Shortly upon returning from our Yosemite vacation, I decided that I want to work towards taking a backpacking trip. There are many guided trip options out there for the unexperienced beginner – in other words, ME 
. However, this doesn’t mean that I don’t have to prepare.
So I am now officially declaring that I’m starting my Backpacking Quest!
Backpacking for Beginners: Getting Started
I found a decent guide on The Lightweight Backpacker. My Getting Started steps include:
- Acquiring backpacking knowledge through reading
- Acquiring knowledge and experience through courses and backcountry organizations
- Getting in shape – and staying in shape
I think it’s pretty obvious which of these three steps I’m starting with . It’s time to kick it into gear and get in shape!
5K Training
I believe I mentioned in an earlier post that Jason and I are going to participate in a 5K run in late September. While both of us have run 5K’s before, it’s been over 10 years since for both of us.
We had our first long running stretch in our walk/run training program yesterday – 1 minute of walking followed by 10 minutes of running. Up until now, our longest running stretches had been 5 minutes – and we thought that was tough.
Honestly, I felt pretty good during the run. The return of the humidity wasn’t welcome, but it didn’t take too great a toll on me. I am finding that the first half of my running portions are the roughest, but the second half feels great.
I have given some thought to going beyond a 5K in the future. Maybe I’ll take on a 10K in the future, or maybe even a half marathon. I’m keeping focused on the immediate goal, but I’m enjoying that focus so much that I’m wondering what goal I can aim for later down the road.
SparkPeople
Unfortunately, weight loss and getting into shape is only partially about exercise. Diet plays an important role – a larger role – in the process. I am now actively using SparkPeople and will be attempting to follow the Spark “Diet.”
I would be super happy to have any of you join me in this part of my journey. Learn more about SparkPeople and become one of my SparkFriends.
