Doing the Math

I got my humidity monitor in the mail on time to conduct some weekend testing. The storm was huge as predicted. Good thing I was in my garage and not out on the trail because the tent was leaking big time. When I checked it out in the morning, there was no standing water, but the humidity readings jumped as high as 98% throughout the night. I read that pneumonia causes as many as 10% of trail fatalities.

Right now I am very confident in my decision to do further preparation. It is too easy to just get out there on the trail. I have heard of rookies who try to start as early as mid February, but none of those guys go the distance. All the mileage can be made up during good weather, and the whole point is to reach the end in August. If I had started last week I would have run the risk of getting to Maine while the water was still too cold for swimming.

For cardio and conditioning, I made a trip to the local Dave & Buster’s. It is about ten miles away from home, so I got dropped off at the REI, which is about two miles from D&B. I picked up some gloves for the trail and then hiked the whole way to the arcade. Testing out the gloves in an intense environment was crucial if I planned on taking them out to the trail.

I put $50 on my power card. I get a 20% bonus as a platinum member, so my play is basically comped. That is how it was in Vegas after I hit the Buccaneers O’ Barbury quarter slot machine for $400. With $60 on the card I knew I was good for hours.

I owned Cruis’n World. On a single credit, $2.70, I advanced through six stages, besting all of my competition. I saw this one dude taking pictures of the ass kicking so I asked if he would email them to me on my iPhone. If you look at my screen on the right, I hold a tighter line which allowed me to beat the guy to my left every time. Now I know what it feels to be in the shoes of my favorite qb of all time: Peyton Manning. Just like him, I was able to watch the tape and learn from others' mistakes in the field. This is exactly why I went to Dave & Buster’s. I discovered stuff that translates to the trail in a real way. If I hold a tight edge throughout the entire trail I can be about 15-20% more efficient than everyone else, possibly getting to Maine in late July.

This trail preparation reminds me that only focusing on hiking risks missing the forest for the trees. It has also made me realize that I could benefit from seeing the best of other elements of sports. The Braves are opening on the road, but the home series against the Phillies is next weekend. I am starting to think between the Braves live and the Masters on my iPhone, I could gain a lot more than the 40-50 miles would get me in the long run.

I saw a documentary on Bruce Jenner the other night. Apparently, before his bronze in ’72, he focused 100% of his energy on the decathlon. After the crushing defeat, he took up table tennis and started drinking. In ’76, he took the gold in the decathlon. The movie hit pretty close to home. It is obvious that in ’09 that my focus was all about the trail. That was the whole problem. This time I think I am doing it right. If you want to finish this thing, you have to know more than hiking. You have to know yourself.

For the first time in a long time, I can say that.