First, and most importantly, I went to the zoo on Monday. And here is a picture of a hungry hippo:
.JPG) |
| He opened his mouth each time we reached our hands out over him. |
.JPG) |
| From now on, I call this couch position the "hungry, hungry hippo." Because she is hungry for attention. Because she obviously does NOT get enough. |
Second, I am happy to announce that after a week of being laid up on the couch (annoying, lingering, hacking cough be damned), I am back in the game. And by "the game," I mean pretending to train for a triathlon somewhere in the future because it's summer and I don't have a lot of other better things to do. And also because many of my friends who also have the summer off are triathletes in training for an Ironman. So I tag along. Because apparently I like to feel inferior.
Nonetheless, I am happy to be back. As I sat feverish on the couch for several days, and then waited a few more days to see if the cough would go away (it hasn't), I think I could literally feel my muscles disintegrating. I also didn't eat a lot during what we will now term "the dark sad time," so when I finally put on a pair of jeans to go take Lucy for a walk on Sunday, they felt at least a size too big.
But now I'm back in the game and regrowing my muscles. And what was the first thing I did to get back in the game, you may be wondering (hint, hint...it has to do with duck poop and neoprene)? If you haven't guessed it from those two very clear hints, you either a) have never heard of Green Lake, or b) couldn't imagine why anyone in their right mind would want to swim in Green Lake. But I did. And it was my first open water swim. Ever.
Here's what happened:
1) I met Jason and MacKenzie at Green Lake, where I promptly realized that I forgot to take my glasses off and put my contacts in (so I could see in my goggles), so I quick drove back up the hill to my apartment to remedy the problem. Not a good start.
2) I took close to 20 minutes to get my borrowed wetsuit (thanks MacKenzie!) on. Jason and MacKenzie watched me struggle and work up a sweat while doing this. I also coughed a little.
3) Once I got the wetsuit on, Jason and MacKenzie worked together to get it zipped. Confidence. Booster.
4) I got into Green Lake. This was something I never really thought I'd do. But I just did a little bit of quick research on the King County website and apparently the "Fecal Coliform" levels are of "Low Concern." So now I am assured that I won't die of duck poop disease.
5) I swam for 40 minutes around the edge of the lake, trying my best not to stray too far from MacKenzie or Jason (which is harder than it seems because there are no lane lines to bump into and no painted line on the bottom of the lake to help you swim straight). I intermittently stopped swimming so I could cough. And make sure I wasn't lost in the middle of the lake.
6) I tried really hard not to touch any seaweed, even though I could see it through my goggles and it kinda freaked me out.
7) I decided that I kind of like open water swimming. I had no idea how far I was going, I didn't get bored, and the wetsuit made me float. Which seemed to make the swimming much easier.
8) After the 20 minute turn around on the way back, the wetsuit started hurting my neck a little and I swallowed a little bit of Green Lake accidentally (eeewwwww) because my lungs weren't working as well as I wanted them to. So made a bee line back to shore instead of following the perimeter of the lake. MacKenzie thought I was so awesome that I beat her back. I reassured her that I cheated.
9) I took the wetsuit off, which was much easier than putting it on.
10) MacKenzie gave me a bottle of some sort of spray to put on that makes putting wetsuits on easier (does this seem out of order? Because, logically, it is).
Overall, I count my first open water swim as a success. I think I swam about a mile, and my arms didn't die on me like I thought they might. Tomorrow I'm trying again, and I'm guessing it'll be a bit of a longer swim. I'm also crossing my fingers that the "Fecal Coliform" levels remain of "Low Concern" cause I consider duck poop disease to be a legitimate and scary threat.
After yesterday's successful swim, today I decided to take on both a bike ride and a run. Again, with MacKenzie and Jason as my partners in lung killing, we did a pretty hilly, albeit shorter ride from my place to and around Magnolia and back again. Then we did a quick transition (fancy tri word, which I'm pretty sure just means changing clothes) into running gear and drove up to Run26 (Coach Shelby's running store) for an Adventure Run. This run is very similar to the Roadrunner Adventure Run that I talked about a month or so ago, but the Run26 run is smaller, family friendly, less running, and more relaxed. The less running part was great (I did about 2.5 miles) because, while my lungs protested a little on the bike ride, they really did not like running. I think I coughed up half a lung in the beer garden after. It may not be time to run again yet.
Third (remember, there was a first a second somewhere in here), I am also happy to announce that I have officially been convinced to take on Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge in Disney World on January 12 and 13. Seeing as my birthday is January 16th, I now will officially be celebrating my birthday weekend in Disney World by running a half marathon on January 12 followed by a full marathon on January 13. Yep, that's a half and then a full. THE NEXT DAY. I write that in caps because I don't think that it's sunken in what I've signed up for yet. Capital letters might help me process this.
How did I get convinced to do this? Team in Training. Of course. And MacKenzie, who decided that she wanted to captain the winter team season. And she only really wanted to captain if I did it with her. And somehow I was easily convinced. Because there are a lot of awesome people already signed up for the season, and then we convinced a lot more awesome people to sign up too. And because of course, I want to go to Disney World with lots of good friends and run a marathon and a half (if you do the math, that's 39.3 miles in 2 days), and of course I want to help organize the entire season, and of course I want to raise another $2,600 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (Side note: If you planned to get me a Christmas and/or Birthday present this year, only donations will be accepted. Website to be posted soon).
And, family members, if you know your geography, you may notice that this will be my first East Coast marathon. In Florida. Disney World in January? I know you want to come see me. Just putting it out there.
