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Avoiding Injury
In my opinion, there are a lot of changes that have to happen to the body along the way to consistently hike high miles. There are shortcuts to getting good performance, but I feel these shortcuts lead to injuries. To be able to walk high miles everyday, the best way is to walk the number of miles a person can walk almost everyday without soreness or any injuries starting to appear. My definition of soreness is something that hurts. It does not include mild tiredness that disappears quickly after starting to walk.
Hiking through pain or soreness will often make it disappear. I feel it leads to chronic problems if done too often. It's probably better to plan fewer miles so it doesn't appear in the first place. Over a hundreds of miles, the distances can be gradually increased if the pain doesn't reappear.
I have observed there is a difference between rest and repair. Rest is what we do while awake. It is to re-hydrate, eat, cool down on a hot day or mentally refresh. Yes, resting can help a person get through a day that is a little too long. But if this is done too often, it may lead to problems if strung together for too many days.
Repair is completely different. In my opinion, true repair only happens when asleep. Repair from injuries takes a long time and a break from walking. Often for weeks. Think of it this way. Rest is what happens when a blade of grass straightens up after being bent. Repair is the healing that takes place after the grass gets cut. Rest is relatively quick. Repair takes time and there are no shortcuts.
For myself, I've noticed I can completely repair in 14 hours if I haven't overdone it the day before. I've also noticed that if my day is longer than 10 hours from the time I wake up, fatigue starts to set in. If I want to see how far I can go, I start as soon as possible after waking and go steadily until I'm done.
This is just a guide for me. Think of it like a bathtub. During the day, the drain is open and water is running out. Exercise opens the drain a bit more. When we sleep, the drain closes and water runs in. As long as there is enough water in the tub for what we are planning the next day, we are fine. For instance, a person might plan a 10 mile day and then a 4 mile day because they are short on water in the tub on the second day.
The problem arises when doing consecutive long days with less water in the tub each morning. Eventually, something happens physically and they may be forced to take a couple days off.
Be real careful listening to other people's statements about what should be possible. Hikers on long trails do amazing miles each day. Especially after 1,000 miles or so. That's just one of the wonders of what the body is capable of. The danger is the person who hikes 15 miles in one day and says they are planning to average that on a long trail. The cumulative effect will likely be disastrous.
If planning a long trail, just leave more time or plan less distance. If the miles come, that's great. It's easier for planning to go further than planned than shorter.
Everyone is different. These are just my thoughts and experiences. They don't apply to everyone. In the end, we each should do what we enjoy and what works for us.
Aerobics
Ken Cooper wrote a book called "Aerobics" in 1967. It is a way of measuring the value of different kinds of exercise. The goal to be healthy is 30 points a week. This can be done by walking a total of 18 miles in a week doing a mile in 15 to 20 minutes.
I've found aerobic conditioning takes place anytime I exercise to the point were breathing is increased, but not uncomfortable. My test is over time, my resting pulse upon waking up goes down. 20 minutes a day is enough for health. An hour a day gets motivational progress.
If a person wants to get more scientific, I feel conditioning takes place anytime the heart rate is elevated to the point you get before heavy breathing. Some use a percentage of maximum or a multiple of minimum. But often this gives wildly unreasonable numbers. The way this can be used is a person can jog a mile and take a sitting, standing or easy walking break until their pulse drops a good bit. In my case it drops from about 120 to 80. This is a good way to increase aerobic capacity without increasing miles. If a person can't jog a mile, do less.
Note: This is similar to interval training, but with a twist. Typically interval training is done with a high level of effort. This is done with long distance sustainable effort with breaks until the heart rate comes down. To put it in running terms. Run a short distance at race pace. Then rest until heart rate comes down. Repeat until getting tired.
The most time efficient exercise to get aerobic points is easy running. An 8 to 10 minute miles is 4 points. A person could get all their points for a week in about an hour and 15 minutes.
Maybe I'm talking myself into something here.
At 3 to 4 mph walking is 1 point a mile. I walk about 55 miles a week, or 55 points a week.
An 8 to 10 minute miles is 4 points per mile. If I ran just one mile a day instead of walking that mile, I'd gain 21 points a week which would be a 38% increase in aerobic training. I'll gradually start incorporating a little jogging into my walks. Eventually, the short distances will bloop into running a mile at a time.
Core Training
When riding a motorcycle long distance, I found core training with light calisthenics reduced fatigue. The core muscles are what the others push off of to work. If they are not strong, it weakens the system a bit. Mild training in the core areas may delay the onset of fatigue and little annoyances in these areas.
I've found calisthenics are something that can be worked into short breaks during the day with reasonable results. There is no need to do a whole workout at once. Even just 5 of each exercise has a stretching effect and makes things feel better.
I saw these helicopter seeds from a maple tree this morning. I thought they fell in the fall.
Taking a break
We are planning on a backpacking trip this weekend, so I'll take a couple days off before it.
Virtual Hike End of the Day Picture
TransAmerica Trail Virtual Hike
| Name | Distance |
| Carol H.W | 906.2 mi |
| LarryB | 892.8 mi |
| BernieS | 885.5 mi |
| AshleyA | 873.2 mi |
| JohnZ | 856.8 mi |
| GaryT | 847.6 mi |
| JohnA | 836.5 mi |
| AnnF | 831.3 mi |
| RebeccaJ | 825.7 mi |
| DanaA | 810.0 mi |
| PatM | 805.8 mi |
| johnd | 804.6 mi |
| LT | 788.8 mi |
| sarah w | 785.5 mi |
| LamontA | 779.7 mi |
| MarilynrH | 779.0 mi |
| RamonaH | 775.6 mi |
| SHIRLEYE | 760.9 mi |
| JoyJ | 760.6 mi |
| StaciR | 757.4 mi |
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