FROM COUCH TO KILIMANJARO: A WELLNESS DESIGN CONSULTANT'S HIKING ADVENTURES AND HOME HEALTH ADVICE

by Jamie Gold

My earliest hiking recollection is completely mixed up with my childhood memories of summer storms. The way my parents told it, smiling indulgently, was that they dressed me up in a rain jacket for a sun shower outing near our Catskills Mountain summer home, my hands in theirs, my five-or six-year-old self tucked lovingly between them. Ready for our family adventure, we stepped onto the back porch to go for a short family hike. We didn’t get farther than the steps when lightning streaked across the afternoon sky and thunder cracked hard and fast on its tail. The way they recall that moment, I fell to the porch floor and refused to budge. Our hike didn’t happen that day, and my fear of thunderstorms still intrudes sometimes on my outdoor adventures. I no longer fall to the floor –a decade of living in the Southeast inured me to all but the worst of them when I ’m sheltered –but I still have a healthy respect for their power.

Fifty years later, thunder rolled in the distance as our trio of mid life women descended Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48 states, after a very long climb. We’d started just past midnight for a one-day trek, relieved that storms weren’t predicted to interrupt our plans as they’d threatened the weekend before. Storm warnings on that trail can be literal non starters.

"The way they recall that moment, I fell to the porch floor and refused to budge."

Though it took hours longer than any of us had anticipated , largely because of my hesitation on the last two miles approaching the summit, (a span aptly dubbed by a friend as the “cliffs of insanity”), I was proud of myself for reaching my summit goal despite my fears. I was OK accepting the help of friends in making it, just as I’d been OK accepting the help of Spartan strangers in completing a challenging series of obstacle course races, and from teammates in completing two military-style GORUCK endurance events the year before. Even slowly, even clumsily, even nervously, even with help, a goal completed is a goal worth celebrating .

Goals have played a pivotal role in my staying healthy these past eight years. After losing about 100 pounds, I was having a heck of a time keeping them off. Losing weight is much more exciting than maintaining it, as anyone who has yoyo-ed can tell you, and the techniques that worked before didn’t seem to be working any more.

After discovering obstacle course racing as a volunteer, I won a free Spartan Race entry, signed up for a 5K-ish Sprint, and started prepping for it with a local OCR group and coach. Hiking and running local trails, climbing trees and walls, carrying heavy rocks, army crawling uphill and doing endless burpees all got me in better shape than any gym workout I ’d ever done before. Even more helpful, I learned that training and fueling toward an event goal was much more motivating to me than dieting and exercising, and I’ve been setting mentally and physically-challenging goals for myself ever since. (I was never an athletic kid, so this transformation in my life from girl chosen last in gym class to weekend warrior has been rather gratifying.)

I’ve done six OCRs, two marathons (one road and one trail ), one triathlon, two GORUCKs and the Mt. Whitney summit. This year, as I approach my 60th birthday, I’m training for a December Mt. Kilimanjaro summit.. I'm hoping that the pandemic gods here and in Tanzania cooperate so I don’t have to postpone!

Another lesson I’ve learned during my couch to Kili training is that my home plays a supporting role in my wellness endeavors. Yours does too. Let me share a few of the how and whys. If you run trails, hike or backpack, you likely store and clean your gear at home. Having a designated place for cleaning and storage in your garage or mudroom makes hitting the trails with everything ready to go, and nothing accidentally left behind, faster and easier. If you participate in serious peak bagging, having your kitchen optimized for healthy fueling, your bedroom optimized for sleep, and your bathroom optimized for hygiene can support you in your goals. I’m a big fan of two affordable elements that can be added to any residence, whether a first apartment or forever retirement home: I keep an anti-fatigue mat on my kitchen floor for long meal prep sessions so I’m not adding unnecessary stress on my joints, and I had a hand -held massaging shower head installed in my bathroom. The latter gets trail dust out of hard -to-reach places and can be aimed at sore muscles for soothing aches.

There’s another, fun way your home can help support your goals: Include mementos from your outdoor adventures in your living space to make yourself smile whenever you see them.

My race medals hang in my garage and greet me every time I arrive home and I’ve hung a vintage-style framed Mt. Whitney poster in my living room. I often joke with friends that my Kili goal gets me off the couch six days a week. That colorful, very visible reminder of a past goal accomplished reminds me of what’s possible when I lace up my trail shoes and keeps me motivated for ‘train or die’ mode.

I share many more tips, both for renters and homeowners, hikers, runners, cyclists, swimmers and Boomer class weekend warriors like myself, in my new book, written as much for me as for you!

Jamie Gold , CKD, CAPS, MCCWC is a San Diego-based Mayo Clinic Certified Wellness Coach and the author of three books on design Her latest, Wellness by Design: A Room-by-Room Guide to Optimizing Your Home for Heath, Fitness, and Happiness.

(Simon & Schuster/Tiller Press), publishes September 1 , 2020.