First Ski of the Season

I bought a five pack for Nashoba for the winter. I definitely wanted to get in a ski day this week while I'm on vacation, and today looked like the best day - it's been cold, but it's getting a little warmer and I figured the snow would melt. So, I made a 9 am reservation for skiing, and was the first one on the slopes!

There were initially only two trails open (plus the bunny slopes), but that was actually OK because there weren't that many people skiing. They had one blue and one black diamond. I spent most of the day on the blue, with a few on the black (Nashoba style black, which is to say, not really that steep. I worked on trying to keep my skis a little more together, bending my knees, making less wide s's, and trying to get comfortable with going a little faster. I think I made some progress. By the end of the four hours, I was feeling really comfortable on the blue, and going a bit faster. Still kind of nervous on the black - work in progress. 

Later I went for a swim. Today was day 37 in a row. The water is down to 36! It's not going to get too much colder. I stayed in for 10 minutes. There was a beautiful sunset, the clouds were all pink and swirly. It was so nice, even though I was kind of cold.

Yesterday we did a field trip to the ocean, to the beach at Pleasure Bay. The water was warmer - about 39. It was really great just floating around in the salt water. I felt so buoyant! People walking around were pretty impressed. Also, a friend of one of the swimmers is a coach, and she's going to give me some swim tips! Super excited because I've been looking for someone to give me pointers, and here she just fell into my lap.

Merry Christmas

I was thinking about Chinese food and a movie for the day, but then I decided I really just wanted to make pancakes and binge Modern Family. And go swimming of course (and I did stairs and ran around a bit outside to get some aerobic exercise). And I'm glad I did! Today was day 34 of dipping in a row. The water is down to 37 degrees, air was about 20. I still stayed in for over 10 minutes! While we were swimming, the bald eagle flew over us really low, like he was just making sure we weren't good for dinner. After I was freezing - thank heaven for my heated gloves.

I'm on staycation for the week - so nice to chill and relax and not really have to do anything. I have a few projects - keep swimming (of course), I got a new puzzle, I have to take my car in (again, for heaven sake - it's like I hit 100K miles and it's falling apart), I'm going to sew a quilt for my new niece (so exciting!), do yoga, and maybe read a book.

Cold water swimming really is a bit of an addiction! It's such a rush, and it feels so great when I'm in the water - I love the feeling of my body being so cold as I bob around. We are still diving in off the dock, and I feel like I might be able to through the winter. I can't wait for there to be ice.

Tomorrow I'm meeting with some cat ladies to develop a plan for Tigger and her behavior problems. I hope they are able to help.

I realized recently that this blog is over 10 years old! Go me - even if I no longer run, it's still pretty great that I'm exercising.

22 Days of Dipping, and still going!

After going swimming 7 days in a row, I decided to keep going and see how long a streak I could get. I'm up to 22 days after todays swim! Every time I think that I will let it go, I just can't. I wasn't going to go swimming today, but I took a personal day and decided that the weather was too nice to skip. It was 40 and sunny, and really nice out of the wind. I went by myself and just stayed in for 5 minutes. Water temp is about 41.

It's been so fun doing all these dips! I've gone with a bunch of different people. Sometimes a big group, sometimes just me. Once there were some guys fishing, and they didn't believe I was going to jump in until I did. Pretty much every day I dive in, which is awesome because the first time I decided to dive I got scared and jumped. But now it's no problem. So far, I don't feel any urge to gasp as I get in. I'm going to see how low a temp I can get to still diving. 

I've been doing this Lyme vaccine clinical trial (which, yay! about time they are developing a vaccine for Lyme.) I would pretty much go anywhere for the vaccine - it's so easy to get, and miserable to have. But, the amazing part is that they are paying me! I used money from my first visit to get heated gloves for post swimming. I had my second shot today, and I may use the money for heated socks. It's such a silly thing to spend so much money on, but I think it should be fun money. And I love those gloves.

We are starting to prepare for and think about the winter swim fest. It's going to be so cold! It will be another 10 degrees or so colder in the water, and probably even colder outside. Sometimes, I'm like "what was I thinking?" Other times, though, I think it's not that cold. When I'm swimming with other people I usually stay in for about 10 minutes. My hands and feet feel really cold - I did just get some thicker swim gloves, so they are less cold. Otherwise, though, I am cold but it's not unmanageable. I am going to look for some swim lessons and to improve my swimming skills, because I feel like I could do more with this. Maybe if I can get the swim speed up I could do an ice mile one day?

A Week of Dipping!

I've done seven days of dipping in a row, and I'm going to try to keep going! Most of the dips have been with at least one other person, but today, like Thanksgiving, I went on my own. It's a different ballgame, because I just go there, jump in, swim around for 5 minutes, get dressed and leave. As opposed to waiting for everyone to arrive, choreographing a dive routine, dipping, getting out, eating chocolate, sitting in someone's car warming up, and then leaving like 3 hours later - which of course is also fun. Yesterday I was hanging out with this woman in her car before swimming, and we were watching this pontoon boat coming across the lake, and just chatting about it - like, why does someone have a pontoon boat on such a small lake, and was it battery powered, etc. When it stopped at the dock, we realized that Santa was on the boat! Apparently he was coming from a Christmas party at this club on the lake - so funny! We got a picture with him. I'm not sure if there's really any long term effect of all the dipping, it seems to help my sleep and stress levels. 

Today I had the day off and instead of going for a nice hike like I was hoping, I took my cat to the vet. She attacked me a couple times - it was pretty scary actually. Now I know how poor Rufus feels. Anyhow, he thinks it's her thyroid, but the numbers don't make it seem like she needs meds yet. I bought her a supplement from Chewy - we will see if it helps. 

PS. Water is around 47 degrees!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to my reader. :) It's been a minute since I posted, but I've still been swimming, doing yoga and parkour. The water in the lake is getting cold again - it's down to 48. I've been swimming for three days in a row now - it's weird how much I like it when it's so cold! Today I stopped by the lake on my way to my sister's for Thanksgiving. When I got there, this guy told me that there was some ice on the lake already! He'd been kayaking and I think thought swimming was a bad idea. I thanked him politely, and went and down to the water. Since it was just me, I was able to get there, lay out my stuff, strip to my swim suit, and jump in. I've been jumping off the dock lately because it's so much easier - you just have to be decisive for one step and then your in the water. I do try to breathe out to make sure I don't gasp in air. Will have to see how long I can do this.

I stayed in the water for just 5 minutes, got out, dried off, got dressed, and left. It's at the point where my skin feels cold and a little numb, but not freezing. Getting out of the water feels warm because I'm a little numb, but it's not so numb that I can feel my skin.

I made two pies - pumpkin cheesecake with a graham cracker crust and a sour cream and turmeric glaze. My sister was like "turmeric is so healthy!" Tee hee. And an apple pie. I'm only pescatarian 364 days a year (except leap year, which is 365) and I have to say I ate a lot of turkey, and it was delicious! I even carved it and didn't mind.

