The Real Work Begins Here In Verbier

Now that is April 2nd, I am supposed to focus on having a very rigid training schedule, eat healthily, not drink any alcohol, caffeine and pretend I am a star athlete preparing for an international slam!

Reality is not very near that, I'm afraid.  I have two cups of coffee when I wake up or I won't wake up (nothing for the rest of the day, though, except green tea).  I am having a very large glass of wine with dinner (how can you possible eat fondue without one?!) and the food is whatever is there but in large quantities. Pig and cheese rule here in the mountains and if you decide you want to go on the Paleo diet, you'll lose so much weight since you won't be able to eat anything and you'll end up being accused of suffering from anorexia nervosa.

You are supposed to lose between 5 - 12 kilos during this Everest challenge and I have struggled to put on half a kilo. Why is that?  I have no idea.  I think partially since I have a fast metabolic rate anyway, and probably because all this intense exercise has increased that rate even further. It's supposed to be fun to stuff yourself but in reality it's not.  Enjoying every mouthful of your meal is one thing, being a glutton is just gross. I am a big eater but normally stop when stuffed, unless a food challenge is involved, which in itself is also gross!

Embarking on a strict training schedule is also incredibly anti-social.  I was thinking about meeting up with a couple of friends last night but by 7pm was already ready to read my book and go to bed!
This is also specially difficult when you know that some friends are just five minutes away enjoying music, copious amounts of alcohol, and having a great time while you are just completely knackered and are in your pajamas and socks like Grandma!

The weather here in Verbier is also not very inspiring.  It's very cloudy, snowy/rainy, cold with flat light and a high avalanche warning.  It always seems to snow quite a lot towards the end of the season, which is fine if there is some sunshine. It also makes trudging up the mountain in snow shoes more tiring than one would like.

This is the recommended training schedule daily:

Ascend 1000 meters/Descend 1000 meters
Hour of conditioning/strength training
Stretching/Steam

You are also supposed to drink a lot of water to get used to drinking 5-6 litres of water in Everest daily to combat altitude sickness.  It makes being caught in the middle of nowhere a little worrying when your bladder is bursting, since you are afraid to go for a pee in case an aggressive skier decides to run you over!

I guess being middle aged and creaky does not help.  Plus it can get quite dull just doing the mileage so audio books and a good shuffle play list are a must.  It takes the whole day to do the routine and tiring in altitude but I keep reminding myself that I shall be on Everest before the end of this month!