[pct-l] Preparation -- Physical Training

[Hillary Schwirtlich]

I didn't condition much before I got on the trail and I had no trouble.
Granted, I had an outdoor job, but it didn't require me to walk much, just
be on my feet slightly more than a desk job. But I started out slower (14
miles, 8 miles, rest day, then no 20s for about a week and a half). I'm
also 24, so that probably had something to do with it.

Seahorse

On Sun, Jan 15, 2012 at 8:26 AM, Ron <chiefcowboy at verizon.net> wrote:

> Eric,
> I agree with you.  On my 2009 thru I was fairly conditioned and had no
> problems.  In 2011 I figured on getting in shape on trail.  I was easily
> able to do 20's from day one but when I arrived in Big Bear I was done due
> to inflammed knees.  This year I will condition more and start slower.
> Sent from my Verizon Wireless Smartphone
>
> Eric Martinot <eric at martinot.info> wrote:
>
> >It seems to me there is a wealth of good information on this list
> >about gear, resupply, logistics, hiking strategy, etc., but very
> >little about the process of physical body conditioning in preparation
> >for a thru-hike.
> >
> >I often think that some of the knee and foot problems and other
> >injuries that many thru-hikers experience comes from inadequate
> >physical conditioning coupled with stubbornly long miles in the early
> >days and an attitude of "I'll get in shape as I go along."  This seems
> >dangerous to me, or at least responsible for some aborted hikes and
> >unnecessary misery.  Beyond muscles and aerobic capacity, even just
> >developing adequate callouses on your feet takes awhile, to reach the
> >point where the feet feel fine the day after a hard 20-mile hike.
> >Same for knee resilience. Same for hands and arms and hiking poles.
> >In my view, you want to be able to build all that up over time, with
> >rest days in between hard hikes, before you subject yourself to that
> >stress every day continuously.
> >
> >Yogi's planning guide has a nice 3-page section on thru-hike training
> >(p.64).  I wonder what other posters might have to share on this
> >topic.  Yes, everyone's needs and opportunities for training are
> >different, but in the end, we all make specific choices about what to
> >do.
> >
> >In my case, to prepare for PCT section hikes in past years I tried to
> >do 3 months of a weekly 15-20 mile training hike with significant
> >elevation gain, plus aerobic cycling mid-week.  To prepare for a 1600-
> >mile thru-hike I did overseas, I did about 3000 miles of cycling in
> >the year before the hike, and then about 4 months of weekly 18-mile
> >3000-ft gain training hikes and some shorter hikes mid-week in the
> >evenings. There was a standard hike I did, and it started as a
> >grueling 8-hour ordeal but after a few months was down to an enjoyable
> >6 hours. I also made sure to break in both pairs of boots I was
> >bringing, putting 100 miles on each pair before starting the thru-
> >hike, to condition my feet to the boots.
> >
> >Now I'm preparing to finish the PCT this year, the 1400 miles I
> >haven't done yet.  This time I'm doing about 3 months of twice-weekly
> >15-20 mile hikes between now and April, in the boots I'll actually be
> >wearing, and using poles, and maybe a full pack towards the end.
> >(Bringing a full pack on training hikes is something I've avoided, and
> >suffer in the early days of the actual hike because of it.)
> >
> >Eric
> >
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