I also want to thank all of you who wrote comments of encouragement on my blog, especially Karol, Ann, and Bob, who wrote nearly as many comments as I wrote posts! Your words were encouraging, motivating, and funny!

To my fellow hikers: Adam, Jacob, Caleb, and David, thank you so much. I don’t know if I could have made it without David, who climbed Monadnock for the fourteenth time.

To my sons, Matt, Ben, and Tim, I am thankful that you stayed with me the whole time on the way up. I know you could have climbed much faster, but you knew this was my goal, and that I wanted to share it with you. I know you’ll always remember the day you climbed Mount Monadnock with your dad. I hope you get to climb with your children when you are fifty years old. And I hope when you are seventy-five you tell your grandchildren that you once climbed it with their great grandfather. That would be cool.

After a half hour, I dozed briefly, and dreamed that the neighbors near the nursing home painted graffiti on my office windows that said “No more KFC”, because apparently I had bought KFC for the staff and they littered the neighborhood with wrappers and buckets. I’m no psychologist, but dreaming of fried chicken while trying to lose weight doesn’t need much interpretation.

Before we checked out of the hotel, Tim led me in some leg stretches that he had learned in gym class. I was impressed.

We met the older boys at the entrance to the mountain road. They had started driving at 6 a.m., and arrived at the same time. We started our climb at 9:15, heading up the White Dot trail, the 1.9 mile, most direct route to the top. About 15 minutes into the hike I began to wonder why I wanted to do it. My heart was beating hard and I was really exerting myself. After a quick break I began to get acclimated, and David was doing a great job of encouraging me to go at my own pace. As we reached the first clearing we took time to admire the view and to appreciate what a beautiful day we had for the climb.

There are a few steep areas that are all rock, and you need to use your hands, so it is not just simply walking uphill. As we got closer to the top I was feeling more energized, although I had to take a break about 15 minutes from the summit. In retrospect, I don’t think I had been drinking enough water to that point, and I had not had a snack (not counting the four black flies that flew into my mouth). After a long drink and some protein we tackled the last leg to the top.

It amazed me how well I could remember different parts of the trail from my aborted attempt 6 years earlier. I recognized the point where I told the other climbers to go on, that I had decided to go back, and then I continued, by myself, to what is called the “adult summit” or “false summit”.

This time, there would be no turning back. Between my sons and my sherpa, there was a lot of positive encouragement, and I knew I was in much better condition, aerobically and physically, than on my first attempt. I thought of all those who had contributed money to the Elmhurst Eden Fund, and those who said they had been inspired by my effort and were attempting to lose weight. I also thought of the Elders who had promised to say a prayer for me.

The summit was very windy. When we started our climb it was 51 degrees. The top, we were told by a ranger, was 35. I had to put my hat away because of the wind, and we all put fleeces or sweatshirts on within minutes of arriving there. The view was fantastic, although we saw some ominous clouds in the distance. We were 3165 feet up.

We took some photos, and then found shelter behind some large rocks, where we ate our peanut butter sandwiches and stretched out before heading back down. I texted my friend Jeff Mason in Columbia,  South America, who had been one of the first people to encourage my healthy lifestyle, and shared with me that I would be climbing on his birthday. “Happy Birthday from the top of Monadnock!” I wrote. Then, I sent a group email to the staff of Elmhurst. I called my wife, who was equally shocked that I had phone service at the summit, and that we were already at the top at noon.

In some ways I regret not going back to stand on the top a second time, but we were concerned about the clouds, and I sensed that everyone wanted to push on. I also didn’t have the presence of mind to have a photo taken with all three boys at the summit.

I had this sense of melancholy, that I was there for perhaps the one and only time in my life. I don’t know why I felt that, but I did. So, we started back down, choosing the White Cross trail, which is 2.1 miles, and, allegedly, is the least steep descent. If going up was a challenge for my heart and lungs, going down was tougher for my lower back and knees. We were making good time, but only because gravity was pulling us. By the time we were halfway down, each step was becoming painful, as all of my weight was crashing down on my lower limbs. With a rock surface, there is no “give”, nothing to absorb that force other than your body, and I was getting tired.

There was a husband and wife, older than me, who were on the same trails at about the same time. They argued loudly, as the wife attempted to advise the husband which way he should climb, and the husband would snarl at her and tell her he knew what he was doing, The kids nicknamed him “Reckless Joe” because he just kept coming, whenever we turned around he was there.

