Well, not so much “our” window, but the window of my uncle’s ski cabin, where we spent the weekend ensconced with my cousin’s family (and Linus) while it snowed and snowed and snowed.
We skied a few days at Dodge Ridge, which is a very cool little mountain. It’s not the most extreme or the biggest, but it has a really nice family vibe- great if you have kiddos in your crew, and man… the snow was GREAT. It was so fun hanging out with my cousin, his wife and their two kids. We did lots of family stuff including cooking pizza in and staying up late playing board games. Also, by far the two of the best days of skiing I’ve had this season. I’m really feeling like I’m getting my “legs” back skiing. The past two years I basically regressed in my skills and finally feel like things are on the upswing again. I’m able to go out hard and feel like I’m actually SKIING, not just huffing around the mountain in a state of exhaustion. Not exactly “bell to bell” yet, but at least an improvement.
Here’s E and I at the base. Not sure where my skis are- outside the frame I guess, but don’t I look like a (the horrors!) snowboarder here?
Have I mentioned that I’m officially “in training” for my ultra season this year? Did a 10k two weeks ago which kicked off the start and have been ramping up mileage ever since. I hope to settle in around (and how crazy does this sound?!?) a pretty standard 50 miles a week. I’m at about 30 right now and adding about 10% to that each week. My next race is a 20k in March, then a 50k in May, another 50k in July and finally my “A” race which is the Dirk Collin’s 50-miler in October.
All the running has been great. I’ve got my new running kicks, a coupla track buddies at work (one of my partners and I do sprint workouts and plyo stuff between calls at work), interesting places around here to run, an awesome and supportive “crew” and overall things have been splendid.
One problemo: Now that I’m a Serious Runner, what happens to my little jog with the dog?
See, Old Courtney used to roll out of bed, laze around with Nerd, meander into her day, and then when she felt like it head out con woof on a leisurely and fun little 3 mile jog. I LOVE our little jogs together. I feel like Linus gets a good chunk of his daily exercise, we explore all the sites and sounds of the hood, he gets to socialize at two dog parks, and we chitchat with our neighbors. But, it’s NOT a speedy run. We stop, we chat, we sniff butts, we attempt to eat leftover McDonalds wrappers from potheads toking up in Buena Vista Park, we shamelessly pander for pets, treats, and attention. We also have fun trying to trip me up in the leash by employing a wide array of darting and wrapping techniques. All this doesn’t exactly jive with a “focused training run.” I can’t really do a “legit” training run with Buddy.
Linus will still be my faithful running partner for all “easy” runs, recovery jogs, BRICK runs, runs on the beach and of course trail running. He’s fine with keeping up on the mileage (not sure if you recall, but I took him on a 14mile trail run last year), and he’s okay on pacing, it’s just the deadly combo of the leash and distractions that make him hard to run with en la ciudad.
So… what to do. For example, tomorrow on the boards: I’ve got a 6-mile “regular” run at 60% effort, and then 2 miles of hill repeats later. What I need to figure out is, where does “jog with Linus around the neighborhood” fit into that?
One idea I’m chewing on- what about if I take Linus out with me for a “warm up” … say- 2 miles, easy around the hood, like normal, then come back, drop him off and head right back out the door solo to bag some REAL miles? I guess I could do the same with a cool down… though I bet I would tend to cheat on the tail end and cut it short. Hmm… hmm…. Any thoughts?
Heading out the door for an easy 4 mile recovery jog with con woofer.
Wearing this U Mad shirt which Earl snagged me when we visited his alma mater.
Wearing this shirt for a run really brings out the San Francisco peanut gallery. I never knew there was such Wisconsin pride around here until I sported this one day on a jog through Golden Gate Park. I’d say I get about… at least 5 or 6 people shouting something out to me per run.
Back of the shirt sports the same deal (writing on hat reads “Girdwood, Alaska” which is NOT reversed, the U Mad image actually reads backwards, flippy mirror trick).
Comments range from:
The obvious: “Go Wisconsin!”
“Go Badgers!”
“Yeah, BUCKY!!”
“Hey, I went there!”
“My boyfriend/girlfriend/mother/father went there.”
Hey, hey… guess where we are heading tomorrow…… FINALLY
Sadly, not a ton of ski trips in the pipeline for this season, as our budgets are still recovering from my year of unemployment. On the bright side, my humble paychecks and lotsa overtime are helping us eek out a FEW weekends, subsidized by generous friends with crash space and discounted tickets. Our goal this season is to get up north at least once a month. Seeing as I am still a “probie” for a few more weeks at the new gig, I’m slated to work about two weekends a month. Don’t mind in the least- I am just thrilled to be able to get away and ski when we can! Apparently, my ambulance company is even putting together a ski weekend for us. Super cool, right? Take that, fancy corporate ski weekend from E’s old startup… not just tech firms can have ski trips!
