day 7: i suck at bowling

this morning i chose not to do a hike. since my back has been hurting i figured it would be a good time to give it a rest. on saturdays, you sign up for a hike instead of just going with your normal hiking group. i signed up for a cardio-blast class with robin that started at 7 am. i burned the same amount of calories i would've on a hike! amazing, i know. but believe me, it wasn't as fun as it is to climb up mountains. you don't get the same sense of accomplishment.

breakfast was FR's homemade granola with almond milk and a bit of fruit. after breakfast, i took a stretch class and then a strength circuit class. the stretch class was great. OH! which reminds me, i had a massage last night. my back feels so much better. you might be wondering if it was as awkward as i thought it'd be.

of course, it wasn't. scott was really nice and after about five minutes i finally just said, "so... are we allowed to talk or is that weird?" and he told me it was all preference. if you know me at all then you already know my preference: talking--which is exactly what we did. we talked about so many different things and kept a really great conversation going. we found ourselves hysterically laughing because we got along so well. a lot of people wouldn't like that and probably would've found it hard to relax, but it eased my stress over the fact that a gorgeous boy was giving my flabby body a massage. he told me the pain in my back wasn't in the lower back, as i'd thought it was. it was in my mid-back and the pain in the mid-back was putting stress on my lower back. the conversation and feeling more at ease with him helped me to feel more comfortable with telling him how much pressure was too much, etc.

i'm seeing him again on tuesday night, in hopes one final massage will tell my back to get over it and strengthen up. (or maybe my back will keep hurting because it wants me to love scott forever...just kidding..?)

lunch was tomato soup and a chicken salad sandwich. after lunch, our day was over until dinner. i chose to sit by the pool with shana and her roommate kathy. i laughed so hard today! i laugh a lot here. everyone is funny in their own way and there are some people who just make me laugh so often. after that i played guitar for a little and then got dressed to go to dinner &graduation.

i was late to dinner, and when i got there everyone was so dressed up. it was nice to see everyone not sweaty and gross for once! hahah. dinner was an enchilada and steamed broccoli. the best and most filling dinner so far, and it was less than 400 calories. for dessert, we had a chocolate covered piece of banana. it was delicious, of course.

after dinner was graduation. they showed the DVD they make over the course of the week compiled with video clips of us working out and also pictures of us on the hikes. everyone was laughing and reminiscing quickly, and then we went around the room to say any last words as departing guests or just for the end of the week in general. everyone was very moved by their first (&only, for some) week at fitness ridge. i was too. i've met some really wonderful people i can't imagine not seeing again! so many of them have offered a place to stay if i was ever in town. fitness ridge is like a huge family. you all go through the pain, burn, and pride together.

when it got to me, i quickly said a few words. mostly i just wanted to thank shana for helping me get through my first week. i really looked to her to pace me through my workouts and to motivate me to go harder. i can't imagine having anyone else do that for me. i got really lucky! also, a woman said that her goal is to do 27 charcos in puerta plata (where she lives now), and if anyone from fitness ridge wants to go and stay with her to try and accomplish all 27 falls they are more than welcome to contact her. 27 charcos is a series of 27 waterfalls you climb to the top of and jump down. shana and i immediately looked at each other and decided we wanted to train to do that. i think that might be my next goal. climb the falls.

after everyone cried (except for me--aren't you all so proud?), those of us that signed up for bowling went right along to bowl. i think i bowled a high score of 50? i was awful. but you know what? that's okay because i can run and climb mountains now. i bet bowlers can't do that... also, i made up a great song to the tune of "firework" by katy perry: "cause baby we are taco bell, don't you love the way we smell? makes you go yum, yum, yum as we slide into your tum, tum, tum." i only did that because when you walk out of the bowling alley there's a taco bell. i don't really have cravings for anything here.

when we got back, shanelle and i danced in the aerobics room to a bunch of music on my ipod. afterwards we sat outside with annie and a few others until we got too exhausted to keep up conversation. annie and shanelle are great and i'm so glad i met them. they're hysterical and without them i might feel a little lonely.

goodnight, guys! until tomorrow.
p.s. shana if you read this, i miss you already............. :)