Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Bataan not ready
For those that got the first Bataan Post, it was an accident. Please just delete it until I can post the final product...Kristin
Monday, February 1, 2010
Can you say HILL?
Our adventure on Sunday was....grueling. Full of hills, hills, hills, hills and hills. Kevin, the grand master of pain put the course route together with the theory in mind, what kills you kills you. No wait, that wasn't it. Train harder then the race will be. Our route took us up Tumamoc "Hill". Let me clarify that this wasn't a hill, it was a flipping mountain. We walked, climbed, crawled up to the top. My legs were on fire, my shoulders were burning, I was dripping with sweat and we were only at the beginning of this march....
Along the roadside we saw a lot of interesting things, I saw a discarded note that had PAIN on it. Hmm, how did they know? There was that dead skunk. The various doggy doo, beer bottles, bolts and discarded super gulp cups. It got me thinking of how many people at this moment may be doing the same thing-training for Bataan. So I said, hey, just think of all the people across the nation and further that are training for the same thing and Scott said, I wonder if they have to pee too. It was funny. We were walking by a school at the time-not really the place to take a whiz. I did see this sign that defined what will keep us going in the race and in our training.
Then we made the turn to go up the backside of A Mountain. Something to note, A Mountain used to be a volcano, it is an inactive one now. Not sure when it erupted before but, it became a topic of discussion in Cecilia's school and Matthew loves volcanoes. So I found a couple of lava rocks for them that I carried in my pocket. Like I needed more weight, but, they deserved it. I should mention that the going wasn't easy, thought I would fall to my death again and take out the people behind me.
Then we were back on our trek down A-Mountain. It was along this route that Scott was telling me the problems he was having with his feet. The blistering was bad on his heels, his ankle was feeling rough. So we knew we would lose them before going up Tumamoc again. But, before we lost them-we still had to get to Tumamoc. It wasn't easy. We had some rough terrain to cover.
We made the trek up the hill back onto the road up Tumamoc. Scott and Ryan rode together and went down the road to their car and the three amigos-at it again made our way up. The second time up was really tough. It was beyond tough. I didn't come to tears and say I want to quit, but, I could have sat down a number of times. Will said, so do you think you could do push-ups with this pack on? Kevin and I said no that would be crazy and we kept walking. I turned around and we lost Will. I guess, this is up for speculation, he did 20 push-ups. Kevin and I didn't witness it...he did show us his hands and they looked bad like he did...jury is still out.
Then suddenly, I saw them. I saw some deer. Kevin said I was hallucinating. Earlier Will thought he saw a javelina and it was a dog. So, I said no, in between breathes-there....is....a....deer....up......a....he...ad. Then he saw one run across the road. Thank God for these deer. They were a perfect distraction from the Hill that was killing us.
We made it to the top again.
Coming back down was a whole new beast. It took us at least twice as long to get back down. The pain was ridiculous. I thought my sausage toes would pop off. Will and I noticed our hands were all swollen like jimmy dean sausages.
There was a lot of giggling on the way down. Deliriousness took hold. Kevin decided to lay down on the ground. I tried to save him and almost fell over. I think Will was falling when he took the picture.
Then sweet sassy molassy-we made it to the end. We went to Eegee's and got some lunch. I have never been so sore in my life. There is a legitimate concern I won't be able to stand up. I have been in this position way too long. Maybe Bessie, my beloved pack is why I can't lift my left arm all the way...
Do I think we can make the full 26.2....jury is out. I think we can if we continue to train hard with the heavier weight. Any less then the level we are training and we could be in trouble. This will be one of the hardest things I have ever trained for. I know I won't be able to walk right for days following the race. I went half the distance and I am really sore.
We are recruiting also...here is Matthew with one of my boots and one of Kevin's boots on.
Until the next Bataan Journey....
Who was there this time. The usual suspects, Will, Kevin, Ryan, Scott and me. I thought more would show up, but, to no avail. I can only hope they are putting in the mileage and the weight in the pack. We went half the distance of Bataan, 12.82 miles, but, I call it 13 miles!! Our route took us up/down Tumamoc through the city to the backside of A Mountain (which is smaller then Tumamoc "Hill"), cut across to Tumamoc-go up/down it to the car. It took us 4 hours and about 15 minutes. I cut out the 25 minutes we took to rearrange Will's pack. Here is Will after we arranged everything better. We were worried he was going to have a heart attack...
So here is our journey. We all met up across from a hospital-just in case. Not really, the parking was better there. We needed to wait for some time for Will to arrive, such a girl, always late. While we were waiting, Scott got his pack out and rice was leaking everywhere. Ploy to make bag lighter....I think so....we fixed his rice bag and we were good to go. I should mention, I have already bust a bag of beans. This made us giggle a lot at work. This is the view of A Mountain from Tumamoc.
