Ran a mile!

Actually, I ran 1.08 mile, all at once!  I froze my crossfit membership because work got so messed up that I couldn't deal with things like lifting weights, and feel like I need more yoga. But then of course I haven't done enough yoga. I was going to go today, but didn't feel like it, so I required myself to go for a run instead. I decided to go outside, around the block!  I did a loop that's been a kind of a part of my walking routine, it's pretty uphill at first, but then has a nice downhill to make up for it. It's cold out and so my throat was killing me from breathing in the cold air. My pace was pretty slow, 11 minute mile, but that's OK. It actually didn't feel that bad!  I might do it again.

I've been watching the Great British Baking Show, and now all I want to do is bake breads and delicious pastries. Not good for a time when the crossfit membership is on hold.

Turned in the Penultimate Paper!

Last night I uploaded the second to last paper in my doctorate! Of course, the last one is a biggie. My dissertation. After I uploaded the paper I started my dissertation journal, set up some rules for myself, like I have to work on it an hour a day, 5 days a week (I'm making the assumption that many days I will get caught up in what I'm doing and work more). Also that I will respond to criticism like an adult, and make changes. Adulting. Hard. And I gave it a name, I decided to call it Drogon after Daenerys Targaryn's largest dragon in Game of Thrones. That would make me Khaleesi, Queen of Papers. I'll have to work at accumulating my titles. Or at writing the paper, one of the two.

Today's workout was full of partner crap, and somehow my partner seemed to know my name. WTF? I swear I've never seen her before. Anyhow, we started with this long lifting series, of which I did 20, starting at a PVC pipe for 2 (not impressive) then 18 more ranging in weight from 35 pounds to 45 pounds - 1 power snatch, 1 hang squat snatch, 1 overhead squat.

Then we did a lot of rowing. I mean, a lot. It was a taking turns thing:
WOD:
1000 meter row
750 meter row
500 meter row
250 meter row
my time about 12 min

while your partner rowed you got to rest. That's a lot of rowing!

OK, time to do my Drogon hour. Working on the beastie. Dracarys!

Cannon Mountain or the Opening Credits to The Movie of My Life

I ate a lot yesterday, and also sat around a lot watching the National Dog show and baking a pie (which then got dropped on the ground and broke my pan. Sad. No pie and I used this organic fluffy shortening that was so good!) Anyhow, today was supposed to be not too cold in NH, and the sun was supposed to be out, so (after some vacillating) I finally climbed Cannon!

Cannon is one of the shorter hikes, just 6 miles, but because of that, it's pretty steep, especially the route that I took up is steep, the way I came down is longer so the elevation is spread out more. On the way up there's a section that's actually got a ladder to go up:

It looks sketchy, but it was totally fine. Of course, like all things hiking, I was alone most of the way up, but just as I got to the ladder a family with dog arrived. I wanted them to go ahead of me because they were moving faster, but then they took a while for the dog.  There were a few other points that I bumped into people, but mostly it was pretty quiet, just me and the trees and snow.  I got to wear my microspikes but not crampons - I saw someone posted on a Facebook page I was in yesterday that he climbed Cannon and I actually asked him what he wore on his feet, and he replied!  Facebook hiking groups are good for some things.

Anyhow, for most of the way up the sky was blue and I was hiking in two layers of pants and two layers of top, plus gloves and a hat. At the top it was pretty windy and cold, especially on the viewing tower. I had to put my jacket on, and the I kept it on as I went down. It was really pretty up top:

One of the nice things/not so nice things about Cannon is that there's a restaurant/bar at the top. It was nice because it was cold out and so it was good to get inside. Plus, I brought less food and drink. (The pound or so I saved was nice because since I was hiking by myself, I was super prepared and brought my new down sleeping bag, which I didn't need of course, but if I fell and broke a leg, I could have survived over night on the mountain.) On the other hand, it was weird to get to the top of the mountain and sit inside a bar - they had Karate Kid on the TV for heaven sake! I bought a turkey wrap and some gatoraide and chowed. I was so hungry. Also, because I vacillated about going, it was kind of late (I started hiking at 11 and got to the top at 2, which is a long time for 2.6 miles), so I wanted to get out so I wouldn't be in the woods after dark. 

I took a different trail down because I didn't want to climb down the ladder, and I thought it would be better to take a longer, less steep route down. There were a few areas that were really steep, I actually butt sledded down a few (the butt is a totally legit 5th limb sometimes). At one point I hit a rock, and I think I'm going to have a big bruise on my butt. But then it did get a lot less steep, definitely down hill, but fine. The trail goes past Lonesome Lake, which was looking amazing in the winter:

There was a caretaker at the cabin, and apparently a lot of people stayed there for Thanksgiving. That would be an awesome way to spend a weekend! It was really nice up there.  Of course, it was also pretty warm, relatively speaking.

As you can see from the picture, it was starting to get a little dark when I got to Lonesome Lake - it was almost 4, and sunset is 4:15. It doesn't get dark for a little while after, but still, I didn't want to be in the woods after dark if I could help it. It's 1.2 miles from Lonesome Lake to the parking lot, so I booked it down (for me).  There were a bunch of places where the trail didn't have rocks and was pretty smooth and just a little downhill. I did a little running in those parts. It was so fun! Because I could get some momentum, and I had my spikes on, and my bright red jacket. All around me the world was white snow and green pine trees, and I was running through, arms out for balance. Like the start of a movie. My feet were killing me, I was thirsty, and a little worried about getting back, and yet it was so fun. Yeah, that's the Opening Credits to The Movie of My Life.  Ish. 

I got back to my car at 4:45 just as the light was really starting to fade. I'm pretty good with my timing like that. I took off my boots and my feet were so happy! Then I drove home without stopping for a hamburger. A good day.

Ran a Mile!

My entire body is sore from the return to crossfit last week, and so I was kind of thinking of taking a day off today, but then realized that's not the best plan. I have to work late tomorrow, I'm doing a Tai Chi class on Tuesday. Thursday is Thanksgiving, and I may hike Cannon on Friday. Which doesn't leave a lot of days. Wednesday and Saturday. And today's WOD had running, but only 200 meter bursts, and nothing that I couldn't do. So, I dragged myself there.

When I left home it was so gross and nasty out, raining and windy, that I thought I would be able to row instead of running. But by the time we were doing our warm up it was nicer, and by the time we were doing the WOD about an hour later the sky was completely blue!  Though, it was still really windy.

We started with a warmup that was three rounds of running 200 meters, alternating with stationary biking. Then we did strict presses in the same combo as Thursday: 10-8-6-4-2. Strict presses are hard, so I started at 35 pounds and worked my way up to 50 for 2. I had enough time that I did 2 sets of 2 at 50 pounds at the end.

WOD: (Partner WOD, one exercises, the other rests)
10 calorie bike (well, it said 12, but I started with 2 rounds at 10, then 2 at 8)
200 meter run

With the warm-up of 3 rounds of running 200 meters and the WOD running 4 rounds of 200 meters, I was just 200 meters short of a mile, so after my last turn, while my partner was biking I made myself go out and run again. It was tough, but I was glad I did it because then it was a full mile!

25 Box Jumps!

Of course at the end of the day today I didn't want to go to crossfit, but it was a tabata workout that looked not too horrible, and I knew I would be sorry tomorrow if I didn't go. It wasn't too bad, and I did all these box jumps, might be a new record for me, though I would have to check.

We started with thrusters, we did a lot of them. 10-8-6-4-2. I didn't make it to my usual 5:30, which was actually good because I need the foam box for box jumps, and that's not in the 5:30 gym, it's in the 6:00 gym. Which also allowed me to get my own weights for lifting! There are more racks in the 6:00 gym. Which was a good thing, because I started at 55 pounds, but then went down to 50 for the other rounds.  Still, lifting 50 pounds 20 times, and 55 pounds 10 is OK.

