Life has been very busy and I've not frequenting the forums lately, but things are calming down.
I'm not in Chicagoland presently, so I won't be able to make the walk this weekend. But I hope you guys have a great walk! I've done the stairs there and the trails nearby, it's a nice area. There is a pull-up bar near the top of the stairs if anyone wanted to incorporate a Murph-style workout .
Will post something here after the walk next weekend (March #9) to see if anyone is interested in a march sometime in July.
I don't have exact data for march #9, but my phone shows 10.5 miles between 8am-12pm. It was great weather - low 60s and no rain as we had worried - and the route was a wide trail of dirt and crushed gravel with the main attraction of a giant staircase. Scott, The_Bowme, and jacob+DW joined for some good company. All in all a great time.
(picture not mine). Jacob had a solid ruckpack of ~40lbs, which I borrowed for a couple laps up the stairs and some awkward pullups. It might be about time I add some weight myself! And we did keep our streak alive of getting close to deer - this one not as smug as the last (see viewtopic.php?p=297075#p297075).
We were fortunate with the weather. Fun to catch up, as well as meet @the_Bowme and jacob's DW. Connecting in person hits different. I appreciate everyone making the effort. Always broadens my perspective on the paths one can take. Beautiful walk too. A solid 10 miles to start the day.
Here's a map of the hike, captured by my phone. That elevation jump halfway through was on trail. It felt like another set of stairs, but on rocky gravel.
Starting the conversation for March #10, I have availability in July if anyone would like to meetup again in about a month. I'm free July 13, 19, 20, 26, and 27. Something in the Chicagoland area works best for me this time around.
Suggestion: "Tour de Downers Grove". Various 5k/10k loops available to be combined for more distance. Route is mostly on downtown/urban sidewalks with about a mile of "nature" in between. Two toilets and 3 or 4 little free libraries en route. Meet at the public library. Free parking at the library. Accessible by Metra. The Metra station is one block from the public library.
Also, I had a stupid idea: How about a "team carry" of one 53lbs kettlebell? We take turns following some kind of systematic rotation to be worked out. For example, left hand until failure and handover to the next person, coming back, then right hand until failure and handover the next person.
@Jacob - Downers is great for me. Would those heading out of the city, want more nature for their effort? Salt creek off the western springs stop, or if the admission fee is tolerable, the arboretum out of Lisle? I'm in the forest all the time, so don't really care.
Team carry might be realistic. 53lbs sounds heavy though. I've got a pair of 18lb dumbbells with 2" handles, or a pair of 12k kettle bells. When I walk my weight vest, it's only a couple miles with 30 pounds. So maybe I don't appreciate what the rest of you are capable of.
Downers Grove sounds great to me. But I see where Scott is coming from...what does anyone else think (esp those coming from downtown)?
And any preference on dates from Jacob & anyone else?
I like the team carry idea Jacob! I have never tried anything like that, and have no sense if that's a realistic weight or not. We could either try for a lower weight if worried about the 53lb'r, or do the 53 and start off on one of the shorter loops to see how it goes, swinging back by the vehicles and exchanging if too heavy. I'll try a modest walk with my wife's 35lb KB and see how it feels.
I tried walking a 12k kettlebell a mile. Then I walked the same mile unloaded. The weight dropped my speed and raised my heart rate, both by about 10%. I rotated between farmers, rack, and overhead positions.
The primary consideration is tomorrow. How will my knees and back will feel about the offset load? I definitely could've done another mile without putting it down. Easing in seemed prudent.
The small bell does have a short handle. The rack position might not be comfortable for taller guys.
I’d recommend going slightly lighter for the march. Something around 40 lbs. If you guys do your usual distance, 53 lbs will be very challenging and I think will kill some of the conversation.
60lbs for a 13:22 mile is right into the deep end! Using my 12k doesn't feel like much the day after. Maybe slight elbow and knee ache. I'll need to try the 16k.
I did a 0.75 mile walk that included a respectable hill with a 35lb kettlebell and based on that, I'm inclined to agree with @theanimal that we may be better off with something 40lb or less. It was fine with that weight, but I suspect a >50lb would seriously detract from our ability to converse.
In case it wasn't clear, the idea was that ONLY 1 KB would be carried by the team and we'd take turns. It's been a long while since I've done any farmer walks, but I'll do some testing too.
The route itself doesn't stray too far from the starting point, so if the weight proves insurmountable, we can always go back and dump it at the car. Alternatively, it can go in the backpack.
One thing that came up during this walk was going uphill and strategies for dealing with the weakest link. The suggestion was that the slowest guy goes up front. This could/would be the carrier of the bell. Once they tire out, someone else takes the front. This would work much like a bicycle peloton. You pull at the front until you can't and then you hand it off to the next one behind.
Also, I had a stupid idea: How about a "team carry" of one 53lbs kettlebell? We take turns following some kind of systematic rotation to be worked out. For example, left hand until failure and handover to the next person, coming back, then right hand until failure and handover the next person.
Is this even realistic?
When I was at basic training, we had to carry one of hour squad for a few miles + all his gear. You can do this either with some kind of makeshift stretcher and four people or fling him over one shoulder with two people. We'd regulary switch out people who couldn't hold him any longer. It was very uncomfortable but also cool to notice how much you could push yourself when your are motivated. Internally because you want to 'rescue' a fallen teammate and externally because a drill sergeant is yelling at you.
So anyway, 53lbs is around the weight we had to carry per person with four people and that was doable for a few miles. I think 10km would be maybe too much but 5km should be achievable.
Yeah, I understood what you meant Jacob. Still think it might be pretty heavy, but I don't know. I'm certainly down to try it for a loop and see how it goes though, and we could swap for a smaller one if need be.
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