Travel, Hike, Love

Life has been a whirlwind.

Last week I got to take an awesome trip with my favorite person. We spent a couple days in Knoxville, TN and had a blast. It's a cool city with lots of good food. We stayed within walking distance of downtown, so we got in quite a bit of exercise. Which was good since we spent a lot of time sitting in our car on the way down and back.

It was great to have an adventure. We used to travel quite a bit, and our honeymoon was driving across the country and staying in campgrounds. This time we didn't go as far, and we stayed in places we rented from Air BnB. It was a great early anniversary celebration. My husband is the master of planning unique, inexpensive trips., and we had so much fun!

The best part about any trip is coming home. The kids stayed with their grandparents, and it was the longest we've been away from them. I definitely missed them, and it was nice to pick them up and go home to our very-happy-to-see-us pets.

My goal when we got back was to continue being active and really work on consistency. I knew this was going to be a challenge. I have theatre camp all week, and that means long days. So far I've done pretty well. We got home on Friday and had all of Saturday free for a family adventure.

The Artist and I started the day with a run. He really enjoys running, and I love the company. He asked if we could go for a run, and I can never say no to that. He chose the route - a mile of almost constant uphill. Usually, we do walk/run intervals. This time he wanted to run the hills and walk the small amount of flat area. That last hill was killer. I love running with him because he pushes me. He would be a great trainer. He's absolutely relentless.

During our walking breaks we had some great conversation. He has so many great ideas, and I really love the person he is becoming. After a brief rest at the top of the biggest hill, we sprinted down the hill to our house. Everyone else was awake, and it was time to hike Wheeler Mountain.

This was a new hike for all of us, and we had a blast. My dad got me a book of day hikes in VT, and it suggested going up the red trail (if you chose to) and back down the white trail. The white trail was longer but in the trees and less steep. The red trail was steep, open, and shorter. We were planning to follow the white trail up and back. I have a fear of heights, and while I do try to challenge it, I was not looking for anything scary. Just a nice, fun family hike.

In true Andy and Em fashion, we chose the wrong trail. It ended up being a great choice. We went up the red trail and down the white. It was incredible. It was terrifying, but I kept my eyes down and kept going. When we got to a flat part I would look out at the view, and it was magical.

It was like being in a Tolkein novel. Incredible.

I'm so glad that we took that trail. It was not easy, but it was so worth it.

Saturday was a very active day. 

On Sunday, I decided to do leg day. I'm easing myself back into lifting, and I love it. In addition to leg day I did "pool circuits" with the kids. We've been creating workouts in the pool. It's so much fun and good exercise.

Monday I got up ready to run. It had been a while, and I didn't have a lot of time. Still, I felt ready to go and got in 2.5 miles. It felt good. I haven't had a good run in a long time, and I needed one. I ran almost the entire thing. I've been taking a lot of walking breaks lately, and I was happy I didn't need them this time. It's amazing what a few days of exercise and better eating can do.

Yesterday was a tough one. It was a good day. I got up early and did a chest/back workout. I had a great day at camp except someone kicked over my coffee, and I had no caffeine all day. By the time camp was over, I was tired. 

But, my day wasn't over. I watched the kids' TKD classes, and then I had class. I was excited to be back since I missed the week before, but I was also feeling incredibly exhausted. It ended up being a great class. It was a lot of conditioning, and we were moving almost the whole time. I like classes like that. They're difficult but keep me focused. It was also one of those days when things clicked, and I felt good about how I did. That doesn't happen all the time, but it's nice when it does. 

I was completely wiped out when I got home and went to bed early. This morning I'm feeling pretty sore. My back is really tight from lifting, and my legs are SO SORE from class. Today is going to be a yoga/patterns day. Something to loosen up my muscles while giving me time to recover.

I've got workouts planned for the rest of the week, and I am determined to stick with it. Consistency is the goal!