Medical Adventures #3

For Mr. K, who never misses a beat.

March 2023: Declining

Over the next few months I continued to grapple with problems with my running fitness and endurance. I started researching the issue and even bought a book, “Fast After Fifty,” by Joe Friel. It was a good book, filled with tips for how to improve, and sample workouts. But it seemed written for people who had once been athletic and later in life spent too much time on the couch. That was not me. I always was working on fitness. I did an Ironman triathlon in 2014 just before my 55^th birthday. An Ironman consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and a 26.2 mile marathon. In that order. One after another. On the same day. Not exactly for sissies, if I do say so myself.

I also did a few Half Ironmans (Ironmen?) before and after that, the last one being in 2019. And half marathons. And multi-day bike rides. And swims. And big Adirondack hikes. And who know what-all else. I don’t think I was the audience for this book. However, I tried the recommendations. 

I did not improve.

I also was trying to figure out what was going on with my biking speed and stamina. That was deteriorating along with my running. I was riding a Trek road bike that I bought used in 2008. I loved it. At that time I had wanted to do a triathlon and needed a light bike. I walked into my favorite store, Goodwill, and lo and behold, there was a bike that had just been brought in, with aero bars, water bottle holders, and other accoutrements, plus a tag on it from a recent Half Ironman race. Perfect. I bought it for 50 bucks, took it to a bike shop to get it properly fitted, and I was on my way. 

It worked really well for me until one day I picked up someone else’s bike and noticed how much lighter it was. My biking buddies told me that having a lighter bike made a really big difference in speed. So I did some investigation and dropped a couple of grand on a (used) Trek Domane. I was excited to see how much faster it could make me. I hopped on, clipped into the pedals, and took off.

I did not improve.

I even contacted a triathlon coach I knew to see if she had any recommendations. I told her my whole story. She said that the only thing she could think of that I wasn’t doing was strength training. So she outlined for me a weight lifting plan, which I strictly followed.

I did not improve.  

Mr. K and I were looking forward to a trip to the Grand Canyon in March. You can read about this great adventure here,here, here, here, here, and here.

But let me tell you about what I didn’t say in those posts. Hiking down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon on the South Kaibab Trail was fine, no problem. And after being at the bottom of the Canyon with one day of rest I felt strong and ready to head back up to the top. We were going up a different path, the Bright Angel Trail. This is the way it is done, down the South Kaibab and up the Bright Angel. This route was steeper and shorter going down, and gentler (relatively speaking!) going up. It would take 10 miles of hiking and 4,400 feet of elevation gain to make it to the top. We had a lot of daylight, and conditions were good.

The first five miles were pretty easy going. The trail was fairly flat, and it even descended in some parts. Now, let me say, I really hate descents when the goal is to make an ascent. What a waste! But I didn’t have any say in how the Canyon was designed. Anyway, after we passed the Havasupai Gardens the trail began to get serious. From here there is around 3000 feet of climbing over the last five miles, with the trail steepening as you get closer to the rim.

I had planned for this. I knew that if I wanted to be able to hike up a steep route I would have to put the work in by, well, hiking up a steep route. Prior to this, Mr. K and I had hiked in the Appalachian Mountains near our home many times. Not that they had the same elevation, but it was kind of baby steps practice. I had also loaded up a backpack and walked up and down the four flights of stairs at a local parking garage, up and down, up and down, up and down, again and again, to strengthen my legs. Yeah, I know it sounds weird.

The thing is, though, I didn’t feel like this preparation was working for me. When I climbed a hill on the Appalachian Trail I had to stop from time to time. My legs just wouldn’t go. It didn’t matter if it was early in the hike or later in the day, my legs just did not have mojo. I was not tired or out of breath. I just had to stop for a few minutes before I could move again. In the parking garage I could go up and down just fine, but I never felt like I was improving. Normally if you do a hard exercise again and again, over time it gets easier. That never happened. 

So now in the Grand Canyon I was headed up, and the familiar my legs just won’t go was back. The same as on the Appalachian Trail. Only here the path was more intense. I used all of my mental power to will my legs forward. Still, I had to stop. Then I could go a few steps. Then stop. Go. Stop. Go. It was getting ridiculous. 

Finally we made it to the top. What were my first words upon achieving this amazing goal? “Wow, I’m so happy we made it!” “What a great trip!” “Congratulations Mr. K, let’s get pizza!”? No. They were “I am shot. Just shot.”

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