HURRAH for skiing! Planning on two days at Kirkwood this weekend with Don and co, and one day with Amy at Heavenly.
If you recall from my last Peak a Week writeup, I’m trying to hike at least one peak every week in 2010 to get exercise and explore the Bay Area. This week, Linus and I hiked Skyline Ridge Park. I had work meeting work down in Redwood City (going over our new county protocols), and afterward used the jaunt down the Peninsula as an excuse to explore some of the beautiful trails in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
There are so many hiking areas over in that area! Zooming around on Google Maps checking out where I would be for the meeting (I am still learning the Peninsula at this point), it seemed like there was park after park after open space preserve. I couldn’t narrow it down! I finally just picked one randomly. Skyline Ridge it was.
What a special hike. Linus and I did a 7 mile loop which goes by two pristine alpine ponds and hits a couple absolutely stunning views. It wasn’t too steep or too strenuous, but it was a great walk and you felt so isolated and alone in nature. This is a hike I’d absolutely love to bring Earl on sometime in the future.
Have I mentioned before that Earl sort of hates hiking? He considers it “just walking” and also “a waste of time.” That’s often the problem you run into when you date a mathematician- they tend to be so pragmatic! If I play my chips correctly I can luck out with getting Earl to agree to … oh… 1 or 2 hikes every six months. The rest of the time, I am happy to go with other friends (who actually ENJOY hiking) or don’t mind spending hours in the woods with my dog walking (or running) around solo. I just like getting out in the woods and getting exercise. To me, anything with such fresh air and such sweeping skyscapes could never be a waste of time! Conversely, reading an advanced algebra book for 4 hours straight could be a waste of time for me, so hey…
The drive up Route 35 (Skyline Boulevard) to get to this hike was an adventure itself. Such twisty, turny roads we have in California! They make the “twisty, turny” roads I grew up on in New England seem like drag strips. Sometimes we respond in the ambulance to calls up in these hills, although I have yet to go Code Three through a road like that. I think I would just put the lights and sirens on and still drive it safe and slow. You’d have to- the roads swerve and turn so much, you could never get any speed up!
Once we made it to the park, it was a very basic trailhead. My faithful buddy is ready to go.
We started with some subtle climbs through a lot of grasslands and Christmas tree “escapees” from a nearby Christmas tree farm.
Looking back you could see the parking lot where we started. It was a beautiful, clear afternoon.
Even in the “dead” of winter, the sides of the trail were peppered with wildflowers. I believe these are thistles?
This tree was even producing some fruit. I think it’s pears.
Yikes! Watch out, Linus!
A Christmas tree farm escapee.
After about two miles, we reached the first pond of the hike. This is Alpine Pond. Boy, was it silent and pristine. No wind, no street noise or other humans around. The only thing I saw moving were a couple ducks.
There was a visitor Educational Wilderness Center on the perimeter of the pond. They had some binocular stands set up so you could zoom in and look at wildlife on the pond, and also a bunch of displays talking about the area. I found out the area used to be filled with hog farming.
The setup of the pond was entirely handicap-accessible. If you are looking for somewhere to take disabled loved ones who want to enjoy the outdoors and wildness, this spot is highly recommended. You can drive to the visitor center at Alpine Pond on a dirt fireroads and the pond has several wheelchair access ramps, viewing spots and trails.
Can you tell the reflection vs. the actual?
We found some (rasp? olallie?)berries nearby. Was tempted, but figured it would be safer not to sample.
Upon leaving the visitor center, the trail climbed a but more and opened up, offering these gorgeous skyscapes of the Santa Cruz Mountains:
Linus was more interested in what was climbing around on the rocks than appreciating the view.
These poofy (germinating? Geeze I need to study up on some botany, it would really help me appreciate things on these hikes a whole lot more!) plants were blowing the puffy white material all over the trail. You could even see them floating through the air over the valley.
I also spotted two hawks circling over the valley, although they were too high and my camera not high quality enough to capture them correctly. Watching their swooping dives as they hunted was mesmerizing; Linus and I stood there for a long while just appreciating the poetic beauty of their elegant flight (flight of DEATH for some mouse… lol).
