u/Mammoth-Physics-5634

25M, I have done 6-9 mi hikes with friends. Last was a 8.1mi in Big Sur which was about 1430ft elevation gain. We did it in 5-6 hours but I have to say we had to frequently stop or slow for one of our friends in less than optimal shape. If alone I probably could have done it in 4-4.5 hours without much of a problem. The terrain was pretty rough, trenches, rocks, mud, overgrown to hell, just no scrambling.

Other context: I've been training for a marathon and have regularly hit 25-30 mi a week with little to no soreness for the past month. Longest run has been 10.5 miles in about 2 hours and in 85-90 degrees. I feel strongly I can complete the hike solo in 12-14 hours. I'm aware the elevation change is 4000+ ft and it's 14.3 mi not counting the walk back to the car.

But really the question is: is it a "bad" idea to do this big of a jump by myself? None of the homies are into long-distance events and I have weird days off.

I'm not new to running, but I've never made it my primary training mode. I signed up for the Long Beach Marathon in October, been training for a few weeks now, very excited. I haven't gone to the gym in a couple weeks even though I'm normally a gym rat, not a runner. I haven't noticed any significant muscle loss, and I've lost a couple pounds, which is great because at my highest I was a very chunky, unflattering 198 at 5'6 in January. Now I'm at 182.

What I want to know is: how many gym sessions a week do I reasonably need in marathon training to not lose significant muscle mass and to prevent injuries? I'm not trying to set squat PRs, I just don't want to get down to, say, 160 and look like a bag of smashed butthole with weak tendons.

I've lived in California forever, and I've basically been to Nevada and Virginia (albeit I was locked down on a base in VA during COVID so I couldn't actually travel the state). I have some other state travel plans in the works. Ie Seattle, San Antonio, Grand Canyon, Zion, Miami. But for those more experienced, what places do you think would be best for a first time international traveler?

I don't care for nightclubs, I don't really like partying without the gf, but she's tied down in school for a couple years so I can't count on her wanting to go. I DO like food, festivals, hiking, tiki bars (or other themed bars), museums, art, zoos, coffee, tea, historic sites, the beach, the mountains.

I'd LIKE to keep the reservation travel budget to roughly 3500 or less (hotel, flights, transport) and then I can figure out how much I'm willing to spend on food and experiences as we get closer. I don't tend to worry about spending money as it tends not to be my limiting factor. I'll do a nice dinner or two but I don't go reserving a Michelin star place every evening. Ideas so far are the basics: Toyko, Kyoto, Bangkok, Ubud, Rome, Madrid, somewhere in the Caribbean. I'm also open to cruises and other ideas.

Places I'm not really interested in (right now at least): Paris, Mexico, Central America, Africa.