Will arrives and off we go into the path to our death. We were the usual jovial talking about the weather, the view, work, the people and surroundings. Then it just kept getting steeper and steeper. Will was struggling some. Kept grabbing at his heart, said he had heart burn. I was concerned he would have a heart attack. His pack was bothering him too. We realized we didn't adjust his pack to the new centralized weight thing. I said, we can readjust when we get to the bottom, hang in there. Everyone gives me a hard time about being Mother Hen, but, you can ask Will how many times my little tricks and tools have saved us. I used one of the cable ties to make an adjustment to my pack. It was Kevin's idea of the cable ties and rubber bands. I will add duct tape to the list next time. I looked back at one point and saw Scott and Ryan discussing something and I got a ninja pic of Scott talking about his boot. Pretty funny.
We got to the top of the mountain, not a damn hill, the mountain and the views were spectacular. We had made it, now came going back down. The dynamics of going down hill are of mixed emotions. Great because you aren't climbing anymore, but, grueling on muscles not known existed before. My feet felt as though they would slide out the end of my boots. At one point I asked, is there smoke coming off of my boots? My feet are on fire. Did I mention that we were only on the first time coming up this thing and going back down? Will said, maybe we should just do the last time we come up without our packs... here is the view from the top.
So we made our trek through town to get to the back side of A Mountain. We walked past some seedy homes in a part of town you don't want to be in after 9pm or you may get shot. We also went past some college apartments where we saw the epitome of party pad. The beer bongs and the poor looking hung over dog.
Along the roadside we saw a lot of interesting things, I saw a discarded note that had PAIN on it. Hmm, how did they know? There was that dead skunk. The various doggy doo, beer bottles, bolts and discarded super gulp cups. It got me thinking of how many people at this moment may be doing the same thing-training for Bataan. So I said, hey, just think of all the people across the nation and further that are training for the same thing and Scott said, I wonder if they have to pee too. It was funny. We were walking by a school at the time-not really the place to take a whiz. I did see this sign that defined what will keep us going in the race and in our training.
Then we made the turn to go up the backside of A Mountain. Something to note, A Mountain used to be a volcano, it is an inactive one now. Not sure when it erupted before but, it became a topic of discussion in Cecilia's school and Matthew loves volcanoes. So I found a couple of lava rocks for them that I carried in my pocket. Like I needed more weight, but, they deserved it. I should mention that the going wasn't easy, thought I would fall to my death again and take out the people behind me.
So we made our way to the road. I should note, this is the second time I have been up A Mountain. The first time was on a bike, now with a 50lb back pack on. What is next Kevin, a pogo stick...just kidding. We made our way to the top and rewarded again with achievement and wonderful views. We had some great photo ops. One of which is my favorite of Kevin and I. Sunday was a difficult day for him with a very difficult memory of Benjamin. This helped ease the darkness for a little while.
Here is Scott and Ryan
Then we were back on our trek down A-Mountain. It was along this route that Scott was telling me the problems he was having with his feet. The blistering was bad on his heels, his ankle was feeling rough. So we knew we would lose them before going up Tumamoc again. But, before we lost them-we still had to get to Tumamoc. It wasn't easy. We had some rough terrain to cover.
Scott had to pee in the bushes.
Plus there was that fence. Do you have any idea of the lack of grace a person has with 50 lbs on their back? I ripped my pants getting over the barbed wire...
Not to mention Kevin's belly button went on overdrive in the sweating....okay, so it was his water tube-but, still funny.
We made the trek up the hill back onto the road up Tumamoc. Scott and Ryan rode together and went down the road to their car and the three amigos-at it again made our way up. The second time up was really tough. It was beyond tough. I didn't come to tears and say I want to quit, but, I could have sat down a number of times. Will said, so do you think you could do push-ups with this pack on? Kevin and I said no that would be crazy and we kept walking. I turned around and we lost Will. I guess, this is up for speculation, he did 20 push-ups. Kevin and I didn't witness it...he did show us his hands and they looked bad like he did...jury is still out.
Then suddenly, I saw them. I saw some deer. Kevin said I was hallucinating. Earlier Will thought he saw a javelina and it was a dog. So, I said no, in between breathes-there....is....a....deer....up......a....he...ad. Then he saw one run across the road. Thank God for these deer. They were a perfect distraction from the Hill that was killing us.
We made it to the top again.
