I am 54 and looking forward to starting an AT northbound thru hike in 2014. I frequently see advice to not over-do the miles when starting out - 8 or 10 miles per day. I am interested in hearing from folks who planned to do this and actually followed thru with their plan. Did you frequently feel you could have done more miles? If so, was it easy or difficult to stop? Or did you frequently feel that 8 - 10 miles was an appropriate max when starting out. If you successfully completed your thru hike, do you attribute some aspect of your success to sticking with that plan?
Likewise, I'm interested in hearing from folks who intended to limit their miles at the beginning but did not follow through with that plan. Any regrets?
Thanks.