WOD: tabata, 20 sec on, 10 sec off
Rowing - I rowed 35 calories total
wall balls - I did 55 total
toes to bar - I did 50 knees to chest
box jumps - I did 25 jumps and 10 steps

I was feeling pretty happy with myself for the 25 jumps, that's a lot for me.

We interviewed a new person for my office today, we're going to hire a new advisor.  She seemed good. Good communication and people skills, which isn't my thing, so a good balance. And, she seemed smart, like she got to the office like 30 min early, which I can only assume was to check out what it was like. Of course, given that it was our office, it was like me answering emails and then eating an apple, my boss with her door almost shut frantically working on something she should have done last week, the woman next to me shopping, and one of the researcher complaining about the new paint color (I love the shoe shopper and researcher. And she's right about the new paint color.)

After I was talking to my boss about my next steps. She is apparently dying to put a bug in the ear of the V Provost that I may be thinking about leaving, and trying to get me more money or a new title. Which I gave her the go-ahead on. But, the other thing was I was saying how I love the data and problem solving and planning of this job. And she was like "you should do program assessment." And I was like "I should!" I kinda like it.

Back to Crossfit

It's tough when the membership freeze is over and it's time to return to crossfit, though today wasn't so bad because it was rowing, kettle bells and push presses. At least, that's what I told myself before going. Of course, once there it was torture.

For lifting we did push presses in rounds of 3. I did 75 pounds 6 times!  I was pretty happy with myself on that!  Coach told me I was bending my knees a second time, and that I should squeeze my butt and hold it so I didn't double bend, which was quite effective.

WOD:
80 calories rowing (which took me 7 minutes)
80 kettle bell lunges (since I can't lunge well I did step ups)
60 kettle bell swings (for the kettle bell I used the smallest one)
my time: 15 min 10 sec

There was meant to be a time cap of 15 minutes, but I wasn't going to stop when I was so close!

I found a Tai Chi place in Brookline that I'm going to try next week. I think it could be good for me during the transition time. IDK if I really have the time and energy to add something else to my exercise schedule, but it looks pretty chill. They have a Monday night intro class, I could do that maybe. I never do any other exercise on Mondays.

I have one stupid paper left and then everything else that I do for my degree is for my dissertation. But it's just torture, I am having such a hard time starting it! I got feedback back from my last project, which was like 4 parts. She gave me an A, but the only feedback I got was that I should change something from the first part. Hmm, might have been helpful to hear that a month ago. This program is so frustrating, not because of the work, but the lack of feedback and direction. I'm going to have to try get my current (soon to be former >sob<) boss to be my third reader so I can get advise from her, she does research and has a lot of good ideas.

Kripalu

I was a little hesitant about Kripalu because I went there once before and didn't love it, but this time was very different. The last time I went by myself, stayed in a dorm, and didn't do a program. This time I went with a friend, stayed in a tiny room with her (she could literally brush her teeth from bed) and did a program, and it was much better!  I got a little overwhelmed on the last day by the sheer volume of people, especially the line to get coffee in the morning, but the program was really amazing. And, I totally got my Zen back, which was worth the cost.

The program session was on qigong and tai chi - I've tried tai chi before and felt that it was an exercise for old people. I think I just didn't have the right teacher (or, I'm now old. One of the two.) The instructor was awesome, and we broke up into smaller groups with TA's, and the TA for my group was amazing - if he was in Boston instead of NY I would totally take classes with him.

While I was there I also did three yoga classes, their more intense vinyasa class, which was pretty intense, but also really good, an intermediate class that was chill and really great stretchiness, and yoga dance that was weird but I enjoyed letting my hippie freak flag fly.  At one point the instructor had us shout at another person "you are amazing" and then we each responded "I am amazing" which was out of my comfort zone (and the comfort zone of the guy who I was yelling at). But OK, I can be a hippie.

There was also a lot of meditating.  Here's what I came out with:

• I am needed at my job for the next year. 
• I could do more, and maybe I should
• I should really think about what that would be
• and then I should try to pursue it
• or not

The or not is about pursuing change. But at least I should consider it. Because now I know where my ceiling is here, and I don't think I'm OK with it.  

And I feel super good that my boss feels like I should be director of the program because I really respect her opinion.

I never mentioned that my meeting with Elizabeth W was awesome!  She took pics after the speeches. I didn't know what I would say to her, but out of my mouth came "You're awesome, I love you."  And she patted me on the back like "there there, you shouldn't drink so much."  (I did have a few, not gonna lie).  My friend who I went with said "you're my hero, can I have a hug?" and she actually got a hug, which I thought was bold because I would be afraid Warren would squeeze the stuffing out of me!  Here's me with the senator and mayor:

Not exercise

I did yoga today, and auto belayed for three climbs, but I don't think there's much to blog about on that. But, I really needed to write down my thoughts about the last week, and this seemed like a good place to do so.

I got an email on Monday from the vice provost asking to meet. We met on Tuesday and he was like "we think you're doing a great job. Don't quit. But we aren't going to ask you to be interim director or director. Unless there's no money for someone shinier. In which case we'll have you do it." I was so pissed. Because there are these two deans who have never met me who are driving the decision, and they are thinking about marketing, not student services. They're going to bring in a faculty person as an interim to help with the search for the new Director. But that person isn't going to learn anything about the office or what we do apparently. WTF??  And he didn't know who the person would be, or when they would have more info.

After the meeting I was so mad, I couldn't talk about without crying. I talked (FB messaged) with a couple friends, but only today talked to my boss about it, and of course I cried again. She was pissed too, I could tell her face got kind of red. And she was like "I'm sorry," which of course made me cry more because she's on my list of people I'm angry with (not sure if she realizes that). Then I went to yoga and started crying during shavasana, which was a little pathetic (fortunately dark in the room, so I don't think anyone knew).

A friend of mine and I booked a visit to Kripalu for a yoga and Qigong. We're going to learn to manage anxiety and sleep better. I do have to appreciate the fact that I can afford to just go away to an overpriced yoga center for a long weekend.

I'm going to have to try to get a new title out of this, like Associate Director. This whole thing is just so much bullshit. And that's part of why I can't be Director. I have a low bullshit tolerance. I'd rather be chatting with students, hearing about how they have never seen snow before, or they want to go to New Zealand.

Literary crawl

I was late to crossfit today, but decided I didn't care because I wanted to get in workout #2 today. Tomorrow I may do yoga, I have my paper still to write (procrastinating right now) and Elizabeth Warren to see!  (and the mayor, whatever), and Sunday is climbing and really have to do the paper, because it's due.  Plus, I liked most of the workout stuff.

We started with an EMOM with deadlifts! My favorite:
EMOM 14:
5 strict pullups (I used bands and they were still lame)
3 deadlifts (I started at 85 pounds and worked up to 140 for my last set of 3)

WOD:
40 calories rowing (I did 30 because I'm so slow)
20 ring dips (can't do. Pretended a little and moved on)
20 pull ups (already did lame pull ups. Attempted a few more)
40 calories rowing (really did 40)
I fibbed on the wod with the pull ups and such, so I didn't look at the time really. But it took me about a minute to row 10 calories. So, seven minutes rowing, plus another minute in the warmup. I guess it counts as something.

Yesterday I went on a "Literary Crawl." It's like a pub crawl, but you go from place to place and listen to literature/writing stuff. And there was free wine!  It was pretty fun!  We started at the store Room and Board, where there were people reading short stories. Then we walked down Newbury Street to a hair salon where there was a performance of James Joyce, kind of the cliff notes addition. I have to confess, I don't totally get James Joyce, but according to the actors, no one does. So I learned that. And I got to watch theater in a Newbury Street hair salon while drinking free wine. Win!  Next we went to this nail parlor where we did literature madlibs. That was different and kind of fun. We filled them out and then two professional actors read them. One of the actors was really good, and it was pretty funny!

