Amazing Spring Training Hike

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Today I went for an amazing spring training hike at Beaver Dams in Gloucester, Virginia. Shannon and I have been hiking here and there and everywhere around the Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck of Virginia to get in shape for our first major hike of the year, but today was just me.

This June we will be going to Dauphin Island, Alabama and exploring Dauphin Island Bird Sanctuary. There are miles of trails that highlight the coastal beauty of Alabama and are home to 445 species of birds! While there won’t be a lot of hills, there will still be a lot of walking and I need to get my feet ready! So I headed over to Beaver Dams, a local park with 9 miles of trails.

Amazing Spring Training Hike: Beaver Dams, Gloucester VA

Beaver Dams is a local hiking, fishing, biking and horse back riding park in Gloucester, VA. It has over 9 miles in trails. There is a hiking trail only, made for feet traffic, and a multi-use trail for hikers, bikers and horseback riders. The park is on the Beaver Dam Lake in Gloucester, Virginia, which is actually a reservoir. The trails meander along the shore of the lake and include a wide variety of terrain, from crossing a farmer’s field, to steep little hills. Today, the daffodils were blooming, the trees flowering and the turtles sunning themselves. It was truly an amazing spring training hike at Beaver Dams and I must say that I felt great after the intervals I threw into my hike!

Amazing Spring Hike with Interval Training

Other than enjoying the scenery, I also had a training mission. I was going to begin my spring training while enjoying the scenery. Today’s training plan looked like this:

1. Warm up, a leisurely pace for a quarter of a mile
2. Increase speed for half a mile
3. Jog for a quarter of a mile
4. Begin intervals: 1 minute run alternating with 2 minute walk for a mile and a half
5. Cool down for half a mile, slowing pace

Everyone’s pace will be different but the goal is to get your feet, legs and cardiovascular system ready for the next few months of hiking. Now is the time to get the blisters, build endurance, and increase your stamina. Over the next few weeks I’ll be adding distance and weight (loading up that pack) inn order to challenge myself, and you if you choose to join me, further. So pick your favorite local park, trail, track, put those sneakers on and train with us. Or….head to your local gym and hit the treadmill. While it may not be as beautiful, it can be just as affective.

Tomorrow…weight training. Get ready to get your squat on!