Heavy lifting

Snooty's has a class that's called "Barbell Club" and I went to my first session tonight - two thumbs up! It's like the best part of crossfit without the rest of it. We did about 50 minutes of strength training starting with a little warmup, and then 5 sets of 5 of:

• Back squats where we started with the 35 pound barbell and then I got up to 65
• Deadlifts where we started with 55 pounds and I got up to 75
• Bent over rows where I used the 35 pound barbell with a 5 pound weight on the end.

I am pretty confident that I will be sore tomorrow. I'll have to check and see what I used to lift in my crossfit days - certainly more than I did today. I think I used to be able to lift almost my body weight. The one thing that's different about this class is that you don't get to drop the weights, which was always a lot of fun.

I went to yoga earlier this week, and it was a pretty OK class. I got there early to boulder and did a V1-2 ish, and got up over my head and then fell. And I landed on my butt and it was kind of fun actually. Which maybe built my confidence a little, but not so much that I'm going crazy.

I'm back to dipping on the regular. Water is about 55-58 ish. I've just been dipping, not swimming, though I know I will need to get back into it before "you know what" (which is what we now call the swim festival).

A few weeks ago Kyle-the-tile fell out of the bathroom wall. IDK what's up with that, he's been hanging there since 1973, why is it suddenly an issue? But it is because there's nothing behind Kyle, or his next door neighbors (who are also Kyle). So, I duct taped a garbage bag over the hole, but I have to fix it. And while I'm fixing it I want to take out the brown tub that's both ugly and too small for a good soak. And, since I'm doing that, I should fix the patchwork in the ceiling and the two moldy spots. And, while I'm at it, I feel like it's a good idea to get a new toilet, because the one I have is a no name brand. Anyhow, you can see where this is all going. I had a contractor come look at it and he was like "if you have half a beautiful new bathroom and half from 1973 you are going to regret it. Just cut out the old tiles and put up a wall, replace the floor and get a new vanity." And of course then I will want a heated towel rack. Damn Kyle.

It's so stressful doing repair work because #1 I have no idea what I'm doing and #2 contractors always take advantage of women. So, I asked a male friend of mine who knows about this stuff if he would be my "contractor spouse" and he very generously agreed. He just comes over and hangs out and then they hopefully don't set their prices at something crazy. Next week I have a second contractor coming, and I'm going to try to get a third one to look at it (my sister followed a contractor's truck and got me his number - ha! It's good to have a team helping me!)

PS I just looked and my pr for deadlifts is about 170. I was doing about 80 on back squats. So I have a little ways to go.

Back pain and hives

The day after my hike up Sandwich Dome I woke up with my back killing me. It was so sore, and it just got worse. I wound up going to the urgent care where they gave me a muscle relaxant that helped the sore back, but caused an allergic reaction where I broke out in the itchiest hives over 2/3 of my body. It was so miserable. I had to go back to the urgent care where they gave me a steroid, but it still took me a week to get back to normal. During that time the only thing that really helped was cold plunging - especially at first when I was really itchy. So, I am back into the water. It's been a really amazing fall and the water has been around 56-57 ish over the last couple of weeks. Perfect for going in and hanging out for a bit. If I was into swimming, I would swim (I should get back into it). Anyhow, other than that I was pretty slothful.

I had my annual exam today and my doctor said that it was ok to get back into exercising, so I went back to snooty's for a strength training class. I have to say that they do have some good classes, and they are definitely not judge-y about how much you are lifting or how old and fat you are. I feel like I should make it a goal to get there at least 2x a week - once for yoga and once for strength. Maybe even three times, so I can do two strength - that's probably better for me.

Every time I go I try to get in at least 5 bouldering climbs. They have all their routes color coded by difficulty, which is pretty convenient (though I feel like it must be limiting since you can only use each hold for routes of a certain difficulty). I've been doing the V0's, which I have to say are pretty easy. Today I tried two slightly harder ones - maybe V1's and they were pretty OK. The thing is that I am kind of freaked out about getting down and every time I got above a certain hight on the higher ones I started to get nervous. Today I really didn't want to fall far/hard because my back is still a little twitchy and my left hip is also sensitive. But, I'm going to work on it. 

