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Post by seltzer on Mar 30, 2021 17:31:44 GMT
Wishing you well you with all your goals.
BTW, you seem to have lost weight and it's a good look for you.
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Post by phillydude on Mar 31, 2021 9:01:33 GMT
BTW, you seem to have lost weight and it's a good look for you.
Thanks. Not sure what's giving you that idea, but yeah... I'm trying to be as active as possible.
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Post by macdiver on Mar 31, 2021 11:29:47 GMT
I just subscribed to your channel.
Are you planning on running when doing the back to back marathon hikes or a brisk "hiking" pace? I know some of the long distance FKT's are done running which gives shorter moving times and longer recovering times each day and some are done without running leading to longer days but at an easier to maintain pace.
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Post by shamie on Mar 31, 2021 12:16:20 GMT
I subscribed.
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Post by phillydude on Mar 31, 2021 13:22:23 GMT
I just subscribed to your channel.
I subscribed.
Thanks guys. If you like the video tomorrow, please share it with your friends who might also like it.
Are you planning on running when doing the back to back marathon hikes or a brisk "hiking" pace?
I have weak ankles, so I'm already concerned about terrain, let alone trying to run along the way. So yes, a brisk hiking pace.
Even if I only average 2.5 miles an hour (let's say a 25 minute mile), I should be able to complete each day's hike in about 12 hours.
I checked yesterday, and in mid-October in Western Maryland, there's about the same amount of daylight each day, so I should be good there.
I'm surprised Seltzer didn't check my maths... the daily mileage I posted only adds up to 98.6, which is measuring by "official" AT miles.
But I'm sure that I will probably record at least 100 trail miles, even if I have to do a little extra distance on the last day to make that goal.
Another note is that I will be starting at a place called Snickers Gap in Virginia (which obviously will involve the obligatory candy bar).
And I will be ending at Pine Grove State Park in Pennsylvania, which is about a half hour from Gettysburg, where Son #2 is at college.
Pine Grove is considered the "official" mid-point of the AT, and is also the location for the ice cream eating challenge (which is an actual thing).
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Post by seltzer on Mar 31, 2021 16:31:44 GMT
Firstly, I based my weight comment on your picture. Lest you forget I have met you. :smile: Secondly, I did notice the mileage discrepancy, but refrained from being anal about it. Thanks for remembering my usual tendencies on such subjects. :-) Thirdly, I got a big chuckle about you having a Snickers Bar at the beginning of your hike at Snickers Gap because it brought back fond memories of you bringing cookies to the beginning of the Marine Corps Marathon in 2010. I won't mention the beer we shared at the motel before the race. LOL!
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Post by phillydude on Apr 1, 2021 21:26:57 GMT
Well, the first video is up on the channel. Check it out if you haven't already.
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Post by macdiver on Apr 2, 2021 11:38:25 GMT
I watched it last night. "A dry and warm but" made me chuckle.
Hope this channel becomes successful for you. I understand that one can live nicely from YouTube monetization.
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Post by phillydude on Apr 3, 2021 22:23:30 GMT
My boss made a mistake and told me earlier in the week that, since we did not have anyone checking in to the Inn tomorrow, and since half of their personal children/grandchildren contingent would be visiting for Easter, I could have Sunday off. So the wife and I made plans to meet up with both the boys at a mutually convenient place for brunch (although for us, we have to drive an hour south, cross the Annapolis bridge, then head north (around Baltimore) to get to Central Pennsylvania in a scant 2.5 hours). Midway through the week, she decided she wanted to serve Easter breakfast for the guests (in addition to her family). In what was a first for me in almost five years working there, I told her I had already made plans based on her earlier directive and couldn't be there (my back-up was available, so it wasn't like I was leaving them in the clutch).
They are leaving for a week of vacation on Monday morning, and we are leaving for New Orleans the day after they get back, so I really won't see them again for almost half of the month. When I get back, however, we are full-throttle into the season, so I will be working six days a week. I was telling someone that I probably won't get any real time off until October, but I am thinking that I may try and find three consecutive days sometime in August to do a two-night kayakpacking trip. So the plan is to party like hell in the Big Easy, and then come home to a exercise and nutrition plan that will allow me to reach my goals later in the year.
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Post by M@ on Sept 9, 2021 15:58:28 GMT
Happy birthday, Phil!
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Post by phillydude on Sept 23, 2021 13:26:16 GMT
Hello friends... a quick update on a very rainy morning in MD. As I mentioned in my last post (in April LOL)... we went to New Orleans as planned (which was a somewhat disappointing trip, as the city was just reopening from the long slumber and many things we planned to do didn't happen as a result). Then the tourist season hit here, and it hit HARD... I think I got fewer than ten days off between May and August. But things are slowing down just a little, and I'm usually getting one day off a week at this point in the year... and today is that day LOL.
