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 :-)