Tag Archives: Adventures

Finding Spring Again

July 14, 2019 Troy

About a month ago I had the opportunity to head into Northern Minnesota for some camping and exploring with a friend of mine from college. Just getting there was a lot of fun as the further north we drove from the Twin Cities, the more like spring it felt. There are so many things I enjoy as spring begins to transform the winter wonderland into a landscape so full of life. One of those is the scent of crabapples in full bloom. They’re beautiful to look at but so captivating to smell. Unfortunately their blooming season seems so short so to be able to enjoy this sweet fragrance once again at the Leif Erikson Gardens in Duluth was such a great unexpected treat. Winter held on a little longer this spring delaying these spring flowers a little which worked out extremely well for this trip. In addition to the crabapples, tulips were showing off their vibrant colors while being complimented with the large Lake Superior as a backdrop. I could have spent more time here just enjoying an absolutely gorgeous spring day but there still was a significant distance to go before getting to the days destination in Northern Minnesota.

As the vehicle continued towards the Canadian border along Lake Superior, spring seemed to rewind as the leaves on trees were smaller, earlier flowers were blooming once again, and the air grew cooler. By the time we reached our destination just outside of the Boundary Waters we were greeted with early blooming wildflowers such as Trillium – my favorite spring wildflower I think. It may be a toss up between Trillium and Lady Slipper Orchids. Since I didn’t come across any hardy orchids in bloom in the area I just enjoyed the pure white flowers reaching out above the interesting leaves of these intriguing Trillium grandiflorum. There were also nodding Trilliums in bloom along with a number of other wildflowers. What a great way to start out a weeks trip camping in the North Woods!

Adventure, National Parks, Photos, Troy's Blog

Happy Independence Day!

July 4, 2019 Troy

Wishing Americans a Happy Independence Day!

I’m currently on a hike on Isle Royale celebrating the freedom we enjoy to be able to explore such beautiful places. It’s been an incredible experience and I look forward to sharing some of the highlights with you soon.

National Parks, Photos, Troy's Blog

Getting the Shot–Double Arch

June 29, 2019 Troy

One of my goals while in Moab, Utah enjoying the off road trails and incredible scenery was to photograph the numerous stars visible in the area. And what better way to do that than to include Double Arch in Arches National Park? Actually, after getting this shot I think it was more like photographing Double Arch at night with stars in the background. That was more of my intent was to get a beautiful picture of Double Arch. I’ve been fascinated with this humongous rock formation ever since I came across a picture of it. It takes just the right natural forces to create an arch but imagine what it takes to create a double arch? I know there’s even a triple arch but I haven’t seen that yet so my fascination will have to remain with this natural wonder at this time.

When I first spotted Double Arch it was from Turret Arch a little ways away. I was amazed at how large it actually was in person and how interesting the formations and colors are. Just look at how the wholes dwarf all of the people exploring it down below. Definitely a great subject to photograph.

In order to set up this shot I first began to imagine the shot and research it weeks before ever traveling to Moab. Once there I took some time to scout it during the daylight. It’s so much easier to figure out the composition when you can see where you’re going and can easily see the subject as well. If you look on the lower right side of the photo above you can see me crouched down looking towards the arches. I was told it appeared as though I was trying to sneak up on the arches. I can see that. What I’m actually doing was looking at different compositions. In the picture below you can see what it looked like from that spot.

I continued to move around taking pictures until I found what I thought would be a great place to set up once the sun went down. Eventually I settled on this location you see below. Now all that was left was to come back after dark and set up the camera with the correct settings. Once nightfall arrived a few days later, it was back to Arches for some nighttime photography. There were a few people here and there but almost everyone had left for the day leaving this beautiful rock structure all to ourselves. With the help of a friend to shine the flashlight around I setup the camera on a tripod with a remote shutter and began taking shots fine tuning my focus and composition. Once these were where I wanted them I extended the length of my shutter to take longer exposure pictures to capture as much of the night landscape as possible which led to the picture at the top. Many pictures that provide some great interest take time to put together.

Exploring, Jeep Badge of Honor, Troy's Blog

Photos From the Trail – The Flintstones House

June 23, 2019 Troy

While traveling off road in the back country of Utah, we came around a corner on the trail and there below was Fred and Wilma’s house. We had found the town of Bedrock where the Flintstones must have lived. The first thing that stands out is what appears to be an entrance with a stone placed on top for the roof. And behind that are several windows through the stone allowing light to enter other areas of the house. I wanted to stop and go explore this great find but there really was nowhere to pull off of the trail safely to do that. Plus we had just begun the Poison Spider trail and didn’t want to find ourselves with a problem later on and be losing daylight if that happened.

