Transformations

This Perki interview is with Caroline Campbell. Caroline completed her first full marathon in 2012. Many of you joined her on that journey, but did you also know that in 2009 she and her husband hiked the entire length of the Appalachain Trail?  Here's her story.

 

Perki: How, what and/or who started you on the road to training for distance?

Caroline: I had been tracking Phillyfit online for a year before I joined.  That year, my daughter Seraphina was only 1 and I wasn’t ready to leave her for the time it would take to commit to this fully. In 2012, I decided it was time to take care of the baby weight and myself and my husband was able to be a support in helping me carve out the time every Saturday and on runs during the week.

P: What is your motivation?

C: I wanted to set a goal and see the transformation. It wasn’t really about the marathon. It was about losing weight gained during pregnancy  (I was finally able to get into my pre-pregnancy jeans by October!) and committing to a physical practice. It became a mental exercise as much of a physical one. It was an accomplishment to be able to find time for myself in the midst of working full time and parenting. It gave me the ability to in some ways gain my identity back as an individual as well as a mother.

P: What was your hardest lesson during this time?

C: I think it was learning that it’s not just about any individual day. You have to shake off the bad days and move on to the next. Training is about consistency not a good run. I learned this in the beginning of October. We were running only 10 miles and I felt horrible. It was cold, I wasn’t properly dressed, it was an awful run at the Valley Forge loop. But, 2 days later I went out and  had a great 7 mile run.

P: Tell us about a EUREKA! moment.

C: It was my first 16 mile run. 14 miles into it there was this moment where I realized that the body sort of goes away and your mind is doing the running. It’s not there is no feeling or pain but there is a kind of hypnosis that takes over. It almost would actually be more effort to stop that to continue.

P: I’d like to talk about your hike of the Appalachian Trail. When did you and your husband do this?

C: In 2008 we started to wonder if we would ever be in a position to retire and travel and realized that maybe instead we would try to “retire” for a year and live a dream we had for a long time. So we spent a year working double and triple jobs and left in the fall of 2008 to volunteer in Central America for 6 months, and hike the Appalachian Trail for the last 6 months.

We began in Guatemala, and volunteered in each country for 6 weeks each, working with nonprofits ranging from orphanages to building homes for squatter communities to a botanical garden in exchange for a place to stay and a communal meal and connection with the community . During the weekends we would travel, and see some of the amazing volcanoes, lakes, beaches and towns each country had to offer.

After that, we flew back to the US and began the Appalachian Trail in Georgia on April 10 and finished on September 15, 2009. Actually, the day we summitted the final northern mountain terminus, Mt. Katahdin, it was grey and overcast, so we decided to do it all over again the very next day, the 16^th just to see a clear view.
 

Before this experience, I was a reluctant fan at best of overnight backpacking.  Some years earlier in our relationship, we decided to a 100 mile hike in the Maine woods. It was the hardest thing I had done, and mainly mentally. After lots of times of wanting to turn back and find a road somewhere back to civilization, I began to realize what a transformative experience hiking could be: on a physical, mental and spiritual level.  I had been a smoker for 10 years before that, and was able to quit during this time. At the end of the trip, my husband proposed to me, and so I guess the experience was enough to attempt 2100+ miles almost 4 years later.

P: What else can you tell us about preparing for this? Were there items you wished you had brought and didn’t? Or items you did bring but didn’t need?

C: Mainly, it was about the realization of how little you really need to do something like this. We started out with 55 pound backpacks each at the beginning. By the end we had 25 lbs each, including water. Every 3 or 4 days you’d come to a town and the urge there was to stock up, but it really wasn’t necessary. For example, you’d think fancy rain gear would be a necessity when you are spending 6 months walking all day.  But in the end, all you really did was sweat in it so a trash bag was better and a lot dryer.

P: What other challenges did you find during this journey?

C: It was difficult to get away from the mindset that you have in ‘real’ life, which can be very focused on time, and achievement, and conquering challenges, and sometimes about multitasking or doing things quickly. Success on the trail wasn’t about how many miles you did that day or how many days you were on the trail for. It was best when you let it teach you and respect the way others were approaching their journey. There is a saying on the trail that is repeated “Hike your own Hike”.  In short, allowing each person to choose their journey in their own way.

P: Which direction did you travel?

C: We went from South to North. Most people do and about 2000 people begin the trek each year with about 500 who finish. Only about 250 go from North to South due to the immense challenges that occur in the North with weather and higher that need conditioning.

P: Where did you sleep? Did you camp or where there places set up for that?

C: There were shelters every 10 miles. However, we didn’t want to be trapped into those 10 miles so we camped a lot in our own tent.

P: What else would you like people to know about this adventure.

C: It doesn’t take a super hero or a super fit person or someone with lots of freedom or time to do this. If you have the idea and want to take the chance you can do it, even if it’s a little bits at a time. It is about setting a goal and then follow it through to the end. Hiking the trail was about being present in the moment. We spent 12-16 hours a day doing nothing but hiking. It was very fulfilling in emotional, physical and spiritual ways. I was in the best shape of my life just from walking consistently every day.

It was also interesting to see that women tend to fair better than men on the long distance trail. Our bodies are better suited to it given a greater percentage of body fat to change into muscle mass. Men, like my husband, lose too much and often look emaciated at the end of the trail. On the other hand, I gained intense muscle mass in my legs, and most women ended up staying the same weight, but with a low amount of body fat, and high amounts of muscle.

Finally, I want to encourage people to do this if they have the desire. It was a truly transformative experience. Some people do the trail in pieces. They complete section hikes over a period of years.

P:  Thank you. Now for the final questions of our interview. What is your favorite sound in training?

C: The rhythm of other people’s breathing. It was like a chorus. And if someone else was breathing hard and I wasn’t, I felt maybe I was doing ok.

P: What is your least favorite sound in training?

C: Cars honking and someone blowing a snot rocket.

P: What is your favorite workout?

C: Meeting at the Collegville diner and running to the dog park. I found it very scenic and peaceful and varied.

P: What is your least favorite workout?

C: When we went to Wissahickon. I live closer to there than the Perkiomen Trail but it never worked out for me. I got lost, I ran out of gas.

P: If you could spend a day with any athlete present or past, who would it be? Why?

C: John Carre. He is a very Buddha type of person. He would always manage to say the very thing that would bring my energy back. He never complained and approached every run with excitement and as if it would be easy- not smugly, but in an encouraging way. And when I was struggling his attitude was one of quiet acceptance of where I was at and support.

P: When it comes to your training or racing what would you love to hear someone say to or about you?

C: That I set a challenge for myself and kept at it; and that when I achieved it, that I set another.