Rowing in a four

There were a lot of rowers today, so many that we had three 8's, but then three people got stuck in traffic/on the T and we wound up with only 5 for our boat so one person sculled and the rest of us were in a 4. I was back on starboard and was in the bow. 

The four is a little harder to set on the water and apparently I was making it wobble by lifting my oar too high - it turns out you can't just tap down to the same level every time, you need to pay attention to your oar hight? Well, I did sort of get it figured out and we did a lot better on the way back. 

We did some pretty long drills because we were all new to the four, and then after we did a long row which was pretty killer because it's still so hot out. Not 97, but still in the 90's. I had two streams of sweat running down my face, and had to keep trying to dry off my left hand because it was slipping as I tried to feather the oar. I felt like it was a little more manageable to carry the four and it was definitely easier to turn.  

It's supposed to cool off tomorrow finally! Yay! And then of course it will rain all weekend. 

Out of the 3 seat

Well, today I made it out of the three seat for rowing, but sadly I was moved to the four. I was just getting the hang of starboard and then I had to row port! I hadn't rowed port since the learn to row program and it felt so awkward. I kept getting my oar caught on my thighs or in the water and it was hard to feather with my right hand. Also, it was over 90 with a feels like of 97, which isn't really the best outdoor exercise weather, especially for me. Fortunately there was a little bit of a breeze on the water so it didn't feel quite so hot. Also, there was a group that rowed right before us, and they left the boat set up, so we didn't have to carry it down to the water.

As we were waiting to get started I realized that I forgot my socks. I was so bummed. But then our cox gave me his! They were a little gnarly, but it was so nice of him, and I'm sure I would have been miserable without socks (and on port in the 97 degree weather). I'm going to put some socks in the trunk of my car so that I'm ready next time.

Our workout was pretty chill because of the heat. Still, we went 8.8 km. When I left to go row I really questioned my life choices, but I'm glad I went! Tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter, though. I may not leave home.

Jim Doty Swim

After the Charles swim I swore I was done with swim races, but some of my friends were doing this 1 mile swim at Carson Beach. I just didn't want to pay more $ to torture myself, but when one friend bailed I asked if I could be her for the swim. And immediately regretted it when she said "of course!" But, it is good for me to exercise, and it's early in the day so I knew I would at least be all exercised up by 10, so I did it.

We are at the start of a heat wave, but you wouldn't have know that this morning. When I left home a little before 7 am it was rainy and cold. The water in the ocean was 61, which is also not warm. This race goes in a square, with 4 turn buoys, which means each length is .25 miles ish - a good distance to talk yourself through. I started swimming pretty well, but also just wanting to quit, which I didn't. After the first buoy things got a little wavier, it was a pretty quiet day in the water, and the area is pretty well protected, but still I could feel the ocean. The middle half I really questioned my life choices and thought about avocado toast. I got to the last buoy and was feeling pretty tired, I really wanted to stop. But I didn't. I did get pretty far off course, which was a bummer. Fortunately a kayaker pointed me in the right direction. The last quarter mile was definitely the hardest because I really really wanted to be done, but about half way I saw one of my friends, and a little competitive streak came out as I wanted to beat her :). I was so glad when I hit the last buoy and was able to walk to the shore. After all the waves there was definitely a little staggering involved.

I feel like I swallowed a bunch of salt and a little part of me wanted to vomit. But instead I took a shower and swished some water in my mouth. After I got changed I saw there was a snack table that had some coffee, bananas, and other treats. I had a little coffee just to get the salt out of my mouth and a banana and felt a lot better. 

We went to shy bird for brunch, but when I got the menu there was no avocado toast! It was tragic. We had the nicest waiter and I explained how the thought of avocado toast sustained me through the swim. I realized that they did have a traditional breakfast with toast, eggs, bacon and potatoes, so I just subbed avocado for the bacon and put together a thing ad hoc. And it was delicious! Now I'm home on the couch, the weather is heating up, and I have no intention of going anywhere else today. It wasn't really that fun when I was swimming, but the brunch and couch time do make up for it.

Hours later: Just saw the results posted and I was #6 of 10 in my division. I'm pretty OK with that.

Smarts Mountain Redux

Today was supposed to be a beautiful day, and then there is a heat wave coming, so I decided it was perfect for a hike. I thought about a bunch of different mountains, but in the end settled on Smarts because of my incomplete hike last fall - I really wanted to get back to it, and climb the mountain. Because it's the summer solstice today I knew I had a ton of time for the hike, and so I woke up at 7, drank my coffee, thought about if I really wanted to go, and decided that yes, I did. I had to pack all my stuff, but was out the door before 8. It's a 2 hour and 20 minute drive up there which actually wasn't that bad today, except there were a ton of motorcycles, some of them going really fast, must have been about 100, and without a helmet. It was so stressful with them riding around me. 

