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I am feeling very limp tonight; it’s been a long week! With a three day weekend coming up, I will take a mini-vacation Sunday and Monday. It was an impulse, but it feels so right, to take a break, even for two days. 🙂 even on the days I haven’t exercised, I was fretting over this or that about the trail. A break will be good, because after Monday, things shift into even higher gear.

Thinking it over further – one of the things I want to get over is my over-abundance of guilt and self-blame when I fail to do things exactly the way I planned them to go. Even this ‘working myself into shape’ phase is helping with that… If I miss a day here or there, I’m teaching myself that it’s okay, no one will take me to task for it, and I don’t need to beat myself up because no one else is. Painfully slow, I can be a drama queen, but I am learning.

I will still exercise tonight and tomorrow, of course.

Ah. It appears I have reached the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything. What was the question again?

Today’s song of the night is Mountains, by Lonestar.

A late workout tonight – I didn’t get underway until 9:30 pm – I was playing cards with the dad, and waiting for a larger than usual dinner to settle. It was a lot easier with a soundtrack – I brought along the tablet loaded with exercise music; it put a spring in my step.

Four more days until the next stage of things – come February 15, logistics will again take a front seat next to exercise, as I start settling all the legal/business/bill related things that need to be in order before I go. Finances are looking good. There is a lot to get done, and it’s like an onion – the deeper you go, the more there is – well, okay, that’s not exactly the way an onion works, but anyway…

I also have to sit down and work out the timeschedule for increasing the distance, so I don’t kill myself. It can’t all be 10% grades!

Ciao!

Oops, messed up the days yesterday. Fixed everything now. 🙂

Today’s song of the day is Walk On.

Today’s treadmilling was rough, but that was because I didn’t have a lot to eat throughout the day. It was Ash Wednesday. The bro kept me company, though, and I made an important breakthrough, thanks to him – tomorrow I will take along my tablet, loaded with lively exercise tunes, to help me through the hard parts.

Walking with 27 lbs seems a lot harder than walking with 22 lbs. I’m not sure why. I’ll see how it feels come Saturday – if need be, I’ll repeat this week, instead of adding an extra 5 lbs on next Monday. I have enough time to be a little flexible yet.

Sorry, one of those days where there is not much to report.

Beware greasy hamburgers!

Tomorrow I will have energy again. Tonight, no.

Pack weight tonight: 27 lbs! I’m getting there! Next week, I push it up to 32, and it stays there… then I start distance training.

Video of the night: Saving Mr, Banks video clip
Every time I hit a 10% grade stretch, the song “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” started playing in my head. I blame my brother; he was watching “Saving Mr. Banks” earlier.  And when I wasn’t thinking about that, I was envisioning myself as a trigonometry problem:

Betsy is wearing a 27lb pack. Calculate the angle between the pack and her back when she is walking at a 10% incline. At a 5% incline. At 0%. For extra credit, predict how long until she falls over, and explain your reasoning.

My (cotton) shirt was soaked. But I think by March, if my stomach keeps flattening the way it has been ( 🙂 ) , I’ll be able to fit into the hiking clothes again. And I cannot wait to switch to the new boots, once they are broken in – by next week, I think. Hiking boots don’t exactly match the ideal dress code at work, but I’m figuring I can sneak them by on account of winter.

Seldom has a beer tasted so good.

Ciao!

Life broke in again this weekend and demanded that I pay attention to other things. Yesterday, the debate, today, the annual Bout of Cooking for the Superbowl (BCS). Also battling (successfully, I do believe) a kidneystone. Tomorrow I will be back on track, with the pack weight increasing another five pounds. Time to swap the weights!

Things are looking good. Sometimes, you get too caught up in the minute details and forget about the big picture. Back in November, I took on one outside responsibility too many, and it was making me increasingly cranky as the months wore on, and time got shorter to do a task that depended on the progress of others – and no progress was being made. I’m pretty much free of that now, thank God.:) I can step back from it.

February 8, March 8, April 8. It’s coming. I just have to be ready for it – I have this long list of to-do, but never assigned specific “do this by” dates to it. It’s coming down to the point where I need to, to make sure it all gets done properly, when it needs to be. I try to be methodical, but you *always* forget something.

Boot-breaking in begins tomorrow. FINALLY.

Ciao!

Sorry, not much to report tonight! I did rent a garage across the parking lot to store my stuff in while I am gone. Now I need to pack it up gradually and trundle it over.

Ciao until tomorrow!

Verdict’s in… it was sensible.The feet were very grateful, and had feeling for tonight’s workout. I wore my running shoes instead of the boots as well – Bass Pro in the future. An added bonus – the brother came to exercise with me, and we talked a lot about this and that, his trip to Vermont, etc, it made it go a lot faster! My usual treadmill was a bit cranky, so I tried out the elliptical a bit before the usual workout. I think it tightened my hamstrings to a near unbearable point at times. Ow. I toughed my way through it though.

