Kim Marie goes to Antarctica – Training.

TRAINING

Now that selection was out of the way, the rigours of training began. How do I prepare for this and Antarctica’s below 30⁰ summers? I’ve had to sit in huge cold storage freezers for an hour or more at a time, crazy right?

Kim Marie braces herself as she does her tyre pull routine.

The rest of the training is not so simple, especially with a car accident keeping me in bed for 2 months right after selection – I was scared I’d not be ready for the final team selection in Norway.  So with less than 8 weeks to go, and with Yolan Zanders’ negotiation with Juliet Cuthbert, I walked into Cuthbert’s Gym to begin my specially-designed strength training regimen. This included intense squats, lunges, push-ups and even tyre pulling.

Gym workouts are also a part of Kim Marie’s hectic training.

Tyre pulling is the Holy Grail for polar explorers.  The 200lb pulk has all your food, fuel, tent, and medical supplies among other things. Pulling tyres is the best way to simulate that. You put a weight belt around your waist with a rope, attach tyre(s) and you are in business.  Weight is continuously added to build endurance. My body began to change – a larger derriere (and increased strength) was the  gift of this particular exercise. My 10-mile Saturday runs with my running club, the Jamdammers also started feeling easier.

Kim Marie does her regular trek

Leon Barnaby of the JDF also came on board.  He took me to the Blue Mountain Peak for the first time in my life, along with fellow Jamaican finalist, Alecia. We slept for a mere  3-4 hours on the way to the peak; starting from Mavis Bank – a distance of about 13 miles with bags packed with power food –Nature Valley bars, bottles of WATA, gummy bears, crackers and tuna. You need easy-to-digest meals on this trek and breaking up the granola bars with gummy bears makes a great fuel for trekking.

Under the watchful eye of Olympian Juliet Cuthbert, Kim Marie goes through her regular gym routine.

Norway was my next stop! I was still scared – was I ready?

More on that and the fundraising drama to get to Norway when you check back here on September 28^th. You can also follow my story at www.gleanerblogs.com.