Day 5

Below is a conversation I had with a friend/coworker named Erika who spends her lunch hours riding her speed bike up and down the parking garage floors. She works out with 2 other girls that I know 3 days a week at a local park for an hour starting at 6:30 am.

I think Erika closely resembles Angela Bassett from How Stella Got Her Groove Back both physically and physique-ly

Erika: so Petunia, u are more than welcome to join us in our workout tomorrow morning

Me: HEHEHE
Erika: no pressure though, seriously
Me: oh, that's not far at all. i'm gonna try. I don't feel pressured, just terrified :)
Erika: hahaha do u have any physical issues that I should know about?
Me: yes... I HATE TO EXERCISE
Erika: lol nice!
Me: heheh, otherwise, not really. pretty good back, pretty OK knees. i have more flexibility and leg strength than i look like i have
Erika: what about arm strength?
Me: none
Erika: fair enough
Me: like when you make a muscle and the muscle fulls under the arm like in the commercials... yup that's me
Erika: lol ur silly. so i mean what is would u say ur goal is?
Me: overall?
Erika: si
Me: ummm. I guess, to be realistic in what i am capable doing. I want to knock out the 18 mile hike. i want a flatter stomach. I want SOME upper body strength. 135 lbs would be amazing and be a size 6 (i'm a tight 8 now) but really be fit and ready for the hike
Erika: very doable
Me: i'm going to post this conversation in my blog :)
Erika: yay!

-- I'm not sure Erika knows whats in store from her... I should put her in contact with my old high school gym teacher Mr. Rogo... boy, that man was a saint. On second thought, maybe I won't.

Pretzel m&m's

I'm not sure if this should be apart of the training program... but oh boy, were they calling my name today. Not to mention, they were buy 1 get 1 free at the Rite Aid across the street at work. The other bag is hidden in one of my drawers. I'm hoping to forget about it.

If you can hear the sound of a loud beating drum... that's my heart beating after doing the stairs at work 3 times. I had the company of my friend Shannon to bring along some support and inspiration as she swiftly climbed and descended 7 flights.

No telling whether my calves will burn as much as they did last week, which by the way, was AS intense of a burn I felt after I climbed Yosemite Falls which is 2600 feet (The Empire State Building x2) !

Best Engagement video ever!

This video was posted on other blog that I read everyday. It brought chills and tears to me so early in the morning.

Engagement weekend at Yosemite and Napa from frebay on Vimeo.

Definitely reminds me of my own engagement at Yosemite. That man is a KEEPER. Just like my Brian!

Day 4

I was looking for photography guides today specifically focusing on Yosemite. I've seen a couple on BN.com, but they do not seem available in the Los Angeles Public Library system. I'll have to keep my eyes peeled. The titles are as follows:

Photographing Yosemite Digital Field Guide by Lewis Kemper




Photosecrets Yosemite: The Best Sights and How to Photograph Them by Andrew Hudson




The Photographer's Guide to Yosemite by Michael Frye





It turns out that the last book, the author/photographer Michael Frye has spent over 25 years living in and close to Yosemite and has worked photographing the park for years. He has 2 other books, and has hiking/photographing workshops about shooting elements at Yosemite. They run in the area of $900 for 5 days. Kinda steep for me, but I can benefit from Michaels website and blog where he offers tips and tutorials! www.michaelfrye.com

Rrrrrolllll baby Roll.

After seeing my friend Lauren roller blade to my apartment the other day, I decided, it was time to bust out my set of roller blades. And I mean BUST OUT. I've been living in California for 8 years this June, and have never put these puppies on my feet. Mostly because for the first 3 years, I had no insurance and was too afraid to walk fast, let alone roller blade without protection.

But these are new days! That being said, I still need to pick up some wrist guards and knee pads. My mom already instructed me to get the knee pads and the helmet too... we'll see.

Lodging.

Housekeeping Camp is a lodging area in the Yosemite Valley that is described as follows directly taken from http://www.yosemitepark.com/Accommodations_HousekeepingCamp_LodgingDetails.aspx

The units consist of three concrete walls, a concrete floor, double canvas roof and a fourth curtained wall. The curtain separates the sleeping area from a covered patio area that's furnished with picnic table, bear-proof food storage container and a privacy fence.

The sleeping area has 1 bunk bed (with 2 stacked twin mattresses), a double bed, table, chairs, mirror, electrical lights and outlets.

These canvas tents are located along the Merced River. A few of the sites have views of the river.

Reservations for these accommodations are available 1 year and 1 day in advance. So its been a struggle to get a site here.

I accidentally overslept today. The reservation lines open at 7 am Pacific time, but I called at 8:30... oops. So my window has closed for this time of year. They were all booked up for the time in June I was looking to do my hike. Now, we're gonna try for July 10th of 2011. Its kinda frustrating, because I have no problem committing to something a year in advance, I just wish that I didn't have to strategize to secure a room 1 year out and STILL risk not getting it! Again, the victory will be that much sweeter when I get it.

We did stay at Housekeeping Camp 2 years ago, but during May... a less desired time of year. The Merced was frigid but we really loved getting a spot along the river.

