[pct-l] What do others do to get/stay in shape

[abiegen at cox.net]

I remember reading that athletes reach their peak performance after three years of training. So keep in mind if you haven't been hiking regularly there is only so much you can do in a short time frame before hiking the PCT. 

I lead hikes for the Sierra Club and try to hike every weekend and have been doing so for a long time now so I believe that helps. I also hike at lunchtime most days. I work on a small hill near the beach and I have measured out a two mile route on the beach with mild downhill and uphill. It is fairly easy to do two miles and get back in time for a shower in less than an hour. I also pick up two heavy rocks on the beach and carry them doing curls. I carry the rocks back up to my car at work and bring them home for my rock garden so I have motivation to do the hike even if I don't feel like it. I  found that I felt better if I didn't do the lunch walk every day so I skip a day every two weeks or so. I should add that we have a beautiful full gym where I work but hiking and  walking are the best way to get in shape for hiking and walking. I can't stand walking on a treadmill and believe that it is one of the worst things you can do to your feet.

The local Sierra Club has four hikes per week. I wish I could say that I took advantage of that but I also work long hours and only did one or two evening hikes in the weeks before my trip.

I did a few backpack trips to test out equipment and to get used to the load. Because the trails in our back country are so overgrown it was had to find hikes of 20 miles so I did hikes of about 12 to 15 miles. One mistake I made was trying to hike those trips too fast. I thought I could make up for the shorter distance by going faster and working harder. To go faster I increased my stride which caused heal pain from my Achilles tendon. I started off my PCT adventure with pain in my heals wondering how the heck I was going to survive this. But on the PCT I maintained a more reasonable pace and kept my stride short so the pain quickly dissipated. 

I also remember reading that your body will give you about six weeks of inactivity before your muscles start to deteriorate. So I didn't feel too bad about not doing any hiking at all the week before my PCT start.

Just for reference, an article in Backpacker magazine mentioned Scott W.'s training regimen. He hikes 10 miles every other day with 20 pounds of tire chains. Ten miles is an investment of more than three hours for most of us. Nice to think about having that much time but not practical for most of us.

TrailHacker

"I can't think when my feet hurt."
Abraham Lincoln