One of my cats has a bad case of food aggression. I'm going to try some CBD oil to see if it helps. I should take her to the vet I suppose, but we were there just a few weeks ago, and her blood work was fine.  

Beach yoga and a Baptism

I've never seen anyone be baptized before, so it was kind of fun to have a baptism at the beach! One of the new swimmers is a yoga instructor, and she offered to do a 20 minute restorative class on the beach. There was actually a pretty good crowd, probably about 20 or so of us, which isn't that common for our winter swims. The beach is a little bit hilly, which added to the intensity of the yoga, because we were tilted downhill for our dogs and planks. We started the class by setting an intention and doing some gentle stretches, which felt really nice on the beach in the sand. Then we did some cat cows and sun salutations.

As we started moving, the church group came down to the water - I think they were surprised to see a yoga class on the beach. They had a little ceremony and the four guys who were being baptized gave speeches, and then they went into the water. There were two guys who did the dipping, and a woman who was in the water taking photographs. The first guy walked in, and we could hear them doing some prayers, and then they dunked him! Everyone from the church group clapped, and the yoga group all paused our warrior 2 and clapped too. The four went in one at a time, and we clapped for all of them. It was a pretty funny day at the beach. (There were a few people there who were just there to be at the beach, and they were like "WTF?")

The church ceremony ended right around when the yoga class did. They all left and we changed into our swimsuits and went for a swim/dip. I'd already been to a kind of killer parkour class, so I just went in and treaded water without swimming. It was about 61 degrees in the water. 

Not the best week ever

This week was really difficult. It turned out that one of the kittens had a parasite, and I had to fight with the rescue to get them to pay for the trip to the vet. They were like "we will just send you the meds," but they didn't know what was wrong with him, and they also didn't send me any meds. Finally I just took him to the vet because he clearly needed to go. The vet gave me some meds that cleared up what turned out to be giardia, but then he caught a cold from the other kitty, and his eye was swollen half shut and oozing puss. So, I just took him back to the vet, because I had waited too long the first time and I wasn't going to do that again. They refused to pay for it because "if every foster went to the vet for anything, we wouldn't exist"! I was so annoyed, because he had a fever and was really sick. I demanded then that they find him a new place right away, which thankfully they did. So last night I decided it was time for the kittens to go, and I went on a mini road trip to drop them off. 

Joey went to his forever home in NH, where he has a new kitty sibling, mom, dad and boy who looked like he was about 10 or so and was super excited about him. Their house was full of books and pictures of their family - it looked like they maybe had a daughter as well, who wasn't home. They seemed like they were going to be a nice family for him.

Then I took Patch to another foster in Fitchburg. I felt really bad about sending him away when he was so sick, but I just couldn't take care of him any more without the help of the rescue. It turned out it was the best place for him! The woman there was so nice! She has 3 dogs and two other cats, and a son who it sounds like was about 8-9 who loves cats. So, Patch was going to stay in the sons room until he was on the mend. She also has a really good friend who's a vet and can take care of Patch. I cried when I dropped him off, and for the entire drive home. Maybe I'm not really the fostering kind, but it was so intense when Patch was sick.

The reason that I wanted to have them leave was that my cat Tigger was hiding under the bed and not eating. I started noticing that her food dish still had food in it earlier in the week, and just thought the Cats were upset, but then last night there was clearly something wrong. And I felt so bad for spending so much attention on Patch and ignoring my kitties. So, today I had to take Tigger to the vet. I thought she had giardia (which probably she does, the vet gave me meds for her). But also he said that she was skinny and dehydrated, and he did some blood tests that found that her sugar levels were high. She may have diabetes. When he told me about the symptoms of diabetes it made sense to me - she gets really hangry during the day and hisses at Rufus and me until I feed her. The vet said that Tigger was his best patient today - I was like "wow, she must really be feeling sick, because she's usually a pretty fiesty gal at the vet." Anyhow, they did some more expensive blood work and we will see what happens. In the meantime I have to rub a cream on her ear to stimulate her appetite. So weird. They gave me a bag labeled "Tigger (they go bounce)" with her meds; so cute!

On Thursday this week I woke with the worst migraine I've had in a few of years. It was like 7 am and the urgent cares don't open for another hour or so. I called my sister, but she didn't answer, and then I didn't think I could wait for her to come anyhow, so I called an ambulance.  They took me to Cambridge Hospital, which I haven't been to before. I have to say they were so nice there - everyone from the doctor to the PA, nurses, even the janitor was nice! And, they gave me three warm blankets when I was cold. Their equipment looks ancient, and the toilet in the bathroom looked like it was from the 1950's, but I'm still thinking of switching to a doctor there. They were super fast, kind, and my headache was gone in like 45 minutes. Anyhow, that added to the week, with me feeling like crap all day on Thursday. Thursday afternoon Patch and I took a nap together on the couch. He was so cuddly! I miss the kittens, but it's so nice to be back cuddling with my cats.

I would foster again, but not while I have Tigger and Rufus, and definitely not with that Rescue!

Below 60

Today I had a big swim day, with the Y in the morning, and the lake in the evening. I was working from home today, so I was able to go to hit the Y and get home and only get up about 45 minutes earlier. I had the whole pool to myself! It was nice - I swam for about 20 minutes, according to my fitbit, a 2'45" pace for a total of 1025 meters. I feel like I'm swimming a little slower lately, but that's because I have been focused on my breathing, and looking straight down. Hopefully I will get the hang of it, and it will help me go faster.

After work I met a friend at the lake - we decided to jump in off the dock and swim over to the club and use their slide and dive platform again. The water was 59.2 degrees, which is getting kind of brisk - I didn't really want to put my face in the water for the entire swim, and swimming breast stroke over there felt like forever. It was really fun to go down the slide, and scary to jump off the platform. Swimming back was actually easier; the water was starting to feel not too cold. After we had chocolate and some candy corn, and I headed home to the cats + kittens. 

I've had the kittens for 17 days now. The cats aren't happy about it. They are the cutest things, and I wish I could keep them, but I can't. One of the kitties has had an upset stomach and diarrhea for about a week. I asked the woman at the place that coordinates the fosters what I should do, but she's ignoring me. I tried a kitty anti-diarrheal which didn't seem to work, and now I'm feeding him chicken and rice for his meals. I hope this will help. It seems to be related to when he eats - I imagine that the food changes haven't been so great for him. 

Water slide

Saturday and Monday nights I went for an evening swim with a few of the merfolk. The air was in the mid-60's and the water around 61-62, which is chilly but becomes mearly "crisp" once you are in. We decided to run down the dock and jump in together, which is fun, but also a little startling. I kind of prefer it, because it gets the hardest part over with, though you can't do it when it's totally freezing because you can have that gasp reflex and drown.