Coming back down was a whole new beast. It took us at least twice as long to get back down. The pain was ridiculous. I thought my sausage toes would pop off. Will and I noticed our hands were all swollen like jimmy dean sausages.
There was a lot of giggling on the way down. Deliriousness took hold. Kevin decided to lay down on the ground. I tried to save him and almost fell over. I think Will was falling when he took the picture.
Then sweet sassy molassy-we made it to the end. We went to Eegee's and got some lunch. I have never been so sore in my life. There is a legitimate concern I won't be able to stand up. I have been in this position way too long. Maybe Bessie, my beloved pack is why I can't lift my left arm all the way...
Do I think we can make the full 26.2....jury is out. I think we can if we continue to train hard with the heavier weight. Any less then the level we are training and we could be in trouble. This will be one of the hardest things I have ever trained for. I know I won't be able to walk right for days following the race. I went half the distance and I am really sore.We are recruiting also...here is Matthew with one of my boots and one of Kevin's boots on.
Until the next Bataan Journey....
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Intervals with a pack???
First...it has been a few days since I wrote, so a recap on what has been going on.
Last week was miserable weather, hurricane Zena, tornado alley, snow storms, flooding, rain-it was unreal. Coupled with the return of my guys from Afghanistan-came in at 230 am two nights in a row. It kind of put things on hold with the pack. But... that didn't stop the plans to do a 10K on Sunday.
Note-people think I am crazy. Then when I have Kevin with me, they think-over achievers, show offs. We lined up in the back of the crowd with the stroller, packs on our backs. Kevin got a new pack for the civilian category they don't need to be all military. LUCKY!!! He has so many cool pockets and stuff. So a few people understood what we were training for, others just stared at us. We aren't circus freaks, I don't have a beard like the bearded lady-just ask us-hey what are you guys doing. But, we said-oh well, let's do this. Oh and we are also putting signs on our packs....
We were hauling ass. I mean speed walkers may not have kept up. But, the walkers that were with us in the start only did the 5K. We continued on the 10K and we were apparently the only walkers for the 10K. It was a 5K/10K walk/run....but, I guess hauling a 50 pound pack on your back wasn't a category. So, with that being said, for the first time ever- we won not only our age group, but, the race and the category-IF there was a category for walkers with pack and stroller. Realistically, with all of that excitement, we were in dead last place. They were tearing the finish line down. The water stations were closed. We were last and that wasn't fun. We deserved a little-hey, great job. Nobody noticed or appreciated our true achievement, but us. We averaged 16-18 min mile pace. We won't do the pack in an organized race again unless of course it is one with the carry a pack race-which presently I only know of one-the Bataan Death March.....
I ran 6 miles on Friday
I ran 5 miles on Monday
I worked on Saturday
Sunday-10K
Due to the storms our lunch time walk, about 2.4 miles has gotten a little muddy. As if it isn't enough of a challenge with the pack, we had 5 pounds of mud on our boots. Ryan and I went on Tuesday. He went to a hiking store and got some tips on the pack. We made some adjustment and it is a lot better. It is all about the weight distribution and where the weight is centralized for your body to carry it better. It is so much better now.
Tuesday night-I did my stairs and pack. I tried a new thing to try some strengthening exercises-I stood on one leg with the pack on. Ummmm, yeah. I looked like a flamingo standing on one leg in a hurricane. My leg was so wobbly. Am I really that weak? I think I can get stronger. I imagine it is funny to watch. Cecilia commented that my butt was jiggling. Thanks for the support....
Today I thought of a brand new challenge. Intervals of running and walking carrying the pack. Holy crap. It has a hard element and a free feeling element to it. My course I did is a 1 1/2 mile route, I did the first one with the pack, took the pack off and ran 1 1/2 miles. I repeated the set-so in total I did 6 miles-3 miles pack and 3 miles running. The goal of a runner is to feel light on their feet. I felt like I was floating when I took the pack off. It is an amazing feeling. My legs felt strong, my stride felt right. If the burning sensation in my feet of potential new blister area wasn't there-it was perfect. I feel like I have unlocked a secret in the pack intervals. Olympic marathoners should do this. Biggest Loser should do this.
Another thing I discovered. I have finally been able to test the audio book. Perfect. I spent 2 hours doing my workout and didn't even realized the time. I didn't feel the weight of the pack-it is the best distraction. I laughed out loud, I enjoyed the book so much I just wanted to keep moving and listen to it. Part I laughed at which I will share from Dean Koontz-Velocity, it is a thriller/suspense. This character in the book hated his neighbors so much he peed on their living room window while they ate dinner. The wife didn't appreciate it and made a gnome molded/painted after this character-he had two beers in his hands, he was exposed and was a drunk. The character didn't appreciate it and smashed it to pieces, she put another out there and told the neighbors if they wanted one she was selling them. There were some more incidents and the husband took the neighborly rivalry to a new level. He went up on his roof and decided to pee on the characters windows while he was eating dinner with his mother on her birthday. Well, he fell and hit his head on the gnome and died. His mother said, God works in mysterious ways....it was such a random way to start the story and full of humor. That part of the story line carried me almost a mile. Amazing invention the audio book.
