After doing some stair climbing, weight lifting, and her first overnight in the woods, Aubrey is now ready for the next step in preparing for our Hells Canyon backpacking trip. Step three: Building in distance.
Making time to do distance training can be difficult, but they are an essential part of preparing for a multi-day backpacking trip. When I was training for the Appalachian Trail last year, I walked everywhere I went carrying my backpack. I got comments like, “That’s a mighty big pack for such a little girl,” and “Are you training for the military?” I even met a very kind man who assumed that I was homeless and offer me a meal. All of this is fun and goofy, but the point is: you need to get your pack on you as often as possible.
When I ran cross-country in college, we built our workouts on the principle of progression. My coach would tell us, “The slowest runner is an injured one.” In other words, take time to build up your mileage to avoid getting hurt. Take rest days and low mileage days.
For Aubrey, our plan for the first week was to work in one ten mile day, one five, and one three. Here is a calendar of her progression. I would love for her to be able to do more mileage, but that pesky work stuff gets in the way. She is a nanny two days a week and bikes 14 miles on those days, so I’ve counted that as a workout.
|
Week
|
Monday
|
Tuesday
|
Wednesday
|
Thursday
|
Friday
|
Saturday
|
Sunday
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
5
|
-
|
3
|
-
|
-
|
10
|
-
|
|
2
|
5
|
3
|
5
|
-
|
-
|
12
|
-
|
|
3
|
5
|
3
|
5
|
-
|
3
|
15
|
-
|
I have designed routes for her in town so that getting the mileage in will be easier. Because we will be doing around fifteen miles over difficult terrain in Hell’s Canyon, Aubrey will have to work hard over the next three weeks to be prepared. Go Aubrey, you can do it!