On the way up we encountered a number of climbers who were coming back down and would encourage us by saying “Almost there!”, “The hardest part is over”, so we did the same thing to others, especially those who wore facial expressions of fatigue or exasperation.

Near the bottom we began to feel raindrops. Now, the end of the trail couldn’t come fast enough. I thought about the end of the Rocky movie, where Apollo Creed tells Rocky that there won’t be a rematch. I felt the same way at that moment about Monadnock. It beat me once, but now we were even.

We reached the parking lot, and I went into the park store to buy a hat that said “I climbed Mount Monadnock”. A ranger was on the radio announcing that a band of severe weather was going to force the closure of the summit. Just then it started to thunder, and pour. I was thankful that we were done. Had I been 100 yards from the top when they closed the summit, I think I would have continued, and it would have taken several rangers with tranquilizer darts to take me down.

The drive home seemed to take forever, but we actually made great time. Kirsten had balloons tied to the lampost in our driveway, and had invited friends over for drinks and food. Since it was a school night, everyone had to leave on the earlier side, but I could have celebrated all night. This goal, that I announced on January 1, 2008, had been achieved, thanks to so many people, who supported me and would not let me fail.

It has now been four days since Monadnock, and the soreness has finally left my legs. I exercised this morning, and probably will go to the Y tonight. Several people have asked “what’s next?” and I find myself asking the same thing. I know I need to set another goal soon. It will involve more weight loss and a physical challenge, but it will not be a fundraiser, and there probably won’t be a blog involved.

I believe, however, that I will stand on the summit of Monadnock again. The feeling of achievement, and attaining that goal, has overshadowed the pain in my knees and back.

So if you’re interest in going for a hike with me sometime…

Good rock to rest on

Not an easy climb

This way down

I took this photo. It's the marker at the mountaintop.

All of us at the summit

The boys are balancing on the wind

Tim being blown away

Ben

view of the summit

the top

my three sons

My butt

The drummer

My Sherpa and me

Matt and the toad (which is which?)

I am very excited to climb, and I am anxiously looking forward to Sunday morning. My biggest fear is that my oldest son will twist an ankle or develop blisters on the climb which will make it difficult for him to train for next week’s State Track Championships. He has qualified for three events, and I would hate to be the cause of anything less than his absolute best performance.

This week, in the comic strip Dilbert, there was a character who was bragging about his leg strength and he said something like “My thighs are so strong I am afraid to jump rope when the sun is shining.” I don’t know what that means, but I think it’s hilarious. That character is ready to climb a mountain. Me, too, although I will not be jumping rope anytime soon.

This morning I was a guest on the John DePetro Show on radio WPRO a.m. here in RI. John allowed me to give a plug for the Eden Fund and talk about the Monadnock climb. He said he will have me back on Monday morning at 7:30 as a follow up to see how the hike went.

Thank you all for your support. Because of you, I won’t fail.

The interview will air tonight at 5:30., and shortly thereafter, like the other times when she has featured this story, my blog readership will spike up dramatically!

So, I want to take this opportunity to invite you all to DONATE money to The Eden Fund at Elmhurst Extended Care. The Eden Fund was established when Elmhurst first adopted the Eden Alternative philosophy of Eldercare several years ago, and it pays for programs and resources that enhance the quality of life of the Elders in the Elmhurst Extended Care community.

Nursing homes have been hit hard by recent cuts in Medicaid funding, and Elmhurst is one of several not-for-profit nursing homes that was hit especially hard. We rely on the kindness and generosity of people like you to help us provide for the Elders in a way that they deserve.

There are several ways to donate:

Please send checks made out to “The Eden Fund” to the Development Office, Elmhurst Extended Care, 50 Maude St Providence, RI 02908, or you can go to www.rwmc.org, click on “Ways of giving” and then click on ”click here to donate online”. Please specify that this gift is for the ”Elmhurst climb fundraiser”.

As of this morning, we have raised nearly $3000, and the Elders are very excited.

It’s never too late to adopt a healthy lifestyle, and it’s never too late to make a tax-deductible donation to the Eden Fund! Thank you so much!

