Sunday

It's a gray, overcast, early morning here in Maine. I woke up before 5 a.m. Today is a legitimate day off from my efforts, not one that was spawned by my lazy tendencies. It'll be a good day, I think. I'm going to spend some time with a friend and her son, and their family, whom I am very close too.

I'm also going to play some games today. Sundays for the past year or two have been a game day for me, I spend most of the day at my friendly, local game store. It's through these Sundays that I have made many new friends, and that have been a catalyst for the charity event that I set up to support Extra Life. More so than any day of the week, I look forward to Sundays.

I'm going to miss Sundays next summer when I'm on the trail. I'll be with my friend every day, which I look forward to. But I also wonder if we'll get on each others nerves, or run out of things to talk about. I doubt it. I've known Jeff for 25 years and we've never had a problem with conversation but hey, you never know.

We texted back and forth last night for a few hours. "Do you think we can pull this off?" I asked him. "I'm willing to try," was his response.

I'm willing to try, too.

Stop looking at me

Another late night, greeted by another early morning of apathy. I walk past my stairs to brush my teeth in the morning and they seemed to taunt me. "Come on, tubby. You know you should." I ignored them for a while, playing PS4. Looked at the stairs, they stared back accusingly. Ate a bowl of cereal. Looked at the stairs again, this time they looked forlorn. 7:30. Half an hour until I needed to start getting ready for work. The stairs sat there sullen and lonely.

Their goading worked. I shoveled myself off the couch, jammed my ear buds in and started in. I got to 35 flights and then just to stick it to them, I did 5 more. Take that.

The post that almost wasn't

I woke up this morning about 4 hours after I went to bed, exhausted. I picked up my phone and looked at it. 6:20 a.m. I had about an hour and a half before I had to get ready and go to work. Fridays are my long days, a nine plus hour shift, and they're usually busy. I laid there for a moment and thought, "I'm not going to do stairs today, I'm too tired." Right behind that was, "I'm also not going to post today, or if I do it will be later after work." Those two thoughts firmly fixed in my head, I went down the stairs gingerly (yep still sore) and made some coffee. I wondered for the 8th day in a row, how I was going to handle coffee on the trail.

My traditional two cups of coffee consumed, reading my book, I looked at the clock again. 7:25 a.m. I could squeeze in my stairs and still be okay for work. Before I could talk myself out of hit, I jumped up and started the up and downs. Sweating, cursing under my breath, I managed to get 32 sets in, two more than yesterday. I stood there for a second at the top of the hated stairs and I plunged back down for three more sets. 35. My legs hate me, I am sitting here, dripping perspiration, but I'm also typing. I'm following through on the promise I made to myself.

One week

It's been 7 days since I announced my intention of hiking half of the AT with my friend. It seems like longer, there has been so much to think about and to do. I have made small changes in my life that will gradually grow to be significant, and more will be on the way I'm sure. Approximately fifty weeks from now I'll be embarking on my adventure.

As I trudged up and down my stairs 32 times this morning, I started sweating immediately. It's been hot in Maine the past few days. I lugged out my air conditioner and popped it in my window the other night, so I could get a decent night's sleep. I bought a fan at Lowe's and it's blowing cool air over me as I sit and write this post. Going up and down and thinking about how hot it was, I considered next summer. There will be no air conditioning or fans on the trail. It will be hot some days- probably most of the days as we trudge through miles and miles of hills and forests. No climate-controlled car to jump in at the end of the day, and few cool showers to refresh us. We take our comfort and control over our environment very much for granted in our lives. I'll be getting a rude awakening for sure.

Day 6: Out in the woods

Day 6 began with a discovery. My good friend Dave invited me to go for a walk for him. He told me about a trail close to his house in South Portland. I had no idea hiking trails were even present in that area. I met him and we drove to the trail head, which was behind the local Home Depot. After a short paved section, we were quickly engulfed by nature on the Clark's Pond Trail. Aside from the sounds of traffic in the distance, we might have been in northern Maine or the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  It was not a difficult hike but there were plenty of ups and downs and it took us about 45 minutes to get all the way around.

Dave grew up in South Portland and lived there most of his life, so he knew the area quite well. He told me about how the local ice carvers used to have large storage sheds in the area, and had brought great chunks of ice out of the river and pond. I had driven by this spot all of my life and never known it existed. It was a great experience. It made me think about what other things I've missed along the way. I intend to explore the area a bit more this summer, finding new places. One of the things I look forward most to next summer is the visual experience. Immersing myself in it for three months will be a life changer for me, I think.

Ummmm...OWWW

Day 5 is here. A few days ago I mentioned some soreness in my legs. Well that was nothing compared to the level of soreness that greeted me this morning. The accumulation of 4 days of stair workouts appears to have caught up to me. My legs are pretty much jelly, and as a result I chose to give them a break today. Tomorrow, I'm going for a nice easy hike with a friend of mine, and I feel like I should probably be able to walk.

I began reading a book called "A Walk in the Woods", by Bill Bryson, which is very well written, and captivating. The author, much like me, decided to walk the AT almost at random, with very little experience camping or long distance hiking. He spends a portion of the beginning of the book talking about all the terrible things that are rumored to happen to thru-hikers, and while I realize it was written tongue-in-cheek, it scared the crap out of me! This is going to be a major undertaking, and every day that passes, it is becoming increasingly clear.

I also spent some time thinking about how I could turn this into a fundraiser for Extra Life, which is a charity that I love. Extra Life was created by gamers to support hospitals in the Children's Miracle Network, of which our local children's hospital, The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital in Portland, Maine is part. I'm thinking the best way is going to be to see if I can get pledges for miles walked. I'll begin working on that soon so that I can get my ducks in a row and have plenty of time to get as many pledges as I can.