Lots 'o Lifts

Today was pretty much all lifting, with two WODs. All stuff that I could do, except one of the WODs had handstand pushups, and I can't even do a regular pushup, but whatever. I just used bands. 

The first WOD was confusing, it was clean and jerks, with a partner. You took turns lifting for 4 minutes, during which I lifted 35 pounds 20 times. Then you had a 2 minute break, and then took turns for 3 minutes, during which I lifted 50 pounds 15 times. Another 2 minute break, then two rounds of two minutes - I lifted 60 pounds 7 times and 70 pounds 9 times. I was happy with this!

WOD: 21-15-9

Dumbell hang squat clean (I used 10 pounders)

pushups

my time: 7 minutes, 30 seconds

It's been a quiet few days, a lot of avoiding writing a paper. I'm in my final class for my doctorate, only 3 discussion board posts left, and not many stupid assignments to go!  I can't wait to be done with discussion boards for good!!

Two days in a row!

I only went to crossfit once last week, which I guess was allowable because I was getting over being sick. But, this week there were no excuses. I didn't go until yesterday, and tomorrow I'm going climbing, so today I had to hit the gym. It wasn't a horrible workout, lots of lifting and then separate cardio.

WOD: 5 rounds
12 deadlifts
9 hang cleans
6 push jerks
I lifted 50 pounds. When I finished I was so happy to be done, I didn't even look at the time!  It was 7 minutes 30 seconds when I finished the 4th round. so maybe 9 min 30 sec or so?

Then we did a partner cardio thing that was meant to be:
600 meter run
30 cal bike
40 cal ski erg

It was dark out and I hate running at crossfit, so I did 500 meters on the rower instead. I find the ski erg to be pretty hard also, so I did 30 cals on that.

Not much new since yesterday, except that today was crazy at work and I was at a meeting where this woman was talking, with great enthusiasm, about recycling plastic straws. I think it's a great idea, and kudos to the kid in Vermont who's leading the way on the initiative, but OMG, that feeling when you are so busy and someone's talking about straws!!

Cried at work. Awesome.

Today's WOD actually wasn't that killer, not that it was easy or anything, but all things that I could pretty much do. Yay!  I'd been a little bit of a slacker for the start of the week, so it was good to go. We started with squat snatches, which I quickly changed to regular snatches because I don't have the coordination to squat while snatching. I lifted 55 pounds 10 times. OK I guess.

WOD:
150 jumps on jump rope
1500 meter row
150 jumps on jump rope
my time: 11:22

I had a little break down at work earlier this week, something that I haven't done in a four and a half years. I was so stressed out about the new job, my boss leaving, and the fact that I don't know what's going on. Plus, I heard rumors about a new model for my office that sounded like a bad idea. So, I meant to have a chat with my boss about it, but then I started crying, and it was just embarrassing. Plus, she's such a scientist, she's not really into the emotions so much. Eventually she actually looked at her watch and I wanted to crawl through the floor. However, I will say that my "strategy" was effective in that I think she talked to the vice provost, and now we're moving along a little with the process. So, we'll see. But, I'm going to try not to cry again.

I've been trying to do stress reduction things. Yesterday I went to this free Afro Flow yoga class at work. It was a combo of yoga and soul dancing. I can do one of those things. Ha! I wasn't quite sure what Afro Flow yoga was, but when I got there and saw someone setting up African drums I knew it would be different than what I'm used to. And, when we put away our yoga mats and started dancing, I was like, "Jewish girl from the suburbs here. My hips and shoulders don't do that!" It was pretty fun, though. I feel like I'll go back. At one point we were dancing in a circle and the instructor was like "yell out things you can't live without and we will dance them!" Of course, I thought "chocolate" "coffee."  But people were yelling things like "peace" "strength" "friendship!" Oh, those kinds of things.

Passaconaway

My plan for the day was Cannon Mountain and the Cannon Balls, but when I got toward Franconia Notch it was cloudy and and the top of Cannon was covered in mist. It has an outstanding view, so I didn't want to climb on a bad weather day. I was kind of in the groove with the driving as well, so I took the Kanc to Passaconaway. I'd looked at it last night as a back up plan, and it seemed like a viable alternative.

The hike was one of those 10.2 mile hikes where the first and last 2 miles are pretty much a casual stroll in the woods (note to self, sometimes it would be ok to just casually stroll in woods without climbing a mountain). Then, the next mile is gradual gain. So, when it starts going up, it's serious elevation gain!  It's full fall foliage season in NH now, and it was so pretty up there. The trees are so perfect this year, so the hike and view was extra nice.

I got to the top, and there were a bunch of people sitting on a rock, and I was like "is this the top?" but no, I had to walk another 3 minutes or so to this little cairn. After I went back and sat with everyone (I'd only seen two people on the way up - a man taking off his shirt and a woman about to pee right on the trail. WTF people??  You can take 10 steps!) and I had an egg salad sandwich that I bought on the way up (there's a bar on top of Cannon, so I hadn't backed food). It was so delicious! I thought about the egg salad sandwich people with a little nostalgia.

All and all, a nice day, but not a mountain that I will necessarily need to repeat.

Last night Bill Clinton came to Northeastern for his U thing! Tickets were free and opened to the public for the first panel, so of course I went. I love Bill Clinton. He talked about history with such deep understanding. And then about religion. And then he talked about how one of the biggest problems that we have right now is that we never talk to people who are different than us. It's so true. On his panel, he had this musician who was this big African American guy. The reason the guy was on the panel is that he wrote a book about the KKK, and he interviewed Clansmen to do it. One of the first guys he interviewed became great friends, quit the KKK, and gave him his robe. If they can talk it out, anyone can. But, we need amazing leaders who foster inclusiveness and dialogue.

I'm back

I was down for a week and a half with this disgusting phlegmy cold. Poor me!  I swear every fall working on a college campus I get something. Today, though, I was back up and to crossfit. I thought that today's workout wouldn't be that bad. Ha! It's the innocent looking ones you have to look out for.

We started with a "warm up" that was 60 jumps on the jump rope, 15 kettle bell swings, 200 meter run, and 8 burpees in 4 minutes (at least, that's what it was for me). Then we tortured our arms some with turkish getups, which involves holding a pretty heavy (to me) weight over your head while lying on the ground, and standing up. Until your arms are tired. Not sketchy.

Next we had two WODS:
14 minute EMOM:
60 jumps on the jump rope
8 burpees
(at least, that's what it was for me)

rest 3 minutes

14 minute EMOM:
100 meter run
15 kettlebell swings
(at least, that's what it was for me)

It was tough. And, I ran 100 meters in 30 seconds. When we did 200 meters the first time it took me a little over a minute. So, everyone else was doing 200 meters, but I was like "I need a rest." Yeah.

Today more former bitch of a boss emailed me and was all like "I see you're hiring. Are you expanding? We're hiring too. If you see anyone who would be good for our office, will you share?"  And I was like #1 Not gonna answer the fishing questions. #2 would never refer anyone to you because you are nuts. #3 I thought you were fired and out of here.  And a little #4 I was thinking about steeling one of your current advisors. I'm not going to answer it :)  Tee hee.

Great Blue Hill

It's definitely not a 4000 footer, in fact it's a 635 footer, but that's all we have here in Boston. It's only like 10 minutes from where my mom is living now, and I don't know why I haven't gone there before. It took me about an hour to do a loop hike there, which isn't bad. There's supposed to be a view, but I didn't see it. I was a little confused about the map because I thought this one elevation number was on the top, but actually on reflection it wasn't. So, when I was at the top I thought there was another peek nearby. Nope. Next time.  Anyhow, it was getting dark and I didn't have my headlamp or really any proper hiking supplies, so I had to go back down. But, will def plan on it again!