On Saturday we swam out to the first bouy from the sailing club, and then decide to swim a little further. There's a club that's pretty close, and so we decided to swim there. Once we got there, we got out of the water and when down their slide! It was really fun. Then we decided to jump of this platform that they have - I think it's about 12 feet, into the water. When each of us got up there, we were like "that's actually kind of high."  I thought about not jumping, but then was like "just take a step and gravity will take care of it for you." And it was super fun!

Monday night we came back, and did the same thing again! The platform was still a little scary to jump from, but then it was fine.

Today I'm hopefully getting a lyme vaccine! I'm participating in a clinical trial, phase 3, and I have a 50% chance of getting the shot, and 50% of getting placebo. I hope I get the real thing!

Swim Updates

My swimming in the pool now is much like my initial running. It's a bit choppy and needs work, but for the most part improving. Today I did a swim at the Y that was a little slower, but I worked on practicing looking down and breathing without lifting my whole face out of the water. I also tried to practice turning my head both ways, as a prep to breathing on both sides. According to my fitbit I swam 1275 meters in 35 minutes, which is a pace of 2'45"/100 m. I went at 12:30 and had to share a lane the entire time. I realized that it's better to be the faster swimmer in the lane, because once you pass the other person you can move a little more to the center for the rest of the lap, since they won't be in front of you (as opposed to when you are slower and the other person can pass at any time).

I've been swimming 6 times since I last posted about it on Sept 30:

Oct 2    1559 yards    34 min         2'24"/100 m

Oct 6    1778 yards    47 min        2'53"/100 m

Oct 8    930 yards      26.30 min   3'07"/100 m 

Oct 8    739 yards      26.28 min    3'55"/100 m 

Oct 9    711 yards      18 min         2'46"/100 m 

Oct 10   820 yards     18.46 min    2'30"/100 m

Some of these are outside, some inside - I need to keep better track of which was which. I think the really slow ones are outside for sure. 

October 9 was definitely the full moon swim - it's interesting that this one seems reasonably fast, because there was a lot of hanging around chit-chatting in the water. I did try to swim faster, though, because the other people I was with were faster.

The water is starting to get colder. It's been down to about 62 degrees, at which point it definitely feels cold. But, so much colder to come!

Kittens!

A friend of mine has been fostering puppies for several months now. They drive them up from Texas in a big van, and they have to be picked up outside of MA, because for some reason it's illegal to bring animals here. She doesn't have a car, so I drive on puppy runs. This time they were short on fosters, and there was a woman who has 6 kids who was taking 7 kittens. For some stupid reason I decided that I would like to help, and foster 2 kitties.

The kittens are adorable. But, my cats do not like them. I knew they wouldn't when I offered to foster them, and for sure they didn't. They had to go in the bathroom to start. The first night I had 3 hissing cats/kittens, and one that was just curious. But, I only have 3 rooms, so they couldn't all be separated. In a fit of desperation, I messaged a friend, who wound up fostering one of the kittens for 3 days, which was a huge help!

I've got a system now, where the kitten's home base is the bathroom, but I have it set up nice for them, with a kitty bed and some blankets for them to sleep on. The cat's home base is my bedroom. During the day I let the kittens into the main room so they can explore, play, watch birds, etc. At night, I let the cats into the main room - they seem to check out their territory and feel stressed about the intruders. The two groups of two get along, with the kittens playing together and the cats sitting in the bed and mostly ignoring each other (as they do in normal times). But the cats and kittens don't intersect or meet, except when one accidentally gets out. 

I have to say that it is kind of fun having the kittens. They are both cuddlebugs, love to play, and provide a lot of entertainment for me. They are going to have to go, because my place is way too small for so many cats. On the days when I only had one cat (Joey), I snuck him into work so that he wouldn't be lonely all day - most of my coworkers discovered he was there, and loved coming to say hi. One even snuck her kids into work, and they played with him all afternoon. I don't think I can get away with that again, so they will be staying home.

One of the kittens is white with patches of color, and I realized yesterday that when he stands a certain way it looks like he has a heart on his bum. He's shy about it, though, and it was hard to get a good pic. I hope they find a nice place to go, and they need to be gone soon!

 

Pumpelly Cave aka Megalithia

Today I did a hike that I've always wanted to do! I've known for a long time about the Pumpelly Cave on Mt. Monadnock, but I've never known enough details to figure out how to get there. Last night I decided it was time to get into it, and figure out the secret. It took a lot of reading blogs and searching on Google Earth, but I finally found it! Once I found it, I stuck a pin in it on Google Maps, downloaded it so it would be accessible offline, and went to sleep.

I was so excited for the hike, because it was going to be a real adventure! The bottom of Monadnock is pretty gentle, so I was able to make good time for the first bit until I hit the point of bushwhacking. After I turned off the trail, I headed up, keeping my phone out so I could make sure I was getting closer to the dot. Mostly it was just trees and such to get through, but there were a few rock faces to climb - I was glad that I climb (or, did climb) because there were some points that I needed that skill. From my splits, it's clear that the bushwhacking was slow going. One rock really didn't have any holds and was covered in moss, so I went up a tree. 

As I got close the the point I found a bunch of logs lying on the ground, covered with a tarp. Ready for repairs? I knew I must be close. I walked around a corner and there it was! I was so excited to make it!! The front door is super heavy, I wouldn't want to have to open it from inside. I threw it back and went in. It's such a man-cave - there's a fireplace, stone shelves and a chair, several windows. The Park Services have cleaned it out, so all that was inside was a sign that said "Congratulations, you've found Pumpelly Cave" and told you not to leave graffiti, food, or have a fire in the fireplace. There was no log to sign or read. I walked around and felt satisfied with myself, and a lot of admiration for the guys who made the man-cave - it must have been hard to haul all the stuff up!

It was a beautiful day, so I went outside and sat next to the roof and ate a cheese sandwich on challah, grapes, and a stoofenwaffle (my newest trail treat, which I really enjoy). I spent about a half hour there, just enjoying the view and feeling triumphant. I heard some voices approaching, and decided it was time for me to hit the road anyhow, so I got up and pulled out my phone to figure out how to bushwhack further up. I passed two guys in the woods - one of them said that he had spent like 12 years looking for the cave with a buddy, and had finally found it with his son. He was bringing some of his hiking friend's ashes there. 

After, I went up to the top, because I had already done much of the elevation gain and figured I might as well summit (picture of the view is from the summit). It was a beautiful day and so the top was covered with people. It was also cold and windy, and so I just tagged it and when down lower to eat a second cheese sandwich. It's peak foliage season, and the view was beautiful. I could also see that it was really stormy in the White Mountains -I had been thinking about going there, but after reading the weather report I made the smart choice not to. 

The way down was uneventful - steep for the first half and then a walk in the woods for the second half. I was so glad to get to my car, and that it was only one and a half hours to get home. All and all, a good hike, and super exciting to finally find the cave. 

