Mt Whitney and cross training

As a triathlete, I think our sport is one of the best truly, cross-training sports, that you don't have to cross-train for! But this last week, I did some real cross-training. Mt Whitney is the the highest peak in the contigeous USA. It is in the southern sierra's and about a ten hour drive from Tucson. The shortest trail starts from a campground 13 miles from the town of Lone Pine, CA. It is an 11 mile trail to the top of a peak with amazing views. It stands at around 14, 500 ft and you can see forever. But the effort and the workout to get there are an awesome change of pace from the normal swim/bike/run that makes our sport so well rounded. There was a slight bit of snow on the trail above 10,000 ft. It wasn't a factor going up. But coming down, I fell on my ass more than a couple of times! I wore my heart rate monitor to judge the long effort. I would run for as long as I could until my HR hit 175 and then I would keep it there for about two minutes and then I would stop and hike fast until my HR dipped below 150. Then I would keep it there for atleast two minutes. I did this over and over for 3 hours and 56 minutes. I went from sea level to 14,500 in a matter of 8 hours (I had left from Orange County at 4:30 am). At the top, I was getting light headed and had to REALLY slow down at a couple of points. All in all, I managed to average a 20 minute/mile pace for the 11 miles up. A total of 6,200 ft of elevation gain. OK, so not so fast of a pace. But considering.........

I think speed climbs bring in the perfect combination of running and cycling muscle groups. And it makes for a great long aerobic workout in a totally different venue than most triathletes allow themselves. Around Tucson, I have done the same type of workout to all the surrounding peaks. It is a challenge and a great change of pace!