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.