Training

In preparation for our multi-day hike I did some training. I started training with weighted backpacks on the treadmill with full incline, and that was a great start. Then we moved and didn't have access to our old fitness center. So my weighted backpack and I moved outdoors. The hill behind our house (named as a mountain, but really it's a hill) provided the perfect training ground.

It looks so benign from here.

But halfway up, all dust, no water and 90+ degrees is a killer.

Literally.
This is how I felt the first time I tried to 'walk' up this 'hill'. 

I tried again and this time started much earlier (much cooler), brought water and made it up and down in an hour. It was the perfect little training ground. The next day I went up the longer way, which I found out wasn't as steep, but was a little prettier.

A little flower along the way

There's a lot of dirt and sagebrush, but only a little bit of pretty.

The view from the top

The best type of weight? The flexible brown rice kind :)

In the end, my training paid off. I not only felt stronger and faster, but Blake noticed the difference too. While we were on our eight mile hike, I was able to keep up with the group and even hold on a conversation for the first four miles. After that.. I was back to square one. In my training, I only did about four miles. So although my muscles did great for as long as they had been trained, after that I was just about as slow and certainly just a sore as I always was. I still consider it a win though, it's great to know that I could make a difference with some hard work and it was great to be able to keep up for at least half the hike.

More to come on the hike.. soon.