Taking it day to day ...

 The countdown is officially on, I have 23 days left to work. 23 early morning. 23 days of driving 45 minutes each way to and from work. 23 days of stress and frustration.. 37 days until I am free to live my life without being tied to the 8-5 daily grind. I have a few Fridays scheduled off as I am over the allotted accrued pay-off on vacation time. The shortened work weeks really help. I am only working three days this week. So far the stress hasn't been as bad as last week. I was in knots last week and battled migraines for most of the week. I could barely bring myself into work the end of last week. My weekend was so nice. I left all thoughts of work behind and just focused on myself and my plans for retirement. Yesterday I was back at work but the boss was out all morning and I had a meeting with the HR rep for the City that will assist with my retirement paperwork. I asked her to keep it confidential for another week or so as I wouldn't be putting in my notice to my management team until the 14th. 

Three days off work meant three afternoons spent at the gym.

                   StairMaster        Treadmill                        Rower

Saturday    1600 steps       3 miles/1.5@ 15%          20 minutes

Sunday       2000 steps       3 miles/1.75@15%        15 minutes

Monday      2000 steps      3.2 miles/1.75@15%       15 minutes    

I've a hike planned this coming weekend with my daughter. She is coming up for the weekend. I should still get at least two gym workouts completed though as I am taking off work on Friday. I just have to get through the rest of today and tomorrow. The weekends are so important now as I am constantly on edge at work. I don't know what to expect once I give my notice. My gut tells me it's going to be a bit ugly. I really don't care any more. I am done with this 8 to 5. I am ready for sunrise to sunset in the mountains.

Life's Challenges...

 My last post I commented about how quickly life can change. Sometimes it can be wonderful (like in my last post) other times it can be heartbreaking. Just after I had written my last post the week became heartbreakingly sad. First a friend and the father of one of my son's best friends passed away. He had been an amazing father to his three boys and was such a really wonderful person. I hated to see the loss that his sons will face in the weeks and months ahead. I then received word that a co-worker that had been diagnosed with a brain tumor just a few months ago had passed away over the weekend. Him and his wife had just re-located to Temple from New York state just a year or so ago for retirement. She is now alone and away from her family with him gone. On Wednesday morning, my dear friend and co-worker received a call that his oldest son had passed away. Most likely cause a brain aneurism. My friend was devastated. It has broken my heart to see him hurt like this and know what he faces in the days, weeks and months ahead as he faces the grief of losing his son. I felt like I lost a member of my own family as him and I have shared so many stories over the years about our kids. You would think three deaths in a week would be enough. But no. On Friday morning I received a call rom my eldest sister. I knew the second I saw the caller ID that the news would not be good. Our nephew died suddenly Thursday night. He was my (middle) sisters youngest and only son. She had been the only one of us four siblings to have not lost a child. My nephew had been a really sweet kid. Red hair and a feisty personality to go with it. He lived large and partied hard. He had just been diagnosed with liver disease a few weeks prior. It was more serious than he had let on. I unfortunately am estranged from his mother, and I am not sure if I would be welcome at his funeral. I am leaving it up to her to let my eldest sister know if I am or not. I do not want to make her uncomfortable during this time.  

The uncertainty of life and death reinforces the importance of  chasing your dreams while you can. I was six months from retirement when things changed for me and made me reassess my priorities. I was holding on to the January retirement date for the extra money it would provide. But what I would receive in September would be enough. I want to start living my dreams now. I don't want to stay in a job where I am being beat down and not built up. If I can't change a stressful situation then I have to step away from it. I just want peace in my life. I want to get out and hike. I want to teach. I want to help those that need assistance. I need to do this now while I can. Tomorrow is not guaranteed.

Workouts this past week were a bit mixed. I didn't make it to the gym on Wednesday. I was just too drained after the tragic news of the day. On Saturday I went, but I struggled with my workouts. I only did 1500 steps on the stair-master, an hour on the treadmill and 15 minutes on the rower. My head was filled with doubts that I could actually get in shape for the Inca Trail next Spring. Sunday was a new day though and I did 2200 steps on the stair-master, just over an hour on the treadmill and twenty minutes on the rower. My total workout time was 2 hours and 15 minutes. I felt much better. My knees are also getting stronger and I've had very little pain the past two weeks. I also noticed an improvement in my yoga routine. I am more agile and stronger. I can easily transition poses without pause. I know that with the early retirement I will have plenty of time to achieve my fitness goals and successfully complete my hikes. 

Adventures are coming soon

 It is amazing how quickly one's life can change. Last week when I posted I was stressed, angry and questioning my immediate future. The day following that post everything changed. The stars aligned and a long awaited phone call finally came. The news was better than I ever thought it would be and I can go ahead with my dreamed of earlier retirement. I am now looking at mid-September, less than 8 weeks away. I am still just in disbelief that I will walk out of here four months earlier than I had thought. I haven't quit smiling.

