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Other/Mixed Mountain Strong

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
Thank you @offwidth and @SpiderLegs! Thankful to have your insight. I too raced a bit back in the the 80’s and 90’s in Colorado. I only did a few races in AZ. Cactus Cup, El Tour and the infamous shoot out.
Ahhhh.... the old Shoot Out. I used to manage the shop that still puts it on. It's evolved and now they have an "Old Man Shoot Out" for the guys our age. Remember one morning a guy from the old Motorola team that had spent 40 miles in a breakaway the previous weekend at Paris-Roubaix was back in town visiting his girlfriend. That was a sufferfest.
 
I've done R2R2R twice, once was full of mistakes and it took me a month to recover, the next one I was properly trained and it took me less than a week to bounce back. Last couple of years I've also started to do off trail hikes in the Grand Canyon to scramble up (or attempt) peaks within the canyon.
 
once was full of mistakes and it took me a month to recover,
How do you feel about sharing what you thought your mistakes were?


For prospective R2R and R2R2R suitors…:

Having hydration and nutrition dialed in are obviously pretty important.

Other things I find are important for folks to consider are choice of footwear, and load weight.

And then of course there is the physical preparedness.

Add to that goals. Are they just trying to survive. Do they want to do it with some style and have some gas in the tank at the end. Or perhaps they are gunning for a specific time.
 
How do you feel about sharing what you thought your mistakes were?
I did R2R2R on a whim to celebrate my 50th birthday and went in with about a month's worth of training. Was living in Phoenix at the time and scooped my buddy from the airport at 5 PM. Went to dinner and drove straight to the Grand Canyon and started hiking a little after midnight. Combo of lack of sleep (I'm not 25 anymore and can get away with it) and undertrained. Then only brought food I could eat and water. About 10 hours in I simply couldn't eat, I'd try to chew on a candy bar and would spit it out. The thought of food disgusted me. Then noticed my hiking partner had Tailwind and could at least force down 150 calories an hour just by drinking them.

The wheels fell off the bus at Phantom Ranch and I had to crawl my way up Bright Angel. Then to make matters worse, we had started our hike in high winds that created a huge cloud of dust. Which made my allergies and asthma go haywire. My breathing got so labored it felt like I was breathing through a coffee straw the last four miles. I'd hike for a quarter mile, stop to catch my breath and then go another quarter mile. Vowed to never do another R2R2R in my life.

Five years later to ring in my 55th birthday my buddy convinced me to give it another go and I started prepping for the hike 6 months before. Laid a good foundation in the weight room, solid base of hiking and then 4 months in started doing specific training. My experience on the second go around was a lot better. I've done R2R and Rim2River a bunch of times, but a R2R2R is a different beast altogether.
 
That's impressive.

My inaugural mountain adventure was a summer in college where I traipsed about the Wind River Mountain Range with some friends in 2005 with the National Outdoor Leadership School. A heady adventure for a sea level beachcombing city slicker for damned sure.
 
My breathing got so labored it felt like I was breathing through a coffee straw the last four miles. I'd hike for a quarter mile, stop to catch my breath and then go another quarter mile. Vowed to never do another R2R2R in my life.
Sound just so attractive that I don't know how I've ever resisted attempting something like this ...

:)

-S-
 
Sound just so attractive that I don't know how I've ever resisted attempting something like this ...

:)

-S-
I was smart enough to bring my asthma inhaler, but in the last minute reshuffling of my pack I accidentally left it on the front seat of my car. Another lesson learned. That particular hike was a comedy of errors, I did everything wrong. Five years later and I just convince myself that it really wasn't that bad. ROFL
 
Question for anyone who wears multifocal glasses and hikes:

What eyewear do you use while on the trail?

I find my mutifocals drive me nuts as I look up and down, so for years I just wear my distance pair.

But I wanted to hear if there are informed opinions on this.
 
Question for anyone who wears multifocal glasses and hikes:

What eyewear do you use while on the trail?

I find my mutifocals drive me nuts as I look up and down, so for years I just wear my distance pair.

But I wanted to hear if there are informed opinions on this.
I need a bit of distance and a bit of near correction. Mostly these last 10 years (I'm 55) I would wear sunglasses outdoors and fumble for the reading glasses when I needed to see something close. Last fall I went to the eye doctor and found out there is a multifocus contact lens. I hadn't worn contacts since I had LASIK to fix my nearsightedness 20 years ago, but I decided to give them a try, and WOW, what a game changer! They are "dailies" so wear them once, throw them away, buy a big box full. I put them in and I can see both near and far with both eyes. It is so helpful on weekends and any sort of outing like hiking, cycling, and kayaking. Maybe something to look into if you think it might work for you.
 
Whooooo! Thats a good one! I’m still high off of my trail runs at starved rock. Have a sloppy trail race coming up next month, cant wait.
 
Been finding consistent Zone 2 work is starting to pay off. Between one week to the next I was doing continuous 35 minute running sessions concentrating on keeping my pace near totally aerobic (+/-2 BPM of threshold for me 152 BPM). Though yesterday's run I hit one BPM over the aerobic threshold (153 BPM for about twenty-five seconds - I promptly slowed down), I did cover 2.75 miles that run versus the 2.66 miles of the previous week. I'm officially a believer in heavily Zone 1 and 2 aerobic work.
 
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