours with a 50 lb pack. Feeling good, even after a hard workout just before.

61 days to go
RHR?
Fluid intake 2L
Sleep 7 hours

WOD
Got up really early (0430) so that I had enough time to run some stairs before work. Went to Glenora, and ran 5 sets of stairs, most of it 2 at a time. Was tired when I got to work, but drank some Ensure which gave me some energy.

62 days left
RHR?
Fluid intake 2L
Sleep 7 hours

WOD
Did an upper body strength workout at work with the resistance band, then after work did hills at Emily Murphy. Only did two with a relatively light pack (65lbs).

63 days left
RHR?
Fluid intake 1.5L
Sleep 6 hours

WOD
This was our last day in Portland, so I went out for a 5K run before we flew out. Feeling great.

64 days left
RHR?
Fluid intake 3L
Sleep 6 hours

WOD
REST DAY....
This was our second full day here in Portland. I was thinking of having a rest day, but couldn't resist a bit of a run. So only did 30 minutes because I slept in until 0515 so didn't have much time before we met up for breakfast.

65 days left
RHR?
Fluid intake 3L
Sleep 6 hours

WOD
We went to bed a bit late last night, because we only headed for supper after 8pm. Portland seems to be a really nice place, but unfortunately we won't have much time to explore work, work, work!!!! I got up a 5am so that I could have a bit of a workout before breakfast. This place is fabulous, when I asked at the desk if there were any running trails closeby, they handed me a map with trails and distances marked on it. The map was nice and small, perfect to carry with me. The running here at sea level is effortless....and I am feeling fabulous. Just ran 30 minutes and did some jumping squats and walking lunges. Then I just had time for a quick shower and change before breakfast and heading off.

66 days left
RHR 48
Fluid intake 3L (including some beer)
Sleep 6 hours

WOD
I got up early and did an upper body work out at home
Stair training.
I did some interval training in the stairwell that caused me to feel both syncopal and nauseated at the same time. I was cursing the two who suggested this type of workout...you know who you are!
1. moderately fast up (28 floors)
2. ran up 4 floors, slow for 3 floors (4 reps for total 28 floors)
3. ran up 4 floor, slow for 3
4. moderately fast up
ran all the way down.
I got all this done in 55 minutes with a 40lb pack. This is the fastest I have ever gone up the stairs. All the work with Jeff is paying off.

I got all this done early in the day, then I flew to Portland, and will return on Friday afternoon. I am hoping to get some kind of work out done while I am gone, but will wait until I see what kind of facilities are available and how much free time I have.

67 days left
RHR 50
Fluid intake 3L
Sleep 8 hours

WOD
PP work out - see Jan 3
Then right after I headed to do stairs.
The first two sets of 28 were slow and my legs felt tired-pack weight 65lbs
I dropped 15lbs when I went to plug the meter then I did two more much faster. The plan was to do a total of 5, but at the start of the fifth there were workers in the stairwell and there was a loud noise....good enough excuse for me to stop.

68 days left
RHR ?
Fluid intake 3L
Sleep 8 hours

WOD
After working a day shift I put on the pack, dropped a bit of weight and went up and down Emily Murphy. Pack weight 65 lbs and went up and down 3 times for 45min. This usually takes me 1 hour with a lighter pack, but I was really pushing hard so that I could get home.

69 days
RHR 58
Fluid intake 1.5L
Sleep 4 hours

WOD
After working all night I ran stairs at Glenora, most 2 at a time, and I'm feeling stronger and faster.
After a short sleep, I did a workout with Jeff.
We started off by doing a 1 mile time trial on the treadmill - 8:36. Not bad, but I know that I can go faster outside. After this we finished the hour with power/strength.

Finished off the day by sitting on some motorcycles at the show, planning for my next bike.

70 days left.
RHR 50
Fluid intake 4L
Sleep 8 hours + 1 in the afternoon before working a night shift

WOD
Endurance training in the stairwell.
28 floor x 10 with 65 lb pack, 3:45.
This is the first time with this much weight, and it is 15 lbs more than I have been doing lately. The weight is feeling OK, and the extended time is because I had to plug the meter twice, which takes 20min each time. The first 3 - which is about 1000 feet only took 53minutes, but I did slow down a bit for the last 7.

71 days
RHR ?
Fluid intake 3L
Sleep 6 hours interrupted

WOD
I tried to do a one mile timed trial on the treadmill which I found very difficult to do, especially since I don't like using a treadmill. The one mile took 8:50.
Used the rowing machine for 30 minutes, alternating 1 minute as fast as I could, followed by 1 minute of slow.
Upper body strength and core strength

After work I headed out to Emily Murphy hill, and walked up and down for 75 minutes with a 95 lb pack. The pack is certainly heavy, but not impossible. I do hesitate to add any more weight though, because the trail is a bit slippery. Falling is just not an option as I could never pick up the pack!

72 days
RHR 53
Fluid intake 2L
Sleep 7 hours

REST DAY!!!!
Well a rest day for me means working a 24 hour shift, then stay for an all day meeting as soon as I get off. Hopefully I will have a chance for a bit of a workout in the morning before the meeting starts.

