Update on group workouts - we moved to a new phase on October 1. Sounds impressive right? It actually means it's now too dark and shortly too cold to be outside in the evenings and to get quality workouts we have had to move indoors. We had our first indoor workout last week.
I mistakenly showed up with only one pair of workout pants...wait for it....yes, damn it, they were the ones with the exploded crotch. I ended up working out in my jeans. That being said, except for the part where I adamantly refused to run, I finished the workout. Did I mention I hate to run? I know for a fact I wrote it in very large letters on my trainer forms at the beginning of this journey. I wasn't the only one who wrote it either!
The workout seemed well within my current physical abilities - notice how I said, "seemed"? The next day I woke up with an amazing amount of tenderness in my hamstrings, so much so that I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get out of my car when I got to work. The day after was almost as bad. The interesting fact is that a few other attendees also complained of a bit of tenderness - perhaps the workout was a lot harder than it looked...I'm going with that one.
We had an extra group HIKE on Saturday -
this was for the keeners or those of us who can't stand to walk alone for 3 hours. Have I ever mentioned I'm boring - talking to myself for three hours is not at the top of my fun things to do list. We had a joyous walk through various parts of the river valley early Saturday morning. At one point it was only us and the ducks on the river. I happened to know there were quite a few ducks on the river because, due to an interesting path choice and lots of erosion this year, I was only a few inches from swimming with said ducks on more than one occasion!
A pretty good time was had by all - or maybe we're all faking it, but nonetheless we walked for almost 3 and a half hours and all lived to tell about it!
On to the CAMPing section....
I set up my tent so I could try out my sleeping bag. Why didn't I just try it in the house you ask? Well, its rated for -17ยบ C and it just doesn't get that cold in my basement at night. My son and I put up the tent on the deck rather than staking it into the grass. If I had to bail in the middle of the night I wanted a very short walk to the house.
It was very windy last night and when I went out to go to bed the tent had blown across the lawn. Undaunted (or still stupid) I put the tent back in the same place and hauled my gear inside. It took me about twenty minutes to get everything where it was supposed to be and me inside the bag. That was the point when I realized my hip and shoulder had been bothering me all day. I tried for a long time to find a comfortable position - this is when I learned the most important thing...I am too fat for my sleeping bag. Seriously - once zipped into the thing I look like one of those pigs in a blanket. Moving is out of the question, so is actually taking a deep breath.
.Bmp)
I gave up after half an hour. Dismantled the tent in under five minutes and was in my own bed (after ingesting some analgesics) in under 15 minutes. My children hadn't even gone to bed yet and so were laughing hysterically at me as I trudged down to the supreme comfort of my bed.
Anna, you asked why would I want to sleep out ahead of time, postulating it is just adding to the suffering. You said you planned to go to Africa and if things weren't good then you'd just suck it up and suffer for 5 nights. This is why - I would rather know now that I'm incapable of sucking it up or sucking my belly in enough to be comfortable in my sleeping bag.
There's still time to lose weight.....or buy a bigger sleeping bag!
