2 weeks left…

There’s very little time now to do anything, because I need 3-4 days of rest before the trip on 20.09. So here’s my plan:

Tomorrow i’m going to do 30-40 kilometers in the hills surrounding Jelenia Góra, this being my last fitness checkpoint. Last trip was a major fail because of the weather but tomorrow looks quite good in the forecasts.
I’m going to do the first part of Przejscie Kotliny, starting from Łysa Góra (PT3), through Okole (PK6), Chrośnica, Góra Szybowcowa, Jeżów Sudecki (PK7), Perła Zachodu (PK8) and even further if all goes well. I’m toying with the idea of taking trekking poles. I’ve never used them before… I’ll make the decision in the morning.

This time I’m only taking my new Simond 32 liter backpack. I’m getting really good at packing. After 25 years of hiking 😀 It’s going to be fairly wet so i’m only taking my Dolomites. Let’s see how my feet handle 40km in those really hard shoes…

Inside the backpack I have:

2 pairs of socks
2 tshirts
beanie, middle-eastern style scarf, mittens (!)
trousers
Sudocrem, Ibuprofen, hydrogel plasters, wet wipes, emergency blanket
zipped hoodie, superlight jacket
food (chocolate bars), vitamin water
I’m going to put on long (but very thin) trousers, a long-sleeved tshirt and my favourite multi-pocket fishing vest, which makes me look super old. Why do fishing vests have this effect?

Tomorrow i’m setting off early in the morning, probably around 6a.m, it’s a 2h drive to the starting point so I’ll start around 8a.m. The plan is to finish at 7-9p.m. I’m going to wake up my son at 5:30a.m and i’ll ask if he wants to come along. If he does, I’ll probably do a shorter version of the trip, because he’s 8years old and 25km is his limit at the moment.

2) After the trip I’m just going to go for long leisurely walks + my regular stamina and strength training until the 15.09 and then it’s recovery + walks only. I need to be well rested for the trip.

3) I need to now pay close attention to what i’m eating (better late than never) and I need to be extra careful about things like air conditioning, alcohol etc. No risky behavior in the last 2 weeks 🙂

All in all, I’m in pretty good shape, i’m still training regularly, adding a bit more every week. I’ve even upgraded my garage gym 🙂 It’s still a bit messy but it’s starting to look good. I’ve added the mats because dropping a 150kg bar on this floor could have catastrophic consequences.

I purchased a leg press (below) this week to add a bit of variety to my garage training routine.

…and some grip strength trainers, too. The reason is that I could easily deadlift a bit more than 140kg but my hands/fingers are too weak.

I bought a 45kg and a 68kg version. I’ve never used them so no idea which one’s better for me now.

Lastly, I think i’m going to buy the 50kg weights. Amazing, i didn’t realize they make those. They must be massive! With this I could put much more on the hex bar without running out of space. I could probably put (50+20+15 ) x 2 = 170kg+weight of the hex bar.