Thomas Kilimanjaro Challenge

Welcome to my Blog !

Yes, I am now a blogger too! Not sure how this all works but it's worth it learning it as the feedback to my charitiy project has been tremendous so far, so it's time now to go the final mile to reach my target of 4.500 Pounds with only 5 weeks left to go! So I'll try to keep updating you on my training and preparation plans over the coming weeks!

First things first: Thank you thank you all for donating so generously up to now. This is great and great news for the charity projects VSO supports in East Africa. Incase you did not donate yet there is still time to do so ...

http://original.justgiving.com/thomas_mrozek/

So here is a run down on where I stand:

Am I FIT enough?

My most important achievement is: I stopped smoking !! It's been hard and required about 3-4 attempts over the past 6 months, with anything between 4 hrs without smoking (during the day!!) and 1 day - yes, after a big party night on Satruday I did not smoke on Sunday...

But now, after 5 weeks "clean" I am on track .. let's hold thumbs

Was this already the most important part of my training?

No! In the past weeks, I ran up my favorite training ground "Herzogstand" near Munich a few times. The key problem being: I ran up (and down)... What people seem to say, you basically crawl up Killi to avoid altitude sickness hitting you - so this will be another hard challenge to reach the summit of 5895 meters.

So there are 2 alternatives:

1. Keep on running and end up with Altitude sickness (hmm?)


2. Walk slowly (as Erich would say: Meditate up the mountain with your arms crossed, one foot in front of the other !)
   for those of you who know how fast I can eat (lunch time at work ...) walking slowly can become a real challange ... but I'll try during my next trainings hike up "Herzogstand"
   

It's not about fitness it's the GEAR!

Being a fan of toy's the gear is key! Luckily my friend "Hansi" put me up with the necessary high quality mountaineering toys, starting with a 75L rucksack (no idea how to fit everything in there yet as it's full already with the thick -20c sleeping bag ... - otr should this stay outside :) - down to pants, and all the great goodies from Fjäll Räven! Thanks's Hansi & Fjäll Räven! - by the way, since I wear the golf shirt of Fjäll Räven I hit the driver like number #1 - but that's a totally different challenge !

OK, more news to follow soon! Keep on donating !
Thomas
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4. August - 3 Weeks to go !

Firstly, thanks to all of you who have sponsored me since my last post! This is amazing!
OK, there are now only 3 weeks t go. Time to get nervous... Here is the run down on how I try to stay clam

Endurance test - be careful!
10 days ago I went on a long race-bike tour over 140 km to check my endurance fitness. Well the 140 km were managed in about 5 hrs, although my pacemaker "Sven" always disappeared in front of me with every climb that we approached (?) This is OK, as I know now - it is not the speed that brings you up Killi, you need to take your time! Here you go Sven, all planned like this ...

Well the planned 140km ended abruptly at 138 km as a car (driven by an old 80 year old lady) exiting a car park did not see us approaching on the street. Being smart and cautious, Sven and I stopped just before the car... Well as it goes with old ladies that drive old cars and can barely see or walk - she did not see us and despite us standing just in next to her car, she started driving over our "high tech" Carbon fiber machines – later claiming she did not even notice it. Luckily I managed to get my leg out of under the car just before she went over the precious bike. To cut a long story short, Police, emergency support, a short visit to hospital and a damage of +5000 € later I was happy to still be able to walk up Killi...


Endurance test – part 2
I think the picture speaks for itself … Lot’s of sun, no wind, not much water to drink. Ah, you wonder what type of fitness test this was: This was the “how long can stay in the sun test”

Mental fitness
I thought when walking for 7 days or so you need a song to sing in your head, so time flies quicker. So why not combine the project work near Düsseldorf with the opportunity to visit U2’s live show and get Bono to sign a few great songs that will stick for another 3-4 weeks!

All I can say is: The show was GREAT !

That’s all for now. I promise the next update will have some more mountaineering!
Thomas

And keep on donating!

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19. August - 8 days to go !

8 days to go! So in fact next week today I will be on the way to Kenya, where 25 Accenture colleagues and I will first visit VSO Projects. So far we all raised + 100.000 Euro and there should more to come! After visitng the VSO Projects we will be heading off to Tanzania and the starting point of the challenge. Let’s hope my Passport, which is still at the embassy for Visa processing will be back in time!

Further FITNESS Testing
After a weekend in South Tyrol, where my girlfriend Susa and I attended a beautiful wedding – with loads of fun but also loads of booz – we hiked up a nearby mountain. A good trip to get rid of the alcohol in our bodies :) and excellent endurance practice under difficult conditions! (Don't worry, we did not walk up in the outfit on the left!)

Then last weekend we hiked up Rabenkopf, close to Garmisch. This time we did not know exactly the duration of the hike -sort of a mental challenge too... It turned out to be some 5 hours of walking with great views from the top. The good news were, no blisters, or muscle aches. So I’m getting ready!

Getting the GEAR together
Climbing Killi is like packing for a ski holiday, beach holiday and a weekend in Scotland (lots of rain) at the same time: You pass 4 climate zones on the way up. So last weekend I laid out the gear to get an overview of what I need to pack - and check what I still need, while there were still some things missing I am not sure yet how to fit all this in the 70L Rucksack! Let’s see how things develop next weekend!

Still to come - Final Preparation:
- Will everything fit in the Rucksack?
- Will I get my passport and visa in time?
- Am I mentally ready to go “pole, pole, pole” as it requires going slowly slowly up the mountain
- Why am I doing this?

The last question I can answer already: It’s for a good cause – and you can still donate !

keep on donating and make difference !

http://www.justgiving.com/thomas_mrozek

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25. August - Starting tomorrow !

Time went by fast during the last 8 days... and amazingly donations have been flowing in, reaching an incredible 3,840.93 Pounds - just 160 Pounds short of the magic 4000 !! Good news are you can still donate while I am away

So what happened?

My girlfriend had to climb another mountain on the weekend - I think she's getting as prepare as I am now... We hiked up - one last time - Herzogstand near Munich.

Final preparation - how to pack the GEAR?
8 days ago I still thought that the huge amounts of gear will never fit into the rucksack - see the picture on the right. I was wrong! The 70L Rucksack offers massive amounts of space and there was even some left, so I could fit the Therma rest mat inside.

And yes, I am taking some weirp things with me like Toilet Paper (no toliets on the hike - hope they offer a shovel though...), gaiters (Gamaschen - this word was new to me too!), Babywipes - appenrently great to use as there are no showers on the way. This was a good tip from Erich!

Am I really mentally ready?
All that can help from now on is a good "Weissbier" the day before I start. The only way to ignore what I put myself into! Don't worry I am not taking booze up the mountain...

The real challenge is not the physical challenge. That can be handled. It is the Altitude and altitude sickness that comes with it. So, to be even better prepared mentally then by having a Weissbier, I bought a medication that actually fights altitude sickness. So in the worst case there is a back up plan!

What's next?

My flight departs at 6.55 in the morning. Thursday / Friday we will visit VSO Projects in Nairobi, where Accenture colleagues support HIV infected children in teaching and making the best of their lives.

Saturday we will leave for Tanzania. I'll try to update this blog as good as I can in the coming weeks!

And don't forget: You can still donate while I am away!

Thomas