Hike up Fryman Canyon

My buddy Andrea invited me on a hike on Saturday. It ended up being perfect cause Erika has other plans, so my normal Saturday workout was postponed.

We went to Fryman Canyon which... is the first place pretty much that I ever hiked in California. I went with my friend Shannon, YEARS ago. And is a really great relaxing not TOO hard, not TOO easy hike. Likes of greenery. Lots of puppies on leashes. And at the end, you travel down a road which I am told houses both Teri Hatcher and George Clooney (the only man I would leave my husband for).

While Andrea and I were at a nice incline, our hearts pumping... something happened that made our heart pump 1000x hider... we came upon a RATTLESNAKE!

He/she was tinyish. And only partially on the well traveled dirt path. I could see its rattle sitting in the grass. This was only the second time that I've seen a snake in the wild while on a hike. It was a first for Andrea. I grabbed on to her to stop her from moving, but only freaked her out more as she jumped in the direction of the slithery guy!

We jumped to the other side of the path, alerting the pair of friends who were just a couple feet away from us with their dog of our findings. We scurried away, certainly taking notice of our elevated heart rate. But I really enjoyed spending some much needed Girly Talk time with Andrea, AND breaking a sweat. Especially since it was a GORGEOUS day in Los Angeles.

"I forgot to bring my rope"

So, I'm back in the swing of things knowing that at any moment life will throw me a curve ball and mess up my schedules and routines, but that's life.

I've been working 1 on 1 with Erika as our group has sadly disintegrated. I hate change. Tammy felt that Erika was not violent enough and started taking up krav maga where she boasts "I learned how to break a dude's thumb last night."

Kazeem has opted to spend his freer time with his kids... lame. :)

And then there was me. Which is FINE, except Erika has nothing else to look at but MY struggling face in pain which leaves me feeling VERY self-conscious. I'm working on learning how to not care :)

Never trust a girl who starts off a session with "I forgot to bring my rope". She improvised and used her jacket... which could have used a stretch, and got one.

She wrapped the sweatshirt around my waist and told me to run as fast as I could... while she held me back with her own straight and friction from the rug! It was really to witness. Thankfully... no one was there to witness.

AHHHHH,

I had to cancel my Saturday workout due to getting home the night before at 3:30am! I feel like I'm never gonna back on track and its very frustrating.

On top of this all, my lower back has been killing me! And I'm a person who very seldom would get back pains, so this is really not fun!

Its been very rainy in Southern California, and as nice as it is to cuddle up with a book and eat fall themed soup, its NOT fun to wanna take a run (like I'd ever do that) or do a hike... which I need to start doing.

But I have my gym clothes with me this week, so I can try to bust in 30 minutes of cardio at lunch time. Or 20...

day ???

So, last night was a bust. Erika had to work late. So sadly, I merrily skipped home and had dinner with the husband at 8 pm.

But remember those headlamps that I bought for the little trek up Half Dome? Here is another great use for them!

This is Brian reading his book in the bunk above the driver's seat in the RV we just rented to visit Yellowstone NP and Grand Teton.

PS. these headlamps are NOTHING compared to those that the miners are sporting below in Chile. Maybe I'll write 33 on mine in support of their story!

Day...

YAY!

Got my workout clothes with me! Ready to go! Tonight is re-start!

The interesting twist of this evening, is the inclusion of my high boss to the group. Gonna be interesting!

Day...

Ok. I'm back. No more vacations in the horizon. Back to work. And back to training.

I don't wanna say that in my absence, I have been sitting on my butt, but I was not working a regimented work out schedule.

I did do a few cool hikes. Nothing HUGE. But its a start in my eyes.

My first hike was really only about 3/4 mile round trip... but to give myself some credit, it was in Death Valley in near 97 degree temperatures. I can't believe how much water I consumed in just a short amount of time!

One difference I can see is that my recovery time is really fast. My heart still races the minute I even look at a hill, but after a few short breaths, I'm ready to continue up.

This is the Natural Bridge at Death Valley.

Day ??? Practice Hike #2

Over the weekend, I took my second official hike since starting training. It was a delightful view over looking the Pacific ocean. We were in the Palos Verde area of LA.