RHR 46
Fluid intake 2 L
Sleep 7 hours

WOD
Strength - upper body before work
Ran stairs at Glenora - x 8. The first and last I ran just one stair at a time, but most of the rest were all 2 steps at a time. The weather is +1C outside, so a bit slushy, but fantastic weather for a great outside workout.

RHR 58
Fluid intake 1.5 L (poor)
Sleep 6 hours

WOD
Walked up and down Emily Murphy hill for 75 min with 85lbs in the back pack, which means about 93lbs on my back including the weight of the pack and other contents. Feeling good, and although this is at the upper end of my limit, I think that I could carry a bit more. The only issue is that if I ever fell down, I would never be able to pick up the pack!

75 days
RHR?
Fluid intake 2L
Sleep 7 hours

WOD

Run 8K, hard effort.
Run the stairs at Glenora x 6.
1. Run the stairs 1 at a time
2-5. Run most of the stairs 2 at a time. I wasn't able to do all the middle set 2 at a time.
6. Took it easy, and only ran the bottom and top 2 at a time, but not the middle set.

76 days
RHR?
Fluid intake 1.5L (poor!)
Sleep 8 hours!!!!

Rest Day

WOD
Went to Elk Island Park with Renee and carried a 40 lb pack for 2 hours. It was flat, but the crusty snow increased the difficulty a bit.





Picture from Little Khumbu in the back yard.

77 days
RHR 53
Fluid intake 4L
Sleep 7 hours

WOD
This morning I put on a 50 lb backpack, and climbed 28 floors of stairs x 9 for a total of 3 hours. The first 3 went really well, the next 3 were tough and the last 3 weren't too bad. I was able to push fairly hard for #7 &8 and took it a bit easier for #9.

After this I went to see Jeff and did a strength/power session for 1 hour.

Working a night shift tonight.

78 days
RHR 48
Fluids 2L
Sleep 6 hours last night

Worked a day shift.
WOD
5K run in the morning

After work I did hills at Emily Murphy
1 hour - 3 reps, one walking backwards with 75 lb pack

79 days
Rest Day!!
RHR 48
Fluids 2L
Sleep 4 hours during the day

I was feeling tired this morning after my third night shift in a row, with minimal sleep so I took it easy.

WOD
am - before going home to sleep
Stairs - 28 floors x 2 sets with 50 lbs, nice and easy.

pm - after I got up I did a 3-6-9 workout.
3 pull-ups
6 push-ups
9 squats
I did 10 reps as fast as I could.

80 days
RHR 58
Fluid intake 2L
Sleep 6 hours

I'm starting to feel a bit tired from lack of sleep while working night shifts.
WOD
Stairs - 28 floors with 40 lb pack, 4 reps in 1 hour.
1. Slow and steady.
2. Run 2 flights, walk 2 flights - 10 reps
3. Run 1 flight, walk 2 flights
4. Run 1 flight, walk 3 flights

After I woke up I cycled for 15 min to loosen up.
Then at work at 3am I did an upper, lower and core workout with the resistance band.

81 days
RHR 60
Fluids 2.5 L
Sleep 3.5 + 2 hours

WOD
In am after working a night shift before going to work
Stairs at Glenora
Run up 10 times - 1 hour
The last 5 I took the bottom set of stairs two at a time.
This was a good day, and despite feeling tired, I am feeling strong.

82 days
Resting HR 58
Fluids 3.5L
Sleep 7 hours + 2 in the afternoon

WOD
am
PP workout
Cycle 3 minutes hard
5 chin ups
36 abd crunches
15 burpees
15 push-ups
30 squats
Cycle 3 minutes hard
12 squat and dumbell presses with 10 lbs
10 feet elevated push-ups
36 low back extensions
15 bench dips
15 jumping lunges

pm - on my way to work
Hill climbing at Emily Murphy hill with 75 lb pack for 1.5 hours

Worked a night shift at the hospital. Did an upper body workout with resistance bands along with a core workout at 3am.

83 days

After a leisurely breakfast of french toast with Jessica we started to head home. Domhnall was checking out possible ice climbs when we passed this one. We backtracked, and after a 30 minute access, we were at the base. Once again Domhnall climbed up and placed a top rope, then we had fun climbing up and down for several hours before driving back home.

84 days

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!

We got up early, but were unsure of where to go climbing due to the recent snowfall. It was still snowing a bit in the morning, and rather than take any chances, we decided to head out to Johnson's Canyon, stopping for tea and pastries at Lagan's on the way.

We had a great day climbing here. Domhnall went up and set up a top rope so that I could climb up. Shortly after 3 other climbers showed up. Two more top ropes were place, and we all took turns on all the ropes. It was a bit cold in the morning, but warmed up nicely in the afternoon. I hadn't adjusted my crampons very well, and in the photo you can see that the right one was falling off!

On the way out I carried both packs with all the gear so that I could get a bit of a workout, and get some practice walking downhill.