Happy Valentine's Day

I've been searching a long time
For someone exactly like you
I've been travelling all around the world
Waiting for you to come through
Someone like you makes it
All worth while
Someone like you keeps
Me satisfied. Someone exactly
Like you

I've been travellin' a hard road
Lookin' for someone exactly like you
I've been carryin' my heavy load
Waiting for the light to come
Shining through
Someone like you makes it
All worth while
Someone like you keeps
Me satisfied. Someone exactly
Like you

I've been doin' some soul searching
To find out where you're at
I've been up and down the highway
In all kinds of foreign lands
Someone like you

I've been all around the world
Marching to the beat of a different
Drum
But just lately I have
Realized
The best is yet to come
Someone like you

Van Morrison

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone. It's almost two years to the day since I walked into Fitness Ridge for the first time. And while the exterior sign has changed and the name has changed the program itself is still pretty close to what I started that day. Oh I can do it much better and I feel like a completely different person thanks to my time here but just like that first day you still head up to that stop sign and you still do another 5 hours of classes and you still eat those 1200 calories. And the one thing that will never change is how much love and admiration I have for my fellow campers. They never cease to amaze me. They are so inspiring, so soul lifting, so funny and sweet that I feel as if I can never thank them properly for all they mean to me. So on Valentines Day I want to confess my love for all those 100's of people that have stood with me
at the stop sign, in the pool, on the treadmill, on a step, in a lecture, or just hanging out. You are the reason I come back.

I need to wrap up Thursday and Friday and part of Saturday here. First off the weather has really cooperated marvelously these last couple days. So much so that we got the volleyball net out for a spirited game of water volleyball. Everyone will be happy to know that I am working feverishly on my tan. No complaints about the weather at all this trip.





We did the hike called Reverse White Rocks on Friday and by we I mean 15 beautiful women and I. I had done the White Rocks portion of this hike a few times previous, however the reverse part started much further north than I knew. Now I don't want to be a cry baby but this hike made me want to cry. It was obnoxious and mean and long and just not fun to me. I like to climb on these hikes. I do not like walking through sand in a single file line, I do not like staring at my feet, I do not like walking through lava fields where toe grabbing rocks wait to tip you over, and I really don't like doing this for two hours before you start serious climbing. I did, however, like the company and a special shout out to Colleen who is still cursing me for talking her into trying off road hiking for the first time.



Nancy from Reservations has made it out for the last two Friday hikes. She is also signed up for the St George sprint triathlon. Having seen her hike these last two weeks I am quite certain that she will be one of the many waiting on me to arrive at the finish line.

I look surprisingly happy in this picture seeing as I was making a list in my head of people back at the ridge that needed to be punished for not warning me what I was getting myself into with this hike. That's Darlene, whose son is the fullback on the Pitt Panthers football team. I can trade a blog picture for two tickets to the game at Notre Dame if you are interested :) I want to describe the next 15 or so minutes after this picture was taken. I could see piano rock not too far away. I knew that was the final step in this hike. I really love climbing up there and looking down at the path. I think I have been up there three times so far. We came up through a clearing about 75 yards from the base of the ascent to piano rock. Straight ahead was a beautiful site when we came into that clearing, and as my fellow campers began their climb they could hear from behind the one little voice getting smaller saying "screw that I have seen that before" and instead slowly crawling the happy 2 minutes to that wonderful bright white beacon in front of me the Biggest Loser van belonging to one of the other hiking groups. Hello new group you got a hitchhiker. And while I am sure there is a wonderful picture of my group up on piano rock that picture is missing from my blog because I was dumping sand from my shoes and after making my last climb, the best climb of the day, the one into the van.

The warm weather also brought back one of ,y favorite ridge activities. Each day while the first weekers have and afternoon lecture the multi-weekers have an open gym period. Some go to the gym others head down the street a few blocks to the park for some spirited hoops or tennis or in our case both. I hopped on the bike for the 3rd time this week and rode on over. On the street with cars for the first time and one unexpected laughing trip off road into the sand. It's a beautiful well maintained perk and not often do you get the chance to drop in a soft jumper with Red Rock mountains as your background. Here's Betsey the pride of Southern Illinois knocking in that jumper. Not much of a defensive effort from Lisa there :)




Here's the tennis players getting ready to stride onto center court. A thanks to uber-trainer Robin for filling out our doubles competition. She asked if I was a s good in tennis as I was in volleyball I shook my head no and then ripped a passing shot past her backhand. We didn't really keep score but I know that me and the lovely red head spent a lot less time picking up balls than Betsey and Robin on the other side of the net. Speaking of some two on two competition, I spent Saturday morning in a place I had never been before, an LDS church. There are certainly plenty to choose from in the area. But I was the guest of Eric's and we hit the gymnasium at the church for some two on two basketball. We played some horse and then Eric and I took on Trevor and Renee's husband Brent. Before I tell you who won the two games we played, unlike the wicked reverse hike, this exercise session brought a big smile to my face. It felt good, it felt a little like it used to, I heard someone call me quick, my feet left the ground, shots went where they were supposed to, I boxed out, I rebounded, I played defense, I passed to my partner for easy layups, and I could again see myself in a place that I wasn't sure I would ever see again. And for the record Eric and Jim 11-9 in game one and 12-10 in game two. It was about as sweet a feeling as one can get from winning a meaningless Saturday morning pick up game. I hopped into my car and headed to the stop sign to welcome some of the campers to the top where I was so proud of my good friend Lisa who knocked out the hike in 58 minutes. I know she is leaving this week and excited to see her family after 3 weeks here but she will be missed along with the the other 30 or so campers I have to say goodbye to.

I am going to leave you with a couple pictures of the Friday class I have yet to attempt but begrudgingly have now placed on the calendar for this week. DISCO CARDIO JAM. It is going to be a mockingly bad disaster of that I am certain but I owe it to you guys to boogie my way to this class. I hope everyone has a wonderful week. I'm off to Vegas to pick up my Valentine's Day present :) Peace and lots of Cupid's sweet love, Jim