On June 23rd I will be heading up to the Canadian Rockies to climb a couple mountains.  This gives me roughly four months of training before we leave.  I'll be building on my fitness for the presidential traverse, however my new training plan is much more intense.  For the PT, I did something once or twice a week (stairs or hiking).  More often than not it was once a week.  I am now training 5 days a week and have added 2 new elements to my routine.  My personal take on fitness for slogging is that there are 3 separate areas I need to work on.  Aerobic endurance, strength endurance, and working your stabilizer muscles.

*If anybody has any comments on training, let me know

1. Aerobic Endurance - for 2 months I will be doing long slow runs, then I will step up the speed and start interval training.  If I get bored I'll do cycling or the elliptical machine.  I will do this 2-3 times a week for 1-3 hours each.  This is the first time I've started running - and I'm loving it.  Each time I run I find some other area I want to run next time.  I don't find myself getting tired after a long run, but I do find myself quite sore.  My knee is starting to give me trouble too, hopefully that is only because I'm shocking it with a new exercise.

2. Strength Endurance (legs and butt muscles) - stairs with pack and boots.  Once a week for 2 months, then stepped up to twice a week for the next 2 months (when school lets out).  Try for 3 hours on the stairs if time and motivation permits.

3. Stabilizer Muscles (ankles and feet) - hiking with a pack.  Preferably Laurel Highlands trail.  Mile 8 and back.  Rachel Carson if I don't have much time or money for gas.  Once a week - at least!

There is also:

4. Weight Loss (to improve strength to weight ratio) - I have switched to "sugar free" and "diet" drinks.  I am also watching the fat/sugar in my diet.  I currently weight 180 lbs (lost about 5 lbs already), I want to be down to 160 lbs.

2/21/07            1 hr 30 min       Hiking on the Rachel Carson trail

2/23/07            1 hrs                 Cycling in Pittsburgh

2/24/07            2 hrs                 Cathedral Stairs 7 reps

3/3/07              3 hrs                 Hiking North Park perimeter trail

3/4/07              45 min              Cathedral Stairs 3 reps

3/6/07              45 min              Running

3/7/07              1 hr 30 min       Cathedral Stairs 6 reps

3/9/07              2 hrs                 Running

3/11/07            6 hrs                 Hiking on LHHT