Bye bye 2024

All and all, not a bad year I have to say (politics aside), sorry to see it go, but hopefully next year will be a good one too! I ended the year with a mock 200 at the beach. It was a beautiful day out today, sunny and in the low 50's, with no wind. A group of us decided to meet at the lake, and since the weather was so nice I really wanted to get in a practice swim. 

It took forever for us to all get put together and organized/arranged, and because it was so hot out I was actually roasting in my swim robe. I finally was like, "OK, I'm going" and headed in. The water was about 39, so warmer than it was the last couple dips, and felt brisk but not too bad. I walked in up to my waist, took a breath, and went for it. It took me about 35 breaths before my face felt OK, but I kept at it and swam without stopping. Coming back I saw all my friends in the water, but I was the only one who was really swimming. In total it took me about 7 minutes to do the 200 ish (which, again, is more than 5 minutes). When I finished everyone was like "nice job" and clapping, which made me feel really good. My hands were freezing, so I got out and stuck them in some warm water. Warm up wasn't bad at all because it was so nice out, and I ate like a pig because tomorrow I'm going to have to start a diet again :P

Tonight I'm headed out to do yoga again, very excited to welcome the new year in a zen way, and my favorite yoga instructor is teaching, so that will be really great!

I've been recovering my couch, and got a bit carried away with it. I meant to just do the cushions, but I did the math wrong in the store and wound up with 3x the material that I needed (feet/yards, meh), so now I'm recovering the entire thing. It's kind of slow going, but I'm pretty happy with the results so far, and the couch really needed it! I realized that it's almost 25 years old. I guess I could get a new one, but I like this one a lot, it's held up pretty well, and I remember it being really hard to get in the door, so I might not be able to get it out! 

First Ski of the season

Today it was forecast to be beautiful out - sunny and in the low 30's. Seemed like a perfect day to get in my first ski of the season! I woke up on my own at 6:30 am and lay in bed vacillating about if I wanted to go or not, but then I looked at the weather for the rest of staycation, and decided that today had to be the day. I was kind of nervous that everyone else would come to the same decision and it would be super crowded, but it wasn't!

I decided to go to nashoba for just two hours. I was the first one on the lift and I had the mountain to myself for the first 15 minutes - it was awesome! By the time I left at 11:15 there were a lot more people there, but it never got to the point where there was a lift line or anything.

I mostly did the blue squares (which I feel like are like greens at most places) and I felt really good on them. The first run or two I felt a little nervous, but I soon got my confidence up and was going a lot faster. For the last 4 runs I decided to try out the black diamond (which I feel like are blues at most places) and they went pretty well. There were a couple spots where I was going a little fast and had to do some zig zagging, but for the most part I was fine. 

The one thing that I don't like about nashoba is that their lifts are slow and the hill is just straight down, so you spend a lot of time on the lift, even if there's no line. But, it's so close and easy to get to, and convenient, I think it was well worth it.

39 degrees

The water at the lake is back up to 39! I met a friend today for a swim and was just going to do a dip, with gloves and no face in the water, but when I got there the water was so calm and it was really sunny and nice out, I thought it would be a shame to waste perfect swim conditions with just a dip. So, after a little back and forth in my head I decided to do another mock-200. I walked into the water, got up past my waist, and really questioned my judgement, but then I went for it and it wasn't that bad. I did have to remind myself to breathe through it for the first lap, and I had to slow down to catch my breath because I was really sucking wind, but other than that it was much easier than the last swim just a few days ago. When I got out of the water my hands were cold, but not as freezing as they've been. I was only in for about 7 minutes (which is more than the 5 minutes you are allowed for the 200 at the swim fest) and so it wasn't too difficult to warm up and there was no after drop. Getting my face in the water has been hard, but it does seem do-able. I think the secret is not wearing gloves so that I'm more focused on how cold my hands are, as opposed to my face.

200 meters at 37

It's stay-cation! Yay! I'm super happy to be off work for the next 9 days, and lounging about feeling all hygge. It's also a good time to get into winter swim fest training full force. I met a few friends at the lake today for a practice run, and was super excited that it went well!

We met at the beach at 2, which turned out to be a perfect time because the sun was just coming out from behind clouds. It's been so cold out, but today it was a little warmer, finally, at 34. With the sun out it felt quite delightful! I really wanted to do a test run of the 200 and prove to myself that I could do it, so that's what I did. I didn't wear gloves or booties, and I was determined to keep my face in the water. We walked in to waist deep, which is how deep the platform is at the swim fest, and at a count of three just went for it. It was so cold! But I counted my strokes and just reminded myself to breathe through it, and I did fine. I think the fact that I wasn't wearing gloves made a difference because I was so focused on how cold my hands were that I didn't even think about my face. I did have to work to regulate my breathing, especially on the first length. Once I got to the turn-around point I reminded myself I was a quarter of the way, and just kept going. The only time I stopped was when my friend and I ran into each other, which is totally legit. And that was just a pause. I was definitely not swimming super fast, but I felt strong and had no troubles completing the swim. But after I finished I also didn't want to hang out in the lake - I got right out and stuck my hands in some hot water and got dressed. According to my watch it was 37, and I was in for 9 minutes.

