Helloooooooooo

OMG best weekend ever.

We went camping. I don't know if I've mentioned it, but I definitely was NOT on board with this whole camping thing. I went along with it because my husband desperately wanted to go.  The first time we went was fun, but we got about 1,000 ticks by the end of the weekend. 

Gun shy, the next time we went, I opted for a place with WIDE OPEN SPACES and no hikes! However it was a very popular "float trip" place, which apparently translates into "drunken awful scenes" - or it did across from our campsite!

Not this past weekend. This past weekend was a conglomerate of PERFECT conditions. We met up with friends at the campsite. They were 10 sites down from us.  The state part was amazingly family-friendly (ie, no drunken debauchery), paved (good for toddler bike rides!) and the hiking - OH the hiking!! - was amazing. 

Our site was RIGHT on a creek. Friday AM I skipped my run (although I worked out Mon-Thurs last week, yay!) but still managed to hit my 10K (and then some) steps. 

Saturday we went on a COLOSSAL hike. Obviously we didn't hike 10 miles, my kids never would have made it through that! But I was about about 9K when we ended our hike (2500 when we started) so it was a pretty significant stretch! The views were amazing, we walked through and played in a creek, found crawfish, built a dam, climbed "mountains" and spotted wildlife. NO ticks, thankyouverymuch. 

I swear my daughter was with us too, but since we were with her "best friend," I don't have any pictures of just her :-) 

Even the dog got in on it (This is pretty impressive for a 12 year old golden retriever ;-) He walked himself up there!  He did, however, take the steps down, not the slide. 

I will be definitely going back to this site. In fact, I found myself looking at open dates ASAP to try to get back! This is something "old me" never would have done.  At one point during our hike, I could tell my kids were starting to fade. We all sat down for a snack time and my family went wandering around the water. I knew the trail would meet up with the "go home" loop soon , but I wasn't sure how soon and wanted to see if we could hop on that trail from where we were, instead of continuing on.  So I found a way, across rocks in the river, to get to the other side. Then I climbed the "hill" (I swear it should have been a mountain!) to figure out if the flat part was a trail. "Old me" NEVER would have done that. I would have waited for someone else to figure it out, someone else to go forage ahead to find the path. I would have sat down and waited.  But I'm all about moving forward now. 

So let's do it. Let's move forward!! 

Big few weeks. Our very own JEN is getting married in a few weeks. I still have to fit into that bridesmaid dress, so here's hoping I can shed some lbs before then!  After that, I have a beach vacay coming up. Hoping to be comfortable in my own skin by then, at least. I know I'll never wear a bikini again (you know, because I did once) but I would at least like to be comfortable with myself by the time that happens. 

My daily runs will get me there, I'm sure!!   Here's a quick rundown of my last few runs: 

I've been pretty down on myself for my speed on these runs. Then I remember - I am used to running flat ground or a treadmill. I have been running some HUGE hills lately! I know I am building muscle and challenging myself in ways I haven't before. That makes my slower times a little more acceptable to me.  I did run on a treadmill last week in my circuit class at 9.0 for almost an entire 1:15 minutes! Doesn't sound like a lot? Get on a treadmill going 9.0 and tell me it's short ;-) 

Last week: 

Mon: Lifting, circuit class 

Tues: Run 2.26 miles

Wed: Run 1.02 miles

Thurs: Kickboxing, 60 minutes

Friday: CAMPING. 

I feel PROUD of what I'm doing.