5 days 'til Half Dome. Here's an interesting bit of info: 100 Classic Hikes in Northern California calls the Half Dome hike "The Burn".

I went to REI last night and picked up some National Geographic topos for Yosemite SW (which includes HD) and the Tahoe Basin (for the Tahoe Rim Trail). They're pretty nice maps, but cost $10 apiece. They're pretty sturdy and should hold up to repeated abuses on the trail.

It's Cardio Day(TM)!

This afternoon I jogged my normal route (2.5 miles), stopping mid-way at the park for sprints. 10 15-second sprints, each separated with a 60-second rest. This was also my first jog wearing the heart rate monitor, I was about 156 during the jog. I peaked at 174 on the 9th or 10th sprint, and went back to 156 when jogging again.

My legs are feeling it this afternoon.

The countdown has begun... Rob Christian (my pastor), Bob Copp, and myself are climbing Half Dome in Yosemite in 6 days. What is Half Dome? Here, look at one of the most famous pictures in the world, taken by Ansel Adams.





A bit of background: back when I started my weight loss and becoming healthy, I was trying to find a goal to achieve. Sure, a certain amount of weight by a certain date was a good goal, but I wanted something concrete.

Then on the Tivo Community Forum, a woman posted about this same hike. It was at just the right time, so that became my goal.

Half Dome isn't for the faint at heart. It's 8 miles one way (16 miles round trip). It's uphill the whole way up, and if you know anything about hiking, you know that means your knees will be feeling it the whole way down. The last portion of the hike is up a 45% grade that you literally pull yourself up cables to reach the top of. You spend a good 12 hours up there, and much of the hike is exposed to the sun. You need plenty of water, which means plenty of weight.

I made camping reservations back in January for the Upper Pines campground, across the street from the Happy Isles trailhead. We're all extremely excited about going up.

This is why I've been working out every day, making sure I have squats & lunges in every workout I do. When I started I didn't have much upper body strength, which I'll need for the ascent up the cables. I feel pretty confident now that while it's going to be difficult, I can make it.

So again: 6 days left!

Today's workout wasn't too bad. They ordered pizza at work today, I had none. I won't have pizza again probably for a few months. They just love pizza here at work but unfortunately it doesn't help the weight loss plan much. Anyway, here you go:

Warmup, 30 seconds of each in a circuit, 3 sets
* Jumping jack
* Split jack
* Prisoner squat
* Alternating lunge
* Mountain climber

Workout, alternating sets between exercises 1 & 2, then 3 & 4
* Elevated heels high bar squat, 115lbs, 5 sets of 10
* Cardio ball weighted back extension, 20lbs, 5 sets of 10
* Wide-grip barbell curl, 50lbs on bar (not sure how much bar weighs), 3 sets of 10
* Incline dumbbell triceps extension, 1 set of 10, 1 set of 8 @ 25lbs ea