races in my 30's and 40'sIt's been over 10 years since I ran an ultramarathon. It's been over 10 years since I fastpacked Mt. Rainier's Wonderland Trail in 36 hours. In 2012 I'm 57 years old; I decided to use my experience to attack that 36 hour personal best and show that doing things a little on the extreme side is not the sole perview of the younger crowd. I'm going to have to train harder than I have in over a decade. I'm going to have to utilize my intimacy with the trail, knowledge gained over decades of experience, and different techniques to try this backpacker style. That means totally unsupported, carrying enough equipment to weather storms, cold, heat and anything that this surprising trail can throw at me. I'll carry all my food with no resupplies. I'll be traveling "hyperlight" with probably less than 5 pounds of total gear, including food.

Why? I'm approaching 60. I still have a few years before I can retire. I have many things I want to do in retirement, including long trails and climbs. I need to be fit for this "window of opportunity" before my mid-70's. The goal is the important thing, a reason to do the workouts. As we age our motivation tends to wane, we tend to accept hardships less and less and opt for more "reasonable" activities. Sometimes you just have to make yourself do it. Publishing your goal for everyone to see adds to the incentive.

How? In these pages I'm going to write about my training, equipment and philosophy for attacking this goal. Hopefully it will be of benefit to anyone thinking about attempting such things, young or old.

What's here? I'm going to chronicle in generalities without the nitty gritty, like 3 X squat @ blah blah. I'll just let you know how many miles I run each month, how many miles I've biked, and significant milestones and changes that occur, good or bad. I'll be testing and refining custom equipment, like my B4 and camera bag. If I cover things in the blog you can find the links here. Bottom line, to cover the Wonderland's 93 miles and 21,000 plus elevation up and down, I'm going to need to run it and approach it like an ultramarathon.

a long road aheadJanuary 5 I'm off to a decent start. I travel a bit and this past week I was able to get in some decent workouts, including a fast run and a 2.5 hour bike (gym). I have to be cautious and deliberate in this training, as nothing will derail a fitness regimen faster than an injury. The most difficult phase of training for a sub36 is reestablishing a running base. Today I ran a comfortable 6 miles (my running will be either treadmill or trail), meaning that I'm just starting to get some "float" in my stride and feel on the cusp of entering "kinetic meditation", where my body is fit enough to cease pondering the mechanics and pain and just enter The Zone. I don't plan on increasing my base mile runs more than 1 mile per month, meaning for January I will run 6, in February 7 etc. Eventually I'll need to work up to about 22-30 miles on a treadmill for long runs. I'll need to bike a century at least twice a month.

I'm supplementing the aerobic with weight training, but I don't spend much time at this. I don't care about pretty muscles, I need endurance and power...squats, deadlifts, chinups, bench press, core and shoulders. I'm going to need to lean out a bit, I'm probably carrying 6-10 pounds of useless spare tire. As we age it becomes harder and harder to get/stay lean. I'm going to have to pay attention to my diet more and ensure I'm hydrated enough. Rest is paramount, which is hard with my schedule....crossing multiple time zones constantly, absorbing radiation constantly, spending hours in a dry environment is suredly adding nails to my coffin faster than if I were staying in one place on a 9 to 5.

January 29 I'm coming closer to perfecting a fastpacker system designed especially for my uses. When attempting to run the trail I still want to have everything I need to weather storms and carry me through days if need be, hence I am using the phrase "backpacker style." When I hit the trail for this attempt I don't want more than 5 or 6 pounds on my back, and that includes food. A 10 oz shelter system that provides for multi uses, including rain protection for pack and body while hiking, bug and critter protection while underway or at rest will be in the pack. I've posted 2 articles in the blog under the headings "Fastpacker's Notebook." I have just a few more things to construct to finish off the system so I can begin training and testing.

FASTPACKER: what does this mean? I've seen different definitions bandied about for "ultralight,hyperlight, fastpacking" etc. There is no standard definition, so I use the term for anyone doing high mileage for a certain hike. Does it mean "ultralight"? Not necessarily....it may entail going lighter, it may entail some running, but if you are moving swiftly over a trail and tend to do higher mileage than the "average" backpacker, you can probably call yourself a fastpacker.

panther foot: Luna Leadville sandalA New Chapter in Barefoot Backpacking? Behold my new Luna sandal. Freshly custom cut from the Seattle company, I just picked them up today (Feb 2). I have been training in Merrell Trail Gloves for a year, but I found that long days on the trail left my feet sore from the lack of cushion. I had to revert to my trail runners for longer hikes. I'm hoping the Lunas solve that problem, as they have a 10mm thickness and should provide enough cush for rocks and roots yet still deliver the benefits of a neutral barefoot shoe. When I have enough trail miles on them and they and my feet are properly broken in, I'll post a blog about the results. For now my aim is to use these for all my backpacking trips this coming summer.