I have to admit, I don't do any of the big hikes in the local mountains for training. Never done Baldy, Gorgonio...whatever. I try to get one two mile hike in every week. And I run around the ball field two times, twice a week with the kids I am coaching. But other than that, I am with Harvey on the tortoise strategy.

On my last hike up to Meysan Lake I was really sucking wind. I was thinking that even my tortoise strategy wasn't working. After this little story, y'all are gonna think I am nuts. But it's more of a really crazy schedule lately and I simply forgot some things. Went in and had a physical a couple of weeks ago, something I do every 10 years or so. I was shocked to find out that I was pretty severly anemic. The shock comes from the fact that I give blood frequently and have never shown that I was anemic. And then it occured to me, the last time I gave blood was August 2nd and I did a double red cell apheresis. Red Cross and my doctor both said that two months was definitely enough for my hemoglobin and hematicrit to get back to normal. But then it occured to me....I gave blood on August 2nd and I started my hike to Meysan Lake on August 5th......DOH!!! I think there is a pretty good chance that my double red cell donation affected my hike.

And for the past two weeks I have been eating iron filings to offset the anemia. And I definitely feel a difference in what it takes to get winded. So now I am wondering how long I have had a slow leak (or whatever) and if the red cross tests are inadequate. Guess I'll find out, I get to make the exciting trip to the GI Doctor next week to see if I have a slow leak somewhere in the belly.

Anyway, my training is nominal at this point, I just go slow. And I'll continue to do Whitney once a year, but my long term goal is to go up all of the major drainages in the eastern sierra (along with the JMT in 2013).