Ramble to Raymer's Cove

Sunny and mid-50's, it's another Sunday morning full of excitement with my spark plug gang of Urban Scramblers. Today's hike took us to the lesser known Raymer's Cove, starting from Lot 130. This round trip excursion is just about a perfect 5k on mostly single track trails and nearly always less foot traffic than the neighboring iconic hike to Picnic Point. With a few roots to navigate, a little up and down, this trail is lovely for hiking and running with your dog. Of course, the prize of hopping in the lake at the little beach is a midpoint reward on a summer's day (or spring day, or fall day, or honestly, anytime the water is open for my aquatic-minded canine friends)

The bugs were pretty minimal today - some may fly action happening near the lake, but no mosquitoes to hinder our fun!

For today's workout theme: Cardio Hike!! This means that for the duration of our hike, we keep our pace at an intensity that feels like a 4-6 on our exertion scale. This translates to comfortable (4) to somewhat difficult (6).

Workout

10 Minutes Mosey n' Sniff - this is a great time to get the poops out and see how you and your dog are feeling.

Pyramid Intervals

3 minutes work at "6" Intensity or a somewhat difficult pace to maintain for an extended period of time. During this time we work. The focus is forward motion at a challenging pace.

1 minute at a "4" or comfortable; these comfortable bouts are a great time to encourage sniffing, peeing on things, and generally giving the dog a bit more time to experience the forest like a dog.

4 minutes of work at a "6"

1 minute at a "4"

5 minutes of work at a "6"

1 minute of work at a "4"

Break to play in the water

On the trek back, we work down the pyramid with the same intensity, beginning with 5 minutes of work at a "6."

Then, we return to our mosey n' sniff as we head back to the parking lot.

I am a huge fan of teaching intervals, or as I think of it, the art of clear compromise with your dog!

1. The "work" intervals become a focused to keep your heart rate elevated and set the expectation that we are simply not stopping at every single tree, leave, and spec of dirt.

2. The "recovery" interval is for the dog (and out of breath human :); Sniff away, pee on all the things. The human does not get to pull the dog off a smell during this interval.

3. This start and stop is a more natural way for most dogs to move, so it often make the walk more fun for them. The GO portion is faster (faster = fun) and the SLOW portion is uninterrupted sniffy time (sniffy time = mental energy drain of the best kind)

   
   

   I add clarity to our communication by using an app called Seconds Pro and program our intervals. With repetition, your dog hears the beep and knows it's time for a "work" interval. Next beep? It's time to sniff.

End Result? You and your dog BOTH get what you need out of this fitness experience. Now, there's a billion different types of walks and not all need or should function like a cardio hike...it's just one format to think about incorporating into your adventures!

This hike took us 1 hour and 4 minutes and we covered 3.1 Miles.

Variations

• Throw in a trip to Picnic Point to get your mileage closer to 5 Miles.

• Humans can load up their packs for a ruck-style hike for a bonus resistance challenge.