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!