I didn't want to hijack the 'Getting Ready' post, as that is about the push up challenge.

At the sportsmen show over the weekend, I purchased a 70L barrel with harness for $60 from Tent City. I bought it and left it there to allow me to walk around and look at other stuff.
At the end of the day I returned to pick it up, and proceeded to load all of my purchases into the barrel and then carry it out to the car. Well I had maybe 20-25 lbs of stuff in the barrel, and maybe walked around for 45 mins or about 1-1.5km. Well my shoulders hurt all day Saturday (was at the show on Fri), and my hips hurt from all the walking.

I think that this weekend was quite the eye opener for me in terms of how ready I am for my trip in May.
So starting this week (today), I'm going to be getting into 'trail shape'. I don't plan on killing myself, but I've set myself some realistic goals: lose 20-25 lbs, go for nightly walks/hikes (regardless of weather), and weight lifting (light weights with dumbbells).

So anybody else have that rude awakening of their current trail shape, and what's everyone else's plans to get ready for the season?

Take care,
Aaron.

Thanks, Aaron. Yeah, I know Gettin' Ready has narrowed in its scope. Originally, I was asking the same thing you are. I only wish I could get to AP this May. It looks like I'll be doing a day trip locally with my family while you guys are livin' it up in AP. My biggest hurdle is that my enthusiasm outpaces my physical abilities. I want to train like a triathlete (Cavers), but my body says, "Wait a minute, you've done nothing all Winter!" I've learned that I can't jog every day, that I need a day or two in between. The same is true for weights. I'm hoping to increase the length of my training by June, so that the last two months before my August trip will be intense endurance workouts. Besides what I've already mentioned, I also want to get plenty of rowing exercises into my routine, as well as abdominal work.

I can understand your concern, not being physicaly ready for that long awaited trip can be a bummer when you are aching on the first day. It has appened to me a few times and have learned my lesson.

As I am getting older, I have made a commitment to myself to stay in shape year round so that I can enjoy the outdoors anytime. During the winter months I snowshoe many kilometers to build my endurance and hike after the snow melts. I am usually ready for Algonquin in April.

Have fun trainning, it is worth it.

I was just having this exact conversation with some of my friends. I don't know, it must be the rapidly disappearing snow. This time of year, I invariably start thinking about losing the "winter insulation" and hitting the gym.

Yes, definitely the weather. The maps come out, the gear gets checked, and the gym membership gets renewed. 33 days go go...