Swam a mile again!

I decided to try getting up just an hour early to go swimming today, and it worked really well! I got up at 7, fed the cats and made coffee and oatmeal, and drank a little of the coffee. I had a 7:30 reservation at the pool and decided to drive because it was 45 degrees out. I got in the water at about 7:25 and swam until 7:59 with only a couple pauses when I looked at my watch or swallowed a little water. According to my fitbit, I swam 1804 yards, 66 lengths at a 2'13" per 100 yard pace. I got my heart rate up for 69 minutes and burned 256 calories.

Today I had to share a lane. I started with this guy who definitely swam faster than me, even when doing the breast stroke. That's OK, it keeps me humble. When he left this woman came into my lane, and we swam about the same speed, which was OK. 

I worked on my breathing, and not turning my head so much when I breathe. To do that I practiced looking straight down. I also practiced extending my arms as far as possible. I emailed the Y to see if I can take some swim lessons, which I think would help with my technique. 

Swam a mile!

Today for the first time I actually swam over a mile at one time! I'm pretty excited about it - it's definitely not something that I would have ever expected that I could do. I went to the Y at my lunch time - it was so nice out that I decided to walk there which took about 10 minutes. Google said that it would take 4 minutes to drive - definitely worth walking when it isn't too cold to walk back with wet hair, and I can spare the 12 minutes.

I reserved two half hour blocks because I really wanted to try to get to a mile - they allow 6 people in the pool at a time, so you only have to share your lane with one other person. But, today I got my own lane, which was exciting. The weird thing is that I have been the fastest swimmer every time that I've been there - not that I am swimming fast at all. Anyhow, I swam for about 40 minutes and my fitbit says I did 1950 meters! 

I went swimming twice last week, one time I even went in the morning before work! It was actually not bad, something that I think is worth doing on home days. It takes about an hour to go swimming for about half hour if I walk. If I leave here at 7:30, that's pretty doable to get home for 8:30 work start.

The lifeguard at the Y is a very cranky man who doesn't make eye contact and spends his time reading a book. One day that I was there I didn't realize that it was time to close the pool, and when I looked up he was blowing his whistle so hard that I thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head. I was like "what?" and he just blew his whistle more until I figured out that he needed me to get out of the pool.

I still went to the lake after work today, I did a little swim and then paddled around in my kayak. The juvenile bald eagle was hanging out by the dock eating and looking at the world. So cool!

YMCA

Today I joined the YMCA. I've been thinking that I should join so that I can continue swimming over the winter because I don't want to lose all that I've learned over the summer. I looked at a bunch of places with pools, but there's no comparison with the Y because #1 it's only a half mile away and #2 it's like 1/4 the cost of the other places with pools. I went for my first swim today and was reminded of why it's so cheap.

The current building was built in 1904, and it really looks like it! The pool is in the basement and there's a lion head fountain at the end of one of the lanes - no water coming out of it. The place is a labyrinth - you need a map to figure out how to get around it. Seriously, there's a map on the lady's locker door. I used it to find the aerobic room (and it was still tricky). There's an indoor track also - you only have to run 29 laps (without falling into the basketball court below - the thing is pretty slanty) to run a mile :)

Anyhow, it is actually pretty clean in the locker rooms, and the pool is also clean looking and 20 yards - so not much shorter than a typical pool. The last time that I went swimming in the pool at this Y, I could do about 2 laps without stopping. Today I swam for a half hour with only a few short stops! It was awesome! I felt so accomplished. I didn't count how many laps I did, but according to my fitbit I swam almost a mile. It was a little easier than in the lake, because every time I turned I could push off the wall.

As I was getting into the pool I was reminded of the last time I was there, when the lifeguard walked back and forth, following me as I swam - like I was in imminent danger of drowning. Today, I was all "that won't happen now!" and I got all overconfident. Which, whenever I do that, fate has a way of reminding me that I'm not all that. I got water up my nose getting into the pool and couldn't stop coughing. Some guy offered me water from his bottle and I actually drank some. He'd obviously been drinking from it - hope he's healthy.

Anyhow, the swimming part went well, I practiced my technique. I think I may need a few lessons to do better, which happily they offer. Anyhow, even though I smelled like chlorine after, I'm glad that I joined. I think it will be a good way to get some aerobic exercise this winter. 

Oru Kayak!

I've really been missing kayaking and paddleboarding for the last couple of years. The place that I used to belong to was on a reservation system during COVID, which TBH was a bit of a pain, so I didn't join. I've been seeing a lot of Oru kayaks at the lake, and they look so easy to fold and unfold, and small enough to fit in my little city apartment. I finally decided to go for it when they were on sale, and I bought a Oru Lake +. It arrived today, and I am really happy with the purchase! 

When it came I did a practice unfold and fold in the living room; which was definitely scary for the cats. Which, I was OK with, because I don't want them scratching it. Even the first time it was so easy to fold and unfold, and I assume it will get easier with practice. I then decided to take it to the Mystic River for a little outing, and it was super fun! 

I will say it's not the sleekest, fastest kayak. But, I'm not the sleekest/fastest person, so it was fine. It set up quickly, was super easy to get in the water, and you can actually fit a lot in with you since it's so open! I went up river for about a half hour and then came back - it was super fun. I even like the paddle (which, I feel like is so touch and go for many of these boats. 

After I got it out of the water, I had to figure out how to dry it and where to store it - that was the trickiest part. It came in a nice big cardboard box, and for now I have the box in my closet with the kayak in it so that the cats can't get at it. I think I could store it in the trunk of my car if I didn't have so much crap in it, but I would hate for it to get stolen... After I put it in the closet I filled a bag for donation - it's big enough that I felt like I needed to get rid of a lot to balance it out!

I'm really excited to take it to some areas that I haven't been kayaking before and to stretches of the rivers/lakes that aren't highly traveled!

Pickled at my first real pickleball game

Today was my first day actually playing pickleball in the correct pickleball format. I joined a pickup group that I found on this international pickelball scheduling website. It was fun! And, I have much to learn. My partner and I did win the first game that I played, and that was pretty much it. A few games my partner and I got no points. Boo. 

I had a few times that I missed the ball completely, but mostly I was able to hit it, just not always over the net. I had a few really good shots, and was part of a few good volleys, but also I missed a lot. The other players were nice - they were pretty much all women (only two guys out of 12), but they were unconcerned that I was bad, and a few were very nice. I'm signed up to join the same group again next week. When I looked at my fitbit report it seems like it was good exercise - I got my heart rate up for a decent amount of time, took over 5000 steps and burned over 400 calories! 

