Hunting Season Workout

As I posted elsewhere my wife and I are getting ready to peddle our way back north, the temps here in AZ are steadily in the 90's now, which is 10 degrees over my comfort level. Its been a wonderful time for us here this year, with not a tremendous amount of "have to do projects" to our little house. But I seem to always find a string of things to keep me busy. We have to watch out for those idle hands!!!!! Things are changing here with the vacant lots around us being sold and we are both somewhat concerned with what we will find when we return.My weight as stayed consistent but I have gained a little more belly which distress's me, and I must cut out the ice cream. I tallied my PT miles at the beginning of last week and found that I had surpassed the 300 mile mark for the year. With an average daily hike of just under 5 miles and a pace of between 19 and 20 min a mile. I have to pick that up in the next couple of weeks as my fitness test for my fire work is on the 16th of may. For those that don't know, that's a three mile hike in 45 min, on level ground wearing a 45 pound vest. The weight doesn't bother me so much as the speed. I am fast approaching my 73 birthday, and will hit that about the time the leaves start to change color this next fall. I have not been as consistent with my weight program so I have to step the frequency of that up a notch or two. We have a couple of big projects planned for the summer, as well as my fire work so it going to be hard to balance it all out. Something will have to give I am sure that not everything will get done.
 
salmonchaser":1cxz80c8 said:
Safe travels my friend.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yup! (y)

I have to admit that despite my best intentions, the past three weeks of vacation didn't see much in the way of hard-hiking. Mostly I was hanging out and doing some very casual hiking with my wife and our friends. And driving a LOT the last few days, going from Arizona to our home in Washington. Lots of sitting, doing nothing more strenuous than steering and shifting. Ugh.

So, yesterday I took the bicycle out for the first time in a month, and did 25 miles at an easy pace. It felt GREAT to be back on the bike. :)

Going again with my bicycle buddies later this morning. Lots of hiking and biking the rest of this spring & summer! Have a few pounds to shed after all that good southwest cooking & eating!

Guy
 
I know exactly what is being said. Basically from the end of October I have not been looking after myself like I should, I was in the gym but not hard at it and I started to eat like a 20 year old again :oops: .
By the end of February I was starting to ask Nettie why she had shrunk all my clothes :roll:.
Well I went back to Weight Watchers and got on the scale, they asked me to pay for 2 :shock:!
Anyways I have dropped just over 25lbs and have been back at it like I should have been. I am on my way to getting back to that 210lbs, at the pace I am going it will likely take me to the end of May to hit my goal weight.
Tough to keep at it year after year :wink:.

Blessings,
Dan
 
Two more rides, yesterday was 21 miles, today 24 miles.

Yard work tomorrow will interfere with riding, but that's okay. Next week I should bump up all my rides to about 30 miles instead of holding them in the low 20's like I did this week.

Guy
 
34 miles today, road bike. Held 20 mph for a couple of level stretches, felt pretty good about that.

40 mph down one good sized hill, that was fun! Most of the way I was riding with a young woman, about 30 years old. She's got me beat on the bike, hands down! Last year I gave her family some elk steaks and she's been after her husband to take up hunting ever since! :grin:

Guy
 
Good job Guy, I really believe cardio is the real key to our health (y)!!
Keep up the good work.

Blessings,
Dan
 
sask boy":37u4fy2x said:
Good job Guy, I really believe cardio is the real key to our health (y)!!
Keep up the good work.

Blessings,
Dan

Thanks, a more mellow 28 miles this morning. (y)

So glad the weather has changed for good riding weather. I kept my cardio going "okay" over the winter, using the gym, my snowshoes and my cross-country skis. But it's good to be back on the bike! :)

Guy
 
63 miles today! A major goal accomplished.

I'm turning 62 soon, and wanted to ride 62 miles on my birthday but it was looking like I wouldn't have time on my birthday, and I was pretty danged out-of-shape for riding too.

