It has been a while since our last blog entry, so I figured I should post an update on our efforts. As of today (July 30, 2009), we've raised over $11,000 for the OI Foundation. That's great! Just a little more and we'll reach our goal! In the meantime, Dad and I have been focusing on our training. We meet once a week at Vestavia Hills High School to climb stadium stairs and generally abuse ourselves for an hour. I have now discovered that climbing stairs for 30 or 45 minutes is one of my least favorite activities, second only to waiting in line at the DMV. Unfortunately, stair climbing and hiking steep hills are the best things we can do to build leg strength and endurance. We will also be visiting Oak Mountain State Park multiple times in the next couple of months, and probably making our visits to the high school stadium more frequent.
I occasionally find myself feeling less than motivated, particularly on nights when I've had to work late and the prospect of hiking around the neighborhood with my boots on is daunting. I keep trying to remind myself that we are almost there and if I can keep pushing myself, it will pay off. I'm hoping to crank the training up a notch in the next month and get in better shape. Keep your fingers crossed, friends and family! I need all the good vibes I can get.
As of last week, we have officially registered (and paid) for our climb. Dad and I have also completed our vaccines and have picked up our medicine for the trip. Now all that remains is for us is to gather our gear and to train, train, train. We have even managed to recruit a friend of mine from Vanderbilt to join us. I'll post more about David later, but the short of it is that he is in very good shape and will have no trouble on the mountain. He is also a doctor, which may come in handy on the mountain (although we hope his services will not be required).
Our blog posts will be more frequent as we get closer to the trip. We will also figure out a means of posting daily updates while we are climbing, so those of you who are interested in following our progress may do so on this website. In the meantime, I want to thank those of you who have offered support and encouragement for this endeavor. We are very excited about the trip and looking forward to doing our best on the mountain and seeing how far we go! more later. Anna
Post a Comment