Almost forgot, the asshole has a new name. It is Bessie. Cecilia named it. It slid across the backseat and ran into her like a cow. I was in a wheelchair for some time with one leg in a cast and the other ankle sprained, I named the wheelchair Bessie. Funny how in less then 2 1/2 years since the first Bessie and I am carrying one on my back.
Bessie is getting some maintenance tonight too. A plastic part rubbed my back raw tonight. Duct tape and washcloth should do the trick....
Happy Marching....13 mile group hike on Sunday....
Last week was miserable weather, hurricane Zena, tornado alley, snow storms, flooding, rain-it was unreal. Coupled with the return of my guys from Afghanistan-came in at 230 am two nights in a row. It kind of put things on hold with the pack. But... that didn't stop the plans to do a 10K on Sunday.
Note-people think I am crazy. Then when I have Kevin with me, they think-over achievers, show offs. We lined up in the back of the crowd with the stroller, packs on our backs. Kevin got a new pack for the civilian category they don't need to be all military. LUCKY!!! He has so many cool pockets and stuff. So a few people understood what we were training for, others just stared at us. We aren't circus freaks, I don't have a beard like the bearded lady-just ask us-hey what are you guys doing. But, we said-oh well, let's do this. Oh and we are also putting signs on our packs....
We were hauling ass. I mean speed walkers may not have kept up. But, the walkers that were with us in the start only did the 5K. We continued on the 10K and we were apparently the only walkers for the 10K. It was a 5K/10K walk/run....but, I guess hauling a 50 pound pack on your back wasn't a category. So, with that being said, for the first time ever- we won not only our age group, but, the race and the category-IF there was a category for walkers with pack and stroller. Realistically, with all of that excitement, we were in dead last place. They were tearing the finish line down. The water stations were closed. We were last and that wasn't fun. We deserved a little-hey, great job. Nobody noticed or appreciated our true achievement, but us. We averaged 16-18 min mile pace. We won't do the pack in an organized race again unless of course it is one with the carry a pack race-which presently I only know of one-the Bataan Death March.....
I ran 6 miles on Friday
I ran 5 miles on Monday
I worked on Saturday
Sunday-10K
Due to the storms our lunch time walk, about 2.4 miles has gotten a little muddy. As if it isn't enough of a challenge with the pack, we had 5 pounds of mud on our boots. Ryan and I went on Tuesday. He went to a hiking store and got some tips on the pack. We made some adjustment and it is a lot better. It is all about the weight distribution and where the weight is centralized for your body to carry it better. It is so much better now.
Tuesday night-I did my stairs and pack. I tried a new thing to try some strengthening exercises-I stood on one leg with the pack on. Ummmm, yeah. I looked like a flamingo standing on one leg in a hurricane. My leg was so wobbly. Am I really that weak? I think I can get stronger. I imagine it is funny to watch. Cecilia commented that my butt was jiggling. Thanks for the support....
Today I thought of a brand new challenge. Intervals of running and walking carrying the pack. Holy crap. It has a hard element and a free feeling element to it. My course I did is a 1 1/2 mile route, I did the first one with the pack, took the pack off and ran 1 1/2 miles. I repeated the set-so in total I did 6 miles-3 miles pack and 3 miles running. The goal of a runner is to feel light on their feet. I felt like I was floating when I took the pack off. It is an amazing feeling. My legs felt strong, my stride felt right. If the burning sensation in my feet of potential new blister area wasn't there-it was perfect. I feel like I have unlocked a secret in the pack intervals. Olympic marathoners should do this. Biggest Loser should do this.
Another thing I discovered. I have finally been able to test the audio book. Perfect. I spent 2 hours doing my workout and didn't even realized the time. I didn't feel the weight of the pack-it is the best distraction. I laughed out loud, I enjoyed the book so much I just wanted to keep moving and listen to it. Part I laughed at which I will share from Dean Koontz-Velocity, it is a thriller/suspense. This character in the book hated his neighbors so much he peed on their living room window while they ate dinner. The wife didn't appreciate it and made a gnome molded/painted after this character-he had two beers in his hands, he was exposed and was a drunk. The character didn't appreciate it and smashed it to pieces, she put another out there and told the neighbors if they wanted one she was selling them. There were some more incidents and the husband took the neighborly rivalry to a new level. He went up on his roof and decided to pee on the characters windows while he was eating dinner with his mother on her birthday. Well, he fell and hit his head on the gnome and died. His mother said, God works in mysterious ways....it was such a random way to start the story and full of humor. That part of the story line carried me almost a mile. Amazing invention the audio book.
