Quick Sunday hike

My girlfriend Kellie is trying to get back on the exercise wagon so we took a short (just under 3 miles) hike in the Mc Dowell Mountains.

Gorgeous day. I'm the one in the big sun hat. :-p

Usery Mountain Park

Such a gorgeous day for a hike! Last weekend, we adopted another rescue mutt and today she went on her first hike. After a bit of apprehension, she did great! The only downside to hiking with dogs is that everyone wants to stop and pet them or ask what kind of dogs they are.

I could have stayed out here all day. I love AZ in the winter.

Sunrise

There is a 3 mile loop right brains my house that I walk when I don't have time to get out for a hike.

Out had a beautiful view of the McDowell Mountains.

Another personal best time for this route. Just over 3.25 miles in 49 minutes.

You won't lose me

Can you see my feet Heather? I wouldn't want you to miss my new socks.

Pinaccle Peak Hike

I hiked Pinnacle Peak this morning. I haven't hiked it in awhile because out had been known to kick my butt for the rest of the day. It is a 3.5 mile round trip that is 1.75 miles in with a steep hike up when you turn around to go back.

I am definitely in better shape because it want that bad and I had a personal best time of 1 hour 15 minutes. Yippee!

Setbacks

A week ago I threw out my back.  I don't think I've ever been in so much pain.  I'd like to express my sincere thanks to the makers of muscle relaxers, Vicodin, Valum and ibuprofen that I'm able to be vertical again.

So, I haven't been exercising much, but I have been doing gentle yoga.  This weekend I'll be doing a short hike, to get back into it...again.

While this sucks, it did show me the need for physical therapy.  Once my back stops spazzing out I'll be joining Sarah for PT.

Gateway Loop

It was a gorgeous overcast morning in Phoenix.

Some photos from the mist and me with my new hiking poles. I think my atms and back are going to be protesting tomorrow.

I will say that the hiking poles did help with going uphill.

4.4 miles in 1 hour 40 minutes. Not bad but not my best time.

Phoenix Mountain Preserve

My friend Jessica lives near the preserve so she took me on a hike near her house.

Beautiful 4 miles.

Sunrise

My favorite time of the morning.....and also when I exercise most so our is done for the day.

Took my quick 3 milewalk today on 52 minutes which is pretty good.

Another day, another purchase

Since my weekend hikes seen to be uphill, and I have to climb OUT and it's steep going into the grand canyon, I picked up some shock absorbing hiking poles.

I'm going to get a good hike or two in over the holiday weekend.

I have been biking all week in continued training.

Reach 11

There is a nice 3 miles I can do right outside my house. I can get it done in about an hour or less but don't have time before work right now due to the late sunrise.

Today I captured a beautiful sunrise over the McDowell Mountains.

The other photos are of my hiking shoes, Brooks Cascadia, and the hiking belt I use to carry my phone and other small items to keep my hands free.

Sunrise is my favorite time of day.

South Mountain

While not the quietest place to hike, South Mountain is close with many trails to hike. When the weather starts to heat up, I'll be hiking there before work.

2 mile hike in just under an hour. Not a lot of elevation gain, but I want to go slow to prevent re-injuring my knee.

Gorgeous day with my husband Brian and our dog Bella. She was pretty tired afterward!

Weight progress

As I mentioned in a previous post, I started a diet and exercise program shortly after the photo with my brothers was taken. I primarily started because I didn't want to be the Mom that no longer fits in the rides at Disneyland OR can't keep up with my kids.

I haven't cut anything out of my diet, just moderation.

The picture with the pack shows my progress. About 20 lbs on the scale but many inches lost. The less weight I have to haul in and out of the Grand Canyon will make it more enjoyable!

Zumba!

A few months ago, my daughter Stephanie drug me kicking and screaming to a Zumba class.  I was prepared to hate it and thought I'd embarrass myself.  But surprisingly, I loved it!  Music from Reggaetone to Bollywood (which is my favorite) with crazy moves to try and follow.  Do I look like an idiot?  Yea, I probably do.  But it is so much fun that I don't care!  It is hard and there are moves I am far too uncoordinated to ever pull off, but I'm getting in a great workout and spending time with my girl.

Bell Pass

Over the Christmas holiday I had a lot of time off and decided to spend time hiking.

I hiked Bell Pass twice over the holidays. Once the hard way (11 miles round trip but I only went 6 miles) and the easier way the second day but only going 5 miles.

Photos from the 2 days. I love the desert at this time of year.

Let's Get This Party Started

Yeah, this whole app blogging is great. Apparently my subconscious knew I'd be taking this trip with Heather so I got started on my weight loss and training about 3 months ago. I did a couple of great, uphill hikes over the holidays. Here are some photos from my hike with friends to Sunrise Peak.
It was a beautiful hike outside of the wind and letting a 33 year old fit guy set the pace for 40+ year old women. Remind me not to do that again!

Overlooking Scottsdale

Is this thing on?

Posting from my iPhone. How cool is this? I'm hoping that Sarah and I can post from our training hikes as well as on our trip.

Started my strength training and I feel great! Also been going to yoga, which is really helping.

This weekend I need to pull out my backpacking gear so I can make a list of what I need to get from the REI annual sale. I also need to take a hard look at what I have packed. The hike is hard enough without carrying an extra 10 pounds of crap I don't need.

Let the training begin!

The last few weeks have been spent getting ready for the holidays, taking a break from life and planning my training.  Sarah is seriously kicking my ass in the hiking department, so I need to step it up.

My plan?  Strength training 3x a week, cardio 3x a week.  After a month, I'll add another day of cardio.  I'd like to be doing cardio 5-6x a week.  I found this really good book - Conditioning for Outdoor Fitness - that I'm using as a guide for my strength training.  My focus is going to be working on my core strength, balance and building the muscles that support my crappy knees.

To track my food, I'm using a really cool app on my iPhone called LoseIt!  Sure makes it a lot easier to be able to update everything on the go.

So many years I've talked about doing this, I can't let my friend down!

Today's exercise: elliptical 15 minutes, yoga 60 minutes