It was me, the husband, my bother in law, sister in law and my two nieces (age 10 and 8). It was supposed to be a "easy" hike, probably walking a fire road, but at some point, we strayed and decided to follow another trail of dirt. Some of th

e dirt was like talcum powder, and we were heading almost to the ocean. I think we all thought that if we didn't stop where we did, it would continue to the water line.

The trail was covered in the bone dry foliage and bushes. Fire season is upon us. And I was hiking with 2 smokers. Scary thought. Thick pan

ts would have been a good move because the branches that lined the path scratched whatever it rubbed against. We found refuge from the sun under some really nice trees. If only the whole hike could be be under those trees! We ate the sandwiches that we brought along with some soda and juice boxes. We took a group photo to prove that we did indeed take a group hike, and turned around.

Up Up Up the mountain.

This is where we stopped navigating our footing not to slip, and instead focused on our breathe, or lack there was, I should say. At times, we were hiking an 8 degree grade only with a few seconds of some actual flat ground.

When we got to a clearing, there were steps... I

am guessing to be about 500 of them that brought us out of the canyon and back to our cars.

We climbed and climbed and climbed. I'm used to steps, but these were tough. There was this Asian man who was working out on the top tier of them, and wow, he was doing something right! He had a six pack and even looked like he was enjoying himself... moron.

But, I only ever hike if the view is worth it... you tell me?

While I was in the Outer Banks, I did my best to try to get as much excerise as possible. Lying on the beach and eating comfort food didn't really go with my "plan", but I wanted to go with the flow. I did have the opportunity to explore and climb Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.



This baby has like 257 stairs (I asked the nice park Ranger from Boston) and then I was able to fly up the steps with only 1 or 2 short breaks to grab some breath. But it was very exciting to see my body responding in a way I'm hoping it to.

In actuality, when working out with Erika, I think I climb about 3 of these lighthouses as a warmup, but I will take the sucesses when they come!







This is what the stairs looked like from a diagram. Its a better picture than I could have taken!




When I asked Brian what he thought of the climb, he said he was winded. It put a nice perspective for me.

Day 65

OMG. I've been gone a while. Work's been busy, rendering me trying to sleep as much as possible when I get home.

Then an impromptu trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina where I laid on the beach for a week and read... Life is good.

Back in the swing of things, I knew that if I didn't work out on Tuesday with Erika, I would have likely put my workout back on vacation too. But I made it.

And...

I've progressed to 10 pound weights for my arms!!! YAY

81000

I must give a great shout out to my baby hitting 81k miles the other day! I remember when I got her, and she had just 100... which I was slightly annoyed about seeing as if you buy a new car, one would think she's have ZERO miles, but I see how that is not possible.

She is as beautiful today as the day I got her back in September of 2004, almost 6 years ago! Each ding and scratch to her exterior is just another battle wound of our adventures together! From trips to work and back, to Oregon and Arizona, and countless camping trips throughout the years.

She has been packed to the gils.

Ventured into Death Valley in July.

Had Grand adventures at the Grand Canyon

Slept next to Giant Redwoods

Crossed into Oregon state to Crater Lake while hauling a pop up camper

Each lost insect life was sacrificed in honor of our travels.

I could not do what I've been doing all these years without her help.

I love you! May you always be treated with the love and care that you give to me :)

Multitasker

So, my Gorillapod is a multitask-er! She's a tripod AND an Apple Holder!

We will be having a naming ceremony as soon as we figure it out.

Day 50

Holy Radio Silence Batman!

I'm not exactly sure when the universe open its mouth and swallowed me up, but I think it was sometime around Saturday after my 1 on 1 with Erika. It was a butt/hamstring/abs day. I worked hard, and its really hard for me NOT to complain during a working cause, well, I hate to work out. I did some convoluted sprinting/jogging/walking routine for the cardio portion, but worked with bars and balls and cones OH MY! Seriously, I think I did about 968 1/2 lunges.

When I staggered through the door at home, I took off my socks, shoes and pants and passed out on the couch for a nap...

a 2 hour nap!