Adventures, Jeep Badge of Honor, Troy's Blog

Top of the World

June 1, 2019 Troy

Waking up on our second morning in Moab, Utah there was plenty of excitement to get started on a second challenging trail named Top of the World. This is another trail in the Jeep Badge of Honor off road adventures and rated more challenging than Elephant Hill which was the previous 4 x 4 trail we finished. Being a bit more challenging brought with it a little apprehension. Elephant Hill had some big challenges so an increased difficulty trail may be more than we’re prepared for. So many things can happen while off roading. A major dent in the vehicle from a rock or tree, something breaks on the Jeep, or even tipping over are all concerns and possibilities.

As was starting to feel routine, we pulled into the Top of the World trailhead and began preparing the Jeep for this off road adventure. Things such as airing down the tires to a relatively low tire pressure and unlocking the sway bar to allow those front tires to move independently over the rocks. It was a beautiful morning so removing the tops over the front seats seemed like a great idea allowing some of the outside sights and sounds to reach us. Once all of these preparations where complete we re-entered the Jeep and drove on down the beginning of the trail. The surrounds where just as amazing as the day before with new and different trail experiences such as a creek crossing and steeper and longer rock ledges to climb over.

Still we were able to climb up these ledges without a great deal of difficulty although there was one we passed that we would be going over on the way back down the trail after reaching the top that looked quite precarious and maybe even more dangerous. Not to worry about it now as there was plenty of trail ahead of us to reach the top. Working our way up and over numerous rocks while avoiding trees we continued up the path without a great deal of difficulty. There were some challenging spots along the way creating an increasingly fun adventure. Eventually we rounded a corner and there was the end.

Approaching the final few feet, the view in before us became almost unbelievable. Now we understood why this trail is named Top of the World. That’s what it feels like as you look out over grand vistas of red tinted rock sculptures with snow capped mountains behind them all the while viewing them from the top of a cliff that drops hundreds of feet below to green valleys below. Parking the Jeep near the edge we got out and just stared at this unimaginably beautiful landscape. Definitely a trail worth driving on to get to this overlook. A short time after reaching the top, a group of Jeeps rounded the bend below so we took some pictures and moved off of the edge so that others could have this experience as well.

While walking around these rock ledges we noticed just how much of a drop off it is and how abrupt the edge was and began to wonder how stable these rocks on top are. Finding out was not something of interest. It was at this point we realized just how far we climbed up during the course of this trail nearly 19 mile trail. It didn’t seem like we were increasing in altitude the over 3,000 feet it goes up. It would have been more difficult to leave this overlook but there were plenty of other vehicles and people giving us incentive to begin our decent before there was more traffic slowing down our adventure. So we turned around and took a different route, climbing down the trail back towards the trailhead.

Going down some of these rock ledges was a different experience. It’s one thing when you’re looking up at them but going down you often can’t see how deep they are. This creates a couple of choices to make before venturing down each step. Get out and survey the trail to find your best path or just chance it and begin crawling down them. We chose both of these options at times having become accustom to the characteristics of the Top of the World trail. Typically we able to maneuver over each one without a lot of difficulty. However there was this one spot that caught us by surprise.

We were climbing down and then needed to crawl up a fairly large rock. Coming down was typical of what we were experiencing without any issues. The trail leveled out briefly allowing us to get in position to get up the next large rock surface. One tire was up on the rock and we were working the second front tire when the Jeep began to slide and off the second tire came putting us at a very uncomfortable angle. It felt as though the vehicle was near the tipping point and it was a long ways down if it went. Fortunately we stopped moving buying a little time to attempt getting out of this situation. Working the foot off of the brake to see if we could gently roll backwards towards where we came from worked bringing with it a slight sigh of relief. Putting the Jeep in reverse and ever so slowly letting off of the brake once more we began to crawl back off of this rock and became leveled out once more. With hearts racing we attempted to go back up this rock in front of us with a slightly different position which worked well allowing us to more easily continue on down the trail. The picture below is from a 360 camera which was mounted on the dashboard. Looking at the horizon behind us you can see how much of an angle the Jeep was at. All ended well and we made it back to the trailhead without major incidence. Another adventure filled trail surrounded by the awing sights of Utah!

