I am less then two months away from my Everest expedition. The emotions are from thrill to panic thinking of the challenge ahead. I saw this amazing 4bn pixel photo of the south side of Everest posted on the Guardian. It is fascinating and scary at the same time. I’ll be climbing this beauty (from the North side) in two months!

There are various opinions on what you got to do to be ready for climbing Mt Everest. There is no single ‘prescription’ for that. Probably the best and the most thorough training plan I saw on Allan Arnette’s blog site: <Training for Everest>

Another interesting article on training for a big mountain I saw by Ed Viesturs: INSIGHT ON THE MOTIVATION BEHIND PREPARATION

My training for Everest began three years ago, climbing other peaks. Since then, I already climbed and summited  two 8,000-ers. There is no better training and test of your endurance, especially in high altitude, as climbing itself. However, regular training, gym exercising, etc is also important before each climb. Due to the nature of my work (I have to travel a lot), I do not always have the best conditions for training. However, I usually adapt to a new environment  and find a way to get the necessary training.

I am into my final training and preparations. My New Year schedule is rigorous: I get up at 5 am for my 2 hrs morning exercise routine. I run 14 to 18 km, do my stretching, rope jumping, etc. By 7:00 AM I am done and getting ready for work. After work, I am back to my training routine – 2 hrs yoga class or a soccer game or swimming.  Some days twice a week, get on my stair master and do weight lifting. Week-ends, I spend a day trekking with an over 20 kg back pack or skiing and a day to rest.

There is no gym near where I live so I have to make use of what I have, including a skipping rope and a cheap 70 euro stair machine, but it does the job.

There are a couple of scary things about running and working out near my home. One is the dark streets and the second is crazy Italian drivers, that seem to aim for people trying to cross the street and us runners.

My schedule is very rigorous and painful. However, I believe that this is what it takes (at least for me) to get ready for the Big E. I have to do all I can to get ready physically and mentally for this upcoming challenge.  I am not taking Big E lightly so I have no regrets latter!

Here are some of my work outs (detailed routes when you click on map images):

I ran for 1:34:45 plus 5:15
17.22 km plus 1.2 km warm up…
1,039 plus calories burned
Feb 27
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I ran for 1:48:53

18.14 km
1,082 calories burned
Feb 24
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I ran for 2:35:33

26.22 km
1,567 calories burned
Feb 17
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I ran for 1:56:55

20.68 km
1,243 calories burned
Feb 15
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I ran for 1:55:34
20.73 km
1,248 calories burned
Feb 13
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I ran for 1:56:36
20.21 km
1,212 calories burned
Feb 10
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I ran for 2:01:36
21.37 km
1,283 calories burned
Feb 08
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Rain and hail and thunder this morning…
I ran for 1:15:50
13.12 km
787 calories burned
Feb 06
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I ran for 2:31:14
25.71 km
1,538 calories burned
Feb 03
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I ran for 1:46:07

17.74 km
1,058 calories burned
Jan 31
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I ran for 2:20:26
23.49 km
1,402 calories burned
Jan 26
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I ran for 1:47:11
18.40 km
1,102 calories burned
Jan 24
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I ran for 1:42:09
17.24 km
1,030 calories burned
Jan 23
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I ran for 1:24:40
14.52 km
869 calories burned
Jan 15
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I ran for 1:38:27
16.04 km
954 calories burned
Jan 13
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I ran for 1:11:46
12.36 km
740 calories burned
Jan 11
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I ran for 1:20:41
14.07 km
844 calories burned
Jan 09
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I ran for 1:41:76
17.26 km
Jan 06
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I ran for 1:21:14
13.47 km
803 calories burned
Jan 05
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