The Front-Runner or Month-End Review, October

If I were keeping a poll of most memorable months, October would be the front-runner. I bicycled for almost 30 miles, did a sprint triathlon, returned to Horseshoe Canyon Ranch, cut the grass (and it had the nerve to grow again) and discovered the joys of wall yoga and boxing.

As I uncluttered, a never ending project it seems, I came across the 10th Anniversary edition of O: The Oprah Magazine and saw 10 Biggest Health Mistakes by Bob Greene.

#1: They (people) work out simply to burn calories. What matters more is exercise intensity. Vigorous exercise dulls your appetite while moderate exercise stimulates it.

I was definitely surprised that I hardly had a appetite after hiking and outdoor climbing recently. I hate half a sandwich in the middle of climbing and the other half for dinner (along with some fruit etc.). In addition, I got reacquainted with intensity during boxing classes. Shauna had the line of the night as she sat on the floor while we tried to catch our breath:

Let's go. I'm not just down here (on the floor) for fun.

She also warned us not to drop the medicine ball on our face as we lifted one leg and held the medicine ball in our opposite hand. Here's my log of activity for October and I'm so glad that I managed not to drop a medicine ball on my face.


Bicycling, 3 x's


BodyGo Row Class @ CrossFit, 2 x's


Boxing (and Kickboxing), 7 x's


Lawn Mowing, 1 x


Personal Training with Jackie: Power Circuit Training

15-Minute Upper Body Circuit, 4 x's

Rock Climbing, 5 x's


Sprint Triathlon, 1 x


Swimming, 4 x's


Walking, 9 x's


Yoga, 9 x's


Hope that your October was memorable...

Three Eggs to the Back

Went to Yoga Wall class which I missed last week because of the trek to Arkansas. It was just enough time away for me to get nervous and make myself ponder how I get myself into such things as practicing yoga on a wall.

I'm glad that you came back one my classmates said when she spotted me; thought that was quite sweet and welcoming.

Of course, the class was fine. The instructor, Sharon, is super nice and very good and the woman next to me on the wall is a giggler. Just the person that I don't need next to me or maybe I did need her today.

I had planned to go to a boxing class immediately after yoga. I had even packed pineapple Chobani yogurt and a Honeycrisp apple to nosh on in between but my chest, hips et al. had been seriously opened up. I hung upside down, to the side and got an amazing stretch by placing one foot on the wall while holding a strap and pulling in the other direction. Sharon joked, as we were getting a serious twist on, for us to make a wish. We also did the revolved triangle pose (Parivrtta Trikonasana) and I wonder which position made my glutes sore.

Even the start of class was a bit intense. We started by placing three eggs at our back for a kind of mini backbend. So, yeah, I returned home.

After savasana, I'm usually hard-pressed to wiggle my fingers and toes so I'm not sure what made me think that I would survive a boot camp-like boxing class afterwards. Again, Sharon agreed to be watchmanwoman during savasana which was fine by me. When she started talking about how if thoughts about xyz enter your mind, I thought she was going to say stop them but she said that opposite -- a strategy that has, surprisesurprise, been working for me...

The Yoga Wall class will be on hiatus since one of the teachers has to have surgery. I'm going to miss it but I'm sure that I'll find another activity to fill the void.

On another note, it baffles me that I cannot do a shoulder stand. Guess I'll add that to the list of things that I'm in pursuit of. Along the same lines, I was at the park practicing pull-ups and progress is being made. It felt good to hoist myself upwards...

Return of the Arm Slayer

Shauna leisurely chatted up a boxer as she spotted the Rally Squirrel on her t-shirt as I wondered when she would tell us to stop doing jumping jacks and, it's not until I'm in push-up position, that I remember how Shauna likes to kill your arms before you even put on gloves.


Towards the end of cardio, a reminder from Shauna:

Don't just touch those bags, hit 'em.

I was happy to hear gloves off until I realized that the ab portion of the program was about to begin...

I survived the ab work and I'm hoping that the STL Cardinals will survive game seven.

I didn't have the heart to finish watching the World Series last night so when I woke up, I was really surprised to see a cardinal on a bat sitting in the box for Friday's forecast. Go Cards.

Do Bears Really Crawl?

One thing that I know for sure: If your body is not glistening by the end of a boxing class, you must have gone into the locker room to hide.

Before class started, some people warmed up. I, however, wanted to reserve my energy for the pending beat down.

