See You On The Summit

Congratulations to all AMSTD participants who completed the Suzhou Half Marathon! If you’ve been following our gradual training program, you will be happy to know that you’ve already completed the most difficult part, which is training for long distance runs. After 20 weeks together, your heart should now be in excellent condition for endurance activities, and your legs able to keep turning over, hour after hour. You’ve also been building your muscles through basic resistance training to prevent injury and faster recovery.

The next 10 weeks will transform your fitness level, while requiring only 20 minutes a day, 4-5 days per week. Here are my recommended groupings for the 10 week “sprint”:

BASE CAMP: Phoebe Tang,  Vivian Ruan,  Dreen Yang,  Fable Shen, W. Sitthirat,          Ms. Puttiporn, Dhananjay Gupte,  Prasanna,  Craig McEachern, Christie Mao, Ms. Thanh

ADVANCED BASE CAMP: Felino Bernardo, Jason Ye, Margie Yao, Ken Ng, KS Rhi,    Eric Chew

THE SCHEDULE: Starting Monday, April 18th, we will begin the 10 Week Sprint which will look like this:

MONDAYS: Resistance (20 minutes)

TUESDAYS: Intervals (20 minutes)

WEDNESDAYS: Rest

THURSDAYS: Resistance (20 minutes)

FRIDAYS: Intervals (20 minutes)

SATURDAYS: Rest

SUNDAYS: Open

We will follow this schedule for the next 4 weeks, building in challenge level. I will be providing you video/pictures of my routine for you. For the following 4 weeks, I will introduce power hikes (with your backpack), with optional intervals. The final 2 weeks will include a half-day to full day power hike, with your final weekend as a very important back-to-back full-day hike that I ask all of you to definitely set aside in your schedule.

Again, you will find this training schedule much easier to manage, because there are not a lot of long distance days. Your heart and legs will become amazingly strong in the next 10 weeks, even more so than when you were doing a lot of long, slow distance. Personally, I have gained 3kg of lean muscle and lost 4kg of body fat using this same quick routine and it’s much easier on my joints.

Tomorrow (Sunday) I will give you my step-by-step video/photo post for the 10 week sprint.

Get ready to amaze yourself!

Chris

The Suzhou half marathon is less than 2 weeks away, so in this short post, I am suggesting to everyone who has been following this training guide to make a final long distance run this week, in line with your preparation schedule.

By this week, both Base Camp and Advanced Base Camp group need to be able to complete a 90-minute run.

You should take a bottle of water with you on runs/strenuous activities of over an hour. I like to fill the bottle 80% water, 20% grape juice, for some sustained sugar energy.

For Advanced Base Camp, I recommend a pace of 85% HR max, while Base Camp aims for 80%. Remember, this is an average pace, so it will take you a few minutes to establish it, and listen to your body as you ramp up. Any unusual pain anywhere and you need to slow down or stop and possibly gently stretch. It’s not a good idea to stretch cold, and studies show that pre-stretching doesn’t prevent injuries any more than if you didn’t stretch. The rule of thumb is to stretch when your body is already warm.

A better approach is to warm up with a quick walking pace for one minute and if no trouble, ease into a jog at 60-65% HR max for a 3-4 more minutes. 5 minutes is enough to evaluate whether you have any existing tendon or muscle problems that will nag you in a long run. At this point, you’re ready to race.

The tendency in a long run is to push past your pace and not notice it until you’re breathing too hard. Keep an eye on your heart rate monitor every 10 minutes or so to avoid being too far out of your zone. Personally, I aim for an 85% HR max average throughout my run, with the last 5k at 88%. It’s not difficult to do this as I know both of these HR targets well:

175 is my HR max x .85 = 148 and .88% = 154

You should be listening to your breathing and footfall rate (how many steps you’re taking as you breathe), and check them from time to time with your HR. By doing this at regular intervals, you will know your body better, and can focus more on enjoying the run instead of checking yourself so frequently and having to think about adjusting your pace up or down.

You can ease back on strength training this week, though I recommend you continue with walking lunges after your runs (10 x 3) and try to hold each lunge for 3 seconds.

After the marathon, I will need to collect individual times and re-evaluate groupings. We will still have two groups in our Tibet team, but depending on who has been consistently following our training program, some people will have improved their fitness dramatically, while some have not.

After everyone takes a week off after the marathon, we will begin a 10-week program that focuses on:

• Carrying a pack
• Climbing steps and hills
• One-hour sessions every other day, increasing to every day by the final week
• Managing energy intake (food, water, minerals)

If the team will meet in Thailand in April, I strongly recommend building in an extra day to hike up Doi Inthanon with me. Ideally, the team meeting could be in Chiang Mai (1 hr flight from Bangkok) and I will arrange a van to Doi Inthanon, 90-minutes away. In the evening, I will host a get together at our home in Chiang Mai.  If the team can accommodate this schedule, I will provide details on the hike to everyone.

