Training's Over

Well, we were hoping to step up our training even further in these last two weeks before flying out, but alas Mai has been crazy busy at work and I've picked up a chest infection! Ah well, such is life, the timing for me getting sick could have been worse I guess, hopefully with some rest I'll be fine by the time we get to Chamonix. It's a pretty hard choice to stop training in favour of rest, but think it's the wiser one to make. I don't think my conditioning would really come along too much when I'm sick anyway and the danger of prolonging sickness by training is almost guaranteed.

The weekend before I got sick we were both pretty busy at work so couldn't get up to the Blue Mountains like we wanted, so opted for a Saturday morning session in the altitude chamber (or torture chamber as I've started to call it), followed by a some sand walking from Collaroy Point to North Narrabeen and back.

The altitude chamber's a pretty handy training facility that's for sure. It doesn't actually apply the same air pressure as being at altitude but rather matches the percentage of oxygen in the air that you would find there. I think simulation is a great tool when training for anything and seeing as there's not really any opportunity to train at real altitude in Australia this has got to be the next best thing.

The reason I call it the torture chamber is not because it's ridiculously hard, it's really as hard as you make it (and I will always try and push myself in there) but because it can be pretty boring and a bit confined walking fast on a treadmill with a heavy pack in a tiny room! It is pretty convenient though and just easy to know that it's a one hour training session where you don't have to think too much, just get in there and get on with it.