Date: 2011-12-01
To: Physical Training
Miles today: 0.0

I guess I didn¢t tell the truth. I¢d really intended to write a post per month, but it didn¢t happen. No excuse. Many explanations though, one of which is that we recently moved back to the States from England, and I have been consumed with remote work from home, as well as getting the finishing touches on the place put together: installing wood floors, painting, deciding where the chamberpots will go, etc. But really I¢ve just been kind of lazy. Sorry, but there it is. There are a couple of changes to my plan, apart from breaking my word to write one of these posts per month leading up to my departure. I¢ve changed my stepping off date from Springer. I decided to leave on February 29th. Why? It¢s a Leap Year. Cool day to take off. Figuratively, and probably literally, too.   Also, if the weather isn¢t too brutal up high that early in the year (wishful thinking), and I can achieve my 17 mi/day average with some good zero days thrown in there when I need them, then it should allow me to get back by late July, so I can enjoy at least part of the Vermont summer with my family. Additionally, I think I will forego the approach trail, and just get a lift into Big Stamp Gap on FS 42. This¢ll allow me to get a very early start to the day. I want to save the approach trail to do with my entire family, at some point.Anyway, beyond the lame excuses above, this post will cover what I am doing physically to prepare for the journey.   A couple thousand miles is a long way to walk, and this will be about endurance over the very long haul. The key for me is to train hard physically and focus on pounding and punishing, (but not damaging) the feet, calves, quads, hams, glutes, and hips. To do this I¢m doing a good bit of trail running. I have many routes mapped out up here in the hills of Vermont and will typically get 25-30 miles per week in. Usually 6-9 milers with 500-1000 ft. gained. Nothing significant on hardball surfaces, though; most of it is on dirt roads and ATV trails. My focus is not on speed. I¢ll run 7:20 miles on the flats when I get them (rarely), and slog it out at 9-10 min miles on 5-10% grade inclines. Hillwork feels more like breathless walking to me. Still, I make my way tortoise-like up these slopes, and it helps both the physical and mental games. Beyond the endurance benefits from trail runs, I find that thus regimen also helps me with balance and reaction reflexes, due to dealing with the roots, rocks, moss, stumps, branches, and uneven ground. Good times; no dire falls yet.I¢ll intermix these runs with heading over to the gym at Vermont Technical College in Randolph Center, a few times per week and spending an hour or so on an elliptical trainer. In this way I stay physical every day (I know I should rest, but I don¢t), while allowing my body to recover from the runs. I¢ll also do some calisthenics and bodyweight resistance work to get the torso moving and toned. After these workouts I¢ll hit the pool for a few laps just to limber up. I¢m all about being an aerobically fit walrus. Come to think of it, I¢ll bet most walruses are.Within a few weeks, trail running will become much more difficult, due to the snow. At that point I¢ll be shifting into hiking or snowshoeing some longer distances, fully laden with my AT pack. I¢m going with a sub-30 lb pack weight, so that¢s what I¢ll train with.   I also plan on doing a few winter overnight excursions on the Long Trail before the AT start to get the whole package together.Beyond that, I¢ll just continue eating healthy, maintaining my weight at 175-180 lbs. I figure the average day will burn 4000 calories. If I can eat 2500 per day, that¢ll still put me in a 1500 cal/day deficit. That¢s a lot of deficit over the long run, so I expect I¢ll loose some weight. Most people do. Some lose a lot. They say that the big losses come early on. We¢ll see.   I also take supplements; have for years. I take psyllium husk, multis, calcium, fish oil, and glucosamine. I won¢t take all of that on the trail though, probably only fish oil. Maybe Vitamin E. Possibly single malt.Next time I¢ll lay out my kit, with pictures.   Hard to believe this thing is as close as it is. Ninety days. You gotta be kidding me.