Progress on My 30 Before 30

I'm doing pretty well on the picture a day goal.  And, I haven't had fast food since Thursday, November 7th so I'm on a roll with that.  I should have probably started the working out and drinking water goals at the same time, but they will be forthcoming.

I need to buy a puzzle to complete, and clear an area to work on it.

I'm really glad that I've decided to do this!  I think it will be good for me!

Thanks for the support!

Sara in Colorado: Day 6

I've been home for almost a week, but there are still a few awesome things from Colorado I want to share with you...

Day 6: The Big Hike


My mom and I both signed up for an 11 mile all day hike to Black Lake.  It was a gorgeous morning and we left promptly at 8am to head into the Rocky Mountain National Park to find our trailhead with the rest of our group and our fearless leader, Amy.

The neat thing about this hike was that as you hiked you came across several natural wonders.  First up was Alberta Falls.

 What a cute mother daughter duo!

Once we were past the falls the real hike began.  And after a couple of miles we came to Mills Lake, which was gorgeous as you can see.

One of the more interesting things about this hike is that in November of 2011 a wind burst had come into the valley and at estimated 80mph winds tore up the landscape.  In the next few pictures you can see how wood split, trees were uprooted, and how many trees had to be cut to clear the trail for hikers.

I forgot to take a picture but a mile or so past Mills Lake we came upon Jewel Lake that really was a jewel tone green and very serene. It was after Jewel Lake that the rain started, and at one point hail.  Well, our hike leader called it something else, but it was icy and it stung the tops of my legs as I hiked.  We were told if there was lightening we would have to turn around due to the risk.  About a mile and a half from our destination a huge crack of lightening lit up the sky followed immediately by a boom of thunder.  We were given the signal and turned around in our tracks and back tracked about half a mile.  We sought cover under some trees once we were lower down and ate our lunches in the rain.  This was my least favorite part of the hike.  Finally the rain let up and some sun peeked through so we continued towards Black Lake.  There, just before reaching the lake we came upon....

ELK!  There were two females and two babies, who are harder to see in these pictures.  They were just calmly eating.  As you can see the one is tagged.  There is an overpopulation of Elk in the park and they follow some to check birth rates and other information.  

The closer we got to Black Lake the more beautiful the scenery became.  We were in between many mountains and could see water flowing down and patches of snow.  Simply gorgeous.

Finally we had made it to the lake but we didn't stay long.  Because when we turned around we saw more ominous looking clouds and didn't want to risk a storm.

Dark skies in one direction....

perfect weather in the other...

I was very happy to make it to the top! 

As we hiked back down I stopped to take some pictures of the splintered wood.  I loved the color and the textures it created.

At times on the hike we had to walk on beams of wood to avoid messing up the land.  Here I am with some of our group!

Finally back at Mills lake, our hike leader Amy had us all take our shoes and socks off and soothe our feet in the ice cold water.  Very refreshing.  But it started to rain again so we had to go finish the last few miles.

This is where I got cocky.  I felt the "old folk" were moving too slow so I took off, walking fast, and running down the rest of the trail.  Of course I inadvertently took the wrong trail to the parking lot and ended up adding an extra .6 miles to my journey.  Whoops!  My knees and ankles were NOT happy campers the next day.

That night was the first Family Summit Talent Show and it was AMAZING.  We're truly a multi-talented group.

Sara in Colorado: Day 5

July 10th, was the fifth day of my trip and my first difficult hike.  The West Creek Falls hike, while only 4 miles round trip, had an elevation gain of a full 1,300 feet!  I embarked with a group of about 15 a little after 8am and took a van to the trail head.  I travelled with two spanish speaking ladies, and two interpreters Fernando and Tracy.

Immediately upon starting the hike it was clear there were two groups of hikers.  Those of us who were under 50 and those who were over.  Not to be ageist but, I think the steep incline proved to be more difficult than our older crowd had suspected.  I was with the "fast" group, but was decidedly the slowest of them in the uphill portions.  It was a beautifully sunny day and it felt nice to have the warmth of the sun on our backs as we hiked.  I spent a lot of time speaking with Fernando and his wife Tracy.  They were a very interesting and fun couple.

Eventually we came to a stream.  After crossing the stream we noticed there was a partial elk skeleton in a pile on the bank.  It was missing the lower jaw and ribs from what we could tell, and had definitely been there fore awhile.

Finally we reached our destination, the falls.  The view wasn't as spectacular as I had hoped, but it was a peaceful spot where I sat and talked with the "fast" group a bit.  I also shared my elk salami I had purchased the night before!  Tasty! We then headed back down, and our group headed back to have lunch.  Overall a good hike, but more adrenaline than scenic.

Again this hike wiped me out and I spent the rest of the day relaxing back at the YMCA of the Rockies.  

Sara in Colorado: Day 2-3

Day 2 and we were still in Fort Collins.  We took our time having breakfast, hanging out with my aunt and uncle, and gathering the supplies we were borrowing from them for our week of hiking and other activities up in Estes Park.  Finally we got our stuff together and began the drive up up up several more thousand feet!

