Diamox part 2, Malvern Hills & will all this fit into my rucksack?

This week we have decided to try "the other" Diamox, meaning the tablets I got as opposed to the bright orange capsules Paul did. After that w

e went for a trek in Malvern Hills. The day started fairly bright with an occasional light shower. We didn't encounter any rain on the hills but the wind was very, very strong and on several places I saw myself flying away towards Hereford, it was so difficult to stand on the ground.

The trek was approximately ten to eleven miles, very hilly (as you'd expect :)) but pleasant. We started in the car park under the North Hill and then went through the Worcestershire Beacon to the British Camp and then back. We didn't do the full walk over all the hills purely because of the fact there isn't any direct transport back to Great Malvern.

We tried our Buffs, which are a multipurpose headware - you can use it as a bandana, beanie, scarf, balaclava etc. etc. (more information: http://www.buffwear.co.uk/pages/product-info/ways-to-wear.php) Seems very useful although you can end up looking very silly:

And one more picture from the area:

This week there were also a few more parcels for me. I now have all my batteries, all energy bars & gels, contact lenses and a running headband, specially shaped to cover ears. We are also recommended to have some reading materials as there will be plenty of resting time (during the first few days); for this occasion I have purchased a book called "Competitive runner's handbook" which has almost 700 pages and will help me falling asleep fast during the long evenings :-)

So now I've got most of the stuff, I thought - let's try to fit it all in the rucksack. I laid out all the clothing & toiletries & other bits and bobs on the bed and it looked like this:

Lots of stuff but it's a three week trip covering various climates and any possible weather conditions. Then I tried to pack it all in my red rucksack. It did go quite well although when I was trying to put it on my back and carry around afterwards, I have almost fallen backwards... I am glad my Camelbak Commander (daypack) is quite roomy and I will be able to accommodate some more stuff there. I just need to check what luggage weight allowances we actually have for the flights!!!

Another good news is that I am (after all) getting my (swine) flu jab! I got a call from the nurse earlier this week asking me if I still wanted the jab and if so, could I please come in on Tuesday morning? :-) Wonderful. It will cost me ten quid - I guess they realised they could at least earn a few quid as these will be soon discontinued anyway...

Less than three weeks to go!

Diamox party anyone? How about a nice 10-mile walk?

Time for partying? Not yet. But my GP recommended to try one of the Diamox (Acetazolamide) tablets (that are used to prevent the altitude sickness) to see if I have any bad reactions to it. The list of side effects is quite impressive (in a bad way) so we both (Paul and me, not the GP) thought it would be quite a good idea to try one and see how it goes.

Paul got his prescription sooner than me (also his GP prescribed him 28 pcs, mine only 10. Are the GPs in West Bromwich just more generous?) so we tried one capsule (apparently Diamox comes in different shapes and textures too) each on Monday evening. And then we went to play squash... I regret that there wasn't anybody to take a video of us :). Paul claimed his fingers tingled (which is one of the side effects) and my throat had a weird metallic taste (another side effect) but we were not sure if we were just making these up (just a plain common paranoia) or if they were real. In any case our game was a bit of a comic tragedy starring a giggling five-year old (me), dizzy cows running around the field (both of us) and one very crappy performer (you see, Paul is usually very good in squash so he had to blame the bad game on something :-P). What a show though! Still giggling just thinking about it.

In summary we didn't experience any bad reactions which is a good thing as Diamox could be the trick up our sleeve to win the battle with altitude.

As a part of training we went for a nice ten mile walk this Friday. First we drove to Worcester where we left the car and took a train (had to wait for it for three quarters of an hour!!!) to Droitwich Spa. Our goal was then - yes, you got it right - to walk back to Worcester. We were following the canal walk (once we found the canal, you wouldn't believe how difficult it could be :)) which was not very physically demanding and a little bit dull (I do have this feeling that when we face the dullness of the higher stages of Kili, we will be happily recalling the memories of the neverending grass and lines of water plants though) but the weather was foul which was great. I mean, it was raining and normal average person would describe the weather as foul, but we were happy to be able to try our kit! Btw. I now know I am definitely not a rain stopper :-D.

The walk along the canal was a long drag, interesting at times, boring at others, then we left the route and hopped across some fields to join Northwick heritage walk along the river Severn. This eventually led us to Worcester, although the directions were not quite clear and at times not very useful either. I mean, what would you imagine under the term "elegant pump house"? And that's only if you actually know what a pump house is? The ugly building we eventually came across wasn't elegant at all and if there wasn't a big sign saying it was the pump house we wouldn't know anyway.

So after something like four, four and half hours, lost and found on several occasions, confused (both), tired (me a lot, Paul slightly), with a sore hip (me) but otherwise happy and ok, we got back to Shrub Hill train station in Worcester, got into the car and drove back home :)) Great experience and our kits are waterproof - tried and tested, yay! My hip is recovered too and I managed to walk three miles to War Memorial Park this morning, run 3 miles there and then walk another 3 back home without any big pains or problems! 27 days to go!!!

Am I a rain stopper?