Pickleball

I heard on NPR that the geriatric set is all doing pickleball now, so I thought I would go try it out. I went to a beginner mixer in South Boston, just a couple blocks from where I used to to crossfit, and I have to say that I liked it! I haven't played a racket sport since college (when I got trounced by one of my suite mates at racketball every week), but I do have good hand-eye coordination, so I thought it might be fun. And it was! I wound up partnered with this kind of nerdy guy, but we won the first set and then no further ones. It turns out that I can hit the ball, but I have no control of direction.

Today I went and bought myself a racket and a bunch of balls, and I'm considering going outside to practice (except that it's like 90 out). My racket has a dragon on it - so GOT. The guy who taught the class told us about this scheduler thing, and I signed up to play a game on Thursday. My first official game.  

Mt. Monroe and Lake of the Clouds

I had a plan that I would hike Caps Ridge up Jefferson and then Mt. Clay and maybe Washington, and then stay at Lake of the Clouds, and hike down Ammonoosuc, take the Boundary Trail and do a 1.4 mile road walk to get to my car. Which is a hike that I would still like to do. Because that's not what happened. For starters, I completely overslept and woke up at a little after nine! It's a 2.5 hour drive to get up there, so I wasn't feeling optimistic about having the time to get to bread at 6 at the hut. So, as I drove up I planned and I thought I would try Ammo up, stake out my space at the hut, and then think about a summit, which is what I did.

The last time I was on the Ammonoosuc trail it was August and raining and freezing cold, and I had turned around at the falls. This time it was wet and much warmer, and I had a much better hike. Even though the Ammo trail is the easiest way to hike up Washington, it's not that easy. The first mile or so is delightful, with a gradual incline, a flowing stream, and stairs at any hard part. You get to this pretty pool with a waterfall and a few rocks, where I stopped and at a cheese sandwich on challah, and then it gets real. The rest of the trail is very up hill. At first, there's a long and unrelenting stair case that sucks the wind right out of you. Then it's a bit more fun at least, because there's some nice slab and fun little climbing bits. I got to the spot where I had stopped the last time, and thought how pretty it was, how nice for a sandwich (except that there were a bunch of noisy kids there), and kept going. It took me over an hour per mile, but finally I got to the hut, and was so glad to see it! 

I was assigned to room 1 and I staked it out to find the best place to sleep. Each bed had three bunks, the first two of which were too small to sit up in. The top bunk, though, was taller in two of the beds. I tried them out and decided on one where I could actually stand up! I put my stuff there, and headed out to decide what to do next. Washington was in the clouds, and I wasn't really feeling the 3 mile hike to hang out with a ton of people, so I did Monroe instead - it's only a mile and 500 feet of elevation gain. And, I was so glad I did! I actually had the top to myself for a while. It was not too cold out (though I did need my puff) and I watched the clouds roll through. It was pretty awesome - I sat there for about a half hour and admired the area. Then I decided that rather than going down the way I came up, I would do a loop and walk a little on Crawford Path. I thought it would be short, but of course it went up another little mountain - which I thought about skipping by walking through the grass, but of course I didn't go off trail, since the vegetation is so fragile up there. In the end, I was glad I went around, because the Crawford path is so nice! I went back to the hut and stuck my feet in the lower lake at first, but it was so crowded with screaming kids, that I decided to try the upper lake, which was much nicer. The upper lake you can wade into easier - fewer rock falls in it. So I stood in it up to my thighs, and enjoyed the view of Washington. I thought about going for a swim, but I only had one sports bra and didn't want it to be wet for the rest of the day.

The food at the hut was a huge disappointment - they had over spiced caned mushroom soup, the bread was a little burned, and there was a not very good dessert. Fortunately there was veg lasagne that wasn't too bad. I sat next to a through hiker, who said he hiked about 14 miles per day, but only 8 in the White Mountains. And again I was reminded that it is doable; it just requires persistence. After dinner I watched the sunset, and went to bed early and read a book.

In the morning, there was no coffee!! I was awake for a full hour before I got coffee, which made me really cranky. Breakfast was even worse than dinner - burned oatmeal with no brown sugar, dry eggs, and burned pancakes. When the coffee finally came it was watery and disgusting. I promised myself that I could buy some coffee when I got down the mountain. The food is usually so good at the huts, I don't know what happened.

Anyhow, I had packed my backpack before breakfast and as soon as I was done I headed out. The weather report was pretty bad, including possibly severe thunderstorms, hail and possible tornados! I did not want to be up in the mountains in that weather for sure. Also, I didn't really want to be driving in that weather. The hike down was nice - there was a bit of butt sliding and such, but the slabby parts of the hike were actually pretty sticky, even though they were wet, and the stone stairs are well made. I got down in less than 3 hours. As soon as I got down, I went to the cog railway station and got a cup of coffee, which was delicious! I got home around 1, and the storm arrived around 3 - I was so glad to be cozy on my couch. A good few days hike, and really nice to be up in the presidentials, but also a reminder that lake of the clouds isn't my fave hut.

Jennings Peak and Sandwich

I tried Jennings Peak and Sandwich Dome last October and wound up only doing Jennings Peak, and then hiking down. I decided to give it another go today, and I'm glad I did!

I left a little late, around 7:15 and got to the mountain at about 9:30. It's a loop hike, best hiked counter clockwise. So, of course, I set off in the wrong direction - to do it clockwise. Thankfully I looked at my phone at the 1/4 mile point, for no particular reason, and then decided that I should go back and try again (the hike so far had been pretty flat and easy). 

The hike starts with a huge amount of elevation gain in the first mile and a half, which in some ways is pretty killer, and in others is great because you get the hardest part done right out of the gate. The hike actually hits three peaks, with Noon Peak being the first one, and the sign that you've finished the most difficult part. At Noon Peak I stopped and ate an orange. Of course there were two people there, and a dog - always people at a lookout. 

Except, when I got to Jennings Peak there was no one there, and no one came the entire half hour that I sat there! Crazy! I ate a cheese sandwich on sour dough bread and a delicious dark chocolate covered stroopwafel and tried to decide if I should call it a day with the amazing view at Jennings again, or if I should add 2.2 miles and go to Sandwich. I decided I'd done most of the elevation gain already, it was still early enough, and I should go for it! And I'm glad that I did. The first .5 mile to Sandwich was a delightful ridgeline. And then there was some elevation gain, yes, but not too killer - 500 feet. The view from the top was actually quite nice - if you sit on the cairn. Which I was able to do because I was the only one up there (it was a low cairn that suffered no damage from me sitting on it). I ate some really salty almonds and then stood on top of the rock next to the cairn and reached up to touch 4000 feet (since Sandwich is only 3993).

The hike down was really nice! There was a brook (where I filtered some water) and it was overall a gradual descent. For some reason I thought that I had found the descent difficult last time (I hadn't, according to the blog post). It was actually quite nice. There were switchbacks on the steepest part, and a few big descents, but mostly it was just a nice, gradual, hike down. I practiced my parkour feet and was down before I knew it!

