Training: Links Style

For the last three or four years, I've been a member of the Mill Creek Country Club.  Although I am not a golf fanatic, I do enjoy playing.  Unfortunately, I do not get out as much as I would like.  So last year, I made a goal to par every hole on the course and to play golf at least once per month (including the winter months).  Today, being the last day of January in a new year, meant that I had to check out of work early and hit the links.

Luckily, the weather cooperated, with a nice sunny day in the mid-40's F.  So, I strapped on my bag and went out and stunk up the course.  (My other goal is to par every hole on the course at least once during the year.  It shows you how good of a golfer I am.  I accomplished that feat in 2009, but not 2010.)

Golf Clubs on Highly Accurate Bathroom Scale.

As I was wandering around the course, I wondered how much my clubs weighed.  The course is relatively hilly, and I carry my clubs, so I figure playing golf will be one of the ways I'll be training for my hike.  As the attached picture attests, my clubs weigh about 25 lbs.  Today, I walked about 2.5 miles carrying 25 lbs on my back up and down a few hills in 90 minutes.  My legs hurt a little, but it was worth it.

Last Day in Vegas.

Found out that the standard stair is 10" high, and there are 15 stairs between floors, which calculates to 12.5' between floors.  So when I did the stairs again yesterday, I climbed 250 feet in less than 10 minutes.  I had to stop on floor 10 to catch my breath and I was pretty wiped out by the time I got to my floor. 

However, as I sit in bed, my legs are throbbing after standing for three days.  I guess that could be considered training. 

Training in Las Vegas.

Not easy training while on the road, but I figured out one way to do it in Las Vegas.  My room is on the 25th floor, so I figured I'd try walking up 25 flights of stairs.  I took the elevator to the 1st floor, then couldn't find the stairwell.  (I later found out it emptied outside.)  So, I took a walk around the convention center and climbed 20 flights of stairs when I returned.  Assuming that there are 15 feet between floors, that would be 300 feet. 

That got me sweating and winded.   I think it did help keep the stress levels down while watching the Packers win. 

Hopefully, I'll have a chance to do it again. 

Research from Oklahoma (US 2 Training Hikes)

The travel schedule this last month has been crazy.  Since a month ago, I've been in Oklahoma City, Northern Virginia, North Carolina, Back Home, to Oklahoma City again, a weekend near the Canadian Border, back to Oklahoma City and tomorrow I'm flying to Las Vegas.  The way I figure it, in the Month of January, I'll have slept in my bed 12 of 31 days.  Hard to prepare while I'm running around the country.  So, with an evening to kill in Oklahoma City, I thought I'd look up some "preparation" hikes to help me train. 

Thanks to Washington Trails Association for the info.  

Iron Goat Loop - 5.7 miles, 700' elevation gain.  (Hiked this last fall.)  
Greider Lakes - 5.0 miles, 1371' elevation gain. (May be 3.6 miles longer due to construction.) 
Wallace Falls - 5.5 miles, 1200' elevation gain.
Tonga Ridge/Mount Sawyer - 6.0 miles, 1200' elevation gain.  
Lake Serene - 7.2 miles, 2000' elevation gain.
Blanca Lake - 7.5 miles, 3300' elevation gain.  
Deception Creek - 10 miles, 1200' elevation gain.
Lake Valhalla - 11 miles, 1500' elevation gain.
Alpine Lookout - 10 miles, 2600' elevation gain.
Surprise and Glacier Lakes - 11 miles, 2700' elevation gain.  (Possible overnight?)
Lake Dorothy - Lake Bear - Lake Deer - 11.5 miles, 1550' elevation gain.  


All these hikes are available from US 2 within a 60 mile drive from the house.  Another day I'll look into hikes along the Mountain Loop Highway (another wonderful destination.)

Walking in the Snow

Spending the weekend out of town with my favorite hiking companion and we decided to head up to Mount Baker for some snowshoeing.  The day was warmer (around 37 F) and it was misting up at Heather Meadows, typical weather for winter recreation in the Northwest.  The skiiers and boarders were soaked and after about an hour wandering around with showshoes, so were we.

My Favorite Companion

Her Favorite Companion

Not having done this before, I expected that it would be more difficult than hiking, which it was.  What I learned is that it was much easier than I expected.  We strapped the showshoes on and started walking.  Our poles didn't quite work like we'd expected (they didn't lock into place), so we left them in the car.

I now understand how easy it is to get lost in the back country.  There are no trails, no signs, and the only landmarks are basically snow covered trees and mountains.  So, we didn't get too adventurous, just walking around the meadows for an hour.  It was still a bit of work.  Didn't work up too much of a sweat but we were soaked by the time we returned. 

Got a bit of hiking in at elevation 4300 feet.  Between the heavy boots, snowshoes and elevation, it was easy to get winded.  Now I have to figure out how to get more training at elevation.

28 lbs

Whoa, a week between posts.  Apparently, a quick trip to Oklahoma City, Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers playing on two different days made it difficult to post, much less exercise.  However, I did in a way practice my backpacking skills. 

My computer backpack with computer and books, etc, weighed 15 lbs.  My suitcase with clothes, tools and cameras (for work) weighed 13 lbs.  So I slung one bag over one shoulder and the other bag over the other shoulder and simulated a 28 lb backpack.  Of course, all the weight was on the shoulders which is not the way it is when backpacking, but it was better than nothing. 

This week is pretty busy too, with meetings every night this week, so we'll see how much posting I get in.  This weekend we're heading to spend a long weekend at Birch Bay (just south of the Canadian border) and if the weather cooperates, we'll head up to Mount Baker to try out hand at showshoeing.  Gail and I got snowshoes for Christmas last year, but the weather didn't cooperate.  However, La Nina is going to help us this year, since there's quite a bit of snow. 

New Year

The last couple of weeks have been a bit odd because of my travel schedule.  Since the Monday before Christmas, I was in Oklahoma, Virginia and North Carolina, not including the stops I made at airports in Colorado, Texas and Missouri.  The travel put a damper on my training schedule, but now I am back and ready to get started again.   My kids obviously believe that I need it since I received hand weights and an exercise ball for Christmas.  Now, I just need to follow through and get cracking. 

I haven't weighed in yet, but I know the results won't be good.  I haven't passed the "belt test" the past week.  (Can you put your belt on comfortably using the same hole you were using before you left.)  Needless to say, the surrounded by family and food for a week doesn't bode well.

The other factor that should help this is the end of football season.  Between the games on TV and the home games we went to, quite a bit of time was consumed (or wasted.  All depends on your point of view.)