A few more miles, and we descended down to pond #2, this one called Horseshoe Lake. It was a little less picturesque than alpine pond, and felt somewhat less isolated (perhaps because it was nearer to the trailhead and also at a lower elevation? Not sure), however was still nice. I saw some fish jumping and ducks swimming.
At this point in the hike we were almost done (under a mile to go) so Linus and I attempted a self portrait. Linus was not really cooperating.
I give up!
When we got home I gave Linus a bath and thorough combing checking for ticks. I feel very adamantly that dogs should be allowed to run off leash in the woods (as long as pets are allowed off leash and also they remain under voice control), because that’s such a big part of their doggy nature, however I worry about ticks. Plus, if I ever bring Linus home with ticks on him, I get read a big riot act by Earl who despises them and thinks they’re very gross. So Woofer gets a very thorough checking in his scruff and ears, plus an all over combing and often a bath after every time I take him out in the woods. Despite his tick collar that I put on him for hikes (and also tick powder), I generally find about two buggers on him which promptly get flicked off if we’re still outside or flushed if not. Ticks are so awful. Do they have any net benefits to the eco system? Can we just exterminate them all with no negative results? I know one dog (and one boyfriend) who would be a lot happier did they not exist.
Regardless, this was a great hike and I highly recommend checking it out if you’re on the Peninsula and want gorgeous views, not *too challenging* and also seek the peaceful feeling of being alone in the wilderness.
In an effort to kick my butt back into shape, at the advice of a wise man on TGR, I am attempting to hike or run at least one peak or park every single week. The additional benefit of this exercise is that it has me learning about and discovering a plethora of cool places here in the San Francisco bay area (and eventually, beyond!), and of course getting my dog out for some fun and exercise in the woods. Yes. *ahem* Because… as you know, the dog allowed himself to get really fat and out of shape over the past year. The dog was a little more concerned with his career change than working out and the dog didn’t use his period of unemployment as well as he could have to exercise during his free time and stay healthy. Well, good for the dog (now), because now that the dog has a stable job that not only pays the bills but that he really loves, the dog is finally motivated to get back at it, utilize his time outside of work wisely, and to get healthy again. Yay, dog.
In a “getting out of a rut” workout advice thread someone posted over on TGR, one of our members suggested to hike a new peak every single week. This struck me as a BRILLIANT idea, and I have adopted as a goal moving forward. I plan to either hike or run these peaks and report about them here with photos and write up once I return. As often as possible, I will try to bring a friend along for company and conversation, and of course bring ze woof!
Here is my first “Peak a Week” Report, which was the towering Mount Sutro in San Francisco, a staggering 908 feet. Linus and I hiked Mt. Sutro with our friend Andrea, who is here from Germany. Andrea’s husband, Matthias, is Earl’s former coworker. Andrea is sorting through some visa/work study/internship issues right now from her German university, and until that comes through she is generally free in the days, which works out wonderfully with my oddball EMT schedule. It makes her the perfect hiking partner for a Tuesday morning hike!
Linus and I walked over to the UCSF area where Andrea and Matthias live. Mt. Sutro is located right behind UCSF. Despite having lived there for a few months and having been avid hikers in Germany (this couple has hiked all over the alps!) neither Andrea or Mattius have explored Mt. Sutro yet. Perfect!
We walked up Willard Ave and followed this beautiful staircase to the trailhead. San Francisco is filled with gorgeous staircases, which I am discovering and attempting to document here. This one off of Willard was covered in green moss and particularly enchanting.
The view from the staircase was sweeping. You can see downtown all the way to SOMA.
Once on the trail, it went up and up. Not at too steep a pace- this would be the perfect place to come for a woodland jog.
Looping through Eucalyptus groves. I’ve heard that Mount Sutro is so infrequently used because most citizens of San Francisco think it belongs to UCSF and is off limits. That’s unfortunate, because it’s such a peaceful, serene escape. Then again, the less people who use these trails the better condition they’re in and the more isolated they feel. We didn’t pass a single person on our hike through this little forest.
At the top, there was a little meadow. The meadow was underwhelming- you could say our summit was anticlimactic.
The meadow was mostly filled with dead plants- must be a lot nicer in the spring when everything is in bloom. Plus, there really was no view to be had because it was all blocked by trees. Linus had a good time, though!
Andrea smiling on the way down. I asked her if San Francisco’s “Mount Sutro” compared to anything she’d hiked in the Alps. She laughed.
We came across this little glen with a shrine inside.
It was pretty faded, so you couldn’t really read it, but appears to be an old Native American of some sort.