Exploring, National Parks, Troy's Blog

An Afternoon in Arches National Park

May 18, 2019 Troy 1 Comment

Nestled next to Moab, Utah lies a park which is composed of beautiful rock structures including over 2,000 arches. Even typing this is hard to believe that many arches can be confined to such a relatively tiny area next to the Colorado River. After off roading a nearby trail, my friend and I decided to spend a portion of the afternoon exploring Arches National Park. With so many incredible landscapes surrounding the area, this national park is nothing short of spectacular with it’s natural stone carvings that are larger than life. No wonder so many movies are set with this backdrop. In the photo above you can just make out the South Window Arch near the horizon just right of center. The others are obscured from this point of view. Viewing the park from this vantage point can only be done with some type of off road activity such as hiking, biking, or four wheeling which is what we were doing.

Having spent a good portion of the day in Utah’s back country, I couldn’t imagine seeing anything here that was more impressive. Some of these famous arches that are spread across many books, magazines, and even movies in person was amazing. Being later in the afternoon I was growing tired and was having difficulty in gathering much in the way of energy to really enjoy these sights but it didn’t take long for that to pass once the arches became visible. I don’t believe they were any better than the scenery passed earlier during the day while navigating the Top of the World off road trail (which I’ll be writing about in a future post) but they were a great compliment and equally amazing as those beautiful sights.

To be able to walk right up to several natural sandstone arches, and in several case underneath them, really brought them to life. Their enormity is not easy to grasp from many of the photos I’ve looked at. Standing inside of a few arches allows you to see the details of this sandstone rock and the beautiful patterns carved into them. You just want to reach out and touch it but the arches are just too tall for that so trying to settle for a photograph or two will have to do. Yes, while underneath one of these stone structures you begin to wonder how they can even support the stone overhead and question how much longer will it continue to stand. Will this moment be the one which you find large stones dropping over top? And then you recall these have been standing like this for a very long time and it is not likely they will collapse while you’re underneath.

I took a few moments while standing underneath the North Window Arch to reflect on where I was and what I’ve been fortunate to do and see in the beautiful area. It was peaceful and very humbling to think how fortunate my friend and I were to be able to spend time on such a great adventure creating stories we’ll be able to share for the rest of our lives. Often I feel a sadness fall over me during moments like this because it means the adventure is coming to an end. Not on this day as the realization there were several trails yet to come although I was unsure how they could get any better than what was already explored.

After visiting Arches I watched a few movies filmed in the area and was amazed at the familiar scenery I had just visited in person. That’s one of the fun pieces of traveling to certain areas. Whenever you see them in a TV show, movie, or on the news you can recall your person experiences in that exact spot and what the people were like and how the surrounding areas looked and any particular smells or sounds you may have experienced. You begin to realize what so many people are seeing on the screen is such a small portion, and often an inaccurate representation, of that place.

There were numerous arches all with their own unique appearance making each one worth viewing but the most impressive arch, for me, was Double Arch. I’ll have a full post on that one arch coming up.

Adventures, Jeep Badge of Honor, National Parks, Troy's Blog

Off Roading in Canyonlands

May 12, 2019 Troy

A unique way to explore Canyonlands National Park in Utah is through their off road trails. The Elephant Hill trail runs through the Needles district which is in the southern portion of this beautiful landscape. As with many places in Utah the scenery is amazing. Around many turns or over hills reveal much to see and take in. After entering Canyonlands we needed to stop at the visitor’s center in order to obtain a free permit to travel their off road trail. There are a limited number of those given out each day and my friend and I were lucky enough to obtain one for this beautiful, sunny day.

It was time to hit the trail so we stopped at a pulloff on the way to the trailhead to get the Jeep ready for some rock crawling adventures. In a short time we had the tires aired down and the suspension prepared for the trail. While stopped I had to photograph some of this incredible scenery in this beautiful park. A few minutes more and we were heading to Elephant Hill.

The trail gets right into the difficult portion with steep climbs and sharp turns. There’s no mistaking this for a casual gravel road. In no time at all we had climbed to the top of Elephant Hill and began to wonder what was left for a challenging four wheel vehicle. Fortunately there was plenty more to enjoy. Along the way we took time to park the Jeep and take in the incredible views all around us. The top is relatively flat and extends for a bit of a distance allowing you to look around and see the different rock formations and canyons leading to the reason for this park.