I watched as this youngin leaped up to the bar that holds the boxing bags. The bar has to be at least 10 feet tall. After leaping, he hung on for a little bit, stabilized then started doing pull-ups. I didn't realize that the watcher was being watched and this woman was like We can do that -- no problem. Then, we start talking about our struggles with pull-ups.

Class went like this:


Warm Up

Run around the boxing bags.

Do long jumps until you reach the end of the row of boxing bags. (4x's)

Bear crawl, 5x's, followed by two Push-ups until you reach the end of the row. (4x's)

Sprint to the End of the Row. Jog to the Front. Sprint. Jog. Sprint. Jog.


Gloves On

(On The Bag) Body shot. Body shot. Cross. Hook.



Off The Bag

Jab. Jab. Cross. Hook.


Off The Bag

Squat. Squat Jump. Squat then knees to elbows.


On The Bag

(Off The Bag) Alternating Lunges


(On The Bag) Burn It Out and Punch for One Minute


Off The Bag

Burpees


On The Bag (for some punching combination that I can't remember)

Stand Up Mountain Climbers


On The Bag

Planks to Push-Ups


Off The Bag

Ab Work

What Boxing Bags Look Like When You're On The Floor Doing Ab Work


Sidenote: I noticed that I felt stronger while doing push-ups.

Tackling the East Side of the Ranch

Two and a half years ago, I didn't know that Patti existed and, up until six months ago, I didn't know that Leah was around either but there I was around 4:00 a.m. on Saturday preparing to rendezvous with Patti, Leah, et al. before heading to Horseshoe Canyon Ranch.

Once we hit Arkansas, we didn't waste much time before heading out to climb and after climbing, we set up camp, ate dinner, sat around, chatted and read. At seven something, I crawled into the tent and listened to my peeps talk about satellites and shooting stars.

Patti wanted me to take a look but I told her that I could see the stars from a crack in the tent but she wasn't satisfied and harassed me until I came out to witness the beautifulness of it all. She pointed out The Milky Way and a satellite while Mike told us about the A-Train satellite constellation.

Around 10, it started to rain and Patti abandoned the tent. I, in all honesty, was too sore to move. I took a look around and didn't see any rain coming in and continued with my tossing and turning.

The next day, we made our way to the Cliffs of Insanity, a trek that is definitely a reminder that no one needs a gym.

On our way back to The Lou, Patti said: I can't wait to get home to...

Me: ....slip into something fresh???

Patti: To slip into a shower.

As I walked toward my house, I felt a stinging sensation. I knew, without a doubt, that it was a tick. Ewww, ewww, and ewww. I no longer had to wonder what a tick looked like. My knee crease still stung after that sucker was removed...

Mike Making His Way Up --From the 'Drea Skycam


The Crowd Goes Wild for A.J. -- Also from the Skycam

Hobo, One Cool Little Dog

Diamond Falls for Patti and Vice Versa

Leah Stops To Smell The Roses

Morning at the Campsite

Patti Salutes The Sun


'Drea Embracing the Cliff...Special Thanks to Noah for the Camera Work

Find Leah --in a Lime Green Shirt


The Horses of Horseshoe Canyon Ranch

Additional Notes:

Thanks to Patti for letting me know that I had to let the wet tent air out. The prospect of setting up the tent by myself was a bit daunting but I did it. Patti and I actually talked about how amazing equipment, from rope bags to tents, is made. And as always, thanks to YouTube.

Shauna, The Arm Slayer

We played run around the boxing bags to warm up (apparently, a warm-up favorite) then grabbed a kettlebell. In between kettlebell swings, we did a progressive number of push-ups and I was in complete disbelief that Shauna wanted us to pick up the boxing gloves and put them on because my arms were a lost cause.

Shauna reminded me, twice, that I should lead with my left foot since I'm right handed.

She also had to remind me of combinations because anytime she threw out a five sequence combination, I got lost after the first three punches: jab, cross, uppercut...what?

Forgetting the combos didn't bother me because I was still punching and I figured that I was still burning calories.

We did routine calisthenics: mountain climbers, jumping jacks in the upright position and jumping jacks in plank position. We also did planks and, of course, ab work.

We ran sideways around the bags too which seems more draining than running straight.

I've learned to take extra clothes because I'm usually drenched after these boxing classes and, with it being chilly, I don't want to push my luck.

After four classes, I think that I prefer boxing over kickboxing; I can only put so many demands on my coordination. As we got ready for class, this one guy practiced his kicking and he made the most explosive, thunderous sounds when he made contact with the bag.

