Hello,
just wondering what the old pros do about training up for the challenge.

When should I (have) start(ed) my training?
What sort of distances should I do?
What sort of route?
Should I be carrying a heavy pack?
And how often should I be out there?

I haven't walked more than 10 miles in a day since the clocks went back in October or been camping since then.

Since, on the TGOC, I'll be walking up big hills, around 18 miles a day for 13 days straight probably in horrible weather and carrying around 15kg while doing it, I know I need to prepare my body and mind.

My concerns are about injuries (training too hard, too soon), "wearing out" favourite local routes, getting bored of my own company, not getting enough consecutive days of walking, not getting enough bad weather training.

I'm thinking that the sooner I'm out there, the better (I should probably stop writing this and go for a walk before work). But, what about the other questions?

Any advice, will be gratefully received.

Thanks
Colin

Hi Colin
My advice would be to stop worrying.

For my first few Challenges I walked about 3 miles a day, between 1 and 5 times a week, on a flat cycle path from my front door, with no pack and I still made it across Scotland in May (apart from the year with the Asthma Attack, but that was allergy induced and we don't talk about it...)

We moved three years ago and now I walk around 7-8 miles, between 2 and 6 times a week, over undulating, rough tracks and paths, from my door, still with no pack.

I think only twice I've been on a pre-Challenge camp and only camp a few times a year other than the Challenge helping to supervise DofE expeditions. So picking up my pack on the Thursday as I set off for the start is a shocker, but over the next few days you get used to it and by the end of the Challenge, you've walked yourself fit 🤣

So, relax. Do the walking you enjoy, walk as often as you can, as far as you like, carry a little more in your pack and you'll be fine.

This from someone who can't eat for nerves and anxiety for the first couple of days 😂

Louise

Thanks for the reply Louise.

I too suffer from nerves and anxiety but much more so when I feel like I've not prepared for something as much as I should have, especially when there is no fix for the situation I might find myself in.

I know people who don't walk for months on end and will then walk 15 miles in the mountains. At the end of it, I can see how knackered they are although they claim to be feeling alright and how they enjoyed it. When I do that, I feel terrible for days afterwards and rarely enjoy it.


I'll try to stop worrying, for now.

Thanks
Colin

Colin,

Not sure I qualify as an old pro since this is my first TGOC, however I've done a two week backpacking trip mist years for a while now. Last year because of family circumstances I ended up doing the Pennine Way in 14 days despite not having walked further than 5 miles in the previous three months.

I do think the only saving grace of getting older (63 this year) is that the ability to be bloody-minded, get your head down and keep going is the only thing about me that's improving - everything else (fitness, speed, recovery times etc) is deteriorating.

My plan at the moment is to get the miles up and the weight down:
Sadly too much of my weight at the moment is in my belly - that's the hard bit to lose!
I spend more time playing with scales and spreadsheets to reduce pack-weight than I do training (it's much the easier thing to do on dark, cold, wet winter days). I never train with a heavy pack, but I work hard to keep my total pack-weight down to 10kg (6.5kg base weight and 3.5kg food, water, gas). When it gets close enough to have a reliable long-range weather forecast I'll be juggling up or down according to expected conditions.

I've managed a couple of 18-20km walks since Christmas and will try to do at least two per month through the spring building up to 30km - I'm doing a low-level, direct route so I'll only be averaging just over 20km per day. Given all the other stuff that life throws at me, I'll not be upset if its one walk a month.

I live in Surrey so my training is almost all on the South Downs - a bit easier than Scottish terrain. Hoping to get onto some proper hills at least a couple of times before May - probably only day walks - I might manage one weekend with backpacking kit in the Brecon Beacons (closest real hills).

At the end of the day, I'll be nervous at the beginning however much I've trained. For the first three days every muscle twinge will be a portent of doom, but if past experience is any indicator, I'll get my head down and keep going - I'm sure you will too.

Hope to meet you on the hill.

Graham

I'm in Louise's camp when it comes to preparing for the Challenge. I suppose the important thing is to toughen up the soft tissues - ligaments and muscles. They don't like a sudden shock of long days on rough ground after a year of sitting in a car and on a settee.

I live in the Thames Valley and all my walks are from my front door- Here's a few posts from last year's preparations that did me well enough for last year's Challenge:

A few square yards

Two Churches walk and trees

People, chalk mines, brickwork railways and Spring

TGO Challenge 2017: PreWalkDaunder. The Lakes

:relaxed:

Thanks Graham and Alan. Definitely some useful advice there.

If I understand correctly, I think the main advice is to do some regular walking to get the muscles and other bits used to it but not to worry too much about anything else.

Thanks again.
Colin

Exactly Colin! Do what makes you happy and relax!
Mind you, it's taken me a while to learn, you'll get there in your own time 😉😂

YEP, what they said.
Obviously, much depends on your route and how tough it is.
So lots of big hills means a better base fitness is needed.
The key thing is just being comfortable (as best you can), carrying the weight.
As long as a decent base fitness is there, you will get fit in days 1 to 3.
In these days it's critical to listen to and care for feet.
Many DNF's are feet and blister issues, so make sure you have done some practice in the footwear you are taking.
Then, come the big day ... Go and enjoy it. It is so much easier when you enjoy it, even the bad days...
Remember, it is a challenge, but most importantly, it's a holiday.
Holidays are to have fun.
Put that worrying to one side sir! :relaxed:

I agree with Andrew that feet are at least as important as overall fitness. I always buy new socks before a long walk as I've found this makes a big difference. Alan Sloman's advice to me was to wash out socks and shoes every night irrespective of how bad the weather and this has always worked for me. Never had a blister on 3 Challenges or on any other walk in the past 6 years.

One longish walk (10-15 miles) in the 5/6 weeks prior to the Challenge (with a day sack) to get muscles familiar with distance is all I've ever done and I've been fine.

Wise words from Challengers. The only thing I’d add is ensure your aerobic fitness is up to scratch if you are doing big hill days. A bit of judicious running or biking will go a long way to boosting your hill fitness if you can’t get out in the hills regularly.

It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that the only time you will feel fit enough to complete the Challenge is at the end. :upside_down_face:

Ditto all of the above, though perhaps I should listen to that advise myself.

Last year I set myself a tough high level route and put in plenty of miles of training in the months before. A 5 mile run a few evenings a week, a good 20+ mile walk over rough ground every weekend, and at least one night out each month.

Then with two weeks to go I went down with a chest infection which floored me, and left me completely exhausted and struggling to do anything physical.

So when I set out from Oban I simply adjusted my route day by day depending on how I felt, and got across without too much of a problem. And I think that's probably as, if not more, important than absolute fitness. Listen to how you feel each day and don't be a slave to your plans if you don't feel up to it. There's generally an easier route, or a short cut even if it means adjusting several days of your route.