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Re: [at-l] Fitness

>- 3 miles an hour.  But hills kill me!!!  I thought at this pace I 
>would develop some cardiovascular fitness and the hills would not be 
>a problem.  Should I extend my walking distance or try harder to hike 
>hills?
>



Hit the hills harder. I too walk about 3 miles a day and often as much as
12 miles on a nice Sunday afternoon. I live in the country so I walk
country roads. Out there there are no mass transit busses spewing forth
black crap from their exhaust into your face when you are breathing heavy.
:-). I walk the 12 miles at about 3-4 mph (for the same reason you do.
Cardiovascular excercise) non stop. By the time I get home I am not the
least bit tired. There are moderate hills where I walk. Walking on the road
with no pack on is alot easier then hiking in the mountains with a 30-40
lb. pack. I walk to stay half way in shape for backpacking. Still the first
couple times I hit the trail with a pack in the spring (I am an indoors
person in the winter) I get exhausted, Legs get extremely sore and the long
steep climbs up the side of the mountain all but kill me. My lungs feel
like they are going to go on strike or are already staging a walk out.
After the first 2 weekend trips though I am in good shape and can keep up
with my 17 year old son with no problem. He is a condition athlete who
wrestles and plays football. Walking on the road is also alot easier then
alot of the trails as they are smooth. Trail hiking especially in W. Va. is
usually rocky causing you to use ankle and leg muscles to support the
ankles and knees that you normally would not strain walking on a road. And
again you do not have that extra 30-40 lb pack. The more you strain muscles
the more oxygen they demand from the blood and the harder the lungs have to
work. My case is probably a bit more extreme since my blood count is a tad
bit low from chemo two years ago. Doc says it probably wont get completely
back up to normal so leg musle conditioning is even more important to me.
Just wish I could hike in the cold weather to maintain the summer
conditioning. :-). Oh well ... No pain no gain. Take care and happy hiking.





                           Daryl Cline WB4YEX
                            Harrisonburg, Va.
                  Web page: <http://www.cfw.com/~clines>
          Outdoor pictures:  <http://www.cfw.com/~clines/outdoors>

                               
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