But, today I made a big effort, and here I am, sipping a glass of decent red wine as a reward, 63 miles later, much of it with good friends. a few miles on my own after they decided they had better things to do! :) I have some pretty smart friends. They're up for a 20 - 25 mile ride, but 60+ good grief! :)

Guy
 
I made some smart decisions about how to make it happen:

Today the group's ride was to start at a bakery, about 12 miles from my home. Figured that if I rode there, I'd get 24 - 25 miles, plus the 15 or so that the group was doing. There's about 40 miles, right there. Company for 15 miles or so too. That's always nice.

Lunch at the bakery, at about 25 miles. YUM. Egg & bacon sandwich on their spiffy bread, and a strong black coffee.

Chose a pretty mellow route, hills, but nothing big. From my lowest point to my highest point today was maybe a 1,000' difference.

GREAT weather for a long ride today! Overcast, high of 72 while riding. Cooler would have helped but this wasn't bad.

Used my best road bicycle, a Specialized Roubaix I bought two years ago. Carbon fiber frame, a bit stretched out to accommodate older riders like me who don't like to be all hunched up on a compact bike. Also it's designed to absorb some of the road vibrations and shocks, even with 110 psi in the tires!

Also, I didn't ride hard. Normally if a downhill stretch takes me up to 25 or 26 mph, I press hard to reach 30+ mph on that hill. Today, I just accepted 25 or 26 and went with it. If I often take a hill, working hard, I shifted down and took the same hill easy, in a lower gear a couple mph lower. In other words, I just didn't push real hard. Today was about miles, not about speed.

And I was pretty danged happy when I saw 50 miles roll past on the odometer. I knew I had it then. :)

Guy
 
50 miles today. Helped a cycling buddy break 70 miles for the first time. She made it to 73 miles today! Previous best for her was 50 miles, last week! STRONG rider.

Her hubby rode most of the first 30 with her, then handed off to me so she wouldn't be alone. Neither of us can ride with her when she gets going. That girl is a terrific cyclist. I think she could have gone 80 - 100 miles today, but I was DONE.

Guy
 
Me headed out for a pack test tryout this AM, the second of the year. Finished 3 min over on Monday, which is fine because the trail I am using is extremely slow. Its easy to shave off three min on pavement. The official test is on the 16th
 
Elkman":2kbecch0 said:
Me headed out for a pack test tryout this AM, the second of the year. Finished 3 min over on Monday, which is fine because the trail I am using is extremely slow. Its easy to shave off three min on pavement. The official test is on the 16th

Best of luck! (y) I'm sure you'll have no problem with it.

Guy
 
Some folks who just stroll out onto the back porch or drive the atv/truck 5 or 10 minutes to their deer stand must wonder what all this "Hunting Season Workout" stuff is all about:

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The hiking in tough terrain, often at higher altitudes, the weight of the camping/backpacking/hunting gear. The pack-out for many miles if successful... It requires a good combination of strength and endurance.

I use the bike a lot early in the year to save wear and tear on the joints in my legs. Then transition to more hiking as hunting season approaches. Weights/resistance training is year 'round, though I avoid the heavy weights I once enjoyed flinging about.

I've found I'm more successful, particularly when hunting public land, if I can hike strong & far.

Regards, Guy
 
Guy those photographs are absolutely beautiful and you can really see that you are in your element :wink:.
Thank you for sharing them with us (y).

Blessings,
Dan
 
Excellent graphic summation of the importance of preparing for the hunt, Guy. Love the mountains, but they do demand something of us.
 
Had my fire fighter fitness test today, the goal is to wear a vest that weighs 45 pounds and walk three miles in under 45 min. I stress over this every year not because failure would prohibit me from playing but because its critical for one of my qualifications. We had a 25 mph wind in our face on the return (the second 1.5 miles) . My other quals require a less strenuous test. Anyway I finished in 43 minutes two minutes under the allotted time. Not bad for an old man. I will focus on climbing hills the rest of the summer now.
 
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