Sunday morning, overwhelmed by the guilt of eating a cheeseburger and fries, I decided to take a hike along the bayshore trail. This is the same place I used to walk last time I lived in San Mateo. It's a short walk from my house.
I thought it might be nippy so I put on a light jacket and brought fingerless gloves and a cap. I walked to Starbucks and grabbed a mocha and bagel and headed out to walk off that ton of calories. I was 1/2 way to the trail when I realized that they had somehow missed the chocolate in my mocha. (so technically it was a shitty latte) I didn't want to backtrack so I just sucked it up and kept going. I should have taken this as a sign.
I got to the walking trail and started out. The wind was seriously whipping around, making it very cold and my fleece jacket a joke. I put the gloves and hat on, but it was still marginal. Then, rather than using good sense and doing a modest walk, I decided to take the trail from the park (basically by my house) all the way to the San Mateo bridge. I'm not sure what possessed me to even imagine that I could do it. I've never done anywhere near that on a casual whim.
So going to the bridge wasn't too bad until about the last mile of two. Luckily sailboarders and kitesurfers were there to distract me from the fact that I was cold. There were joggers (who I fondly refer to as sadists) and bikers to dodge. I was getting a little tired, but since I was almost there it would be a shame not to push it and finish the goal. At last I made it, and it was to say the least anti-clamatic since my dogs were beginning to bark.
At this point I was really beginning to realize just how stupid it was of me to take on the walk. I really had no real idea how long it was when I made the decision, and now I'd pay for it. I had my cell phone with me, but no one to call to pick me up. At least no one to call to pick me up that wouldn't harrass and enjoy making fun of me. So, I started the slow amble back home.
I saw benches every 1/2 mile or so, but realized that if I stopped now with the weather being nippy that I'd probably seize up. I started to feel my hip muscles ache and I was only about 1/3 of the way home. Great! I took a short cut by the dog park, distracting myself from what I was certain of blisters forming on my feet. I was about 2/3 of the way home and if I had seen me walking I'd have thought "poor old woman, too stupid to dress warm enough and it looks like she has an orthopedic defect". I reached up to scratch my head at that point and even my arms hurt. WTF?! When did I start using my arms to walk?
I got home, stripped down, jumped into bed under the comforter and prayed for warmth. My face was windburned and sunburned. My arm ice cold, but curiously enough my tummy warm. (the coffee?) After I had regained my sense of feeling I hightailed it to the shower to finish up my recovery from ignorant hypothermia, grateful that my roomies were out of the house and not a witness to my stupidity.
All told I hiked over 12 miles in bitter cold winds and survived in good enough shape to keep my date with Victor.
