New Valley Hills

I’m 5 weeks into the 16 week program with Lee from Trailside Fitness. I’m starting to see results – better ankle mobility, improved upper body strength, and firmer core able to carry a heavy bag.

I’ve called my objective 20/20/2000
Breaking that down it’s to be able to carry a 20Kg bag, 20 miles, up and down 2000 feet. The distance and ascent are good representations of what I’ll be averaging daily on the PCT, while the bag weight is at the upper limit of what I might carry occasionally. In my mind there is no reason not to over prepare on bag weight – it will reap dividends on the trail as I’ll have already strengthened my body sufficiently for the rigors to come.

I anticipate a 8-10Kg backpack base weight, that is without food and water. There is a possibility in the first 700 miles desert section I may occasionally need to carry 7L of water for a dry day between water sources in 30C heat plus a week of food. That might take me to 20Kg but only at the start of the first day of that week. The water will get drunk and replenished daily, and the victual weight will reduce daily. So by the end of the first day my bag will have dropped 7Kg during that day. If I need to carry 7L water next day, the food weight will have dropped by a seventh.

20/20/2000 is my match fit goal for the start of May.

For 5 days a week I do at least 1 hour of exercise, though if my schedule requires it I do sometimes bunch them together. Each week has a whole day hike with a weighted backpack. Each time the weight and distance step up. If you want to get an idea of the type of exercises built into my program check out Lee’s videos.
I no longer have joint pain, but I have soft tissue pains as I load up my body. The program incorporates warm-up routines, post-exercise stretches plus muscle and tendon release and mobilisation by self massage.