After hiking I went to dig the potatoes out of my garden. I had put some plastic planters with no bottoms in the garden with dirt/potatoes this summer after watching a youtube. Bad idea. When I pulled them out they were full of really gross bugs. I couldn't decide if I should still eat the potatoes, which seem to have unbroken skin. So I through them in a bag to think about. I didn't want to leave the gross buggy dirt in my garden, so I shoveled it into a recycling bag and decided I would throw it out in the dumpster. It was so heavy! And then I was driving home with a bag of buggy dirt in the back of my car. I think I annoyed a few people behind me because I was like "no sudden moves" I did not want that to tip over!

tabata

After going to crossfit and doing a hike over the weekend, I've been a total bum all week. The only exercise I did was last night I went for a walk around the block to get my steps. Turns out our mayor is canvassing because of the upcoming election, so I got to meet him in person. I was like "oh yes, I'm voting for you!" and he was like "great, then I won't keep you" which I think = "great, then I won't waste my time talking to you."  Haha, whatever. I like him. He's fiery!

I put my second crossfit off until today - I was going to go yesterday but there was so much running.  Today was all tabata and lifting, much better. We started with clean and jerks, every minute on the minute for 10 minutes. You did 2 cleans and one jerk, and I got up to 75 pounds! I was happy with myself!

WOD: on for 40 sec, rest for 20 sec; four rounds at each station and then rotate
Toes to bar - I started with t2b and then switched to sit ups, my total 63
kettle bell swings - I used the smallest and did 60
arydyne bike - 20 calories though I had technical difficulties with the timer at first
shoulders to overhead - I lifted 35 pounds 50 times

One of my neighbors got a puppy, he's so cute!  I want a puppy, but I don't think the cats would like it.

Sort of RX!

I'm pretty psyched because it's Sunday and I've already done crossfit once this week! Today's WOD didn't look so bad, lots of rowing, which I like. And I only went once last week, which is lame.  I got there a couple minutes late, so I missed a tiny bit of the warm up, but there was still enough time to torture myself with planks and hollow rocks.

For strength we did thrusters in sets of 3. I got up to 60 pounds, which I was satisfied with. Especially after the hike yesterday, which was killer on the calves.

WOD:
750 meters rowing

3 rounds:
15 toes to bar
30 sit ups

750 meters rowing
my time 15 min 56 sec

Level 1 was 500 meters of rowing, which I thought I would do if I was last by a long shot. But when I got to 500 meters there were still plenty of people on the rowers, so I did the full thing!  Of course, my toes didn't touch the bar, so it's not technically like I did the full, unscaled workout. But, whatever.

On Friday night I checked my work email (because apparently I have no life) and my boss emailed me and this woman who had been doing some consulting for us to say that we wouldn't be able to pay her anymore. First, WTF, you're going to email that to someone? That seems a little cold. And second, WTF, we aren't going to have someone new in the fall! We don't even have a job description posted yet. So, I guess I will be doing all the things that this woman who was consulting did last year. My boss is totally awesome and I think the world of her, but she sucks at transition.

Welch Dicky

I took a break from my usual hiking routine and did a non-400 footer with a friend! Radical!  Fall is coming and they are saying that this will be one of the best fall foliage years in a while based on how the summer was - we decided to go up to NH for a hike. Welch Dicky is one that I've done a few times before, but I love. It's a loop hike with two mountains, four good view points, really pretty valleys, and tons of slab. It's so fun to hike - there's a lot of walking on rock, and one point where the trail goes between two rocks. The whole thing is only 4.4 miles, so it's also not as long as what I'm used to.

Since it was such a beautiful day, and since it's such a nice hike on not too hard a mountain, it was crazy busy. A little too superhighway ish for me, which was the one down side. It seemed like a lot of the hikers were just going up to the first view point, a mile hike, and then coming back. So after that it was a little less crowded, and on the way down it was just me and my friend, which was nice. We could hear the wind, and the acorns dropping.

The first time I met my friend Karen was on a hike with a meet-up group. When we stopped hiking for a break, she pulled out this container of fresh figs to eat. Meanwhile, I was eating a giant pb&j, and in my head was thinking "who the #$%^ brings figs on a hike?"  For this hike she had dried figs and a kale salad. But I've become accustomed to it now :)

Anyhow, it was a really good hike, nice day, I didn't have to drive, and the views were wonderful. It was nice hiking with her, and I should work on getting over my thing about hiking with others. I'll put it on my list of things that I should work on...

Interim

I guess I'm back in the routine of crossfit again. Which is to say I was going to go yesterday and then didn't, so I went today. I had thoughts of not going today also, but I'm planning on going hiking on Saturday, so that didn't leave me with a lot of options.

We had a lot of wall balls in the WOD today, and started by warming up with medicine ball drills. They were kind of fun actually. We played catch and I didn't drop the thing!  Next was front squats for our strength. I tried to skulk off to my own spot to lift, but someone came over and asked to join me, so of course I had to be all happy about it. I asked her if she was going to lift a lot and she was all "no, not a lot..." Turns out her goal weight was 150!  Um, clearly we define "no, not a lot..." differently.

Front Squats 5-4-3-2-1
I started my round of 5 by lifting 65 pounds, which was fine. I went up to 85 for 4 squats, then 90 for three. For two I did 95 and for my round of one I did 100!  I did the 100 twice because I wasn't totally happy with what I had done the first time. I wasn't completely happy with the second lift either. But 95 I did well.

WOD:
in 5 minutes
20 toes to bar (I scaled from 30)
20 wall balls
row - I did 20 calories
rest 2 minutes

in 5 minutes
30 wall balls
20 cal row
toes to bar - I did 5, but there was an interference because the bar in the spot that I got was wet and I was sliding off more than usual.
rest 2 minutes

in 5 minutes
30 cal row
15 toes to bar (I scaled from 20)
wall balls - I did 11

I think my abs and squat muscles are going to be killing me tomorrow!

Today I found out that I am going to be offered a position as Interim Director, and we are hiring someone to work below me!!  I'm a little excited, and a little wanting to throw up (literally on that one, I woke up in the middle of the night last night and couldn't breath because I had stomach acid in my throat. Yuck.) The best thing about this is that we are hiring someone who will do the administrative crap that I hate so much. And, I may not need to interview for the director position if they decide they want me in the role. It's kind of stressful not knowing what's going on, and it's been stressful because my boss has kind of checked out so I've gotten more work to do (and I already was feeling a little overwhelmed.)

Slightly less painful day at crossfit

Today at Crossfit I went to my regular class time. Let's call it "Dean Stalking Class," which is to say the time when my admissions buddy works out. He was there, but late, so took the next class. Which is a bummer, but on the other hand we ran, so he didn't need to be reminded of how slow I am. Today was slightly less painful than the last two workouts, though still grim.

We started with back squats and I got up to 115 pounds, for a set of two. I felt OK about that, though the women I was lifting with were lifting like 180.  Then there were two WODS:

8 minute AMRAP:
10 shoulders to overhead (I lifted 35 pounds)
200 meter run
I did 4 sets

rest 4 minutes

8 minute AMRAP:
10 overhead squats (I lifted 35 pounds)
50 jumps/jump rope
I did 4 sets + 5 squats

Today in the Biology faculty meeting they announced that my boss is taking on her new role, and leaving my office. So now it's officially OUT THERE. She sent in a job description to the Vice Provost to have posted. They have to interview me for the position (if they decide to). I might have to buy new clothes. Maybe I can find something for an interview and my nephew's wedding in Nov?

Back to Crossfit

Vacations really over - I went back to crossfit on Friday. It was such a discouraging workout that apparently I didn't feel like blogging about it. Today wasn't much more stellar. Six weeks off really does lead to a decline in muscle.

Today we did deadlifts, 4 sets of 5. I got up to 105 pounds, which was OK I guess, but I've definitely lifted more.

WOD: 15-12-9-12-15
kettlebell swings (I used the second smallest for the first set, then the smallest)
box jumps (I jumped like 5 times in total, mostly stepped, even though I had a foam box)
toes to bar (these were just sad)
my time: 14 min

On Friday the workout wasn't that different, though different lifting:
4 sets of 5 strict presses (I got up to 50 pounds)
4 sets of 3 push presses (I got up to 70 pounds)

WOD: 3 rounds
15 back squats (I lifted 45 pounds)
20 toes to bar (again, sad)
25 kettlebell swings (I used the smallest)
my time 12:52

No word yet on what they will be doing with my office. My boss is writing up this proposal that has us having 2 full time people with a "full time staff director" and not expanding our budget. I'm a little worried about the lack of budget increase because if I have to talk to deans and such I need a raise.  And they aren't going to be paying the new person that much, which is a little sad because there are a bunch of people around campus who I was thinking about stealing, but I wouldn't be able to with the salary. No one's going to take a pay cut, I don't think. Oh, sigh.

South Kinsman

I came back from vacation all zen and "first world problems, it's all good!" which lasted for a day. I took Monday off from work to recover from jet lag. Tuesday I went through my email, organized my to-do list for the rest of the week to prepare for the new year, and got the most urgent things done. Wednesday my boss was back at work too, and at 11 or so she told me she's accepted a new role at the university!!!  Tragic!  I'm so sad. Being a scientist, her delivery was like this, "I've accepted a new role at the university and I think you should be promoted to my job. I'm meeting with the vice provost at 3. Can I tell him you will accept the position?"  That is NOT enough warning to give a person because #1 I'm distraught that she's leaving and #2 don't really want her job (which she knows).  I said I needed to think about it, and that I knew it was what was good for my career and what I should do, it's just that I didn't particularly want to. And she said, it was kind of like eating my vegetables, it would be good for me.  And for the next three hours she popped up every few minutes saying "vegetables?" until I agreed that she could present "problem and solution" at the same time. So, we will see what the Vice Provosts think. They may decide to keep a faculty person in the role.

Needless to say, with this change coming, I was all stressed out and needed a hike. Saturday was the clear winner for this weekend for hiking - it's Labor Day (a year from Owl's Head!) but with rain predicted for Sunday and traffic for Monday, and beautiful weather for Sat, I decided to go for it!  I chose the Kinsmans because I had done North Kinsman with the egg salad sandwich people, but not South because we had to turn back. Even though we were .9 mile away. It's a 10 mile hike, with a 2 hour drive, and it is very pretty, so I was eager to do it!

I was so slow on the hike, but at the same time it was a pretty easy one. I just wasn't moving with any speed. The way up didn't seem hard at all. Probably because I was moving at a snail's pace. There's an AMC hut at Lonesome Lake, which is about 1.5 miles into the hike. I was able to stop and use the bathroom and have a snack. Then I headed back out the Fishin' Jimmy Trail (cool trail name!) The trail itself is pretty fun, there's a lot of exposed rock and slab, some stairs built into the rock, a few rickety ladders, some pretty mossy areas, and some long-ish flat areas that are welcomed. The last time I hiked it I had a full pack, so this time seemed much easier. It took a total of 4 hours to get to the top. By the time I got up there I was starving, and sat on the ledge at the viewpoint for lunch.

I spent a good half hour eating, sitting on the warm rock and basking in the sun before heading back onto the trail to South Kinsman. It's only .9 mile to South Kinsman and, as always, I loved the ridgeline. It was a little shorter ridgeline, so there was a lot of up and down, but good stuff. The top of South had a good view, but there were trees blocking it if you sat down. I was trying to find a good place to sit, with something of a view and a place to rest my back, when I noticed the cairn had a built in chair! So, that's where I sat for a snack and rest. 

I finished eating and it was getting a bit later, about 2 ish, so I knew I needed to be headed back to get down before dark. The way back for South to North was actually easier, and I practiced working with gravity, but not really successfully. My right knee and ankle were stiff for some reason (old age?) which made the going slow. I stopped briefly again on the ledge at North, just because it's so great. While I was sitting there these two teenagers from the Congo got there, they were just adorable. They loved the view and were so psyched. They were wearing perfectly clean, pressed track uniforms. And I'm pretty sure they had no idea what they were doing. On the way down I discovered they were with a group, but the rest of the group didn't summit.

Near the top of Kinsman there was what seemed like a thru hiker sitting on a tarp by a trail junction, totally high. Another hiker sat down and they were chatting, as I went by I heard him say, "I'm so bomber on the downhills, man." Apparently hiking on pot is a thing now?

On the way down I had to stop and get water, I was pretty much out, which is a bad idea. I stopped at Kinsman Pond, which is a little out of the way, but so pretty! 

I was even slower the rest of the way down, I was finally getting tired and my feet hurt. I started getting really hungry and wanted to eat this powerbar that was in my backpack, and to pee. But then I thought I would wait to get to the hut. Eventually I decided I was just too hungry, and sat on a rock and ate. About 15 min after that I got to the hut. Of course.

After the hut it was pretty quick hiking down, it's just 1.5 miles, and there are a bunch of sections without rocks. Even I was able to pick up the pace. It was starting to get dark and I wanted to get out before I needed a headlamp. Which I did. As I was walking back to my car I noticed that I could see my breath in the air. Fall is coming. It was really a nice day and an awesome hike. Definitely one that I would do again. Not too crowded, even though it was Labor Day weekend, the steep uphills were well spaced with flats, there was nice scenery, and a great view! Way better than the Owl last year :)

Back to Arusha

Andy said that there's this point where you realize that you're going to survive your vacation where it suddenly speeds up. For us, that was after we survived the first night with the hyenas. The last day of vacation came far too soon! We got to sleep in a little, and then had one last bike ride. The days after Ngorogoro crater were all on paved road, the last day being the longest at 40 km (about 25 miles). I was really sad that it was the last day of the tour, and that I was going to have to leave Africa and come back to reality. Also, I kind of developed a crush on the really hot tour leader who spent all his time with me (later googled and found to have a wife and 4 kids, and since he's Christian, that's it). So, I was a little sad to leave hot-tour leader too.

The biking started out pretty hard because although it was flat there was a strong headwind. We took a break after a while and everyone else was saying they thought it was hard too, and how it was messing with their heads, and so I started to find it easier and more enjoyable. We saw some good stuff on the last day - a group of Maasai playing soccer (I was confused as to how you know who's on which team. There's no shirts and skins with traditional garb), a truck of the standing variety loaded to bursting with passengers in colorful clothes, cows and people drinking from the same water pool (it was pointed out to me that Americans let their cats lick their faces, and that's not really sanitary either. But my cats have such clean tongues!), a last herd of zebra crossing the road, cows with huge humps of water on their backs, schools with kids in uniform....  It was a tough ride, but I managed to do the entire thing!  After we chilled for a bit and headed back to the city.  We did the tips and had a little thank you, but I was kind of teary and couldn't talk. Sad.

The vacation was everything that I was hoping for. It definitely pushed my comfort zone in good ways. I saw amazing wildlife, the big 5, the ugly 5, I saw a lion kill a zebra, I biked about 150 miles, two thirds on bumpy dirt roads, I snorkeled in the Indian Ocean, I danced with the Maasai (though I was somewhat unclear about what was going on), I helped make coffee the traditional way, I biked down a dirt path through a banana farm, I saw lion cubs, baby elephants, baby monkeys, puppies, baby goats and tortoises. There was definitely some suffering involved too; pit toilets, intense heat, swallowing dust, bumpy roads in a big bus for hours, having to push my bike up hill and being last, and of course the hyenas. I was so filthy that I thought I would never be clean again and I gave up on my hair and braided it.

The trip home took about 38 hours from door to door. It was killer, but all worth it. Note to self, take more vacations. Life is short, stuff is irrelevant, sunset in the Serengeti and dinner overlooking the Indian Ocean is priceless.

Mosquito Village

From Karatu we were able to ride our bikes to the next location where we stayed in African Igloos for two nights. I really liked the igloos, though I did wake up in the middle of the night thinking I was in a beehive. Mine was nice and cool and cozy, I felt like I was in a hobbit hole. Some of the other ones apparently got really hot.

The ride there was 25 km, but there was this crazy long 3 km hill that I had to walk part way. When I got off my bike to walk I was in the lowest gear, and when I went to get back on I couldn't start peddling because the gear was so low, so the tour leader (who of course was with me because I was last) gave me a push to get me started. I felt a little bit like a 5 year old. It must take a lot of patience to lead tours.

After we showered we went on a game drive in Lake Manyara park, which is well known for birds and monkeys. There were so many baboons, monkeys, flamingos, pelicans, and the occasional giraffe and hippo. It was pretty nice.

The next day we went on a cultural tour with two local guides. The Igloo camp is located at the top of a plain, and so we were able to ride down to the valley (fun!) and to the town. The town is called Mto Wa Mbu, which translates to Mosquito Town. Fortunately, it isn't mosquito season. I didn't see a single mosquito the entire time I was there. Mto Wa Mbu is famous for it's good climate and excellent soil. There are many different tribes living together in the village, so we were able to ride our bikes to meet people from a diverse range of cultures. We started by riding our bikes on dirt paths through banana plantations. So cool! Banana trees take 6-9 months to mature and they only produce one crop of fruit. The farmers harvest them when they are still green so the monkeys don't eat them. We saw a few different varieties of bananas, and people were able to try banana beer (my stomach was a little funky and I didn't think banana beer would help it, so I just smelled). We also visited a family of the Justin Beiber tribe (OK, not really, but they had a very traditional mud and stick house, with a Justin Beiber sticker on their door. It was out of place), a rice farm, and then the cultural center for lunch. Africans eat with their hands - or, I should say, with their right hand. Since I'm left handed, that's tricky. I made an effort. The food was really good and I wished my stomach was less funky so I could have more.

Later in the day we visited a Maasai Village. Village is a bit of a misnomer in my opinion, because it was really one family - dad and his 13 or so wives, plus all the kids. There was a traditional dance, they sold us some bracelets, and then we watched as the cows and goats came back from the fields. We were meant to watch the cows being milked, but it got dark. One thing happened in the Maasai Village that will stick with me for a long time - I was wearing my fitbit, as I always do. I must have moved my arm, and it lit up. The kids all gathered around to look at it, and I demonstrated how you could tap it and the display changed. All of the kids thought that was so cool, they all wanted to tap the fitbit and watch as the numbers changed. Of course, they had no idea what the numbers meant and we didn't speak a common language. But, I was trying to imagine how I would explain to a group of 8 and 9 year olds who spend their days in 90 degree heat tending cattle what a fitbit is, and why I wear it. I don't think a common language would help. It made me see how spoiled I am that I have to make an effort to take enough steps in a day and I need a tracker to help me count them.

Ngorongoro Crater

Ngorongoro Crater was definitely the trip highlight! I know I said that about other places, but seriously, I'm happier knowing that the crater is still out there, with all it's wildlife going on about it's business inside.

The day started with a long drive of the worst African Massage type. We left the Serengeti early, looking at wildlife on the way out. For most of the morning drive, though, it was just hot, bumpy, and not very fun. At one point I really had to pee, and there wasn't a single bit of brush, plus there was the possibility of lions. So, I had to go behind the bus. Just after I finished a couple of jeeps appeared. I have to say, I have good peeing luck - it seems like I frequently just finish and someone appears.

Anyhow, we got to the crater and I looked down thinking "well that's not really so exciting." For the trip we went in a 4x4 instead of our bus, so we switched vehicles and drove on down. The first thing we saw was a huge elephant with the most enormous tusks! I can't imagine how an animal walks around with those growing from its face. Once we got to the bottom, our guide was off like a shot. I didn't really understand at first, he was speeding past everything - zebras, buffalo, warthogs, gazelles, birds.... But then it turned out that there was a rhino in the distance that he wanted us to see!  I could kind of make it out clearly through the binoculars, though it was pretty far away. That completed the Big 5 for us. After we could slow down and enjoy more.

We went to a picnic area and were able to get out of the car. The picnic area pond was full of hippos (as so often happens). Most were just hanging out, but there were a few swimming. One of the swimmers tried to join the hangers, and there was a bit of a hippo fight. Cool! Poor swimming hippo lost and swam off.

We drove around admiring the animals - more ostriches, some elephants, giraffes, all kinds of grazing animals. And then there was another traffic jam, lions!  The lion scene was amazing. At first we saw just this male lion lying next to a buffalo carcus, pretty much in the same way that I lie around after Thanksgiving dinner. That lion was stuffed. All around him were the scavengers waiting for their turn, 4 jackles and 2 vultures. At one point one of the jackles tried to muscle in on the lions food, and the lion got up, walked right over to the carcus, and collapsed right next to it. It was kind of hilarious.
Our guide noticed another male lion right by the road, which was a bit surprising because males don't hang out together, and because males are so lazy - killing a buffalo is a lot of work. We drove closer to the other male. When we finally got really close to it, we saw that there was a female there too, she was napping in the middle of the road, with that same Thanksgiving overeating exhaustion. Everyone had to drive around her, but she didn't care at all. Eventually she got up, walked a bit, and collapsed again. Our guides were like "lets wait a few minutes and see what they do." Sure enough, the second male and the female put on quite the show for us! As they finished, they both roared :)  Then the female came right over to our jeep and sat down next to the back tire. Having a lion curled up next to your car sounds cool, but actually isn't the safest thing apparently, so the driver tried to move, which lead to the lion giving out another roar. She could roar, that's for sure!

As we drove up the crater I took a bunch of pictures because it seemed so much cooler and more amazing than on the way down.

After the crater, we changed into our biking gear for a short 15 km bike ride to our camping destination in Karatu. The ride was "undulating" which meant "hilly." But it was only 15 km, and not too bad. I was excited when we got to the campground because I wasn't that far behind everyone else, and it was a pretty easy ride. Plus, there was a nice fence and no hyenas!

Two days in the Serengeti

Today I saw a lion kill a zebra. And now I'm sleeping in a hyena infested camp. The safari was amazing. We saw a bunch of elephants, tons of zebras, giraffes, wildebeests, antelope, all kinds of Serengeti life. One of the guys on the truck spotted a lion, and then we saw another, both female. On the other side of the road were a group of zebra who crossed the street and were headed towards the water. Our guide said that the lion was after the zebra, and we should wait and watch. Sure enough, the lion was watching the zebra and had made up her mind that it was dinner. We could see the lion creeping closer and closer - at first I had to move my binoculars from lion to zebra, but eventually I could see both at once. At that point, the lion gave a burst of speed and was on the zebra, which saw the lion but too late. There was a second female, and the two of them finished killing it and started eating. It was powerful. It was a really strange feeling looking at this beautiful zebra innocently eating, knowing it was about to die. After the zebra went down, the other zebras stood around for a while, paying tribute to their friend or seeing if it would make it out? Then they ran off.

(as far as I know, this zebra is still living)

I loved the elephants the most. There was a family handing out by a river eating. You could see them relating to each other, touching one another with their trunks. It was amazing to see them just hanging out, being elephants, totally free. I don't think I will ever be able to go to the zoo again.

This morning at breakfast there was a monkey on the roof eyeing our breakfast. Africa is awesome.

Except, there are no fences around this campground. Our guide says there will be hyenas tonight looking for food. But they are safe and not to worry. Growth experience.

