Not Today, Satan!

Have you heard of a HIIT workout? It stands for High Intensity Interval Training and it's supposed to be really good for you. It's also a good way to get really sore muscles in a hurry. The new gym at work is outfitted with the things that you need for this, so I tried one out with a coworker on Thursday thinking that it would be a good in-between thing to do. She said that she was sore, she talked about all of the things that she couldn't do independently because of how sore she was and I laughed. I was about to get mine.
Friday morning I woke up and I was feeling it, but in a good way. I got out of bed, stretched a little, and left for work. I was fine going up the stairs, and everything was normal. By noon I was starting to feel a little worse, a little stiffer every time I got up from my desk, then when I walked down the hall the muscles around my knee just didn't go and I knew I was in trouble. When it was time to go home I started down the stairs and found myself doing a sort of half-controlled crow-hop to keep from barreling down them headfirst. When I got to the bottom I put my hands on my hips and found that I had knots in my lower abdominal muscles. After getting home I went to put something into the fridge and something fell out. Without thinking I squatted down to pick it up, but I couldn't get all the way down, but I couldn't get up either. I laughed, then I cried just a little.

On the menu for this weekend was Mission Trails, which had the promise of The Trails at the end, one of our favorite brunch spots. After taking Pearl for a quick walk around Chollas Lake we were able to lure Sean out to hike with us with the promise of cinnamon roll pancakes and he agreed to meet us at the trailhead. We met in Tierrasanta, and Sean handed my ye olde walking stick, which I haven't used in ages. I had swapped to trekking poles, then to nothing at all ahead of this training, but I needed it today. We all set out with South Fortuna somewhere in view, though none of us were exactly sure which peak it was.

I fell behind very quickly as I was in pain from the moment I woke up, and it wasn't getting better just yet. I was starting to loosen up as we moved along a flat track, or a gentle incline. Suddenly I heard Carrie say "Jo'l you'd better stay out of stick range" and I tried to speed up to see what they were looking at. It turned out to be stairs. Lots of stairs, heading up the mountain in steep, thigh burning ascendance. 

I had caught up to them, and I stared. I then loudly uttered some expletives that I won't repeat here because I have two grandmothers reading this. A woman walking by was surprised, then said "I'm sorry to tell you this, but this last hill was nothing compared to those steps up there" and moved on. Jo'l was giddy with the incline ahead of us, and gleefully flounced up the steps. I did my best not to hit her with the stick, which I have to admit wasn't difficult given that I was moving very slowly and she was quickly bounding up a mountain. 

I huffed, I puffed, I stubbornly refused every time my friends and husband suggested that I crouch down in the shade of a bush along the trail. They made it to the top of the stairs and I slogged my way up after them. Despite Seans declaration that there was a sign at the top and it must be the summit, there was only a sign at the top saying the trail was to the left. Believe it or not I didn't hit him with the stick either. As we went I mentioned that the stairs were a lot like Kwaay Paay, another mountain in the park. It's shorter, but a lot steeper with scrambling at the top. Jo'l excitedly started to suggest that we go there and I shouted her down with "Not today, Satan!" just before we reached the peak.

You would think that snacks would be abbreviated since our mileage was shorter, but mountains are hard so we had great snacks including smoked scallops, chocolate covered blueberries, and sunflower butter cups. Jo'l informed us all that there was paper on the cups after trying to eat hers paper-on, and that got us going again.

At some point it looked like we were headed across the saddle and up to North Fortuna, and we had to remind Jo'l that we had pancakes waiting. That started a sharp turn to some loose dirt and gravel down hill which was a new challenge that brought up stories about how people we know have broken their tailbones and had to sit on inflatable donuts.

Then it was time to go back up hill which was into the nice grassy area, but steep again. Sean chose to run up the hill and those left behind came to the conclusion that he would regret that in the morning.

While I wasn't as tired as I usually am at the end of our walks I was sore in new and interesting places. I had a whole new waddle that was nothing like my usual, and the insides of my thighs were very displeased. When Carrie and Jo'l looked back to ask if I was going up El Cajon Mountain in the morning and saw me doing a full Weekend at Bernies impression there was nothing to do but laugh.

The Trash Can Plague

Last weekend when it was time to start planning we got a reply from Jo'l that didn't bode well: "I feel like a trash can."
Given that the previous weekend we had spent time swapping tea so that we could try all of the flavors, this was somewhat concerning. It was also a bummer because she wasn't up to walking with us Saturday, and feeling like a trash can sounds awful.
After the rain during the week Carrie and I headed out to Rose Canyon to get some miles in and enjoy the first nice day in what felt like a long time. San Diegans are incredibly spoiled when it comes to our sunshine content. Things had dried out pretty well, but there were some good-sized puddles along the way, and one that I was sure one of us was going to end up in.

