Saturday, September 12, 2009
Saturday at The Ridge is a wind-down from the rest of the week. With no 6:00 a.m. optional class scheduled, I was able to sleep in and get to breakfast by 7:00 a.m. Today's hike was the Stop-Sign Hike for everyone, which is used for a comparison to your time on Monday. I am happy with my improvement of eight minutes and thirty-two seconds, finishing in one hour, twenty-four minutes and fifty-five seconds. My goal is to improve again tomorrow, which I am preparing for tonight with a deep-tissue massage.
Once we returned from the hike and completed our Stretch class and lunch, I headed off with a small group to visit Coyote Gulch, an enclave of art galleries, studios, café, gift and coffee shop. We had an hour and a half to browse, which was more than enough time. I had some down time in my room until the graduation ceremony at 4:45 p.m., which I spent simply relaxing The ceremony included a viewing of a dvd produced by Fitness Ridge of the week's activities, capturing some of our accomplishments, as well as some of the fun (Cardio Disco Jam) we had along the way. Each guest receives a copy of the dvd to take home, which is greatly appreciated since there is such incredible scenery to behold on the more advanced hikes that some of us did not see along our paths. My goal is to be able to see some of it for myself this week, I'll keep you posted. For those of us attending all classes, hikes and lectures during the week, we were presented with our weekly prize (1st week - t-shirt, 2nd week -bag, 3rd week - jacket, 4th week - $65 credit). I'm hoping to have the trainers sign my shirt over the next week with their words of inspiration.
Immediately after dinner I headed off for my treat of the week, a Hot Stone Massage. "Getting Stoned" has to be the most relaxing way to end your week here at The Ridge. Tyler, my masseuse, used hot stones and a Swedish massage to release all of my tensions from the week, turning me into complete mush.
My excursion for the week was with three of my new friends; Jill, Susan and Lorretta, heading off to see "Aida" at the Tuacahn Amphitheatre. First of all, the theater is absolutely breathtaking on its own. It's described as "a stage with an awesome backdrop of 1,500 foot red rock cliffs, and hearing the sounds of music echoing from the canyon walls". I cannot convey in words the experience I had at this theater, but it is something New York or Houston could never deliver. Who knew a theater in Ivins, Utah could outdo the big city productions? The music and storyline were extremely moving, but the tour de force was the set. Who would have ever expected the waterfall set into the cliffs to eventually flood the stage, or to see the soldiers riding stallions, or to see a camel, a ram, chickens, a pig, or a bunny? Did I mention the fireworks? The evening stars and the occasional lightning bug took it over the top for me. My next visit to Fitness Ridge will definitely include a return visit to the Tuacahn Amphitheatre.
One more item of note for today, John, our instructor for today's Stretch Class, closed out the session with us relaxing to the newest Whitney Houston single, "I Didn't Know My Own Strength". All I can say is that after a week of pushing myself far beyond my comfort zone and exceeding any expectations of myself, this song has become my new anthem.
I didn’t know my own strength
And I crashed down, and I tumbled
But I did not crumble
I got through all the pain
I didn’t know my own strength
Survived my darkest hour
My faith kept me alive
I picked myself back up
Hold my head up high
I was not built to break
I didn’t know my own strength
I hope your week has included some moments to remember.
Saturday at The Ridge is a wind-down from the rest of the week. With no 6:00 a.m. optional class scheduled, I was able to sleep in and get to breakfast by 7:00 a.m. Today's hike was the Stop-Sign Hike for everyone, which is used for a comparison to your time on Monday. I am happy with my improvement of eight minutes and thirty-two seconds, finishing in one hour, twenty-four minutes and fifty-five seconds. My goal is to improve again tomorrow, which I am preparing for tonight with a deep-tissue massage.
Once we returned from the hike and completed our Stretch class and lunch, I headed off with a small group to visit Coyote Gulch, an enclave of art galleries, studios, café, gift and coffee shop. We had an hour and a half to browse, which was more than enough time. I had some down time in my room until the graduation ceremony at 4:45 p.m., which I spent simply relaxing The ceremony included a viewing of a dvd produced by Fitness Ridge of the week's activities, capturing some of our accomplishments, as well as some of the fun (Cardio Disco Jam) we had along the way. Each guest receives a copy of the dvd to take home, which is greatly appreciated since there is such incredible scenery to behold on the more advanced hikes that some of us did not see along our paths. My goal is to be able to see some of it for myself this week, I'll keep you posted. For those of us attending all classes, hikes and lectures during the week, we were presented with our weekly prize (1st week - t-shirt, 2nd week -bag, 3rd week - jacket, 4th week - $65 credit). I'm hoping to have the trainers sign my shirt over the next week with their words of inspiration.
Immediately after dinner I headed off for my treat of the week, a Hot Stone Massage. "Getting Stoned" has to be the most relaxing way to end your week here at The Ridge. Tyler, my masseuse, used hot stones and a Swedish massage to release all of my tensions from the week, turning me into complete mush.
My excursion for the week was with three of my new friends; Jill, Susan and Lorretta, heading off to see "Aida" at the Tuacahn Amphitheatre. First of all, the theater is absolutely breathtaking on its own. It's described as "a stage with an awesome backdrop of 1,500 foot red rock cliffs, and hearing the sounds of music echoing from the canyon walls". I cannot convey in words the experience I had at this theater, but it is something New York or Houston could never deliver. Who knew a theater in Ivins, Utah could outdo the big city productions? The music and storyline were extremely moving, but the tour de force was the set. Who would have ever expected the waterfall set into the cliffs to eventually flood the stage, or to see the soldiers riding stallions, or to see a camel, a ram, chickens, a pig, or a bunny? Did I mention the fireworks? The evening stars and the occasional lightning bug took it over the top for me. My next visit to Fitness Ridge will definitely include a return visit to the Tuacahn Amphitheatre.
One more item of note for today, John, our instructor for today's Stretch Class, closed out the session with us relaxing to the newest Whitney Houston single, "I Didn't Know My Own Strength". All I can say is that after a week of pushing myself far beyond my comfort zone and exceeding any expectations of myself, this song has become my new anthem.
I didn’t know my own strength
And I crashed down, and I tumbled
But I did not crumble
I got through all the pain
I didn’t know my own strength
Survived my darkest hour
My faith kept me alive
I picked myself back up
Hold my head up high
I was not built to break
I didn’t know my own strength
I hope your week has included some moments to remember.
Great one..poem is very touching...i like it very much...
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