The pack cover arrived today, the mess kit yesterday. I haven’t tried either out, but I have a feeling another shakedown trip will be in early/mid March, weather permitting. By then I should have all my gear, and stronger legs as well.

The medical bills started arriving today as well. These were just as expected, but vastly less welcome. The biggest one is now behind me though. Yay?

S’all for now! Ciao!

I will not be hitting the treadmill today. Last night my left foot was a bit numb when I came back, which has happened before, but it’s always gone away overnight. Today, it’s persisted – I’m still feeling it now. Up to this point, I’ve been using the old boots, and I think they’ve about had it. I’ll hold off until tomorrow when I can visit Bass Pro and exchange the new boots that are one half size too big for a pair that fits better. That done, I will hit the treadmill again.

On the trail itself, I won’t have this luxury, but I’m still two months away, and only 1/3 of the way through the training; I think while I have the luxury, I can make use of it now and then. I do not want to wreck my feet before I even hit West Virginia. Perhaps I’m being lazy. Perhaps I’m being sensible. I’ll let you decide for yourself. 🙂

This will be a long one, and will delve into my brain. It’s a scary place. You have been warned.

48 minutes in the life of an AT-thru-hiker-wanna-be…
Today will take us through a typical workout on the treadmill; governed by 5 numbers: Time Remaining, Distance, Pace, Grade, and Speed. Pace never changes, a steady 24:00 minutes/mile. Speed, likewise, never changes. It’s a constant 2.5 mph. It takes about 14 seconds to cover .1 mile.

Time Remaining: 48 minutes, Grade 5.0%
Here we go. The legs, not being warmed up  yet, complain a little. You’d think they’d remember what lies ahead and be grateful for the low grade, but noooo. This is the very easy part.

Time Remaining: 43 minutes, Grade: 10.0%
First and easiest of the tough sections, since the legs are still untired.

Time Remaining: 38 minutes, Grade: 5.0%
Yay! Relief! Back down to 5% for a little while. Breathe!

Time Remaining: 33 minutes, Grade: 10.0%
At this point, I start staring straight ahead, trying not to watch the clock until it at least passes the 30 minute remaining mark. The good thing about breaking the workout into 5 minute chunks is that it only takes 2.5 minutes before you can start psyching yourself up – you’re past the halfway mark now, keep going, only two minutes left, only one minute left, time!

Time Remaining: 28 minutes, Grade: 5.0%
Yay! Relief! Back down to 5% for a little while. Breathe!

Time Remaining: 23 minutes, Grade: 10.0%
A time of discovery… for example, it takes approximately 15 seconds to gasp out a “Hail Mary” at this pace, at this grade, at this time. Also a time of rejoicing; the one mile mark is reached and passed at 24 minutes remaining! The sweat is dipping, or was, until the headband made it’s welcome debut.

Time Remaining: 18 minutes, Grade: 5.0%
Yay! Relief! Back down to 5% for a little while. Breathe!

Time Remaining: 13 minutes, Grade: 10.0%
Last and hardest of the 10% grade sections… this is where the legs are really complaining. Paradoxically, my favorite part of the workout, because this is where the mental gritting of teeth happens, and the willpower gets strengthened. Sometimes, when I’m lucky, I’ll find myself mentally singing, or planning a blog entry, like this one, and the time goes by a lot faster, Sometimes, it’s forever, staring longingly as the seconds slowly tick away.

Time Remaining: 8 minutes, Grade: 5.0%
Another coffee break for Sisyphus! I’m over my make believe mountain! From here on in it’s a stroll in the park!

Time Remaining: 3 minutes, Grade: 0.0%
And… cooldown. My body deserves a break.

Time remaining: 0 minutes.
The machine stops and flashes calories burned at me, among other numbers. When carrying a 22.5 lb pack, along with the rest of my weight, calories burned is about 400. Not bad. 🙂 I step off the treadmill, get two wet wipes, wipe down the equipment where sweaty arms inadvertently brushed. The water cooler beckons; I drink one cone-shaped cup of water in one gulp, while behind me, the treadmill shuts down. A second cup of water is savored more slowly, ritualistically, then I will toss my jacket over one arm, turn off the lights, and saunter out into the night in shirtsleeves and jeans.

A quick walk back to the apartment, a quick rinse, and a 32-oz mug of water later, I’m feeling better. But I always have to check my blood sugar after a workout – I keep a supply of trail mix on hand for quick energy and sugar if I ever need it.

And that’s how it is done!