Today I conquered a MOUNTAIN! Little Miss Commenter who shall remain nameless (unless you read these comments) told me that Runyon Canyon was a great place to “walk” while here in California. I asked my Hollywood Aunt if she would take me, she couldn’t go, but 2 of her friends agreed to take me. I had NO idea what to expect. We got out of the car which was about six blocks from the gated entrance to the Canyon. It was the longest six blocks of my life. It was a constant steep incline; it felt like someone was pulling me backwards as I walked. We don’t have hills like that in St. Louis…. By the time I got to the entrance, I was sweating and winded just from climbing 6 blocks! I had to sit down on a rock, I couldn’t believe it. I jokingly told my Aunt’s friend I felt skinny already. Then it was time for the real challenge, climbing Runyon Canyon. It was hard y’all. It was literally like climbing a jagged paved road on a mountain. Then I thought somebody bumped into me. It was actually a big dog not on a leash. I thought, oh the fur baby accidently got away from his Mommy. Then I realized that most of the dogs weren’t on leashes. There were tons of dogs without leashes running up and down the path and the outskirts of the canyon. That was so strange to me. They looked so free… I guess we have leash laws or something in Missouri. ….
Anyway, at one point the climb got so hard I almost turned around…No, actually I did turn around to go back and thought what a sucky blog post that would be to tell the story of how I started but didn’t finish. The hill got steeper and the air got thinner the higher up I climbed. One guy saw me struggling to breathe and reminded me to breathe in through my nose. That helped a lot. Later another guy smiled and said you’re almost there! Then I saw my Aunt’s friends waving at me from the top, they were only about 10 minutes in front of me. I can do that. I can finish. I was so happy to finally make it to the top. It was so beautiful! It made home look really…flat. You could see the whole city from one side and the Hollywood Sign and the houses in the Hill on the other side. I felt like a champion or a cool Gladiator… Going back down was breeze; all I had to do was balance a little to keep from rolling down the path. We finished a total of 3.6 miles. What a day! Thanks Little Miss Commenter for recommending such an amazing experience.
Pointing to the Hollywood Sign, not my t-shirt
The Mountain Climbing Champ!
Good Job!! I know that feeling of being so overwhelmed with the slope that all you can think about is giving up and turning around.
This past summer my husband and I hiked 260 miles across Spain. I’m a big girl, around 270 lbs., and the first day we hiked straight over the Pyrenees Mts. and into Spain from France. I cried several times and the only thing I could think of was hitching a ride on the next car that passed and giving up and going home because I.could.not.do.it. I hiked 17 miles that first day, and just kept going. By the end of our journey I was amazed at how I wasn’t gasping for air, how I could go up an entire mountainside without taking a single break. I accomplished one of the biggest goals on my to-do list by completing my pilgrimage and we have even talked about going back and doing it again, except adding on an extra 250 miles because we loved it so much.
If you did like hiking, my favorite place in STL is Greensfelder Park by 6 Flags. It’s gorgeous and there’s a good variety of trails to choose from.
I hope Cali is treating you well, enjoy your vacation away from the miserable cold here at home. Have fun!
Awesome job. It sounds fantastic. Luckily here in Austin we have nice trails to run/walk. I am not to that level yet though. However, I did conquer week 2! Looking forward to Week 3…not really, but it is a process right?
Bill
Thanks for sharing your podcasts! I just downloaded week three for tomorrow! Slow and steady… : )
lol lol lol YOU are FUNNY!!!!! What a great blog…I LOVE IT….You thought someone bumped you…lol…and all you had to do is balance to keep from rolling down the path…YOU ROCK…I sure hope you write a book or a movie one day…YOU ARE REALLY FUNNY….I know it was worth it..I have walked Runyon many times…THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS….I APPRECIATE YOU TODAY!!!
Julie, I read your blog, I saw that you hiked that far, that’s amazing! 17 miles the first day? That’s unreal,…I probably would have flagged down a car, or sent up a flare or something. LOL! 6 Flags is almost an hour from my house, but when the weather breaks, I’m sure I’ll look for new ways to spice up my walk, and maybe even take a hike.
Bill, how’s it going??? I hope you made it through week 3. I think I had to add an extra day or so my first time around before I progressed to Week 4. It’s definitely a process.
Tricia, slow and steady is it. Keep working at your own pace, and you’ll reach your 5K goal.
Thank you Ms. Cleo, you guys are going to give me “the big head”…but really I do have a secret wish to one day write a book, and if it became a movie that would be even better! LOL
Carli,
Thanks for checking in on me. Today is my third run for Week 4. So far so good. I have been able to keep up with the training progression so far. I listened ahead about week 5 the other day and I am a little concerned about the third run of week 5, but we will see what happens. I dropped a pant size this week, but have gained 3 pounds. My legs are starting to get some tone to them, especially my calves. Thanks for the check up.
Bill