Training Tuesday - When in doubt, just charge up that hill, 3-Day style

This weekend we did another big hike up at Yosemite. With the warmer weather much of the snow had melted in the lower elevations so we were able to cover ground fairly quickly - perhaps too quickly. Charging up the hill, with that "get it done" 3-Day mentality that you have by your third day of walking, quickly proved too fast a pace for an elevation gain of 1,000+ feet! Regardless, after a quick break for a photo of me sporting my Susan G. Komen gear, we learned to pace ourselves and made it to the snow covered portion of our trail. Finally got to use our shoe spike things (what are these called? I'm told they are not the same thing as cramp-ons.) And we got to follow fellow hikers straight up a snowy mountain when the trail was no longer visible. Quite the adventure! And a great training day for the 3-Day and for our goal of hiking Half Dome later this year.

Training Tuesday - Snow Hikes make 3-Day hills seem easy

We recently took our second trip up to Yosemite for the day and decided to do some hiking in the snow. I'm sure this comes as no surprise, but hiking in the snow can be quite the workout! Our hiking boots didn't offer enough traction on the icy hills so we often found ourselves sliding downhill while trying to climb up. A couple more trips like this and I know I'll have absolutely no trouble with any of the hills that the 3-Day throws at us this year. :-)

Training Tuesday at the San Diego Zoo

Tomorrow I will do my last training walk at the San Diego Zoo, which makes me realize how much I am going to miss that place. Walking around the zoo in the morning, watching the animals get fed, and realizing that I'm fortunate enough (at least for two more weeks) to live in a city where I can do training walks at a world class zoo, all make training for the 3-Day a bit easier.

While looking ahead to tomorrow's walk with one of my favorite walking buddies I'm tasked with the need to find new training walk locations in my future city. So I throw the question out to fellow 3-Day walkers, how did you come to find your favorite training walk places? What are some of your favorite training walk locations and some best practices that help pass the time on those long walks?

Training Tuesday - Let's kick off the 2011 season!

Matt and I stretched our legs a bit, taking advantage of the gorgeous weather San Diego has been having, and had our first training walk of the 2011 season. I have to admit, I still have one large blister from last year’s walk but fortunately it’s no longer painful so it doesn’t hinder me from walking any.

We walked around San Diego bay and the sun was so bright and the water so sparkling that I really realized how much I am going to miss the outdoor culture of San Diego. It’s such a wonderful city to do training walks in and I love being able to train on the actual hills that we walk on the 3-Day. I would love advice from others who train in cities other than the one they walk in. What are some good tips for staying motivated if you are training elsewhere?