Thursday - The Mountain and Me - Day 11

Here I am in my new 'smaller' (so small I got to shop in the regular size section) pants! And the free shirt I scored last Sunday at Laundry mat shopping (similar to Goodwill, but free - guests who's clothes have grown too big leave their clothes on the table for others to use) Bonus!

Here is our group getting ready for the Stop Sign hike.

Lisa and I making it to mini Stop Sign. Only one grueling mile to go!

Made it! Beat my time by 10 minutes. They got to get a new photographer at the stop sign though. Those guys don't even get the sign in the pic! LOL That's an orange in my mouth by the way. Blood sugar needed a boost.

OK, so, Julieann took this one and said it had to go in the blog cause it was the new improved me from behind. And I'm shakin my bootie!

Absolutely delicious!!! English muffin with eggs, turkey bacon, and cheese and fruit.

Lunch was vegetable soup. They put brussel sprouts in it.

Turkey club pita with lettuce tomato and onion and a side salad. Very filling and of course...delicious!

This was one of my favs. Cafe salad. Grilled chicken, pico de gallo, lettuce, tomato, cheese black beans and brown rice on a whole wheat tortilla. It had a cilantro lime dressing that was so good I ALMOST didn't miss the sour cream.

So today was Stop Sign hike. 4 miles each way of sheer elevation. The last mile is an increase of 1,000 ft. Needless to say, many don't make it to the top. Last week we did it on Wednesday. The view is amazing going down, but it's not one you take much time or effort in looking at on the way up. Most people just look at their feet because if you see what is in front of you, it's scary, discouraging, and brings you to tears. It makes you ask yourself questions like, "What am I doing here?" and "Can I do this?" and "What was I thinking?" For me it was especially challenging, because I was hit with homesickness. It's doesn't schedule a 'good time for you'. I was teary through the whole thing. Lisa was my partner during the first three miles and we set a fast pace both wearing I-Pods and walking fast just before a jog. We got the pic together at mini stop sign and readjusted everything. She wasn't sure she could keep my pace up the mountain, but I told her we're doing this together. No stopping. Susan came along beside us. Both Lisa and Susan are first weekers and in my hiking group this week. We started up the 1,000 ft. incline. I was first, Susan fell into second, and Lisa was right behind. I was feeling good and wanted to beat my 1:27 time last week. We climbed the mountain and about a 1/4 mile before the stop sign there is a gaurd house and speed bumps. I turned to Susan and said as I burst out crying, "I'm going to beat my time!" She started yelling, "Go, run, go now!" I started running and I thought, "Am I crazy? I'm already exhausted. I can't do this. My hips hurt." The mind it our biggest enemy when it comes to training. We have to overcome all it's negative thoughts and push through them and yell at it that it's wrong. Susan kept yelling, "Go Dawn!!" every few seconds. I could hear her over the music in my I-Pod and she didn't stop til I grabbed the Stop Sign. I checked my heart monitor and I had beat my time by 10 minutes!!! This was life changing for me. So many times we just kind of check out when it comes to the hard stuff, but that's where the victories come from. I am amazed at what I can do when I'm with the right people and am given the right opportunities. My body is exhausted, but I feel the best I've felt in years. We ate our snacks, took some pics and headed back down the mountain. Our total hike was around 6 1/2 miles in 2:15. Nobody can take that from us. We did it together with about 20 others from the Ridge in two vans. Each yelling for the other one and high fiving on the road up and down. Several of my best friends are going home this Sunday. I am already sad not to have them with me. I will keep in touch with them and hopefully we will see each other again, either here or on other travels. But, come Sunday afternoon, shuttles full of new, scared, anxious guest will arrive. And we will be there to meet them like so many others were there to meet us. We will smile and tell them it's OK, don't be afraid, you are among friends.