Catching Up- Plus Pictures!

Yikes- I feel overwhelmed by how much I want to talk about, and not make this something that takes a week to read. You've probably realized my tendency to go on and on, so this is going to be tough. I guess I'll just start where I left off, and try not to put in too many extra details.

So, last Friday was the first day of my vacation. I had decided that I would do my long run that morning before we left, and I also weighed in that morning. Both were successful- in fact, better than expected. I was really hoping to at least maintain or maybe go from 137.4 to 137, so I was seriously shocked when the scale showed 135. I'm really hoping it wasn't a fluke. The run was great, too, except for the aforementioned knee pain. It was the right knee, but in the past, both knees have taken turns at acting up. I am really, really surprised that I haven't had much problem up before now, especially with running so much. I have knee problems going back to my years of dance, gymnastics and cheerleading. Plus, I think my hips are aligned weird, and I waaaay underpronate. Otherwise, I think I could have gone 7 miles total, but since we were going hiking, I didn't want to mess anything up. And, I haven't been able to find my knee brace.

Anyway, we were a little late getting out the door, and then packing up the rest of the stuff at my brother's house. Plus, my SIL had to finish some work stuff before we left. It was about 10 by the time we were on the road, and it's a 4-hour drive not including stopping for gas, food and bathroom breaks. So, unfortunately by the time we got to Zion at about 3:30, there were no more camping spots in the park. Okay, fallback to plan B. There are other spots outside the park, so we checked them starting with the closest- except that was an RV only park, and we were "tenting". On to the next spot, which happened to be about 6 miles away (not too far) and free (a plus), but no facilities. It was BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land with spots separated out with nothing but firepits. No water, no tables, no restrooms. Oh well. So we roughed it. We set up camp and headed back to the park to hike. Since we were late, and my SIL is afraid of heights, we didn't hike Angel's landing. Instead we did Emerald Pools, which is a really nice hike, but much easier and shorter. I think it was about 3 miles (instead of 5). Here is a picture from that trail.

When I saw the picture, I realized that shirt makes my stomach look kinda chubby (which is one of the spots on me that is definitely not a problem area). But whatever- the scenery should be the focal point anyway. So, after that hike, we headed back to camp to start the fire to make our foil/hobo dinners. It took a while, but they turned out pretty good. We make them with a hamburger patty, sliced potatoes and carrots, frozen corn, sliced mushrooms (canned or fresh), and some cream of mushroom soup. Then you wrap them up in foil, and cook them in the hot coals of the fire. Mmmmm, mmmm good. We also had some nice, ripe cantaloupe with it.

The next morning, we slept in, then got up and started breakfast. I was pretty much in charge of that, while the others were taking down the tent and cleaning up. Since we didn't have a table, I used the hood of the car to make the food. It was a little tricky, but I managed to make french toast, fried eggs and bacon, using a propane stove. I had 2 pieces of FT (with sugar-free syrup), 1 piece of bacon, and 1 egg, plus some OJ. It was pretty tasty. Then we headed back over to the park to get spruced up (and finally pee- I don't do bushes) before we started our hike. Since we were hiking The Narrows, which is basically up the Virgin River, I just wore swim suit bottoms and shorts (mens swim trunks) with a tank top and sports bra. The water was pretty cold in most places, but since it was over 100 degrees outside (and not much cooler in the shade), it was actually really nice. We were wading in and out of the river- some spots we were able to walk on the bank, some spots were right through the river. Most of it was really rocky, so it was a total workout. Plus, on the way up, you're going against the current. My legs totally got worked!

We stopped after about 45 min to eat lunch, which was turkey and provolone sandwiches on sprouted wheat bread (yep, I did the shopping), with red grapes and nectarines (somehow I forgot to pack the Pringles in one of the backpacks). This is where we stopped for lunch.

Yes, please try not to notice my lovely cankles- the bane of my existence. Again, enjoy the scenery. Doesn't the Hubs look cute in his bandana and Star Wars t-shirt (it says Red Leader)?

Here are a couple of other shots from the hike.

This is me, with my brother in the background.
Me and the Hubs.

This is all 4 of us at the point where we turned around. We're standing on a rock,
but otherwise, the water in that spot is deeper than me (prob about 6 feet)-
and it was ice cold!!

