It's been raining here fairly consistently for the last few months, and between that and my lingering covid complications it's been a while since I've gotten to push myself the way I like to. I've been building my endurance back up running and weight lifting at the gym though, and getting out on small hikes, bike rides, and trail runs when I can though.
(Photo dump at the end, if you're not into reading all these words lol)
This weekend, finally, we got great weather back to back for both days AND I was (mostly) feeling really good. Yay!
On Saturday I got out for a bike ride - I'm aiming to get some bike packing trips in this year, and have been wanting to build my biking endurace back up, plus biking is great cross training for my running goals too. My goal for Saturday was to get at least 20 miles in. The trail I wanted to ride ended up having a closure 7 miles in which was a bummer - but I was able to pivot to a different loop and still got my mileage in. It all felt pretty easy too, even though this was my longest ride in at least a year. I actually wanted to keep going, the weather was so nice and I felt great, but I had afternoon plans to keep and a big hike for Sunday I didn't want to be too tired or sore for.
And then of course I got food poisoning Saturday night and did not sleep at all/generally felt miserable lol. I almost cancelled on the friends I planned to hike with - we were going into pretty rough back country terrain, with some aggressive inclines and scrambling, which can be taxing even on a good day. But I decided to get up and see how I felt after eating, because I knew I would be upset not to go - the conditions out here are special right now, with the good weather but still lots of water from the recent rains and snowmelt. It's not often you can go chasing waterfalls in the desert! My next couple of weekends are already booked out, but even if they weren't, the experience might not be the same in a week.
I ended up powering through and I'm so glad I did. The hike definitely took a bigger toll out of me than normal, and I had to be very mindful about hydrating/electrolytes/snacking as much as possible on a still somewhat cranky stomach but it was all worth it. I had a great time with the group, many of whom I haven't seen since before leaving on my backpacking trip over the summer, and everything about the day was as perfect as possible. Good weather. So many waterfalls I lost count. Incredible views.
And then I got home, started reading Brandon Sanderson's new book on my little balcony in the hammock I just snagged for a steal off fb marketplace until the sun set, and then I went to bed about as happy and content as a person can be.
Photo dump as promised:
