Training for Keb, or… ?
Kebnekaise… I’ve never heard of it until I moved to Sweden. I hiked close when I did my first trek in Lapland, and thought ”How cool would it be to hike the highest mountain of Sweden?!” I’ve been thinking about it for 3 years, and in August, thanks to the Topo äventyrsstipendie, this is becoming a reality !
So.. Is it my ultimate dream to hike up Keb ? I would say that it’s part of a biggest adventure : life. This is why I’m really training : I want to live my life at the fullest, make sure that I won’t be stuck on a couch, and that my body will still be able to move in some years. And maybe still go on adventures when I’m an old lady.
Keb is one more challenge, one more step in my life, one goal I want to reach before moving on to the next adventure. I always try to improve myself, to get better, to push and see where are my limits. I live my life with challenges, because it gives me the discipline to actually move forward. To have little excitement rushes. As an introvert, nothing is more appealing than a lazy day on the couch. But actually, nothing is more rewarding at the physical and/or mental levels, than trying something new or achieving a goal, whatever big or small.
I’m 45, I’m not an athlete, I’m so slow in everything, but I do believe we can achieve a lot with regular training. Consistency is key ! I also know that life events can go in the way : holidays, family, chores, work… Sometimes the body and mind also need a break and to let go. And I think that missing a few sessions on a long-term training has less impact that missing a day on an intensive, short-term training. So in this context, I am adding some structure and special-focus in my regular physical process. And a few more challenges in the mix !
My training program, my wins and my fails
Typical week plan
For some years, I’ve been doing evening walks and some longer hikes on the weekends. But to prep for Keb, I needed to get a more complete program with some specific exercices. So in January, I made a plan, knowing that it would be too much, but willing to stick to it as much as possible. No spoiler, I managed 4 months, then removed things, and I’m currently back to daily walks only… Ups !
This is how it looked :
– Monday : small running exercices
– Tuesday : gym / cross-fit / strength
– Wednesday : small running exercices
– Thursday : evening walk
– Friday : evening walk
– Saturday : long run or hiking (long / with weight / uphill)
– Sunday : pyjama day on the couch, and doing all the house chores I postponed…
Daily walks and hiking
Some years ago, I started to do 30-min evening walks, to help with my stress and anxiety. And 5 years ago, I turned it into a long-term challenge : every time I hike, or do an on-purpose walk, I add the kilometers to a virtual map representing a famous trail in the world. I’m currently doing my 10th challenge, and hiking the Te Araroa in New Zealand. It’s 3177 km that need to be done within 2 years, and it represents 4,4 km per day. That’s a good strategy for me, to get moving a bit everyday. Sadly, I missed some days and I’m a bit behind right now, but I do my best to walk as much as possible regularly.
I did some longer hikes, with different settings :
1) various distances. I actually decided to spice up the training by organising a marathon-hike on the Sormlandsleden, and 3 friends were happy to join ! I met one of them through Topotravel, as she also received the äventyrsstipendie to go up Keb. We were happy to meet and train together !
2) loaded with a backpack. I started with a light one, and increased the weight over time. I reached 13 kg, which is more than I will have at Keb.
3) all kind of weather. Ranging from -5°C in the snow in January, to +35°C in July, with some rainy months in between. Quite extreme, but I’d rather be prepared for anything !
4) different shoes. I have my mid-hiking shoes that I will take to Keb, but I recently bought some barefoot trail-running shoes. I hiked a bit in them, to work on my feet and balance. I could feel that my ankles worked harder, so i will keep walking in these shoes to reinforce this body part.
Uphill training
I can walk for a long time, but elevation is a real challenge. And that’s what awaits me at Keb, so I needed to train with uphill sessions. I live in Stockholm, so I went to Hammarbybacken to hike up and down the steep hill.
I did a few sessions on my own or with friends, and again under all kind of weather : snow, rain and sun ! Same as for the hikes, I also took a backpack and increased the weight over time, to reach 10kg.
Then in May, there was the Topo hiking Club challenge named « Keb at Hammarbybacken ». The aim was to go up and down Hammarbybacken 25 times, to reach the elevation of Kebnekaise. I did this challenge last year, and reached 16 times at a very slow pace. But this year, there was no option : I had to check if I can do Keb, I HAD do the 25 times. The event started at 10 :00 AM, but with a friend we decided to start at 8 :00 AM, because I am a slow hiker. It was tough, my body got very tired at some point, but the support of the guides and the other participants was uplifting. I did the last few laps relying on my mental strength and my stubborness : I knew I’ll reach the point when my body would say « stop », but I couldn’t give up. And guess what, I managed the 25 times ! Keb seems a bit more possible to reach…
Going up and down is an awesome training, but I also wanted to test myself in a real mountain setting. In June, I went to Bulgaria to meet a friend and we hiked up the Rila mountains. There was some elevation and we reached frozen lakes and beautiful places covered by snow. Definitively a great thing to do !
Gym and cross-fit
Once a week, I went to the gym for a cross-fit session. I often hear that we need to go 3 times a week, to cover leg-day, arm-day, and core. But here I really didn’t have time for this, and couldn’t let go my other trainings. In these sessions, the coach covered all the essential muscles, and since I told him about my hiking plans and challenges, he made sure I was doing the proper exercices. Legs, back, arms, core : everything had a little something to push or carry. I don’t count the number of times he told me « it’s too easy » before bringing me heavier weight, and « it’s good for yoooou » when I was struggling with weighted squats and lunges, ahah !
Running
I’m a hiker, not a runner. But a couple of years ago, I was recruted by a friend to fill a team for a running event. Surprisingly, I managed the 5K run without stopping. Oh, I was ridiculously slow, but I still reached the goal. And then things escalated when my friend said « if you do it, I do it », and we did a 10K, and then we signed up for the Stockholm half-marathon in April… So insane… And at the same time, I thought it was a nice in-between goal to prepare for Keb and improve my cardio.
I never trained properly for running, but for a half-marathon it was absolutely necessary. So I chose a run-walk-run program on my smart-watch, and for almost 4 months, I followed the exercices. It was 2 sessions with pace and acceleration/deceleration exercices, and a longer run on the weekend. Starting by 3 km, with intervals of 2min run and 30sec walk. Every week I was amazed by the progress : reaching 5, 9, 13, 16, 19 km ! Ending up with intervals of running 4min30 and walking 30sec !
This training was so time-consuming, that I didn’t have time or energy for the hiking. Or to see friends. It was also tough, because I started in January, meaning going for runs at night and by -5°C. With my winter hiking gear, with my micro-spikes, with my gloves. Sometimes the motivation was totally lacking (the big mistake of sitting on the couch after work, instead of putting directly the running shoes…). But I held on, and on the big race day, I didn’t care about the my timing, or the fact that I had a run-walk-run strategy. The aim was the finish line. It took me 2h37, but I did it !
And then I was so fed-up with the intense training, that I completely stopped running, and went back to my much appreciated hikes, ahah !
Conclusion
Writting down everything I did during the last months, make me realise that it was most likely too much training for Kebnekaise. And indeed quite intense. But as I said before, this is also a training for my long-term physical health, and I find it quite complete.
Am I physically ready ? Well, a month ago I would have said yes. Truth is, I haven’t done much the last month, just a few hikes here and there. But I also know that because I’ve been hiking for some years and doing regulars evenings walks, my body is prepared to do more than I think. And several times I’ve seen that despite being a pessimistic person, I have a strong mental strength.
So, advienne que pourra, but for sure I’m aiming for the top of kebnekaise !
/ Stephanie @Labelettequivoyage
Topo Äventyrsstipendie