Presidential Traverse - Day 4

I had told myself on Day 3 of the hike that Day 4 was just going to be hiking down and going home. There was an option to do one more mountain, Jackson, but it's actually not named after Stonewall Jackson, and therefore not Presidential. So, I decided I didn't need to do it. I woke up on the morning of Day 4 and thought "why not try?"

I had talked to a couple of people about the trails. The trail from the hut to Jackson was supposed to be really nice, and the trail from the hut down was nice. But, the trail from Jackson down is hard and steep. So, I decided I would hike over the Jackson with just my day pack, then go back to the hut and down. It didn't make sense in terms of miles, but it sounded like the easier route. And, I was excited with the idea of hiking with just a day pack! I had eaten some of the weight from my backpack, but still it was heavy.

So, only Jackson (elevation 4052) was on the agenda for the day. I was thinking I might regret doing it later, but I came to do six peaks that I hadn't done, and so I wanted to get the last one. I was so glad I did, I think Jackson was my favorite one! It was 1.6 miles from Mizpah to Jackson, most of it through mossy pine forest. Several places in the trail had logs to walk on, and were so easy to walk! There was more down hill to get to Jackson than up, I think!  There was only one point I wasn't really happy - I came to a clearing in the woods and saw what I knew must be Jackson. It looked so tall and far away, I was questioning my decision. But then it turned out not to be that much further or that hard to get to the top.

The view from the top was amazing! You could see most of the Presidential range. I was so psyched because I was looking at what I had hiked, and I was really happy that I had done it all when it had been so hard. I sat on top for a long time, eating the last of the gummy bears and jelly beans, and feeling satisfied and hard core.

One thing that's funny about hiking is that you can see almost no one while hiking, but on the top of a mountain you are almost never alone. When I got to the summit of Jackson there was a thru hiker there who was asking me what the weather was supposed to be like, and how was the trail? He was headed towards Washington that day, and he didn't really seem that psyched about it. Washington was under clouds, and he was really sad when I said you can always tell Washington because of the antenna on top. - he had thought Monroe was Washington. There was also this couple that came up - very nice people. But the guy was telling me how he met some "really old" dude hiking. I mean, really old, "like maybe 47!" Sigh. I just laughed, but I wanted to say "and he doesn't need a walker?"

When I had my fill of the awesome view, and the awesome feeling of having made it the whole way, I headed back to the hut. The trip back seemed even shorter. I got back at 11:30 ish. Packed everything up, refilled my water, had a last bowl of soup and piece of bread, and headed out for the last 2.6 miles.  The first part of the hike was more mossy pine forest. Really pretty! It got steep for a little bit, and the rocks were slippery. I also realized that Jackson may have been my favorite because I was just carrying my day pack, it was hard putting on the big pack (which at some point I named Brutus) again!  By the time I got about half way down I could tell I had blisters on my feet. At the end, they were killing me!  I was still glad that I had done Jackson, but I was so excited to see the parking lot and my car. I had a huge blister on the ball and big toe of my right foot, and on the big toe of the left foot. Also on the little toe. I don't know what was up with that - it's not like they were new boots. First thing I did was change to flip flops.

I drove over to a vending area and got ice cream and two beverage for the drive home. I really smelled, and I was not sure this was the best decision, as I would need to stop then, but I did it anyhow.  It was a pretty amazing feeling sitting outside eating my ice cream - that was a tough hike, but I did it!!

It took me about 2.5 hours to drive home. I unpacked, showered and ate. Then I went to bed at 9. I woke up this morning and this coughing and wheezing that I'd been having during the hike was much worse - so bad that I went to the Minute Clinic and the nurse practitioner gave me a prescription cough med and an inhaler.  So, it seems I either was sick or made myself sick - or made myself sicker??

Presidential Traverse - Day 3

Day 3 started with me waking up in my bunk in Lake of the Clouds (I crawled back in from the floor at dawn) with a strange dude curled up next to me. Lake of the Clouds is the biggest hut, and there were a ton of people there. I think it sleeps 96, and then there were also about 20-30 thru hikers sleeping on the floor in the main room. It was an interesting culture, actually, because paid guests got first dibs on the food, and then I think the thru hikers could help with dishes for left overs. So, they were all sitting around waiting for us to eat, kind of like the poor step-children. Except, they were way cooler than us - I mean, they are thru hiking!