I immediately started making plans for camping, hiking and other bucket list trips that I can try to fit in before I head to Peru next Spring. I booked a week at the Pine Springs Campground at Guadalupe Mountains Natl. Park in November. I'm watching weather and Aurora forecasts for Yellowknife, Canada. This has been top of my bucket list for years and we are currently in an active period for Aurora's, so I would like to try to catch it before it is too late. 

Retirement.... time to have great adventures.

I have to get in shape first. As I said last week I was adding a mid-week workout. I did go. I enjoyed it and by going later in the evening the after work crowds have cleared out and I was easily able to get on the stair-master and rower. I am limiting my weeknight workouts to one hour so I am skipping the treadmill. In less than eight weeks though I can go every afternoon and do a two- hour workout! I do plan on taking one day off to get out and go hiking or just get out of town for the day. I hope to go to Austin at least once a month and hike with my daughter. Lots of good trails down there. I might even get down there before I retire as I have to burn up some vacation days that are over the max pay-out. Lot's of 3-day weekends ahead!

Retirement.... life is just getting started.

Exercising Frustrations

 

Last week was a stressful, frustrating, swear-word inducing week. It had nothing to do with training or traveling, it was all work related. It now has me re-evaluating my retirement plans and possibly moving it up by 3-4 months.  The new management/managers just dumped a bunch of new responsibilities on me that are outside the realm of my initial job responsibilities. While it is not anything I cannot do, it is just tasks that I thought I had left behind me over twenty years ago. They have nothing to do with office administration. I voiced my displeasure and then faced disciplinary action. The thing is the write up was for under-performing my job – but everything they wrote up was the new job tasks that I had not even been officially assigned. They explained the new job duties  after that. I was already struggling to stay motivated to come into work each day. I have less than six months to my planned retirement date – one that they are all aware of. It completely feels like I am being pushed out early. The thing is, it was not unexpected as I had mentioned to co-workers when the management change was announced that I wouldn’t be surprised if they try to push me out early. They did the same to a former co-worker four years ago when she was reassigned to that department just shy of her 67^th birthday.

Workouts benefited this past weekend though from my frustrated state. Saturday, I did 2000 steps on the stair-master, an hour on the treadmill with over thirty minutes straight at 15% and then the rowing machine for 25 minutes. Sunday, I skipped the stair-master as they were already in use when I arrived. So I went right onto the treadmill – 5-minute warm-up, 55 minutes at a continuous 15% then 15 minutes at -3% and a short cool-down. I then did close to 30 minutes on the rower.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) I will start my mid-week workouts to get in better shape for the Manitou Incline in September. I plan on concentrating on the stair-master. I plan on doing at least an hour mid-week and then continue with my two-hour workouts on the weekend.

No more excuses.

Drained

 I spent the holiday weekend at the Texas coast with my family (3 of my 4 kids, eldest child's partner and his 2 young boys and my grandson.. oh and 3 dogs). It was a fun weekend but was very tiring, I wasn't really expecting it to drain my energy the way it did. Was it the heat? wind? salty air? sand? or just the wonderful chaos of eight people under one roof? It was an experience trying to coordinate everyone getting together at various places at the same time. We all needed to arrive at the beach together as we had purchased the passes for the State park for both car's passengers together. There was then meeting up for dinner and a baseball game. 

I did get a bit of time to relax Saturday afternoon when just my middle daughter and I stayed at the beach house while the others went off sightseeing. I had an early start home on Sunday as I had to pick up my son (who lives at the coast) and his dog. I dropped my son off at the airport as he had soccer a tournament this week in Denver. I brought his dog home with me for the month as my son has a trip to Spain in a few weeks. 

I took Monday off work to get laundry done and shop for a few groceries. It rained most of the day. We didn't really need more rain as it had rained at my house the entire time I was at the coast... I think we had 10 - 12 inches total. I did make it to the gym Monday afternoon, 1000 steps an the stair-master, an hour on the treadmill (30 at 15%) and 15 minutes on the rower. Not a great workout, but I was still tired from the trip.

This experience left me full of doubts about having the energy and stamina I will need to accomplish my hiking goals next year. Was it just that the seashore drained my energy? I know that when I am hiking in the forests and mountains I draw energy and feel invigorated. Will that be enough to keep me going on those multi-day treks? I have been looking at a few things I can do to improve my iron and protein intake. I am adding a protein shake to my mornings a few days a week and will add a few more iron rich foods to my diet. It takes planning and research to get the right balance of nutrients when eating a vegetarian diet. My weight also dropped a few pounds over the weekend, so I need to get those pounds back. I will also starting next week be adding an additional workout mid-week. It won't be a two hour one, probably 2000 steps on the stair-master and 20 - 30 minutes on the rower. I'm going to need all the motivation I can get to go in the evenings. It seems every time I plan on going something comes up or I find an excuse to not go. I have to go. I have to get stronger if I want to complete a double hike up the Manitou Incline in the Autumn. I need to do a double on it to have the confidence to take on the Inca Trail.

