Building a wood shelter for kindling. It is based on an old wardrobe I bought for £10 (5 US$?) In a charity shop. It didn't have a back so I've added slats for ventilation. Now painting it and hoping to finish it tomorrow. And fill with all that kindling I produced in the last week or so! I call that moving and I'm so pleased and excited. I want to be ready for this winter.
Michele - your schedule is punishing sometimes. All the time? Hope you're OK.
Michele - your schedule is punishing sometimes. All the time? Hope you're OK.
My schedule is crazy most of the time. I like to be busy but sometimes it is too much-- like now! I will be finished (hopefully) with my masters in December and that will be a big time sucker gone. My dh is also traveling a great deal now which makes it difficult with driving my dd places, myself with my commitments, etc.
Oct. 8: 40 minutes running on treadmill (4.11 miles)
Totals:
6 days
275 minutes
Oct. 9: 30 minutes elliptical
30 minutes elliptical/cycling thing? It was like an elliptical but you sit on it like a bike-- you move your arms and legs. Not sure what it is called but I was sweating like crazy!! (60 min total)
Those mountains ... there are no words ... they look like something out of dreams, like 19th century landscape paintings, like painted theatrical backdrops. They have such a presence, like someone always standing behind you looking over your shoulder.
I spent the whole time feeling I'd accidentally wound up in a nature documentary running on "Animal Planet." I saw a grizzly bear & cubs eating berries. I saw bighorn sheep knocking their horns together. I saw mountain goats picking their way along impossible trails covered with loose rocks. I saw a pair of golden eagles flying around each other in courtship rituals. I saw an elk trotting with her calf. I walked within maybe 80 feet of an enormous bull moose. (And backed away slowly & quite respectfully down the path again.) I saw bison wrenching up mouthfuls of grass, looking like heavily upholstered cows. And pronghorn antelope that I nearly missed, except they were just beyond the bison & made a movement that I caught through my binoculars. Oh, and a herd of mule deer. A spruce grouse that I maybe could have picked up & tucked under my arm. And some corvids & jays that I'd never see out east: A gray jay that flew down on top of the picnic table & eyed the chicken atop my salad. Clarks nutcrackers yelling from the tops of pines & landing at a puddle. Ravens, making their eerie calls. Even the chickadees up at Logan's Pass were another species.
Oh, and the poverty just outside the park. And the physical remoteness of some peoples' lives, which is so much the opposite of New York living.
And this whole trip was an NSV. Without losing weight & maintaining the level of fitness that I've been working at for a few years now, I could never have hiked up the sides of mountains -- and even worse, back down the sides of mountains. On Wednesday, I rode a stationary bike for an hour early in the morning, at the gym at the resort where I stayed, doing just about 15.5 miles, then in the afternoon, hiked three miles, and then rode a horse for an hour. In 2007, any one part of that itinerary, let alone the whole thing, would have defeated me & left me on the sidelines, probably eating something to console myself.
I think when I weigh in tomorrow, I'm going to be okay with whatever number I see. I went on this vacation without any "vacation mentality" regarding food or feeling any need to "treat" myself. Not with all the cr&p I saw in the gift shops like really lurid fudge flavors & etc. I did have some grass-fed beef (what was called a "rancher steak") and two elk burgers and some local salmon. I'm considering that all vacation food.
Anyway, as for exercise:
Tues. Oct 5: 60 minutes elliptical, resistance at 8, 45 minutes weights, hiked for 90 minutes on Trail of the Cedars & to Avalanche Lake
Weds. Oct 6: 60 minutes stationary bike, resistance at 8, 45 minutes Pilates routine, hiked around Two Medicine Lake (hike cut short by moose encounter), 60 minutes riding
Thurs. Oct 7: 60 minutes hiking Logan Pass, in the rain, partly along a cliff
Fri. Oct 8: More of a walk than a hike, as bears were out at Many Glaciers, so we were in the car pretty much, and in the evening, 60 minutes elliptical, resistance 8, 45 minutes weights
Sat. Oct 9: 60 minutes stationary bike, 45 minutes Pilates, mostly sitting in car in National Bison Range Wildlife Refuge
Sun, Oct 10: Up at 4 AM, flew all day, nothing. A rest day, I guess.
Saef-- what an amazing trip you described!
I am completely ignorant about geography-- where is this park?
When we lived in S. Africa, our most favorite thing to do in the world was go on safari. I could do it everyday. It is just amazing to see all of the animals, the surroundings, and experience it.
Oct. 9: 30 minutes elliptical
30 minutes elliptical/cycling thing? It was like an elliptical but you sit on it like a bike-- you move your arms and legs. Not sure what it is called but I was sweating like crazy!! (60 min total)
Saef, what a glorious trip! I know Glacier well... I grew up in the West, and all summer long our family would go camping and fishing in the Rockies. I thought that was how everyone lived... And now I know it was a precious and fairly unusual experience.
Glad you're back!
Oh, in the spirit of this thread, I walked a mile and quarter today.
Back from mia. I found out I was on 3FC thinking about moving more than actually doing so. So, I'll be back intermittedly (sp?) to report back.
still feeling a bit unwell from hormones & a recent flushot.
did well last week, biked to work 2 days, did yoga 5 days, moved 2m3 firewood & chopped some kindling saturday.
planning biking today.
saef - sounds like you had an amazing trip
silver - sharing the good feeling of having put the woodpile in order for next winter. Is the wardrobe for inside? It sounds fancy for an outside wood place.
saef - just delighted you had such a great time. That you could have such a great time. Yes, wildlife. Brilliant. And our ravens say 'cronk' to your ravens.
rabbit - this wardrobe (ex-wardrobe now) started its life several steps below Ikea in the pecking order and that's why its back fell off, I suppose. (I know you have history with Ikea, albeit positive, and you'll understand what I mean.) The kindling store (new name) is for outside and I hope it will stand the weather now it's been painted. Our place is like a timber yard and it has to be tamed.
Rest day today. Well, that's the plan but it's early yet. Stuff could still happen.
Silver, thanks for the hugs. RSI really is an annoyance.
Saef, what a great trip! I had the same feeling during my trip to Yosemite a couple months ago -- I could never have done even a portion of the hikes I did when I was fat. I actually did go to Yosemite when I was at my high weight, and while it was beautiful, I felt awful, slow, heavy, and exhausted. This time around was much more fun (although still exhausting).
Oct 9:
20 min dog walk
Oct 10:
- biked 13.3 miles to the swimming pool, 1:05
- swam 22 laps, including ladders and kicking
Oct 11:
- ran 20 mins, 1.7 miles
I'm working on a new workout plan. I pulled a novice 10k training plan from the internet and I'm going to try to do it. I figure if I can actually run 10k, and I can swim 1 mile, my chances of pulling off an Olympic distance triathlon next year are vastly improved (bike still needs a lot of work though). The plan includes 3 runs/week and 3 "cross-training" days, so I can still fit in my strength, biking, and swimming within the plan. Still need to work on a strength program that won't stress out my wrists so much.
I realized that when I swam a mile last weekend, my pace was 1.2 miles/hour -- if I could keep that up for 2 hours, I would actually make the cutoff time in the ironman world championship! Amazing. (The cutoff is 2:20 for 2.4 miles.) Not that I plan on doing an ironman any time soon, nor would I make the cutoff for the bike or the run, but still.
