Why visualization is actually work ...

Some wise person taught me the power of visualization.  You think of what you want, make it real in your head, and the path to success will follow.  So long as you keep the vision real, you will achieve your goal.
OK close you eyes and visualize with me.  Picture 90 plus miles hiking up and down hills on rocky trails with 40 pounds on your back in the late June heat of Tennessee.  Got it?

Yep, I have the same picture and the more real it gets the more I can feel the aches and pains of 10 long days trudging through the Appalachian highlands.  I have lots of experience backpacking and hiking and one thing rings true every time I step out the door ... I gotta get in better shape.

How about some math?
12 days total set aside for the trip.  Subtract two for travel.  There's our ten.  One day off to party and resupply and hang out in Damascus VA (more on Damascus in a later post)  That leaves me with 9 days of hiking to cover 90 some miles.  Roughly ten miles per day.  There are some hikers out there scoffing right now ... they can knock off 10 miles before breakfast and ten more after lunch, with energy to spare for a few miles in the evening to check out some special restaurant, or a really cool rock.  I am not one of those hikers.
I am a hiker with my visualization of perfect weather, cool breezes, and idyllic evenings lounging around a fire swapping tall tales with my group and the other hikers.  These things are pretty much out of my control and I hope my strong visualization helps me to realize them.   What I don't want is to struggle into camp after having completed a forced march of Biblical proportions, chest heaving, clothes soaked through, joints on fire and pain radiating through every muscle.  I don't want to throw myself on the ground in exhaustion while the other members of my party take full advantage of the perfect weather, cool breezes, and idyllic evenings that I worked on so hard with my visualizations! I want to stroll into camp with a light pack and an even lighter heart having thoroughly enjoyed my entire day.

In other words, this is going to take more than visualization.  I am going to have to work at this.  Work pretty damn hard ... losing weight, building endurance and setting my body up to be a finely tuned hiking machine.
You see I have the fear factor kind of backwards when it comes to the outdoors.  I am perfectly comfortable out in the woods sleeping in a tent.  Most of my experience is solo hiking and solo backpacking and I am fairly secure in my outdoors skills.  Bring on nature!  What scares me is the physical output and becoming a drag on the group.  To that end I know for a fact that I can do the miles.  Otherwise I would not have signed on for this. How easy they are going to be is up to me.

I have been granted three months to prepare for this.  That means I need goals...solid concrete goals that I can build on over time and measure the success.  SMART goals ... more on that in my next post.
After our meeting on Sunday a week ago I think the same fitness idea struck another member of the party, since we immediately hiked about three miles after the meeting adjourned.  I can only guess that we both kind of needed to get out and do something related to the trip and not postpone the fitness part indefinitely.  It was only three miles but perhaps it validated that we can actually move forward, log miles and dedicate ourselves to reaching the fitness level needed to enjoy the trip.

Throughout the week I remained dedicated to slipping in some fitness here and there.  I did two or three miles on Tuesday night when business commitments cancelled an organized hike I was due to attend on Wednesday.  That kind of foresight traditionally would escape me ...but it proved to me I am "all in" on this fitness thing. Actually a bit too far in ... I worked out at the local recreation center on Monday evening, then did my morning walk/jog routine on Tuesday, then the additional miles that evening and by Wednesday was feeling it a bit until I realized that I had worked out three times in a 24 hour period.  OK over-exuberance ...and just bad timing because of scheduling.  Did another morning run on Friday and 4 miles in an organized hike on Saturday.  That's a better mix .... and overall not a bad week.  Call it 10 miles, not including the gym work (I never include machines or stationary bikes in mileage).

Best news was the scale ... and someday I intend to post before and after pics and maybe even relate some real numbers, but suffice it to say I am down 13 pounds from my winter high and planning on quite a few more.

I plan on routine updates as I set my SMART goals and keep better records.  Suffice it to say I hope to post bigger miles and smaller pounds as I move one step closer to this trip.

Tomorrow morning starts a new week!  Time to move ... one step closer to my reboot.