Training Update: Weeks 2-4

Week two was a little lax.  My schedule made it a bit difficult to get out and complete a lot of physical training, but I busied myself working on equipment lists and working on writing out a training schedule to keep me on top of things.  I've pretty much decided on the route that I'm going to take, I just have to finish calculating total distance.  I've also begun reaching out to my coworkers, talking about Progeria, the promising research being done, and of course Nathan and Bennett.

This week its full speed ahead!  My goals for the next two weeks are to increase my distance on flat ground to 10-12 miles/day and possibly add some weight to begin acclimating my body to carrying the weight of a pack.  I'm going to try to take advantage of the mild weather for as long as I can and hope to get a day hike in before the temperatures turn too cold and wet.  I'll also be increasing the intensity and duration of my strength training and core training programs; adding more transverse plane movements to my lifts and more balance and stability exercises to my core components.  

I'm really looking forward to the next few weeks (and months for that matter)!!  A big Thank You to everyone for your thoughts, prayers and encouragement!  I know there will be many days ahead when I will rely on them to lift my spirits when I'm feeling tired and discouraged.

Training: Week 1

Training has commenced!  I began on Monday morning with a 4 mile walk to begin breaking in my boots.  2 miles in, I developed some minor blisters, so I decided to stop after 4 miles, take care of the blisters and try to get out again after work.  I managed to get 2 miles in while at work, but could't go out afterwards because of darkness.  Today was much better.  I got a couple of miles in while I was searching the grounds for my work issued phone that has mysteriously vanished, and then got 3 more in after work.  I'm not up to that 10-15/day mark yet, but I'm definitely making progress and the boots are not irritating my feet too much anymore.  Tomorrow, I'm going to push it a bit and try to get 8 miles in, in the morning.