“What the hell have I done?!”

This was the first thought I had as I came around a corner and caught sight of the top of  a very steep looking Station Mountain. I didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, turn the car around or throw up. I settled myself and concentrated on the beauty of the area on a chilly but clear day.

I was freaking out because at 2:00 pm on Thursday I had only 16 hours until I was expected to hike up that mountain to the top via a black diamond ski slope. And not just once. Multiple times was the idea until I reached 17. I knew 17 was impossible for sure. I was simply not fast enough to do it in the allotted time frame of 36 hours. But let’s go back to the beginning……

Back in 2015(?) I was turned onto a book by my friend Patti. “You’ve got to read this! This guy is hilarious and inspiring” she probably said (and I’ll blame her to this day for me attempting this thing 😉 At the time she and I and others in Key West were super into triathlons (gotta find something to do that didn’t involve just drinking) and as someone that has long been inspired by athletic endeavors (mostly other peoples’ over my own), I eagerly began reading “title of book” by Jesse Itzler. I loved his take on overcoming obstacles when training with a Navy Seal and pushing past the boundaries of the mind when doing a difficult task. I looked Jesse up and followed him on social media and told my boss about him as she is way more open minded to self help/inspirational stuff than my cynical brain is. Sue, Heather and a couple of others started to go deeper with Jesse and his “Do Hard Stuff” challenges and I followed them following him. Well, then Jesse announced his “2029 Everesting” Challenge in 2017 and I was super intrigued. Basically, you climb a mountain (following a ski trail), take the gondola down and repeat until you reach the same number of feet as Mt Everest. They expanded the challenge from one mountain to several more over the next years. And it’s at a significant cost to do 29029. But when you compare with other endurance events, it’s pretty close. The cost does include training plans and coaching leading up to the event plus the event itself (they rent the whole mountain out), lodging, swag, all meals and lots of nutrition during the event. Not strictly covered by the cost but included in the event is a great community of like minded individuals.

If it sounds like I’ve drank the kool-aid, I have. I’ve always done team sports. Even the sports that were “individual” (tennis, triathlon), I was always part of a larger team. Since my last tri in 2018 I had been looking for another sport with a team mentality that I could train for. And 29029 seemed perfect. 

OK—I started this post two months ago and am just stumped. So I’m posting this unfinished entry so I can move on with my dang life! I have MASSIVE writer’s block both with the blog and comedy and the way my brain works, I can’t do anymore blog entries until this post is done so I’m calling it done, dammit!!!!!!

Oh and I signed up for this stupid (amazing) event again. This time Mt Tremblant in Quebec. It’s beautiful, I can drive there, and it’s not going to be freezing effing cold 😉 

More to come!!!