The hyenas didn't kill me last night, though they did wake me up with laughing, sniffing and rumbling through the trash. Today there are a ton of noisy Italians, so maybe they will stay away.  We started our safari very early, with a 5:30 wake up. This allowed me to watch the sun rise over the Serengeti. It was amazing! Things we saw on safari: lions mating, a family of elephants very close with big moms and little babies, a cheetah, a leopard in a tree, an owl (that brings bad luck if it comes to your home, and for a bit I thought it had cursed me because I saw it first), lion cubs eating a giraffe, two adult lions with two cubs, zebra, giraffes, hippos, all sorts of deer-like animals, jackels, warthogs, vultures, ostriches, and really ugly storks. When the elephant family crossed the street, the biggest ones were looking at the jeeps and acting as guard, with this "don't mess with the babies" kind of attitude. We also saw baby elephants nursing.

Wasso

The ride to Wasso was the hardest, and I totally bailed on it. I'm not completely sure how long the ride was, I know I did about 30 minutes and was miserable for every second of it. The heat was killer! I was worried I would push myself too hard and get sick. As a result, though, I spent the entire day in the bus, which really wasn't much fun.

It was interesting to see more of Africa, as we rode out of the valley we could see the landscape changing from dry dry dry to more green and some fields. We left the Maasai tribe and came into the land of a different group. When we got close to Wasso we could see people coming into town for the local market where they were selling cows and goats. It was so interesting to see the mix of people, some in western clothes, some in traditional with their stick and shoes made of old tires.

It's so lame, but in town we went to the market and bought Pringles. I mean, WTF? I never eat them! I think it's the salt, they were so good.

The campground we stayed in was really pretty. As we went to bed I notice someone sitting guard, which I assumed meant that we would be safe for the night. Turns out that the place was owned by some former big shot in government and that's who was being protected, not us. Ha!  Andy was really disappointed that he didn't get to talk to the big shot about government and our only interaction with the guy was when he helped guide the truck into the compound.

Lake Natron and Waterfalls

No biking or driving for a day, but still well worth a blog post. This was an amazing day - we went on a tour led by a Maasai teenager to Lake Natron and to this waterfall in a canyon. The whole area around where we were staying was so dry and desolate, it was hard to believe that we would be touring watery places, but there was a lot of water to be found!

Lake Natron is high in acidity - there are a bunch of rivers that feed into it, but nothing that feeds out, water just evaporates. So, you can't really swim in it. There are flamingos that are adapted to the water, you can see hundreds of them eating. We drove there in a "jeep" which was actually more of a truck with bars in the back so you could stand up while someone was driving. It was really fun, but definitely not something that would pass US standards. On the way to the lake we saw more giraffes, and our first wildebeasts.

The women make money by selling crafts, and they are very persistent. I bought a pretty bracelet at Lake Natron. As we went to get back in the jeep, all of the women and girls who were selling things packed it up and followed us, surrounding us and trying to sell more. This one guy, Steve, was the weakest link - at one point he had like 20 bracelets on, and was completely surrounded. He wound up buying 4 of them.

After lunch we hiked to the waterfall. It kind of reminded me of hiking in Utah, you had to walk back and forth through the water. Fortunately I had some good waterproof shoes I just bought, it definitely made it easier. The hike was one of my favorite parts of the trip, there was a lot of rock scrambling, river crossing, and at the end this amazing waterfall and pools to swim in. I had been so so so hot all day, going for a swim was such a nice relief. Our guide was really cute helping us across. He wore traditional Maasai dress, but once we got to the water crossing he hiked his robe up and he had these yellow shorts under. And under the yellow shorts he had a bright blue bathing suit. His ears had been stretched in the lobes, and he wrapped the lobes around the tops of his ears to keep them out of the way. It was a little disconcerting at first, but then kind of cool.

To Lake Natron

This was probably my favorite day of biking, at least in retrospect. I biked 51 km (32.6 miles) on bumpy dirt roads. A lot of the ride was down hill and I could just focus on the road and go. Bombing on down into the Great Rift Valley, with acacia trees on either side, the clouds so low you feel like you could touch them, and no one around for miles was truly awesome! There were a few times when I couldn't really feel my hands and feet, they were pins and needles from the bumpy road. And there were definitely times when I was scared I would fall and really hurt myself, which added to the adventure.

We stopped riding at this really nice tree, where we sat and had lunch. It gets really hot there in the afternoon, not surprisingly, and once I stopped biking I realized how hot, filthy and hungry I was. After lunch we had an unpleasant surprise when we found out that our campground was about 80 km away and it would take us about 4 hours to get there!  This is when we learned about the "African massage" which is how our trip leader described driving over bumpy roads on the bus. It was pretty bad. I felt sick at first and worried that I would get a migraine because I was hot and exhausted. I spent a lot of time distracting myself by taking pictures:

Longido

The second day of the trip was the longest in terms of biking miles - 65 km or a little over 40 miles, the first 17 km (10.5 miles) on bumpy dirt roads, the rest on paved. By the end my butt and back were killing me! I had to stop and walk a couple times over hills, and to rest. The last 8 km were particularly killer, but I figured I was so close, I might as well finish it up. I was pretty psyched with myself for making it, I'm not going to lie.

When we got to the lodge where we were staying (we being me and the tour guide who was with me for most of the way since I was last), these kids came running over and demanded to be allowed to try our bikes. It was pretty funny playing with them because the kid on my bike wasn't close to reaching the pedals, but he wanted met to let go of him. I don't think he totally got gravity. I was so tired, after 10 minutes we were done.

Later I went to take a shower. There was a shower head that didn't work and an spout that was about knee high. So, I took a cold-knee-high-shower. And it actually felt pretty good.  Since this is a budget trip, we all help with a few things, like the dishes. To wash the dishes they have three buckets which we creatively call "first bucket," "second bucket," and "third bucket." First bucket is soap and sponge.  Second is first rinse and quality control. Third bucket is very hot water for a final rinse. If you're on third bucket you need to use tongs to start. The clean dishes go in a dish rack and then they are flapped dry. If you are on flapping you take a plate in each hand, for example, and wave them in the air until they have dried. It makes sense, but the first time I saw Maura waving plates around, I was so puzzled.

Although it's exhausting, I'm glad I'm doing the bike tour. All of the kids come running to say hello and wave at us, and I feel like a part of Africa, not like I'm just being driven around from animal to animal, trying to spot things. As we went through town kids were hi fiving us and yelling hello across the fields, even some of the adults were waving. I felt like a movie star with all the attention.

Biking Safari! Meru

There was very little internet for the duration of the bike trip and safari, and by the time I went to bed each night I was exhausted. But, it actually was exercise and blog-worthy. So, I am blogging with some notes that I wrote during the trip and some that is retrospective.

Our group wound up being 6; me, Andy, Maura, 2 Australians guys and a British guy. Sadly, for most of the trip I was the slowest biker, though actually it worked out OK in some respects because I really liked the tour guide, and he had to stay with the last person (usually me). So, aside from the fact that I was embarrassed and had to push my bike up hill a lot, it was OK.

We started the trip with a coffee farm tour which was really interesting. I was expecting a large farm, but it was a small educational center down a dirt road (most of the roads were dirt it turns out). The tour included seeing the coffee bushes, learning about how the beans grow and are picked (by hand) and then making coffee! The beans need to be dried in the sun for a few days. Then you use a mortar and pestle to crush off the husks, roast over the fire until they are the color of coffee, and then grind in another mortar and pestle until it's ground, then boil and drink. It's a lot of work for a cup of coffee, but it was delicious.

Our first day of biking was through Arusha National Park. I think there's one main road through the park, and we biked it. It was a reality check for me because the park is in the shadow of Mt. Meru, which isn't as large as Kilimanjaro, but is pretty darn big. So, of course the route that we took wasn't flat. There was a ton of uphill, and I did a lot of walking. I had a few moments where I questioned my judgement in coming on a bike trip instead of sitting in a nice jeep.

