Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Feel The Burn...And the Rip

I'll be going with Kashcraft and Co. up the MR on Thursday and because it's short notice have been putting in some rough conditioning hikes yesterday and today.

I read or heard somewhere, maybe Runner's Magazine that when a person starts strenuous exercise after not doing it for a while that it causes rips in the muscle fibers and that is one thing that causes the familiar pain (lactic acid being the other.) The ripped fibers are considered an injury by the body which then sends an extra blood supply to that area (say the leg muscles) for repair. This extra blood supply,being available to the leg muscles, increases energy to the muscle.

I don't know if it's true, but it makes sense. i did a brutal little 2 mile hike up a canyon that is steeper than the MR with 17 lbs. of dead weight strapped on me. Yesterday I felt the burn and the rip in my leg muscles when I got down. This morning I did the hike twice with more strength and stamina in my legs than yesterday.

Any marathoners, personal trainers or gym rats out there to verify this?

I hope you're not seriously expecting to get in shape for the MR in four days! If you felt a muscle 'rip', you could be in trouble.
Lactic acid build-up causes the burn and muscle fatigue you feel immediately after exercise, but it dissipates within a few hours. The pain you feel a day or two later ("Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness") is believed to be caused by microscopic tears in the muscle fiber; and, yes, increased blood flow to repair the fiber is what causes the muscle to grow back slightly stronger. But that takes a couple of days.
But if you're feeling stronger today than yesterday, you must be doing something right.
Good luck Thursday!

I would agree that 4 days is indeed very short notice for the MR or any substantial high altitude hike. I've done many marathons and never heard that the "rip" in muscles will come about through running, at least not significant tears and then rebuilding. I thought this was more through weigh lifting, that's why you're not suposed to work certain muscles groups on consecutive days when lifting: biceps, triceps, deltoids, etc.

But hey-- if you think you're ready, more power to you! I would lay off any big hikes the day preceding the MR. Just rest up and do a little dinky hike, like to Lone Pine Lake or something.

I always put in my last training exercise about 3 days before I go and then take it easy the last two days. I kind of like to get in one last shot to finish my preparation, while not overdoing it or getting hurt. You don't want to be too sore before you start, or risk getting hurt and not being able to go.