I'm Gonna Knock You Out

I'm reading You Are Your Own Gym and I just started on chapter nine where this part jumped out at me:

To see the greatest benefits of my proven training method you're going to have to let go of your comfort occasionally. That's the deal. In return, you will look and feel better than ever before. (45)

I took myself to a third consecutive boxing class. Turned myself over to Tai again knowing that discomfort would be involved.

My back is starting to take the brunt of boxing. No problem. Because of yoga, I know how to massage the muscles of my back even when it's hard to get on the floor.

Tai's class was on the light side of brutal today:

Lean and kick.

Hit 'im the eyes. Hit 'im in the groin.

Don't quit on me (one of her favorite - and necessary - phrases).

Stop watching my clock.

Get off my floor (another necessary phrase usually said during abnormal ab work).

One thing that I dig is working two bags when you, say, do a punching combination on one bag then kick backwards or to the side on another bag...

I also like the drill when you keep your hands moving/punching (interspersed with hard punches) until you're told to stop. Another of my favorites is repeatedly delivering two body shots then shuffling to the other side of the bag and delivering two more. Shuffle...body shots...shuffle...

Now, of course, I can't get this song out of my head.

All Around The Boxing Bags

The boxing gym has two classes: kickboxing and boxing. I thought that I would try the boxing without the kick or so I thought. The kick was actually the beatdown that Chris administered.

Chris is reserved so there was no fanfare just quiet commands.

You know how they say that a cheap person squeezes a quarter so hard that they're capable of making the eagle scream? Well, Chris squeezed but it had nothing to do with frugality. Everyone looked absolutely used up at the end of class; I was already exhausted during the warm-up. I don't even remember the myriad calisthenics that Chris threw at us.

He had us run around the perimeter of the bags to warm up. If someone ran slower than you (not a problem that I had), you could just dart between the bags and go around.

We used a medicine ball for lunges, for squeezing them between our legs as we went into a squat position on the wall and for push-ups. During the warm-up, we rapidly tapped our toes on the medicine ball. So, never underestimate the ways that a medicine ball can be used during your workout.

We did combinations like jab jab + a low body shot to the left then right + right and left head shots. Typically when we did a combination, Chris had us drop to the floor and do, say, four bear crawls frontward then backward then drop and do push-ups. It was crazy.

I really looked at him hard when he wanted us to do a long jump. He demonstrated and looked like he was channeling Al Joyner or something...

In between jabbing and crossing, we did mountain climbers, jumping jacks, squats etc.

I did like it when we went to the front of the room and hit every bag for six punches. Once you got to the end of the row, you had to run back to the front of the room and repeat. Then, we ran around the boxing bags again and Chris would yell out for us to find a bag...jab jab...run...find a bag...jab jab...run.

And just when you thought you couldn't take it anymore, Chris came around to give personal attention with his punch mitts and you had to jabjabjab on his countdown.

We ran with a medicine ball and we did the most tortuous ab work. What is it with these people and circus-like moves for the ab? Probably the "easiest" ab work that we did involved wrapping our legs around the bottom of the bag, leaning back and extending our arms out to the side. For the record, Chris was unrelenting for exactly one hour...

Yesterday, I thought that I smelled something while I was at the gym. Wasn't sure what it was but now I know why some folks have their own boxing gloves. The ones at the gym smell awful.

Random fact: the classes have been comprised of all women so far.

Also, there was this woman in class today and, if she were fighting, I would definitely put my money on her...

Jesus 911

When I told my mother about CrossFit, she said You signed up for it and you paid for it too, didn't you?

I did it again. Saw a group coupon for a boxing gym and because I've always wanted to don gloves, I signed up.

Checked out the class schedule and decided to try kickboxing. Got to the gym, filled out the paperwork and the guy said that I needed hand wraps. Thought that should have been in the coupon information but whatever. What color did I want? Geez, don't give me a choice. I finally went with red over blue, lime green, hunter green etc. For some reason, red seems like a power color.

He wants to know if I've done a boxing class before. If you count 10 Minute Solution's cardio kickboxing segment, yes. So, um, no.

He wrapped my hands for me. Three times around the wrist, three times around the knuckles, one time around the thumb then he took up the rest of the slack.

He told me that there will be a warm-up, 30 minutes of boxing then ab work. He also advised me to take water breaks when I needed them. I take a lot of these classes and I see people try to make it straight through but take a break when you need it.

