Day of Recovery...

Today was our one day of rest. The only thing we HAD to do in the morning was eat breakfast and pickup our sack lunch before 9am. We also had the option of weighing in and I am proud to say that the scale went in the right direction for each of us!!! We will hold off giving the results until the end of our stay when we get all the data captured.

So here is the summary of today:

7:00ish - Breakfast: Eggs, Sausage and a Waffle

8:00ish - We rented a couple of movies and while Janette and Julie watched them I took a little nap since my sleep was interrupted by a 2:30am Communicator call for overtime at work!!!

12:00ish - Sack Lunch: Almond butter and Jam Sandwich, String Cheese, Carrots and a Orange. We ate this while lying in bed watching a movie.

1:ooish - Janette and Julie went in the hot tub and I went to relax in my room.

2:00 - Janette had a Deep Tissue Massage

3:00 - Julie had a Hot Stone Massage

4:00 - I had a Swedish Massage

All three of us had the same Massage Therapist, Tyler Hunt. Each of  our massages were the best we have ever had. This man has a true talent that he has practiced to perfection!!! We cannot thank him enough for how incredible we each feel!!!

5:30 - Dinner: Chicken Tamale and Dessert Chocolate Pie drizzled with Raspberry

6:00 - Orientation for the New Comers
6:30 - Back to Janette and Julie's room for viewing of Pirates of the Caribbean

One thing to mention about orientation is that there were only a handful of people who have never been here before. Most had been here at least once, some with in the last few months. There are3 ladies that had met here last year during February and made a pack to come back this year. When they were here last year one of the ladies was using a walker to get around and tonight she was here and without a walker!!!

Our much needed Day of Recovery is coming to end and tomorrow we start our second week. We are ready to see how much further we can push ourselves, step out of our comfort zones and take it to the next level.

          BRING IT ON, WEEK 2!!!

Good night all! ;-)

Week 1 in the Bag!!!

Today was like having minimum day when we were in elementary school!! Yay!

It started out with NO 6am class and it was over by lunch!!!! So after lunch we went to Coyote Gulch to a Art Gallery. We spent about 30 minutes walking through the shops and then spent the rest of the time just chillin in the sun.



I think I may have been the inspiration for this art piece... Breath taking don't ya think??? :-)




See of no, Speak of no and Hear of no TEMPTATIONS!!!


Before we were let out of school early, we did have our morning sessions. For Janette this included a 2.5hr cardio blast class in which she burned about 1500 calories!!! For Julie and I we took to the trails again choosing  The West Canyon Trail. This trail had a gradual 200ft climb and we had a 7.5 mile round trip. After this Julie picked the pool for her last class, while Janette and I did the Circuit in the gym.

We came back from our outing to watch one of the most NOT funny comedies ever made... Burn After Reading! They should have burned the script before making the movie!!! LOL Then after dinner we had like a little graduation ceremony for those who are going home tomorrow. It was very touching to see and hear about how people have changed their lives for the better and the plans they have to go home and pay it forward, starting with their families. We ended the evening with an awesome video of the weeks events!!!

So here is a summary of today:

7:00 - Breakfast: Whole Wheat English Muffin and a Fruit Smoothie
8:00 - Hike / Cardio Blast
11:15 - Circuit / Pool
12:30 - Lunch: Turnip Soup and Fish Tacos

1:20 - Coyote Gulch
4:00 - Movie
5:30 - Dinner: Turkey Salisbury Steak with Veggies / Dessert: Pineapple Sorbet

6:00 - Graduation

Over all it hasn't been an easy week, but it is in the bag! So bring on Week Two!!! We are looking forward to see how much further we can push ourselves, increase our reps, inclines, speeds, endurance and strength. Strength not just in muscle but in will power, in making the right choices, in recognizing true hunger verses emotion. Now, all we ask is for the strength to crawl into bed!!!

Good night all! ;-)

Over Night Transformation

What a difference a day makes!!! OMG!

