Prep Pt2: Physical

Hiking ~33 miles a day over 210 days is an aggressive hiking itinerary. Truth be told, I don't know of a way to know if I am physical prepared to do this, but I tried to do everything within my power to put in the work. My fitness journey began in early 2019 in preparation for my Tahoe Rim Trail hike where I reintroduced consistent running and began to practice yoga.

I fell in love with a style of yoga, Baptiste's Journey into Power (JIP), that focuses on increasing strength and flexibility. The JIP flow follows ~53 poses during an hour in a room heated in 90 degrees. My studio, unlike many other yoga studios, contained no mirrors nor was the JIP practiced to music, which is typical now in mainstream yoga. I began yoga because I desired to sit comfortably cross-legged around a campfire and to be flexible enough to be able to reach back to grab my water bottle from my backpack without taking it off. Yoga accomplished both of those things, and more! My core is the strongest its ever been, and I've been able to run injury-mostly-free since introducing it into my life.

Outside of yoga, I did primarily three things to prepare physically:

1. Signed up for a 50 mile trail run and began following a structured running plan to compete. Unfortunately, the race was cancelled due to COVID-19 but I still followed the training program until the actual race day and it built a decent base level of fitness.

2. Signed up for an Ironman and trained most of the year to compete. Due to a bit of luck, I was able to compete and finish Ironman Florida, only US-based full Ironman to be hosted in 2020.

3. I hired a coach in December of 2020. Upon completion of the Ironman, my fitness wasn't were I wanted it to be so I knew I needed to get expert guidance. My coach, Joe 'Stringbean' McConaughy, created a 5 month training plan for me focused on increasing my cardiovascular fitness and strengthen my muscle groups specifically used in hiking. Joe’s set Fastest Known Times (FKTs) on the PCT and AT and provided a wealth of knowledge for hiking specific adventures.

The combination of these items I hope prepared me accordingly to do big mile days on the trail. I am strategically starting my first month with less daily mileage demands (~25) until I ramp up my mileage on PCT to average 35 miles a day until I finish back at the Grand Canyon.

Now, the time to prepare is over. It is time to do and see what happens.