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2015 Training Regimen

Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2015 2:52 pm
by Hobbes
Well, there usually seems to be a training thread at the beginning of each Sierra hiking season, so in lieu of finding one for 2015, I'll go ahead and post up.

2015 is turning out to be an interesting year, because unlike my typical bumming around solo, it looks like I'm finally getting married. I met Jim, along with Mav, Oleander & Schmalz, at last year's HST meet-up. We kept up a correspondence afterward, and when I finally had him wrangled, I sprang a couple of ideas on him:

- April - PCT section A
- May - Taboose/Kearsarge (timed for snow crossings across Pinchot/Glen)
- June - ?
- July - 2015 HST meet-up (long way detour)

I pitched doing section A of the PCT as a training hike to get ready for Mav's 2015 meet-up in far, far away Kaweah basin. No matter how you slice it, it's two days to get there and two days out - and we're going the extra long way up the Kern and out Shepherd. So, rather than show up wasted & bedraggled, I (we) want to show up as if it was a trivial day hike. That meant getting serious about training, and getting some pre-Sierra hikes in to boot.

Section A of the PCT fits this bill perfectly, because though it's considered the desert, it's actually at 3-6-3k for the first 110 miles. The only problem was, since we're both pressed for time, we need to be able to do it in 5 days. This is considered a fast pace, and if maintained, would have us finishing up in Canada mid-August. Alas, that's not our program, but it doesn't mean we can't pretend for the first part, even amongst the herd @ kick-off.

However, the prospect of hiking consecutive 20, 22, 26, 23 & 18 mile days introduces its own set of issues: we needed to train for the so-called training hike in the first place. Once again, having someone to challenge, and be challenged by, is the best program for getting in shape. As we started hashing out the details of the April hike, we kept up a constant exchange of how far we were walking/running, exercising, etc. Jim can pitch in here, but his favored MO are very long, fully loaded beach hikes, whereas mine tend to focus on running in the 4-6, and occasionally 10-13 mile range.

Finally, in February, we met up for a quick hike @ Crystal cove SP in Laguna. With packs loaded at around 25 lbs (UL set-up) to approximate the desert hike (including 7 liters of water, or around 15lbs), we did the outer 9 mile loop, with around 2k elevation gain/loss, in 3 hours, for a good pace of 3mph. That turned out so well that we started noodling around for our next exploit.

A quick search turned up the Holy Jim trail that goes up to the top of Santiago peak in OC. This one promised to be even more fun, what with 8k elevation gain/loss over a distance of 15 miles. According to my charts, this ranks right after the "Bad Boys" (ie Sawmill, Baxter, Shepherd & Taboose) and the Whitney/Langley day hikes. So, nothing to sneeze at, even though base elevation was closer to sea level so no lung screeching issues at hand.

The trail turned out to be surprisingly rugged, which is actually a good thing if one is interested in training. Over the last few months, the two of have come to embrace the sandal life, so I did the hike in my Lunas, while Jim hiked in his Tevas. Since we're trying to exactly duplicate the section A hike, we both carried our trail runners in our packs. (But neither of us wore them the entire day.)

This hike actually worked the sh!t out of us, because we booked it up there in 3+ hrs (2.6 mph) and got down in 2:45 (after hanging and resting for an hour) (2.75 mph). The entire trail faces south, is exposed with only brush, and we hiked it in full sun - again to approximate desert conditions. Since we were both a little worried about how tired we were, the natural result of course was to further ramp up & increase our training in a desperate attempt to avoid being carted off the PCT as some pathetic old relics in a few weeks time.

Jim claims he's going to do a 20 miler this weekend, while I will have to be content doing some long-distance city run/walks. Here's a shot of us on a ridge overlooking the Transverse range on the Santiago hike:

Image

Re: 2015 Training Regimen

Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2015 3:12 pm
by schmalz
I'd love to have a reunion of sorts if you guys end up doing another local training hike for the Section A trip.

I have my most ambitious summer yet so I'm just starting to get into training mode. I recently was off the trail for a couple of months due to a surgery, but I just did my first big hike this past weekend. 11 miles and 3500 feet of elevation change to Will Thrall Peak in the Pleasant View Ridge Wilderness. That is pretty much the only type of training that I need but I will be trying to make it to the gym regularly again.

Re: 2015 Training Regimen

Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2015 3:35 pm
by Jimr
I didn't even get a ring :-( But, the tri-tip at the reception was excellent!


Hey Schmalz,
Unfortunately, we're within 2.5 weeks of start, so I seriously doubt we'll be getting together for any local hikes between now and then. A reunion would be cool though. For now, I'm hitting the beach starting at around 4:30 am Sunday and hiking from my house to the beach, the Imperial Hwy and back. 20 mi.

Re: 2015 Training Regimen

Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2015 5:09 pm
by Tom_H
Congratulations on the nuptials!!! :wink: :thumbsup: =D>

Re: 2015 Training Regimen

Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2015 5:25 pm
by Jimr
I prefer to think of myself as an adopted little brother. (wish I could use the emos)

Re: 2015 Training Regimen

Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2015 7:03 am
by Hobbes
I feel like such a wuss - it took us 3+ hrs, 4k, 7.5 miles @ Santiago:

7 miles, 4000 feet up in just 2 hours and 15 minutes with no breaks and less than a liter of water drank. I feel like a hiking monster, legs of steel. I let out a yell of joy and success.

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