One wacky Wednesday

Okay, today was a bit…what’s the word I’m looking for here…off?  Felt like the stars were not aligned right.  Nothing BAD happened it was just one of those slightly off kilter kind of days.  Some members of Van 6 got a little psyched out this morning prior to our hike at Stunt Trail which meant the hike did not meet its full potential…at all.  I mean, parts of this trail were less like hiking and more like rock climbing so this should’ve been off the charts but instead I burned half the calories I usually do on hikes.  I had so much energy that I ran the last mile to the van on the way back with my hike guide, Joseph, then we doubled back to meet up with the rest of the group and walk with them to the van.  Yeah, generally by the end of a hike I just want to collapse into a sweaty pool of mush.  Today I wanted to go back up the 2^nd tallest peak in the Santa Monica Mountain range over and over just so I could get my burn on.  Very glad I was running though so that I didn't notice the snake on the trail that everyone else came across as they made their way down. That may have caused a major freakout on my part.  Regardless, it was a beautiful hike and had some great views.  Pictures below.  Unfortunately on the way back to the resort, one of our members had a bout with motion sickness.  Cool for us we had to pull the van over right in front of the house where they film “The Bachelor”. 

When we returned I knew I had some major calorie burn to make up for.  Now, I’m not sure if I told you how the classes and trainers schedule works out here.  Rarely do you have the same trainer for any two classes in one day.  This gives you a lot of variety and keeps you on your toes.  Well, today somehow I ended up with John for four hours straight.  Don’t get me wrong, I love John! It was just weird to be with the same trainer for circuit, lunch, the bonus step class and then for my 2:15 pool class.  Ah, pool class.  You got me today you little devil, you.  I wore a different bathing suit to class today.  My others were still slightly damp from four pool classes in 48 hours on Monday and Tuesday.  Today’s suit was a tankini thing that is two pieces.  One is the bottom and the top looks like a tank top.  I’m a big fan of one pieces but again, options were limited today.  So, neither piece was quit long enough to stay tucked into the other like I would’ve preferred while I swam around the pool.  Fine, people could see my iridescent white chubbies, aka muffin top, hanging out.  Big deal.  I am at fat camp, right? John had us partner up for chariot races with another person and two pool noodles.  We have to do 6 down and backs like this.  As I’m running back the final leg of the race with all my might, my bottoms fall down…like mid-thigh down.  So I’m trying to run through the pool, pull up my shorts, and hold onto two noodles all while pulling my partner through the water to win this race.  She starts screaming at me to keep running and I yell back at her that my pants have fallen off and she needs to stop screaming at me or else! It’s a really good thing I don’t embarrass too easily.  Pool was followed by kickboxing class where one of the instructors was messing around with me and accidentally smacked my glove into my face and I bit my lip.  Luckily nothing weird happened in Mountain that I can recall at this point in my delirium but I did break a personal record when we hit level 12 of the cardio mountain by having a resistance of 24, incline of 14 and maintaining 140+ strides per minute.  Did I mention I’ve gone from doing my treadmill sprints at a 5.5 to a 7.5?  That may not sound very fast to a normal runner but to me, it’s like having jet engines strapped to my little Flintstone legs.  Every day I push to prove to my body it can go just a little bit further.  It fits well with my personality to always be right so I’m glad that my body is finally listening.  

Even though my day was a bit wacky, I’m still smiling because it’s just another great day in the books.  They say all it takes is all you got…and that’s what I’m giving 24/7 out here at Fitness Ridge.  I can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring.  Whatever it is, I’m ready. 

**The 2nd to last picture is the view from the top.  That light gray? Yeah, not smog, that's the ocean.  Nice view, aye?  :)