Breakfast again was delicious - coffee, oatmeal, pancakes, eggs and bacon. I ate a lot, knowing it was going to be another big day. On the agenda for the day: Monroe (elevation 5372), Eisenhower (elevation 4760) and Pierce (elevation 4310). I have done Pierce before, but there isn't a trail around it, so I was going over it again. The other two were optional. But, Monroe was practically at the door of the hut, so it could be done right away. Eisenhower was a little further, but the croo guy described it as such a nice mountain - it used to be called Mt. Pleasant, that I didn't want to bypass it. I set out at about 8 am feeling amazingly refreshed.

Monroe was a pretty tough one. It was another pile of rocks. But, it was only .3 mile and 360 feet elevation gain. Everyone had started out at pretty much the same time from Lake of the Clouds, so there were a fair number of people up there. The wind had died down even more and there wasn't a cloud in the sky! You could see Mt Washington perfectly, and the valley. It was gorgeous. I admired for a few minutes, and felt happy that I had done the hardest mountain of the day and it only took me about a half hour! I took a short rest to admire the view, but I wanted to keep moving.

After Monroe it was more than 1.2 miles to the turn off for Eisenhower. The trail was a lot easier, though. The AT here is the Crawford Path, which is the oldest maintained trail in the US (I think). Anyhow, it's been around for a while, and it's a little less rocky than some of the NH hikes, which is to say that you can see dirt sometimes. There was a lot of downhill, since everything goes down from Washington.  By the time I got to Eisenhower I was feeling pretty tired again and I promised myself a long rest on the top. Eisenhower seemed even bigger than Monroe, though it's not. The top was every bit as wonderful as promised by the croo guy. I spent a half hour up there, admiring the view, eating a power bar, and gummy bears and jelly beans. I was pretty psyched because it was only 1:30 ish, and I was about half way - once I got down the mountain I only had 2 miles to the next hut, Mizpah.

Once I got down Eisenhower, it was 1.2 miles again to the next mountain, Pierce. It started feeling like I was getting lower in terms of elevation at this point. There were a few scrub pines and the brush was a little thicker. I stopped at the sweetest mossy glen to refill my water.  It was really nice there! Soon I started going up again, and I could tell that I was on Pierce. It was actually the easiest of the climbs, so I was glad that I didn't have the option to go around it - I probably would have, but for no reason. It wasn't that hard to get up, and there was a nice view of where I had come from. The top of the mountain didn't really have any view, so I just touched the marker and kept going. I was eager to get to the next hut and stop hiking - I could tell I had a blister on one of my toes.

The .9 mile down Pierce to Mizpah hut was pretty steep, compounded with being pretty wet. It was slow going for me. There were a few places that had ladders, it was so steep!  My feet started hurting at this point, as they always do on the downhill. Mizpah is below tree line, and after two + days above it was nice to go down a little. There were a lot of really pretty mossy glens and pine trees, tons of mushrooms. It seemed to take forever to get to the hut - but then suddenly there was a clearing in the woods and there it was!

I think Mizpah was my favorite hut. Bunks were roomy and the weather was so nice, I could sit outside with my book. My Kalamazoo friends had arrived a couple hours before me (they went around Monroe and Eisenhower), and I chatted with them for a while. I also had a delicious slice of bread and soaked my feet in the stream from the spring. Dinner was pork tacos, bread, bean soup and a cake with cream cheese frosting.

Before dinner two of the Croo Kids came out and chatted with a bunch of us. They were showing us the pack boards that they use to carry all the perishable foods and supplies up to the hut - they have regular drops by helicopter apparently, but some stuff they bring in. They regularly carry 60-80 pounds up the trails, and some people have carried 100 pounds (a century). Everyone carries the same, gals and guys. The boards are wood and they last for like 20 years - the woman said that you get attached to your board during the season, since it's so hard to pack. The packs don't have waist straps in case they trip, they can eject. If you are on the croo you need to pack food up hills, cook for a group of about 60-100, check people in, stir compost, hopefully clean pillowcases, clean bathrooms, understand how the solar power works - it's a diverse skill set. It sounds like they hire based on personality type - they want outgoing, high energy people.

After dinner I read in bed for a little bit and then fell asleep around 9. The guy across from me snored like crazy, but still I slept really well!

Presidential Traverse - Day 2

Day 2's agenda was Madison Spring Hut to Lake of the Clouds Hut, with three summits on the way. Initially I had planned to already have Madison done, but given the weather that was still on my to-do list. So, I had Madison (elevation 5367), Adams (elevation 5793), Jefferson (elevation 5712) and Washington (elevation 6288). I decided I would see how things went, but since I already had done Washington, and didn't love it (it's a parking lot on top and a lot of people in flip flops who drove up, taking pics of themselves at the Mt. Washington sign) I could possibly skip that if necessary.