Jennings Peak and Sandwich Dome

Last weekend I wanted to get in a nice fall foliage hike because everyone has been saying how nice the leaves are this year, but when it came down to it I couldn't stand the thought of the drive with all the leaf peepers. I saw some videos and it was a mob scene, so I was glad I hadn't gone, but I did want to get in some leaf peeping myself! As I often do, I decided that I would use the middle day of the long weekend for my hike so I could been the traffic. I woke up at 4:30 am with my fat cat sitting on my bladder, and decided that I would just get up and head out, even though I only got like 4 hours of sleep. This actually worked really well - I drove up in the dark for the most part, but there weren't a ton of people on the road. I had a good book to listen to, and it took less than two hours to get to the trailhead.

One thing that I like about this hike is that it's a loop hike, with the hardest part being the first mile and a half. The whole hike has about 2700 feet of elevation gain, and 1500 is in that first part. Also, there are three peaks, each with a nice (but not 360 degree) viewpoint, so you can stop several times to enjoy the view, and they are all a little different. Also, Sandwich Dome is 3993 feet tall, which means that it's a nice big hike with a high view, but it's just a few feet short of being a 4000 footer - I saw about a dozen people all day, I bet the 4000 footers were a mob scene. 

Because I left so early I got to the parking lot at 7 am and started hiking at 7:15. All day I was impressed with how early I was! I got to the top of the first mountain, Noon Peak, a little after 9 and sat and ate a really delicious apple. I spent like 10 minutes or so enjoying the view before heading out. There is still almost 1500 feet of elevation gain after this point, so it's no joke, but it was much more reasonable in terms of elevation gain after Noon peak, and I got to the base of Jennings Peak pretty fast. It was still early for lunch, so I decided to continue to Sandwich Dome first and then hit Jennings on the way back - I remember Jennings having more space and a nicer view - which it did, so good to save for the end of the uphill. 

Half of the walk to Jennings Peak was a nice ridgeline, which I enjoyed, and the other half was pretty uphill. I was starting to get hungry, so the uphill part was even slower going. I was so happy to get up to the top, stand on the cairn, and touch my poles to 4000 feet. I then sat down and had a power bar. While I was there another woman came along and she was eating nerds gummy clusters. I was like "I didn't know they still made nerds" and she offered me some, saying that they were the best hiking food, which they were. Basically solid sugar with crunch nerds on the outside and gooey red licorice on the inside. After hiking I stopped at the store for icecream, and Walgreens has them. That will be something for me for my next big hike!

Anyhow, I just sat there for a little bit before heading to Jennings. As I remembered, Jennings peak was really nice with a more expansive view of the valley. I sat and ate a sandwich and admired for a while. The hike down was really nice - there were a ton of leaves on the ground, which made it slower going, but also nice and crunchy. You have to go down 2700 feet, so there is obviously a lot of down hill, but it's pretty spaced out through the entire way down, so there are only a few spots where you have to figure out what you are going to do. The end is basically an unpaved road, which was pretty easy to walk. I finished the hike around 2 ish, which is so early for me. I decided to go to Waterville Valley town center because it's 4 minutes away, and I was thinking about a little dip in the pond there. There was a band playing there and a lot of people around, so I decided not to dip, but I did have a little bit to eat and changed clothes before heading out. It was a little trafficy on the way home, but not bad - no points where I was just sitting. Overall a good hike, still recommend as an alternative to a 4000 footer that is basically a 4000 footer. Really good for weekends when you know the other mountains will be crowded.

