You CAN Achieve the Impossible

I've always enjoyed challenging the impossible.

Qualify for Little 500?

Check.

Complete a Tough Mudder?

Check.

Run a marathon?

Checking it off the bucket list next month.

It would be so easy to say that I can't do these things — that they seem impossible, even unfathomable, and therefore they must be.

And often, when I tell people about these accomplishments, that's the response I get.

"I could never do that."

But we all know that's not true.

In 2011, in the US alone, more than half a million people finished a marathon.

Since its inception in 2010, Tough Mudder has registered over 2 million participants.

And every year, 33 teams qualify for Little 500.

People CAN and do achieve the impossible all the time. So, when The Schemer and my former Little 500 teammate, Christina Zerfas, gave me another impossible challenge — I didn't hesitate.

Collect half a million cans in a year? (Scaled can amount for C4K Denver)

Check.

Climb Mount Kilimanjaro?

Check.

Of course, I'm being preemptive here for effect. But there is no doubt in my mind that Cans for Kili will achieve our impossible goals.

In our past blogs, we've focused extensively on how to achieve our first goal: recycling over 2 million cans between Indianapolis (1.2 million cans) and my team here in Denver (800,000 cans).

So today, as the group-appointed "one with experience," I'd like to discuss our second goal: summiting Kili.

As with any impossible goal, it's important to follow a training plan (With the exception of my Tough Mudder. That one I'll admit, I just kind of winged). This way, we break the impossible into small, achievable increments.

Sweet Potato Club maintained a five-day cycling regimen for the better half of a semester in preparation for Little 5, and I've run five times a week since April for my marathon in November, gradually increasing from 3-mile runs to 20.

What does a training plan for climbing Kili look like?

First, some facts. For all climbers, all routes, Mount Kilimanjaro has a 45-percent summit success rate. Though by opting for a 7-day itinerary on the Machame Route, the most popular up Kilimanjaro, Cans for Kili ups our chances of success to 85. With a 6-day itinerary, those odds fall to 73.

This brings me to the most important advice I have found for climbing Kili: Pole, Pole. In Swahili, it means slow, slow.

Though aerobic (cardiovascular) training will help teach aspiring climbers to process limited oxygen in a more efficient way, climbers often make the mistake of trying to ascend too quickly, according to Kilimanjaro Trek Guide.

By pushing too hard or too fast at the beginning of the climb, would-be summiteers don't allow themselves enough time to acclimate to the high altitude, as demonstrated recently by an accomplished Australian marathon runner, "who collapsed at Stella Point because he had gone too fast early on in his hike."

I had a similar experience when I climbed my first 14er (mountain higher than 14,000 ft., for those not familiar), Gray's Peak. I made the mistake of trying to keep pace with my friend, a native Coloradan, and nearly had to turn around because of it. It wasn't until I started taking small, slow steps that I caught my breath and found a rhythm to my hike, making the remaining ascent significantly easier.

The key to a Kili training regimen is long and slow. Kilimanjaro Trek Guide recommends a 3-to-6-month plan for those who are "relatively unfit" and a 1-to-2-month plan for those who are "relatively fit."

And while long runs can be beneficial for training, most sites recommend that the key is simply to practice hiking, as "climbing Kilimanjaro is in fact, just one long hike."

According to Ultimate Kilimanjaro, "the best exercise that you can do to prepare for Mount Kilimanjaro is hiking." For those with little-to-no hiking experience, the site recommends starting with shorter intervals at a slower pace, with no weight in your pack. Gradually, as fitness increases, increase distance and weight, but keep the pace the same. Remember: Pole, pole.

As for my friends in Indy, with limited access to trails and hills to practice elevation, the site suggests trying out the StairMaster or treadmill, adjusting the incline to simulate the uphill trek.

The rationale for hiking instead of running comes down to muscle memory. When you run, you're wearing your running shoes, no pack, and you're going fast, much faster than you will ascend Kili. Hiking, on the other hand, allows you to break in your climbing shoes — an absolute imperative to prevent blisters during the actual climb — get your shoulder, back and hip muscles used to the contact points of your pack, and condition your leg muscles for all the micro-movements that come with walking on uneven terrain.

With the Cans for Kili Crew planning a trip to Denver next summer, we will look to summit 14ers on back-to-back days, helping to simulate the seven straight days of 5-to-10-mile hikes we will endure throughout the trip.

As for those with no easy mountain access, Ultimate Kilimanjaro says that, "if you can walk on a StairMaster for 1-2 hours, at 30 steps per minute while carrying a 20-lb pack, then you're probably ready for the real thing."

Still don't believe that you CAN achieve this impossible goal? Kilimanjaro Trek Guide says that with proper training, "most people — regardless of age or physical condition — can climb Kilimanjaro."

As with most impossible goals, the biggest trick is believing.

Once you set your mind to it, the rest falls into place, one pole step at a time.

Never stop climbing,

Captain Denver