Super Angie...love hate relationship

I LOVE Speed skating
I HATE hiking
I LOVE Lady Gaga
I HATE climbing mountains
I LOVE sitting on FB and wasting the whole day
I HATE hiking
I love stepping in dog poop
I HATE hiking

Okay...so the dog poop part isn't true, but seriously...I have a bad attitude towards hiking. And this isn't a good thing considering how much money we have invested in the dang sport and the upcoming trip to Russia to climb Mt. Elbrus.

To be honest...I like hiking because I can eat almost anything I want (chocolate cinnamon bears) and i like the bragging rights that come with it. That's not very good, is it? Another reason I like hiking is because I get to reward myself afterwards... like with a new purse, or pair of shoes or something like that. Yesterday we hiked, and I started crying when I saw the most beautiful snow flake land on my glove...picture those candy confetti peices you sprinkle on cupcakes, and well...thats exactly how this snowflake looked. It was amazing to see...so I guess I like the things I see when I hike.

Mt. Elbrus is the tallest mountain in Europe. Its 18,000 something feet. Its part of the "Seven Summits". Now, don't jump to conclusions...I have no interest in doing all of the seven summits--no Everest for me thank you very much.

I get up in the morning excited to go speed skating. I don't get excited about hiking. But I am excited to go back to Russia. I went in 2001 when Dallin was a baby and again in 2006 when I was prego with Tanith. In 2000, I went with my dad on a business trip. We did all the tourist things. It was awesome. In 2006, I took Dallin with to visit my parents who were living there. We did some of the tourist things and some just local things. It was awesome. I love Russia!

I have a hard time believing in my abilities to do this. I'm not a runner. I don't do all the cool things my neighbors do--like run races, swim and bike forever. I'm not a stick skinny girl--although I am a size 6, which I've worked SO HARD FOR. But really, I'm not a mountaineer chick. I'm just not. I don't fit the mold and I'm not like the girls I see on the trails. But I've done "good" on other mountains I've climbed. I did Torreys in Colorado almost 5 years ago...and I was NOT in shape and I hadn't done much hiking before that. I also went up to Muir last year on Rainier...it was hard and I was barely walking when i rolled into camp, but I did it! I jumped over crevasses. I hiked up steep ice. I did it! I was slow, but I did it! I cry a lot on mountains, but then again, my friend Ann( who climed Rainer with Rick and has climbed 3 of the seven summits) says she has panic attacks and climbs before almost every climb she does. I just have to remember that the first 30 minutes or so really suck. Its horrible. And the suddenly you get into a zone.

The thing I need to remember is that I LIVED! My knees hurt. My feet hurt. But I pushed myself and I survived! I didn't die. It wasn't the end of the world. I pushed through and eventually I recovered. Heck my black toe nail even grew out and now I can have glitter toes again. Life went on. I need to remember that.

Going to Elbrus will be awesome. I'll be with Rick. I'll experience a different part of Russia and meet interesting people. Elbrus isn't "hard", but it is high. I'll be on drugs for altitude, so I'll be "okay". The schedule is easy going and I'll have plenty of time to acclimatize.

So...I need to stop saying I HATE HIKING.

I love lady gaga.
I love hiking
I love figure skating
I love hiking

I'm good at speed skating
I'm good at hiking
I'm good at sitting in basic position and getting low in my knees
I'm good at pacing myself on the mountain
I'm good at doing the flip jump in figure skating.
I'm good at keep my body temp right when i'm hiking
I'm good at eating mostly healthy
I'm good at busting dance moves to Lady Gaga while I hike.

I LOVE HIKING

I climbed Mt Fuji in good time.
I can ski double black diamonds and stay alive.
I finished 1st in the 500 meter race.
I CAN Hike Mt. Elbrus.

and I can win my reward of a new purse...from Burberry! :)
--Super Angie