Near the end of this plateau there’s a sign directing vehicles towards the trail. This is the only place there was a sign indicating the trail goes down through here. I found it entertaining that the icon was of a Jeep. Once getting part way down the hill it was obvious why. A sharp turn requiring off road vehicles to back through a portion of the trail along with tight turns while climbing rocks is already challenging enough. To do this with a truck which has a longer wheel base is even more difficult to near impossible. There was a Toyota Tacoma coming up the hill forcing us to wait at the top for awhile as it grappled with these tight turns up steep rocks. More than once we listened to tires screeching as it tried to make it up. Once at the top the driver looked extremely uneasy and glad to have finally made it through proving it is possible. Just not for the faint of heart as we had passed the drivers wife earlier in the trail walking away from this portion unable to watch as the Tacoma struggled to get to the top.

During a portion of the trail we were warned of some tight areas that could lead to damage on vehicles. As we approached one of these we were unsure of being able to make it through. Approaching this tight canyon slowly it became apparent the Jeep would get through with a bit of room on each side but very little opportunity for errors to avoid rubbing against the canyon walls. It was fun to glide through and fortunately the top comes off it we got stuck so we wouldn’t be trapped inside the vehicle.

Canyonlands National Park offers some amazing views with so many different rock formations and colors all around. I could have spent hours just taking in all of these views of the area landscapes studying the different types of rocks and rock formations. But there’s still a lot of trail left and much to see so on down the trail we went.

Much of the trial consists of rock ledges to climb over which aren’t extremely difficult but add to the fun while traveling through this beautiful park admiring the views both up close and off in the distance. Some of those views can become a bit distracting so thankfully accommodates in some places. Otherwise you could stop every few minutes just to look around and never drive the entire trail in one day.

Earlier in the day, while waiting for the Toyota Tacoma to make its way up Elephant Hill, we decided to grab lunch as we had plenty of time before being able to continue on the trail. It was an amazing spot to eat surrounded by all these beautiful rock formations under the big blue sky. Even though lunch consisted of sandwiches, chips, and an apple (so nothing fancy), I would take that every day with cool sunny skies overlooking the canyons instead of eating a warm meal trapped between four walls inside. As the day continued on we enjoyed climbing over numerous rock ledges and dirt roads all the while enjoying views from the top and bottom of the canyons while taking in a few short hikes here and there completing our day at Elephant Hill on the first full trail of an off road adventure.

Adventures, Jeep Badge of Honor, Troy's Blog

Getting to Moab, and the First Trail

April 27, 2019 Troy

Waking up from the last night on a soft bed for several more nights, it was time to grab something to eat, stop at a grocery store to complete the next weeks meals, and hit the road to Moab. It was a cool morning in Cedar City, Utah with fresh snow up in the mountains making for a beautiful landscape. Driving up into those mountains resulted in rain changing over to snow near the summit making for a gloomy drive and yet fun to see a little different weather from desert areas below. After getting over the top and descending the clouds once again began to separate allowing sun to spread across the amazing scenery of Utah.

Continuing east through Utah, the increasing sun highlighted the incredible landscapes that appeared around every corner along with warm up the afternoon temperatures. All of these canyons are why I consider Utah to be National Park central as there are so many in close proximity to one another in this state. We stopped for a brief chance to get out and stretch our legs and take in some of the sights at Devil’s Canyon Overlook just off of Highway 70. Well worth the few minutes it takes to pull off the highway and walk to the Canyon overlook.

Returning to the Jeep and getting back on the highway we were able to soon see the red rock canyons typical of the Moab area. Excitement grew knowing that these were the types of areas we would soon be exploring with the Jeep which had been in the planning for many months and now they were there right in front of us. Arriving in Moab mid afternoon we went straight to the campground to find our spot and set up the tent getting ready to reside here for the next few days. With daylight still left it was time to go see downtown Moab and even scout out the first trail planned for the next day.

A brief scouting of Fins N Things revealed the trail was split into 2 parts, one of which could only be traveled during daylight hours. After a brief discussion about wanting to return to the campsite for food and an evening fire, we decided this first portion of the trail wouldn’t take very long and we would still have time for a nice fire before turning in to prepare for the next day on the trail. The recreation area fee was quickly paid and we were off to a pull out not far away to prepare the vehicle for an off road adventure. Those preparations include removing air from the tires and releasing the sway bar supports which allow the front tires to move freely over rocks.