Breakfast at the hut was coffee, oatmeal, pancakes, bacon and eggs. I ate some of each, one thing I love about hiking :) I left my pack in the hut and did Madison. It was only .5 mile up, but it still took more than 45 minutes because of all of the elevation gain and because, though the wind had died down a lot, it was still pretty windy up there.  Things had cleared up and I had a nice view, but I also had a long way to go, so I didn't say up top for long. I went back to the hut, got my gear (with everything in my pack at home it weighed about 30 pounds) and headed out.  Adams was next, and pretty close to the hut.

I will say for the record that I am not a fan of Adams. It is a giant heap of rocks which requires hopping from rock to rock, scrambling, and a lot of picking your way. For someone who's more like a mountain goat I'm sure it would be fun, but for me it was a lot of work. From the hut it was .9 miles with 950 feet of elevation gain. As I was sitting on the top, enjoying the view and having a snack, this guy came running up. He had run all the way up from the parking lot in an hour and 49 minutes!  It took me almost that long from Madison Spring.

After a little rest I headed down the other side of the mountain to the AT. Once I got down I had a rather depressing moment because there was a sign that said "Madison Spring Hut .9 mile." And I had already been hiking for like 3 hours! I decided right there that Washington was probably not going to happen, and headed off. It's 1.2 miles of gradual uphill from Adams to Jefferson. It seemed to take forever! It was super windy and very rocky on the trail. I was pretty psyched to get to the turn off for Jefferson and head up. Jefferson was also a pretty tough climb, but definitely easier than Adams. It's cool when you come to the top of a mountain and a whole new side of the mountain range is suddenly there!

I had packed a "bag of sugar" before I left - jelly beans, gummy bears, and swedish fish, and I enjoyed sitting up top and eating for a while.  I couldn't rest for too long, though, because even with going around Washington I still had 3.5 miles to go, and it was like 2:00! Dinner at the huts is at 6:00, and I didn't want to miss the bread course.

I was so glad I decided to go around Washington. I was really tired and moving pretty slowly. In fact, at one point I was thinking I could hike up to Washington the next day and take the Cog Railway down, and then the hiker's shuttle to the car!  Serious dark trail thoughts.

Later, I was sitting at the side of a spring, filtering water, when this woman came by. We were chatting and I asked her where she came from - "Georgia." I had meant that morning, but wow! Thru hiking is hard core.

The trail I took went under the Cog, and as I was walking there was a train going up and the engineer and I waved at each other.  It was really nice, and the path was kind of fun - it was all rocks. but I had gotten my trail legs a little, and they were pretty flat and well organized, so I was moving pretty well, hopping from rock to rock. It was reasonably flat, and I was moving fast for me.

When I got my first sight of Lake of the Clouds, I was #1 really excited and #2 a little bummed because it was so far away. It took forever to reach after I had seen it. I mean, forever! And, at the end, I really really had to pee, and I didn't want to outside because there was water everywhere and I figured it all went to the hut's water (though I guess my little bit of pee wouldn't really have been that big of a deal). I was so happy to get there!  It was 6:30 - I went to the bathroom (where I noticed that my hair had blown in one direction so much from the wind that I looked pretty ridiculous) and then one of the nice Croo kids brought me a bowl of soup and some bread, and I was still on time for the rest of the meal :)

Lake of the Clouds was amazing! The lake was gorgeous, the sunset amazing, there were a ton of through hikers staying there. I talked to this guy named Kimosape, who was saying how much of a mental game hiking is. Yup, that's true.  I asked one of the croo about the hike the next day - I was like "today kind of kicked my butt. Will tomorrow be as hard?" and he said, "if it kicked your butt, you were doing it right." and that no, it wouldn't be that hard. So, I decided not to take the Cog down :)  Also, my buddies from Kalamazoo had gotten there a few hours before me, but they didn't do any of the summits. The woman said that she had been watching to make sure I got there - very sweet.