All of the energy I ever found after that was to watch HGTV all afternoon, but it was probably because I had like, zero protein all day after. Crazy, I know. I need to be more conscientious. In the past when i'd "work out" I'd do some cardio and when it hurt, stop. The same went for the weights. But that's not an option with Erika and I'm really truly working out. So I need to make sure I'm fueling up! (note to self, Doritos are not proper "fuel")

My obsessive brain picked up a new toy yesterday...

Its called a Gorillapod.

Its not meant to replace a more traditional tripod, just act as a different type of tripod. I'm going to the beach for a week with just my thoughts, a book and my camera, so I'm hoping to get a lot of play time and inspiration in with my camera. Got to practice practice practice shooting so after I climb 8 miles, I'm don't waste my time taking crap photos!

Here is a search link for many ways in which people used their Gorillapod.

Gorillapod Demos

Day 45 Lions and Tigers and BEARS, OH MY!

I've had bears on the brain lately. It probably doesn't help that my boss keeps giving me "bear clips" to license.

I remember the first time I went camping in "bear country." We went to Sequoia National Park. We arrived very late to the campground and set up our tent as quickly as we could so that we could get a decent amount of sleep before the sun came up. That was the first time my campsite had a "bear proof container"

I slept, on edge that whole night, just knowing that there were bears looming around. Every sound I heard, whether it was someone walking to the bathroom, or a bug flying into the tent walls, I was aware of it all. Thank goodness, its Black Bear country, and not Grizzly Bear country, cause I could never do it then.

I've never seen a bear in the wild. They have all been behind glass or bars.

And I'd be lying to say that I want to... but at the same time, I kinda don't want to. Once when I was at Yosemite sleeping in housekeeping camp, our next tent neighbor said she saw a little guy crossing the Merced River just feet away from our site. YAY! I said with fright and disappointment.

I'm told I'm sure to see bears on the half dome Hike. Especially around "Little Yosemite Valley" at night. There is even a blog about the rangers who chase the black bears out of the campsites at Yosemite Village.

http://jeffreytrust.wordpress.com/2010/06/27/a-sneaky-bear/

I'll be sure to be armed with a bear bell when I start hiking. Perhaps I'll make a HUMUNGOUS bear bell to alert all the bears in all the acres of Yosemite NP (all 747,956 acres or 1,169 square miles) to stay away!

Day 44

Is everyone sitting? Ok, here we go... I couldn't WAIT to workout last night! I know, crazy, right! ME! (an investigation will begin today as to the whereabouts of the REAL Petunia)

I don't know, I guess maybe because the last time I worked out was LAST Tuesday (have been a bit of a bum) and that plan to take the stairs more and increasing the set each week... hasn't quite happened just yet. But I still think its a great plan. Just need to put it more in motion.

Last night kicked my butt! Instead of running up the steps of the parking garage, no, we jogged up the parking garage! It was pretty intense, but I was happy to say that I made it all the way to the roof without stopping once! Then after a 3-4 minute water break, we jogged down the shorter side of the garage.

I think the most exciting part of yesterday for me, was that Tamara brought a long a really cool looking hula hoop! It was colorful, detachable and made me feel like a kid again. Click on the HULA link for a better idea.

And the best part is, I was able to actually, HULA! For the first time EVER in my life I kept that thing around my waist. And it was more than fat keeping it up, but the centrifugal force of my hips! WOO HOO!!!!

This hula hoop has cool grooves and the pieces are colorful and detach for easy transport. But I would love to walk onto a subway holding this... I bet I would get loads of stares and attention. Tamara said that she'd keep it at work. I think it would be fun to have a couple goes on my lunch break :) Tamara is a pro though. Watching her... you could only imagine her moves on the dance floor. She reminded me of a mixture of Shakira and Beyonce in the music video "Baby Boy."

So, in the meantime, I'll practice practice practice!

Day 42

I know I need to drink more fluids. I’ve heard it time and time again, especially when I was actively doing Weight Watchers to drink 68oz of water/sugar free-non-decaffeinated liquids a day. I even heard to drink 1/2 of your body weight in oz. for me that would me about 75 oz... you do the math.