Nature walk near summit

Summit, Doi Inthanon National Park

Doi Inthanon East Ascent Elevation Profile

Jia you!

Chris

This week, I’ve been doing back to back LSD (Long Slow Distance runs). This is to get a feel for whether or not I can handle consecutive climbing days that are beyond my usual routines. By the time we’re ready to climb, you should be able to do 3 consecutive days of 90-minute+ runs/hikes/swims/bike rides at an average of at least 70% of your cardio max. Right now I’m doing only 2 days back to back, then a rest day before resuming shorter distance days and interval days, with light strength building routines, mainly those I’ve pointed out before:

• Walking lunges
• One-legged squats
• Deadlifts

If you’re behind on your training, you should be focusing on doing some kind of sweat-producing activity every day for at least 20 minutes: climbing stairs, fast-walking, stationary biking, or any other aerobic activity that gets your heart rate up to the point where you can no longer breath through your nose.

There are fewer than 8 weeks left to the Suzhou half-marathon.

This means that if you are on track with this training program, you should be able to complete a 60-minute LSD run, and add 5 minutes to one long run per week for the next 7 weeks. This will put you at a 90 minute low-intensity run by the week before the marathon, giving you a week of rest and within striking distance of the 2-hour mark.

WEEK 15: BASE CAMP
By this time, you should be doing one 50-60 minute run per week at a 60-75% pace. This should exclude a 5 minute warm-up and cool down.

For strength training, you should be continue with 3 x 10 of the following:
30 second wall sits
Walking lunges
Push-ups
Crunches
One-legged squats

At least one day per week should be intervals, 30-second sprints (either up stairs, swimming, on a bike or any other activity where you are exerting 90% of your power), followed by 60-90 seconds of rest. You should be able to do at least 3 of these intervals.

WEEK 15: ADVANCED BASE CAMP
Continue with one of your three 65 minute runs at a 75% HR pace. Continue the resistance exercises from Base Camp at least 3 times this week, increasing resistance by 5-10%.

With fewer than 8 weeks to the Suzhou Half-Marathon, it’s important you maintain your daily levels of aerobic activity, with continued resistance training, even if only twice a week.

I’ve been on a series of business trips in China as well as hosting family for the holidays, as many of you will now prepare to do for Chinese New Year. No doubt, some of you will stop exercising, eat too much of the wrong food and generally let your fitness goals slide away. There’s no reason to feel bad about this, just be aware that the longer it takes you to get back on track, the more difficult it’s going to be starting up again.

I did a lot of walking in China and a few short runs and quit strength training altogether for a few weeks. I drank at banquets and ate way more for dinner than usual. That said, I also ate very little during the day, drank lots of water and Chinese tea. I returned to Thailand only 1.5kg heavier than when I left, and after a week, am now back on track.
This is because I am determined to be stronger than anyone else in the group I’m leading, able to carry more and feel better at altitude by mid-July. Today I went to Doi Intanon, just South of Chiang Mai where I spend the Winter in Thailand. Intanon is Thailand’s highest point at 2,560m and climbing steps in the park near the summit, I felt winded. It reminded me that I still have a long way to go before I reach my fitness goals this Summer.

This week I re-started my runs at a duration and intensity that was about 30% lower than 6 weeks earlier, but by the end of the week, I was exceeding my previous targets. This Saturday I did double my usual 9k loop at a 7 min/km pace. Keep in mind that I am still 5kg above my target weight. What motivates me is being able to perform under the most difficult conditions, such as evacuation, where I may need to help carry someone or their gear off the mountain.

Which brings me to an important point: if you think that you can start training in May or June for a July climb, prepare to be very disappointed. As someone who has trained extensively for numerous high altitude climbs and guided the unprepared, I can tell you that your experience will be similar to being thrown into the sea while not being able to swim. You will struggle, feel panicky, become a distraction for your team and probably need to be sent back to Lhasa, if not your home country. It will be an embarrassing experience that will leave a lasting feeling or regret.

DO NOT WAIT – BE PREPARED FOR THE CHALLENGE AHEAD!

WEEK 13: BASE CAMP
By this time, you should be jogging for 50 minutes at a 60-75% pace. This should exclude a 5 minute warm-up and cool down.

For strength training, you should be comfortable with 3 x 10 of the following:
30 second wall sits
Walking lunges
Push-ups
Crunches
One-legged squats – stand on one foot with the other foot extended behind you, resting on a bench. Bent your front leg 90 degrees and rise up. If your front knee bends over the front of your toes, bring your front foot forward so that your back leg is more extended. Your front knee should always bend behind your toes, just as with walking lunges.