One down point of Lake of the Clouds - when I went to my room, I was a little scared of the bunk - since I was the last one there I got last choice in beds and I was on the bottom of three bunks. My bed was basically on the floor and the next bunk was so low you couldn't sit up in it. It was pushed up next to another bed and my "bed mate" was some dude. I woke up at midnight feeling claustrophobic and crawled out of the bed and slept on the floor next to it, where someone from level 2 stepped on me at 3 am going to the bathroom :P

Presidential Traverse - Day 1

I completed my 4 day-3 night hut-to-hut Presidential Traverse yesterday! 22 miles, 7-4000 footers, about 10 blisters on my feet, an amazing and exhausting journey. One that I am very impressed with myself for doing, and plan to never do again :)

I stayed Sunday night at the Highland Center which is an AMC hostel. I didn't want to have to wake up at 5:30 am to catch the 9 am hiker's shuttle to the start of my hike. Really glad I did that, it made it so much easier on the first day and it was a super cute place. They have shared rooms, but I was really lucky to be paired with a super chill woman who was exhausted from her hike and was out like a light. Monday morning I caught the AMC hiker's shuttle from the Highland Center to the trailhead for Madison Spring hut. I decided to do my best to make things easy on myself, so I hiked the "easiest" hike up, the Valley Way (3.8 miles, 3550 feet elevation gain). It was a tough one! 

The weather was pretty bad on the first day, the mountains were covered in clouds and it was windy. Below the treelike it wasn't too bad, but it was still wet on all the rocks, so I didn't really want to sit and rest. There were three other "groups" on the shuttle with me - this one guy from Europe who was planning to trail run all the way back to the Highland Center that day, three girls who had tents and were doing a two day traverse, and an older couple from Kalamazoo Michigan who were doing the same hike as me. Trail culture is so interesting! The guy was off once we got there, never to be seen again. The girls and I were passing each other off and on during the day. And the couple from Kzoo and I got to know each other some during the few days.

I started out feeling pretty good, breathing hard but moving steady. As I got closer to tree line I got more and more tired. I stopped to have something to eat, but was still moving pretty slow. After a while, I was just talking myself into moving to the next blaze and then the next, etc. Once I got above tree line the wind really picked up. There's a sign as you get to tree line that says something about how unpredictable the weather is, how people have died as a result of bad weather, and how you should turn around now if weather doesn't look good. I was like "it doesn't look good, but I'm still going to the hut." I later heard it was 78 mph gusts at Mt. Washington (hurricane force is 74 mph). I don't think it was quite that strong where I was, but it was pretty powerful. Visibility was also awful, due to the cloud cover - I was so glad when I got to the hut!

Inside there were a bunch of people, fresh baked bread, hot chocolate, and no wind!  I chose a bunk that seemed nice, which I later changed when I realized that the window didn't close all the way and it would be freezing. 

After resting for a while, I tried to summit Madison, which proved to be a crazy idea!  From Madison Springs Hut to the summit of Madison is .5 mile and 550 feet of elevation gain. A lot of the summit is a pile of rocks dumped by a glacier. The trail is marked well with huge cairns, so I decided I would try it, and see how it went. I decided if I couldn't see 2 cairns back I would turn back (it was so foggy).  I think I made it about half way up. The wind was so bad that a couple times it almost knocked me over.  I can't imagine what it was like on top, I thought I would have to crawl if I wanted to get up there.  I've never turned around on a hike due to weather, but it was clearly the smart thing to do. I spent the rest of the day hanging in the hut, reading, eating a delicious dinner prepared by the Hut Croo, and then going to bed at like 8:30.

Huts are an interesting place - it was really expensive to stay there - like $110 per night. So, I guess that limits who's going to be there. At Madison there was a group of boy scouts and their dads. At first I was nervous that they would be really loud and bratty, but they were actually really good. I accidentally sat at a dinner table with all the dads (and a couple moms) for dinner, and they were pretty funny. At the end of dinner this one family came in - they had hiked over from Lake of the Clouds with mom, dad, and a girl who looked like she was like 8 in the wind. Really impressive!  Mom said it took them 11 hours.

Anyhow, even though it's August and I felt funny packing my ninja hoody, patagonia long underwear, down puff, wool hat and gloves, I was so glad I had them that night! Because, I wore all of that, plus my two shirts, a pair of Athleta pants, wool socks, buff around my neck. I slept in my sleeping bag liner and had three wool blankets on top of me. And it still took about a half hour to get warm in bed! It was cold. Once I fell asleep, I slept like a log until they woke us up at 6:30 with guitar music and singing for breakfast.

Ran two miles!

I have to put it out there that I ran two miles, because I really wanted to stop and walk for a bit, but I kept reminding myself how happy I would be when I finished, and could blog about how I ran two miles!  And, I am pretty psyched about it right now. It was hard.