Almost forgot, the asshole has a new name. It is Bessie. Cecilia named it. It slid across the backseat and ran into her like a cow. I was in a wheelchair for some time with one leg in a cast and the other ankle sprained, I named the wheelchair Bessie. Funny how in less then 2 1/2 years since the first Bessie and I am carrying one on my back.
Bessie is getting some maintenance tonight too. A plastic part rubbed my back raw tonight. Duct tape and washcloth should do the trick....
Happy Marching....13 mile group hike on Sunday....
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Game Face and my Stairs
I know I have taken a whole new turn in my life on this journey of training when I feel that I need a game face to go up my stairs. Okay, so I went up them 840 times and back down them 840 times with my friend, the asshole, the pack of death
This is my "game face". It looks dumb because Cecilia kept making me laugh.
Did I mention I have on shorts and my new boots? Quite the stereotypical picture. Oh yeah, well my mom wears combat boots. Plus she can totaly kick your ass with a 45 pound pack on her back...or something like that.
This is my awesome Tuesday Marching outfit...
Happy marching.
This is my "game face". It looks dumb because Cecilia kept making me laugh.
Did I mention I have on shorts and my new boots? Quite the stereotypical picture. Oh yeah, well my mom wears combat boots. Plus she can totaly kick your ass with a 45 pound pack on her back...or something like that.
This is my awesome Tuesday Marching outfit...
Happy marching.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Group March #1--Holy Climbing Batman
Today was a good test of, can we do this...can we finish the race alive and in the upright position....
This pic is of Ryan, Scott and Kevin.
First, some facts: the course is a trail, an out and back 8 mile course. There were 4 of us. Ryan, Scott, Kevin and I. Ryan had 48 lbs, Scott had 25 lbs, Kevin had 48 lbs, I had 45 lbs. The weather was a little chilly-perfect for what we were about to do. We had some snacks and plenty of water with us on board too. Which-add at least 5 pounds to each of us just for that.
This pic is of Scott, Ryan and I.
We started out all jovial-talking. Laughing. Talking about the weather, the march, people and whatnot. Then came the hill. The hill by any other standards would require climbing ropes I am sure of it. I was leading the way and the steepness of the hill and climbing up the rock steps was plain grueling. You keep stepping up, up, up, up. I tried alternating the leg I was leading with to even the burden out. Didn't help much. I was worried with each step that I was getting weaker and weaker that the 50 pounds on my back would pull me backwards and I would be the catalyst to take us all out on the hill-like a domino or snowball falling down a hill. Our trek was literally 4 miles uphill to the turn around and 4 miles downhill home to the car. Both-intensely demanding. As we were going up the hill, I was breathing like I had asthma. I mean it was tough. Sweat was pouring off of me. I couldn't drink the water quick enough-plus, quicker to lighten the load. We pulled over to the side several times for a breather, to bend forward and have the weight of the pack off of the shoulders. Even for a second-it makes a difference.
This pic is of Scott and Ryan taking a break.
At one point, I saw a big bunny rabbit and said to Kevin if he had seen it. He said I was hallucinating....I swear it was there. We saw a few other hikers-one guy was running-show off. Oh wait, he wasn't toting 50 lbs-wimp. Finally, we made it to the turn around point. I should note that Kevin brought the GPS to keep us on track. I was walking along listening to "My Humps"..."What you gonna do with all that junk, all that junk inside yo trunk" I adapted it to my pack, whatcha gonna do with all that rice all that rice in your pack...then Kevin starts yelling out, Stop, Stop, Stop. Apparently, at that exact spot in the middle of yet another hill, it was time to turn around. Hurray.
Here is the pic of Kevin consulting the GPS...
Going down was just as hard. Fear of falling was high. Fear of turning an ankle was high. Scott was sort of running at times. How he ended up in front, the guy with the lighter pack. He led off like he was in the Olympics. Kevin and Ryan said they would throw rocks at him to slow him down. I said I would take a prickly pear cactus and smack him in the face. He slowed down.
This is a pic of the packs taking a break, Ryan's, Scott's, Mine and Kevin's.
