Final Birthday Challenge Report

Here is my final challenge report:

This Is Gonna Hurt

This Is Gonna Hurt

I'm not ready for this challenge in any way, shape, or form but I'm going to try it anyway.

This Friday, beginning at 5am, I'll have 24 hours to complete the following:

- 460 point bouldering day*
- Ride 46 miles with 4,600' of elevation gain (Figueroa Mtn)
- Run for 46 minutes uphill with 460 X 4 of elevation gain, and run back down, totally 9.2 kilometers of running (summit of Refugio Rd)
- 46 46-second sets of Zissou-approved "these are great" warm-ups
- Drink 40 ounces of wine "Pour the wine over here. He doesn't know anything about wine."
- Drink 6 Camparis, "on the rocks," poured by an intern
- Smoke 4 pipe loads of Borkum Riff "I don't usually try grass"
- Eat 46 sardines and bananas

Anyone who cares to join me, is more than welcome,

Stevesie

* Point scale for boulder problems. All done at Red Rocks.

V0- = 1
V0 = 2
V0+ = 3
V1 = 4
V2 = 5
V3 = 6
V4 = 7
V5 = 8

etc

My Darling, We Haven't Had A Hit In...

years, so why would I fuck with Larry Amin?

After yesterday's trial run, things are looking bleak this time around as well. I'm tired, sore, and have completed less than half of my prospective challenge in the last 3 days. Yikes.

But Team Zissou always makes the best of a bad situation. Over the last three years, our adventures have taken us to the mountains of San Bernardino, the gangland streets of LA, the High Sierra to the blighted hinterlands of the Mojave desert, as well as the cultural wastelands of the Inland Empire in our everlasting Deep Search for meaning in the big blue and beyond.

I Thought This Was Supposed To Be a Puff Piece

It's A Cliffhanger

It Promised To Be Our Greatest Adventure Yet

Charting A Course Through Unprotected Waters

It's Sunday morning and I still don't know what I'm going to do because, basically, I've no idea what I even can do. How much fitness do you lose in three weeks?

Yesterday, I did about 35 points worth of bouldering on a scale that I'm planning to use to total 460 on my birthday. It wasn't hard but my fingers are sore, not even 10% into the total I want. Uh-oh.

The day before, I did the biking portion (or part of it, anyway), riding up Figueroa Mtn. This was pretty fun because, not only is Fig fun but I ran across a women's training camp with some riders I knew, including Pam and Sophie from the Everest Challenge, and Dotsie from LA. I'm not sure who was actually in charge of this camp but I'll the participants were getting their money's worth as there was an all-star group of pros at what looked like about a 2:1 ratio with student.

Anyway, I cruised up Fig but didn't bring enough food/water and bonked a bit on the way home and my back was pretty worked by the time I got off my bike.

So, the two portions of my challenge have both caused some issues causing me to think this is probably the most unknown about a challenge I've ever been. But isn't that supposed to be the point?

How About A Little Teammanship?

Yet to figure out a challenge, I do have some components figured out. How about a little teamsmanship?

It'll be a Santa Ynez challenge, which means it will contain a ride up Figueroa Mt, some bouldering at Red Rock, some running (probably up Refugio Rd), some wine (but no fuckin' merlot), maybe a ridiculous steak place like The Hitching Post.

It will also include the usual Team Zissou elements: The Jaguar Shark, warm-ups, sardines, bananas, some pipeloads of Borkum Riff (since I don't usually try grass), Campari, red caps, and teammanship.

Right now I'm going on an overnight drunk. In five days, I'll set off to find whatever ate my friend and, hopefully, destroy it. Anyone who cares to join me is more than welcome.

There Have Been Rumors About Your Retirement

No, damnit! I'm not old!

But because I haven't done a challenge in a couple of years, all due to injury, it's been suggested that I'm past it. This year, perhaps, is no different, and it's happened again. I do plan on getting something done, no matter what. Here are a couple of injury blogs:

Eastern vs Western Medicine, from Oct 27

and Dealing With Injury, from Nov 8th.

So, as you can see, things are going fairly well and I'm once again charting a course through unprotected waters.

Intern, get me a Campari.

This Was To Be Our Greatest Adventure Yet

But, ultimately, a tragic one.

It began with a move to Utah where training occured daily, without fail. Soon the locals were accepting me as one of their own. Mighty pretty country. Landlocked.

Funny Utah Story

Prior to this I'd embarked on a month-long base training program during the Tour de France. While not exactly intense, by my standards, I was getting in some decent mileage and base.

July's Tour Notes

By September, training was going well leading me to harbor some big thoughts:

Time For A New Challenge

Which began to form into a concrete--and ambitious--plan:

Challenge Thoughts

Which very quickly turned south:

Somedays You Eat The Bear...

Leaving me to ponder the obvious question, "what's next for Team Zissou?"

Let Me Tell You About My Blog

This blog was created for my 2006 Birthday Challenge. I went to Blogger.com, signed up, and it prompted me to start writing, all for a purchase price of zero.

Next, I had to think of a challenge. As my birthday isn't here yet, I haven't done this yet. But I have been thinking about it. In fact, I've written about it elsewhere so as soon as I post this I'll find those, post them too, and you'll see what's been going on this year as I get ready for my challenge. My muscles aren't supposed to look like that but I can't afford to fix them this year, so I'm doing a challenge anyway.

Challenges are better if supported by images. Since I keep forgetting my camera, this year I've mainly used my camera phone, which sucks. Who gives a shit? The point is to post something. At Blogger, it's easy. You just click on the picture link above and post anything in you files, like this. For some reason, it always puts them on top. There's probably a way to fix it, but I don't have time to figure it out right now.

Birthday Challenges have been going on for a long time. The first I heard of them were through Jack LaLanne. I started doing my own in the mid 80s, which you can read about here (add link by clicking on the hyperlink icon above and adding your link.)

Since I set this site up they've become a lot more creative. Here are some good examples:

Reed 2000

Todd 2001

Hans 2004

Josh 2005

They've also gotten a lot harder.

Todd 2006

And how could they not, with training programs like this:

Bob's training schedule, 2000

But the point, really, is to challenge yourself. "Hard" is relative and truly only means hard for you. Running a marathon may be a warm up for Catra, but is an epic undertaking for most people. A birthday challenge is worthy as long as it's hard for you. It really doesn't matter what it's like for anyone else.

But by hard I mean HARD for you. If you know you can do it, it isn't a challenge. Like the Big Daddy likes to say, "if you can afford to lose it, it ain't gambling." Ditto for a challenge. They key is the unknown. You should go in with no idea about whether you can make it or not. Truly, some of the best challneges fail. But success, or failure, isn't point point, which is to get out there and chase the hairy edge as defined by you. Ultimately, what you're after is the feeling of why haven't I done a birthday challenge before?