Look at all the green! These green vines completely filled this valley. Looking at this photo, can you believe you are in the middle of a city?
And back down! If you look to Linus’ left, you can see the wine barrel signpost. Wine barrel furniture adaptations are HUGE trend in this city. I’ve seen about a dozen just in our neighborhood. Sort of bourgeois chic.
Final view from the staircase. It turned into a very grey day! Our skyscape is so dull due to the overcast. Still, not a bad little urban hike and nice catching up with a friend. We capped of our day with some coffees and salads at Boulange de Cole. It was chilly and almost rainy by the afternoon so we had an enjoyable time parking ourselves in a cozy booth to warm up.
Coming up: Amy and I tackle Mount Tam, Linus and I at Skyline Ridge, Edgewood Park and then beyond. I found a few Bay Area hiking websites (this one and this one in particular are great resources; I’m sure there is some overlap, however between the two of them there are almost 500 hikes!). If I do a peak a week, I should be done exploring all the hiking around here in about 9 years. Shesh.
Yesterday being Winter Solstice, I figured it was time to take stock of how far I’d come this fall with my Fitness Challenge.
I ran a mile pace test today and was 10:39. While that doesn’t feel all that fast to me, it’s still a whopping 34 seconds off my last pace test in September.
Other results thus far:
Total pounds lost: 24
Inches lost off tummy: 4.5 (WOW!!!)
Inches lost off hips: 1
Inches lost off bustline: 3
Inches lost off thigh: 2.4 (each!)
Inches lost off wrist: no change
Inches lost off upper arm: N/A because didn’t take this metric back in September (but now I did, so I’ll have it documented for next time I record these stats).
My body fat %, oddly, stayed the same according to my home scale. That could be a glitch or it could be my diet is still poor. But either way, with the rest of the stats, I will take it!!
The best thing about these numbers is that I didn’t really make any major changes to get them. To be completely truthful, my diet is still pretty junky. I was just telling a story last night about how I was scarfing Taco Bell on my drive home from work I think mostly these positive results were more from just WORKING and doing physically hard, manual labor now as part of my daily job. Getting in and out (and in and out) of an ambulance is like doing a bunch of deep lunges. And picking up patients in the gurney is doing squats. Not to mention walking the halls of various hospitals (and they always keep the dialysis centers in the waaaaay back or in the basements, so many of my “bread and butter” calls have long walks involved!).
The other thing I changed is that I added lifting to my weekly routine. Earl and I have been meeting at the gym pretty regularly which I LOVE. We don’t do the same machines or anything, but for me just knowing that someone else is meeting you there is motivation to get up and go. I haven’t been nearly as consistent about lifting as I should; my goal was to go 3 times a week, and I had been pretty steady at just ONCE or twice for a while, but you know… I think even doing that has been enough to cause some changes.
Oh hey! Speaking of lifting, here are some more metrics I can document. These are the increases in my lifts since September: This is what I am at lifting for 3 sets of 10 reps, NOT MAX OUT:
Benchpress: @ 85, increase of 20lbs
Leg press: @ 230lbs, increase of 40lbs
Lat pull downs: N/A, because we just added these to my routine last week
Skull crushers: @30lbs, an increase of 10lbs
Shrugs with bar: @ 90lbs, increase of 70lbs (!!!!!)
Seated row: @ 80lbs, increase of 30lbs
Calve raise: @ 105, increase of 30lbs
Curls: @ 20lbs each hand, increase of 10lbs
So look at that. I am undeniably getting a lot stronger. That shrugs thing is CRAZY. I think it’s mainly because Earl (sometimes) lends me these little wrist grabber-y thingers that help you hold more weight. That way it apparently more your muscle strength maxing out and not your grip strength. I like those little grippers. I asked Earl for my own pair in my stocking this year, we’ll see what happens
On that note, I think I should add some grip strength stuff to my routine, mainly because grip strength is such a HUGE part of my daily job of being an EMT. We basically grab sheets and blankets and PULL. And it’s so, so important to have a locked down grip on the drawsheet because slippage could not only injure yourself, but also your partner and the patient.
As for my fitness-related goals from here on out, I am scaling back a bit on some things, and ramping up on others. At this point, I am not *so, so* concerned about the NUMBER weightwise, and am just going to be trying to get overall healthier and more fit. And while I do have a “goal” number which I would like to weigh under, I am not putting a time crunch on it, which is very contrary to how I have conducted myself previously. If it takes me until the spring, the summer, or heck even next fall to get there, so be it. I am not feeling any pressure or any rush. Here are my fitness goals for the upcoming year:
- weigh under 150lbs
- run 50 miles in a race
- bike 100 miles (have done this many times before, but sooo far away from where I am now!)