This week I have my very first classic migraine aura. Not an exciting first. I was at work chatting with my boss and it suddenly felt like someone was squeezing my head like a tube of toothpaste. My ear got all fuzzy and everything felt weird. When the squeezing stopped, there were all these zig zag neon lights, it was a little like looking through a kaleidoscope. I thought it was probably a migraine, or maybe a stroke, so I was trying to act like nothing was happening, and at the same time not freak out. I called my doctor and set up an appointment and snuck out of work a couple hours early while my boss was in a staff meeting. She didn't say anything about it, so hopefully she didn't notice.

My doctor wasn't there, so I saw one of her colleagues who is on the admissions committee at Harvard (along with 160 other people!) He said that they don't care about MCAT scores, though I don't totally believe that one - he doesn't look at them, but I bet someone does. Anyhow, he practically clapped his hands in delight at my aura and how classic it was. Somehow that was actually reassuring because I don't think he would have done that if I was having a stroke. Anyhow, he had someone give me a shot of toroidal (which hurt more then the headache - it wasn't actually that bad a migraine) and I came home. The next day I felt like I had been hit by a truck, and then yesterday I wasn't feeling so great either; which is to say I only did crossfit once this week. But I think it's justified.

WOD:
800 meter run
20 back squats (I lifted 55 pounds)
20 pull ups (I didn't them without bands, and didn't get all the way up)
800 meter run
15 back squats
15 pull ups
800 meter run
10 back squats
10 pull ups
my time 26 min exactly!

We ran 800 meters in the warm up, which is what brought the running to two miles. My first 800 meters took about 4:45, which is a 9:30 min mile! The second one was about 5:15 I think. And the third one I had given up counting.

This coming week I'm on vacation and I'm going to do a hut-to-hut presi traverse!  I'm pretty excited. I'm headed up to NH tomorrow, staying at one of the lodges, so I can take the 9 am hikers shuttle to Falling Waters trail, and hike up to Madison. I'm staying at Madison Spring hut the first night, Lake of the Clouds the second night, and Mitzpah the third. From Mitzpah it's a short walk back to the lodge and my car. Total distance of the hike is 22 ish miles, with 7 4000 footers! (If you are thinking this is a good time to rob the house, don't. Really, there's nothing to take of value except two punk cats.)

Endurance

Today's WOD was listed as "endurance" on the calendar. It kicked my butt!
WOD: 3 rounds
20 power cleans (I lifted 55 pounds)
20 toes to bar (I didn't even bother kicking my feet up)
30 burpees (yuck)
30 kettlebell swings (I used the second smallest the first round, then the smallest)
60 double unders (I did singles)
2 minute rest

I felt pretty good about lifting 55 pounds, but I gotta say that it may have hurt me in the rest of the WOD. My toes to bar were pretty awful, and I didn't bother going all the way down on my burpees for the second round. By the end I wanted to throw up, so I guess I tested my endurance.

It's summer olympic time. Wow, those athletes are amazing. I was watching the men run the 400 meter - it takes them less than 50 seconds!  I think it takes me twice that long. They just had women's steeple chase - it's like hurdles, but the hurdles don't fall down if you make it over. In steeple chase the hurdles don't move so you fall over. And, one of them has a big puddle after it, so their shoes get wet! I can't wait to see weight lifting, and what they lift.

shopping

Didn't get to hike last weekend again! It was rainy and there were thunderstorms predicted in NH. Not fun hiking weather. Instead of climbing a 4000 footer I sat on my butt on the couch all day and did nothing. Not totally nothing - I finished my final project for class pretty much, and did laundry, caught Pokemon... It's such a relief to have the class pretty much done, and the next one doesn't start until Sept 6! I was hoping to hike this weekend, but it's supposed to rain again :(  I'm on staycation after that, so I will def get some hiking in then. Maybe the Owl, since I'm so obsessed with it.

I went to Crossfit today - it was so humid in the box that we were all sweating like pigs before the warmup! Daniella taught, which meant a killer warm up, too. We did tabata jump rope and abs. Ouch. Then we did front squats. I got up to 85 pounds! So - we started at 65 pounds, and then everyone did 85 for the second set of three lifts. And then I just stayed there for the rest of the lifting. So, I front squatted 85 pounds 12 times, but probably 9 good ones. Not bad for me!

