Quick Update

Hi all,

Another wonderful day.  We changed our plans a bit and instead of biking today, we hiked in Sky Meadows State Park.  An overcast morning opened up to a beautiful sunny fall afternoon.  I took some great pix, but forgot to pack my download cord.  We're enjoying a very nice B&B in Leesburg and tomorrow morning Sharon and I will bike on the W&OD (Washington and Old Dominion) bike trail back towards home (~30 miles).  DH, still sporting a whole arm cast will drive home and meet us at trail's end (or earlier if we call him).

I did not go to my WI today as we were running late AND I didn't get in my last chance run.  I thought about going to the meeting here tomorrow, but it's after our B&B breakfast.  I don't want to hop on the scale right after breakfast AND we want to get a relatively early start.  I think I'll just skip this week.  I can't share any new pix, but I'll leave you with today's physicsdiet chart--showing lots of green.

Happy trails to YOU, too.

Coming Down from the Mountain

I'll try to keep this short(er) today. We slept late-ish today and, after our Starbucks lattes and strawberries & cereal breakfast, we headed up to Rocky Mountain NP. Both of us finally felt that we'd overcome the lack of energy caused by the high altitude. We consulted with a ranger and decided to do a 6 mile hike, with a 560 elevation gain, to Cub Lake. The climb happened in the first 2.3 miles of the hike and took us a long while. Once we reached the lake, the downward 3.5 miles went fairly quickly. Great views, some new (for me) birds, including the mountain bluebird, and a fun time. We again had our picnic lunch along the way and had lots of water. It was a challenge, but I felt great afterwards and am glad we did it. I'm in love with the Aspen trees. We don't have these birch-like trees in Virginia, but they are graceful and beautiful to look at. The other predominant tree in RMNP is the Lodgepole Pine. Unfortunately, in the park, as well as in several other western states they are under serious attack by a pine bark beetle which is fast killing great numbers of them.

Tomorrow we will drive across the park and head on down to Colorado Springs. DH's conference starts tomorrow evening and I'm sure I can find ways to entertain myself for a couple of days. I seriously need to get a run in--my running shoes are going to sue for abandonment. Tomorrow is supposed to be my WI day, but it looks like I'll probably go on Thursday, instead, because we won't roll into town until mid afternoon. I'm really hoping that I lose well this week. I miss having my scale along to keep an eye on things. For me, when I stop weighing myself every day, it means I'm avoiding acknowledging gaining.

I know people have different approaches to weighing. Do you weigh yourself every day?

Pinch Me!

It's late in the day, but on this Memorial Day I want to express my thankfulness for all the men and women who have served to protect and defend our country. Included in this number is my father, pictured above receiving his West Point diploma in 1939 from President Franklin Roosevelt. His class had so many casualties, but never forgot their motto: Duty, Honor, Country. I'm proud of him and all his comrades then and now.

So many of you wrote that you knew this little part of the country we're visiting now. Thanks for your comments. It's fun to imagine you here, too. This is the first time I've ever been here and I'm loving it. To think I've lived this long and never knew what I was missing! What ELSE are you keeping secret from me?? LOL

This is one of hundreds of tiles that local citizens decorated to line the entrance to a walkway along the River Walk in Estes Park. After a little more than one day here, we can really understand how they feel.

As per our usual travel routine, we shopped last night so that we could enjoy a healthy breakfast in our room. DH lured me from the bed (at 7:15!) with a fragrant cafe latte. I'm not usually a coffee drinker, but I do have skim cafe latte's when we travel to get in a little more milk than just breakfast. I could (and usually do) eat shredded mini wheats at breakfast every day. I love fresh fruit to vary it up, though. The white on the strawberries is Splenda (a habit I'm going to try to break one of these days, but not yet!

Today is Monday and I usually run on Monday, but not today. Estes Park is at just over 8000 feet above sea level and both DH and I had noticed that we were just a tad short of breath and that we lack our usual level of energy. We're feeling the altitude a bit, so I did not run. I did drink lots of water (about 2 1/2 quarts) and we spent most of the day at the lower altitude attractions. Anyway, I traded my running shoes for these:

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We went on three short and one longer hike for a total of about 7 miles. Our hikes were separated by short rests in our hotel, a swim in the (heated) pool, and a nap. DH carried a backpack and, along with our plan to stay on-track food wise, we packed a lunch (bought last night at Safeway) and ate it alongside Lilly Lake. I usually do a better job of finding a variety of colors in meals, but this is what we had and it was tasty. I ended up giving DH about half of my chicken breast. Also, I've never liked bananas, but as they are always recommended for runners, I occasionally will eat an inch or two of banana. Today, it was good. DH says my tastes are maturing (!)

I didn't take along the camera on our long (4 mile) hike. We went on the Estes Lake trail, around the lake. Okay, but pale in comparison to the other walks and hikes around here.

We did notice we started feeling more able to breathe normally as the day wore on. This is good! Our final hike, just before dinner, was to Lumpy Ridge, part of Rocky Mountain NP. It had a bit of elevation gain (which we had been avoiding in deference to the lack of energy) but it was okay. I took this picture of one of the beautiful wildflowers right along the trail. I believe it is a kind of bluebell, a mertensia cillatta. Such fragile beauty in a rough terrain.

On our first walk of the day, along the River Walk in Estes Park, we noticed an Italian Restaurant (Mama Rosa's) and decided we'd go there for dinner. I'd eaten well within my plan and was prepared to treat myself at dinner time. This is what I chose: A Caprese Salad--it was on the appetizer menu, but it was always a favorite when we lived in Italy and so I ordered it. Dessert in our room with our beloved Latte Bars!

Tomorrow we're hoping to be ready to take on the Bear Lake trail (still with many snowy patches). Maybe one more swim in the pool tonight and then early to bed (we're still basically on EST).

Recap of my Spring Focus Goals: I kept to my goal to drink 2 quarts of water daily except on the day we were traveling. I have not measured my portions on this trip, but I did keep a mindful eye on them and feel they are well in control. I had a good, no fantastic, 2.8 pound weight loss at my WI last Wednesday. I'm hoping to lose at least half a pound at my WI this week. Things are going well. Thank you all for your inspiration and encouragement!