I’m ashamed to admit this, but my training plans for thru-hikes always sucked!
I would venture out on some overnight backpacking trips before my longer hikes. I’d try to figure out what was (and was not) not working. Overall though, these short shakedown hikes didn’t do much to physically condition me for my upcoming backpacking trips.
Looking back, I realized far too much of my pre-trail prep was focused on my gear. When it came to my body, I relied too heavily on the fact that I live a fairly active lifestyle off-trail.
Typically when I’m at home, I run, walk, or hike 4-5 miles each day with nothing more than a daypack or running vest. I’ve always pretended that this baseline of cardiovascular fitness was a good enough. And I told myself that I’d just start the trail nice and slow on my thru-hike, and build my strength as I went.
There’s one key problem with this type of conditioning plan though. I never actually start out slow. Instead, I get overwhelmed by the excitement of finally being on that long-awaited trail and I end up putting in big miles from the start.
Take my Oregon Coast Trail thru-hike last year. I hiked 24.4 miles on my first day. That is NOT how one “eases into” a 400-mile hike!
So it’s not too surprising that I also tend to injure myself within the first week or two of my long adventures. Sometimes the injury is more superficial – like giant blisters on my feet or toes. Other times it’s an overuse injury to my ankles or knees that lingers for months afterward.
Thus, I’m vowing to try something new this year! I’m actually going to train for my upcoming thru-hike of the Arizona Trail (AZT)!
Why I’m changing my ways
Why this sudden change of heart, you ask? Well, as I near the ripe age of 50, my body simply isn’t responding (or recovering) nearly as quickly as it did decades earlier. The list of chronic issues is beginning to grow longer and longer with each progressive year.
Here’s the abbreviated list of why I decided to turn over a new leaf with the AZT:
- Shoulder Bursitis. Back in my teens and 20s, I used to be a swimmer and triathlete. Unfortunately, I had to stop long-distance swimming when my left shoulder developed chronic bursitis – with joint pain and the range of motion of an elderly person These days, hefting a heavy backpack on and off multiple times a day isn’t great for this persistent injury. So now, I have to slowly adjust to carrying weight on my shoulder to minimize the strain.
- Foot Pain. Later in my mid-30s, I started having sharp nerve pain in my left foot that was diagnosed as a Morton’s Neuroma. After years of trying to treat it with steroid shots, ligament release surgery, and painful alcohol injections to kill the nerve, I’m finally in a place where I can hike again. But, as my feet swell (as they always do on a thru-hike), the pain returns. So, getting used to being on my feet for extended periods of time is critical to conditioning my body and feet for longer hikes.
- Plantar Fasciitis. Fast forward to my 40s when I developed plantar fasciitis in both feet. It always begins with my calves being too tight. Then my achilles tendons starts aching. Soon the pain spreads down my achilles, over my heel, and directly into the arches of my feet. Once that occurs, I am hobbled. Every step forward is filled with searing pain. After lots of physical therapy and rounds of painful dry needling, the issue is simmering down. But I now need to be super diligent about stretching my calves and achilles. Every. Single. Day. I also have to carefully manage my shoes and inserts to make sure I’m not waiting too long to upgrade to new ones.
- Knee Injury. Then there’s my right knee. I took a major fall in Maine, just 250 miles from the end of my AT thru-hike in 2019. As I went down, my patella landed directly on a rock embedded in the trail. In the moment, I honestly thought I broke my kneecap, and I was convinced my AT thru-hike was over. After taking a few zeros and drastically cutting back my mileage, I was able to salvage my hike and slowly stumble my way to Katahdin. But, that knee injury still continues to bother me whenever I overdo it. So, going forward, I really need to be mindful about increasing my mileage too drastically.
As you can see, I’m a bit of a mess physically. When I was younger, I’d convince myself to just push through the pain. But, once these ailments become more numerous, I knew I needed to figure out ways to minimize their onset. Thus, I finally broke down and decided to train.
What’s the Training plan?
So how exactly do I plan to prepare for the AZT? For starters, I’m going into this thru-hike assuming I’m going to be hiking 18+ miles right out the gate. I always seem to do it anyway. So let’s just embrace the historical trend and figure out a way to get there without breaking myself within the first week of my hike.