The mountain wasn't at all crowded - I saw about a dozen people the whole time I was there. There was a family of three when I started - dad really wanted to get to the top, but mom and teenage daughter didn't look like they were going to make it. I appreciated the view a little for dad. And then a few solo hikers and a few couples. Once again, nice hike, definitely would do again!

Summer Freeze and Drum Circle

Today the mystic merfolk had our second annual summer freeze event. It was my first, but super fun! One of the merfolk brought a plastic pool, and we filled it with lake water and ice, and then we all jumped in. It was so cold! It was so nice, though - it reminded me of how much I like the feeling of getting into the freezing cold water, and then feeling all tingly when I get out. My job was to order pizza and pick it up, and also I baked blueberry pie (which was all eaten, success!)

After hanging around in the pool I went for an actual swim, to the point and back only. I swam the whole way there with just one stop, which is now pretty common for me. Although the way back was harder, mostly because it's hard for me to go in a straight line.

After pizza, the cousin of one of the merfolk brought out a drum and some guitars, and we had a drum circle. We started with some ancient and sacred songs, and then moved to hotel california :). It was so nice - the sun was setting and the water was completely calm, and there were ducks swimming around and people were dancing. Super fun!

I've been on stay-cation this week, and will be again next week. I've been totally lazy, though my sister and I did spend some time at the storage locker where we have my mom's stuff - it's been over a year and a half, we need to start going though it all and giving it away!

Bear! On Hedgehog

I went to NH for the weekend and stayed with my friends at their cabin. On Saturday we went climbing on white horse ledge. Today, I hiked Mt. Hedgehog where I saw a bear!

My friend and I did beginner route on whitehorse. She led and I had two ropes, and didn't freak out at all, even though we did 5 pitches! Largely because it was a 5.3, and so it actually wasn't really difficult, even for me and I haven't been climbing very much over the past two years. It was pretty cool to do 5 pitches - that's pretty high, although one was a little tiny pitch. One of the pitches had a really nice crack in it - I usually don't love crack, but even I have to say that this was a awesome one!

At the end of pitch 5 we had to leave, and we repelled down one pitch, and then my friend thought there was a trail in the woods. Nope. We bush wacked out, me sliding on my butt. Super fun, and good way to do a little high climbing without terror.

Today I decided I wanted to get in a hike - I was trying to decide which one, and finally settled on Hedgehog because I would never just drive all the way up there for a 5 mile hike. Looking at the map, most of the uphill was in the first 2 miles, and then it was a gradual stroll down. I have to say, all trails let me down this time, though I guess it was my own fault. I got to the top and didn't realize it was the top, and barely caught the view. There was another spot that looked like the top of the mountain, but I think it was actually one of the tripyramids. I was so scared I would have to go up it, I didn't pay close attention.

But, to make up for not really taking in the view, I did see my first bear while hiking! I was getting close to the bottom of the mountain, and I heard this loud >crash< in the woods. I was thinking it must be some kind of big animal, when I saw the bear in the woods. It was pretty big, and bear shaped. I tried to get my camera to take a picture, but then realized it was coming towards me. It was just sauntering along, bear-like, and I thought "oh shit, that bear is close" and I said "hey there, bear." It looked up and saw me, and I think it though "oh shit, that human is close" and it took off running away from me. I was pretty relieved, and just to make sure it really went away, I yelled "run away bear, run away!" And then I skedaddled on down the trail. It was actually pretty close to the end, but clearly shy about people. After, it was pretty awesome. 

There's a new(ish) restaurant on the Kanc called "Cheese Louise" and they have artisanal grilled cheese sandwiches. I got one with two cheese and tomato soup. It accidentally had bacon on it, and I ate it anyhow! (it would have just been thrown away if I didn't eat it and that would be sad for the poor pig). It was delicious and I think I need to make Cheese Louise a regular part of my trips in that area.

Silent Dance

I went to a silent ecstatic dance this evening - it was so fun! The dance was by Pleasure Bay, which I have driven past before, but I guess I never realized how nice it is. There's like a whole beach right in the city - like miles of it! How have I lived here this long and not realized it?? I guess the area was closed down due to poor water quality when I moved here, and I just decided I was a North Shore gal when it came to beaches.

Anyhow, the dance itself isn't silent, they give you headphones and there's a DJ (who also could have been a 1970's porn star) who plays music. You take off your shoes and dance in the sand, but people walking by can't hear the music. It was so fun! The thing about it is no one cares how you dance, you don't have to have a partner, you just do your thing. I went with two friends, and we jumped into the water and swam around for a little while. 

The beach is really close to the airport - there was a pretty constant flow of really low planes, but with the headphone on your couldn't really hear them.

We got there around 6:30 and danced until the sun set, and then we meditated for about 15 minutes, and went home. A really good way to spend a Friday night.

Mt. Lafayette via Skookumchuck Trail

It's been a while since I've done a 4000 footer, let alone a 5000 footer. I was going to do one over July 4 weekend, but then instead I was a complete blob and lay on my couch instead. So, today was the day! I've been wanting to do the Skookumchuck Trail for a while - it goes up Lafayette, but supposedly almost no one uses it. It turns out that is true - while there were a million people on top of Lafayette, I only saw about a dozen on the trail up, probably about half trail runners. I don't think it was as pretty as Falling Waters, etc, but it was a much more zen experience.

I managed to get up a little before 7, and was out the door by 7:15. When I got in my car, the tire sensor went off, which was really annoying, but I stopped and put air in my tires and discovered the sensor was right - they were low on air! My car is about to reach 100,000 miles - yikes! It has less than a thousand miles to reach the big milestone. On the way back the passenger side airbag light kept coming on - I guess if the worst thing is some sensors, that's not too bad.

Anyhow, I got to the parking lot at about 9:30, which wasn't bad. It was so empty, which was crazy because they were sending people to a backup lot at the other trail. These two trail runners got there as I was putting on my shoes - apparently they were just finishing! They had started at like 6:30, gone up to Lafayette, down the trail by the hut, to a second car. Crazy!

I thought the trail was pretty hard - not at first, the first 1.8 miles was pretty easy - there was even some downhill. The trail follows the highway for the first mile or so, and you can hear the cars. Then it hits a pretty brook that drowned out the noise. At mile 1.8 there are stairs - a lot of stairs. I think it was the highest grade of the hike. After you hit that set of stairs, it gets real. Mile 3 has the most uphill - none of it too killer, but relentless until you get close to the tree line. 

