...or the start of something great!
At the end of last month, I signed up for a "all fitness levels welcome" women-only pedal/paddle excursion through the local parks & rec department. The trip's start point is north of Duluth, so I'm counting on fabulous scenery. The timing isn't great, but what can you do? It's the last 2 days of school, and I'm choosing to look at it as my last hurrah before the "buckle down and work" that is summer around here. (Side note: seriously, I don't understand these moms who "can't wait!" for summer - summer is ten times the work of any other season, and the hardest 3 months of my year. Basically, I'm working 18 hour days, and it's hot. ugh.)
Anyway, I figured that, even though I'm still 20+ pounds overweight, I should be able to handle a "all fitness levels" activity... until I spoke with the outfitter.
Here's the schedule of events:
Thursday - arrive at campsite by 6 for happy hour, dinner, socializing.
Friday - breakfast, kayak training, then 7 (!!) hours on the river. Some Class I rapids, that we can portage if desired. (Side note: I was freaked by this until Google revealed that Class I is just a notch above still water. Class IV is the biggie. whew.) Happy hour (naptime for me?), followed by dinner & social time.
Saturday - a choice of 40 or 75 mile bike ride to new campsite. More happy hour, dinner, and socializing.
Apparently, the happy hour thing is a big draw...? Anyway, I'm counting on the alcohol consumption of others to lower the overall performance bar. Am I so out of shape I can't keep up with a bunch of hung-over women? (hmmm)
Now, spending a few nights in a sleeping bag (even with an air mattress) is not going to make my back very happy, but I'm hoping that fistfuls of Advil will overcome that hurdle. What will be harder is (1) kayaking for that long, and (2) biking 40 miles with a body that just endured all that kayaking... and then slept on the ground all night!
So, you will notice the addition of RunKeeper data to my workout page as I begin conditioning myself for the bike portion of this adventure. The kayak training is going to be harder, but it looks like ab/core workouts will help. I've been watching kayak videos on the internet, and, although helpful, are not the same as doing.
So when my kids come downstairs to find me sitting on an exercise ball, practicing my stroke using a closet rod, they're going to think Mom has lost it. And maybe I have, but it's a ride that's exhilaratingly scary.
Whoo hoo! Here we go!
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