Adventure Awaits

 Retirement is getting closer... 6 months, 2 weeks. The most common question I get asked is " what are your plans after you retire?' I of course reply travel, volunteer and hike. This blog is of course was originally created to document my journey to get fit, and prepare for my trip to Nepal next year. I have since added the hiking trips I have taken while getting in shape and then of course the plans I am making for new adventures. Colorado this autumn, Guadalupe Mountains next winter, Peru in the spring (autumn there) and then the big one to Nepal. 

My plans don't just stop at Nepal though.  I have so many more places I want to go and things I want to do. I am already looking at 2027 and a 6-8 week camping road trip to twelve National Parks in the western and northwestern states. I've looked at camping options in the parks, the hikes I am interested in so I can plan on how many days I would need to stay. I've looked at distances and drive times from park to park so I can see what stops I can add between them. I want to build in some days so I can be flexible, but I will have to also set a schedule to arrive in the parks if I have campsite reservations. The total distance I would be traveling is over six thousand miles, That is a lot of driving. Two of the National Parks I have been to, but did not do any or very little hiking, Grand Teton and Rocky Mountain. I love both parks and would love to explore them a bit more than I was able to on past trips. I also love the Jenny Lake Campground at Grand Tetons. It is my favorite campground of the ones I have stayed. 

Here is my list in the order I plan to visit:

• Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP
• Rocky Mountain NP
• Grand Tetons NP
• Glacier NP
• North Cascades NP
• Olympic NP
• Mount Rainier NP
• Redwood NP
• Yosemite NP
• Sequoia NP
• Zion NP
• Bryce Canyon NP

I plan a a later trip to Arizona to take in some places there that look interesting. I also have several places in New Mexico that I want to visit that I will add to one of these trips. 

I have ideas of places and things I am considering down the road. A volunteer trip to Guatemala to work with a Sea Turtle Conservation program. National Parks staff volunteer or seasonal employee. Summer work in Alaska at a lodge or park. I might even decide to return to Nepal to teach again and maybe trek the Annapurna Circuit. The problem with aging though is you never know what can happen. Illness, injury or death. I've had family members be active up to their 90's. I've had others that were old and feeble in the 60's. I am going to do my best to stay active as long as I can. I would love to still be hiking in the mountains well into my 80's. I just can't let myself slow down. 

Finding Calmness

 

What a week it has been and it is only Thursday. It had been very stressful up to last night. Things were finally resolved on a positive note and I felt as though a weight had been lifted off of me. I just had to quit imagining the worse case scenario and know that things would most likely work out for the best. You know what? It did! One bit of advice I have is DO NOT try to shop for a good used car right now. If you can wait - do so. I also had been worried about the new boss we were getting. The staff here was imagining the worst. She started on Monday and so far everyone seems to really like her. She is struggling a bit and is overwhelmed by the chaos and workload that has landed in her lap. I just tell her to breathe (something I have been telling myself a lot lately) and to let it all just fall into place. 

I had hoped that with the stress having departed and my mood more joyful, I would get a good nights sleep last night. Mother Nature had other plans. Sometime between 2 am - 3 am an insane thunderstorm came through and lasted at least two hours. Thunder, wind and heavy downpours. I went outside as soon as it was light this morning (after the storm had passed) and checked my rain gauge... It had over-flowed. It has markings up to six inches and then another 1.5 inches to the rim. So we had over 7.5 inches of rain in just those few hours. The rivers and creeks around us all flooded over their banks. Luckily the drive to work was not impacted and I easily made it in on time.

Workout updates... I have started watching YouTube videos during my workouts. One on the EBC trek, one on the Inca Trail and a few of other sights to see in and around Cusco Peru. They really help the workouts go by so much quicker than listening to music. On Saturday I did 1500 steps (30 minutes) on the stair master, an hour on the treadmill with 30 minutes at 15%, and then 30 minutes on the rower. I felt great. Sunday was a different story, 800 steps, 50 minutes treadmill and 30 minutes rower. It was all a struggle. This weekend I will try again for the 30-60-30 on Saturday. My daughter will be in town on Sunday so we hope to go hiking. I'm not sure how the trails will be after all the rain, but we will see. 

I do have a ton of yardwork to do so that will be a good workout too. 

Breath in

Breath out

Deep

Calm

Smile

Release

Present moment

Wonderful moment

In... out...