I was getting so hungry by this point, I had to stop and have a snack - I had a bunch of nuts which were very good. As I got to the top, I saw this woman, wearing jeans and very new boots, she was moving even slower than me - I actually passed her! I got to the ridge in about 3 hours. I do like a good ridgeline usually, but I was so hungry I wasn't sure I could make it to the top without eating - and in fact after realizing that what I thought was the summit of West Lafayette was a false summit, I had to sit and eat some sugar. Then I made it up West Lafayette where I had a cheese sandwich with avocado,  a pickle, and some more nuts. I was so hungry I was shaky, and for a bit I thought about not going to the top. But then I remembered that I had climbed Lafayette for my 50th, and I'm going to have my 55th (how did 5 years go so fast?) in two weeks. And I was all "Is that it? 55 and I can't do these hikes?" So of course I had to, and I was so glad I did! It wasn't that hard to get to the top, the view was amazing - there were all these puffy clouds that were so low you could almost touch them - but not really. As I was eating a glider plane flew overhead and it was just so nice. I love how you can see the hut on Lafayette, and it looks so small. I hung around for an hour or so up top between the two summits (I had an orange on Lafayette, and it was delicious!) then I headed down.

Down was so much easier for me on this one - the trail wasn't too rocky, and I used my parkour skills on the rocks there were. I didn't move particularly fast, but I outpaced this guy who was behind me. Except, I ran out of water! Not good - I had my water filter and all, but I had to hike a full mile to get to any water, and then my filter didn't work! It's a new one - I guess it's possible that I wasn't using it right, but not sure how that could be. I was really sad - the water was just trickling out. I got a little to drink, but not as much as I wanted. By the time I really had a water bottle full, I was about a mile from my car, and decided not to get it all filtered. When I got back to the car it was in the sun and the one bottle of water I had was so hot I couldn't drink it. I stopped at a convenience store and got lemonade and an ice cream pop. They were really good.

All and all a good hike for a day that you don't want to be around others, but want to do Lafayette. I think I might go back to the traditional route to do it again.

Swam Crawl to the Point without stopping!!

Super exciting accomplishment today - I swam all the way to the point without stopping! It was a super hot day today and there were a million people on the beach. When I got into the water I reached the edge of the people and just started swimming - it felt pretty easy. Unlike what I usually do, I didn't count my strokes, I just swam, and it was effective. I could see the shore going by, and I started to realize that I could get out to the point - I kept pushing for it, and I made it! Then I stopped and breathed for a while cause it was hard. It took about 10 minutes, which I felt OK with. 

It was a super windy day (I was actually swimming into the wind to the point). Once I started across the water I could really feel the waves pushing me around. It was kind of intense. I was glad that I swim with a buey, even though I didn't need it, it was nice to have there. I did use it for a couple rests. The way back was really hard because I was swimming parallel to the waves, and I think I was also a little tired from my 10 minute swim. 

After swimming I got to take out my friend's inflatable paddleboard. It was so frustrating going into the wind, but then on the way back I didn't even need to paddle, I just stood up and the wind brought me back.

We had another pizza party on the beach. I managed to only eat two slices of pizza!

150 Strokes!

I continue to be able to swim the crawl for longer at a stretch without having to stop because I'm gasping for air or swallowing water! Yesterday I got up to 150 strokes at the end of my swim, but also had two 100 stroke runs. I think it is the aerobic shape that is defining my swim duration, which is great because that's something I can work on.

Yesterday we had a pizza party on the beach which I organized, in part. My job was ordering and picking up the pizza - it was supposed to be delivered, but the restaurant could not get the location, and it just seemed easier to go there in person. The pizza was really good, and there were a lot of new faces swimming, including a couple guys who swam in college. They were very generous with their tips, which I will try to take into account = try to be as flat as possible on the water - don't let your head get up too much or let your feet trail below. Kicking is to keep your feet up. The swim rotation comes from the hips, not the arms. I've also been trying to reach and pull, but I find it to be a lot of hard work - I guess that's the point. 

I swam for about 30 minutes yesterday, which seems to be a good amount for me. Today is Sunday, it's lovely out, I might try to hit the fells for a walk.

 

Mt. Chocoura via Champney Brook

As is my tradition now, I took advantage of a three day weekend, using the middle day with less traffic for a hike. It was a perfect Sunday, sunny and warm, though the bugs are out - boo. After a lot of pondering about options, I decided on Chocoura again, this time up the other side of the mountain. It's a little shorter, less steep, and there's a waterfall. Really great hike, two thumbs up, definitely recommend! 

For whatever reason, I woke up at 6:15 am. I lay in bed for about 10 minutes, but then I was ready to go. I was out the door and on the road by 7. I've been listening to this podcast - the humberman lab, and I listened to an episode about sleep for the ride up. His episodes are really long. This one took the entire trip up, but super interesting. So, I got there in no time. 

I guess the hiking season is underway, because when I arrived at 9:30 there were two park rangers with a table set up, making sure that people have water I'm sure, and pointing out that you can go down the wrong side. That would really suck. 

I headed off right around 9:30 - it was a nice day in the woods, the trail is pretty consistently up hill, but it's one of those trails were the elevation gain is spread out though the entire hike, so it wasn't too bad. At 1.4 miles I debated if I should go to the waterfall on the way up, or if I would really be up for stopping on the way down. I decided to try to make sure to stop on the way down - I was in the groove, and didn't want to stop. One of the amazing things about this trail is that it has SWITCHBACKS! Really good ones, where you are going up hill, but at a nice steady pace, not a NH killer one. There was also some nice slabby rock, and some of the trail was just dirt instead of a pile of rocks. 

When Champney Falls trail intersected with Piper I thought it was going to be super uphill, but there was actually a pretty flat section before it came out of the tree line. Then there was a false peak which made me sad, and some more uphill on all kinds of rock. I was really hungry by this point, and dying to get to the top. A lot of people were saying it was hard to find the trail, but I didn't actually think it was. There were yellow blazes and cairns. You just had to look for them. Making sure to follow them I was able to go up the top on the best spot. I tagged the top, admired the view, and then found a windy ledge away from the bugs.

I brought three mini whole wheat bagels with cheddar cheese and avocado and they were delicious! I ate two at the top and saved one for the falls on the way down. I also had an orange - I've been on a big orange kick lately, and it really hit the spot at the top, juicy and sweet. I sat up top and admired the view - you can see a lot of the White Mountains, and I felt good about myself that I have climbed all of the tallest ones. There were a lot of people up top, even one guy reading the Wall Street Journal. Weirdo.

After a bit I headed back down. I did a good job with trusting my feet on the rocks and with the switchbacks I was able to make really good time. I actually completed the hike in less than book time. Partly I think because all the swimming has helped with my aerobic fitness, and partly because I was moving so fast on the downhill. 

When I got to the turnoff for the falls I was excited to see them - a little part of me wanted to go for a swim, but then I would have had wet feet after, and that's no fun on a hike, so I just dunked my hand in the water. It was a little buggy looking anyhow. The last mile or so was just like walking on a road, super easy. I got back to my car and was so sweaty and gross. Fortunately I had packed wipes and a clean outfit, which I went into the disgusting bathroom to change into. 

