Training Log Archive: Lori

Hiking up to Big Bear Lake with Sam and Presto! I woke up this morning with a sore throat and feeling kind of icky, but after coming all this way it seemed like a shame not to enjoy the mountains, so we headed over to the Big Bear Lake trail. It was super hot (mid-90s), which made things even more challenging, but I was actually feeling ok aside from the whole breathing thing for a good chunk of the hike. There were some really cool sections with lots of ferns and super tall trees and a family of quails and all sorts of fun foresty things. Presto really liked the quail family and the lizards.

By the time we got up to the lake, I was feeling pretty beat, and we stopped for lunch and a quick swim. I even got Presto into the water to his great chagrin. Oh, and there was some sort of water snake that came over to check us out, which with my NC upbringing was a bit startling. I don't think this snake was poisonous, though, and it didn't try to eat us, so all was well.

A thunderstorm looked like it was rolling in just as we were starting back down, but we made it off the mountain without ever getting rained on (although getting rained on probably would have been an improvement in the temperature department). The last couple of miles were a bit of a death march, but it was a super fun hike anyway!

Stretching before bed.

Hiking up Mount Eddy with Sam and Presto! Sam and I decided to check out the Trinity Alps for the holiday weekend, and we figured the best way to start was to climb the tallest mountain (not including Mt. Shasta, which doesn't allow dogs on the summit) in the area, so we headed to Mt. Eddy. The hike started out on the PCT and was super pretty with things like flowers and trees and stuff, which was kind of awesome. We hiked past Deadfall Lakes and then up the gazillion switchbacks to the summit where we were rewarded with an awesome view of Mt. Shasta. We had lunch at the top, and then headed back down. My legs were still surprisingly sore from PT on Wednesday, so I was pretty beat by the time we got back to the car, but it was a super fun day!

Stretching before bed at the campsite.

When we reserved the campsite, we happily chose a site next to a large lake (one of the 50 largest reservoirs in the country) expecting to be able to go for a quick swim after hiking. Alas, it turns out the drought has been hard on Trinity Lake, and it is now more of a denuded valley with a stream running through the bottom. It looked like we could find some water if we hiked maybe a quarter mile down towards the dam and then like 200 ft down into the valley, but it was starting to get dark, and it seemed like a lot of work to go for a quick dip. It really brought the drought to life. Eek!

Biking to and from PT.

Lots of hopping on one leg or both legs: onto and off of boxes, as high as I can hop, as far as I can hop, etc. Then hip adductors, clams, and fire hydrants with the purple + the red band. Apparently I have graduated out of the resistance that a single band can provide. Ouch!

Dynamic stretching before starting: swinging a straight leg back and forth, swinging a straight leg side to side, swinging my leg forward to "high knees" and backward to a butt kick, and then a sort of swishy side to side thing with my knee.

Then static stretching at the end: hamstrings, quads, glutes, calves, and hip flexors.

Roller blading with Sam and Presto! I really wanted to go for a run today but my knee was aching slightly after standing a lot in lab, so we decided roller blading was probably a better bet. Presto decided it was too hot to do any pulling (it might have been pushing 80 today!), so this was all me. We managed to stay ahead of a bicycle the entire way up the hill, which was kind of fun :-).

Eccentric hip flexor things.

Limber 11 + calves + evening nerve glides.

Eccentric hip flexor things.

Limber 11 + calves + evening nerve glides.

Running with Sam and Presto on the Tilden fire trail! We were initially planning another mountain biking excursion today, but with Presto's pads all torn up, we decided to try for an easy run instead. Presto wore socks and booties, which made him stare at his feet in horror until he realized that he could run much more comfortably with socks on. Running felt really nice and easy today! I think being on a trail is much better for me than on the roads. Things felt great for the first half, but at some point my ITB just above my knee started aching a tiny bit, and I decided to call it a day. Still, this is definitely the furthest I've run since my injury!

Normal glutes + stabilizer abs + eccentric hip flexor things.

Limber 11 + calves + evening nerve glides.

In other news, we finally figured out how to make decent mochi! Woohoo, tasty things :-)!