Training Routine

Thought that I would talk a bit about my training routine.

The El Camino is about walking. Well, that is walking with everything that you have (for distances of 12 - 15 miles per day) which for the smart packer comes in at about 10% of body weight. So I should pack about 17 lbs. Now that also includes the water in my camel back, which comes to about 5 lbs. So now we are down to 12 lbs for clothes.

With this in mind, my training involves extended hikes with my backpack. On the weekends I am shooting for 20+ miles between Saturday and Sunday. Now that is still short of where I need to be.

Last  weekend I added in the backpack with 20lbs weight. The first thing that I noticed is that I became fatigued much quicker, like around the 3 mile mark. Since I was doing 6 mile hikes, it was no real problem. I gutted it out. But as I get closer to departure day, I need to amp it up.

Since this is Labor Day weekend, that gives me three days to hike. This will be an excellent opportunity to increase distance. My goal is 30+ miles with the 20lb backpack over the course of three days. Actually I'm going to cheat and start on Friday night to get a headstart, just in case I run into some kind of block (like not giving a damn at some point). LOL

Beyond that I will focus on tone, fitness and flexibility through a combination of yoga, pilates and physical conditioning.

My main worries at this point are the hamstrings (tight from a season of softball) and the flareup of plantar. Proper training should allow me to compensate for these, but will not make them go away. It's too late for that. Thus proper conditioning and training are emphasized.