Overall, we ended up hiking about 4.5 hours. I was pretty spent by the end of the day, and especially after roughing it, I was looking forward to a night in the hotel (good call, Hubs). We ate dinner at the Pizza Factory (same as the previously mentioned pizza place where I avoided temptation and had the salad bar- but that one was in SLC, this one was in St. George). This time I ordered whatever sounded good, since I figured I had burned more than enough calories to make up for it. So I had a mini size pizza with pesto, zucchini, mushrooms, artichokes, provolone and feta cheese. Plus I shared a salad with the Hubs. I drank water, because I was parched. I did not eat a breadstick, but I ate my whole pizza (4 really small pieces).

We drove home on Sunday, and somehow I had enough motivation to unpack and put away almost everything (this is not something I do- the Hubs, yes, but not me; usually my suitcase/bag is still on the bedroom floor half-full 2 weeks later). But I really wanted to have a good excuse to do nothing the rest of the night. It was a great trip, and the hiking and food were great. Now I'm extra excited to go on a longer camping trip.

Monday I didn't have to go to work, but the Hubs did, so I was home alone. I lounged around and read, and watched some shows from the Tivo (Jon and Kate Plus 8 and What Not to Wear). I did do one batch of laundry, and I went and got my hair trimmed (it was way overdue). The Hubs had planned for us to go see the movie "Wanted" with his brother when he got done working. So I drove down and bought the tickets and met him there. I love theaters that have reserved seating, but when you're the first person to buy tickets for the show, and it ends up that some bozos bought the seats right in front of you, and they're tall so when they lean back their seats are touching your legs, it kinda sucks. But luckily, it was still pretty empty, so we just moved down a little. After the movie we ended up getting Chinese takeout on the way home. We shared an entree of beef and broccoli with steamed rice (not fried), and I had some hot and sour soup. And I did not workout, but I figured my body needed an extra day of rest after all that hiking. BTW, the movie was okay, but the story could have been developed a little better. A lot of good action scenes, though (not at all realistic, but entertaining nonetheless).

Yesterday was a really stressful day at work. I came in to 15o emails (most of which were crap, and I deleted). Plus I had a ton of stuff to do, and the boss-man gave me an extra project that needed to be done by the time I left (print and distribute invitations to the whole department). Plus, we had our regular Tuesday meeting, which took up 2 hours of my afternoon. Oh joy. So, I was in at 7:00 a.m. and left at 5:20 p.m. Blah! And because of my vaca on Monday, and the holiday Friday, it won't count as overtime. Soooo, I went in 2 hours late this morning- ha! But I did get up early and go running. I made it 5.1 miles in 50:28- that means my overall pace was 9:53!!! Yes! I made it 5+ miles at under 10:00 min/mile. The first mile after my warm-up was 9:07, and the second mile was 9:30. I only had two short times where I took a walk break, and otherwise ran the rest of the way until my cool-down. The time for 3.1 mi after the warm-up was 29:20 (yippee!), so as long as there are no crazy hills in Friday's 5k, I should come in under 30:00, or at least close to it. Oh, and last night I did a workout on the elliptical machine while I watched more TV (30 Days- the episode where the hunter goes to live with a Vegan family and work at an animal rescue sanctuary).

Since the Hubs hogged the computer all evening yesterday, I plan to make good use of it tonight (I have more blogs to catch up on). But he's gone anyway. He came home and mowed the lawn and ate dinner (leftover BBQ beef sandwiches) and headed up to his parents' house to do some tile work with his brother. Tomorrow night we are going to a Real Salt Lake soccer game, then watching fireworks afterward. It will be brutal getting up to make the 7:00 a.m. start time of the 5k, but I'm a morning person, so I should be okay. After that, we're headed up to my parents' neck of the woods for their town's parade, since my sister in high school is on the drill team and will be dancing. It should be "interesting" since it's supposed to get up to 102 degrees on Friday, and the parade doesn't start until 11:00 a.m. Yikes! Good thing there's always lots of water in that parade (people with squirt guns, buckets, hoses, the firetrucks spray, etc.) Seriously, in about 3 days time, we went from 61 degrees to 90 degrees, and it's been 10 degrees above average ever since. The normal temp for this time of year is 88 (not 102!!). Oh well, at least the heat usually makes me eat less, and drink more water.

Well, I think I've bored everyone long enough, so I guess I'll wrap it up for today. What does everyone plan to do for the 4th? Any travel plans or races going on? I'm just happy it's a 3-day weekend. ; )