Rose Canyon is sandwiched between houses up along a hill and the freeway with train tracks situated alongside. The freeway was a constant hum as we went around the water and the day warmed up.

Eventually we left the canyon and ended up back in the neighborhood, and discovered an official notice about crayfish. I don't know how much of an issue this is, or where people are getting a surplus of crayfish to release, but it's enough that they felt the need to ask the general public to stop.

From there we turned around and crossed back across the streams that were full from the recent rains.

The next day Jo'l was recovered enough to make it down to San Diego for a walk around Lake Murray. It's funny how 6 miles suddenly feels short, and leaves you feeling like you have so much of your day left, when 6 months ago it was the long version of the walk and meant that you had less time to do what you needed to get done for the day.

Since we were doing a shorter walk I decided to surprise Carrie and wear my super-fancy 5 finger shoes. She was satisfyingly horrified and couldn't look at them the whole time,  I found it thoroughly enjoyable. 

Since we had all the time in the world after our short jaunt we went for poke. It's been decided that Poke one and 1/2 is the best since they have gluten free sauce for Carrie, fake crab for Jo'l, and ponzu sauce for me. 

I had to cut out early on the post-lunch shopping trip, but it was for a great reason. We had make-up Christmas with Nana since we were all out of state over the holidays and just now had an opportunity to get together for this. 

Once we got home I immediately took another dose of wellness fizz (emergen-c) just in case. I refuse to get the trash can plague. 

That's great! So what are you doing?

When I tell people that I'm going to Portugal so that I can walk every day for weeks they're usually excited, but they have a lot of questions. I took a step back to see it from the outside and put together some answers here.

- Where are you going?
Portugal, then Spain, then the Dominican Republic. In that Order. We'll be walking the Way of St. James via the Portuguese way from Porto to Santiago and if we do well enough we can go on to Finisterre.

- What is The Camino?
Way back in 44AD St. James (one of the 12 apostles) was martyred in Judea, and his body was brought to Spain by many of his followers to be buried at Santiago de Compostela. Since the discovery of his remains in 812AD a steady stream of pilgrims has flowed in from all over to visit the saint and the site of his burial. The Camino, or rather any route to get to Santiago, is a pilgrimage to the cathedral.

- I've seen the Camino on TV/in movies/online but it's in France. Why are you talking about Portugal?
It's true that the Camino Frances is the most popular route, but since the camino is all about ending up at the cathedral to see the dead saint it's really all about walking "a camino" not "the camino" and the way that we're going just happens to be between Portugal and Spain.

- You're carrying a backpack, are you camping the whole way?
No, we are walking between towns and staying in pilgrims hostels called albergues at night. Basic, but not camping. We'll get a bed in a shared room, a shower, and an early start every morning.

- Is your husband going?
No, he's going to be staying home with the cats while we walk, so this trip will just be me, Carrie, and Jo'l. Once we're done we'll fly out to the Dominican Republic to meet Sean and Chris for a few days of recovery. The beach and some sun might do us some good.

- How long will it take you?
If we make our goals every day and don't need to take any breaks we should be able to go from Porto to Santiago in about 2 weeks, and Finisterre in another few days.

- How far are you walking every day?
It depends. We have a plan laid out for where we're stopping, so days will be anywhere from 11 miles to 25.

How far are you walking total?
Porto to Santiago will be about 156 miles, Santiago to Finesterre will be another 48 miles. So we're looking at 204 miles total in 3 weeks time.

Why are you doing this?
All three of us have different reasons, but the short answer would be because we can. This isn't the first camino for Carrie, and I'm sure it won't be her last. Jo'l is not one to step down from a challenge, and it's easy to see why this would appeal to her. For me it's because I didn't think I could, and because I didn't know if I would be able to, but also because I know that I won't be able to in the future and it's important to me to do everything that I can while I'm still in a place where I can push myself. Because it's part of seeing the world, and it's big, and it's beautiful.

