Sunday, August 29, 2010

Week #3: Prep update - NZ is getting closer

Week three of my challenge has been quite interesting. The new job and the fever kept me grounded and so I didn't improve much in term of hours of training. I have spent about four hours in training this week, not even close to my target of 24. However, I have the feeling that from next week I will be able to run almost twice a day. Despite all that, I have been able to push hard on improving my upper body strength, but Rome wasn't build in a day and for the moment I simply enjoy sore muscles. I am up to 50 push up and 30 chin up a day. I know, I should do three set of those, but I am not in a rush to build up my strength.

On Sunday I ran the 10km Lake Attack, finished 4th (http://results.au.eventdirector.net/List.asp?EventID=4226&RaceID=10KM) in 38m12s - my objective was 40 minutes, so I guess I have pass the test.

Also went for preliminary shopping (window shopping). For my NZ trip I need the following:
- Balaclava about 50$
- Snow gaiters between 80$ and 120$
- New Jacket (anything between 600$ and 1200$)
- Bivvy bag from BlackDiamond about 600$ (http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-glbl)

Well, I guess I will rent the bivvy bag from the Alpine guides in NZ. Speaking of costs and dollars, I have made no progress on both the fronts of media attention and sponsorship. Will try again next week and see if I can have a break through.

Finally, I will take on your suggestion to publish more pictures or video. Here is a good one, about an expedition on Everest, a little more than 10 years ago. It's a fascinating story and I hope you will like it despite it tells the story of a tragic event  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bgqc2m7aBzs

Once again, I will update you next week. I welcome any suggestion and idea, chat soon.
Ciao

Andrea

Friday, August 20, 2010

Week 2 - Updates

Here the updates for week #2.


Physical preparation: this week has been a bit better, with four consecutive runs and a few short upper body sessions. All in all I have managed to spend about 8 hours training, which is a third of the expected 24 hours of training a week. Something is better than nothing, but I must gradually increase my effort. Unfortunately a bad cold hit me on Thursday and since then I have not been able to train. Next Sunday there is the Lake Attack and 40min for 10km in windy conditions looks a bit of an ambitious task. At the moment I only hope I will run with no cold, as that would obviously affect the breathing.

On the media front, the first media release was sent out on Thursday night, but I didn’t manage to buy the paper on Friday, so I will assume that nothing was printed. It was a good try, and there will be more trials in the coming weeks.

On the funding front, the Everest2014 account has collected $381 – it may seems like a small amount but it is a step in the right direction and I am extremely thankful that friends have put their trust in me and are supporting me in this challenge.

That’s all for now!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Week #1: Training results

Week #1 Training

The week didn't start in the best manner. Strong wind has made impossible to do any outdoor session. The workload has been very minimal with indoor crossfit training (mainly tuckjump, pushup and burpees). Outdoor sessions: only 3 short runs (5km/18min, 6km/22min, 5km/20min) and a pathetic swim (1.5km with cramps). Hopefully next week will be better. I am a bit worry about the 10km run at Albert Park - aiming with 40min is a big ask without training.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Week #1 - The Everest Challenge - Kick-off

The Everest Challenge is in other words the pursuit of happiness. It is a show of determination of a guy who decided to take on the challenge of climbing the highest mountain on Earth. This challenge is based on the knowledge that willingness and desire can overcome many other deficiencies. I know the challenge is going to be a difficult one but I believe that courage is the acceptance that you may not win the challenge but still give it your best in trying to achieve the goals you have set for yourself.

How can you help?
The physical challenge is certainly a huge one to master. However there are other challenges that are already setting the bar high at the stage of planning. Each expedition has a cost which is anywhere from 10,000AUD to about 80,000AUD. The total cost of reaching the end of the roadmap is estimated to be about 180,000AUD over a period of 4 years.

To help me progress in this challenge you can:

• Publish the link of this blog on your Facebook or Twitter account, so that you can help me generate interest and attract sponsorship;

• Send me the contacts of people who may be interested in sponsoring the Challenge (e.g. Marketing departments of large firms, Newspaper columnists, TV show producers);

• Click on the ads at the bottom and on the side of this page (each click will generate 0.2$);

• Help me by directly donating by clicking here:








What’s next?

A series of initiatives will be launched to promote the Everest Challenge. A series of weekly updates on the preparation will be provided on this blog, with true inside on the challenges and the struggles moving towards the intermediate goals highlighted in the road map. A section on frequently asked questions will be created and updates on budget and expenditure will be available online. Any suggestions for additional initiatives are more than welcome and I am more than happy for you to join me in this experience, not necessarily climbing the mountains, but helping with any aspect of the challenge (e.g. media, marketing, accounting, etc).