[pct-l] training and rest

[Brick Robbins <brick@fastpack.com>]

The key to almost all modern athletic programs is the "hard-easy" pattern. Biological systems (people) respond very well to periods of intense stress followed by adequate rest. Most athletes tend to ignore the rest part. Once one crosses the line into "over-training" it takes much more rest-time to recover than usual.

This paradigm works from the very short term (400 meter intervals running, with 100m rest) to the medium of alternating hard-day/easy-day and easy-week/hard-week to the long term of season build to off season break.

I suggest thru-hikers should take care to take regular "rest" days (say 5-10 miles) in the early part of the trip (I don't think one needs a whole "day off" to qualify as rest ) and monitor their condition (elevated waking heart rate is a good indication of over training) then burn-out and injury might become less common.


http://www.fred.net/ultrunr/overtran.html has an archive from a mailing list concerning this. It is part of the ultra running archive that is very useful to the through hiker http://www.fred.net/ultrunr/

Hike your own hike.
-Brick
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Cc:            pct-l@backcountry.net
From:          "Jeffrey J. Olson" <jjolson@uwyo.edu>
Date:          Wed, 01 Sep 1999 10:56:20 -0600
Subject:       Re: [pct-l] Slow training
Content-type:  text/plain; charset=us-ascii

My training regimen for a 35 day section hike was two months of tennis three
times a week along with 10 to 15 mile day hikes with a light pack every other
weekend.  The first 10 days I averaged 12 - 15 miles a day and the next 25
averaged 18 - 20.  I experienced no physical problems other than a blister
while hiking the Crater Lake Rim Trail in Tevas when I let a little rock stay
under the ball of my foot for 100'.  And I was over 40...

Jeffrey Olson
Laramie WY

Tom Hopkins wrote:

> Are there any thoughts on running as a pre-conditioner to a distance
> hike? I only did a 40 mile warmup hike for my [rather short by
> comparrison!]230 mile hike in August and the running seems to condition
> me quite fine. I was in a pretty rugged part of the PCT in the Sierras
> too. I am no longer blessed with youth either, so we can rule that one
> out right away!
> Tom in Sacramento
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