June 1, 2010
4.38 miles
6pm
Whitney played with Ari all day yet told me she wanted to do the Incline. I had a 9am massage with Marsha and she wasn't awake when I left this morning so I wasn't sure we were still on for the Incline today until she came back to the house at 5:30pm. Yes Mom! Of course I still want to do it. Okaaay.
I quickly changed clothes and we drove down to Manitou Springs. Once there she got her backpack ready to go ... you aren't taking that are you, I asked. Yup. Please don't. Why? Because I will be carrying it. Mom! You have no faith in my ability! It's not that Whit, this is no walk in the park. Here, take a hand-held bottle. Okay.
I could tell Whit was a little upset at this exchange; however, having done this so many times before and this being her fist attempt, I knew what was best, trust me.
When we arrvied, the wind picked up and storm clouds were threatening in the distance. I almost said maybe we should do this some other time; however, once I looked up and saw other hikers on the Incline, I decided we could get as far as we could before weather turned us back.
As we approached the bottom of the Incline Whit told me she wanted to do it in 45 minutes. Whit! My best time has been 42-44 minutes! Okay, an hour to 1:15. That's a much better goal Whit; and we began the Incline.
The first part is not too steep and she and I did it pretty well. About half way up, a look of concern past across her face as she stop to rest and catch her breath. Truly, it's not the breath you need to stop racing, it is your heart. This is 2000' of elevation gain in less than a mile, straight up over uneven railroad ties. It is a workout no matter what condition you are in!
As we continued up, the breaks became more frequent as her heart continued to race. At one point she asked me, "Is this what an aneurysm feels like?!" No Whit, this is more like a heart attack!
However, I must say, Whitney did an awesome job, never looking back! Later I found out the reason for that. The weather stayed great and the threat of rain never materialized. Even the wind died down once we were on the Incline.
As we crested the last steps, I pulled ahead of her to catch her actually topping the Incline! Whitney completed the Incline in 1:06 hours!! What a great time for her! We stopped at the top for a bit; however, the increasing darkness led me to push us along pretty quickly. I asked Whit what she wanted to do - head back down the Incline or take the Barr Trail back down? I've never gone down the Incline and voted for the Barr Trail with her legs feeling like Jello and Whit agreed.
Once we began our hike up to the trail, Whitney's spirits lifted. She was hurting at the top of the Incline and her little heart just took its sweet time calming down. However, once it slowed, Whitney's mood and physical ability improved.
Once we hit the Barr Trail, Whitney broke into a jog and I let her set the pace. We had a great 3.5 miles down the trail in the last remaining light of the day talking about this and that and laughing and joking all the way. She also confessed that her fear of heights kept her from looking down the Incline and fueled her desire to run the Barr Trail down. Now, I understand! While running down the trail, I tried to coach her on the best way to make it around the sharp turns. I told her to drop the inside arm and run around it the turn. Well, she not only dropped the inside arm, she kept pumping it and raised the outside arm as well! Whitney looked like a windmill gone wild and I almost died laughing as I tried to restate was I meant for her to do!
After running past the Hydro plant and hitting the pavement, Whit held her hand high for a high five and I laughed! Yup, we conquered that mountain!
McDonalds' french fries called to us on the way home and we obeyed the urge!
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