Gut Check's King of the Hill Series

Since the start of the New Year, I started up my exercise routine. Rather than a weekly hike (ideally), and an occasional 3-mile jog from my house, I started working out again with the incredible people at Gut Check Fitness.

This has required me to get up early (5:15AM) to the point that I can no longer sleep in on weekends. While my body has been feeling stronger, and often sore, I realized this weekend that there’s a lot left to do.

I participated in Gut Check Fitness’ King of the Hill Series race, the first of which ran up and down Woodson Mountain from Lake Poway. I had an arbitrary goal of two hours, which I met, but along the way, I didn’t feel as strong as I should have. Also, I bonked in the last half mile of the race. It didn’t help that the last stretch was a steep uphill to the finish line, coupled with 10 burpee pushups before the final climb. I felt dizzy and nauseous, something I don’t often feel when being active.

I am happy that I finished the race and I wasn’t dead last. Understandably, I just re-started my new fitness regimen, but my performance really let me know that I could be doing a lot more. And I was doing a lot more before I hurt my back a year and a half ago. The pain still nags me and it really flared up while ascending Woodson Mountain this weekend. The downhill was easier, but I still ran out of steam near the end.

Some people call it Mount Woodson. It is a pretty good hike with about  1,221′ of elevation gain in 1.8 miles if coming up the east side. If coming up from Lake Poway, it can be pretty grueling. At 10:45 AM yesterday, a hiker on Woodson Mountain found a body off the trail. The authorities sent in a helicopter to confirm it was a body and airlift it off the mountain.

The deceased hiker was identified as 60-year-old Donald Allen Fobes of Oceanside, per the Medical Examiner’s Office, who has not yet determined how he died, but will perform an autopsy today.

It’s possible this hiker was out during heavy wind and rain and was simply unprepared for it. It is also possible that he had a health condition that caught him by surprise. I just have to say, be careful out there.

Update:  ”The coroner’s office reports that death resulted from natural causes related to a heart condition.”

Take care of yourselves and see a doctor before starting any strenuous activity.

This is a simple power hike on a paved trail. Limited view due to haze, but I sure enjoyed it. I heard plenty of rattlesnakes in the brush and saw 4 condors overhead.

Not as good as 2 years ago, but not bad