Tough trail hike.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Tuesday is kind of becoming movie night for Holly and me. We go to the cheap place in Willoughby Hills where we can see movies that got released about 3 months ago and for which people paid…oh…$9 or so and see them for $1. Too good to pass up. I’ve been heading over to the Mayfield track after the movie and doing my ‘backpack on the bleachers with some running mixed in’ workout. I end up getting home around midnight and still have to take a shower or jump in the neighbor’s pool (talk about messing with someone’s pH balance). I thought I’d try something different, so I headed for the park with the pack.

As much as I like hitting the bleachers, it really isn’t the same thing as backpacking over rugged terrain…such as I’ll be doing in the Adirondacks in a few weeks. Walking rocky trails filled with roots and often mud requires a degree of balance and agility not as important on the track or in the bleachers. To really get ready for the trails you need to walk the trails. I head off-trail and will find boulders or fallen trees where I’ll stop and do a series of step-ups to strengthen the quads for climbing. On this particular hike of around 70 minutes, I made nine different stops and did 250 step-ups. It doesn’t sound like too much, but I find it more difficult than walking the bleachers because of the height of the step (9 to 15 inches) and the balancing necessary. I also walk a hilly course to add to the workout.

By the time I’d walked 40 minutes, I was wetter than I am when running…it was that muggy and I was working hard. My shoulders were sore because the 50 pounds of salt was settling too low in the pack and pulling the hip belt from my hips and forcing the weight to rest more heavily on my shoulders. Not the way to carry a pack, but I left it because I wanted the additional conditioning…and it wouldn’t stay on my sweaty hips anyway. By the way, you can carry a lot more weight with a lot less discomfort if you have a pack that fits you correctly and a keep in on the hips and off the shoulders.

I want to take it camping, but I’m also hoping it will be sweet enough to satisfy those late-night cravings I get when exercising at my current level. I suppose I could douse it in chocolate syrup or break it up and mix it with my Breyer’s all-natural vanilla with bean specks ice cream…but probably not.

It turned out to be a great workout. The 250 step-ups were the most I’ve ever done on a hike and my legs were trembling after I took off the pack back at the car…good sign that I’d maxed out. I can tell I’m in better shape than a year ago before climbing, so I’m anxious to get there and see how things go on the peaks. My running muscles needed the break anyway and I don’t feel like a slacker when doing this kind of workout.

Hike duration: 70 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100.
Calories burned during workout: 700.