The Vast Unknown

Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of Tom Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld’s legendary first ascent of Mount Everest's West Ridge. Not just climbing a mountain, the 1963 expedition was a rebuilding of American confidence in the midst of the Cold War. Jim Whittaker actually is credited with the first ascent by an American, but he ascended via route that had already been climbed -- Hornbein and Unsoeld pushed up via a route they had never seen before.

Broughton Coburn's The Vast Unknown: America's First Ascent of Everest (New York, NY: 2013) is the story of the team, its frictions, adventures, and successes, set in the history that was unfolding at that time. Through and deeply immersive, this is a great read for mountaineering and history buffs alike. I won't give away the amazing twist revealed, but will say that it includes an audacious CIA plan. Intrigued?

Disclaimer: This book was sent to me for review purposes -- all opinions are my own.

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Midweek Motivation: Thomas Jefferson

Motivational words of wisdom from one of the founders of our country.

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Toys in the Attic (Well...)

Well...more like squirrels in the gutter. Even though we have leaf covers on our gutters, it's not enough to deter the incredibly aggressive squirrels we have around our home. One has actually chewed through the plastic cover at one end of the gutter and repeatedly removes and throws down a small piece at the other. Irritating.

How to get rid of them? (Besides buying the kids a bb gun? You'll shoot your eye out!) Turns out you can put wire mesh in place of the plastic leaf covers or you can hang moth balls inside. We're going to try moth balls. Little Worker and I will take a walk to the local hardware store today and buy some mothballs, along with some sort of mesh bags to contain them, I'll clean out the nest I'm sure they've built, and...problem solved! (We hope.)

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The Mañana Kid (Training Will Commence Tomorrow)

When I was younger, one of the few nicknames I ever had was The Mañana Kid, bestowed to me by a teacher who always laughed at my procrastination. (Why do something today that you can put off until tomorrow?) I feel that way these days in regards to training - I'm sure I'll get started tomorrow!

It's been totally helter-skelter, with no rhyme or reason, just getting out for a run one day, maybe some crosstraining the next, but nothing like a firm plan. Many of my runs have been with the kids completing their Running Club "homework" and with Laima supporting her training for the ZOOMA half in the fall.

Maybe it's simply that I don't have something specific to train for, no race yet in mind. That looks like it's changing soon though, as social media opportunities have come up for both the Spartan Race and the Men's Health Urbanathlon. Both are fun races and the Urbanathlon opportunity actually comes with a training plan -- bonus!

We'll see what happens, but I do know this: training will commence tomorrow.

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