Bike Not Good Enough!

So apparantly biking isn't good enough to get my legs in shape for hiking. I rode four miles a day for two and a half weeks, and all the while I could feel my thighs burn. At the end of each week my legs were fatigued. I thought I was getting fit for my Half Dome hike.

Well this weekend I had my choir retreat. At the tail end of the retreat I went up with a bunch of my students to play laser tag. Basically it's a big indoor area, dark, lots of ramps and different levels to play on, and the object is to shoot and not get shot. It's a LOT OF FUN. I did it once with my brother before when he came out to visit and I had forgotten just how fun it was.

The game lasted 15 minutes. That's fifteen minutes of running in a crouched position. It's hard to explain how much of a workout it really is until you do it yourself. We were all drenched with sweat by the end of it. Half way through our time my heart was beating SO hard I thought I would die.

This morning, my thighs were SO SORE! After only 15 minutes of hard upper-leg work I am sore, and remember, that's after riding a bike 4 miles a day for 2.5 weeks.

So there you have it. I need to do some SERIOUS work to get 

in shape. If fifteen mintues kills my legs then a few hours hiking Half Dome could put me out for the rest of the week. And we CAN'T let that happen (Bob, Aaron, Jon and Dad) becuase we have a LOT more hiking to do that week.

So my plea to my Yosemite friends is: don't just assume that you'll be fine. You will NEED to get in GOOD shape for what we're setting out to do. The last thing you want is to be left behind at camp because you're too sore to go on the next hike.

...now to take my own advice.