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In an effort to train for my upcoming trek along the Salkantay Trail to Machu Picchu, for the past 6 weeks or so, my life has looked like this:
M-F: Wake up, go to work, go to either the gym or yoga, come home, fix dinner, clean kitchen, pass out, repeat.
Sat: Go on a ridiculously long hike.
Sun: Attempt hot yoga and try not to throw up. Try to clean my house, maintain my yard, cook dinner and lunch for the week, pass out.
Thank the gods that I’m single, because I can’t imagine making time for a partner during all this. And this will be the only time in my life that I will ever say that.
Occasionally, I’ve had meetings and other activities after work during the week that have prevented me from sticking to this 100%, but I think I’ve done a pretty good job at sticking to it about 90% of the time. Last week, I had one such meeting with an organization I’m involved in on Wednesday, during which I announced that I’ll have to miss our June meeting due to my trip. After the meeting, I was chatting with an acquaintance who asked me about my trip. She mentioned to me that there is an oxygen deprivation gym in Portland that helps to train for high altitude trips.
Say what???
I had to find out more information about this place. So of course, I turned to the Google. And low and behold, there really is an oxygen deprivation gym in Portland. Last Thursday, nerves and all, I decided to give a try. I walked in and the front desk person gave me one of these:
When I put it on, the top number was at 99, just like in this lovely stock photo (thanks, Google!). She told me at sea level, it should be between 98-102. I have no idea what these numbers actually mean, but something about life and death. She told me if the top number went below 76 while I was working out in the high altitude room, that I should immediately come out so they don’t have to drag me out and call an ambulance. She explained to me that when I first go into the high altitude room, the number will drop, but then it should equalize once I adjust to the lack of oxygen. I asked her what the bottom number was supposed to be, and she said she didn’t know. Then she made me sign a bunch of waiver forms. I asked her if she ever tried the room, and she said no, she was always too scared. Then she wished me good luck and shooed me into the room.
At which point, the number immediately plummeted to 75 and I thought, oh god, what the hell have I gotten myself into?? Not just at this moment, but this whole trip. How am I going to survive hiking for 5 days at over 10,000 feet if I can’t even survive standing 30 seconds in a high-altitude-simulated room?
I was determined to stay in the room, so I started focusing on my breathing like I had learned to do in yoga, and slowly walked toward the treadmill. As I stepped on the treadmill, I looked down at my finger, and the number had gone up to 78. Within a few minutes, it was fluctuating between 85-90, and throughout my hour long workout, at times it even made it up to 96. I did 3 miles in less than an hour at varying speeds and inclines to attempt to simulate different terrain that I’d be hiking on. I definitely felt out of breath, but my yoga techniques helped immensely. By the end of the workout, I actually felt really good, and told the front desk person that I would be back next week.
Now my routine looks like this:
M-F: Wake up, go to work, go to either the gym or yoga or high altitude room, come home, fix dinner, clean kitchen, pass out, repeat.
Sat: Go on a ridiculously long hike.
Sun: Attempt hot yoga and try not to throw up. Try to clean my house, cook dinner and lunch for the week, pass out.
So maybe my life is a bit boring lately. But I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in, I feel fantastic, and even more so, I feel confident and ready to take on the Salkantay trail. Now I just need to keep it up for another 6 weeks…