The other day when I was hurting after our cardio run/warmup, Erika was surprised that both Kazeem and I had not drank sufficient water throughout the day.... in fact, I would venture do say that I was probably REALLY dehydrated!

I’m a water drinker, when i remember to drink it. And that usually is the problem. I forget. And if I drink coffee in the morning (very routinely) I can nurse that coffee til noon.

So I’ve been making more of an effort to drink cold water and teas. I have been making huge batches of mint ice tea, along with a good amount of green tea and taking a few containers with me to work. And I found that making this more fun, is to have interesting containers sitting on my desk reminding me to DRINK DRINK DRINK!

Now, the bladder on the bottom is most commonly used for when I go hiking...

...but sometimes, I make exceptions!

So, my intentions are good. And if you don't find me at my desk... check the nearest ladies room!

I'm also excited to announce that I have received my very first comment!

I swear, its the little things in life that keep ya going!

Day 39

I got a Petzl Tikka Plus 2 LED Headlamp from REI back in June since I'm planning on starting my hike in the middle of the night so that I can get to the top of Half Dome by sunrise.

This headlamp has 2 light brightnesses and a flashing light. It also has a red light along with a red flashy light (sounds good while bike riding). The little light tilts up and down 3 clicks the whole thing is water proof. There is also a indicator light that tells you when the batteries are going dead!

It wasn't CHEAP. It wasn't EXPENSIVE. So it always makes me feel better when I can utilize objects for multiple purposes.

LOOK! I found a cup under my bed! What else is under here?!

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I can't help but get so excited when I get to give shout-outs to new Public Followers!

WELCOME #11, #12, & #13

Day 38

Here they are... my measurements. Broke out the old fabric tape measure and had Erika do the honors.

Arms - 14"

Hips - 43"

Thighs - 24"

Waist - 36"

Pretty much a size 8 (and if there was a lot of salt in my meals the day before, a very TIGHT size 8)

I feel stronger, but don't feel skinnier. But my patience is.... oh who am I kidding, I don't have any patience! I want it all NOW NOW NOW. So I get to work everything little by little.

Last night, my thighs were nice and firm probably from the DOS and I kept having my friend Jessi punch them so she could see how firm they were in that moment. It made me laugh. I think I asked her like 4 times. Good Times.

I figure we could wait until August 31 to see where we are at then.

Awesomeness

Leaping Lizards!!!!

10 public followers of my blog!

Thanks #9 & #10 for making me feel special enough to follow publicly!

Day 37

Well, today we had an extra friend working out with us! Kinda like when your neighbor's niece spends a week during the summer and there is a new kid on the block to play with! Bryan's own trainer is away this week so he joined our little "play" group.

As we were dragging our feet to the stairs, we attracted the attention of our Russian producer Sebastian who thought we were the funniest things, getting ready to run up and down 5 flights of stairs 7 times.

Now, Sebastian, is... the tallest man in the world. I'm convinced of it! He towers over me, and would make my 6'2 husband Brian look like a munchkin who belongs in Oz. Sebastian wanted to play too! So he put down the bag of bananas he was holding (which I could only imagine was his little afterwork snack, cause when you're THAT tall, I'm thinking just one banana won't do!) and started running up and down the stairs with us having fun as boys do when they compete.

His legs are so long that he would put a daddy long leg spider to shame. He was taking the steps 3-4 at a time. He eventually passed Byran and Kazeem.

When we were done with the steps he shouts "That was a fun warm up. Now, we run?" HA! someone should have kicked him in the shins.

I couldn't help but stand next to him to measure just how tall he is. His waist comes up right under my boobs. Below is a sketch of the highlights of the "warm up."

Sebastian went on home, and we continued on to our upper body circuit training. I HATE upper body exercises... pretty much cause I have ZERO upper body strength! But little by slowly, I'm seeing the tiniest of changes!

It was fun to have 3 people working out, but the perfectionist in me struggles to keep up with "the boys" who can lift more, run more, and withstand more. I kinda felt like the inside of an Oreo cookie.

Erika told me "Petunia, you can't compare yourself and your progress to other people. You can only compare it to yourself..." She doesn't know how true this rings and far beyond just exercising! I have a tendency of being hard on myself, but Erika always re-assures me that I'm doing great.

