Now that I've had time to wrap my head around it, it's time to come clean about last Friday's hike. It's not that I didn't want to tell what happened, it's that when I first tried (the day it happened) all I could think about was the Ugly and the post I started to write felt like a whiny mess. I'm better now so here it is...
The Good - I finished 7 miles
The Bad - I had planned 10 miles
The Ugly - the reason for coming up short is something I should have figured out BEFORE I attempted the hike. It was a bonehead move to attempt a this hike 4 days after a blood donation. My red blood cells were nowhere near replenished in such a short time. I was fine for 5 miles. Then I started to struggle. Physically I felt fine but breathing was becoming more labored and I felt a tad dizzy at times. So when I reached the road crossing at the 7 mile mark I knew it was time to quit. I called Dave who was waiting for me at the 10 mile mark. As I waited for him to circle back to me, I assessed how I was feeling and that's when I realized what I'd done.
In the end there are more good things than bad about this hike. First, I did finish 7 miles and that's 7 more miles on my way to completing the trail. I've completed just over 75 miles now. I'm past the halfway mark!! 💖Barely but I'm past it.
Also, I really did feel great for 5 miles and except for having trouble catching my breath at mile 7, the rest of me felt good enough to keep going.
We've reserved a date in May on our calendar (far enough out to be recovered) to attempt another 8-10 miles. Stay tuned.
Meanwhile, please keep smiling and keep moving.
-Paula
