the die is cast

I bought my plane ticket for Vancouver today. I arrive there the evening of the 26th and begin Kevin's Walk the following morning.

I also completed a training chart for the rest of my time here in Virginia. It gets me from where I am now-- walking 3.1mph for 10 miles, unencumbered-- to where I need to be: able to walk 30 miles with a 70-pound load on my back.

If any of my readers have schedules that permit them to meet up with me during my training (and I'll be training seven days a week), they should feel free to meet me at the Mile 0 marker of the George Washington Parkway bike path. On weekdays, I'll make an effort to leave the house around 7AM (possibly earlier); this means I'll be at the Mile 0 marker around 7:35AM or 7:40AM. I hit Mile 3 on the walk a little after 9:30AM. If you've been following the blog, you can roughly calculate my speed, and if you use Google Earth, you can figure out approximately where I'll be on the bike path as long as I consistently begin at 7AM.

Remember, when calculating where I am, that the walk from my house (whose location I won't disclose, for the sake of my family's privacy) to the Mile 0 marker is exactly two miles. Because I do about an 18-minute mile (i.e., slightly over 3mph), this means I'll have walked about 36 minutes by the time I hit Mile 0. Keep that in mind when trying to figure out where to meet me. Remember, too, that a three-hour walk means 90 minutes out, then about 90 minutes back home. If you position yourself too far along the path, you might not catch the fact that I've doubled back. One last thing: I expect my speed to go down as my encumbrance goes up. By the time I'm carrying 70 pounds on my back, I expect to be gallumphing along at a mere 2.5mph. Factor that into your calculations as well.

My training schedule:

May 4: (easy day) 2-hour walk (Mom's birthday, too!)
May 5: 4-hr walk, 10 pounds' encumbrance
May 6: 4-hr walk, 15 pounds
May 7: 4.5-hr walk, 20 pounds
May 8: 4.5-hr walk, 20 pounds
May 9: 5-hr walk, 30 pounds
May 10: 5-hr walk, 30 pounds
May 11: (easy day) 4-hr walk, 10 pounds
May 12: 5-hr walk,35 pounds (halfway point for time/distance and weight!)
May 13: 5.5-hr walk, 35 pounds
May 14: 6-hr walk, 35 pounds
May 15: 6-hr walk, 40 pounds
May 16: 6.5-hr walk, 40 pounds
May 17: 7-hr walk, 45 pounds (at least 20 miles walked)
May 18: (easy day) 6-hr walk, 30 pounds
May 19: 7-hr walk, 45 pounds
May 20: 8-hr walk, 50 pounds
May 21: 8.5-hr walk, 60 pounds
May 22: 9-hr walk, 65 pounds
May 23: 9.5-hr walk, 65 pounds
May 24: 10-hr walk, 70 pounds (at least 27 miles)
May 25: 10-hr walk, 70 pounds (try for 30 miles)

I don't expect I'll actually make 30 miles in the allotted time on the 25th, but I hope to give it a try. On the 26th, I won't be walking at all, of course: I'll be in transit to Vancouver!

Hope to see you on the path.


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