I never imagined I would look forward to waking up before dawn on a Saturday morning. Instead I rushed along to the trail Stephanie planned for us, got turned around once or twice (as per normal) and arrived at our set location only a few minutes late. I am sure the suggested pre-walk nutrition team of the 3-day would be horrified at my pre-walk meal of an iced latte, banana bread and stick of gum. I should have taken better efforts to eat a balanced, hearty meal as I wasn’t feeling very well and had taken over the counter medicine to suppress what felt like an oncoming cold. I brought snacks to enjoy on breaks but this is a big 3-day no no, walkers continuously learn how important eating and drinking are. It would have been worth getting up an extra 20 minutes early.
Steph and I set out about 6:45am and began a lovely walk that included trails blocked by flooding, attack ducks (I did run like a girl, but hey, I AM a girl), the blaring Texas sun (and heat), far too many spider webs, many a scantily clad male jogger and a sight of some sort of crane or large bird that scared me at first (hello! Still a girl!). A small re-route due to the flooded trail added a couple miles to our original journey and four hours later we returned to our vehicles and I was sporting some pretty intense tan lines that have now prohibited me from wearing about ¾ of my wardrobe. Oops. At least my SPF 55 kept me from a sun burn. Hopefully my early morning ramblings kept Stephanie mildly entertained as I kept her from finishing her audio book.
This twelve mile walk did not physically affect me as much as I thought it would. I was tired but I didn’t feel pain in my legs or body a few hours later. In fact I felt the walking helped me to feel refreshed!
Then came Sunday morning. I now have a sinus infection, a fever, a healthy dose of antibiotics and my lovely mother on the way to bring me her marvelous chicken soup when I got home from school. I do not feel that the walk was my downfall, more so not taking the proper steps to prevent a cold. A key ingredient to success in this walk and as I’ve learned now, and in most any outdoor activity, is preventing the problem before it happens. Thanks to the body glide and band aid blister aids I’ve prevented plenty of ailments, and I’m going to make it a point to be more conscious of these things ahead of time.
I am taking most of the week off to recover and plan a grand return this weekend with another long walk with Steph. I also completed online check in! Now it’s just a major shopping trip to REI and WALMART to get packed and ready.
Until then, here are so great “action” shots as I tried to save my extra pair of socks from the Ducks of Fury (thanks to Stephanie’s Camera Phone).
Until next time,
Nikki
2 comments:
oh, nikki! i'm so sorry you are sick! i hope you get some rest & recover quickly!
sounds like it was a good walk! i love the pictures!
Your site looks very lovely.
I love this blog.
Cheers!
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