Last week while reviewing the shopping list for Kili I realised I've never had a real chance to try how waterproof all the waterproof clothing I bought so far actually is. I mean, it did rain since December last year when I bought my jacket and boots, but either I was at home/at work/other indoors at that time or the rain wasn't hard enough to test the properties of my kit properly. So I told myself to actively look for an opportunity to get outside when there is a real proper rain.

The first chance presented itself just the next day. After I woke up from my afternoon nap on Saturday, I've noticed it was raining outside and it wasn't just a drizzle. Not a heavy shower either but acceptable for my purpose. And I needed to go to the supermarket anyway. So I dressed up into my jeans and put the waterproof overtrousers on them, put on my hiking boots and covered myself in the waterproof jacket. Ready to go, out of the house, two steps and... it had stopped raining. Nevermind I thought, the clouds were still there, it would rain again. Unfortunately after a few more steps I realised I wouldn't be able to go on in the overtrousers which were just too hot to wear with jeans. I had to return home and left them there. That didn't matter at all as there wasn't any more rain for Saturday...

Since then similar scenario had repeated itself during the week several times including this morning. I was preparing to go to War Memorial Park for my every Saturday's park run and I was actually happy about the rain because not only I could test the waterproofness but I would also do a six mile walk to and from the park in my hiking boots! No need to say that it stopped raining in just about a minute after my set off. Fortunately it was fairly cold so the overtrousers and the jacket were wearable (and bearable) and keeping me warm. There wasn't any rain during the three hours I was out although it did start again after my return home...

Makes me think - am I a rain stopper?

Funnily enough, just yesterday I bought another waterproof jacket - lightweight one - as we both agreed that our North Face jacket (although three season type) is just too warm for anything above 15 degrees Celsius. If my rain stopping ability is real, we will hopefully not need it :-D

Some more physical shopping has been done yesterday - wide brim hat, spare laces, high SPF lip balm, the already mentioned jacket, more socks, fleece etc. etc. - and some more online shopping too - couldn't resist to by a swimming suit named "O Beach Zanzibar" (on sale too, so not a very difficult buying decision) :-) All this shopping was a great excuse to do a little stocktake so I pulled all my stuff out of the drawers and had a good look at what I have. Surprisingly I have found out I could use some of my running stuff as base layers so that ticked more stuff off the list too! With only five weeks to the departure it was just about the time to get the list shrinking!

What have I done?!

That's a question I've been asking myself all the way back from Abingdon where we went to visit Chris today. Chris climbed Kilimanjaro at the end of February this year and reached the summit on the 1st of March! Paul and me went to see him and ask him questions about our forthcoming trip and to just meet somebody who achieved something amazing!

Now, I know that this adventure won't be easy and I read a few books about trekking Kili and am aware of all the risks involved. The thing is, reading it in the book and hearing it from somebody real and physical are two different issues. And hearing how sick you can get, what does it feel when you can't breathe and move, has kind of sent me from my dreamy cloud back to the Earth. I admit I started to panic a bit for a minute, thinking why am I spending so much money for something that can cause my death? But Chris also said something else - you need to take these things as they come. You want to reach the summit, that's for sure, but if you can't because of the altitude sickness, you will still have an extraordinary experience of being in Africa and being on Kili.

I didn't think that I would change my mind now - after all the balance of the trip is paid, the visa, insurance and vaccinations are sorted - it just made me think a bit more about our mortality and about our dreams that we want to achieve. Meeting Chris was very inspirational and apart from the altitude sickness troubles there are so many positives and apparently it's one of the best things that have happened in Chris's life.

Btw. Chris is currently training for the Great British Bike Ride which is over 320miles long cycling route from Land's End to Twickenham Stadium. Chris is raising money for Help for Heroes, the RPA Benevolent Fund and the RFU Injured Players Foundation so if you're able, please support him here.

So what now? First of all, do something about my fitness. Although I've been running fairly regularly and even joined a running club (finally!!!), that's about it and I still do occasionally have my back pain issues (I do visit a chiropractor though). Strength exercising is calling again, I guess (I never really last for too long...). I also need to sort out a flu jab - funnily, it's one of the recommended vaccinations but my doctor or nurse didn't mention it. When I asked about it, I was told that it would be possible for me to get it but the vials are made for 10 people so basically I need to find 9 more people who want/need flu jab so the vial is not wasted... Is it me or is this some kind of bad joke? Anyway, if you know about anybody who wants a flu jab, you know where to find me :-) And then there is still plenty of stuff to be bought - Malarone pills, Diamox, more base layers (possibly), spare shoes laces, swimming suit, woolly scarf, knee & ankle supports, energy bars etc. etc. The list still seems to be quite long considering we are only 40 days away from the departure... Luckily the pay day is around the corner :-D

In any case, it's all getting very real. Apart from Chris I've met another guy (Mitch) who climbed Kilimanjaro in October last year with his friend Pete (both of them are my co-runners from my new running club!) so there are chances for getting more information and getting more excited (and potentially getting more scared too)... if that's even possible :-)