“Endurance Sports are About Not Quitting”

“Endurance Sports are about Not Quitting”

By Kathleen Lisson

I was reading 'Mastering the Marathon, Time Efficient Training Secrets for the 40 – plus Athlete' by Don Fink and the following sentence captured my interest – “Endurance sports are about not quitting.” Fink has written an excellent chapter on mental training for endurance sports titled ‘Racing Strategies and Mental Approaches.’ He shares that a famous athlete once told him that if a runner doesn’t think about quitting at least three times during a race, they are not running hard enough. Fink also explains his “humble happy warrior” approach, the “relaxation – focus – competitive” approach and tips on using the posting of goals to increase confidence.

My goal isn’t to achieve a certain time, it is to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro, so I am using this poster as a way to ‘post my goals.’

Though I will not be using the strategy of running at different paces during my hike and will have to accommodate the change in altitude, I will definitely use Fink’s top strategy of not going out too fast. I will be excited on the first day of the hike, and will have to remember to hike slowly so I am able to hike, over a series of days, all the way to the top.

Hiking in the Catskills

Hiking in the Catskills

by Kathleen Lisson

Here are a few photos I took on recent Catskill hiking trips. I enjoy living so close to these mountains. Arun and I have spend many weekends together camping and hiking in preparation for Kilimanjaro. When I hike the Catskills, it gives him a chance to spend one day hiking and the other rock climbing.

Gear Review - L.L. Bean Duffel Bag

L.L. Bean Adventure Duffel Medium - Hot Coral

by Kathleen Lisson

LL Bean Adventure Duffel

I bought both the medium and large duffel bags from L.L. Bean for my upcoming trip to Kilimanjaro. 

I took the medium duffel bag with me on my recent trip to the Junior League Annual Conference in St. Louis. The bag fit into the overhead bin on my Southwest and Delta flights and the waterproofing came in handy while waiting for the MetroLink outside of the airport. 

• POSITIVE: I could load a lot more items in this duffel than would fit in my rolling carry on.

• NEGATIVE: There is more packing space, so be careful to pack a bag that you can still lift and carry through an airport! 

• SOLUTION: I will use a separate folding luggage cart to easily transport both my medium and large duffel bags on my trip to Tanzania.  

I like the memorable color and added my monogram so I could confidently pick my bag out of a pile of bags on a luggage carousel. I will fly to Tanzania with this piece of luggage as my carry on.

The L.L. Bean duffel bag is online here: http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/63912

The Mountains Will Wait for You and Grace Peak in the Adirondacks

The Mountains Will Wait for You

By Kathleen Lisson

I recently watched 'The Mountains Will Wait for You,' the story of Grace Hudowalski of Troy, the first woman to climb all 46 High Peaks of the Adirondack Mountains.

I enjoyed this movie. I like the idea of recording more than just routine weather / route / date / peak information in my climbing diary. The Adirondack 46er page encourages hikers to record "What you saw.  Things you learned.  How you felt.  What the climb meant to you.  Summarize some of your favorite memories, adventures, or misadventures for us."

I bought my copy at the High Peaks Information Center. Find more information about The Mountains Will Wait for You here: http://www.gracepeak.info/home.html

Some 46ers are working to get East Dix renamed Grace Peak. I haven't hiked East Dix yet, so I am looking forward to noting it in my hiking journal as 'Grace Peak.'

The fact that the Adirondack 46ers started in Troy, NY is one more reason I am proud to live in Troy! 

Find out more about the Adirondack 46ers here: http://adk46er.org/

Catskill 3500 Hike Review - Slide, Cornell, Wittenberg

Catskill 3500 Hike Review - Slide, Cornell, Wittenberg 

by Kathleen Lisson

Arun and I began at the end of this weekend's hike by camping at the Woodland Valley Campground. We camped spot #47, right next to the trailhead sign and directly across from the day-use parking lot.

Trailhead at Woodland Valley end of hike

Bridge at Woodland Valley end of hike

We drove to the other end of the trail and left one car at the Slide Mountain Parking Area on Oliverea-Frost Valley Rd. / C.R. 47, then climbed Slide, Cornell and Wittenberg mountains before descending to our campsite at Woodland Valley.

3500 Foot Mark at Slide Mountain

Plaque at Slide Mountain Summit

 Lessons Learned:

• BUG SPRAY - I did use my bug face net on the summits, but I forgot to put bug spray on my socks and legs and now I have a rash above my ankles from bug bites. Luckily, I took a shower immediately after the hike and discovered the rash. I put bug bite ointment on my legs before dinner. 

• EATING - I ate on all three summits. My husband didn't eat on Wittenberg and he ended up asking me for a snack to keep up his energy on  the long descent. 

• FOOD - We stopped in Phoenicia for breakfast and bought some good trail treats from Mamma's Boy Coffee Shop. 

• SHOWERS - A campsite hike is the best! I was able to walk straight to the showers. I felt like a new woman after my shower and was ready to relax and enjoy dinner. 

The campsites at Woodland Valley campground:

BAD - feel very close together, there is not a "secluded in the woods" feeling,

GOOD - but the campground was at the trailhead and alongside Woodland Valley Stream.

