Preparing for a Thru-Hike at 50 – January
It is super true what they say about how people my age feel like they are 20 inside… until they do something physical with a 20 year old… then they KNOW they are no longer 20! That’s definitely the thru-hiker world! Lots of 20 somethings on the trail, mountain goating, hiking into the night, up at the crack of dawn, and drinking their faces off in every trail town. I won’t be one of them.
Staying in shape has been a challenge to me at the best of times – if I am honest, I prioritized my kids over my own health for much of the last 20 years. Thankfully, back in 2010 I began to focus on my cardio, and started doing running training for 5, then 10k, then half marathons. But every year it was the same – start whipping myself into shape from January, get to the summer, take advantage of a reasonable amount of fitness until September then give it all up and become a slug until January again. And when I say a reasonable amount of fitness, I mean lose about 10 pounds but still be a good 20 lbs overweight.
However, I am the kind of person that works well with a goal. A thru-hike will be the most physically demanding thing I have ever done over 45-50 days in my life… outside of basic training (which I did at the tender age of 40 by the way…)! With my eyes on a flight date, March 25 2025, I am determined to prepare more carefully for this than for pretty much anything else I have ever done – including the half marathons I have run!
The Plan
Now, I do have one advantage over many prospective thru-hikers. Because I am in the military, we have fitness instructors to consult, and they have helped me customize something to prepare me for the rigors of the trail. They have me doing a bunch of strengthening exercises for those small muscles in my lower body that get taxed on irregular ground like trails, for stability and to keep my footing. The last thing I want is a twisted ankle or knee to take me off trail!
For my big muscles, I have decided to focus on just increasing my walking, and as I get closer to the start I will be adding in a weight vest to simulate the backpack. I don’t want to use my actual backpack because where I live the temperature varies from 32F down to -30F. I don’t want to risk a plastic buckle cracking in the cold or the fabric of the pack getting compromised because of the cold, or any of the gear I throw inside for ballast.
In January I planned to walk a minimum of 10 thousand steps per day. That will be a little over an hour a day of walking. I have a trusty sidekick to motivate me named Watson, and he doesn’t care how cold it is either – he has a double coat and is happy as a clam in any weather. Come February I plan to ramp up to a floor of 15 thousand steps per day, which should be about an hour and a half of walking per day. Then in March, I’ll move up the floor to 20 thousand steps per day which will definitely require more than 2 hours per day walking. I hope by then the sunrise will be earlier and I’ll be able to get most of those steps in before the kids go to school so it doesn’t take over my day.
Depending on the amount of snow we get I may shift over to snowshoeing. If I do, my total steps expectation will drop but my time goal will remain the same – snowshoeing is definitely higher intensity than walking! Preparing for a thru hike outdoors in the dead of winter is definitely giving me an excuse to put to use everything I know about layering and frostbite protection. Not to mention teaching me about perseverance!
And the last element will be getting some vertical in. Most of my local walking trails are fairly flat, but one: Dome Mountain! The site of an old radar station, if I hike up the access road to the top it’s about 6 miles return, with a gain of about 850 feet. I hope to start doing that once a week, moving to a double go in March (up, down, then up and down again) once a week. My hope is with all of this prep, the trail won’t be quite as shocking as if I went in cold… I’ll already be going in “cold”, but cold and unprepared? I plan to be ready for 15-20 mile days once I reach Patagonia, and to be pushing 25s when I reach the vicinity of Pine. If I can do that or better I will finish on time!
So How Did January Turn Out?
So, how did I do in January? Seeing as how it ended just a few days ago…
The beginning of January I took a week or so to work on healthy relationships, taking a flight out to see my family and old friends out west. Unfortunately, that trip proved disruptive to my goals – I only met that step goal twice in those 9 days.
On the bright side though, on my return, my trusty sidekick Watson and I built some solid pattern in January the rest of the time! My average steps per day over the month was in excess of 10 thousand, in spite of the lull. And we did Dome Mountain three times. The last time we added in an extra mile and a half before and after, doing about 8 or 9 miles along with the elevation profile. The snow on the road was fairly even due to snowmobile traffic, and the fact we haven’t had any major dumps of fresh snow.
I have also been able to add in some work at the gym, working on strength and stability of feet, ankles and knees, as well as some “Jacob’s Ladder” and the stairclimbing machine. The treadmills have been helpful, as they have variable inclines, so I can get some more glute work in.
The best part of all of this additional training is it has fit into less than 2 hours per day. I typically do an hour in the morning, just after the kids go to school, and an hour after they return. With the late sunrise (around 8am) and early sunset (around 4pm) this is safest, so I don’t have to worry about reflective vests. We don’t have plowed trails, so all our walking is on roads!
It hasn’t all been wine and roses. I have been watching carefully for signs of wear – blisters, chafing, etc. I have had some achiness on the back of my right heel, but it seems to have largely resolved itself. I have also had what feels like a puffy spot on the ball of my left foot, that gets a little achey and sensitive, but when I walk on it, there is no pain. I thought it might just be some inflammation, so after my big push up Dome early last Saturday morning, I resolved to take “36 hours” off. I put off my 10k steps on Sunday until the evening, giving me all day Saturday, all night, then all day Sunday as rest. It seems to have worked and I kept up my streak!
As the days get longer I plan to move my morning hour to before the kids go to school and more into the supper hours, to leave more time with family. I hope that this is an encouragement to anyone who is trying to figure out how to make time to train for a thru-hike whilst still doing “normal” life. You can do it!
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Comments 7
Hey Oliver! You can do this! My last 2 (of 3) thru-hikes were at ages of 64 and 68. Age is not a determining factor. I have a slow but steady pace and fell in with like minded hikers who are still hiking buddies years later. Right from the start my threshold of pain slowly rose and my standard of living plunged just like other hikers. Every day is a new day to have fun! I’m excited for your adventure and know you will enjoy it. Good luck!
Wow! I hope I can maintain my body to those ages… I don’t think I will be able to do any of the triple crowns until I retire and that won’t be till 60. Standard of living plunged? Interesting statement!
Watson IS a handsome boy! Great job crushing your walking goal in January, even with that trip throwing a wrench in your plans! Really speaks to your dedication. You’ve got this!
Thanks for the encouragement!
Oliver, it is great that you have an intentional physical fitness plan to get ready for your hike! Ultimately, the best preparation is to just hike with a pack.
And don’t forget, a big part of endurance sports is mental fitness. Take time during all those steps to think about why you are hiking.
Yup. Can’t disagree. Only I really don’t want to break my pack in the cold before I even step off. So I think I’ll be using a weighted vest or possibly one of my older packs.
As for the mental side, I’ll go into much greater depth in my upcoming “My Why” post. Trust me, it’s something I have thought a LOT about. This isn’t a lark for me.
I look forward to the “why”… Cheers