Snooty McBoulders

Rowing season is coming to an end - this coming week is the last two rows! I'm sad to have it end because it's been such a positive this year. I feel pretty happy with my progress as a rower, though I am certain that I still have a long way to go. On the positive side I can now row starboard or port, I can do early roll ups and have a pretty good sense of what I'm supposed to be doing with the oar. I feel like I've made some nice friends there and I got to spend a good amount of time on the water, which I really enjoy. There have definitely been some good rows where I felt like I was in the zone - the boat was well set and we were humming along. I also am working at being a team player, which is a stretch for me :) 

On the negative side, I think I still have a long way to go, and I'm not sure exactly what I'm doing wrong. The last couple of rows I was in a 4 with three experienced rowers and we were soooo offset. It was different rowers both times; I'd like to blame it on someone or something else, but I kind of feel like twice in a row is telling me something. Like, I'm the problem, it's me. Also, I coxed 5 times, and the last time I hit a bridge, so I guess I'm getting worse at it. The last row, though, it was really windy, we only had 6 rowers in an 8 and the two strongest were on the same side. Also, the coach kept calling me by another rowers name, so I was confused. It was so stressful! So, more work is in order. I am thinking I will sign up for the whole season again next year, and hopefully I will improve, at least to the point where I don't have a negative effect on the fours.

Since the season is coming to an end I needed to decide what I would do for exercise next. I looked at a bunch of gyms, including going back to crossfit or the Y. In the end I decided to join a climbing gym because it has as many classes as the regular gyms I was considering, including yoga, strength training, HIIT, and one called barbell club that's heavy lifting. So far I've taken two classes, a gentle yoga and one called fitness mashup. Both of the instructors were really good and the fitness mashup was challenging but not impossible. It's also nice to finish the exercise class and be able to go boulder, even if bouldering isn't my favorite kind of climbing. 

I will say I like a different climbing gym more - it's all about the climbing, has super interesting routes, and the air is full of chalk dust. Snooty mcboulders is so bougie - it has mustache men, slippery walls and lavender scented soap. But also the classes and a sauna. And it's right next door to a brew pub. And I can walk to it. Or bike. Or drive. So, we will see how it goes.

Brought out the dryrobe

It's still September but last night I got my dryrobe out of the attic for the full moon swim. The water is still pretty warm, it was 66 last night, but the air was colder and I was pretty sure I would want it. And I did. We had our full moon swim a couple days early because there's a noreaster coming through this weekend. It would be nice if the rain and weather could ruin the weekdays instead of the weekend, but what can you do? 

Before the swim I went rowing and the water was surprisingly smooth. There weren't that many people there, and so I was in the boat with the big guys! Yay! I was in the two seat, even though I prefer starboard (so boo on that). It was still a kind of tough row because a lot of it was at a pretty slow pace, like 18, which makes it hard to keep the boat set, even with the really good rowers. And we had a new cox, which always adds an element. I'm finally getting the hang of early rollups, so I'm happy with that. Now I have to work more on keeping my body tight on the release and letting the boat bring me back to the catch instead of pulling with my legs. The last few weeks I have been in the stern a lot more, which I think is a sign that I'm getting a little better. It's too bad that the season is almost over, though I think there's some muscle memory there.

Last week I had to cox again. I was in the four with the guys and I was so nervous about it. It turned out OK, I didn't hit anything though apparently I did cut another boat off. Ooops. In fairness, she cut me off first. Anyhow, my proudest moment was navigating through the tricky bend in the river that has a bridge in just the wrong spot for rowing - I totally crushed it without anyone telling me what to do. It was pretty awesome!

Anyhow, for the swim we gathered around 9:30, chatted and hung out for a little bit, and then some of us went in for about 10 minutes or so. It was definitely more chill than most of our full moon swims, with only three of us really getting into the water all the way. The guy who organized it is not into the cold, and he stripped down to his swimsuit and then sat on the beach. After he brought out this fire setup that he has which is a propane tank attached to a burner that gives off a little fire but is super contained. We roasted marshmallows and ate smores. We did see a police car go buy at one point, or at least we saw the siren at the top, not the car, but they couldn't see us in our spot on the water. We are such rebels. It was a nice outing!

Fish in the boat!

