This is just a short series of clips shot on a recent 15 mile training hike around Huntsville State Park.
The park is pleasant enough but these hikes are really just endurance workouts. We load up the packs, I carry about 30 pounds, and knock out some miles and about 600′ of elevation gain. It’s not real challenging but challenging terrain isn’t easy to find near Houston.
This was also our first test of the awesome new Flip MinoHD which we’ll probably be taking with us on future climbs.
I’d planned to try for the 100 story mark the last week in October. That seemed like a reasonable goal. It would have given me about ten 70 story workouts to build strength and endurance.
I threw that plan out the window this morning after getting a rare full night’s sleep. I felt really strong this morning thanks to that rest, went for it, and found that it was tough – but not nearly as difficult as I had imagined. I can’t tell you how psyched I am right now.
The most difficult part of these workouts, for me at least, is in the early stages. On good days I seem to gain strength as I progress. Some of it is physical, a second wind kicking in, but a lot of it is mental. 100 stories may seem impossible at the start but my confidence grows as the workout progresses. That confidence fuels my physical performance in way that I’d never have imagined had I not committed to continuously pushing myself like this.
The really surprising thing about all of this for me is how far I’ve progressed with stair climbing in such a short period of time. The initial six weeks was brutal and didn’t see much progress but it laid a foundation for insane (for me anyway) jumps in performance. 13 days ago my personal best was 52 stories. 11 days ago my personal best was 70 stories. Two months ago I would have told you that 100 stories was a year away. 100 stories will be worked into my routine at least once a week from here on out.
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