Thank the Lord for cooler weather!

I get pretty excited when it's no longer a million degrees outside and the thought of being anywhere but inside an air conditioned place is no longer torturific.

Enter afternoon hikes and bike rides and mid-day jogs!  I'm fortunate enough to have a schedule that allows me to do these things in the middle of the day.  The downside to that is that most people are in work, so I don't always have people to go with.  When I'm totally motivated and on track, being alone doesn't stop me from exercising, but when I'm trying to get back on track, like I have been for the last year and a half, it can become an excuse I use frequently.

The other day, however, my friend Becky was free on a Wednesday, and we took the opportunity to go hiking.  I also started a new diet bet, so I'm a little more motivated than I have been in a while.  Plus, I'm just not a fan of the way I feel when I'm not living the healthy way that I know I love.  I don't understand myself sometimes.

It wasn't a long hike, because the sun is setting so early these days, but it did make me want to go more often!  I got a couple great pictures on my phone, and I want to spend some time hiking around with my real camera.  Time to get in hiking shape!  Who wants to go with me?

 

Climb every mountain! Or at least "A" Mountain

Life got busy.  I got sidetracked.  And sabotaged.  And my weight loss was basically demolished.

Well, maybe not demolished.  I'm still down 85 pounds from my heaviest weight, but I am 35 pounds up from where I was prior to losing it.  I've gotten back on track and then not stuck to it a few times, but this time I intend to blast through this ridiculous road block and finally lose the rest of the weight I want to lose.  I'm probably looking at another 80 pounds, and I'm ready for it to be gone.

On Sunday I drove to Tucson for a big photography job, doing school photos for a preschool.  When I was packing I made sure to include all of my workout clothes (including a bunch that I just got on sale at Target!  I love finding workout clothes on sale even more than I love finding normal stuff on sale because they're usually so ridiculously expensive!), with the intention of working out while I'm here and eating healthfully.

I don't love working out alone, and I suggested walking to my mom, but she can't do it with her bad knees.  So I thought I was gonna be completely on my own.  However, on Monday my friend Jane invited me to climb "A" Mountain with her.  It's a 1.8 mile hike to the top, and I've been wanting to start hiking anyway, so this was the perfect opportunity, with the added benefit of getting to hang out with one of my good friends that I don't get to see often enough.

At the top, with a great view overlooking Tucson

It's amazing how one kind of workout can become so easy as your body becomes accustomed to it, and then a new kind is really difficult.  The elliptical does nothing for me anymore, but climbing that hill felt a lot harder than I thought it should be and I was a little ashamed of myself.  But then at the top I thought about that time three years ago at Pierce College when I had to climb 185 stairs and I couldn't make it to the top without stopping to rest, and I realized that being able to climb 1.8 miles with only one stop to stretch my quads that were starting to freeze up is not a bad place to be after not being that active for the last year.

The last few days have been sore ones for my legs and butt, but it's a good sore.  I like the physical feeling and what it means for my body.  I love being active and I am going to make it a priority again.  I have to.  If it wasn't pouring rain, I would go for a run right now, even though I would have to go alone.  I might go anyway!  Wait, no.  I forgot that glasses in the rain is super obnoxious.  Maybe I should get contacts again.