Yesterday we were rowing and a fish jumped into the boat! Fortunately it jumped into the seat in front of me, and the guy there was able to toss it back. Given the pollution level on the Malden river where we were, I think it just thought the boat was cleaner :)

We've actually been getting a little better at rowing - the last couple of rows we've had 2-3 of the good rowers in our boat and we've actually been pretty well set, or at least enough so that we could row. I think the other thing is that we stopped trying to change the set with our handle heights only, which was really throwing my technique off. Last night we went from the point where we stop on the malden to where we stop on the mystic without stopping (except to get the fish out of the boat) which is like 3 miles. It was pretty long and kind of hard, but felt great! I really like the longer pieces - I think the biggest thing I need to work on is more power, but without losing technique. 

Tonight I am coxing, and it looks like it's going to rain. So not excited about it, though hopefully it will be the last time I have to cox this year. Only 10 practices left for me after tonight.

Flags on the 48

New Hampshire does a Sept 11 commemorative every year on the Saturday nearest to Sept 11, where hikers carry a really tall pole and a really big flag up to the top of all the 4000 footers, and hoist the flag from noon to 2. I've always thought it sounded amazing, and today I joined the crew on Wildcat to raise the flag. And it was amazing.

I went up last night and we camped out at the moosebrook campground, which was really nice. I had to work, and then I had to stop at the outlets and look at the lulu lemon (nothing sparked joy, sadly), and then there were two moose across from the joe dodge lodge that I had to stop and look at, so it was dark by the time I got up there. I met the crew (I know two of them from swimming) and set up my tent. They had been saying we would squish into the campground, so I brought my small backpacking tent, but when I got up there there was this whole field - I had to laugh.

Anyhow, we wanted to get hiking early, so we got up at 6 am and I packed up my stuff and had some food and hit the road and we got to the trail at like 7, which was pretty fast, and we were hiking by 7:15. We went up 19 mile brook trail, which is a really nice trail to the hut, and then a little brutal beyond it. Since I was hiking with a group, I was all nervous about keeping up with everyone, but the pace was fine until the last little bit where I had to drop back a little and have a snack. One other woman was having a hard time because she hadn't hiked much this year, and she was a little dehydrated, and so her heart rate was really high. So we wound up hiking together at the end. We were both excited to see the top.

The summit of Wildcat is a small space with not that much room. It was soon apparent that there were a lot of cooks setting up the flag, and more were not needed, so I went to the viewpoint, which is right near the summit, to admire the hut and the mountains. It was such a nice day, sunny and cool, with a breeze (which was perfect for the flag). When they had everything set up we had a little ceremony and raised the flag, which was well above tree hight. A few hikers came up from the hut later and said that they had seent the pole coming up, and then the flag. And we could see the flag on Carter Dome really well, and on South Carter a little. It was a real feel-good moment for America, with so many people coming together to remember.

We had a couple hours up top while the flag was flying, and a few people went over to Wildcat C to look for the flags on the Presidentials, but they didn't couldn't see them. Several of us stayed with the flag. While we were enjoying the view and eating some grey jays came by, and we fed them peanuts. It's so fun to have a wild bird land on your hand! A group from the Dartmouth outing club came by and they had a nice time looking at the view and feeding the birds too.

We had another little ceremony when it was time to take the flag down - a couple of the hikers are first responders and one said a few words about the people who run towards danger instead of from it, and then we took the flag down, folded it up, and headed out. The first bit down was pretty brutal, but once we reached the turn off for the hut it got less steep, and we enjoyed the hike down. When I was doing my 4000 footers I had gone up the ski trail to do Wildcat, but this was clearly a better way - it's so much nicer going through the woods, and the first two/last two miles are by a really pretty brook. It had been a while since I hiked with a large group, but I was pretty happy with how I did and it was nice chatting with people during some of the less exciting parts of the hike. One woman even had a dog, and it was so fun hiking with him.

I was tired by the end of the hike, and then I had to drive 3 hours home after. All I can say is thank heaven for audiobooks, it makes the drive so much better when you have a good story to listen to. All and all a really great experience, just as awesome as I thought it would be. I would definitely do it again.