WEEK 13: ADVANCED BASE CAMP
Make one of your three 50 minute runs at 75% HR pace a 60-65 minute run, while maintaining your HR pace. Continue the resistance exercises from Base Camp at least 3 times this week, adding a 4th set if you can.

You are now only 9 weeks to the Suzhou Half-Marathon. If you continue to follow this training plan, you should be able to finish in 2 hours or less. with this level of fitness, you will be much more likely to summit as a team in July.

INVITATION: I will train for 3 days on Doi Intanon for those who wish to join me after Chinese New Year. The schedule is open, but will be a long weekend, hiking up from the base with full provisions on a Saturday morning, reaching the Summit by late afternoon and hiking down to camp at the National Park headquarters. Sunday will be another hike to the Summit and a full day hiking around a summit circuit before descending back down to base for pickup in early evening.

I would really like to see our Thai team members at Doi Intanon for the next long weekend in March.

Stay healthy and have a Happy Chinese New Year!

Chris

I’m in China this week, which means lots of meetings and late night dinners. So I’ve missed a few days of exercise. To be honest, once I fall out of my practice, it’s hard to re-start, so I’ve just consigned myself to shorter easier maintenance runs, where I am not even measuring results. I feel it’s important to take days off when my schedule is hectic, rather than force myself to get out.

In preparation to summit a big mountain, we spend more time resting and acclimating than actually climbing, so there’s no harm in taking a deserved rest. It allows you to come back stronger and allows nagging injuries to heal. I found that running this week that my calf which really bothered me a couple of times on longer runs, did not give me any trouble at all. As long as I don’t miss more than a week, I find that I can come back nearly where I left off on my training.

WEEK 8: BASE CAMP
This week you will increase your three 30-minute jogs at a 75% HR max pace to 35 minutes. If you find this increase difficult, I recommend you focus more on extending the time at a slightly slower pace rather than keeping your HR at 75%, though you should not have difficulty maintaining this minimum. If you are a little over the HR target, don’t worry about it.

Continue strength training, adding 3 sets of abdominal crunches as follows: lay on your back with knees bent 45 degrees. With your arms folded across your chest, lift your upper body just off the ground a few inches – do not strain your neck and maintain even breathing. Keep your eyes focused up, not ahead of you. Keep your chin off your chest. Hold this position for 30 seconds then rest for 30 seconds and repeat two more times.

WEEK 8: ADVANCED BASE CAMP
All three of your 40 minute runs at 75% HR pace should increase to 45 minutes, while maintaining your HR pace. Continue the two resistance exercises from Base Camp at least 3 times this week, adding crunches as above.

You are now less than 5 months to the Suzhou Half-Marathon. If you continue to follow this training plan, you should be able to finish in 2 hours or less. with this level of fitness, you will be much more likely to summit as a team in July.

Jia you!

Chris

My friend Arlene Blum is the first woman to summit Annapurna, one of the world’s most dangerous and difficult 8,000+ meter peaks. A biochemist by training, she’s since become a crusader for removing cancer-causing chemicals in the manufacture of furniture, carpeting and children’s clothing. Arlene is a remarkable person who has lectured and written about leadership and in one interview in FastCompany over 10 years ago, she talked about the importance of “the last 5%”, which it crucial to success in reaching your goals.

Arlene’s metaphor of climbing a mountain to illustrate the challenge of personal or organizational leadership is powerful and I recommend everyone read her interview. Here’s an excerpt:

“In so many of the things we do in life – from projects at work to household chores to climbing a mountain – we find reasons not to do the last 5%. With a Himalayan expedition, you spend years raising funds, you travel all the way to Nepal, you carry loads between camps for six weeks. Then, finally, it’s summit day and you’re hours from the top – but it’s too cold, it’s too steep, or you’re too tired.
“I’ve been so successful in my climbing because I usually haven’t turned back during that final, exhausting 5%. Making it to the top isn’t about a final sprint; it’s about maintaining your rhythm – even if that rhythm is five breaths for every one step. That kind of focus means that you’re more likely to have the energy to deal with unforeseen challenges – and less likely to lose sight of why you’re climbing the mountain in the first place.”

You can read the full interview with Arlene here.

In your training this week, remember the last 5%, and keep focused all the way through to the end. If you need to slow down, that’s OK, but finish what you start.

WEEK 7: BASE CAMP
This week you will increase your three 30-minute jogs at a 65% HR max pace to 75% pace. By this time, you should have a heart rate monitor (watch) to track your progress. For strength training, continue your wall sits and lunges 3 times this week.

WEEK 7: ADVANCED BASE CAMP
Build at least two of your 30 minute runs 40 minutes at 75% HR max pace. Continue the two resistance exercises from Base Camp at least 3 times this week. The lunges are a great post-run exercise that builds flexibility as well as strength.