It's time to say it out loud. I've set my sights on The Brandywine Trail End to End Hike April 13, 2024. I have a year to get ready. Here is a link to the 2023 event. 28 miles; A mix of road and trail. I'll do my training mostly on the Horse-Shoe Trail because I like the H-ST and because the H-ST is also a mix of road and trail.
I'll need to keep a pace of 2.6 MPH to meet the checkpoint deadlines of the end to end hike. Today I hiked 8 miles between Brightside Farm Park and Route 113 on the H-ST at a pace of 3 MPH. It's very likely that as the miles get longer the pace will get slower. I've laid out a schedule of sorts that has me increasing 1 mile every three weeks. On each of those weeks, I need to figure out pacing and fueling.
Although today's hike felt good I still created a plan B as I moved along 😲 . It's the cutoffs that worry me. I don't want to get so competitive with myself that I'm not having fun. So, I'll continue along but if I find that I reach a point where worry about the checkpoint cutoff times starts to consume me, then I'll replace the End to End goal with a 'see how far I can hike on the longest day' in June 2024. A longest day hike can be done at whatever pace I want.
So there it is. I've said it out loud which adds a feeling of accountability but I'm also giving myself permission to change up the goal as needed. How's THAT for wishy washy.
Here is a photo from today's hike.