With commitments now building up for the beginning half of the school year, I want even more to enjoy my relaxing summer. So I'm going to go read a book (I will finish Clash of Kings in the next week), recharge, and mentally prep for trying to encase myself in neoprene again tomorrow morning, followed by immersing myself in more duck poop. Cross your fingers that the seaweed doesn't pull me under.
Nonetheless, I am happy to be back. As I sat feverish on the couch for several days, and then waited a few more days to see if the cough would go away (it hasn't), I think I could literally feel my muscles disintegrating. I also didn't eat a lot during what we will now term "the dark sad time," so when I finally put on a pair of jeans to go take Lucy for a walk on Sunday, they felt at least a size too big.
But now I'm back in the game and regrowing my muscles. And what was the first thing I did to get back in the game, you may be wondering (hint, hint...it has to do with duck poop and neoprene)? If you haven't guessed it from those two very clear hints, you either a) have never heard of Green Lake, or b) couldn't imagine why anyone in their right mind would want to swim in Green Lake. But I did. And it was my first open water swim. Ever.
Here's what happened:
1) I met Jason and MacKenzie at Green Lake, where I promptly realized that I forgot to take my glasses off and put my contacts in (so I could see in my goggles), so I quick drove back up the hill to my apartment to remedy the problem. Not a good start.
2) I took close to 20 minutes to get my borrowed wetsuit (thanks MacKenzie!) on. Jason and MacKenzie watched me struggle and work up a sweat while doing this. I also coughed a little.
3) Once I got the wetsuit on, Jason and MacKenzie worked together to get it zipped. Confidence. Booster.
4) I got into Green Lake. This was something I never really thought I'd do. But I just did a little bit of quick research on the King County website and apparently the "Fecal Coliform" levels are of "Low Concern." So now I am assured that I won't die of duck poop disease.
5) I swam for 40 minutes around the edge of the lake, trying my best not to stray too far from MacKenzie or Jason (which is harder than it seems because there are no lane lines to bump into and no painted line on the bottom of the lake to help you swim straight). I intermittently stopped swimming so I could cough. And make sure I wasn't lost in the middle of the lake.
6) I tried really hard not to touch any seaweed, even though I could see it through my goggles and it kinda freaked me out.
7) I decided that I kind of like open water swimming. I had no idea how far I was going, I didn't get bored, and the wetsuit made me float. Which seemed to make the swimming much easier.
8) After the 20 minute turn around on the way back, the wetsuit started hurting my neck a little and I swallowed a little bit of Green Lake accidentally (eeewwwww) because my lungs weren't working as well as I wanted them to. So made a bee line back to shore instead of following the perimeter of the lake. MacKenzie thought I was so awesome that I beat her back. I reassured her that I cheated.
9) I took the wetsuit off, which was much easier than putting it on.
10) MacKenzie gave me a bottle of some sort of spray to put on that makes putting wetsuits on easier (does this seem out of order? Because, logically, it is).
Overall, I count my first open water swim as a success. I think I swam about a mile, and my arms didn't die on me like I thought they might. Tomorrow I'm trying again, and I'm guessing it'll be a bit of a longer swim. I'm also crossing my fingers that the "Fecal Coliform" levels remain of "Low Concern" cause I consider duck poop disease to be a legitimate and scary threat.
After yesterday's successful swim, today I decided to take on both a bike ride and a run. Again, with MacKenzie and Jason as my partners in lung killing, we did a pretty hilly, albeit shorter ride from my place to and around Magnolia and back again. Then we did a quick transition (fancy tri word, which I'm pretty sure just means changing clothes) into running gear and drove up to Run26 (Coach Shelby's running store) for an Adventure Run. This run is very similar to the Roadrunner Adventure Run that I talked about a month or so ago, but the Run26 run is smaller, family friendly, less running, and more relaxed. The less running part was great (I did about 2.5 miles) because, while my lungs protested a little on the bike ride, they really did not like running. I think I coughed up half a lung in the beer garden after. It may not be time to run again yet.
Third (remember, there was a first a second somewhere in here), I am also happy to announce that I have officially been convinced to take on Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge in Disney World on January 12 and 13. Seeing as my birthday is January 16th, I now will officially be celebrating my birthday weekend in Disney World by running a half marathon on January 12 followed by a full marathon on January 13. Yep, that's a half and then a full. THE NEXT DAY. I write that in caps because I don't think that it's sunken in what I've signed up for yet. Capital letters might help me process this.
How did I get convinced to do this? Team in Training. Of course. And MacKenzie, who decided that she wanted to captain the winter team season. And she only really wanted to captain if I did it with her. And somehow I was easily convinced. Because there are a lot of awesome people already signed up for the season, and then we convinced a lot more awesome people to sign up too. And because of course, I want to go to Disney World with lots of good friends and run a marathon and a half (if you do the math, that's 39.3 miles in 2 days), and of course I want to help organize the entire season, and of course I want to raise another $2,600 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (Side note: If you planned to get me a Christmas and/or Birthday present this year, only donations will be accepted. Website to be posted soon).
And, family members, if you know your geography, you may notice that this will be my first East Coast marathon. In Florida. Disney World in January? I know you want to come see me. Just putting it out there.
With commitments now building up for the beginning half of the school year, I want even more to enjoy my relaxing summer. So I'm going to go read a book (I will finish Clash of Kings in the next week), recharge, and mentally prep for trying to encase myself in neoprene again tomorrow morning, followed by immersing myself in more duck poop. Cross your fingers that the seaweed doesn't pull me under.
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