I see a woman practically pouncing around the room. It turns out that the woman is Tai and she was raring to go.

During the warm-up, Tai said It's only going to get worse.

More motivation from Tai (make sure you picture Tai with bulging eyes and a commanding voice):

Don't give up on me.

Oh, I'm not scared of you.

(A comment that you got if you were punching light)

I don't hear your bag.

Kick 'im in the side. Kick 'im in the head.

(Apparently, "him" is not a short person either)

Somebody better call Jesus.

(During the crazy ab portion of the program)

Get off my floor.

(During crazier ab work)

And my personal favorite as we squatted, punched as fast as possible and came to the end of the cardio part:

Hold your ass in and give me everything you've got.

There's a picture of Muhammad Ali on the wall with his trademark quip: Float like a butterfly; sting like a bee.

I have a whole new respect for boxers. I never knew there were so many ways to get one's behind kicked in an hour. That was, hands down, one of the most intense workouts that I've ever done and I feel like I could drop a significant amount of weight this way too.

How I Felt After Kickboxing Class

I don't know about you but after enduring an ultra-tough class, I feel stronger and able to take on whatever is coming my way.

Anyone else been to a boxing gym? I'm hooked. Get it? :)

The Rose-Colored Speedo and the Yoga Wall

I had a dream that I stepped into a wild, overcrowded yoga room. I kept moving and, magically, there was a door that opened up into a body of water. When I walked back into the yoga room, I had on my favorite rose-colored Speedo suit and I kept moving through the crowded room...

I spotted a yoga studio as I did my usual eyeballing of Groupon Now and I was instantly intrigued by Yoga Wall but would I be able to do it?

I intended to go last Saturday but couldn't drag myself out of bed. Well, I could have managed but sleepiness + apprehension = burrowing.

I asked Patti if we could rendezvous for our Saturday climbing later so that I could attend the yoga class. The time change was cool with her since she's fallen head over wheels for bicycling and was able to get her a.m. bicycling groove on.

I just put myself on automatic before fear set in and headed out to Yoga Wall class.

It was a small group which I'm always grateful for when I'm delving into a new experience -- fewer witnesses to a potentially embarrassing situation.

What to say about Yoga Wall? Downward Facing Dog felt so much better. Spinal rejuvenation was, well, rejuvenating. Warrior Two is pretty cool with the assistance of straps. And Superwoman? When Sharon asked me to lift my arms, I was like It's not going to happen. I felt pretty awkward elevated and with my feet on the wall and raising my arms was going to significantly add to the awkwardness but everyone else was pretty confident that it was going to happen. Sharon walked over to assist me and, yes, I was able to achieve the Superwoman pose while in the pelvic swing. Thanks to my classmates for the supportive applause.

I also did my first inversion on the wall -- the one at 00:40 in the video below.

During Savasana,* Sharon guided and said something like If you hear the wind on the roof yaddayaddayadda, just ignore it. I'll watch over you.

Confession: I am a sucker for sentiments like that because I tend to be hypervigilant and it's nice to let go while someone else is the watchman.

When we were in the pelvic swing, chest open and head back, Sharon talked about how most people feel really vulnerable with their chest open because we're programmed to protect our chest area because that's where our heart is at etc. etc. but if you open your chest, you also open yourself up to myriad possibilities.

So, yeah, Yoga Wall was amazing. And I'm not going to mention that Sharon gave me a foot massage that didn't tickle.

My classmates were like: You made it through your first Yoga Wall now let's see if you come back. They have no clue about the addictive nature of my personality.




*I'm really enjoying being brought out of Savasana by the ringing of a bell.


Do you have a preference for how Savasana ends?

Train of Thought

Oh, quads are sore...It's a nice night for an Epsom Salt bath...I should get... Oh, the library...Yes, it stays open until 7...I can get that book, Postcards from a Dead Girl, that Dawn recommended....


BodyGo Row Class Agenda

Before the agenda was taken care of, Laurie made sure that everyone knew each other or had been introduced. I sometimes behave like a troglodyte but not Jaime who took the initiative and introduced herself in the lobby.

Once the intros were taken care of, we warmed up by doing reverse lunges et al. then the rowing games began.


Two Minutes of Rowing
"Pick Your Poison"
Rowing
"Poison Picking"
Rowing
"Poison Picking"...Repeat


Poison to Pick From:

Planks to Push-Ups (20 x's)
Plyo Push-Ups (20)
Push-Ups (20)
Single Arm DB Thrusters (20)
Sit-Ups (30)
Straight Leg Raises or Tucks (at Dip Station) (25)
Squats (20)...


