heather hikes
  • LIfe on the trail
  • Home
  • About
  • Cool Causes
  • Where I am now
  • Milage

Endurance Work

3/12/2013

0 Comments

 
In terms of physical conditioning, the biggest part of my training would, of course, be endurance work. This challenge is the mack daddy of any endurance event I have ever attempted. Way bigger than a marathon. Way bigger than a Tough Mudder. Way bigger than a tri. And it's pretty much all endurance.

In terms of training specificity, it would make the most sense to train for hiking by -- hiking. But winter in New England paired with my weird work hours makes hiking a bit of a challenge. Sure, there are some die hard hikers out there who would gladly trek through 2 feet of snow in the dark for training purposes. I opted for the wimpy version -- treadmill and other cardio equipment.

I essentially had 4 types of cardio workouts:
1) Long flat runs
2) Short, fast runs 
3) Hills
4) Weighted workouts

The long flat runs I tried to make 7 or more miles. I didn't worry about  speed (I never do!) I just wanted to get moving and get some miles under me. The short fast runs (Or shall I say, short and slow but slightly faster than the long run pace) were 3 or 4 miles. An after work get a few miles in workout. The hill workouts were done outside weather permitting. If the weather sucked, I did this treadmill workout. And the weighted workouts were done with a 15 pound weighted vest. I often combined the weighted workouts with the others, so maybe a weighted incline treadmill workout or a weighted short run. I didn't do long runs with the weighted vest, but often I would go on long walks with the vest.

I tried for a minimum of 4 cardio workouts per week, sometimes more, though there were, admittedly a couple weeks where I had a less, depending on how I felt or if I had to stay late at work.  But for the most part, I treated them as the prep work for day after day of the ultimate cardio experience. 

Am I ready? Truthfully, I'm not sure I am. But I also think I could workout religiously for the next 6 months and still not feel ready. I'm just gonna have to go for it.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Heather

    Hi, I'm Heather, AKA "Pink Lady". Welcome to my blog.  I'm so excited to share my adventures as I embark on a thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail.  
    While you're here, be sure to check out  the charity I'm hiking for: Devoted2Children a  great organization which funds a home for orphaned children in Haiti. 

    Archives

    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    November 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013

    Categories

    All
    Adaptive Sport
    Hiking Recap
    Preparation
    Rock Stars
    Trail Peeps
    Training

    RSS Feed

    Where I am
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photo used under Creative Commons from symphony of love