Resting

So this weekend I spent Saturday and Sunday moving from Round Lake to Vernon Hills. In
80+ degree weather and what seemed like 95% humidity, it was quite a workout. The movers helped with the big things, and I did what I could to help out with what I could carry.

Yesterday I was pretty exhausted and decided to take Art's advice and catch up on some sleep. He had mentioned that a lesson learned from his previous experience was getting enough rest the week prior to the hike.

My plan from here on out is to rest tonight, complete a heavy workout tomorrow, small work out Thursday and then fly out Friday morning...7:00am to Seattle!!

I want to again thank all those who have supported me through this process. It has meant a lot to me.

3 days!!

Training with the Trainer

Yesterday trained with Reggie once again. We concentrated on a full body workout. Starting with legs, then to arms and finally to my core. I'll try my best at explaining this new exercise that was incorporated into the workout. Start off on your hands and knees. Then with a resistance band, put one end around your left hand and the other end around your right foot...then extend...at the same time....rrriigghhhtt. Trying to force that sucker on opposite ends, on opposite sides of the body AND try to balance. Well after a couple attempts I was able to do it with semi-success...but it was pretty difficult.

But I am pretty optimistic with everything. I can tell that my endurance is getting to where it is supposed to be.

A week from tomorrow we all take off to Washington...crazy!!

Weekend at Starved Rock

On Saturday July 21st the group met at Starved Rock for some camping and hiking. Some chose to pack their backpacks with items that will be needed during the actual hike, and others chose to keep the 40 lb weights in the packs. I chose to keep the 40 lbs in my pack because the majority of supplies I will be taking with the climb, I will be renting.

So we hiked a couple hours on Saturday afternoon and then met up at one of the campsites for dinner. Some chose to experiment with freeze dried meals of which the macaroni and cheese was a huge success. We also found out how much fun a "JetBoil" can bring to an event. Must say, it was a highlight for many of us. We tried to make this weekend close to what we will be experiencing during our official hike, and decided to crash early and then wake up early to hike a couple more hours the following morning.

We met again at Joe and Joe's campsite for breakfast and then headed out for hiking once again.

I believe we all have a good feeling about where we stand as far as our physical fitness and are pretty excited that the hike is just around the corner.

Feeling better...and the training continues

Last Thurday I met up with Reggie at the gym and he took me through a series of workouts to strengthen my core. A lot of work with free weights, aerobics bench, bosu balance ball, resistance bands and yoga moves. Once that was all done I completed some interval training on the treadmill for 20 minutes. This was after coming off from a week of being sick, so I needed to take it easy.

Rested the rest of the weekend and then I was off to Jacksonville, FL for work on Monday, so I focused on push-ups, resistance band training, lunges, and sit ups in my hotel room. The Hilton down there has a "Stay Fit Kit" from Gaiam, which I pulled out and used some of that equipment as well.

Rested on Tuesday and then yesterday trained with my 40 lb weighted pack on the stairmaster for 45 minutes at level 5. Took off my pack and finished up on the stairmaster for 10 minutes at level 8 and 5 minutes of cool down. I then completed three sets of 10 push ups with the medicine ball rolling from my right to left hand. I then took the bosu balance ball and attempted to balance smmooottthhlyyy on one foot while lifting a 6 lb medicine ball over my head and taking it in the opposite hand and repeating on the other foot. Yeah...I'm not smooth. But it worked my core...and that was my goal.

Two weeks from tomorrow!!

Day 3 [07/10/2007]....Sick...AGAIN!

So after pushing myself a bit further in my training, my body tells me...."oh no you didn't!!" I was planning on going up the Grouse Grind again on Grouse Mountain in Vancouver, BC Canada, however I could barely swallow. I knew I was run down going into both previous hikes, but I thought I could get through it. So unfortunately I had to go to the doctor and get antiobiotics. Out of commission Tuesday and Wednesday. Now it is Thursday...and I'm feeling better, so I'll probably go to the gym and see what happens.

The Grouse Grind can not be duplicated in a gym setting. To be honest, I wasn't ready for it while I was doing it. The second time up was a lot better as the first time up all I was thinking was "WTF". The average time to hike up Grouse Grind is an hour and a half. First time up I did it in less than an hour, (no quite sure the exact time), took the SKY TRAM down with a couple of people I knew out there. (They opted to take the SKY TRAM up as well and drink a couple of beers while waiting for me to hike up the mountain...smart]. The second day it took me an hour and a half to go up and back down. [Although, hiking back down the trail is not advised due to the steepness of the mountain and the loose rocks. But when do I ever listen?]

My flight back to Chicago had a layover in Seattle, so I was able to see Mt Rainier in the distance. Intimidating?? Ahhhh...YEAH!!! What am I thinking?? ;) Well some may agree, I don't do much of that...thinking...that is....but those of you who do know me...know that I am one stubborn determined lady. Once I set my mind to something...I usually will get it done!

Three weeks away!!

Grouse Grind: Vancouver, BC - Day 2 [07/09/2007]

[7:00am...And up the trail I climb.]

Since when do I listen? :) Going back down the trail :)

Grouse Grind: Vancouver, BC - Day 1 [07/08/2007]