In home restoration news, I have a contractor working right now to finish up the kitchen and bathroom (mostly plumbing installs and tile work),and that should be done by the end of next week. Then it's just little things like trim and paint, and we will be done (although is a house ever really done LOL?) and moved back in, since we relocated to the apartment last week while they are doing the work.
Family news... #1 son moved here for the summer, and worked as a barista at the cafe my employer owns. It was great having him around, and we hung out more than I thought we would. He's back at college now, finishing up his fifth year, and plans to graduate in May. Son #2 is also back at college as a junior, after electing to spend the summer at the house in PA and work in the frozen food section of a grocery store. He took a good bit of time off, however, to travel with friends, and came down a half dozen times to spend weekends with us, so we had the whole family together, which was great.
The wife is living here full time now (and working remotely on a mostly permanent basis), so the house in PA is empty, and will hopefully be going on the market in the next 12-24 months. We are actually seeing the light at the end of the tunnel now, as once the boys are out of school and the PA house is sold, our financials will be reduced to a point where she can retire and we can comfortably live on my salary.
But in the big news, I'm leaving for my next adventure at the end of October. I'll be posting a video to my channel and social media this weekend with all the details, but here's the scoop for my JSF friends. I'm planning to backpack 100 miles of the Appalachian Trail by myself, and plan to finish in five days/four nights, traveling from the Virginia/West Virginia state line all the way up to Pennsylvania near Gettysburg. I'll averaging about 20-26 miles a day, and of course camping along the way. Some of the highlights will be completing all of the Maryland and West Virginia sections of the trail, hiking the woods near where the Blair Witch Project was filmed, traveling the area where many of the Civil War battles took place and crossing the Mason Dixon line, and touching a total of four states during the journey.
My training has been to walk as much as possible, and while the terrain here is flat, I'm still getting the miles in. My longest day so far has been fifteen miles, and this week I started carrying my backpack, which will weigh about 25lbs when I depart. I can't believe I never thought of backpacking as exercise/recreation before, as it combines three things I am very good at: traveling long distances under my own power (endurance fitness), living minimally and self-sufficiently (camping), and packing (all those years at the UPS Store and Amazon have come in handy LOL).
Anyway, I'm going to wrap up now and get to my day... hope all is well with everyone, thanks for the birthday wishes, and we'll chat again soon I promise.
p.s. MacDiver, I sent you a FB message with my phone number... give me a call when you get a chance. Thanks!
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Post by seltzer on Sept 23, 2021 13:57:48 GMT
Phil, thanks for the update and it was nice to read about all the positivity. Be well my friend!
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Post by shamie on Sept 23, 2021 15:54:26 GMT
Nice update. Glad everything is going well. Happy belated birthday.
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Post by phillydude on Sept 27, 2021 21:31:24 GMT
When I was talking to MacDiver on the phone this morning, I mentioned that I realized yesterday that I first floated the idea of the AT hike back in late March, and that I had forgotten I had posted about it back then. Good to see that I wasn't far off from where my plan ended up, and that I am still on target to make it happen as I had envisioned it. I did 8.25 miles this morning with an 18 pound pack (yes, I weighed myself with and without the gear when I got home) in around two hours. Of course, that was on flat ground (asphalt) and in running shoes (not boots). I will admit I could feel the effort in my legs for the rest of the day, but I think that the next four weeks with consistent mileage will bring them around for the trip. Plus, I was traveling at 4mph today, and I am estimating 2.5mph on the actual trail, so that seems like I'm also in line to hit that mark.
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Post by phillydude on Sept 28, 2021 12:56:51 GMT
OK so I slept outside in my new tent last night... first time doing that (as well as trying out the inflatable sleeping pad and the down quilt I will be using on the trip). I can't say I have any complaints... I was comfortable, slept well, and most importantly didn't wake up stiff or with any strange issues. Granted, it only got down to about 60 degrees with a light wind. I checked the long-range forecast for the dates and locations I will be overnighting on the trip, and it looks like the first night of camping (second night of the trip) is a low of 32 degrees (with a real feel of 25) winds of 20mph (with gusts to 40), and rain/thunderstorms. So my plan (should the forecast prove correct) is to sleep in the shelter instead of the tent that night. I am leaving the tent set-up in the yard tonight, as they are calling for possible rain, and I'd like to check the waterproofing.
Got up and walked three miles (no pack) this morning. So I have that going for me, which is nice. Day off today... plan is for yard work followed by drinking.
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