1. If you deny yourself food, you’ll eventually overeat.

2. When it comes to healthy eating and healthy living, there are no shortcuts.

3. When intentions become actions, success follows.

4. Be mindful of what you eat, but also be mindful while you eat.

5. Some of the best workouts happen when you don’t feel like exercising.

6. If you don’t stick with the journey, you’ll never reach the destination.

7. The word “recreation” has “eat” in the middle of it. (Have you ever looked around at other people at a ballgame or in the movie theater? When did mindless eating become normal behavior?)

8. Exercise doesn’t take time, exercise makes time. (Not only will you live longer, but you’ll have more energy!)

9. Healthy doesn’t just happen. You have to make it a priority.

Reclaiming my health and preparing to climb Monadnock has taught me a lot about the importance of community. In the past, my weight loss efforts would be secretive, perhaps only my wife would be in on it. This time I announced my intentions to my friends, family, co-workers and colleagues, and I asked them to play a role in helping to achieve my goal. Everyone, from the Elders at work to people I don’t even know who e-mailed me after reading this blog, has had a hand in this effort. Without community, I would have failed, again. I urge you, whatever your goals, challenges, aspirations, and struggles may be, lean on others. There are many who will share your burden, who want to help others along life’s journey. Community will surprise you.

We are also getting close to $2000 in donations to the Eden Fund, which is especially gratifying.

The forecast for Sunday’s climb is 71 degrees, partly cloudy, with 0% chance of precipitation. We are all systems go.

On Sunday I set the treadmill on 20 and walked for 2.5 miles, then I set the Arc Strider on 10 for another 15 minutes. Then I lifted weights. I think I am ready.

Besides my sons, I will be accompanied on Monadnock by my friend David, who will be playing the part of Tenzing Norguay. (Norguay was the Sherpa who accompanied Sir Edmund Hillary to the top of Everest) David has climbed Monadnock many times, and will urge me on, no doubt with the fervor of Bundini Brown during the Ali-Frazier fights. Should be interesting…

People have been asking, what will become of the blog once the climb is done? I will probably add one or two messages, postscript, but I will retire the blog and move onto other things. I have been considering some ghostwriting, but I will start small, with, say, grocery lists, and move up.

Some people get to eat anything they want and never have to worry. I am not one of those people, but I have learned to accept that some people are just LUCKY BASTARDS! As you can tell, I’m not the least bit bitter.

My dog Lucy eats a lot of things that are not good for her. Last week she ate my Maui Jim sunglasses. Not only are they made of potentially toxic materials that could have killed her, but I could have killed her as well, except that she is so cute. Cute is an underestimated factor in the laws of natural selection. Cute is the precise reason my children are still alive, because there have been times…

…so I am conducting a kind of scientific experiment: I bought a new pair of Ray Bans, and a $10 pair of sunglasses on the same weekend. Which one do you suppose will last longer?

At age 50 there are many ways to monitor one’s health. One way is to have a “colonoscopy”. A colonoscopy is a proactive test to screen for colon cancer. The name colonoscopy comes from the Greek words “colon” meaning “colon”, and “oscopy” meaning “50 foot hose with a camera attached to the end”.

Ironically enough, there is a baseball player named Bartolo Colon, who pronounces his last name ”cologne”. However, if you didn’t  know the pronunciation you might have been confused or even offended by the headline that appeared in a local sports page after Bartolo pitched well: “Blue Jays Batters Get A Whiff of Colon”. That’s right up there with classics like “Bird Injures Knee, Celtics Crush Nuggets”.

But getting back to monitoring one’s health, I had a colonoscopy yesterday. (Fifty is fun!) The procedure went well, but I got into a little spat with a nurse at the Colonoscopy Center, because she was the fifth employee of the morning to ask if I was there for a colonoscopy. Apparently, because of the high number of wrong side surgeries at a nearby major hospital, precautions have been taken to assure that no errors are made for any medical procedure. One safety measure is for every employee of every medical office to ask patients to verify the name of the procedure for which they are scheduled. The first four times I thought it was cute. (Again, cute!) The fifth time, however, when the nurse asked me if I knew why I was at the Colonoscopy Center, I replied sharply, like a man with an eating disorder that has not had solid food in 24 hours: “I’m here to get my teeth cleaned!” To say that I got “reamed”  would not be inaccurate, because that really is the definition of a colonoscopy. Whatever happened, I was under heavy sedation.