Stokes State Forest

Last week was a blur...in fact, every week's blending into the next and summer is disappearing fast! I feel I am coming down with something of the flu-ey kind and I suspect last weekend had something to do with it, though I can't be sure.

We went on another camping trip to Stokes State Forest in Sussex County, NJ over the weekend. Just your regular camping trip, plenty of people, lots of food, lots more booze, a feeble attempt at hiking and a rip roaring time. I took my camera, but left the memory card behind, so I didn't get any pics, which is a shame, because it was such a lovely place. I did swipe a couple of pics off the internet, to make my post look prettier. Here you go:

Stony Lake

After a day of inactivity and much more digestive activity than usual, my body staged a protest. I used to be able to handle heavy, meaty meals a lot better in the past. Or maybe I was just used to living in discomfort! Now that I've switched to a healthier lifestyle and semi-healthy eating habits, the body's expectations of me have risen (or the other way around) and I cannot stomach much meat and alcohol. The rest of the party didn't have any such issues however; as they prepared to grill burgers just a couple of hours after breakfast on Saturday, I decided to skip lunch and went for a swim in Stony Lake, a few miles from the campsite. The lake has a tiny beach, and I joined the small group of screaming, squealing kids in the brown, unwelcoming water. DH and another friend joined me a little after lunch, and I ended up in the water for 2 hours, repeatedly swimming back and forth within the shallow beach area. The water looked sinister, so I swam the backstroke most of the time, watching the sky and the trees. Swimming was not allowed in the deeper section. Not that it mattered...I am terrified of open water (as you can see, I'm not becoming a triathlete anytime soon)! Not much fun, but I was dying for some activity! Turns out I don't handle sitting around too well, especially in the middle of a beautiful forest.

Sunday morning, I awoke at 5:30 in semi-dehydrated state, my stomach twisted and hurting. A bottle of water, a granola bar and a banana helped appease my growling insides. Then, armed with a bottle of water and my cell phone, I went on a solo run. It was such a treat to be the only soul up and about at that time, listening to bird chatter and soaking in the pleasant morning sun. The run began with a steep downhill portion followed by gentler hills, all going downhill, so I knew I had to save some energy for the return journey. I was a bit apprehensive about running trails this time of the morning, so I stuck to the road. At the Stony Lake area, I used the facilities, refilled my bottle and made my way back, walking at a couple of places while I gulped down water. I ran part of the Lackner trail on the way back, which brought my total to 8 miles.

Last week looked like this:

Monday: 6 miles
Tuesday: 8 miles (2 1/2 miles warm up, 3 miles tempo at 8:30 average, 2 1/2 miles cool down) + spinning
Wednesday: swimming 600 yards
Thursday: 16 miles
Friday: 6 miles
Saturday: 2 hour swim
Sunday: 8 miles hills

Total: 44 miles

Have a wonderful week! As for me, lots of fluids and extra-strength tylenol are keeping me on my feet. And no running today. Let's see what tomorrow brings.