I've always been a lover of all things outdoors, until this last winter when I was hit (ouch) with a kidney stone, and spent several months in pain before I decided to quit being a martyr and get it blasted. Round one, unsuccessful. Round two, ding ding ding. Trouble was....stint. And that's all I'm saying about that.
I had been walking a couple miles almost every day before this happened, basically right up until the first procedure. I live halfway up a mountain (okay, maybe it just seems that way), so this kept me in pretty good shape. Throw in a run here and there, and I felt pretty fabulous.
To say that I was sidelined by the stone and what followed in April is an understatement. Emotionally and physically, I was drained. Until....a friend reminded me that I hadn't been a quitter as long as she'd known me. Personally, I think she was tired of listening to me.
So, I started out slow, walking again as often as I could. Then, I got the flu - the respiratory, can't breathe kind. Oy. Well, at that point, what are you going to do? It was almost like the kitchen sink was getting chucked at me. I called the doctor, he prescribed an inhaler for the bad days, and forward I went.
I noticed in the local paper that Great Glen was gearing up to do their trail running series, which I had participated in before. (Their fall series starts on September 5th!
http://greatglentrails.com/events/fall-trail-running-series/) I guilted a friend into joining me - she was a road runner, poor thing. After a pouring buckets of rain start, and a time of 33:30 for a 2.4 mile run, she was hooked. We had this one hill at the end that neither of us could quite run up (we hated that hill), but every week we got faster and faster. By the second to last week, that hill went down! (It was an out and back, and on the way out, I flipped it the bird, and told it I'd be back for it) Disclaimer: the first week we ran, I sounded like a truck and Lauren swears my voice dropped at least two octaves in the first mile. We ran in 90 degree weather, pouring chilly rain, and every other combo you can think of. But....we ran. And finished!
Along about the beginning of the trail run series, my family in NC emailed me about hiking part of the Appalachian Trail with them. The goal was a two-day hike across the Presidentials, with a stay at one of the huts. I had always loved to hike, but could typically not find anyone who wanted to do it with me. Well, it seemed like a fun thing to do, so I jumped in with both feet. I joined the 4,000 Footer Club on Facebook, and started researching gear. (Meanwhile, I was still running and walking....and using the inhaler) I devoured everything I could on what to bring, how to pack, bought maps, and started assembling my "training to hike" hiking list.
And that's a story for another day. :)
