2017 FKT Plans: The Training

Ridge near Mount Baden-Powell (Day 9)
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I have heard others say this and I agree completely: There is no categorical way to prepare for a thru-hike of the PCT. It is way too big a challenge to completely train for. That said, I want to be in shape so I am trying to eat right and stay active over the next few months. In this post I will focus on my plans for training over the next 5-6 months.

Vasquez Rocks near Agua Dulce (Day 10)
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It is my goal to start out hiking 45 mile days... that is, most hikers will tell you, absolutely stupid. The most healthy way to hike is to start out slowly and get your feet under you. The problem is a couple slow days will put me many many miles behind and I will have to make those miles up eventually. So it is my plan to hit 42 miles on day one and not let up. I will train to make that as attainable as I can.

View of Mojave desert (Day 11)
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I am researching running stretches to get just the right morning and evening stretching rituals. I really like the youtube channel "Yoga With Adrienne" because it is free and I like her quirky personality. Check it out if you want! As of now, the links to the stretches I intend to use for training and during the hike are found below:

Runner Warm-up yoga: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgz7Ikf7ATk
Runner Cool-down yoga: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzCMptGGZt8
General runner yoga: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hTllAb4XGg&t=610s

The LA Aqueduct (Day 12)
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I am also doing some knee and hip exercises to gain strength around my joints so that they don't get injured as easily. Luckily, my wife had a list of good exercises for these joints already. So I am using those. They are very localized and are often used for physical therapy when people injure these joints. I intend to do these exercises with increasing intensity as I get closer to the date.

Wind far north of the Mojave desert (Day 13)
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I have talked with a few people who suggested higher impact training to break down and rebuild muscle. I will not be focusing on that because I don't think it fits this hike. First, hiking is a long grind rather than a short sprint. People end this trail toned, not ripped with muscles and I think that developing anything beyond the lean muscles will be a waste. Second, I want to go into the hike with as few high-impact habits as possible. Such habits will almost definitely become injuries over the course of two months.  

Mayan Peak (Day 14)
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To improve my cardio and make it more regular in the winter, I started "couch to 5K" at the beginning of the year. There is an app "C25K" that I use to keep on pace for the eventual 5K. I am trying to do that every other day in this, the rainy season. I hope for a run of a few miles to be a breeze by summer.

This is the the C25K website: http://www.c25kfree.com/

Resupply at Kennedy Meadows (Day 15)
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I am definitely thinking a lot about gait as I do the couch to 5k workouts. They are not particularly hard at the moment and I use the presence of mind to think things like "How much am I bouncing up and down? Am I wasting energy? Am I effortless and fast as I run/walk?". I do this because I think the most important factor in my success on the PCT will be an effortless and fast pace. I will likely jog downhill a bit and want to save my joints by jogging smoothly with all of that extra weight. I will also spend a lot of time walking and a habitual efficient gait will save me energy a million-fold by the end of the trail.

Chicken Spring Lake (Day 16)
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As soon as things heat up a little in the spring, I also intend to hike trails in the area, particularly the Columbia River Gorge. I will basically use those trails to gain a comfortable pace on uneven ground. I will carry extra weight in my day pack to get a little bit of a feel for my real backpack weight. I also intend to wear my old leather hiking boots... at least some of the time. I will do this because heavy shoes wear you out more easily than light shoes. I would like my body to be able to do a long distance easily in heavy shoes so that when I put on my lighter hiking shoes I feel like I am walking on air.

It will be hard to hike past Mount Whitney without climbing it (Day 17)
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Finally, in the last few weekends leading up to the hike I intend to go out on intense hiking trips. I intend to hike a loop from the Columbia river south to Indian Springs and then back to the river, alternating between the original PCT and the Eagle Creek trail. I will hike this loop over and over, trying to hit 40+ miles a day and sleeping on the trail. After two or three days of this, I will feel terrible... but my body will rest over the week until I repeat the process the next weekend. That will be my most "high-impact" part of training and it will get me in shape for the real hike in ways a trip to the gym never could... it will faithfully simulate much of what I will experience on the first day. In fact, hiking in and out of the gorge will be way tougher than the beginning of the trail... except for the dust and desert heat!

View of Glenn Pass (Day 18)
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That is my training plan for the hike. I feel that it is a good smattering of different actions that will all improve my chances of success. But, like I said, this is not a marathon or Olympic event in which I can isolate virtually all of the variables and be completely prepared. A lot of the difficulty will be keeping my head on straight as I hike alone, pushing myself to the limit daily for two months straight!

Rock hut on Muir Pass (Day 19)
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