I Think I Did It!

I've become one of those obnoxious people I used to laugh at, while enjoying my morning cocktail, who use vacations as "new and exciting opportunities for outdoor fitness". Blech!

My goal was to come home at least the same weight, if not a little lighter, than I was when I left. I've just gotten so tired of going on vacation, only to have to spend the following few weeks trying to un-do the damage. I may have come home the same weight, but I ain't gettin' on no scale at no 4 O'clock in the afternoon!

I will weigh in tomorrow, at a reasonable hour.

Back to the obnoxious "active vacationer" I've become. Of the seven full days I was on vacation, I managed to get in about five work outs. Here they are, in order:

First stop, the family cabin at Clear Lake.

My sister in law and I had chatted briefly about "being on the same page" as far as healthful eating (for the most part). Between her Tuna Panzanella, and my Bread Salad, healthy snacks (mostly), and our good intentions, I think we did quite well (and Nancy, you looked fabulous, by the way!).

My brother and I got in a nice 3.2 mile interval run/walk on the 2nd day. I followed it with a swim of a "couple of miles" to our best estimation. It was probably more like 200 yards, but it was "open water" so... I think there's a conversion chart for that somewhere.

On day three, I did something that I have always kind of wanted to do: hike to the top of Mt. Konocti!

My cousin Jill had done it the week before (and was proposed to!) and posted pictures on facebook, sent me a handy link, and a very good tip (start EARLY, it's HOT!).

Mt. Konocti is a pretty sizable volcano (I think. I'm not really a "Volcano Expert" so I don't actually know if it's big or small by volcano standards). What I do know, is that it's always in the background, hogging the sky line, of just about every photo anyone has ever taken from the cabin. I've grown up gazing up at it from my floatie in the water, listening to the Native American tale of how it came to be, feeling dwarfed by it, nervously wondering if it's active or not, sitting on the deck watching the sun set behind it. It's really quite majestic.

The hike was about 6.5 miles round trip, 3.5 hours, with a 2000' elevation gain.

Here is a photo of three of my favorite guys. While the rest of the family went to brunch and then wine tasting (yes, I said brunch and then wine tasting), we hiked!

Here is a photo from "almost" the top...

And here is the "real" top....

I didn't go over the cyclone fence, through the barbed wire, and up the steps of the closed and boarded up tower to take this shot....I don't have any recollection of how I may have obtained this photo...

And in case you thought I was exaggerating about the "mountain hogging the sky line of every photo", here is a montage:

 

Morning




Noon
 

Night!
It's always there, and it was time to hike it!

After a fabulous 4 days of running, hiking, swimming, and hanging out with my family at the lake, it was time for us to head for higher ground. We had rented a house on Donner Lake near Tahoe with some friends, so onward we go!

Here is the house:

I love this photo because our friend Kris had arrived a little later than the rest of us, and notice how we're all on the deck, having cocktails and chatting, completely unaware of the fact that she has bags all over the place. I think we may have waved "Hello!" (we did end up helping her unpack her car...eventually).

This was our neighborhood for the next three days:

We eased ourselves in to the high altitude activities on day two with a 2-3 mile Noon time walk in flip flops, carrying our 2nd round of Bloody Marys. Just trying to acclimate. Kris and I also did yoga on the deck that afternoon, after the effects of the Bloody Marys wore off. Slow and steady....my motto.

After I got my "mountain lungs", I thought it would be great fun to try running at 6,000', in the rain. It was actually super fun! The clean, fresh air made up for the serious lack of oxygen in it, and I felt like a pretty bad ass athlete running in the rain at 6,000 feet, which was very apropos, since this is my "Bad Ass" year! (We had a conversation over dinner one night about "themes" for our birth-years and I determined that this year was my "Bad Ass" year, which is actually really funny because I'm far from a bad ass "anything". But this year, I am a bad ass at whatever/anything/everything. Because that's how bad asses roll....I guess).

Oh, and sure, we did plenty of this. I was with great friends, one of whom is a master mixologist, and we know how to have a great time!

Now, take a look at this beauty!

Rob and I had heard there was a tandem bike in the garage of the house we rented. We were excited! I think we had some "sun-shiney" illusions of coasting around town, carefree, probably a little buzzed, etc.
In reality, this is the Demon Bike. The Brake-Less Beast. The Double Caution. The "Why in The World Would We Take This Thing Around Donner Lake in The Wind and Rain With No Brakes, With A Seat So Low I Banged My Knees On The Handle Bars The Entire 7.4 Miles?". But believe it or not, we had a blast! Even though we wiped out once (the "no brakes" thing was really an unfortunate surprise) and then almost T-boned a little kid on his bicycle, which was not nearly as bad ass as ours. We're kind of weird that way.

SoOooOOOoooo....I weigh in tomorrow. If I gained weight, I'm totally going back to the "eating and drinking" kind of vacation. Maybe.