Castro's Crest part two

So today my van gets assigned to Castro's Crest and I am indifferent about it.  This is a challenging hike, but I know I can do it.  I'd relate it to mowing the lawn for me because I don't like mowing the lawn, but like the results afterwords.

Remember the goal of every time we repeat hikes is to better than the time before.  Today's hike was a little different than last week's hike.  When we got about 2/3rd up the hill, the guide decided to take another trail down a different hill.  I was disappointed because the view from the very top of Castro's Peak is great and the feeling of victory is also great.  It is alright because I'm sure there will be other opportunities.

Also, last night I figured out that this blog can post videos, so I'll try to post some videos as well.  Let's get started with a video of us halfway up the mountain.  Yes, the Sam in the video is the same Sam from The Biggest Loser season 9.

Then, at the end of the hike, we took a group photo.

Then after lunch we had mountain, some class in the water, then kickboxing.  Kickboxing is self-explanitory, and like I said earlier, I really can't describe what we do in the water, so that leaves mountain.

I think I told y'all what mountain is.  It is 12 x 3 minute levels on a cardio machine.  Every three minutes, you increase the speed, resistance, incline, or a combination and repeat it 12 times.  Get it?  The purpose is to slowly climb the mountain.

Last week I did mountain on the treadmill and increased the incline, but on the last level, I increased the incline all the way to 15.  I maintained a constant 2.0 mph speed until the last level when I decided to increase it to 2.2 mph.

This week I needed to do better, so I started with a 2.3 mph speed and concentrated on incline.  At the top level, I went all out again with an incline of 15 and I decided to increase the speed to 2.5 mph.  Actually, I was about to fall off the treadmill, so I decreased the speed back to 2.3 mph, but went back to 2.5 mph for the last minute.

In kickboxing class, we have a punching bag that is attached to a base.  Today I kept punching the bag so hard it tipped over a few times.  Some adjustments will be needed for next week's class.  I guess they'll have to fill up one of the bases with water or some other arrangement for me.

It was a successful day and right now I'm thinking that the success in the kickboxing class and the settings on the treadmill for mountain have set a precedence for future weeks.  I have 5 more weeks to go after this week, so I wonder what I'll do next week to keep the intensity going.

Closing thought for the day:  On my first day, one of the stay-over guests told everyone that the body can do more than what you think it can.  Today again I proved that to be correct.  Two weeks ago I would not have thought about maxing out the incline on a treadmill, and today I maxed out at 2.5 mph on that incline setting.  I'm ending the day by wondering what my settings will be for mountain on my last week?  I'm already looking forward to it.