They say that the mountain whispers to you if you listen. I listened to the mountain on ascent 5 at night in the darkness by myself. The mountain said, "You've just started."
My dear friend Jerremy Newsome attended this event in 2019 and in 2021. I have to admit at that time I thought that it was crazy, but seeing all of the positive stories, I signed up. After I attended Stratton with him this year, it's been a life changing experience. The 29029 community is AMAZING.
My experience has had ups and downs and I've embraced every moment since June of 2021 when I emailed Matt Burrell about this event and how to get started. I wasn't literally going from Couch to 29029, but certainly VERY close to it, as close as you can be in my opinion. Matt and Coach Brent gave me a starting point and I started. During this beginning process I also started to work with Ashley Randall and I pushed myself more than I ever had before. Previously I'd never truly pushed myself. I did workouts and coasted at levels 1 and 2, never really past my comfort zone on a consistent basis. Ashley Randall pushed me and most of the time I didn't care for it as it was out of my comfort zone. I did it anyway and found that I could do what she was asking me to do. It was a new experience for me in the fitness area. Did I want to workout most days? Yes. But were there days I wanted to sleep in or skip my afternoon workout? Yes. I only missed about 5 workouts during my 20-week training, and I trained 90% of the time in Tier 4, at my pace so I added extra time. The stair master was at levels 1, 2 and 3 as I would get out of breath quickly but committed to the time asked for. I know now that I will continue to push myself and set new push goals because I can do it.
The picture below is where I started, June 2021. My weight was high; however, I felt good and energetic, little did I know the transformation I was just starting.
October of 2022 came quickly and I was standing at the base of Stratton Mountain. I had hiked up a mountain in Ketchikan, Alaska, in August, but somehow this looked much harder. I told myself that I could do this. My main goal for 29029 was to make 1 ascent. Yep, just one. Again, I was going from 'couch' to gaining 1,750 ft in 1.35 miles. My first ascent was hard, the second, third and fourth were harder as I could not keep my heart rate down to a realistic level. I stopped about every 20 to 50 steps to catch my breath on Upper Standard. As I was catching my breath, I cheered others on which brought me great satisfaction. I had the honor of walking the first half mile of my ascent 2 and 4 with Jerremy Newsome. I had the honor of hiking my fourth ascent with my coach Ashley Randall. Ashley has the patience of a saint! Coach Ashley knows what she's doing, she knows what to say to people to help them past their barriers and get them up the mountain. One of the best moments and one I was looking forward to was when Colleen Rue, Voice of The Mountain, called my name with each ascent and marked my first summit. Colleen's hug is the best and it was a pleasure to meet her in person.
Ascent 5 was game changing. The last few weeks of training I did the majority of the workouts on the stair master and I did notice that my left hip flexor was sore. I was maybe .5 miles into the hike and had horrible pain. It came on strong and at the same time so did pain in my right glute muscle. I had an injury to my right glute back in March, but I've worked through it up until this time. Coach Brent saw me hobbling and asked what was going on. I told him. He then asked what I wanted to do. I stated that I had all night and that I would hobble up the mountain to finish my fifth ascent, and that's exactly what I did. I took the smallest steps I've ever taken and groaned in pain as I went up the steepest parts of the mountain. At the top I had to physically lift my left leg over a pipe because I could not lift it, that's how bad it was. This is when the mountain whispered, and I listened. I knew that this was the true beginning of my new journey. I took the gondola down and went to recovery. I had my glute and hip flexor massaged, but I knew that I was done.
I came back to the mountain on Saturday to cheer on Jerremy and all of my new friends. What a great experience! I was so moved as people kept coming up to me and commented how much I inspired and helped them up the mountain on Friday and Saturday. I heard over and over how much my smiling face and words of encouragement helped them keep climbing. That meant so much to hear and I knew that I found my people. I decided that I would volunteer at Jackson, WY in 2023 as cheering people on is a strength. I'll continue to build my endurance and strength over the next two years and then hit the mountain again in 2024. This community is something that I've never encountered before and I want to be a part of it. A big thank you to Marc Houdulich and Colin O’Brady for this event, our conversations and making me feel welcome and part of their community.
My dedication to a healthy lifestyle has been fully recharged by this experience.
I have so many people to thank for this beginning phase of my endurance journey. My husband Matt, my mom, Jerremy, Ashley Randall, Lezlee Collier, Pam Thrun, Ashley Allen, Sara Weber, Mark Weber, Colleen Rue, Mario Minnaert, Matt Scoletti, Patrick Keeble, Lisa Goldberg, Molly Kennedy, Jennifer Hill, Ali Rogers and so many more!
Picture by Ali Rogers, @pranalens
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