Catskill Mountain Guide

I used the Catskill Mountain Guide to guide me on this hike. The book has an excellent trail map in the back cover and a lengthy description of popular Catskill hikes. I read the description of the upcoming section of trail at each summit.

More Tips from Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook

More Tips from Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook

Salad with multiple foods and food groups

by Kathleen Lisson

I started reading Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook on a flight to St. Louis for the Junior League Annual Convention. The first part of my review is here:

Here are some more tips I picked up:

Page 64 – If you are not hungry for breakfast, you ate too much the night before. 

This was a big A-HA moment for me. I have heard from so many people that they skip breakfast because they are not hungry. Cutting down on food late in the evening might put breakfast back on the table.

Page 101 – Redefine the word ‘snack’ to mean ‘meal.’ Nancy Clark is so right – the word snack (and treat) opens the gate for not-so-nutritious foods to sneak into my diet.  I wouldn’t eat two cups of chips for a “meal,” but as a “snack” it might be OK – just a snack, right? I will start to plan my snacks to include multiple food groups.

Page 106 offers advice for those who suffer from ‘snack attacks.’ My husband and I call this being “hangry” – hungry and angry. I also suffer from low blood sugar if I do not eat, which makes me reluctant and unable to make quality decisions. I will take Nancy Clark’s advice and eat BEFORE I get hungry if I am going to put myself in a situation where I forsee becoming hangry.

Tips from Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook

Tips from Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook

By Kathleen Lisson

Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook

I chose Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook as the book I took with me on the plane ride to the Junior League Annual Convention in St. Louis. 

Wow, was this book a treasure trove of information. Here is the first tidbit I wrote down:

Eat a Wide Variety of Foods

Page 4 of the book brought a challenge to write down 35 different types of foods that I eat in a given week. It took a few minutes to complete my list and I began to realize that it would take a thoughtful effort to ensure that I brought all these nutritious foods to my diet.

Occasionally I will find myself in a ‘food rut,’ consuming the same cereal night after night or pasta and pesto for lunch several times a week. The key takeaway I found was – Diversity!

I will rotate the vegetables and fruits I use in my smoothies and eat more colorful salads.

My food list is:

Almond, apple, asparagus, avocado, banana, black beans, blueberries, bok choy, broccoli, carrot, celery, chia, cod, corn, cottage cheese, edemame, egg, garbanzo beans, green beans, kale, kidney beans, lemon, melon, milk, mint, oats, onions, orange, pear, peanut butter, peas, pineapple, popcorn, quinoa, rice, salmon, strawberries, spinach, sprouts, tofu, tuna, tomatoes, walnuts, watermelon, yogurt and zucchini. 

Nancy Clark has a great tip for using all-natural peanut butter. If the peanut butter separates into oil and solid, just store the jar upside down. 

Here is a review from Linda S. Caley, MS, RD, CEDR on Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook: http://blog.nancyclarkrd.com/2014/03/12/book-review-nancy-clarks-sports-nutrition-guidebook-5th-edition-2014/

Adirondak Loj and Wilderness Campground at Heart Lake

Where to camp in the Adirondacks near Lake Placid, Mount Marcy

by Kathleen Lisson

Let's get the conflict of interest out of the way - I am a member of ADK.

I just loved camping at the Wilderness Campground at Heart Lake on Memorial Day weekend. My husband and I wanted to hike the Adirondack High Peaks and test our camping gear for our upcoming trip to Kilimanjaro. 

We drove up after work on Friday and camped in tent space #7, which was close to a water spigot and the washrooms. 

My tips:

• Book breakfast in advance, when you reserve your campsite. This was the best part of the vacation for me! 

• Shower after you finish your hike. Women were complaining about cold water in the morning. 

• DO choose a trail lunch. The Marcy bars are amazing! 

• If you have a shorter hiking day and will be back before 7 p.m., make a reservation for dinner at the Loj. 

• If you will be hiking later, you can make dinner at your campsite (observe bear precautions) or shower and drive to Lake Placid for dinner. 

• Visit the great room / living room at the Loj to plan your hikes every morning. I love the atmosphere. 

How to Identify Birds and Trees in the Catskills and Adirondacks

How to Identify Birds and Trees in the Catskills and Adirondacks

by Kathleen Lisson

As I spend more of my weekend days hiking in the Catskills and Adirondacks, I am starting to realize how much there is to discover about the birds and trees of the forest. I bought a copy of the Birds of New York Field Guide with the accompanying CD last year and listened to the CD in the car during my commute. When I heard a bird singing in my backyard and recognized the song from the CD, I was hooked! 

When reading other hiker’s trail reports, I come face to face with the fact that I don’t know much about the trees in New York, either. I grew up in California, where we had a palm tree in the backyard. I feel excited and more connected to nature when I come back from a hike and pick out the trees I saw alongside the trail from my copy of the Trees of New York Field Guide.

Both The Trees of New York Field Guide and the Birds of New York Field Guide are by Stan Tekiela and available on Amazon. Tekiela’s website is here: http://www.naturesmart.com/

Christian Noble shows how to identify trees in the forest in this Youtube video: http://youtu.be/6_GIHFED6a4