I'm quite happy with that! Definitely going to try to get in some more practice runs while I'm on vacation.

38 and a good day of climbing

Today it was 17 degrees, but felt like 5 with the wind, so of course when someone said they wanted to go for a dip I was all in. I got there and was like "what am I crazy?" I didn't even want to get out of the car. But, I had said I was going, and once we got out of the wind it wasn't as bad - the sun was out and it definitely felt like at least 17. Anyhow, it was a short swim, I actually walked in instead of diving, wore booties (to protect my feet when walking) and gloves (because my hands have been so cold!). It was pretty choppy again, and I stayed in for 5 minutes. After swimming I took my gloves off and dropped them on the ground where they froze, we actually had to pour tea on them to get them to thaw out so I could pick them up! My watch said that the water was 38 - I'm sure my friend's stuff would say 37, so I'm calling it 37/38, but really 38. 

After I met a friend at the climbing gym. It was pretty cold there too, and on the way out I saw that the heat was at 64, which isn't warm. But I still had a pretty good climbing day! I started with a 5.7 and 5.8 on auto belay. Then I did a 5.9 and then a 5.10b, 5.10a and 5.10c - the 5.10a I did clean! It was all slab and balance, plus foot combos, and really seemed much easier than a 10, but that's what it said, and I'm going with it! There was a 5.10c on autobelay, which I think I could have done if I wasn't on autobelay - super pinchy but I got half way up before I needed to work on it. Which I couldn't on autobelay. And then I did ione more 5.9. I felt much more in the zone that I have been feeling, so I guess I'm getting into the groove a little again. Also, I've been doing a little weight lifting and I think its helping.

Below 40!

It's been really cold out the last couple days (today is 17 with wind chill) and so the lake is finally below 40. We met up at the dock for a quick dip - it was so cold out, I didn't even want to be outside with all my clothes and layers on, and I wasn't sure I was going to go in until I actually dove in. One of my friends captured the image above right after I dove in :)

Anyhow, my watch said it was 39, and my friend's thermometer said 38, and it was cold! I wore my thin gloves and stayed in for only 5 minutes, but after it wasn't so hard to warm up. The thing that was killer was the wind. The water was pretty choppy and outside of the water, getting changed was so difficult. It is the solstice today, excited for the days to get longer. We had about 2 inches of snow yesterday - I hope we get more this winter! 

41 Degrees

I met a friend at the lake today for a swim. I feel like I really need to do some acclimatizing for the race in February, and need to get in some swimming whenever possible. So, we did four laps of our 75 yard swim, though I feel like they were a little short of the full 75 yards. But still, more than the 200. For the first length I got my face in the water for about 10 breaths, then had to swim breast stroke for a little bit, then got my face back in. The second length I got my face in and was able to breathe through it, and do the entire thing face in. Same for the third and fourth, which felt a little ice cream headache-y, but not bad. We were in the water for about 10 minutes. I did wear my gloves, but the thinner ones. After I definitely had a little after drop, but it wasn't bad. There's a little over 2 months before the swim, so plenty of time to prep.

Yesterday I went to the Y and actually ran a mile on the treadmill! I set it to a 12 minute mile, so it wasn't that hard. I forgot my phone and headphones, so I had nothing to listen to but my own dark thoughts. I think if I had a podcast or something I could have run for a half hour. Something to consider. Oh, and my watch said I was running a 10.26 minute mile, which I am 100% sure was not correct, so not sure what to do with that.

Winter swim training

It's time to start getting serious about training for the winter swim festival. I went to the beach today at lunch with the idea of swimming a quarter mile, but only managed about 200 feet, most of it with my head out of the water. The water was 40 and my face was freezing! I even had gloves on - not promising. I have a lighter week this week and vacation next week, so I think I should be able to get to the beach for a swim most days and hopefully get back on track. 

Ashram Vacation

I had to use a jet blue credit that I had from buying a ticket to the wrong city (dope) for a conference, so I decided that it would be good to go on a December vacation because it's so dark now, and January is busy at work. Also, since I went this week I got to miss the holiday parties at work :) I went back and forth about where to go, and in the end decided that I really wanted something that was a short and easy flight, allowed me to do yoga, and wasn't horribly expensive for lodging. I've known about this ashram in the bahamas for a while, and decided that it would be a perfect time to go there - so that's what I did!