Day 36

Well, when I said that Erika was probably gonna "break me," and I wasn't kidding. (She must have read the blog before she planned the workout).

First, we started off at 6:30 am... on a Saturday... if THAT doesn't show dedication to train for this monster, I don't know what is!

1st exercise up? Yup, Suicides. Like I said, BREAK ME. If you have the pleasure of not knowing what 'Suicides' are, please reference back to day 17 for an outstanding diagram and description.

Erika is funny, and I'm stupid. She's like, "Petunia, there are more cones, but they are not as far apart as last time." "OKAY," I say, thinking this is easier. Of course I'm actually do MUCH more running than the last time.

Since I was the only one there, she ran with me. Which at first, I thought was nice, but then I became fully self conscious of how heavy I was breathing. I had visions of me looking like Professor Klump running on a treadmill. And of course, I was probably breathing a lot louder and harder in my head.

Check out my new outfit below in the sketch.



** please note that this sketch is NOT to scale. My arms are not that toned, my stomach is not that flat, and chest not that wide! **

This will be my new gym outfit. What is that over my face, you ask? Well, a sweatshirt, a plastic bag, a potato sac. ANYTHING, really, as long as my face is covered. I had the pleasure of eating 1 bug, (not that my 1/2 English Muffin with spray fake butter wasn't enough). Then 2 bugs flew into my right eye at separate times, and 2 flew up my nose. I mean, REALLY, can't they see its hard enough to work out! So with the new face protection method, I feel confident that I'll have some security from the little bastards. I haven't quite figured out how well I'll be able to breathe through the plastic/shirt/canvas, but we'll come to that when we come to that.

And please welcome and give a shoutout to Public Follower #8 !!! YAY. Welcome to the trail!

Day 34

No, no, your calendar is not wrong, its Friday and I have indeed missed a blog yesterday!

I've been quite busy with life and all, but have still be reading up on my hike. This week was a bit of a light workout, no doubt Erika will break me physically tomorrow (I need it).

I've been reading about things I should take on the hike in terms of supplies...

There are apparently 2 schools of thought for well experienced Half Dome hikers when it comes to water... whether you should bring all your water with you (which is what I was thinking about doing) or to fill up at a few designated spots, using a few various filtration systems or tablets to rid the water of bacteria... decisions decisions.

I was also learning a little bit about giardia, which sounds gross and horrible, and its something most commonly found in the water in Yosemite. More on that one at a later date but all you need to know right now is here are a few symptoms according to google health: Abdominal pain, Diarrhea, Gas or bloating, Headache, Loss of appetite, Low-grade fever, Nausea, Swollen or distended abdomen, Vomiting). Loss of appetite??? Giardia has never met ME!

I remember when my friend's dogs had it, and she had to follow the pups around with a bleach and water solution and every time she picked up the poops, like the responsible dog owner she is, she's spray "the spot" with the solution! Now I have visions of carrying out a spray bottle... lord!

I hate the thought of adding more weight to my already gonna suck pack, since I'm a bit of a ... pack rat, and will be carrying my camera and at least 2 lens... Below is my camera body and everyday lens I affectionally call "The Beast".

The book I'm reading says to "get serious about the hike 2 months before" so, right now, I'm ahead of the game! I'm hoping that I'll just factor in the weight of the camera (and supplies). I do usually pack and haul like a mule, why should an 18 mile hike to Half Dome be any different?

Day 32

WOW! What a work out. Last night, I had the pleasure of working out with Kazeem which made me be on my best behavior! Nothing like making horrible painful grunting ugly face pains in front of a boy co-worker!

Erika explained how we were gonna be "warming up" today, which was the stairs to the parking garage here at the lot... 5 flights of stairs...

#1 Walk up all the stairs and back down.

#2 Walk up every other step and back down.

#3 Run up every step and back down.

#4 Run up every other step and back down.

#5 Run up every step and back down.

#6 Walk up every other step and back down.

#7 Walk up all the stairs and back down.

I tried to draw a picture, but, it was really terrible! I really thought Erika had lost her mind thinking that I was gonna be able to do this, but I really surprised myself! I, not to give myself too much credit, rocked that exercise!