Here’s an overview of how I intend to get after it and strengthen my body before I get to the AZT’s Southern Terminus:
- Regular Training Hikes. The first order of business was to develop a training plan much like one would do while training for a marathon. I began slowly build my daily mileage week by week. That first week, I increased all my daily walks or hikes to 6 miles a day. The next week, I increased it to 7 miles a day. The following week it was 8 miles a day. And with each progressive week, I’ve been gradually increasing my mileage (while adding in one rest day to help with recovery) until it’s time to begin the AZT at 18 miles a day.
- Carrying a full pack. In addition to conditioning my feet and legs, I also needed strengthen my back and shoulders to make the burden of carrying my pack easier. The simplest way to reach this goal is by wearing my backpack on 50% of my hikes each week. Inside my pack, I’m carrying all the exact same gear I plan on taking with me on the AZT so my body recognizes the strain. I’m hopeful this will help me avoid the worst of the aches and pains once I begin the trail. Moreover, only carrying my pack on every other training hike means I’m giving my upper body muscles an opportunity to recover – rather than overdoing with a full load day in and day out.
- Blister Prevention & First Aid. I’m a champ at ignoring pain until it become unbearable. Unfortunately, this means I have a history of failing to stop early to treat any hot spots on my feet. Next thing you know, I have a full blown blister that’s nagging me with every step. To avoid this plight, I’ve been taking a first aid kit out with me on every training hike – regardless of whether I’m carrying my backpack. If anything inside my shoes bothers me for more than two minutes, I’ve vowed to stop and take care of it immediately instead of waiting until I get back home.
- Increased Stretching. Stretching isn’t a sexy topic. Yet, the one thing all my repeated visits to the physical therapist’s office have drilled into me is: stretching is essential. Stretching helps with muscle recovery. It helps with injury prevention. And it improves your overall performance. So stretching (especially my calves and achilles) is 100% on my daily to-do list. Plus, I’m using my little massage ball to roll out my arches each and every night before bed.
Lingering Concerns
Of course, this training plan isn’t perfect. There are several conditions on the Arizona Trail I simply cannot train for while at home in Oregon.
- High altitude. I live barely 500 feet above sea level. That is absolutely nothing compared to the 9,000-foot elevation I’ll need to hike up within the first 10 miles of the AZT. But I don’t have much of an option. All the trails above 3000 feet elevation in Oregon are completely covered in snow this time of year. Plus, there’s only handful of mountains in the entire state that reaches the heights I’ll see on the AZT. So I guess I’ll just have to take the climbs slow, and know my physical training at home will eventually get me to the summit.
- Heat. Arizona’s warm winter temperatures are one of the state’s biggest draws for snowbirds. After checking the historical weather trends for Southern Arizona, I’m anticipating high temperatures that reach into the 70s in March. That’s easily 20-30 degrees warmer than where I live. And it’s something I simply cannot replicate. To combat this concern, I’m planning to wear clothing designed to protect me from the UV rays while simultaneously wicking the moisture. And I’m bringing double the water carrying capacity that I’ve ever carried on any other hike.
- Snow. In addition to the warm temperatures in Southern Arizona, I have to anticipate that I’ll encounter a bit of snow and cold weather in Arizona. The area around Flagstaff receives nearly 100 inches of snow each year! Making miles through snow, or slush, or thick, pancake batter-like mud (as the snow melts) is going to be much more difficult on my legs than hiking on a dry trail. Lucky for me, I probably won’t encounter much of that until after mile 400 of my hike. So I’m just going to hope my conditioning during the prior weeks of hiking the AZT will help me endure the more difficult terrain.
Final Thoughts
Only time will tell if this training plan actually will benefit my AZT thru-hike. Nonetheless, I’m optimistic. I’ve using a gradual approach of “crawl, walk, run” rather than relying completely on my stubborn determination and grit.
This plan allows me to listen to my body before I begin my thru-hike and make adjustments as needed. And there’s the added benefit of having a reason to force myself outdoors more during the gloomy winter months when I’d rather sit inside cuddled up with a book.
Want to read more about my spring 2022 Arizona Trail thru-hike? Check out: