Is it Time for Pancakes Yet?

Apologies
All right team members, sorry I didn't post yesterday, but it was a busy day. After our training hike I went over to see my parents and we ended staying until the late evening. And before you ask, "Nope I didn't have a set of clothes to change into" so I was nice and sweaty until I got home. And the fam couldn't understand why I didn't want to go out to dinner :-)

Saturday's Training Hike
OK -- so now that I've made my excuses for posting late, lets talk about yesterday's training session. We headed out to Oregon Ridge Park for a 4 mile walk in the park and then the annual pancake breakfast. It was a GLORIOUS day for a hike, bright and sunny! And we had a big melt this week so while there was still snow, there were lots of patches of muddy ground too. Oregon Ridge Park is really nice, and at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I have NEVER been there either.

Uphills, downhills, and stream crossings were the order of the day. I'd like to think I did a little better than last Saturday, but I am still bringing up the rear :-( I have a new name -- "The Sweeper". That's a polite athletic term that means 'the slow one' :-) Thanks to Coach Melissa who kept me company and encouraged me along the way Saturday as on one particular hill I was contemplating that I could still switch back to the marathon program and go back to my comfort zone:-P

So, other than figuring out how to pick up the pace, my big challenges for the day were climbing over logs and the steeper inclines and declines, especially in the ice and snow. Again, thank God for the hiking poles -- a great way to get assistance especially for me as I'm vertically challenged -- they helped me out as I swung my legs over logs and looked for ways to cross streams. Also gotta love the yaks -- they are grippy things that go over your boots to give you more traction in the ice and snow. Toward the end of the hike, my left knee decided to make its displeasure known, but again we managed to complete the day and get in for pancakes JUST at the bell!

And man were those pancakes and sausage good! And we had real maple syrup bottled right there at Oregon Ridge! After that we headed over to REI for a nutrition clinic. We got to try out a lot of different protein/nutrition bars and some electrolyte candies that looked and tasted like gummy bears. My original thought had been to try on some of the pants and make a purchase, but um.. I was way too hot, sweaty, and smelly for that. So it'll probably be an online purchase for me :-)

Overall it was a good day! I'm glad I stuck to it. And I will take Melissa's words to heart -- its only week 2, I have plenty of time to build up and get better at this. And I got some words of encouragement from some of the older members of my church congregation today when I whined about being the slowest one again. "At least you were there and at least you finished, and that's what counts."