And we did tons of arm exercises last night too, definitely my weakness, and that's when I really tried to keep my facial expressions at may when the burning in your arms makes ya wanna collapse!

Next... abs... I still get disappointed at how strong my stomach used to be (alas, never skinny enough to rock a bikini) but I had the strength. I year post ab surgery, I'm still trying reclaim said strength.

Erika THOUGHT that she made up the following routine, but Kazeem said he did them before... it was a funny moment. She calls it "climbing the rope." Notice my amazing drawing. And we did 25 of them!

Day 31

My morning of reprieve is only morning long... my training is post-poned until after work... starting at 7 Pm. I'll be interested to see what type of energy I'll be bringing to the table!

I feel like... I'm standing taller... straighter... if that makes any sense. I noticed it yesterday as I was walking down the hallway. I'm not sure if its all in my head, or an actuality, but it really feels nice! Perhaps even my posture improving. As much as I do hate to exercise, I have been really ready to get going. I'm trying to surround myself with positive energy and thoughts (I'm using all the help I can get!)

I'm pretty sore, only doing 4 sets of stairs yesterday, and wondering how Erika might kill us tonight. I guess I'll be sleeping well no matter what!

Day 30 1/2

My lunch break goes as follows:

2 sets of stairs, gasping for breath. (15 minutes)

Writing in my journal while trying to catch my breath. (15 minutes)

Reading a chapter from my book. (15 minutes)

2 MORE sets of stairs, returning to my desk gasping for breathe, red in the face, with beads of sweat beginning to fall down my forehead...

Only to find this...

... from Chipotle... CHIPOTLE!

Its getting a lot easier to resister delicious treats like chips and salsa when you legs are still aching from your workout 2 days ago!

Erika just told me to take it easy cause we'll be doing stairs tomorrow... oh decisions, decisions.

Day 30

Quick easy equation...

+

=

So, I thought that a quick go to protein RIGHT before my workout, like a piece or 2 of cheese was a good idea... NOT SO MUCH.

On my 1 lap, I was GREAT!. First set of circuits, fantastic. But it wasn't until Erika told us to do an "easy lap" (like there is such thing) across the field and back, did the pain in my stomach followed by the lightheadedness and nausea start to act up. I had to take 3 LONG rests and even got exempt from more up and down exercises.

I kinda felt crappy thinking that I didn't work out as hard as I could of... but it turns out, I'm really still sore! And I can feel my thighs getting stronger and firmer! Erika even said that my times are shrinking and I'm taking shorter smaller breaks during my laps. YAY

So today's commitment is... 7 sets of stairs. I guess my goal for the next few weeks is to increase the # of sets by one each week. We'll see! I better get started! I have 7 sets to do!

Fun!

Need a break?

Hit up the National Geographic website below and do a quick puzzle of its truly, HD!

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/myshot/jigsaw-puzzles#/recently-added/267381/872635/

(I wish you could see the photo on the blog)

You can customize the setting to suit your challenge level!

Day 27 - Taking Measurements

So, I guess another way for me to keep track of... all things HD is to take some measurements to encourage my progress.

I found this stuff to help. I'll post those numbers once I take them. And maybe I'll play those numbers in the lotto. Why else expose such vulnerability to all to see?

• Bust: Measure around the chest right at the nipple line, but don't pull the tape too tight.
• Chest: Measure just under your bust
• Waist: Measure a half-inch above your belly button or at the smallest part of your waist
• Hips: Place tape measure around the biggest part of your hips
• Thighs: Measure around the biggest part of each thigh
• Calves: Measure around the largest part of each calf
• Upper arm: Measure around the largest part of each arm above the elbow
• Forearm: Measure around the largest part of the arm below the elbow.

Day 26

Today, I'm physically resting my body. I just have to not to get burned out.

But I did buy this book.

Its written by Rick Deutsch and he has a blog that I am subscribed to. I have posted about this book when I bought it, but it came and I'm slowly getting through it! Not that its a hard read. Very straight forward and filled with experience.

On a completely unrelated topic, I love this youtube link. It makes me think of pure love.