6 miles!!!!

Geez. I thought I was bad when I had not posted in three weeks and now I notice it has been over two months. Scott actually posted on my Facebook wall if I was still training. Guess all y'all thought I had given up. Well, no... there was more to address and put into place. There are other events and circumstances in my life that do not include training for this trip.

Firstly is my new job. Well, not new now. My probationary period ends this week and there has been much to do and be and address to be comfortable with what I am doing. One hundred or so hours of online coursework, learning to do BIRP notes (and if you don't know what they are, that's ok - you may not want to know, but it is through those notes that I get paid). I completed the online courses a couple of weeks ago, and my notes are coming together better as well. The weekends I was focusing on completing the online courses I was not mindful of my posture while sitting in a comfy chair with my laptop. The result was back problems and more stuff to manage and deal with. NOW, all that is complete and handled. Check!

I was still having problems with my feet until last Monday night I had reflexology from my dear friend Wanda Nelson. She does feet. If you have anything wrong with your feet, call Wanda (contact me personally for contact info). She said that I have hammer toe on both feet (second toe is longer, becoming permanently bent and pushed back into the foot.) That is why the joint is inflamed. She suggested yoga toes (yeah, I didn't know what she was talking about either). What I found was some gell thingies at CVS Pharmacy that are similar. They keep your toes apart similarily to the foam toe separators you get when having a pedicure. My feet are better already. I hiked 6 miles today and it feels good.

My weekly hikes have also included Stone Mountain. My late Wednesday afternoon staff meeting had me completing around 6pm. The attempt to get to Marietta from Stone Mountain at six is just silly - you can't get here from there. So, I took my hiking boots and change of clothes and hiked the mountain. That worked until last Wednesday. I fell twice-the last time because it was dark and I stepped in a hole and turned my ankle over. Thank God for strong ankles (all the swimming helps) and great boots (REI and Keen) and hiking poles. The first time I fell was from overextending the ability of my boots to hold me on a steep incline to rocks with sand on them. The sand did it. The boots have held at incredible inclines before - the experience I have is of the boots having little suction cups on the soles. Great equipment. The experience only made me a bit sore the next morning. I was able to find some Advil that had not expired and forgot that I hurt until the next day!

Trips have also taken precedent sometimes. A High School reunion in Virginia gave me a few days with old friends and family in August. Next year will mark 45 years since I graduated from high school and I have mentioned to a couple of classmates about hosting our reunion on my family farm. Last weekend I successfully created an overnight at Lake Lanier just north of Atlanta with friends. Rustic cabin and pontoon boat's engine did not work, but we were able to dive off and swim in deep water and canoe, cook out and shoot fireworks. We also blew up some automobile airbags. They are loud, just so you know... In October I plan a trip to the NC mountains to see my dear friend Jim and am exploring going to Colorado to see Heather and family and other friends around Thanksgiving.

Ok, ok... I know this blog is about my hiking training... so here are the goals for the next two months: By the end of October I intend to have hiked 10 miles in one day. By the end of November I intend to have hiked 10 miles two days in a row. This is doable.