This is the right side of the inside.



This is the left side of the inside.



Here, my back is facing the river. There is a table under the canvas as a sun relief and a spot for a grill and packs. Behind Brian's head is our bear locker where all food and anything with a scent is stored.

Day 3

I made it up for another morning swim at 8:30 am today and while doing a few laps, I even managed to inspire another tenant of the building to join me. So that was cool. We even had those noodly looking floats available so I got to do some more kicking!

My calves are on FIRE today (from doing 12 flights of stairs on Day 1). It started at some point yesterday. Brian was nice enough to give them a good rub which made me cringe.

Late afternoon, we went to go see the Dodger/Yankee game. We were in the upper tear, so had plenty of opportunity to do more stairs! Brian wanted to due the escalator, but I opted for the real deal! Need to keep incorporated those darn stairs into my days!

And because the game was packed like a world series game, we had to park in a parking lot that seemed like it was more in San Diego, than Los Angeles. We had to hike down a mountain to avoid walking 1/4 of a mile. After a sad SAD loss for the Yankees, we speed hiked up the paved street at a pretty good inclide. Since Brian lit up a cigarette, I pumped it into high gear to get away from the smoke.

All in all, a pretty good day 3.

I got some really amazing emails of support and offers for training and companionship training. Even some people who are interested in joining the hike! I can't complain. I'm surrounded by amazing people!

Day 2

When I left work yesterday... my legs where like Jello! All from 12 flights of stairs! It was so pathetic, I had to laugh. But the victory will be that much sweeter when I make it to the top with energy to spare.

Last night, I was talking to a friend about swimming. She encouraged me up and down that swimming was such GREAT exercise for women who want lean toned muscles, to burn fat (That's ME!) all the while being gentle on myself. I was so happy to hear swimming and not, RUNNING. I only run for 2 reasons. A) If someone is chasing me with a knife or 2) the buffet line's about to close! She also said that running isn't really that good for women cause of all the bouncing around of boobs and uterus. She didn't have to explain anymore. I'm not a runner and its OK that I'm not!

So this morning, at 5:30am when my all-of-a-sudden natural alarm clock went off, I looked out at the cloudy overcast cold sky and said... "you've got to be kidding me," and I rolled over and went back to bed. At 6:17 I woke up again, and thought, I'm just gonna put on my bathing suit and walk down to the pool. If I never make it in, I made baby steps to getting there.

The cold June air hit my body and I curled the blanket around me tighter until I decided to stop being a wimp. I was surprised just how NOT cold the water was. Very manageable. So with big steps, I walked into the pool and quickly got under.

I bounced around for a good 22 minutes before I was done, making sure that I was really trying to move my arms and legs. It was really awesome way to start my morning, and had plenty of time to get ready.

So today's swimming challenge was a success!

Photography Lesson #1

Yeah, so a friend of mine was looking at photos that I just posted on my flickr account from my last trip to Yosemite... It turns out that I had my ISO setting at 1600... making all my photos appear grainy... so I will be unveiling my "Grainy Yosemite" collection soon.

Make this a learning lesson #1 -- check the iso.

Workout Day 1

So,

I sit here out of breath. I was hoping to devote the 2nd half of my lunch hour to doing the stairs at work. We have a set of stairs that are 6 stories high... I was only able to do it 2 times. But I'm not too surprised. It has been a while since my heart has been for a good pump. It just gives me a better idea of how hard I will have to train... HARD!

Cat's out of the bag

I put out there in the world... or at least on Facebook. Terrifying. But its done. Now to get to the hard work.

Day 1

Let me start off by saying, last night, in an order to become a little bit more active and jump off my training, I walked the 4 flight of stairs to my car in the garage rather than take the elevator... well, it might as well been 40 flights of stairs the way my heart was pumping...

We have a lot of training to do.

I'm fighting off some sort of ears/nose/throat virus (was checked by the doctor yesterday) and was told to rest... so clearly, not gym training today!

But instead, research on Half Dome. I found this below link from Yosemite's NPS website. A great little video with a really pretty ranger.

http://www.nps.gov/yose/photosmultimedia/hikinghalfdome.htm

A few people have expressed interest in doing the hike. But we have a year to go, so we'll see how that all goes. This Sunday, I plan on waking early to try to make my Housekeeping Camp reservations which is were I want to be staying for this grand adventure. Perfect accommodations :)

This is the closest I've ever gotten to touching Half Dome. In a few days over a year, that will change!

The Commitment

So today is the day that I throw down. I'm making a commitment. I've talked about "One day, I'm gonna climb Half Dome." But today is when I put my money where my mouth is. I committed using this blog as a source of drive and to keep me on track! There is no turning back!

Seeing that I'm ... well... NOT that FIT, I will have to train for this monster of an undertaking.

Let me let you in on something... I hate to exercise, and I LOVE to eat... does not make for a great combination. The only reason I'm doing this hike is because I hear its an amazing photo opportunity...

Enter my love of photography to propel me to kill myself for a year. But I know a handful of people who have done this hike. I am confident that I'll succeed. And if I lose a few pounds in the meantime... a very much added bonus.

Here we go!