I'd forgotten how many twists and turns the road into Estes contained.  Surrounded on either side with walls of rock that shimmered in the sun (I'm thinking from mica) and following a flowing river we continued our journey.  There were several signs that had symbols for mountain goat crossings but no matter how much I looked I couldn't find any.

We arrived at the Y and checked in rather painlessly and I began my favorite part of the Summit, greeting all my friends I hadn't seen in a year!  These people have truly become family to me and it is just as exciting now at 28 as it was at age 12 to see my friends again!  After 17 years I can't imagine not attending one of these events.  

It was chilly and rainy and cloudy up at the Y but I really liked the view.  I don't think this picture truly captures how literally in the clouds we were but it really was beautiful.

Day 3 was the first full day of the Family Nature Summit!  I decided to start my week of easily with a four mile hike to a visitor's center in Rocky Mountain National Park.  We crossed streams, saw wildlife, and beautiful scenery.  It was the perfect hike to start the week with!

There's a deer sitting in there, smack dab in the middle- can you find him?

After my morning hike I was much more exhausted than I'd planned.  I think the altitude had finally caught up with me and I was forced to lay down instead of going to a lecture I had planned on attending.  Upon awaking though I felt much better and was able to spend some quality time with my friends.

Stay tuned for rock climbing, wine tasting, and much much more!

Just a Pic

This week I sucked at going to the gym so I left happy hour early (GASP!) to hit up Zumba tonight.  I felt great afterwards and decided I should be documenting my progress with my body so here's a picture of my right bicep... try to see the little roundness to it... that wasn't there before.  Impressed?

Oh yeah, I'm getting there.

Double plus for me, I didn't buy the hot dog they were selling at work and instead had a big mixed green salad with grilled chicken and lite balsamic vinaigrette dressing!  I give myself a gold star for effort today!

Lazy Girl: In The Gym

So this lazy girl has been stepping up her game.  On Friday, since I had to be out of my apartment while it was shown by a realtor, I went to the gym for a run on the treadmill and a Zumba class.  I've been building my confidence on the treadmill experimenting with sprints and such for the past two weeks.  I've also been looking at lots of different training plans to increase speed and endurance.  Keeping both of those things in mind I decided to try to run for as long as possible at 6.5 which is a 9:14 pace.  Then after a few minutes at that I kicked it up to around 8.0 which is a 7:30 pace for a full minute and gradually took it back down every 5-10 seconds till I got back to 6.5.  I kept my eye on the clock and I hit the one mile mark after 8 minutes and 54 seconds!  This was by far my personal best.  I haven't been even under 10 minutes ever- at least to my knowledge.  This has given me another boost of confidence and I plan on working on running 2 miles in under 20 minutes as my next goal because I do know I'm a better sprinter than distance runner and I'd like to be decent at both.  I need more goals.  But for now I'm tracking myself on Nike+ and am "running" through New York City.

How do you stay motivated?

Love Hate Relationship: The Gym Edition

I am developing a Love/Hate relationship with the gym.  I have been really good about getting myself there at least 3 times a week- typically Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.  I feel really good about the fact that I'm going.  BUT, I'm frustrated that I don't really have a focus.  I need some sort of measurable goal since I'm not trying to lose weight.  Maybe I should take measurements, or do some sort of preliminary fitness test or take "before" pictures.  I'm not sure.  Any suggestions?

In other gym news, yesterday, after doing a 50 minute Zumba class my gym buddy Katie and I did a bunch of dumb bell exercises to work out our biceps, triceps, and shoulders.  Then we did some ab work as well.  I AM SORE.  I hope the meds I took will kick in cause it hurts to move.  Ideally I'll have a rock hard beach bod by this summer- even though I'll be vacationing in the mountains. What are your favorite exercises?

Now I just need to get my eating in check.  I struggle to hit my appropriate calorie intake so I end up justifying eating fast food.  NOT GOOD.  I have high cholesterol so I suppose I need to stop ignoring that fact.  I'm looking for some good healthy food that isn't too "diety" since I'm not on a diet and definitely need to hit my calories on days I exercise.  I can't afford to buy new pants if I drop any weight!  I know, I know, #skinnygirlproblems.

Also, I'm on Fitocracy and Sparkpeople--- can't decide what I like better.  Hit me up if you want to follow.  Oh, and I realized I owe a ton on my taxes, so help a girl out and check out one of the ads on my site!

A Lazy Girl Gets Active

Saturday I went to the local YMCA and filled out almost all of my paperwork to enroll (I finished the rest tonight!).  My friend Katie and I went and did a quick cardio workout.  I did 15 minutes on the elliptical which equalled approximately 1.17 miles.  I took a very easy pace because we were headed to Zumba immediately afterwards!  We then did a 50 minute Zumba class that was packed and SUPER hot.  I was impressed with how I was able to do both the elliptical and the Zumba without dying.  

As I continue my quest for being a healthier person I am looking for ways to keep it fun and to challenge myself.  I'd like to find a race to run in the spring.  But until then, I'm tracking the miles that I do on ellipticals, treadmills, bikes etc and am mapping my progress starting on the east coast and heading towards California.  We'll see how far I can get in a year!