My first love is hiking. I am slowly but surely section hiking the Appalachian Trail. I am about 540 miles (2186 total give or take), so I still have some mileage to go. Last year I broke my leg and sprained my ankle and that put me out of the game after only getting 72 miles last year. This year I am ready!! I have been doing the PT exercises to strengthen my hips and working on my cardio all year at the gym and of course weights - bring on spring!!!
For non hikers - I plan my hikes with AWOL's AT Guide. It shows the elevation, parking, shelters, water sources, etc. So I know from the elevation if I can do 15 miles that day or maybe even 19. Then of course I have to arrange a shuttle. I park my car where I am going to finish my hike and get a shuttle to drop me off at the start, then I just hike back to my car. I don't have to worry about anyone else's time schedule to pick me up or if I finish early I am not having to wait or reschedule my shuttle. So, I have 3 hikes coming up this year that I am planning, hopefully 160-180 miles if I can swing it. My first hike is with Becky, her first overnight backpacking trip. It is only 23 miles - I got snowed out last year and have to fill in the gap. So we can go at a speed comfortable for her and take our time over a long weekend.
The section section will be with my youngest son - his first backpacking trip as well. We are going to attempt 50 miles over 5 days and the terrain is not bad at all so I think we should be able to get that finished.
Now, I was planning to do 70-80 miles around Labor Day. That would put me a good way up the trail :-) But, that is right before the half marathon. I sent Becky a message - easy miles - 75ish miles before the half marathon - good? Nope - she nixed that. Apparently I need to push that back until after the race so I "save my legs". So, I guess I will just take a week in the fall and enjoy the VA foliage.
Today we ran 3.6 miles in my new shoes. I got Asics Nimbus shoes to replace my Altras. Everyone I talked to said to change your shoes when you suffer from shin splints so I am praying this does the trick. We are doing 5 miles Saturday so I should have a good idea after that run.