Today was a day like no other. Yesterday I was about to tell them to take their hikes and do something not so pleasant with them. And why not?? Their hikes were doing some pretty unpleasant things to me!!! But today it was AMAZING for each of us!!!

Janette's hike was a last minute change made by the guides and it was incredible. The views were breath taking from the rim of the Collisium trail.

Julie's hike was pretty awesome going up through Fern Valley

My hike started out by climbing up Saddle to see some goregous views and then went down the back side to Fern Valley where I ran into Julie and her group.

In stead of going on and on about these hikes, we will let the pictures do the talking. Although, these pictures do not do justice to the in person experience.

And as for the rest of the day it was just awesome. Every class was fun and all our body parts felt good. From Zumba, to playing volley ball in the pool, today was a complete 180 from yesterday and it taught us that one bad day is just that... ONE bad day! So don't let it stop you from getting back in the game tomorrow!

So here is the summary of the day:

6:00 - Yoga (that's right we made it all five days to the OPTIONAL 6am class)
7:00 - Breakfast: Eggs, Sausage and Pancakes

8:00 - AMAZING Hikes
11:15 - H2O Intervals (Julie did this) Cardio Intervals (Janette and I did this)
12:25 - Lunch: Mushroom Soup and Chicken Tostada
1:15 - Lecture: Prep for Next Week - Everyone shared their take away for this week..
            Janette's take away is that this is the first time she put her self first and did something completely for herself.
            Julie's take away was she discovered she is a runner. She ran the entire lenght back from the Stop Sign hike a distance of 4.3 miles.
            My take away was that I need to forgive myself. I need to not be so critical when I make mistakes.
2:30 - Zumba (So fun even tho I looked like a complete fool - see forgiveness)
3:30 - Liquid Moves (Translation- Volley Ball in the Pool)
4:30 - Circuit Training (Janette chose to stay in the pool for a second round of volley ball)
5:45 - Dinner: Lasagna and Dessert Fruit Drizzled with Chocolate

Today was nothing short of an Over Night Transformation on many levels and as fun as it has been we are all completely exhausted yet totally satisfied.

Good night all! And remember tomorrow is a brand new day, get out there and enjoy it!

THEY LIED!!!!

I must say 6am came awful fast today. All three of us didn't sleep that well and can't figure out why since we are for sure completely exhausted!!! Hopefully our sleep will come much easier tonight.

Janette and Julie both did the Stop Sign today. Janette the super star that she is made full use of her long legs and made it to the top in just 58 minutes and she made her way back down in as little as 44 mins... Can you say "SMOKIN??" But don't worry folks she is a trained professional when it comes to dealing with smoke (FF/PM)!!! ;) Janette was so focused that she didn't stop to take any pictures. Julie also did a fantastic job and she also captured the moment for for us.

My hike was a total of 6.15 miles. We started out around the 4100ft level and climbed up to around the 4500ft level. At the peak of our hike we got to this cool outlook area which is where the pictures are from. I have found that sand, that is 6in deep (kinda like a rodeo arena), is my nemesis! Especially since my legs are only 7in long! Seriously!!! In total we probably walked through close to a mile of this crap today. The back of my knees aren't very happy with me. But we have just one more hike before the weekend! Yay!!! Oops, wasn't suppose to type that! ;-)

Well, folks I am here to tell you that we just paid a lot of money to be LIED too. You heard me, LIED to!!! They say the hardest day is Tuesday and then we did the MOUNTAIN on Wednesday!!! Today we had TREADING!!! As if we aren't getting enough cardio and leg exercise in our 2.5hr hikes! How this class works is we each pick a machine, Janette & Julie picked treadmilland I did the elliptical again because it is easier on my knees, after our 5min warm up, we then have to do our max for 5mins trying to get our heart rate as high as we can, we then then "active" recovery for 5mins and then do it again for 4mins, then 3mins, then 2mins, and then for 1 min. After that you would think that we would do our cool down, right??? On no, we do it again for 50sec and then again for 40sec. And after we finish puking we can start our cool down!! And mind you we did this class AFTER lunch!!!

