Adventure is a fantasy until you take the first step.

Looking back, I think I did believe I had an adventure ahead of me. I’m at T(time) -17 days before I leave on my European Peace Walk. I have traversed the field of “can’t do” and “why am I lying to myself”. Those words have changed to “don’t lie and at least try”.

My best help has been my trainer, Siera. There are thousands of personal trainers, but they are not all alike. It’s a mine field for mature adults. My knowledge foundation was set in college with some limited updates based on random articles. So for me, a trainer experienced in older clients and who listens, and then adjusts my workouts accordingly, was vital.

Know your capabilities. It is not what you did when you were 20 or 30 years old. Knowing your starting point of fitness can be enlightening.  In early 2017 Siera put me through tests to see about my baseline capabilities. The tests were based on  National Institute on Aging basic fitness tests. You can self-test to evaluate your capability. The NIA has a Getting Started pdf and other resources too. Siera tests me to measure my progress about monthly. One test is the 6-minute walk/run. How far can you go in 6 minutes? Well I was abysmal last year (more of a walk/trot) but my running today – well, I’m pleased, and I think I’m ready for my EPW adventure.

Originally, I planned to do it all by myself. Turns out, I need help to stay accountable in doing workouts. For some, that is what friends are for.  I chose a personal trainer. I had bad habits to address and a deficit of current knowledge that didn’t line up with my age. Siera’s small corrections in form told me I was not as effective on my own as I liked to believe. Plus, I like to ask questions. Lots of questions. I’m getting my knowledge updated as I go. I’m headed to a fantasy at the end of this month. Scary, thrilling and transformative.

Click here to read a short list of our hikes and our videos as they come available. These are hikes that we’ve been using to prep for this trip over the past several months. Great hikes around the western U.S. We started slow on urban trails with gradual weekly goals. We measure both distance and speed. We also go prepared for non-urban hikes. (read more on the 10 essentials)

Starting at about 2.8 mph 2 miles per hike we did them frequently to build up or stamina. Sometimes we doubled the trails to increase distance – we took water and snacks with us and stopped when needed. Now we can hike >9 miles at 3+ mph. Stretching before during and after is important and we still struggle to be consistent with that! We see improvements in our speed, stamina and recovery – sweet reward.