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The loop that we were walking this morning was a different one than usual. I want to gradually increase the mileage each week so we mapped out a longer route. This route was definitely going to be tougher. It starts out going mostly downhill or level which was nice to build up my momentum and it gave me time to cough my brains out. I was moving a ton of stuff up this morning and almost lost my cookies at one point (Is it tossed my cookies or lost my cookies?).
Anyway, we concentrated on moving at a good pace and that really hit home on the way back. As you remember (or probably not), the first part of the walk was more downhill. That can only mean one thing, most of the way back was uphill! By the time we got back to the fort, I was huffing and puffing. I'm still hacking up a good amount of crap as I type this and sit on my vest. Overall though, things only got better as the morning progressed and I'm really looking forward to the week ahead.
Total Distance: 2.7 miles
11:30am: My brother and I decided to do a hiking trail today. The one we chose was called Sunset Trail and it started at 1926' and the look out that we ended at was 2480'. It was a little toasty out for a high noon hike but we both filled up our Camelbacks and were on our way. I also packed an apple and some granola bars (plus enzymes of course). The trail was a lot busier than I thought it would be on a Monday day. When we pulled into the parking lot there were at least 10 other cars. Oh, I forgot to mention that J Bell was with us also (which came in very handy). So we took off for the look out point which was 1.2 miles away on dirt trails that go up (mostly up) and down while swerving through the desert. As usual the first 200 yards or so I thought I was going to be in trouble. I don't know what it is. Every time I start one of these hikes, I'm thinking that it's going to be impossible.
We kept up a pretty good pace and lucky for us Jezzabel didn't seem too into sniffing everything in her path. A couple of dogs passed us on the way up and we would always stop for a second and let them meet each other. The second half of the hike up got a lot tougher. There were many steep uphills that took all my energy to get up. When I would get to the top of one I would always take a break and give J Bell some water and take a swig myself. Towards the end I have to admit that Jezzabel ended up dragging me to the top of those hills. I had her leash clipped to my waist and she would kind of act as my sled dog to pull me up the slope.
When we arrived at the lookout point we rested for a bit, ate an apple, and poured cold water all over J Bell's neck and body to cool her down. We picked up the pace as we made our way back to the trail head and I think that I only stopped from being out of breath twice (as opposed to about 5 or 6 times on the way up). The total hike took us about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Although it was hot, it felt really good to work up a big sweat...even if sunscreen kept running down into my eyes.
Total Distance: 2.4 miles
5:00pm: I waited for Mandi to get off work to go to the gym, instead of running with her, since I hiked today. It was also leg day at the gym and I knew that I would be in trouble if I tried to do it all. My legs are holding up for the most part but they definitely got beat up today. The uphill walk in the morning, with the uphill hike, and the squats at the gym just about did me in. I was able to increase the weight or the reps with every exercise, so I was happy about that. I'm just hoping that when I wake up tomorrow I'm able to stand on two feet.
Mandi and I are planning on getting a good run in tomorrow after she gets off of work. Until then, I'm just looking forward to spending some more time with my brother. It was very nice of him to spend his time hiking with me on his spring break. Current weight: 189 lbs.
Total Distance Walk/Hike: 5.1 miles
