Food and Fitness for Living Better

We went psuedo-backpacking this weekend, could almost be called a ruck. We loaded up an intentionally heavy pack to go spend the day in the woods as an alternative workout. I would’ve been down for the full backpacking adventure, but Corey suggested the day hike instead so we could come home to our admittedly comfy bed and a hot shower. And boy after I smelled myself halfway through I was happy with that decision! I definitely inherited the Bednar sweat gene and needed a thorough cleaning after 8 hours, 13.5 miles, and 3500 ft of elevation gain on a perfect summer day.

It was a grind though. The first six miles felt pretty easy, and that’s because we were going at an easy pace. Upon realizing we still had over three hours on the trail at the pace we were going, I was ready to pick it up. We basically did negative splits on the hike, and Garmin only gave me a 2.0 score for just barely aerobic work lol

My hips were talking to me all night and still well into today. I was asking Corey if he had the same soreness and since he didn’t, we did a pack check for me because it sounds like I wasn’t wearing it up high enough. But, even when it was fitted “properly” it still felt super tight on me so I guess I made the all-around comfort choice and it was lower on my hips. Anyway, I was certainly feeling that weight today and remembering the different muscles worked with backpacking.

Of course, fueling is important on a long day like that. Our food for the day included: couscous and tuna lunch, peanut butter and trailmix snack, and leftover breakfast foccacia. Since we weren’t worried about weight we added in lots of extra liquids: 4L water skin, 2L hydration pack, thermos of coffee, can of craft beer, salt drink, electrolyte drink, and even some ice water. We had some backup granola bar snacks, and couldn’t forget some pup snacks. Knowing we’d be in for a long day, we brought extra food for Zeus which he chowed down at lunch. It felt like the right amount of food, and thankfully Zeus got plenty of water breaks from all the streams we crossed. The pup also learned to cool off faster in the streams by plopping down for a cool belly.

We hiked on the Appalachian Trail from St Johns Ledges up the river road from Kent, and had dropped a car in the lot at Bull’s Bridge, which we estimated to be 12 miles total. Within the first mile or so there’s a beautiful overlook at Caleb’s Peak. Although I normally wouldn’t be ready for a break so early in a long hike, the first bit here is brutally steep and will get your heart pumping in no time. My highest heartrate for the whole hike was within this first 1/2 mile because you’re essentially climbing rock stairs to the top. hello, 500 ft of elevation pretty dang quick. If that’s over 2500 ft (~1/2 mile), then wouldn’t that be 20% grade? The quads felt that early especially with my squats the day before! We stopped for lunch about halfway at the Mt Algo shelter. No one was stopped at the shelter even though there are 4 or 5 sites back there. Lunch was a pot of couscous with tuna pouches mixed in. We got to the Mt Algo shelter, set up a hammock, and started heating water for the couscous. We took our time eating and relaxing, enjoying the trail beer we packed for a peaceful lunch break.

Then I realized we probably weren’t even halfway at six miles completed, so we had a lot of time ahead of us on the trail. I was already feeling my body getting heavy at that point, so I hunkered down and pushed through, remembering that I’m training for a trail ultramarathon where I’ll be doing double this elevation gain and double the mileage, so this was a good training check-in. I need some more trail miles! I broke out the trekking poles for the second half and was focused on finishing. We netted out 3500 ft of elevation gain, which is just about half the total of Macedonia Brook ultra with over 7000 ft of gain.

So here’s to adding in different types of training into the mix and remembering why we love being out on the trails! Happy training and happier travels 💕