Day 26 = Slaying the Gila Monster

Calories Burned: 3220 Calories Consumed: 1047 for a difference of: 2173

I woke up this morning not feeling too great. My stomach was feeling a little uneasy. Of course when I got to the kitchen and saw that breakfast was the fritatta again I grew even more nauseous! LOL I opted for cereal instead.

I decided to do the stop sign hike again. I walked up it with Richelle. We had a really good talk during our walk. She is a really great person. When we reached the top we headed out to the overlook. The view was breathtaking.



After the hike I had stretch class. I love stretch class. It is always great to luck out and have it immediately after the hike. Otherwise I end up a big ball of tension.

Lunch was chicken stew with a wheat roll and oh my god was it good! It was the closest to a "home cooked" tasting meal that I have had since arriving a month ago.


After lunch everyone headed to class, but not me! I had booked a private hike. On my second day at FR I had been "misinformed" to try a fast intermediate hike. I chose a hike called Gila (after a creepy lizard monster thingy) Now, normally I think I could have manged on this hike, but throw in adjusting to the altitude along with paralyzed legs from my first ever stop sign hike and a dash of exhaustion form working out 7 hours in one day for the first time in my life and what you get is a really unpleasant experience! (and a really bitchy Brandi) LOL. The only memories I have of my first Gila hike were unpleasant ones. I remember stopping at least ten times to catch my breath and stretch my legs. By stopping I mean for several minutes... I was at the back of the pack by far for the entire time. I remember being drenched with sweat, dizzy, roasting hot and cursing multiple obscenities.. So I decided I needed to slay the Gila. I didn't want to do it in a group setting so I hired a guide for a private hike. I was interested to see how much I had improved if any) since February 9th.




I met Carrie (the guide) in the lobby and we headed on our way. Honestly I was NOT looking forward to it, but I would have wondered forever how it would have been if I hadn't tried again. I had been planning to attempt the hike at a more moderate pace than the last time but Carrie had a different idea. She shot out of the gate like a freaking race horse. I was thinking CRAP. Of course I didn't want to look like a wuss so I didn't tell her that I didn't want to go so quickly this time LOL.

I discovered that the difference in my fitness is amazing. I actually made it up to the cave (last time I watched everyone go up while I tried to recover at the bottom of the trail.) I made it up the massive staircase without stopping, and I made it all the way to the end and back out much faster than I had the first time. (We also took a more difficult route out than we originally had.)I felt amazing and accomplished. To top it all off when I got back Carrie told me that I went at the advanced pace and I should have been doing the advanced hikes! I was so proud!

Dinner was a turkey meatball sandwich. It had marinara and mozza and I ate it before I could take a picture..lol

Friday night was really fun. I had a hot stone massage which felt amazing. It was my last one :( I had never had one before and it was so relaxing. MMMMMMM Afterward I sat in the lobby with Jim, Seth, Merinda, and Travis and we had some hilarious conversation. It felt good just to sit and laugh..