The place is on paradise island, which is really beautiful! Unfortunately, for most of my trip it was cloudy and windy, which was sad. But, the first day was perfect. I got there a little before noon, and since the forecast for the rest of the week wasn't that good, I spent the entire day outside, including a few hours on the beach. I was kind of laughing at myself because the water was 78 degrees, and I was all "it's a little chilly," but I guess it's all about what you are expecting. 

Their schedule is pretty much exactly the same every day, and I learned that it's exactly the same at all the ashrams, with yoga at 4 pm. And, the yoga class is exactly the same each time. Which was nice for the three days that I went, but I think I wouldn't love it if it was always exactly the same. Anyhow, on the first day we were able to do yoga on a platform right by the beach, and it was amazing - you could hear the water and the sun was a perfect temperature, and there were these beautiful pine trees swaying above me. It's a long class - about two hours, so towards the end the sun set and the sky was gorgeous. So perfect. After they had a pretty tasty veg dinner, and I ate with a couple of friendly people. I had gotten up at 4 am that day, so I was pretty exhausted after that, and sat in a hammock and read a book until bedtime.

When I woke up the next day the clouds were so thick in the sky, and you could hear the wind. The water was really wavy, and it didn't seem like swimming was a good idea. One thing about the ashram is that they don't have coffee (which I knew, and smuggled in some instant, and there was water to make coffee with). The first full day, though, I decided to walk up the beach to this resort that has a starbucks - such a bad yogi, but it was delicious. I brought my book with me, and sat outside enjoying my coffee and reading, and before I knew it I had missed breakfast at the ashram. So, I stayed at the resort and got lunch, and then walked around and looked at their dolphins and hammerhead sharks and went shopping and was a total tourist. I stayed for a good part of the day, and then went back for yoga, dinner, and the evening program.

In the morning and evening they have a 30 minute silent meditation followed by chanting and then a talk from different people. I actually kind of liked the meditation, it was a really cool feeling to sit in silence with so many other people. The leader suggested repeating "oom" on every out breath, and I tried to do that to keep my mind from wandering. Not 100% successfully, but not 100% unsuccessfully either. There was a program on designing the life you want which was pretty good - I've been thinking about retirement a lot lately (how did I get to be the age where I'm thinking about retirement??) and what I want to do for my encore career, and it was cool to spend some time with others in reflection. I've been thinking about food - growing it, cooking it, and helping people experiencing food insecurity. I don't know what that would look like, but it's definitely on my mind.

The second night I couldn't sleep - the bed was actually pretty uncomfortable and the sheets were old and thin and kind of wrinkly, and I finally wrapped myself up in my beach blanket and towel, and fell asleep around 4 am. The next day I slept in, snuck my coffee on the beach, had brunch at 10, finished my book, did the designing your life workshop, yoga, dinner, and more meditating and thinking about life. It was pretty chill and I felt refreshed and reenergized about life. But also like I wanted to go home to my cozy bed, cats, and life. Which I did the next morning. So, for me three days was the perfect visit length. 

Definitely not a luxury vacation, but I wasn't expecting it to be. Also, I did feel a little like I took it for granted - I've been lucky to be able to travel whenever I want lately, but maybe I need to take a little time off from traveling so I can appreciate it again? Or maybe not - it sounds like jet blue is going to be flying to Madrid soon, and I've been wanting to go back there, and then walk the camino. So, we'll see....

Middlesex Fells Skyline Trail

I really wanted to get in a hike for Thanksgiving weekend, but it snowed up in New Hampshire, and today was going to be pretty cold. I decided I don't always have to go on a long drive for my long hike, and went to the Middlesex Fells with the goal of completing the Skyline Trail. Which is what I did.

I often start out to hike the Skyline trail, but the once I get going I decide to make it a little shorter, or to take the reservoir trail back or cut off the pine hill overlook bit. So, I decided to park in the Shepfold (amazingly got parking with no issues!) and go clockwise to the view first, then around the reservoir where it's not really possible to turn back. I also thought I remembered that this direction got the harder part finished first. It was a good call, because by the end I kind of wanted to bail, but there isn't any way to, so I stuck it out and finished the loop.

It was about 37 degrees out, but with the wind felt a little colder. I wore my purple ninja hoodie, a t-shirt and little puff, and then some athleta tights and gloves. The skyline trail basically goes over every single little bit of elevation in the park, trying to get as much gain as possible. So, I warmed up quickly and took off my gloves, and then jacket. It was a beautiful day out and there were a bunch of other hikers, trail runners and dogs enjoying the trails, and the first bit went quickly. I got to the one viewpoint on the hike, and there was this woman who I think was blessing a guy - it was hard to tell exactly what was going on because she was talking in Portuguese (I think) and I felt a little bit like I was intruding, so I just took a quick look at the view and continued. From there you kind of circle back to get to the bottom of the reservoir, and then head up the other side.

