Jan. 17, 2010 - Sunday

The first thing I have to tell you is that I got up at 5:15 on Saturday to do Tai Chi—except when I put on my glasses the schedule didn’t say Tai Chi—it said “Test Outs” for those who were leaving.
On Saturday we hiked up Stop Sign again. They use this hike as a gauge so you can see your improvement from week to week. The first time I did it, it took me 1hr 47 mins. But that time included a bathroom break and 2 extended rests when I was having trouble with breathing in the high altitude. Yesterday, I stopped a couple of times to catch my breath and to retie my shoes but pretty much just kept plodding along. I did it in 1 hr and 32 mins.
I don’t know exactly how to explain it. Every single session is” too much.“ If I were on my own, I would have stopped a third of the way into the session. A third of the way up the hill in Stop Sign, I would have backed off to about a third of the intensity on the treadmill. But” too much” is achievable. We are too easy on ourselves.

Tuesday was the worst day I’d ever experienced—physically.

But then Weds came along and, hands down, was the worst day of my life. I hit the wall –along with most every other “1st weeker.” I had 15 mins between sessions and sat in a chair outside the gym and took a power nap. Then I had 15 mins before lunch and did the same thing. And napped again before dinner. I fell asleep at 8:30 and didn’t wake up until 5:15. I was so incredibly sleepy all day. The way I get at home when I just can’t keep my eyes open and have to nap.

On Weds, I could barely walk on a flat surface, climbing the flight of stairs to my room was torture.

Thursday, though, I awoke feeling much better. Still sore and fatigued but it all felt manageable. I had a minor melt down in “Treading” Treading is a less-boring way to spend 30 intense mins on a cardio machine (treadmill, elliptical, spin bike). You spend 10 mins warming up, then do 5 mins of all out work—as fast and as hard as you can. Then recover for 5 mins. Then do 4 mins of all out, then 4 mins of recovery, and do the same for 3 mins, 2, 1. Well, I was on the spin bike doing the 1 min all out. I had the resistance up and was peddling as fast as I could. I had my eyes closed and was saying things in my head like, “Dear God please make the instructor say only 30 more seconds. Please. Keep it up. You can do anything for 1 minute.” Then an instructor came over to me and tapped my hand and said something like, “Come on! Let’s go!” and I nodded and then she said, “You can go faster than that!” And I’m sure this is her usual encouragement kind of talk, but I just crumbled… I just couldn’t go any faster. So I was a blubbering fool….

But I’m not the only one who cries. It’s sort of like giving birth: it’s painful and exhilarating at the same time. And one of the most intense experiences.

And Thursday night I treated myself to my first ever massage. That is something I could get used to… The massage lady said she was leaving the room so I could take off my clothes and get under the sheets. And I said, “You want me to get butt-naked?!?!” She said it was much easier for her to do the massage if I was. Well, that was definitely out of my comfort zone!

Friday was not a horrible day. I went to 6am Kickboxing. Our hike was on the Hidden Pinyon trail. It was my favorite hike so far with lots of rock climbing. I am still going to stay on the 101 hikes. They stop more to rest, the more advanced hikes keep a quick pace and only stop once or twice to rest. I would just hold the others back.

Will write more later. Love you all!