Preparation for Machu Picchu - entering June

You'd think - an entire month since we decided to sign up for our Machu Picchu trek - I'd have progressed in my fitness readiness. Sad to report, 'tis not so. Not so at all. I do talk about it a lot though, and I guess that's at least a starting point, eh.

But not to be discounted, I've made some definite strides in the fun part - in procuring myself a pair of nice hiking boots. Warm, comfortable, waterproof, with adequate foot support, and still light enough that I'll be able to lift my feet after the tenth hour of walking. Those were the pre-requisites, and let me tell you, it's no easy task to settle on just the right pair. But with a stroke of luck, find boots we did, so by the weekend past, Delta and I were both adequately pod-accoutred.

Perhaps we should walk the loop around the park, Doobie suggested, keen to do the six mile loop to give our bodies a long-distance challenge. I donned my new boots and smartwool socks (which, by the way, really do work), and for good measure, put on my Camelbak filled with water and stuck the tube in my mouth, akin to a scuba diver. Then, finally, I was ready to take on the Park - albeit rather overly equipped.

So we plodded around the park, six miles total, with me sucking away at my Camelbak like a child with lollipop.

I thought we'd accomplished a feat akin to saving humanity. I talked about it constantly after we'd got home - I talked more than I normally would even - to make up for all the lost time when I couldn't talk because I had the Camelbak tube in my mouth.

But Delta, less easily excited than I am, just sighed. "That's not enough training at all, Ficali. Not by a far shot. You've got to go to the gym and do weights. You've got to strengthen your muscles."
"But I hate weights," I said, my voice sounding whiny even to myself.
But he wasn't having any of it.
"Tomorrow, we go to the gym. And I'll teach you how to use those machines you're so scared of."

I blinked. I guess I'd convinced myself that getting ready for Machu Picchu was all about buying the fun clothes and equipment.

Blech.