Practice makes Perfect

Today Brian joined me for joint training session.  We each completed a full gear on air practice run using the Stair Mill machine.  69 Floors.

We depart for Seattle next Friday and will likely only get one more full practice run in before next Wed.  Light workouts for Thursday and Friday with Saturday off.

Brian completed 69 Floors in 18:05... a blazing run.  When he finished he was barely breathing hard and looked like he could have easily gone another 20 floors.

My time was a personal best for 69 Floors on the Step Mill.  I finished in 21:15 with no low air alarms for either bottle used.  I felt good, not great, but good.  My pace was a bit off early and once again I had some trouble staying focused around floors 50-60.  All in all a good training day as I felt worn but not worn out.  Taking time this afternoon to hydrate and stretch a bit.

My Brother Tom joined us today so he could practice his air bottle changing routine.  He handled it well and we breezed through the change over like a NASCAR pit crew.

At Lunch we were joined by my oldest son Stephen.  Stephen, also a volunteer fire fighter suggested that the night before the climb we should be sure to consume several pints of Guinness beer as a carb loading strategy.  He also felt that the well documented medical benefits of Guinness for your heart health warranted strong consideration for this progressive training strategy.   I think we will save having a pint for after the climb; but we all appreciated his sincere recommendation.

Fire Fighter slang of the day

10 Minute Mike:  A 10 minute Mike is a fire fighter that gives you 10 minutes of really hard work on the fire ground but runs out of steam and ability to work quickly.  The result of being a bit out of shape. 

See you at the Top!

John