today was the third monday i've experienced at fitness ridge. i had yet another "assessment hike". the hike today was called "upper gila". there were 8 of us and 3 guides. the eighth person was new this week and no one knew what his level of hiking would be like. as it turned out, he was extremely slower than us. our third guide, the tail guide, had to stay with him for the whole hike.
i was without a guide in front of me or behind me for quite sometime. i guess i would've been okay with this, except a lot of the hike was on large wash sandstone which means there wasn't really a visible path. you just sort of had to wander along until you saw the beginning of the path through the sand on the other side. i was in the mid-front for most of the hike until this one part where you could either go up a really steep cliff or down a really steep cliff and for the most part it seemed dangerous either way. i stopped for so long contemplating that the two people behind me caught up, and the two guides that were in front were way too far away to get their attention. miserable.
one of the people behind me explained quite politely that he was, "starting to get pissed". instantly after that, he yelled out (louder than loud can possibly be), "hey you! get your fucking ass back here and do your fucking job!". excuse my language, but you can imagine that him being so close to me made me just as shocked as you are now, after reading that sentence. the guides turned around and started heading back. the hike was over. there was no beautiful view, no breathtaking scenery, no real serious calorie burn. kateri renamed the trail, "the psycho path". i laughed for a while...
breakfast was a sausage and egg sandwich with spinach and tomato. after that i went to the life coaching topics lecture. it always is inspiring to hear what jen has to say. i have an appointment with her tomorrow night and i'm excited to see what happens. mountain came next. i ran for majority of the time and i have to say i don't know if i would've been able to do that if it wasn't my third week here. it feels great to be able to do things like this. i was dripping in sweat and not even fully out of breath. awesome.
lunch was tortilla soup (my favorite soup here), and a turkey sandwich. it was turkey on a bread-thin with tomato, sprouts, red pepper hummus, and red onions. it was so good and i was stuffed by the time i got through the whole lunch.
the afternoon began with volleyball for "open gym". i took core next, then did circuit training, and then core again. the two core classes were different, as they were taught by different trainers. the first was taught by annamarie. she did a lot more exercises and a lot more reps at a time. sharon's class was last, and she did a few different exercises for long periods of time. i enjoyed both. i find annamarie, who also did my circuit class, to be very inspiring and motivational. it was her words that pushed me past my speed barrier!
dinner was chicken and polenta. the polenta was unbelievable delicious. it surprised me a bit. dessert was chocolate covered strawberries. i have to say, i enjoy the chocolate thing that's going on here...
i spent a lot of time with cindy, annie and annemarie after dinner. we sat around talking for a solid 2 hours or more. they're two hysterical women and i absolutely love annie. i have a little news for you guys, too. my roommate is leaving tomorrow. she has deeper emotional issues to work out than fitness ridge can help her with. i wish her the best and hope she knows that many people at fitness ridge have faith in her. we are all hoping that she will find a place that better suits her.
12 days left. not that i'm counting.
i'm so grateful for all of you.
goodnight!
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