So far, Postcards from a Dead Girl is good. What's even better is that I didn't drop it in the tub because book dropping has happened before.

Glutes Against The Wall

Monday

I've had my eye on another yoga class and decided to take my post-triathlon sore hips et al. to a nighttime session.

We did inversions on the wall since we were a small group.

The only wall inversion that I've done is one with my butt against the wall -- legs up.

Well, we also did the reverse. Hands on the mat while walking our feet up and down the wall. It was intense but felt really good.

At one point, we achieved an amazing calf stretch by extending our leg and curling our toes under.

As we got to the end of the practice, my newest teacher asked us if we wanted an eye bag. I've been up for all kinds of new activities lately so I said yes to an eye bag for savasana.

I put my woodsy smelling bag in place and the guiding started:

Relax your feet.

Relax your calves.

Breathe into every vertebrae in your spine.

Relax the space between your fingers.

I've heard a similar litany before. I liked it then and liked it last night...

Relax your earlobes.

Relax your eyebrows.

Relax your eyelids.

Relax your eyeballs.

Just. Let. It. Go.

Postscript: Slept wonderfully and considerably less sore Tuesday morning.


Tuesday

Got to take it to the wall again.

When it was time for the wall, my yoga teacher instructed us to put our right hip against it then put our legs up. We were also told to make sure that our glutes were against the wall. It always feels good to have my legs up on the wall and even better to extend my arms backwards while the legs are up; it's a great stretch.

It also felt good to do the butterfly pose against the wall -- the perfect Rx for my sore hips.


We did this situation

too and my yoga teacher stopped to tell me that my posture was excellent. It's a challenging pose but I like it.


Tuesday Bonus Round

Nighttime swimming, 10 laps...

Conclusion: I am definitely a p.m. exerciser.

Taking the Sprint Out of Sprint Triathlon

To do the sprint triathlon or not to do the sprint triathlon? That was the question.

I did think the triathlon would be a good way to celebrate my increased comfort in the pool. More specifically, my increased comfort with front crawl breathing. Of course, the swimming portion of the program is also what made me the most nervous.


What finally got me to register was thinking about Patti's Bike is Good t-shirt. She's already signed up for Bike MS 2012 and is planning to ride 75 miles...

I had been pretty much relaxed about the triathlon until I got to the pool area and the countdown started. My breathing was completely raggedy. Once the other woman got out of the lane, I was able to calm myself down and finish before getting kicked out as we had 30 minutes to complete the swimming portion.

We did the bike portion on spinning bikes and, during the "run," I walked a lot. Those 3.1 miles on the treadmill felt like the longest three plus miles ever.

The distances for this tri: 500 yards of swimming, nine miles of bicycling and 3.1 miles of running or walking.

Calves, Measuring in at 16 Inches, Are Getting Out of Control

Here are my results:

Swim Split, 22:53
Swim Rank, 38 out of 40

Bike Split, 20:45
Bike Rank, 34

Run Split, 41:16
Run Rank, 37

I was slow but I endured.

About To Veg Out

Sore and tired pretty much sum up how I feel and vegging out is definitely on the agenda -- as much as I'm able to veg out... I'm going to kick back and watch a movie and hope that I don't fall asleep.

Recently, I've watched Win Win and loved it.

Didn't stick the first time around but I'm six episodes into Breaking Bad; it makes me edgy the same way Prison Break did.



I'm still watching Heavy. Jill got busted hiding food in her room. She had a thing for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and when she's confronted about contraband, here's what she had to say:

I'm not hiding it. It's just peanut butter. I have peanut butter in my room because I need the peanut butter. We exercise for three and four hours a day. Heck yeah, I have peanut butter in my room. (Jill/Johnny episode)

I've been catching up on The Biggest Loser too. Bob cracked me up when he told the former NFL player that he was like a Christmas present to him and I was moved when that same player broke down and Bob told him:

What you don't have here and what you don't have here in your legs, I need you to overcompensate and have it here (pointing to brain).

I like the new trainer, Dolvett, too:

If you're not moving, you're not losing people.

Hopping Up On The Deck Is Getting Easier

Guy: I'm looking for Laurie. I guess she's the one who runs this joint.

Kerri: (Points toward interior of box) She's the one in shape.

