Post a Comment On: Eat Right, Get Out Of Breath

I took Friday off work in order to do the first significant test of my readiness for the long hike in May. I had planned to walk 15 miles from my apartment in the South Hills to Sierra Rd in the north valley (7.5 miles away) and back again. In the end, I managed 10.3 miles in four and a half hours, which was okay.
[Image] 10.3 miles in four and a half hours Knowing a week beforehand that the weather was going to cooperate, I waited until the sun came out to melt any traces of black ice that might make conditions slippery. I set off at 09:00. The first break came at 4 miles, when I stopped at the Natural Grocer to buy some bananas (for energy and potassium), chocolate macaroons (tasty and no too carb-laden) and a couple of flavored drinks. I already had a couple of bottles of water with me, plus a few Mozzarella sticks.

Averaging about 2.5 miles per hour until lunchtime, I made it to Sierra Road in three hours. A leisurely lunch followed, then a slow start to the journey back. As the bright sunshine came out, and with a couple of short breaks, I made it to the area around Custer and Montana Avenue before deciding to stop.

Physically, I felt like I'd managed well. My thighs could tell that I'd just walked ten miles. My feet felt good - no rubbing, no hot spots, no blisters, no aches, no discomfort. The shoes and socks performed well. First test ** PASSED **!

It was also a test of the longevity of my phone's battery and the performance of the UnderArmor MapMyHike+ Android app. With the Wi-Fi and cellular data turned off, only GPS was still on. I did play music non-stop for nearly three hours and the battery went from 100% down to 62%. I took my Anker Astro E5 battery pack with me and re-charged the phone to 75% while eating lunch. On the way back into town I listened to an Audible audiobook (a biography of Albert Einstein, which was serendipitous given the science news about the confirmation of gravitational waves, something that Einstein had predicted in 1916).

[Image] 325.2 lbs - lowest in a long time! On Saturday morning, I'm doing okay. The muscles can still tell that they've had a good workout, but no trauma, no strains, nothing adverse. Stepping on the scales this morning, I was at 325.2 pounds, the lowest I've been in a very long time.