So here is the summary of today:

6:00 - Stretch
7:00 - Breakfast: Fruit and Egg and Bacon Sandwich (Not bad but it ain't no Moons over My Hammy)

8:00 - Hike (My hike group's hike ran long so I missed the next class)
11:15 - Stretch
12:15 - Lunch: Veggie Soup and Turkey Pita Sandwich (I thought was tasty, but Julie not so much)
1:15 - Lecture: Cooking Demo (he demo'd making a chocolate pie out of tofu, but the rat didn't let us sample - Gggrrrrrr)
2:30 - Treading (Death after lunch)
3:30 - Total Body H2O (pool time)
4:30 - Ball Works (no teabags involved)
5:30 - Dinner: Shrimp with Veggies and Couscous / Dessert was awesome Apple Cobbler

6:15 - Lecture: Menu Planning

At the end of the day it is probably in our best interest that they aren't so upfront with everything. And the one thing they are absolutely right about is we do feel so much better after the day is done!

Good night all! Please say a prayer that we finally get some rest!

Wicked Wednesday...

Day number 3 and we again made it to the 6am class. Personally I believe that if I didn't go to this class I would NOT be a "Happy Hiker!!" Lol ;)

After stretching it was off to doctor the feet. Julie and I have a couple of hot spots (mine on my big toe) were blisters are about to bust through. Thank goodness for Julie's first aid cabinet...

On to the hikes. I did the infamous Stop Sign hike. This is all on a paved trail or roadway AND it is all up hill from the base we started at 3000ft elevation and after hiking 4.3 miles we come to a stop sign at 4100ft. Then we turn around and go back down as far as we can until the van comes by to pick us up. Myself, did a total distance of 7.6 miles. So I almost made it all the back to the start, but I had to make a "pit stop" during my decent!

Janette's group did this crazy hike that included some crazy yet amazing cliffs with shear drop offs on one side and climbing up the side of the mountain as if it were a ladder attached to a water tower (straight up and down)!! Eeeeeeeee

From what I hear Julie had a pretty awesome hike too, but I didn't hear that from Julie. One of the guides on her hike came by during lunch and was singing her praises at how Julie was haulin booty!!!

As we were sitting at dinner the three of all agreed that this was a "Wicked" day. It was non-stop. going all out at all times. The pool workout was not just the hardest it was the best so far, and thankfully there was no wind. We had kick boxing, which those of you have taken such a class know what a workout that class is all on its own but we weren't finished YET!!! This class was immediately followed by a cardio class called "MOUNTAIN!!" Now, some may think we already climbed the mountain during our hikes, OH NO!!!! This class was harder than any other class or hikes we have taken. How it works is we pick a cardio machine we want to use, Janette took the treadmill and Julie & I used the elliptical, you start out at zero incline or level, and then every 3 mins you move it up 2 levels or 1 incline level, and we do this 12 times.  By the way, the trainers are using a stop watch to time us and all I am gonna say is on our next outing to Target I am going to purchase them all NEW stop watches, ones that actually work because... BECAUSE the ones they are using are slooooooow!!! Especially when we got to the last 3 inclines, those were the longest 3 mins and we all new this because we have timers on our machines!! Duh!!! You don't think when we feel like we are about to puke (if we had anything in our system to puke) we aren't watching that darn clock??? Seriously!!!! Luckily this was the last class of the day and it is soooooo over! Yay ;)

So here is a summary of our day:

6:00 - Stretch
7:00 - Breakfast: Fruit and a Oatmeal type cereal
8:00 - Hike
11:15 - Circuit (Alternating Cardio and weights)
12:25 - Lunch: Squash Soup and Green Pizza (Not bad but it ain't no Round Table)

1:15 - Lecture: Emotional Eating (Who does that, not me!!!)
2:30 - H2O Circuit (Pool time)
3:30 - Kickboxing (A little bruising between the knuckles translates to... give me the chocolate b*tch!!)