I got to the mountain around 11, put on some sunscreen, and headed out. I sort of remembered the start of the hike from fall, though it looked different with leaves on the trees instead of the trail. It's pretty steep at the start, 879 feet elevation gain in the first mile, which was a little brutal. I saw the place that I stopped the last time, which was most of the way up the first hard pitch. There was a little more of a climb after, but then there was a ridgeline which of course I enjoyed. The trail goes over some little peak and then it goes down again, so there's actually a lot of downhill on the uphill - stressful for the way back, except this was a loop hike. There was about a mile and a half that was pretty flat and not too strenuous. Then the last half mile or so things got real and it was pretty uphill for the last bit. 

I was expecting it to be much cooler today today, but it was actually pretty muggy and warm. There was definitely a lot of suffering. I got to the top and could tell I was running low on water. So, I went to the hiker campsite to see if there was any there (spoiler alert, there wasn't). Shortly after that I reached the top. This hike is on the 52 with a view list, but it turns out that the view is from the top of this somewhat sketchy tower with a heavy door in the platform floor that does not prop open. I started up the tower for the view, got sketched out half way up, and went back down. At the bottom I went to a little cabin that was up there, and a guy there told me there was a spring close by - of course it was down hill. Sigh. But I went and filled my smart water bottle to filter and then went back to the tower, determined to climb it, which I did. I did leave my hiking poles at the bottom and held both rails as I went up. There was a guy up top who opened the heavy door for me, which I was really grateful for. I walked around up top holding onto the sides like the chicken that I am, but I did stay up there for like a full 5 minutes - the tower is covered and it was actually pretty warm. 

I came down and there wasn't anywhere with a view to sit and eat, which was a bummer because it's supposed to be one of the 52 with a view! Also, I bought an egg salad sandwich on the drive up, but with the heat I wasn't sure that it would be such a good idea to eat it  - I was starving so I had about a quarter of it, but then I was just too nervous about salmonella, and didn't finish it. Fortunately I had a nut bar with dark chocolate, so I ate that and filtered some water. But, it was so buggy by this time that I didn't stay for long. 

The hike up actually wasn't too buggy - I guess because there wasn't much water, it was a little more open, and there was a little breeze. But, the way down was just swarming with bugs. The big descent is at the start, and then it gets more gradual and eventually pretty flat. There was a really pretty brook that I crossed several times, so I would have been fine waiting to get water, but you never know, and it's good to get some when you can. Anyhow, I was hot, covered in bugs and my feet hurt, so I booked it down as fast as I could. Some of the rocks were covered in moss and at one point my feet slipped out from under me and I fell on my hip and arm (good news, I was completely fine, just covered in muck. I haven't hit the age where falling is a thing). 

The last mile or so was just miserable, and I was so happy when I saw the parking lot. I got into my car as fast as possible, took off my boots and grabbed some water I had left in the car - it was so hot, I bet I could have made tea with it, and I spilled it all over the place. I was so glad to turn on the AC and head out. I stopped on the way back and got a gatoraid and some raspberry sorbet before heading home. I'm glad I finished the mountain, but I think it's a one and done. Also, reminder to myself for next year, June is buggy and not the best time for hiking!

Charles River Swim #3

Yesterday was my third time swimming the Charles, sadly it didn't go as I hoped. I blue biked there again, which is definitely the way to go - I took an ebike because it was 6:45 in the morning and I was already running a little late. But, I got there in plenty of time to check in and get my tshirt (black this year, boo, but I still got one because I guess I can own one black tshirt, and it is super cute). I met up with the merfolk + group, which was 6 of us, all gals. I even saw one of my students there!

The weather wasn't great and I think there were a lot of people from the "orange cap" group (the group that goes second) who didn't show up. The "yellow caps" are the faster, more competitive group, and there was a huge lineup of them - our group was much shorter. I got in the water early with my group and wound up treading water for a bit, but I was like "I belong here as much as anyone else, and I'm not going to wait until everyone leaves to get away from the hunger game scrum at the beginning." And I didn't. There was one woman who was smushed up against me at first, and I just kept swimming until eventually we parted. I got a tiny bit off track on the way to the first bouy, but nothing serious, and I was doing really well for me, going at a 2'43" per 100 yard ish pace until the turn around. Unfortunately my goggles were really uncomfortable and I knew if I messed with them I would regret it, but at the bouy I couldn't help myself and I tried to fix them. That was where things went bad. I could not get them on right for the way back and had to keep stopping so that my pace slowed down to as slow as a 3'29" per 100 yard pace at my slowest. At one point my goggles were on so tight I could feel them sucking my eyeball! My eyes were red and puffy for the rest of the day, and today I have a bruise around my right eye.