I should note that Scott wasn't being a wimp or anything by having 25 lbs. My original training plan called to have that weight for this march, Kevin, Ryan and I are just crazy and thought going big would be the way to go. I am seriously considering dropping to 5 lbs-since I can barely lift my glass of wine while I type this.
A view from the hike.
Last night Kevin asked if I would adjust the weight distribution in his pack. He had originally various bottles of fluid, Gatorade, Pedialite, V-8 and some rice. So I fixed it with beans, rice and a few Gatorade bottles and evened it out. He came back from putting Matthew to bed and I said, I evened it out and it weighs 48 pounds. He didn't find that amusing. Guess he thought it would be lighter....
I am on top of the world...or a hill picture.
My daughter asked me if I would be putting any more weight in mine. The answer was not no, but, hell no. Mine is all rice and beans.
In Ryan's pack, he has a tow chain and some rice. Scott has free weights. Will had bird seed and free weights. Whatever works.
I digressed...the weight of the pack is intense and encompasses your brain all the time...
So, we were heading down the mountain/hill and the fear of falling was pretty intense. We passed a lot of day walkers with their little packs of camera, granola bars and water. With their walking sticks. One guy wasn't at the point where he needed his stick and nearly speared Scott.
Okay, this is soo distracting. We are watching a show with the top 100 Chowdown Countdown. Such awesome food, a cheese steak with nacho sauce. Chocolate fountain. Garbage plate. BBQ, sausages. OMG...the food. Pulled pork sandwiches. Sundaes. Pies. The Cherry Cricket in Colorado-burger joint with a choice of 23 toppings. Holy burger. They have a dart board you throw a dart at if you can't decide. Amazing idea. Frozen custard in Milwaukee. Warning-none of this is fat free. The 2400 calories burned today allow you at least a stop at one of these places.
Where was I. T.V. food network. I want a slice of pie now. So, we are going to Fuddruckers tomorrow for burgers. Focus....
A slice of Kevin's Birthday Pie.
We were coming down the hill and we were passed by a lot of folks coming up. They smelled nice, looked happy-if only they had a pack on their back-what did we look like to them? A couple of larger folks passed us, which I thought-good for them-they are out there doing something. Then it got me thinking. I have the weight they have on their body as fat, on my back. How hard it must be to lug that around all the time. Makes you think about the strain on the body of people overweight.
Our car was at the end of the road you see in the distance.
We got to the truck and Kevin said, we aren't quite at 8 miles, we need to walk .15 of a mile still. So, we walked that extra bit to this sign for the .15.
Back at the truck we compared injuries and soreness. I tried to do a high five, I could only get my hand half way up to like a mid-five. The rest of the day, I felt like I ran a half marathon or more. I am more drained then sore. My shoulders hurt, I have some pain in my knee and have soreness-like when you get the flu and you ache.
Question remains-can we make it the whole way, upright. Yes. Today's terrain was steeper and harder. The weight in the pack was heavier. We can make it...with a lot of aleve and Motrin!! Until the next update-marching along with my asshole....the pack of course.
This pic is of Ryan, Scott and Kevin.
First, some facts: the course is a trail, an out and back 8 mile course. There were 4 of us. Ryan, Scott, Kevin and I. Ryan had 48 lbs, Scott had 25 lbs, Kevin had 48 lbs, I had 45 lbs. The weather was a little chilly-perfect for what we were about to do. We had some snacks and plenty of water with us on board too. Which-add at least 5 pounds to each of us just for that.
This pic is of Scott, Ryan and I.
We started out all jovial-talking. Laughing. Talking about the weather, the march, people and whatnot. Then came the hill. The hill by any other standards would require climbing ropes I am sure of it. I was leading the way and the steepness of the hill and climbing up the rock steps was plain grueling. You keep stepping up, up, up, up. I tried alternating the leg I was leading with to even the burden out. Didn't help much. I was worried with each step that I was getting weaker and weaker that the 50 pounds on my back would pull me backwards and I would be the catalyst to take us all out on the hill-like a domino or snowball falling down a hill. Our trek was literally 4 miles uphill to the turn around and 4 miles downhill home to the car. Both-intensely demanding. As we were going up the hill, I was breathing like I had asthma. I mean it was tough. Sweat was pouring off of me. I couldn't drink the water quick enough-plus, quicker to lighten the load. We pulled over to the side several times for a breather, to bend forward and have the weight of the pack off of the shoulders. Even for a second-it makes a difference.
This pic is of Scott and Ryan taking a break.
