Today's hike was pretty miserable. It was really, really hard, for several reasons.
#1: I was feeling under the weather on Thursday. Not bad enough to stay home, but every movement exhausted me and my muscles felt super tired. So when Rose's school called mid-morning to say she was sick and needed to be picked up, I only had a split second hesitation before cancellation my day and taking her home so we could both take a nap. But that was only Thursday, and I think my body wasn't 100% back to full strength yet today.
#2: When Rose and I were snuggling on the couch and watching a movie (after our nap), I managed to lay in a way that totally tweaked my lower back. I basically hobbled around all day yesterday (Friday) because I was in such bad pain, and it wasn't totally gone today.
#3: As I was hobbling around protecting my low back yesterday, I managed to strain my back around my shoulder blades. So this morning I was pretty stiff in my mid/upper back.
#4: I'm losing the traction on my hiking shoes, so I was slipping and sliding on the snowy/icy parts of my walk. Which was especially scary because I didn't want to fall and tweak my back even worse!
#5: I was walking with Doug, our doofus of a dog, who is a great companion when he is off-leash, but not always the best listener and tends to pull when he has to be on-leash. There are only three short parts of the hike that he needs to be on-leash due to neighbors or their livestock, and he just about pulled me over each time. Which definitely did not feel great on any part of my back.
#6 : I ran into a neighbor in the early part of my walk, and even though I wasn't feeling particularly social, I did stop and talk to him for awhile. But when I made my move to depart, he also turned and followed me. Ugh. He was clearly enjoying the conversation much more than I was, and he didn't seem to pick up on my subtle cues that I wanted to be alone. I didn't want to hurt his feelings, so thankfully he eventually turned back to his house. But it was annoying to have unwanted company for such a long time.
#7: Have I mentioned yet that my muscles were tired and strained most of the time?
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| Such a long shadow for being approximately high noon! |
I really wasn't feeling the love on this hike, but I am glad that I got through it. Cheers to perseverance! Hopefully the next one will be easier.
52 hike challenge 2020
1. 1/1/20 - 2 mi - out and back
2. 1/5/20 - 4.5 mi - neighborhood loop
3. 1/11/20 - 2 mi - out and back
4. 1/19/20 - 4.5 mi - neighborhood loop
5. 1/26/20 - 4.5 mi - neighborhood loop
6. 2/1/20 - 4.5 mi neighborhood loop
7. 2/2/20 - 2 mi - out and back
8. 2/9/20 - 2 mi? - sledding, and to/from the neighbors
9. 2/15/20 - 4.5 mi neighborhood loop
Sunday: R&R (puh-leese!)
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