Any conditioning advice for Inca trail?

[darkxshade]

I'll be doing the 4 day hike up the Inca trail in Peru in Jan. The trail covers about 20+ miles at an elevation of roughly up to 14000 feet. I'm pretty confident that I could probably complete this no problem at my current fitness level. However, I'd like to be able to enjoy my hike up rather than just trudging up there miserably out of breath and tired.

I did a 1 day hike up Mt Washington in NH back in Sep... it was 8 miles and I was pretty exhausted but in good spirits at the end of it just to give you an idea. That is nothing though compared to the Inca trail.

As of beg of this month, I've begun a regimen where once a week, I do a 30-45 min jog with a ~40lb backpack. Not too thrilled about that since it's bad on the knees and back. I also go on the stair machine at the gym(no backpack) once a week for 30mins... what are you thoughts about adding the 40lb backpack to that? Also considering doing an all day walk around the city with my backpack(instead of running) during the weekend so I can get used to the idea of the weights on my back. Any other conditioning advice or workouts you'd recommend? My main point of concern is training for the elevation when I'm currently grounded at sea level.


notes:
-I am already doing strength/resistance training(including squats) 3x/week in case you plan on bringing that up.
-This will be at the end of a 16 day vacation where the first 12 days will already include lots of walking at high elevations.
-Currently in the bulking season, 5'8 @ ~170lbs which includes a lot of water weight... was at 157lbs last month before I started to relax my dietary restrictions.
-I'm aware there are porters that will carry my stuff but I may have to haul extra necessities such as drinking water for my friends who are not as in shape as I am.

 

[Bateluer]

Others will likely have better advice than I will, but I'd advise you do some altitude training before January. Get used to lower O2 levels.

I do most of my training the in the Phoenix valley, but I did the Whiskey Row Marathon in 2009. Thats in Prescott AZ and has most of the course over 1mi in altitude. Fortunately, I wasn't there long enough to really feel any O2 deprivation, but you're going to be at double that altitude. Going to be rough.

 

[darkxshade]

Unfortuntely I have a job which means I'm stuck at sea level until my vacation. I'd like to train at elevation but I can't.

 

[the DRIZZLE]

You can train with a snorkel on to simulate altitude like Wanderlei Silva does. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCltcL2-oAw
Skip to 4:30. Please post pics if you actually do this.

 

[jiggyest]

If it is 20 miles over the course of 4 days, then it really isn't that bad. What you are doing now seems adequate. Although the jogs with 40lb pack seem a bit of an overkill, you might even be putting unnecessary stress on your hips/knees. I'd suggest 40lb pack on the stairmaster instead or on a treadmill with an incline @ hiking pace.

If you have any mountains nearby that are at least 8k in elevation, hiking up to the peak with whatever gear you plan on taking would be the best training you could do.
Do you have time to do this on the weekends?

It's good that you are doing this towards the end of your vacation where you would have had enough time to acclimate. Altitude sickness hits different people different ways.

Since you will have porters anyway, why not go with a 20lb pack. You'll enjoy your hike much better. Just set a nice manageable pace, keep yourself fueled and hydrated, and consider using trekking poles. Good luck.

 

[adlep]

We did it few years ago with minimal preparations. However, it was a tough experience especially day 2 and 3 - hiking through "Dead Woman's pass" is difficult.

Knowing what I know now, I would prepare more. If you can run 5 miles with no breaks at 5mph and incline of 2.5 you will be fine and you will be able to enjoy it.
Otherwise, you might struggle. Wear a lot of layers on you and don't get sick on top of the Dead Woman.
Any q's? Ask.
Cuzco is great. Don't drink Coca tea at night. Take some additional excursions. Hang on to your wallet. Buy plenty of Alpaca wool hats. They are awesome.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

I'd suggest switching where you use the backpack. If you're gonna jog, jog without the backpack at a higher intensity. If you're going to use the stair climber, strap on the backpack to simulate how the actual hike will be. It decreases the potential for injury as well since walking with a backpack is much less stressful on the joints than jogging.

It's going to be a lot harder than you think if you don't do any elevation training. Working your way up to 14,000ft is a difficult task. At sea level, you could be in supreme shape, but if you don't know what it feels like to work hard at altitude, then your mind will give up when your body starts to wear down. If you could buy one of those portable hypoxic masks that reduces the amount of air you can breathe, it would probably help you out. If you can't do that, you're gonna have to work at a high intensity to get your conditioning up and get used to feeling bad. Good luck.