Welcome to October’s Ultimate Coffee Date! If you were at our last coffee/tea date, you might recall that I signed up to bike up a mountain last month…wanna hear about how that went? Keep on scrollin’!
Ultimate Coffee Date: October 2022
If we were having coffee/tea today, Iādā¦tell you that I did in fact make it up Mount Diablo! My Instagram might have been a bit of a spoiler alert. A kind friend lent me her road bike and I went on a test climb with my brother and our friend about 2 weeks before the actual event.
The event itself was super well run and the volunteers were wonderful, offering us hydration, snacks, words of encouragement, and getting shot by a water gun while riding to cool down. It did take me 2 hours to get up there (which, considering it was my second time on a road bike ever attempting any elevation, I will take), but I made it!
…I also had a full-blown panic attack at the top of the mountain prior to coming down. I am a little scared of heights and I got into rock climbing due in part to attempting “exposure therapy.” What I’ve since discovered I’m even more terrified of, though, is speed and (perceived) lack of control. The route was 11.2 miles with an elevation gain of 3249 so there was definitely a lot of downhill to come back on.
I’ve never actually had a panic attack before, but for better or worse, I’ve learned to contain how I’m feeling pretty well (likely due to med school/residency training). I managed to pep-talk myself to ride back down with our wave of riders though, and we finished with BBQ, cookies, and raffle prizes! I’m super happy to have lived to tell the tale but I think I’m good on this kind of exposure therapy and will be sticking to my other 23402 hobbies.
This guy rode his unicycle up/down Mount Diablo!!
If we were having coffee/tea today, Iādā¦tell you that one of my patients is a candy broker and brought me some treats at his last visit with me! This past week has felt incredibly long so it really brightened my day/week. :]
If we were having coffee/tea today, Iādā¦tell you we’re currently dogsitting for our friends’ super adorable husky/shepherd mix! She is a total couch potato and flops over whenever we pet her or try to put her harness on for a walk. It’s gonna be so hard to return her tomorrow! :'(
See past ultimate coffee dates here!
(Link-up withĀ Coco @ Running with PerseveranceĀ &Ā Deborah @ Confessions of a Mother Runner!)
- Have you ever had a panic attack? Twas not a fun feeling, but deep breathing and internal pep talks definitely helped!
- Are you doing anything for Halloween? What’s your favorite candy?
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Huge congrats to you on your cycling accomplishment! the downhill can be super scary as well. Way to conquer your fears
Thank you!! It definitely felt like an accomplishment but I so did not expect to be that scared, hahaha.
Farrah recently posted…Ultimate Coffee Date: October 2022
Candy broker? Who knew there was such a job! So fun!
Congrats on tackling that climb ā and descent. I freaked out on a steep downhill/hairpin turn on the last Farm to Fork Fondo. It was only a few yards so I just got off my bike and walked until I could gather the courage to climb on again. I think I would freak out at the Diablo descent.
Thanks for joining us for coffee!
Right?! So cool! :D
Thank youuuu. There were so, so many hairpin turns on the way down — I was too scared to stop or I probably would’ve wanted to walk the whole way down. (I didn’t want my brother and our friend to wait for me to walk the almost 11 miles though, so I just kept going, haha.)
Farrah recently posted…Ultimate Coffee Date: October 2022
Great job on your ride – I think the downhill would have freaked me out!
How fun to have a patient who is a candy broker! Who knew that was a thing?! :)
Michelle recently posted…October Coffee Chat
I did nott expect to get so freaked out since I’d already gone up/down once already, but…there I was, haha. Very happy to have finished it though!
I definitely didn’t, but I’m so excited to try these! :D
Farrah recently posted…Ultimate Coffee Date: October 2022
I’ve had panic attacks in the past and it’s not fun. But once you realize what it is, you can usually talk yourself down. Look what you did! You made it down that mountain! You have to draw on that experience the next time you feel anxious. I have had a lot of anxiety lately related to work. Ugh
Thank you!! It for-sure was not fun but I’m really glad I made it down again, hehe. I like the idea of being able to draw from that next time!
I’m sorry to hear that about your work! It’s been so stressful lately — I really hope things calm down soon.
Downhills are scary! Kudos on your cycling accomplishment!
Thank you! So glad to have finished it without all my limbs intact!! :D
Farrah recently posted…Smoky Mountain Deer Farm and Exotic Petting Zoo
No, I’ve never had a panic attack. But I think my least favorite time to have one would be while riding a bike down a steep mountain! Nice job making it through that- it must have been scary.
Oh, my daughter would LOVE that dog! He’s crazy about huskies.
For Halloween I’ll be happily at home giving out candy to trick-or-treaters. My daughter always wants to give out sour patch kids, but when I was little I liked anything chocolate.
hahaha, I definitely agree. :[ Was not the most opportune of moments but I’m super glad I still got down the mountain okay!
She is such a cute floof! :D We were so sad to have to return her, haha.
That sounds like fun! We’ll be doing the same (assuming we don’t finish the candy we bought before then…). I like a mix of chocolate vs fruit! :D
Farrah recently posted…Smoky Mountain Deer Farm and Exotic Petting Zoo
Panic attacks are awful. I will get anxiety attacks more often, and those suck too.
What an adorable pup! II love that you got to spend time with that fluffy butt.
Congrats on conquering that mountain!
I’m sorry–those really suck too. :[
For sure! It was so nice to come home to such a cute fluff! :]
Thank you!! :D It definitely felt like an accomplishment!!
Farrah recently posted…Smoky Mountain Deer Farm and Exotic Petting Zoo