Twenty minutes later we were taking in our first trail adventure of the week experiencing the fun of off roading in Moab. The difficulty level of this first trail was rated as the easiest of those we were planning on attempting according to the Jeep Badge of Honor app which seemed like a good place to start and learn how to navigate in this terrain. It was a fun portion of the trail with some steep rocks to climb along with some nice rock ledges to traverse. What made this trail so amazing was the setting it was in while climbing up and down these rocks. The landscape all around consisted of beautiful red rocks and snow capped mountains all in the evening sunlight. What a great ending to a travel filled day in this spectacular part of the United States! Next stop: Elephant Hill in Canyonlands National Park.

Adventures, Jeep Badge of Honor, Troy's Blog

Beginning Another Adventure

April 13, 2019 Troy

Recently I returned from the first, in what I hope to be many, adventures off roading in a Jeep. For much of my life I’ve had a really close friend who has owned a Jeep shortly after he could drive. We would would take his Jeeps off roading beginning with fairly easy dirt or gravel roads with a few bumps in them and gradually increasing the trail difficulty to some rock climbing and steep sand trails with a little mudding. Of course the ability of his Jeeps has increased as well to be able to conquer more difficult places. It’s always been fun! In June of 2018 we began discussing the idea of more intense off road adventures but really didn’t know what level of difficulty we were actually up for. After kicking around some ideas of maybe just visiting some National Parks near California and driving their off road trails to what it would take to drive more challenging trails. As the year ended we came across the Jeep Badge of Honor program which highlights over 40 trails across the United States and rates these trails by level of difficulty.

Doing some more research on these trails, we began to focus on Moab, Utah and all of the trails around this town. When this area was first suggested to me I about fell over. It’s kind of like National Park central and I’m always up for exploring another National Park. The more difficult decision was how long to stay in Moab. Different trails came up and finally three were chosen. Not too difficult but enough challenges to see how these Badge of Honor trails work. As we rang in 2019, early April came up as our preferred timeline for some nice weather on average for this adventure but not too busy with people on vacation. Over the next several months we booked accommodations and additional modifications were made to the Jeep for some intense rock crawling among the cliffs and canyons surrounding Moab.

For much of March it seemed as though time was going so slow as I was really looking forward to getting to Utah and experiencing some trails in this scenic area. One day I went in to work only to be asked what time the next day I was leaving for Las Vegas. My quick response was today is going so slow and at the same time there was much to do as I was flying out later that afternoon. This was met with a little surprise and then understanding as I hurried through my list of things to do and headed out once they were taken care of. A few more items to take care of at home and then it was off to the airport for a flight to Las Vegas were I would meet my friend for this new adventure.

Thankfully Delta was playing some movies I hadn’t seen yet taking my mind off of my eagerness to get to Las Vegas a little. I did continue to look out of the window trying to determine where we were. I’ve flown this route enough that I know a number of the landmarks along the way. Unfortunately clouds covered much of the route making tracking the flight more difficult. I know, they show the planes location on the screen attached to the seat in front of me but I really didn’t want to know how far or close we were as I was already impatient enough to endure the length of the flight. At times there were breaks in the clouds allowing me to see some mountains and then Lake Mead appeared. My level of excitement jumped at this spot knowing Vegas isn’t very far away now. Then the plane began its descent. Just before the descent I was able to watch the sun dip below the clouds as sunset arrived signaling the end of the day. We began to descend into the clouds below and a few minutes later the lights of Las Vegas became visible. A few pictures and we were on the ground. Forty-five minutes later I was greeting my friend, climbing into the Jeep and heading towards Utah. A few hours of driving and we decided to find a place to stay bringing an end to the start of the Jeep Badge of Honor adventures. So much more to come!

Gaining Life Experience, Troy's Blog, Twin Cities Adventures

Another Fight for Air

February 24, 2019 Troy

For the third year in a row I decided to participate in the American Lung Associations’ Fight for Air climb in downtown Minneapolis. It didn’t take as long for me to decide to sign up this time as I was motivated to perform at the fastest time I’ve climbed these stairs ever. My goal was to conquer 680 steps in 5 minutes. My best time was over 6 minutes and last year it took me more than 7 minutes to complete all of these stairs. What would it take to achieve 5 minutes? A lot of work with the biggest hurdle being my ability to breath. My lung capacity always has appeared smaller than others affecting my endurance even in high school when I played football. It’s something I’ve struggled with but with hard work and dedication I can improve the ability to breath.

At first my plan was to hike hills and climb stairs as much as I could along with riding my mountain bike. My first ride last fall was somewhat unpleasant as the bike kept reminding me of how inadequate I was to be riding at a fast pace for any length of time and that hills were an obstacle beyond my abilities. I did not take this well but all that told me was how much I really needed to be out on a trail riding the bike as hard as I could as often as time allowed to regain some of the health I’d lost over the previous year. Quitting was worse than the ride I had just completed! But now my goal of 5 minutes seemed really far away too.

