Pre-Knife Hike

August 1, 2009

D and I headed out early this morning for a challenging (as in ascend ascend ascend!) and gorgeous hike through the redwoods in Muir Woods at the base of Mt. Tamalpais. For those who know the area from the main trail we climbed up Bootjack Trail past Panoramic Hwy and then turned back around for a half mile before turning onto TCC. At the junction we took the Ben Johnson Trail and then finished our 6.5 mile loop on Hillside Trail. The weather was ideal and we were clear of other hikers for the majority of the hike until returning to Muir Woods where the tourists were thick as ticks and nearly as annoying. My Bodybugg showed a calorie burn in 3.5 hours of 1264 calories which matched up almost on the button to the estimated calorie expenditure for hiking that length of time on my Lose It! iPhone app.

Knowing the calories we burn on a hike is interesting information to us but it’s not our motive for getting out there and hoofing it. We love to hike because it’s peaceful, takes us places we wouldn’t normally see, and because we can! There was a time when hiking would have been impossible for both us because of our weight and all the aches and pains and limited endurance that came along with it but now every time we find ourselves straining to get to the top of some ridiculously steep ascent one of us will invariably say, “Can you believe we’re doing this?!” And no, neither of us can and that delights us to no end and we continue to be amazed by how much we can do having dropped the extra baggage. What a gift good health is and how often we take it for granted.

Today’s hike was my last one until late fall after both surgeries have come and gone and my body has had a chance to recover. My strength training will be on hold for much of that time too; less to protect the stitches than to not over-exert my stomach muscles that will be tightened as part of the first surgery. In my pre-surgical consultation this last Thursday with the surgeon he outlined that during the first two weeks I’ll be limited to walking, first around the house and then outdoors (the Starbucks a mile down the road is my first goal!) By week three I should be able to get on my bike and by week four spend time at the gym for light training. After that I can resume my activities as long as I’m cautious about not over-stretching until week six or seven when I have the second surgery and recovery starts all over again. Of course, this is all theoretical at this point and I’ll just have to take each day as it comes and as they say, more shall be revealed.

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Posted in Day Trips/Weekend Escapes, Fitness and Exercise, Reconstructive Surgery