At one point, I saw a big bunny rabbit and said to Kevin if he had seen it. He said I was hallucinating....I swear it was there. We saw a few other hikers-one guy was running-show off. Oh wait, he wasn't toting 50 lbs-wimp. Finally, we made it to the turn around point. I should note that Kevin brought the GPS to keep us on track. I was walking along listening to "My Humps"..."What you gonna do with all that junk, all that junk inside yo trunk" I adapted it to my pack, whatcha gonna do with all that rice all that rice in your pack...then Kevin starts yelling out, Stop, Stop, Stop. Apparently, at that exact spot in the middle of yet another hill, it was time to turn around. Hurray.
Here is the pic of Kevin consulting the GPS...
Going down was just as hard. Fear of falling was high. Fear of turning an ankle was high. Scott was sort of running at times. How he ended up in front, the guy with the lighter pack. He led off like he was in the Olympics. Kevin and Ryan said they would throw rocks at him to slow him down. I said I would take a prickly pear cactus and smack him in the face. He slowed down.
This is a pic of the packs taking a break, Ryan's, Scott's, Mine and Kevin's.
I should note that Scott wasn't being a wimp or anything by having 25 lbs. My original training plan called to have that weight for this march, Kevin, Ryan and I are just crazy and thought going big would be the way to go. I am seriously considering dropping to 5 lbs-since I can barely lift my glass of wine while I type this.
A view from the hike.
Last night Kevin asked if I would adjust the weight distribution in his pack. He had originally various bottles of fluid, Gatorade, Pedialite, V-8 and some rice. So I fixed it with beans, rice and a few Gatorade bottles and evened it out. He came back from putting Matthew to bed and I said, I evened it out and it weighs 48 pounds. He didn't find that amusing. Guess he thought it would be lighter....
I am on top of the world...or a hill picture.
My daughter asked me if I would be putting any more weight in mine. The answer was not no, but, hell no. Mine is all rice and beans.
In Ryan's pack, he has a tow chain and some rice. Scott has free weights. Will had bird seed and free weights. Whatever works.
I digressed...the weight of the pack is intense and encompasses your brain all the time...
So, we were heading down the mountain/hill and the fear of falling was pretty intense. We passed a lot of day walkers with their little packs of camera, granola bars and water. With their walking sticks. One guy wasn't at the point where he needed his stick and nearly speared Scott.
Okay, this is soo distracting. We are watching a show with the top 100 Chowdown Countdown. Such awesome food, a cheese steak with nacho sauce. Chocolate fountain. Garbage plate. BBQ, sausages. OMG...the food. Pulled pork sandwiches. Sundaes. Pies. The Cherry Cricket in Colorado-burger joint with a choice of 23 toppings. Holy burger. They have a dart board you throw a dart at if you can't decide. Amazing idea. Frozen custard in Milwaukee. Warning-none of this is fat free. The 2400 calories burned today allow you at least a stop at one of these places.
Where was I. T.V. food network. I want a slice of pie now. So, we are going to Fuddruckers tomorrow for burgers. Focus....
A slice of Kevin's Birthday Pie.
We were coming down the hill and we were passed by a lot of folks coming up. They smelled nice, looked happy-if only they had a pack on their back-what did we look like to them? A couple of larger folks passed us, which I thought-good for them-they are out there doing something. Then it got me thinking. I have the weight they have on their body as fat, on my back. How hard it must be to lug that around all the time. Makes you think about the strain on the body of people overweight.
Our car was at the end of the road you see in the distance.
We got to the truck and Kevin said, we aren't quite at 8 miles, we need to walk .15 of a mile still. So, we walked that extra bit to this sign for the .15.
Back at the truck we compared injuries and soreness. I tried to do a high five, I could only get my hand half way up to like a mid-five. The rest of the day, I felt like I ran a half marathon or more. I am more drained then sore. My shoulders hurt, I have some pain in my knee and have soreness-like when you get the flu and you ache.
Question remains-can we make it the whole way, upright. Yes. Today's terrain was steeper and harder. The weight in the pack was heavier. We can make it...with a lot of aleve and Motrin!! Until the next update-marching along with my asshole....the pack of course.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Holy Stairs
Wow-who knew that 14 stairs--14 up, 14 down could try to kill me. Okay, they didn't reach out and attack me...but, I see them in a different light now.
Because life has demands and I need to get groceries--I had no time for a march when I got home-so, I had to make some modifications. I decided to do my stairs with the pack on, 5 sets of 10. That is walking up them 50 times and down them 50 times with 40 pounds in the pack. I limited it to 10 times, because at the 6th and 7th time going down, I had to really grab the hand rail becuase the stairs got fuzzy. Kevin told me, what if you fall down and get stuck on the floor like a turtle with the pack on my back and can't get up. Kevin-it almost happened.