- pass the CPAT
- join a cycling club here in SF
- do yoga consistently
- lift 3x a week
- finish within the cutoff times for the Ohlone 50k
- hike or run a Peak a Week and report them here
I picked mainly ultras and trail runs mostly because their registrations are so cheap! Coming from the world of triathlons, these races, often at $40 a pop, seem like a downright steal. Very refreshing And very within my budget!
I am so excited for the new year, happy with my progress, and proud of how far I’ve come. Bring on 2010!
As always, I am mega behind on uploading photos from my camera and catching my dear readers up on them and what I have been up to. Please accept my apologies, and I hope you enjoy the following smorgashboard, which dates alllllll the way back to Halloween! Ack
For Halloween, we threw a bit of an impromptu dinner party for our friends Matt and Amy, then we walked down over to Belvedere Street and hit up a bunch of spots on the party circuit.
Matt Preparing the drinks. We served Stone Fences, which are a mixture of whiskey and apple cider.
Dinner was great- we made pumpkin fritters from this recipe. Amy actually ended up cooking most of the fritters while I rushed around and got in my costume (Earl and I were running late coming from the gym).
Amy fries up some fritters
The (still steaming) fritters! They’re basically a thicker pumpkin pancake. Served with cinnamon sugar (optional maple syrup, for those with a fierce sweet tooth).
pumpkin fritters
Even though Amy did most of the cooking, I somehow managed to pose taking credit for them in this photo. Doesn’t it look like *I* cooked them in this photo?
Amy and Matt getting ready to hit the down. Look at those abs on that woman! That is what being a semi-pro level triathlete will get you, apparently Amy is rocking my old latex cop uniform (a holdover from undergrad sorority days) which I coerced her into wearing.
The handsome knight of my heart and his unicorn steed. The “unicorn” didn’t last very long on the streets as he was a little overstimulated with everyone running around trick or treating. This was basically a pre-party walk! He got walked home and hung out while we hit the town.
knight and unicorn
Bustiers and pizza. Pepperoni, naturally.
Matt, Andrea and Mattius (Andrea was a tree, if you can’t tell)
Bearded lady! The theme of the first party we were at was Old-Timey Carnival. These people pulled out ALL the stops!
Here is the woman who gets shot out of the cannon.
En route to our second party, I was assaulted by a very naughty (and perverted) cookie monster! If you can’t tell, I was a dragon, same as last year.
CJ vs cookie monster
By our third party of the evening, Amy and Matt had gone home and I had converted into a devilish dragon. The full-face dragon mask, while a lovely work of art, made it hard to consume beverages. Here we are with our ski friend Spencer, who is a music journalist and gets to interview all kinds of stars.
We were certainly tuckered out after this evening. Let’s slide right into Thanksgiving, shall we?
For Thanksgiving, we went out to my wonderful Aunt Mimi’s house in Pleasanton, CA. My friend Amy, who is from CT though going to Stamford for their PA program right now, came with us as she wasn’t going home to see her family.
I lobbied Amy to meet me at my Aunt’s house early, at 9:30am, so we could do this awesome 30 mile ride through Palomares Canyon loop.
Ride starts out on Foothill Drive- look at the peaceful serenity of this beautiful road! Who says there are no fall colors in California?
Amy’s self-portrait on the hill. She doesn’t even look like she’s breathing hard! This girl is a machine.
Amy spent a *LOT* of time waiting for me to get my out-of-shape butt up this hill. Eons. She was bored enough not only to mess around with taking self portraits, but also to take this amusing video:
On the way up Palomares Canyon, Amy (who is holding the camera) spots this sign. What does it MEAN? Looks like a drunk guy crossing the street, right?
Clamper x-ing??? wtf?
At the summit! This is a long, slow climb. Amy actually got a flat tire here from parking in the gravel.
summit Palomares Canyon Rd
Back from our ride and showered up, we are greeted by quite a spread.
thanksgiving spread
Hey! Down here! Lemme have some! I’ll take some! Don’t want that stuffing? Just a little crumb?
Post meal scritches lead to corgi grins.
corgi grin
Bellies full, Earl and I pile onto the couch to zonk out for a bit.
Mr. Drool Spot and I had an invigorating 2-hour jog along the ocean today. We found so many sand dollars! I just can’t run past those beauties, I have to stop and beachcomb a bit. Probably why it took two hours
Subscribe via RSS
