Life begins at 40 ??

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From: summitdreams.blogspot.com

If ever there was a lie as great as "life begins at 40" then I want to know what that lie is ! If my life began at 40 then the prior 39 years - a childhood, the army, unemployment, a marriage, a divorce, two children, two grandchildren, a lot of happiness and an equal amount of grief didn't happen. They did ! If my life began at 40 then, as a recent addition to the 50's club, I should be leaping around the hills and valleys of North Wales like a 10 year old. I am not !

In less than a year I am intending to haul myself around Bolivia for three weeks and climb four bloody big mountains in the process. Before setting off on this high altitude, low oxygen adventure, I quite obviously need to attain a minimum level of fitness. Said minimum fitness level is required to ensure that I manage to complete the planned adventure and raise some serious funds for good causes without doing some serious damage to my brain, my body or - more importantly given that I am already old, short AND bald - my bloody fragile ego !!

The problem is that I have no idea what "minimum level of fitness" is actually required. There is a BIG difference in the level of fitness required for winter climbing in North wales when compared to winter climbing in Scotland. Why ? The much bigger distances covered on the walk-ins, and the longer length of the climbing routes themselves. Set off on a mountaineering jolly in the Swiss Alps and you step up yet another level. One needs to be even fitter than for climbing Scotland. Not only are the routes longer, they are also tackled at a much higher altitude - the Alps are no place to discover that you can barely climb the stairs !

So, how do I find my level. At what sort of intensity should I be training at now, in 6 weeks, in 6 months, and just before I set off on my travels ? Anyone have any ideas ?

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