Let the Training Begin

I had to read the e-mail several times to make sure we are really the lucky lottery winners of a JMT permit and yep, that's what it says so now the reality hits: training time!!!

We had planned a short backpacking trip at Henry W Coe State Park before we got the permit news but now, knowing that our efforts here will actually matter on the trail I've been dreaming of doing, made this trip even more meaningful. 

Hill 1 of too many

People joke that before one can hike at Henry W Coe Park, one has to go to the Sierras to train. Hills here never end and never, ever go down. If you don't believe me, come and see for yourself. You might think you are getting to the top only to find out that there is more to climb. What an amazing place to train and it is quite close to where we live. The only drawback is that summers here are hot and shade sparse. You, more northern latitude people, may wonder why I worry about the summer in January? Well, ours is just around the corner. I would say, judging by the weather we've been having, give it a couple more weeks and we'll be really baking here.

Back to training. I know there are those amazing  who can run half of the John Muir Trail distance in a day or two. Well, I am not one of them and I won't pretend that it is only because I will be lugging a 30lb packpack, assuming I can minimize the number of things I would like to take with me. 

I also know that 30lb does not seem like much weight for all you strong folks out there. I can only dream that by the end of my training cycle, I will feel that 30lb is not too big a load to carry.

This is what my pack weighed on this trip and I survived but at times it was hard. What made things even more challenging was the pain in my knee, which I banged pretty hard the other day. I can tell already that I will be writing more about that knee in posts to come. Achey knee would be a good excuse but the truth is, I need to get fitter. I need to make my body think that the pack is a part of me, and I can carry it with ease even when the air is thin and I am climbing hills that are steeper and longer than any hills on my average hikes.

Hey, at least we got to camp at the end of the day in this heavenly spot.

This calls for sport specific training, which means lugging the pack with me whenever and wherever I can. That means hours on my feet with 40-50 extra pounds on my body so when I get to carry 30, it won't feel so bad. 
We are going to start with 15-20 miles a week of pack lugging. One of those days will be on one of the local mountains that have a nice long approach. Every week we'll be increasing the mileage, aiming for 40-50 mile weeks.

I am a very strong believer in running as a superior cardio conditioning so we made a deal that unless we are hauling our packs, any on foot activity will mean running. No more easy walks in the neighborhood, from now on we run instead. I would love to have most of our runs on trails but the reality is that with limited time we will have to run wherever we are with some time to spare but at least 3 times a week for at least an hour. I wish I could run more but for now this will have to do.

At about this time in the evening frogs started serenading us. They would
stop though every time a plane flew over our heads.

Strength training, as if lugging the pack was not enough. I will be hitting the gym at least 2 times a week for 45 min sessions and I am also planning on throwing in some short workouts at home, like pushups, dead lifts and such. These will not take much time but surely will help.

I am not giving up my yoga either. Mandatory twice a week classes, maybe if I skip sleep here and there I can fit in a third session. 

I made a pretty good looking schedule on a big wall calendar we got just for this purpose. After I put our workouts on it there was still some time left for me to sleep and eat. Good, because I will be doing that on the trail also.

In the morning fog kept moving in and out. 

Speaking of eating. The more weight I lose, the less I will have to carry up the mountain. I am not planning on becoming anorexic but I won't lie either that there are some pounds on what used to be a much leaner body that do not belong. They will have to go. Sorry, pounds, you are not invited on JMT trip. 

We are starting mid July so there is time to do some good work. I am quite excited. Hubby is planning on joining us for the 50mile stretch leading to Mt. Whitney. We are still talking over logistics. 

I am certainly planning on visiting Henry W Coe park again. Trail network here is very extensive and one can get lost in that park for weeks. Actually we manage to get lost there quite easily too, though not for weeks.