The one in shape was not playing around either. On the agenda for class:

500 meters of rowing @ 22 mets
10 Burpee Pull-Ups

Laurie looks at me and wants to know if I know what a burpee pull-up is. I'm not quite sure but I have an idea. So, yeah, what's worse than a burpee? A burpee immediately followed by a pull-up. Voilà, the burpee pull-up.

Laurie hops up and executes a textbook pull-up. It was sick. Just sick.

She wants Kerri and me to go through the pull-up motions to get a feel for them. Sure...

500 meters of rowing @ 24 mets
20 Slams (20 lbs)

500 meters of rowing @ 26 mets
25 Sit-ups

500 meters of rowing @ 28 mets
5 Burpee Pull-Ups
10 Slams
15 Sit-Ups

Run Around the Building or Walk for Recovery (and Hop Up On The Deck to Get Back in Building)

15 Push-Ups (Assisted)

Rowing, 5 Minutes

End of Workout

It's amazing how much you can get done in 45 minutes...

I was happy to see Kerri pull up when I arrived. She was in the last rowing class and I like to have someone to joke around with.

Apparently, there's another jokester. One of the guys was like So, this is what you like to do for fun?

Kerri tells me that she goes to the CrossFit group class during the day a couple of times a week and she likes to mix in rowing. She also tells me that if I can do the rowing class, I can do the regular CrossFit class which is good to hear.

I Ate Your Chips or Stuff People Say to Me, VIII

I ate your chips. I knew you wouldn't mind.

Leanne (next door work neighbor) brought back a veggie burger for me from Local Harvest; they usually serve burgers with Billy Goat chips which I usually don't eat.

You look good. Your skin is so clear and you look like you've been dipped in chocolate.

Lori, my friend

Lori With One of Many Animals She Has Befriended

She has been dipped in chocolate.

Michael, a yoga teacher sitting nearby in a coffee shop*

So, tell me, what's up with you? Yaddayaddayadda...You look cute. Yaddayaddayadda

Lisa, fellow climber

One route at a time.

Patti to me after I voiced my frustration with getting off to a rocky climbing start.

Patti Standing On Top of the Bouldering World

Nubian Princess...

Jackie, a climber, to me. She had a hard time remembering my name and said that she would just call me Nubian Princess. I had no objections.

I'll tell ya, one mistake that I see people make a lot is being too far away from the wall.

Brent's friend's comment on lead belaying after Brent asked me about the lead climbing class.

Leah: Are you still doing yoga?

Me: Yeah, I'll probably try Bikram next.

Leah: That's not good for your body. Pause... You can go outside (it was around 100 degrees this day) and do yoga.

Leah Lead Climbing Some 5.11b Situation

You're totally ready for lead climbing. Later...Your technique is good.

Jessica

Jessica Showing Her Usual Tenacity On A Route

If I had a choice between jumping out of a plane and rock climbing then, maybe, I would choose rocking climbing.

Janine

*Sitting at a middle table with Michael on the left and an older couple on the right, I was fully embarrassed at this point. I guess exercise and cleaner eating are agreeing with me???

Just Pedal...With Consolations

Ever since Patti started training for her Bike MS event, she's been inviting me to go bicycling and I finally took her up on her offer. Mind you, I've been bicycling sporadically and the last time that I went (on Sept. 4th) a mere nine miles wore me out.

I had a dream last night and, in the dream, I woke up late, forgot to eat breakfast and damaged my bike at the library. Not sure why I made a pit stop at the library.

We ended up doing approximately 28 miles which is the longest mileage that I've racked up in one bicycling outing. I like the art of the drive-by and I'm usually done with bicycling in about an hour or an hour and a half.

At one point, it felt like I was in The Twilight Zone. I thought I was pedaling but didn't feel like I was getting anywhere. I was so relieved when Crystal said something about a subtle hill.

During the last leg, when I felt like we would never get back to the finish line, I told Patti to just go ahead; it was an offer that I extended multiple times because I just ran out of steam. I kept telling myself to just pedal and, eventually, I'd get back to where I started from.

When we finally got towards the end of our ride, Crystal said If it's any consolation, we're close. Although, Michelle did challenge her, very funnily, about what constitutes close.

Michelle also chimed in to say that when she first bicycled that kind of mileage, it was tough but now it's easier. Duly noted...

Patti was coaching me along at the end. You are going to be so proud of yourself when you make it to the end and, later, We are doing this for our health... She also kept trying to distract me with nature which worked...a little.

Nickel Plate Trail

Postscript: Crystal has some gadget and reports that we rode 29.8 miles.