It's about the games!

Day 4 is upon me, and my good spirits from yesterday are still here. I spent the day with some new friends playing games, which is always a good time. One of them, Mike, is an avid hiker and he gave me some books to read on hiking in general and one specifically on the Appalachian Trail, so I'm grateful for that. Not only that but he works at DeLorme Mapping and told me he might be able to hook me up with some essential gear, which is awesome. Gear expense will be a one of the major hurdles we will have to overcome.

Speaking of games, one of the things I'm planning to do on the trail is play and review some games, in our down time. Jeff and I are both gamers, so it seems like a logical thing to do. The challenge will be getting and carrying said games with us. We'll try to narrow down our focus a bit to 2 player games that come in small boxes, making them ideal for "travel" games. I can think of a few in my collection already that would travel well, but I'll be asking for suggestions as things get closer. Stay tuned!

Oh and for those paying attention, yes, I did my stairs this morning. I jumped up to 30 sets (one set being up and down 1 flight). Maybe 35 tomorrow? Thanks for reading as always. Oh, and don't forget what Memorial Day is all about. Thank you to all the men and women who have served this country past, present and future. God bless you all. 

Pre-dawn jitters

My eyes popped open at approximately 4 a.m. this morning. Not entirely out of the ordinary for me, but still. The first thought in my head was, "Did I really commit to this?" In that not quite awake yet haze, I thought for a second it had all been a dream. And then I moved one of my legs. Groaning, I realized how sore they were and what that meant. No dream, I had indeed started down this very long path.

I laid there and thought about all the things that would need to fall into place before next May. There's equipment lists, the logistics of getting food to the right places at the right times, saving enough money to be able to make the trip. How could I turn this into a benefit for the BBCH? What if something happens on the trail and I get injured? Would I be bored just walking for three months straight? Am I going to be able finish? All the negatives and what-ifs swirled through my head like a tornado. But I'm going to do it regardless of all the obstacles.

Sitting up took me a few minutes. It usually does. There's a lot of soreness and pain involved, which has been the case for quite a while. The past few years I've really neglected my health, and it's taken its toll. The soreness was different today though (well, there was additional soreness). Despite that, when I sat up and stood up to make myself a pot of coffee (Is that something, I'll have to give up? I hope not), I had a smile on my face.

There is something freeing in jumping towards a dream. It sheds some of the burden on your soul. As much work as this will be, I already see a better mental state (I'm probably in some sort of euphoric haze right now, which will come crashing down around my ears, but let me enjoy it while it lasts, please). I just finished my stairs for the day and the sun is shining. I'm going to play some games with some new friends. Every step I take is one closer to my goal, and that feels pretty damn good.

Training day 2

The journey of 1,100 miles began yesterday. Well, at least the training for the journey. And it started with my basement stairs. Twelve steps up, twelve steps down. Doesn't sound like much, right? Yesterday morning, I went up and down 25 times. Today was 26. Tomorrow will be 27. I'm dripping sweat and out of breath as I write this. I told you I was out of shape!

I did it though. The siren call of sitting on my couch playing The Witcher III on my PS4 was hard to resist, but I felt I needed to start getting my ass in gear on the day I announced to the world (or at least, my circle of Facebook friends) that I was going to hike half the Appalachian Trail next summer. I will say, the amount of support and offers to help train have been much more than expected. I am extraordinarily thankful for all the positive notes. It helps reinforce what I'm planning.

So here's the plan - Watch what I eat and start eating healthier, combined with daily exercise. Increasing my stairs work daily, a brisk walk, maybe an easy hike on my days off. If you'd like to join me, reach out. I need all the help I can get.

And so it begins.

Here I sit, less than a month away from my 40th birthday. I'm overweight, out of shape and have high blood pressure. I don't exercise, sleep terribly and live a very fast food lifestyle. I can blame any number of things, I've had a rough year. My father committed suicide on June 30th, 2014. It put me in a spiral that I'm still feeling the effects of, and will continue for the rest of my life I'm sure. I've had panic attacks, insomnia and bouts of depression.

But it hasn't been all bad. I've got a lot going for me. I have a tremendous circle of friends and family that have been there for me through all of it. I am able to spend a good portion of my free time doing something that I love, which is tabletop gaming (think board games and role-playing games).  I've managed to put together a few very successful charity events related to gaming to benefit my local children's hospital, The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital. As I approach the mid-point of my life (at least I'm hoping!),I want to keep the momentum up. I want to do something significant.

And then I got a text a few days ago. "You really want to do a half Appalachian with me next year?" It was referring to what I thought was a jest from my friend Jeff, from a month or two back. He was talking about the Appalachian Trail, which runs from Georgia to Maine. It's been something I've always wanted to tackle, but I had never seriously considered it. I made a few excuses about not being able to take time off work or being able to afford it, but then I stopped to think. What did I have to lose? If I have learned anything over the past year, it's that life is too damn short. Live while you can, do what you love. I went all in. I bet on myself.

Starting in May of 2016, I'll be hiking from Harper's Ferry, Virginia to Mt. Katahdin in Maine, approximately 1,100 miles. I will carry all my gear on my back, sleeping in shelters or a tent. I'm going to try to make it a charity benefit, but I'll get into that later. I'm going to use this journey as an opportunity to make a positive change in my life, so that maybe 40 WILL be my halfway point. I hope to chronicle my journey and share the experiences I have training over the next year and then continue while on the trail. Maybe my stories will inspire others to live a little outside the norm, to go the extra step, to cross off that bucket list item. Writing has always been a passion, but one that I've never pursued seriously. That changes now. If not now, when?