In the end I didn't pick up my time ticket because I think I was second to last again, around 53 minutes, which means the goggles costed me about 5 minutes. I was doing OK swimming wise, and a few times I actually picked up in speed on the way back, when the goggles were leaking a bit, but I kept my eyes closed. Anyhow, I have thrown away the goggles, and will be using a different pair in the future.

After the swim we went for brunch and I had the most delicious and pretty avocado toast. Then we went to the pride parade (aka no kings, yaas queens), which was super fun! It lasted about 2.5 hours, which I think is the longest parade I've ever been to. Four of the swim crew stayed for the first hour, and then after they left another friend came and met me there. When the parade finished we walked up to the common and then to the over 21 party, which we thought was a no kings thing, but when we got there was clearly a pride thing, because there was pole dancing and dudes wearing almost nothing twirking.  I had a delicious mozzarella pesto crepe and then we headed out. 

Walking to the blue bikes I was reminded of haymarket and the Saturday sale there. Sadly I had no cash, so I couldn't buy anything, but that might be a thing to do on a Saturday morning. It's so easy to bike there now. Anyhow, I was pooped by that time so I got an ebike for the ride home as well and enjoyed a quick ride back before sitting on my couch for pretty much the rest of the day.

Will I do the swim again? Probably, just for the redemption. But with different goggles for sure.

Dock to the Point

I've been completely slacking on swimming since the February race, and now I have the Charles River swim coming up in a little over a week. To get a little practice I met up with a friend at the dock, and we went for my longest swim of the year!

We were supposed to be a big group at the beach, but unfortunately they now have this silly system where they open parking every half hour or so, even if there are spaces available. Unfortunately I got there at the wrong time, and I didn't want to wait for 20 minutes to get a spot, so I went to the dock with another friend who got there at the same time. It was the first really hot day of the year (hence all the people at the beach) and it was so nice to get into the water. I wasn't sure that I wanted to swim that far, and neither was my friend, but of course we egged each other on and kept going a little further and a little further until we were so close to the point that we just went there. 

The swim was fine. A little hard at first, but then I got in the groove and did reasonably well. My goggles were pretty foggy, and my swim cap kept sliding up my head, so I had to stop a few times. And we stopped at all the bouys and such. According to my watch I went .82 miles in 55 minutes, but there were definitely a lot of pauses. I'm curious to see how I will do in the big race - wonder if it will be faster then last year?

After swimming I went to rowing. They said it would be a lighter workout because of the heat. It turns out that when they say it will be a lighter workout, what they don't mean is that you will go a shorter distance - it was my longest row ever at over 10K. Also, they don't mean that it will be shorter duration, because we were on the water for over an hour and 15 minutes. And, it doesn't mean that you will go slower. Basically, it's "lighter" not lighter. By the end my legs felt like lead and I was regretting my life choices. Nevertheless, I feel like I'm getting the hang of it a little more. It doesn't feel as stressful and I can kind of pick apart the pieces that I need to work on, and work on them a bit. 

By the end I was so tired. I went home, had some bread and cheese because I was too tired for anything else, and went to bed. 

First Row with the Big Kids

Today was my first day of rowing with the experienced rowers. It was both stressful and (type 2) fun. I did catch one big crab, and many small ones, but I also had a few perfect rows where I felt the boat moving beneath me as I slid perfectly up on my seat. 

We started with a circle of introductions. Most of the rowers had been rowing for years, but some had been rowing for a shorter amount of time. All of them were pretty chill and reasonable. Our boat was all women, who were very nice. Our cox was Lizzie, and she was like "like in Lizzie Bordon." I actually remembered her name after that.

We started by rowing to the Tufts dock, which I thought was far until we got our drill for the way back - 20 minutes, with 4 sets of 4 minutes at 20 and 1 minute at 24 (I have no idea what the numbers mean, but also it doesn't really matter. I know something will change, and I just follow the person in front of me). I was pretty sure that we did 5 sets instead of 4, and someone else said the same thing, so I think I'm correct about that. It was definitely the hardest rowing workout yet. I really wanted to stop rowing, but I couldn't because there were all the other people in the boat counting on me. 

According to my watch, we went 9.8 km and my heart rate was in zone 3, and even up to zone 4. It's such a good workout! After we finished the boat was feeling pretty heavy, and then this guy came over to help, and suddenly it got a lot lighter :) There was a really pretty sunset, and then I came home and ate popsicles to rehydrate. We row again tomorrow, so we will see if it's any less stressful.