It was only like 2:30, and I was so close to the LL Bean outlet that I decided to go there for a short bit of shopping. I got a new bean bag for winter swimming - it's big enough to hold a coat. On the drive back I stopped at a supermarket and bought an egg salad sandwich and some popcorn and I got home at around 6. Excellent hike, would definitely do again!

Walden Pond Swim!

We had a work retreat today out in the boonies. I was a little sad to have to drive 45 minutes on one of my "not driving" days, but on the way there I realized that I was going right past Walden Pond, and I could stop on the way home for a swim! Fortunately I had brought all my swim stuff for a planned trip with the Merfolk. It was such a perfect idea!

My work retreat was nice - it involved ice cream and putt putt golf on the world's longest, most boring putt putt golf course. I did get a hole in one on the second green! It was really nice to see my coworkers in person, without masks. And, my new Assistant Director came - she seems great! At hole 5000 or so I was done, and made the excuse of traffic to leave.

It was such a nice day I was worried that the pond would be a madhouse, but it was actually fine. Parking was easy and I changed into my suit in the car with little problem. I haven't been to Walden Pond in years because it's such a traffic jam on nice days - wow, I've been missing out! It's such a nice place to swim - no boats, deep enough that the fishes are far away, and spring fed. The water is much cleared than the Mystic Lakes. 

I swam for a whole hour, and even better, something just clicked and I swam so much better than normal! I got up to 100 strokes (50 breaths) two times!! I was able to get into a place that was a little meditative,  and just relax and swim. I think maybe it was the aerobic fitness that was holding me back, and now I'm improving. At one point this other open water swimmer was close to me and she was like "isn't this the best?" And I was like "yes it is." And then I felt so cool because I had a chat in the middle of Walden Pond, and the other swimmer considered me an open water swimmer too. Which I guess I am!!

According to my fitbit I went a little over a mile in an hour, which I think is pretty slow. But, whatever - I swam a mile. I never thought that would be a thing. 

Blue Bikes to the Ballgame

A friend of mine offered me a ticket to the red sox! I haven't been to a game in several years, certainly since before covid. Which is a little sad considering that I live like 3 miles from the ball park. So, I was pretty psyched to go. They played the Marlins, and they actually won! Which was not a forgone conclusion, because they were down 4-0 at the end of the first inning.

It was supposed to be in the 90's today - I was a little nervous about how much fun the game would actually be, but thankfully it wound up only in the 80's, and we were in the shade the entire time. We had pretty good seats - it was a really fun afternoon!

I spent a while thinking about how to get there - it's so close for driving, but parking is crazy expensive. It's just a bit far for walking, even if I drive a bit, parking is tricky. Then I remembered blue bikes! I've never tried them before, but I see a ton of people on them. And, that worked perfectly. I drove to a supermarket parking lot a mile away so I didn't have to go over the hill, and then walked to the bikes. The ride there was perfect, and I got the last dock near the stadium. On the way back the bike site I went to wasn't working, and so I had to walk across the Mass Ave bridge, but it was nice out and not that far. And then I got a bike from the next site. Way better than using the subway which is a mob scene after a game! Def would try again - it's really a perfect way to get into the city!

Yesterday I did my longest swim yet 50 minutes, 1900 meters. I guess I will be able to do 25 for the race :) My latest theory on why I am struggling with swimming is that I don't have the endurance, and just need to try pushing though on it.

Lunar Eclipse

Last night I joined the merfolk for a lunar eclipse outing at the Lake! It was a total lunar eclipse, with the moon being fully eclipsed at 12:11. Unfortunately it was cloudy, but on the bright side, it was also warm. We met at the beach at 11 pm - I actually saw the moon at that point, half covered in shadow. We then went and swam out to just above our heads and floated around, waiting for it to come out from the clouds. We only saw a little eclipse, but it was great being out in the water at night. We all liked it so much that we decided to do it again at every full moon in the summer. 

Swimming with my eyes closed

Yesterday I tried to swim with my eyes closed to focus on proprioception instead of watching where I'm going. The water in mystic lake is so murky, you can't really see anything anyhow, so it made a lot of sense. And, I think it made a difference in my swimming! I felt my strokes becoming stronger and body being straighter and my kicks coming from my entire legs. The breathing is still a struggle. I can get to about 10 breaths usually, but then going beyond is a struggle. I got up to 25 once, but then had to stop and breathe. More research is necessary. I wound up going for two swims because I just wanted to get into the water when I arrived, and then I went again when everyone else did.

We had a merfolk pizza part on the beach :) One of our members ordered pizza delivered to the beach, and it was delicious and fun. We are talking about a late night swim on Sunday to watch the lunar eclipse. 

My cat does seem a little calmer on prozac. She still gets a little hissy sometimes, but much less so. I think I'm going to continue with it.

 

Mt. Monadnock with New Hiking Poles!

I could not get my hiking poles to open - I really liked those poles so was sad to have to retire them. But then I got my new poles, and I have to say they made me happy! I got the black diamond shock control poles for women. The "for women" part only means that they are shorter and a little lighter, and they are a pretty blue. That works for me! Since I just got them, of course I had to take them out for a spin.

I was trying to decide where to go, and was thinking of Chocora, but the trail reviews said there is still snow on the top and it's a 2.5 hour drive to the trail I wanted to take. So, I decided on Monadnock instead - it's only an hour and a half and, although it's got really nice views, it's actually not that long a hike. It's no joke though, either. 

Since it is closer, I slept in until 9, and then sat around drinking coffee deciding if I wanted to go. Finally, I was like "I'm doing it!" and I was so glad that I did - it was a really nice hike. My one requirement for Monadnock is not going up the white dot and down the white cross. I thought about the different routes and decided to do Halfway House to While Arrow, which I thought I hadn't done before (I had, but that was OK, it's still a good one.) I started my hike at 12:12, it was sunny and cool and no bugs yet. I got these new patagonia hiking tights that were awesome! So glad I got them - they are thicker on the butt for sliding :) Anyhow, the trail starts out really gradual for the first mile/mile and a half, it's a really nice stroll though the woods. Then it goes up pretty steady for the rest of the hike. Towards the top there's a lot of rock scrambling and places where you need your hands, so I had to put my shiny new poles away. I got to the top in about an hour and a half, so a pretty good pace. It was crowded up top, but not too bad - not like it will be in summer. I sat and ate for a while, but it was so windy up top that I decided to descend a little to finish eating. I discovered a new trail snack - dill pickles! They are salty and crunchy and delicious. And, they aren't full of calories. Must remember for future trips.

The way down was slower than the way up to start. My left knee was really sore - I guess I have to get back into doing the PT exercises that I find so boring. Once I got down a bit I could use my new poles, and that made it a lot easier. I actually passed a few people on this hike, but one was a family with a crying kid who looked like he was about 3, and another was two women who had very new looking packs that were way too full for a day hike. The last mile or so out the bottom of my foot was really sore, but other than that it was just lovely - a nice second hike of the season. And the poles are definitely a success!