Happy Solstice!

Last week Kristen and I decided to run a 5K. Kristen conveniently found the OC fest of ales and 5k run. Could it be any more perfect for us?! We are putting together a team to run the 5k and then enjoy some beer and food afterward. Everyone is welcome! click here for more info Let me know if you are interested in being on our team. Its in September so its an official birthday event!

Speaking of official birthday events, September 7 is the OC Brew Ha-ha and will most likely be kicking of my birthday month festivities! http://ocbrewhaha.com/ I want everyone to come to this, no 5k in this one! Just a drinking good time and Reel Big Fish is playing!

On to the outdoorsy stuff…as I said Kristen and I decided to run a 5k. In preparation for this we have started running regularly. We run/walk 1.5-2.5 miles each time and are running about 4-5 days a week. So far it has been going really well. I have never been a person who runs (hello! I weighed almost 300 pounds!) But now I want to run. I have a lot less weight on me and a lot more muscle. Our neighborhood is also beautiful and super runner/walker friendly, big sidewalks and really safe. I love it! So the running has been so far so good.

This past weekend was the Summer Solstice. Happy summer everyone! We decided to start a new tradition of celebrating the solstice by camping. We camped at the Fry Creek Campground in Cleveland National Forest, which is inland San Diego, right by Palomar State Park. We loved this campsite! You are given enough space to get privacy and there are a lot of beautiful trees all over the campground. There is a trail that circles the campground which is about 2 miles long. Really nice, fun trail that has some hills and a nice feel to it. Not very challenging but fun.

Ansel enjoying her first day in the great outdoors

 This was also Ansel’s first camping trip! I’m happy to report she did extremely well. The thing is, Ansel is kind of scared of the dark! When we go on our walk before bed she is always super nervous. So as you can imagine, nighttime at the campsite was challenging. She was a little scared of the fire we were sitting so close to, and wanted to be held, which is understandable because it was a little cold. But at night when it was time to go to bed she loved cuddling between Kristen and me in our cozy double sleeping bag.

Base Camp

 We didn’t do much while camping; it was more of a relaxing trip because we had the dog with us. Saturday we started the day by doing the little trail around our campground. Also Ansel’s first hike! She did super good and only had to be picked up a couple times. She doesn’t have much endurance so after 2 miles she was done! We then went down the hill to Julian to visit the Julian Cider Company. 

We thought this was going to be a brewery but it turned out to only be a tasting room! Disappointing to find the cider is actually made in Oregon, but still fun! We did a little tasting and bought a few bombers and were on our way back up the hill. 

 We stopped for a minute or so on an overlook and got a few pictures.

 We then headed back to the campsite and set up our awesome hammocks. The next 2-3 hours were spent reading and napping under the trees. This is what camping is all about! 

Our big friend in our campsite

Beer, hammock, and puppy. Doesn't get any better!

 Sadly Sunday was time to head home and back to reality.

This week I met with my new trainer. When I met him a few weeks back all I could think was “whoa, this guys is a wall.” I’m not joking guys, he is as big as a gorilla. Now I know why…he trains German Body Composition, which is basically lifting heavy weights to lose weight. Days after seeing him I was still DYING. My legs were super sore, totally spent! I’m really excited about what I can accomplish with him though. I liked my last trainer but I think he didn’t push me enough after I got through the initial struggle of being out of shape. One of my short term goals also is to lose about 20 more pounds or more before my 30^th birthday. I want to look hot!

Seriously, we really need to get hiking. No one told me that when I was an adult I wouldn’t have time to do anything! Weekends for us are always so packed. On Saturday, however, we took an Introduction to Map & Compass Class through REI. We met at the visitor center at Crystal Cover State Park and spent 6 hours learning how to read a topographical map and compass.

On top of the ridge during our hike

It was really useful and fun. We hiked about 5 miles in the park. It was a beautiful hike, and I even saw a rattle snake! From a safe distance of course... 

Happy girl!