My Quads Hurt...

I am a pretty naturally athletic person. I usually don't have to work too hard to be active. But then again I will be turning thirty-three the week after my climb. It's that time in my life I suppose where I need to start actually working at being active. I suppose the greatest birthday gifts are the ones you yourself work the hardest for.

Training your body to exceed its natural limits and tendencies is both motivational and exhausting. With my new job and hectic schedule I can fully admit that I could have probably done more but I did my best. Deep down I know that I will be fine either way. But it's good to feel you need to work a situation from every angle.

And worked it I have. I have worked in everything from Hot Yoga every week to attending a rock climbing gym in Brooklyn. Daily exercises on my living room floor while I watched the last season of Lost. I have gone rollerblading in Central Park so much over the past couple of months that the wheels on my blades have completely warn away. I have even run up and down the three flight of stairs in my apartment building about a billion times with my pack loaded. What was it loaded with? A bunch of old hardcover books, a Winnie -the -Pooh stuffed animal and an old 1940's telephone weighing about -40 lbs. From that I can gather you are thinking two things. 1). I hate gyms. 2). My neighbors think that I am nuts. Both of which would be correct.

Will it be enough? I don't know. I have never climbed a mountain before.

But there is something that I do know about myself. It won't matter. Because when I get excited about something that spring of happiness comes from within-like a child opening their gifts at Christmas. Once it realizes where it is at-my body will remember the training that it had and find a way.