There were some pretty awesome moments, our first giraffe, zebra and monkey sightings. Biking through town and all the kids running out to greet us and yell hello ("Jambo" in Swahili, though the guide taught me that you can say "mambo mambo" to the kiddies and they will respond "poah" - which is like "all good?" "yup!"). It took a little getting used to having everyone yelling and waving hello - there should be an interim stop between Boston and Tanzania to allow New Englanders to get used to the idea of friendliness. Seeing people with cows and goats was fun and different. There was one point where there were three goats drinking from a river, and all I could see was a line of goat butt. The ride was about 30 km, or 18.6 miles, though it seemed much further. I didn't get to finish the entire thing because it got dark. I'm not going to lie, I was happy to get onto the bus.

One of the best parts of the lodge where we stayed was the shower - it was a room with no ceiling, just a bucket attached to a shower head. For your shower, a guy climbs a rickety ladder with a bucket of warm water and fills the bucket overhead and you flip a switch to turn the water on. The top is opened and you can see a million stars. It was so nice, the water was warm, I was really grubby.

They also had the "Kilimanjaro toilet" which I didn't use. It was an outhouse with one wall missing. Apparently during the day, from the seat, you could see all the way to the mountain. Some of the guys used it and said it was delightful.

To Arusha

Arusha!

Travel days aren't the most fun part of vacation, but they are necessary. So today we traveled. I had Ali call the cab dude for 10 for Andy and Maura, and 10:15 for me. I packed last night, so I had enough time to go for a quick breakfast at this place that was recommended. The spiced coffee was really good, and I had a couple bready pastry kind of snacks. They had other food, but it was octopus and such, which is a little much for me at 9 am. When the time came to go, I gave Ali a $20 tip - I felt a little cheap since he found my luggage and my vacation would have been significantly less fun without it. Plus, I had been having all this first world guilt about the guy having to just be there all the time. His face lit up like a Christmas tree, he was so psyched! I hope he gets himself something nice with it. He said no visitors for a few days, so he gets some time off.

The airport in Tanzinia was hot and crazy. For some reason the woman at the airline desk wanted to see my credit card that I used to pay for my ticket, but the stupid credit card company cancelled it because I bought the ticket. Finally she said she would be ok with a copy of my passport. Thankfully I had one. No idea what the deal was, but they let me through. Once inside, it's tricky to figure out where to go. It's one room with 4 doors ("gates"). There are no signs about the planes, if they are late, which one is currently departing, nothing. This guy just announces the flights, in English and Swahili via a crackly mike. Then you go though the gate, possibly onto a bus, and climb the steps onto your plane (in our case another prop plane).

At the airport this woman from Israel apparently told security something to the effect of "I don't have two half-drunk bottles of cheep wine in my carry on", when in fact she did. They tried to take it away from her, and she was arguing about it. The next thing, they took her out of the security area to another part of the airport. First, being from Israel, you would think she would understand the importance of airport security. Second, who argues with airport security in a third world country??? Esp over cheep wine?

We're only in Arusha for a couple days, which is ok. It seems crazy and chaotic. We went out to dinner and after this guy said he was a taxi driver and knew where our hotel was. Well, he didn't kidnap us, but he also didn't really know where the hotel was. He took us down the wrong dirt road, bouncing along, nearly killing bikers and pedestrians, country music blaring, and it turned out to be the wrong place. So, out we went. At the end of the road he called a friend and, as we were sitting there, suddenly he locked the doors. But he was just scared by the people outside. From now on, whenever I hear "you picked a fine time to leave me Lucille" (which I guess won't be that often) I will try to think of bombing through Arusha, lost, driving way to fast, almost hitting pedestrians walking behind us....

Tomorrow we have our safari orientation!

Prison Island

Tanzania day 4

It's hard to believe 4 days on Zanzibar are over and we are leaving tomorrow. Today was definitely the BEST day here. We went on a boat to Prison Island which is the most beautiful former-but-never-used prison in the world I think. The island was made as a prison, but then used as a quarantine hospital for people coming to Zanzibar from India. I'd want to be quarantined there. Even the cells are beautiful. Now the island is used as a breeding ground for sea tortoises. The oldest one there is like 172 years! They're huge! We got to feed them some sort of turtle greens which they were super excited about-this mammoth fellow came zipping over at what was a pretty fast speed. They have a turtle breeding program, the turtles lay their eggs and then the folks on the island hatch them, bring the little ones into a turtle nursery and then a bigger area for 3-10 year olds. Then they are allowed out with the big ones. They aren't native to the area, so I guess it's ok that they are kept in a confined space, anyhow, they looked like pretty happy tortoises.

Next, we went snorkeling at a coral reef in the Indian Ocean! It was so awesome, I wanted to stay forever! I saw this giant clam that kept closing up when I went over it, fishes, crazy fluorescent corals and sea urchins. Definitely one of those "I can't believe this is my life!" moments. 

Before dinner we watched these crazy boys jumping off the sea wall into the ocean. They would get a running start and dive in. Some of them were really good, if they lived in the U.S. their parents would be training them for college scholarships. I watched again after dinner in a different spot. I bet it was about 10 feet down, to get out they climbed on a drain pipe then mantled up and over the wall, probably a 5.9 climb at least, and they were doing this for an hour I bet.

Tomorrow is a travel day to Arusha. I'll be staying at the same hotel as Andy and Maura there. IDK about the airbnb thing. On the one hand it saved me about $400 over what I would have paid to stay at Andy and Maura's hotel and $180 over a different hotel. But,  it's definitely not as nice, I don't feel like I can go out alone at night because of the part of town it's in (though I don't know where I would go anyhow), and it's much more complicated if there are problems. Also, it would have been harder to arrange the tours if it weren't for the fact that Andy and Maura could. On the other hand it's kind of cool to stay where people really live, and to hear the sounds of real life outside my window at night. IDK if I would go this route again in a 3rd world country.

I'm sad to leave Stone Town and the beautiful Indian Ocean, but excited for the big animals and safari!

Zanzibar day 3

Today we went on a tour of a spice farm and to the beach. It was so amazing! And really hot. The drive there was about 20 min in a really packed mini bus. We passed some of the poor areas of the island, one restaurant that was pretty funny was called The Return of Bob. The spice farm is a small one that must be just for tourists because it's all different spices planted together, so we could see all sorts of plants - vanilla, cinnamon, termerrick, cumin, chocolate (not a spice, but still there), chives, pepper, and all kinds of oranges. I bought some fresh spices from a man who calls himself Mr. Cheepcheep, some soap (that mostly because I felt bad for the soap selling guy, he looked so hopeful), and we had a really tasty lunch at someone's house that I don't thing will kill me.

After, we went to this cave where they kept newly captured slaves in the 1800's. Zanzibar was big in the slave trade. It was really sad, a small place that was full of people, no food and very little water.

The best part was the beach! It was so beautiful and warm like a bathtub. Definitely not New England! We our first wildlife, monkeys. And, there was a school field trip so there were a ton of super cute kids there. Andy tried to teach them how to throw a frisbee further and Maura and I just hung in the water. Tomorrow hopefully snorkeling! (We're going somewhere called Prison Island where there are turtles and perhaps we snorkel. It's hard to know exactly what you are signing up for, but today was awesome, I'm sure tomorrow will be too.)

I've been feeling all this guilt about the fact that the guy who works here at the airbnb is here all day and just watching TV. But it sounds like he has a friend over now and they are making dinner. I feel better. All the poverty is sad, and yet people don't look sad, they just look like people. Still, it's a good reality check about work. Most people here could only dream of having my problems.

I woke up at 4:30 this morning and couldn't get back to sleep. Prob due to the 12 hrs of sleep the night before. Now I'm pooped!