In the doghouse

After taking time off yesterday we decided to make up for the abbreviated training weekend by adding a mile today then skipping straight to 17 miles next weekend.
The morning started off great when we were ready to leave from Chris & Carries and I ducked into the bathroom only to walk out 60 seconds later and find that the lights were off, the dog barriers were on the furniture, and I was locked in the house with Pearl. Thanks everyone!
After surprising everybody by walking outside, we took a HubCab and got dropped off just South of the Silvestrand and started on our way. Almost immediately I felt like my backpack was damp, and we stopped so that I could check it out. As soon as I opened my pack water poured out of the bottom and it became clear that the call was coming from inside the house. I dug around and discovered that the cap to my water bladder wasn't on right, and that about a liter and a half of water had leaked out into my bag. It was part two of Why is everything so wet: even wetter.

After pouring that out we moved on toward Coronado and downtown San Diego passing the base on the ocean side and the bay on the other. 

The first four miles flew by, and it felt like we were going to have a quick day ahead of us. We reached Coronado and after walking along one side of the island and under the bridge we stopped in Glorietta Park for the halfway snack. We were joined by 4 of the most ridiculous ducks I have ever met, and were charmed by them as they circled our table, got into it with some seagulls, and chased berries falling from the tree above us. 

Todays cheese: Syrah soaked Toscana from Trader Joe's. 

After snacking we went just under a mile to check out the schedule for the ferry and grab coffee to sip on as we wandered along the bayfront and up the other side of the island. The coffee cart at the ferry landing was good, and there was live flamenco music while we waited. We were still making good time as we set off again, even after the extra long break we took at a real table. 

After going another mile or two we stopped in another park to sip the rest of our coffee and have the chocolate that we brought. Our good time was slipping away at this point, and we moved on walking along the ocean side of Coronado. 

We passed the Hotel Del Coronado which is both storied and historical. It's been in operation since 1888 and has been in film, tv, books, and songs. 

We were just short of where we needed to be when we got back around to the ferry landing, but we decided to take the ferry that had just docked instead of making our miles and chancing having to wait an hour for the next one. 

One ferry ride later we were at the Broadway Pier and the sun was starting to go down. We walked by the Star of India and the other ships of the Maritime Museum, and watched a cruse ship docked at the pier set out while we were passing. 

We wandered uphill a little (Jo'l was thrilled) toward Little Italy and waited at Mona Lisa for our HubCab back to Carrie's place. 

At the end of the day I didn't have any serious pain until we were past the 13 mile mark, that's a huge improvement, even over last week. My feet aren't hurting, and I have minimal swelling, which I know will likely change once we're doing this daily, but for now it's a huge win and I'll take it. I think that my new ugly shoes are working out, and disappointed as I am that I don't get to wear the cute, trendy walking shoes that are out there, it feels good not the be one giant, miserable, waddling blister. I'm sore as I write this, but I walked 16 miles and I didn't fall behind. Well, except for that time when I stopped to take a picture and they didn't notice and just left me there, but what can you expect of friends who lock you in the house with the dog? 

Relaxation and other sundries

Mile 15 seems significant, it tallies up to 30 for the weekend and puts us up into a new stage of our training. We were all so excited for it during the week, but Saturday dawned early with a rainstorm that we knew would mean a long, cold day. Trails were muddy or flooded, and we were all exhausted before we even made a plan to get started.
We texted back and forth in the early hours of the morning nobody committing to a route or time, and all of us hemming and hawing over the weather. Finally Jo'l said "I'm cool with walking or taking the day off" and we jumped on it.
Plans to do a supply run were set, and later in the morning Carrie and I were headed up to Orange County to meet Jo'l for lunch and a run through REI, but we had to make a quick stop at the Irvine Spectrum first. While Carrie was in Tanzania last year she fell in love with leggings from a store that she'd never seen back home, but most people may be familiar with. We dropped into CottonOn and she showed us the joy of the sportswear that she'd been such a fan of.

From there we wandered off to lunch (because no day out is complete without food) and had a good time planning for our next stop. It should be noted that we're excellent leftover packers.

We went to REI and started our search for hiking pants and some travel essentials. Because it's REI we also spent plenty of extra time looking at absolutely everything. I walked out with a microfiber towel that's twice the size of the tiny one that I took to Thailand, but is still too small to actually be considered a bath towel, so it should pack up nicely. 

After leaving Orange County we chatted about Chris and how he's reached past his mid-thirties, so he can now be officially considered almost 40. Not willing to miss the opportunity for an occasion we showed up to the house with dinner plans and a balloon bouquet that fit the occasion. 

 We're back at it for Sunday, but so many times today we remarked that today was a good day. The training is so, so important if we want things to go smoothly when we get to Portugal, but taking some time off so that we're not only working and walking was really good.