Over the next several weeks I continued to get out 3 or 4 days a week either riding or climbing stairs as much as possible and improvement became noticeable which encouraged me to keep working harder, but then Mother Nature decided to weigh in. All of a sudden the ground was coated in ice with a little bit of snow mixed in making it very difficult to continue riding and dangerous to climb stairs. Now what? After a couple of weeks struggling to train it was time to do the thing I wanted to do the least – join a gym! Working out while being in a stationary location seemed absurd to me, but being ready for the climb was a higher priority, so with a month to go it was off to the gym.

Surprisingly I didn’t hate going as much as I thought I would and I was motivated to go. Rotating between the stair machine, stationary bike, and elliptical machine I sweated away trying to work my lungs as much as I could handle. And then one day it was time to enter the water and swim laps. Another activity I despised while listening to others who did laps every week. I’m not a strong swimmer but love snorkeling in the ocean. In a pool there’s no fish or corals or even a shark to motivate me. Have you ever swam with a sea turtle? You don’t realize you’re even working out. Well, until you look up once the turtle has gone and realize how far you need to swim back.

Entering the pool I planned to do 6 laps on this first attempt. Completing my first half of a lap I was breathing pretty hard already. Was swimming really this aerobic? Am I really this out of shape? There are people swimming next to me that just keep going and going – How? Returning to complete the first lap and it was time for a break to catch my breath. Once again how out of shape I must be has confronted me. Eventually I did swim 6 laps, a half a lap at a time, and sat up out of the pool almost completely exhausted. Sitting there staring back into the blue water while an internal struggle commenced – time to take a shower and leave this place, exhausted and a little defeated, or get back in the water and work even harder? Could I even stay afloat now with fatigued muscles? After a minute or two and the life guard continuing to glance my way I re-entered the pool determined to do 1 more lap. That lap completed, after stopping at the halfway point briefly, and then I did another. By this time my body was telling me safety was becoming a bigger concern with being able to stay afloat so I exited and ended my first experience in the pool.

With only a few weeks until the Fight for Air climb I continued to get better but the Stairmaster informed me that 680 steps in 5 minutes was highly unlikely. A little disappointed each week that my performance had not improved more it was time for me to take on this challenge. Unfortunately I had been battling a cold for the past few weeks and on this day it decided to stage a comeback making breathing more difficult once again but it wouldn’t stop me from trying anyway. All I could do was my best.

Getting all checked in and securing my number to my shirt and tag on my shoe it was time for stairs. A few stretches to warm up and my time arrived. Step after step, floor after floor, I could feel the difficulty I was having in breathing and my time was not going to be what I was striving for, but I didn’t stop. I did have to slow down for awhile in order to catch my breath so I could continue on and reach the top at a fast pace. With only 10 floors to go I was struggling to pick up my pace but tried to get going faster again. At that point my cold was really affecting me, causing difficulty to catch my breath, and I could feel my heart pounding. Now with 5 floors left I forced a faster pace and reached the top sooner than I expected, yet disappointed that my goal was not met. Walking around to slow my breathing back down and reduce my heart rate I felt pretty good overall so working out did make an impact verses the previous year where my chest really hurt from my heart pounding which lasted for almost a week. The hurt was more like a muscle that had been worked than what I believe a heart attack to be like so I didn’t worry too much about it and I could still breath normally.

After 15 minutes I went to check on my time and saw that it took more than 6 minutes for me to complete the climb. Not even close to 5 minutes I was shooting for but still better than either of the previous 2 times I participated in the Fight for Air climb so not all bad. My cold probably cost me a few seconds of time but even with that I would not have made it under 6 minutes. Once I finished I knew I didn’t push hard enough at the top so I was responsible for another few seconds of time. Combining those things I likely would have been under 6 minutes, but still a ways away from 5. What does this mean for me? I’ve got a whole year now to train for my goal of 5 minutes! I will continue at the gym and once warmer weather arrives get back out on my bike to keep pushing and training.

Overall it helped me to maybe feel what it’s like for those that can’t breath normally most of the time and what they must deal with on a daily basis. Knowing they can’t use their full potential because of the inability to take in the air required to do so. I’m so appreciative to be able to breath in a normal manner even if my lung capacity is smaller than others. Five minutes in 2020! (That’s 2.27 stairs per second or 136 per minute)

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