Did I mention I had "help" in my stair climbing? Two kittens who thought-wow, this looks like fun. How about I just sit here in the middle of the stair and watch you, then chase you...I nearly died-more then once.
End result-I worked up a really good sweat, could spend time with my daughter and it hurt-so I must have gained something from it. I think I will add this in as a weekly work out and build up from here.
Something that crossed my mind today-would it be wrong to do the grocery shopping with the pack on? I mean you spend an hour in there getting stuff, looking at stuff, walking around? Is there a etiquite book on this?
Until the next march...by the way, that is 1400 stairs...
Because life has demands and I need to get groceries--I had no time for a march when I got home-so, I had to make some modifications. I decided to do my stairs with the pack on, 5 sets of 10. That is walking up them 50 times and down them 50 times with 40 pounds in the pack. I limited it to 10 times, because at the 6th and 7th time going down, I had to really grab the hand rail becuase the stairs got fuzzy. Kevin told me, what if you fall down and get stuck on the floor like a turtle with the pack on my back and can't get up. Kevin-it almost happened.
Did I mention I had "help" in my stair climbing? Two kittens who thought-wow, this looks like fun. How about I just sit here in the middle of the stair and watch you, then chase you...I nearly died-more then once.
End result-I worked up a really good sweat, could spend time with my daughter and it hurt-so I must have gained something from it. I think I will add this in as a weekly work out and build up from here.
Something that crossed my mind today-would it be wrong to do the grocery shopping with the pack on? I mean you spend an hour in there getting stuff, looking at stuff, walking around? Is there a etiquite book on this?
Until the next march...by the way, that is 1400 stairs...
Monday, January 11, 2010
The scale lies
So-I put another 10 pounds in the asshole today-that sounds gross...okay, another 10 pounds in the pack today. I swear it felt like it was 50 pounds in there. I thought I had 37 pounds in there prior to the addition. But, much to my major dismay-I stood on my scale and it said it was only 38 pounds. LIES...I swear. Kevin said I should go to the gym with those scales with the slider things. He thinks my scale is wrong-thanks babe for believing in me. I mean who measures the weight on the bags of rice too?
Nonetheless...I carried my friend, the asshole for my lunch time stroll. It was TOUGH. I mean major. I have high arches and I am most assured-for the first time in it's life, the middle of my foot felt what the ground feels like. I need arch support if I am going to make it. I am putting support in my boots tonight. I still need to buy the BOOTS for the event. Funny thing-people see me and my lunch time walking friend, Ryan-we call it taking a lap. It is just about 2 1/2 miles long loop around the bomb dump-the Munitions Storage Area. But, people at work see us out there everyday-I think they think-that looks easy-I want to do it. Ryan and I discussed those that signed up not realizing just how difficult of a task this is and how long they will last.... Or maybe they think-I want to be part of something amazing too. I have somehow managed to motivate 7 more people in taking this on. I am up to 35 people. It started with Kevin, me, Will, and a couple guys at work. I simply sent out an email looking for another team mate and then-whoa-look at what it has become. I have even motivated a couple walkers-without packs. People-this is big. I am so excited.
I didn't get to march tonight. I was really looking forward to listening to my new book too. Scheduling, commitments, requirements and the sun going down kept me from being able to. I will make up for it tomorrow. It was a pretty long and trying day and an exertion was just what I needed. Tomorrow awaits...and the scale at the gym.
Nonetheless...I carried my friend, the asshole for my lunch time stroll. It was TOUGH. I mean major. I have high arches and I am most assured-for the first time in it's life, the middle of my foot felt what the ground feels like. I need arch support if I am going to make it. I am putting support in my boots tonight. I still need to buy the BOOTS for the event. Funny thing-people see me and my lunch time walking friend, Ryan-we call it taking a lap. It is just about 2 1/2 miles long loop around the bomb dump-the Munitions Storage Area. But, people at work see us out there everyday-I think they think-that looks easy-I want to do it. Ryan and I discussed those that signed up not realizing just how difficult of a task this is and how long they will last.... Or maybe they think-I want to be part of something amazing too. I have somehow managed to motivate 7 more people in taking this on. I am up to 35 people. It started with Kevin, me, Will, and a couple guys at work. I simply sent out an email looking for another team mate and then-whoa-look at what it has become. I have even motivated a couple walkers-without packs. People-this is big. I am so excited.
I didn't get to march tonight. I was really looking forward to listening to my new book too. Scheduling, commitments, requirements and the sun going down kept me from being able to. I will make up for it tomorrow. It was a pretty long and trying day and an exertion was just what I needed. Tomorrow awaits...and the scale at the gym.
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