 The only thing that we regret was not trying on the hammer pants at CottonOn and having the fantastic cashier take a photo.

Why is everything so wet?

Usually we're all good planners, but after yesterdays hill wandering soggy exhaustion we didn't have a plan for today until around 9pm last night. Given that it was still raining we decided to go for a paved trail and agreed to meet at the San Luis Rey bike path a little earlier than our usual. That immediately fell by the wayside when Carrie and I arrived to the parking lot 15 minutes late then before we got moving Carrie thought that her pack was a little damp, but couldn't find a source.
We set off in the opposite direction of the bike path for a a quick stroll around Guajome Park which was a small disaster from the get go; with the parking lot still in view I walked through a patch of mud and found myself sliding all over the place while shouting "I have made a mistake!" and flailing around. Carrie and Jo'l laughed as I staggered toward them and we kept on toward the park where we were accosted by birds who could sense the bread in Jo'ls pack with a terrifying accuracy. First a huge flock of something that came from the lake surged toward us, then we had to work our way past a group of geese who looked like they weren't in the mood to ask twice.

After the bird meeting we kept on through the park, and after we realized that our shoes were so caked in mud that we were hitting ourselves with it as we walked, the consensus was that we should move on and head for drier paths. We looped back around to our previous path and Carrie decided that yes, something in her pack was definitely leaking. When she took it off whatever it was had leaked enough to soak her pack through to the outside and after rummaging around with no source of the water she looked at us and asked "why is it so wet?"
We moved on to the bike path from there, starting at marker 8.9 and counting down as we went along. Despite reviews that said the path wasn't much to look at, it was actually pleasant and we saw a lot of birds, dogs, and bikes as we went along.

As we walked I decided that my new shoes were a problem on roads in addition to trails, and resolved to swap them out when we stopped for snacks. I had thrown my Mizunos into my bag with gel insoles in them just in case there was an issue. After yesterdays up, down, and scrambling I was really feeling every step. We also started taking our big packs today so that we can acclimate to the mileage with accurate weight and size. When it was time to stop at our midway point we broke out our backpacking chairs which are of three distinctly different types. Mine is the cheap one that weighs 4lbs but is comfortable, Jo'ls is the perfect one that is just like mine except that it weight 1lb and packs up easier and smaller, Carrie's is the one that she borrowed from Chris that is essentially a thong and three sticks that works up into a stool. Todays cheese: Horseradish cheddar from Trader Joe's. As we were eating we watched paragliders falling from a plane and gliding down to what turned out to be the airport.

We had gotten cold while we stopped to eat, but after walking for another mile and a half it warmed up and we were ready to ditch the extra layers. Suddenly there was the sound of water running and as I looked around for a water source that wasn't there, Carrie pointed to Jo'ls pack where her hip belt was resting on her water mouthpiece, and again we had to ask why everything was so wet. Jo'l had to put her pack back on with a soggy hip belt and we set off again.

A few miles back down the road we stopped for what can be thought of as a squat break, which to the untrained may be a little unusual. After walking for miles your joints are stiff, your muscles are tight, and it's hard to stretch. It feels really good to crouch down and pull yourself into a tight ball to stretch those muscles out and give the joints a break. As Carrie and I stretched, Jo'l sat down for arts & crafts time which involves the great kits she made us for Christmas. There's tape, neosporin, moleskin, KT Tape, scissors...

Once we were stretched and taped we moved off again watching the numbers on the path get higher and higher as we moved back toward 8.9  and the parking lot. I started falling behind at this point, really feeling the pain in my feet and my joints. Even Carrie and Jo'l mentioned that they were feeling the fatigue in their hips after carrying their bigger packs on the longer mileage.

I fell behind and caught up again several times as we got closer to the end. The last three miles seem to be the hardest for me. By the time we reached the end my feet were so swollen that my shoes looked like twice baked potatoes. Once we reached the car I gratefully swapped them for my flip flops, but even those were snug getting onto my feet. It looks like I'm back to roadrunner to ask what kind of cushion they recommend for someone with the skeletal system of a senior citizen and the daily mileage of someone who is in much better shape than I am. 

Up hill, down hill, and squat walking on sunshine

Last weekend while chatting about places to go for our 14 mile stretch I scrolled through Alltrails and said "The South shore of Lake Hodges is 14 miles, that should work." it sounded simple at the moment, but I would come to regret those words.
Carrie has her shoe game dialed in, but Jo'l and I needed to get a handle on it so we headed to Roadrunner on the first of the year and tried on several pairs before both settling on Altras. So, armed with new shoes, we all met in Rancho Bernardo to set out for the days trail. After going the wrong way for a bit we headed off to the trailhead and started walking the rim of the dry portion of the lake. A couple miles in we came to a shallow portion and started seeing birds out in the water.