WOD: AMRAP 14 minutes

15 toes to bar

20 wall balls

60 double unders (I did singles)

I either did 3 or 4 rounds, and I totally forgot which. I think it was 4, but I could be wrong.

I took my mom shopping on Sunday. It actually wasn't that bad. She got new shoes at New Balance Outlet - this really sweet kid helped her find what she wanted. It's one of those stores where you just find it yourself and try it on, but he found the shoes for her, told her all about them, and helped her put them on and off. He had all these big tattoos and looked all tough, but looks are deceiving. My mom got a pair of pinkish shoes, and she bought me these retro blue ones that you can't use for running but are super cute! And, she got me some shorts and a tank, and some socks. Ironic that now that I can finally buy my own she decided she will treat.

Dean sweat

Today's WOD wasn't too bad, lots of rowing, but I like rowing. At least, in theory. We started with back squats and I got up to 90 pounds 3 times. I thought I could do more, but then I remembered that we had 50 thrusters in the WOD, and decided to stick to 90 pounds. I think that could be a new record for me, though I would have to check.

WOD:
1000 meter row
25 thrusters (I lifted 35 pounds)
50 kettle bell swings (I used the smallest one)
25 thrusters
1000 meter row
my time: 18:35

By the last of the thrusters I was really struggling. I started the first round of thrusters by doing 10, then 8 then 7. On the second round I did 5 sets of 5.

My dean friend was there. It is a little hard to feel like someone is totally deanly when they are wearing hokey striped shorts and US flag socks. We high fived at the end of the WOD and I got some dean sweat on me. He should totally accept my students now, right?

I'm thinking that I may do a hike this Saturday - it's looking like a nice day, and it's been a while. I'm thinking about Cannon Mtn. It's supposed to have an amazing view. Of course, it also has a tram, so it will be full of people in flip flops and high heals...

The final project is progressing. Once this is done I will only have two more discussion board postings and the class will be finished. And then, no more summer classes. Ever. They suck!

I'm back!!

I was having this awful neck pain, every day I was waking up with a headache. And my neck didn't turn as well as it used to. I decided I didn't want a repeat of the tendon thing, where it never really healed right, so I took a couple weeks off crossfit. I also got a massage and did this neck yoga. So, that's my excuse for no crossfit. It was super hot out on my birthday, like 95! So, I decided it wasn't a long hike day. My plan was to go on Sunday instead, but then I wound up walking around the city with a friend, playing Pokemon Go. A little lame in some ways, but on the other hand we did walk over 8 miles according to my fitbit, and it was pretty fun!  At one point we were walking through the Boston Common and there were so many people outside playing that I heard a dad say to his daughter "you really have to watch where you are going because everyone is playing Pokemon, and they aren't paying attention." We played until our phone batteries died!

The next day I went on a Pokemon Go walk, and then wound up sitting below this hot spot. There were two guys there initially, then this other guy came by - all like 20 somethings. Ya, and me. So, the last guy to arrive sits next to me, and we are just chatting about Pokemon. Next thing I know, he's flirting with me! I mean, he could have been my child!! You catch Pokemon in balls, and that was a whole conversation. And then he was like "I like wine. Do you like wine? I have some wine at home..." and he invited me to his place! I declined because, well, I'm not a pedophile. Still, it was a nice ego boost. And a good idea for meeting boys. Except that not as many people are playing any more, including me.

This past weekend my friend from Mexico and her daughter were here. We were total tourists for the day on Monday - we did a duck boat ride, walked around on Newbury Street, and ate lobster at the barking crab. It was so fun!  They also went to the new Harry Potter book release party in Harvard Square (Hogwarts Square for the evening). I had a bachelorette party to go to so I couldn't go - I'm too old for bachelorette parties, but my friend invited me and I wanted her to feel the love, so I went. Now, though, back to reality....

It was a tough WOD for the first day back - a benchmark one named Kelly. I had to scale seriously. I thought that my legs were going stop working.
Kelly: 5 rounds (I only did 4)
400 meter run
30 box jumps (I did 20 box steps)
30 wall balls (I did 20)
My time: 23 min, 23 sec

My dean friend was there, so I really wanted to be impressive, but I wasn't. I didn't want to be impressive so badly that I was ready to hurt myself again. That would suck!

I'm midway through a big paper for this class I'm taking. It's a summer class, so it's shorter than the regular classes. They are usually 12 weeks, but this one is only 8. And the big project is due after week 6. It's a bummer now, but when I have a full month off I'm going to dig it, so I don't mind too much.