kjoyce4The countdown to my Long Trail end-to-end hike is in full swing, and so is my training. It’s still too early for me to see any physical changes, but in less than two weeks, I’ve already felt a big shift in my attitude. This morning was the first time I stepped into the gym in three months and I decided to wear my new bike shorts which only have a 4” inseam. I’m really not a fan of the longer ones even though they’re a godsend in terms of chaffing.
Anyway, here I am, half way through my second set of leg presses, and my shorts have rolled up a couple inches because #thickthighclub. I’ve reached a point where I’m no longer embarrassed to fix my shorts in public when they ride up, but in a moment of self consciousness, I worried that someone was watching me, thinking I wasn’t fit enough to be wearing short shorts in the gym. Then my better brain piped up, “watch them walk 270 miles, then they can tell me my legs are too big.” These thick thighs are going to carry me to the Canadian border. That’s a pretty cool thought.
I know you’re here for a training log and not a pep talk, so here are how the first two weeks of training have gone so far.
Week 1 (April 5-11):
Monday: I started off training with an unexpectedly active day. I got a text at 9am cancelling two of my dog sitting appointments for the day, so I jumped in the car, grabbed Chloe, and hiked (most of) Mount Tom in Western Mass. I took along the pack I plan to take on trail fully loaded minus food to make sure the fit is perfect. Then I took a quick trail walk with a client. When I got home, my mom and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and walk around the neighborhood.
Miles: 4.9 mile hike, 1.3 mile walk, 1.6 mile walk – 7.8 miles total
Tuesday: Another beautiful day, my mom and I took another spin around the block. I think I took a hike on a local trail, but honestly I don’t remember and my watch didn’t record it.
Miles: 1.4 mile walk – 1.4 miles total
Wednesday: Really this week was beautiful, not a cloud in the sky for most of the week. I did a couple miles on a small trail near my house after work.
Miles: 2.4 mile hike – 2.4 miles total
Thursday: I rushed home after work again to do a few more miles on the same trail. I got a new pair of trail runners and want to test them out before taking them out backpacking. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I did heavier water carries with my day pack. I took about 4 liters and some of the heavier items in my pack like my power bank for weight.
Miles: 3.0 mile hike – 3.0 miles total
Friday: I decided to switch up my hiking location and trained out a new local trail, then came home, changed my shoes and took a walk with my mom.
Miles: 1.9 mile hike, 1 mile walk – 2.9 miles total
Saturday: This week, my normal dog sitting gigs turned into dog walking gigs which has been great to jumpstart my training. I did a morning walk with the pups, before packing Chloe up in the car. We headed for a trail almost two hours away, but on the way there I decided I didn’t want to drive that far, we rerouted but when we got to the new trailhead, there was a dreaded “no pets” sign. We got donuts and some amazing hard cider instead. No regrets.
Miles: 1.4 mile walk – 1.4 miles total
Sunday: With gloomy weather in the forecast, I planned to use Sunday as a rest day. I did my dog walk and spent the rest of the day working on other projects.
Miles: 1.2 mile walk – 1.2 miles total
Week 2 (April 12-18):
Monday: This has been the week of multiple walks. As a hiker, I’m the only rest at the top for 20 minutes type. Which is fine for a 6 mile day hike, but not the ideal method for hiking all day. Luckily, with multiple dog walking gigs and my own walks, I’ve been aiming for 3 miles a day split between 2 to 3 walks.
Miles: 1.2 mile walk, .8 mile walk, 1.2 mile walk – 3.2 miles total
Tuesday: Another two dog walk day. The neighborhoods I’ve been walking through allow me to switch up the route and add or drop distance easily.
Miles: 1.7 mile walk, 1.4 mile walk – 3.1 miles total
Wednesday: This was when I really started seeing three miles a day as a goal, so I took three walks to accomplish that. Two walks with clients’ dogs and one with Chloe (including a half mile run to get in those final steps a little faster).
Miles: 1.2 mile walk, 1.3 mile walk, 1 mile walk – 3.5 miles total
Thursday: This was the first day I had to use the gym to reach my miles goal. I got up early to get in my first walk before it started raining, and headed to the gym between dog sitting gigs to get in my final 1.05 miles. I also added on a couple leg exercises (and a hydro massage) because I was already at the gym.
Miles: 2 mile walk, 1.3 mile treadmill walk – 3.3 miles total
Workout: 12×3 leg press machine at 155 pounds, 10×3 leg extension machine at 55lbs, 10×3 hamstring curls at 70lbs, 12×3 calf raise machine at 70lbs
Friday (Planned): The forecast is calling for snow, so it looks like another trip to the gym. I haven’t done 3 miles on a treadmill since I was 16, so I’ll likely take this as an active rest day and cut down to 1.5-2 miles so I can go bigger on Saturday.
Planned Miles: 2
Saturday (Planned) : Dog walking in the morning, then depending on how much snow we get, I’ll probably head south for a longer hike.
Planned Miles: 4-6
Sunday (Planned) : An active rest day. I’ll probably take Chloe for a walk but try to keep the miles low.
Planned Miles: 2
As you can see, my thru hike training is all pretty loosely planned. I have about 9 weeks until my planned start date, and I’m hoping to average 12-14 miles a day on trail. At this pace, I’m planning to up my miles to 4 or 5, 3-4 times a week and go for two longer hikes a week. With a very flexible work schedule, that will likely mean longer hikes on the weekend and shorter ones during the week. I’ll keep my log updated here.
Disclaimer: I don’t know if all of these miles are exactly accurate. I’m using the data recorded by my Garmin watch.