From there we wound around the lake, surprised to find that it was a beautiful place. We'd never been out there before, and there seemed to be very few people with the exception of bikers and a couple people taking their dogs out for a walk before the rain started. We rounded a corner and came to a small waterfall that was a pretty sight on an overcast day.

After leaving the waterfall corner we went on uphill and I started to wonder how much uphill there would be given that I had expected this to be mostly a lake walk. I shrugged it off as things leveled out, and we continued on our way eventually coming to a memorial sign for Chelsea's Light. We were on the trail that Chelsea King disappeared from nearly 10 years ago, and this sign is a memorial for the foundation set up in her memory. We also saw signs all over the area advocating for the buddy system while out running or hiking in this area. Despite my love of true crime, I won't go into the details of her death or information about her murderer as what should be remembered about her is the legacy that her parents have worked to preserve for her, for more information go to: https://chelseaslight.org/

My new shoes were working well with cushion right under the ball of my foot where I had been getting sore for the past few weeks, but I noticed that my footing wasn't as sure as it was in my Oboz. I was slipping on loose rocks as we started making our way up hill again and it was causing a lot of strain on my ankles and my hips as I struggled to stay upright and in-socket. 

I thought that we had to be heading for another level area, and Carrie and Jo'l were pulling further and further ahead because I couldn't keep pace uphill. I never can stay in step with them when we start moving upward, and they generously waited for me at the top as I keep telling myself that some day I will be able to breathe and traverse upward at the same time. The hills that we went up rolled back downward, and we had to go through what looked like a really fun tunnel made of fallen trees. It wasn't as fun as it looked when we discovered the art of squat-walking in order to pass through. 

Things got rockier and sketchier from here with steeper hills, narrower cliff-side paths, and more scrambling and boulder hopping than we had done to this point. I was lagging behind again when I heard them talking and Carrie told Jo'l that she was going to be outvoted. They were standing at the edge of what looked like a drop, and before I even got to it I was ready to throw my vote for no way out into the mix. But Jo'l the Gazelle scampered right down it and after some deliberation Carrie and I followed suit and kept going with the promise of our snack break looming large. 

As we kept going the trail managed to get steeper, and harder to follow. We took a wrong fork, traced our steps back, took the correct fork, and still it didn't ease up. Finally we had to make a decision. The rain was starting to patter down, but with nearly a mile to go in rough terrain to our halfway point did we want to risk climbing back up and down in the rain and mud? We decided not to and turned back doing the whole thing in reverse which was a little easier in some places and more challenging in others. I missed my hiking shoes pretty badly at this point, even though I appreciated the cushion that I had in the Altras. 

We kept on until we got out of the steepest parts, and took a break for snacking on a flat rock under a wide oak. We've really nailed our snacking game with fruit, bread, cheese, and todays olives. No photos as we were hungry and documentation wasn't a priority. Today's cheese: 1,000 day Gouda from Trader Joe's. 

As we got back to the road we had to decide what to do about our missing miles from the early turn around. My slowed pace had become a full-on trudge by this point and I was all for going back to the car and going home to take a shower, but there's this bridge... 

If you're a San Diego commuter you may be familiar with the spooky bridge that you can see to the West of the 15 freeway. When it's cold and damp out it's often surrounded by mist, fog, and spooky looking bare trees. Today is was clear but that dead-tree area it turns out is the empty part of Lake Hodges, and that bridge is part of the available walking area for people like us. We were so excited to go across after years of seeing it from the freeway and wondering where it goes to and how to get there. Walking on the pavement felt good and much more stable after my wobbly climb through the rocky and loose paths around the lake, but it was short lived as we had more miles to add and not enough bridge for it all. 

A mile or so past the bridge, across a stream, and up another hill, and it was time to turn around. I was glad to be headed for the car in the rain and I could practically feel the call of my couch during that final mile. 

Now that I'm home and have taken stock of my aches and pains we're at slightly sore ankles, swollen toes (that's not new!) creaky knees, a disgruntled right hip, and a new pain in the crease of my left hip that I'm told is a normal hip flexor pain that can be solved with stretching. We're on the lookout for a paved path for tomorrow to avoid the mud after todays rain, so we'll see how well the new shoes do on pavement. Now it's time for some Advil and an early night.