4:30 - Mountain
5:45 - Dinner: Cafe Salad and Mango Sorbet (Extremely tasty and satisfying)
6:15 - Lecture: Intuitive Eating

Now that my shower is done, Ibuprofen is on board, blog is complete, it is time for this thoroughly exhausted (yet glad I am here) chica to gonna say good night!

Good Night! ;)

O.M.G. Tuesday...

Surprisingly we all woke to find ourselves in not as much pain as we had anticipated. We in fact made it to the 6am class followed by breakfast and then our hike.

We thought our first "assessment" hike was taxing... OMG, check out these pictures:

My Hike - The Accent (1 of about 5 climbs over 4 miles)



Me at the TOP!!



Janette's Crew (Again one of several climbs)

Janette (Super Woman)

Once again these pictures do not do the beauty or hte severity of these climbs justice!

We had two sessions in the pool and our last was at the end of the day (4:30p) and at that time the temperature was at 51 degrees with the wind chill is was down to a frigid 46 degrees- Bbbrrrrrrrr!!! Poor Janette's teeth were actually chattering! :(

So here is the summary of our day:

6:00 - Stretch
7:30 - Breakfast: Sliced fruit and a Banana Muffin (Very tasty)
8:00 - Hike (the actual hiking last at least 2 hours)
11:15 - H2O Circut (Pool workout)
12:35 - Lunch: Cauliflower Soup and Chicken Salad Sandwich
1:00 - Calorie Challenge (Guessing game of how many calories in a specific meal)
1:30 - Lecture: Cooking Demo
2:30 - Cardio Intervals
3:30 - Total Toning
4:30 - Deep Water Suspension (Brrrrrr, because of the cold this class only lasted 25mins)
5:45 - Dinner: Meatloaf with Sweet Potatoes (Yvette they just don't compare) and for Dessert...

And YES that is with real dark CHOCOLATE!!! ;-)

With that all is right in the universe again and I will be going to bed a happy girl (after I take my Ibuprofen)!!!

BTW - We already had to do our first load of laundry because we are wearing 2 to 3 layers depending on how windy it is for our hikes!

We Survived...

Well 5:30am came way to early for this creature of the night. We started off with a Yogalates class... And NO this is a class where they serve lattes after!!! It is a mix of yoga a palates to stretch out and warm up the muscles before our hike.

As for the hike today, this was the "assessment" hike to determine what fitness level grouping we each fall into. So, as we go on our 6.25 mile hike and take in the beautiful surroundings I totally forgot about this being the assessment but surprised that I was keeping up near the front. There was one group of show offs (Janette was in that group) that left us in the dust. I was in the second group. Now the groupings go Advanced, Intermediate, Moderate, Beginning. So with this in mind I thought, not a problem I will be in the top of the intermediate because they just let us go at our own pace to see what our level is naturally or so I thought!!! Soooooo not the case, I was informed that I am in the advanced group!!! Are you SERIOUS!!! Eeewwww    I know I joked about wanting to have to crawl from class to class but this is a gaurantee that I will in fact being on hands and knees!

But with all the whinning aside, I cannot say enough about how beautiful it was out on the trail. Here a few pictures and trust me they do not do it justice...

After our 6.25 mile hike here is what the rest our day looked like:

11:15 - Stretch
12:15 - Lunch: Bean and rice burrito and salad
1:00 - Announcements and Lecture on Calories in Calories out
2:15 - Intro to Circut
2:30 - Core Training (Abs and Back work) Eeewww
3:30 - H2O Intervals (Pool work out - Thank God the pool is heated and the sun was out)!!
4:30 - Circuit Training (Alternating 2mins ea of Cardio and Weights)
         * What a wonderful way to end the day!!!
5:30 - Dinner: Salmon Burger with Green Beens and Cranberry Sorbet (Yummy)

Well we survived day one but they all say that day two is the hardest because we will be sooo sore from day one. But thanks to Julie we are set for tomorrow... ;-)

        
Well time for a nice hot shower, some Ibueprophen, and then nighty night!