I looked at all trails before I left, and it said the hike was 7.7 miles, with about 950 feet of elevation gain, and looking at my watch at that point it said that I had already gotten over 500 feet of elevation gain, which I was kind of excited about because that's a big part of the work. After a bit, though, I started to question my watch, and I looked at all trails, which said I'd done half the elevation gain. Weird - I have to figure out what's up with that. In the end my watch said I went 8.19 miles with 1651 feet of elevation gain. I'm going to have to do some googling on this.

The other side of the reservoir has trails that get pretty close to the road, and then go by a dam and feel like they are in someone's back yard. This is an area where I used to get lost a lot, but now with all trails and better trail markers, is much easier to navigate. In the end I got back to my car in 3 hours and 40 minutes and felt pretty good about it!

My plan had been to go for a swim after, and do a practice for the 200 meters. But, I was kind of cold from all the time outside and decided that I would just go jump in and bop around for 5 minutes instead. Which is what I did. 

When I got to the docks, I ran into Santa in the parking lot! He has a regular gig at one of the boat clubs, and they take pick him up from the docks with a pontoon boat, bring him across the water, and then bring him back to his truck at the end. Which I know because I ran into him there once before. I have good Santa luck. He was very gracious and took a picture with me, even though he had already taken off his belt, and must have been ready to head home.

After, I questioned my decisions about going into the water. It was freezing! I think my watch said 44, but I can't be sure because I couldn't get it to stop, and so it averaged in time in the car with the heat blasting. I think it didn't recognize my fingers because they were so cold - I finally remembered that I have siri, and asked her to stop the activity. I will have to remember that for the future. I had my first real after drop of the season, and shivered in the car the whole drive home! 

All and all a good day of exercise, and it was really nice to finish and be so close to home.

46 degrees

I woke up this morning at about 5:30 and couldn't fall back to sleep. At about 6:15 I gave up on it and decided to get up and go to the lake for a sunrise dip. It was 32 degrees out, so colder than it's been for my previous dips, and I questioned my decision making the whole way there. When I arrived there were a few people fishing on the lower lake, but no one on the dock. Still questioning my choices, I stripped down to my swimsuit, walked down the dock, started the watch and dove in.

It was freezing! According to my watch the water temp is down to 46, but with the colder air and a slight breeze, plus no gloves, I definitely felt the cold. I swam back and forth along the dock, thinking about how cold my hands were and wondering how I was going to do the 200. I stayed in for about 8 minutes, got out, got dressed, got in the car and turned the heat all the way up. I had my first real after drop of the season and got a little shivery on the drive home. After a hot shower I danced around the kitchen as I heated soup, and now I'm sitting on the couch with my cat and two blankets. Glad to have that done for the day.  

.4 mile at 48 Degrees

My new apple watch can record all kinds of things about my swims, part of why I chose it in the end. Today was the first day that I wore it for a real swim, and I was so happy with it! I met my friend at the beach at lunch for a swim out to the point. The initial plan was to do the full triangle that we do, but when we got into the water it was 48, and we decided better safe than sorry, and to return to the beach. The start was really hard for me - my face was so cold and even though I did my mantra of counting my strokes and saying "breathe through it" I was struggling to breathe through it. I finally got into a rhythm, but I had to stop a couple times to give my face a break.

It was actually pretty nice out, but the sky was full of clouds, and the sun went in and out as we were swimming. So, there were some times that were colder. Anyhow, once I got going it was fine. We got back to the beach after being in the water for 20 ish minutes. My friend wanted to complete the half mile, but I was kind of done, and we both wound up getting out. I could tell he was bummed with himself after for not finishing - we were cold but neither of us really had much after drop or shivering, so we would have been fine doing it. Anyhow, we both also agreed that hypothermia isn't necessary.

After we got dressed we had tea - I made mint tea with mint from my garden, and added just a little sugar to it. Wow, it made such a difference to have the sugar in it - I was a little nervous that I wasn't going to be able to finish all the tea bags I made, but now I think I have it figured out! In the end, my watch said exactly .4 mile, with the parts once I got going being around 2'50" pace. For sure not fast, but it's OK. The thing that I was actually most excited about was that I swam in a really straight line! Ha! Go me! So excited to be able to track this stuff even closer.

This evening I used my last class that I paid for at the hot yoga studio. It said it was slow flow, but I didn't realize how slow it was going to be. I'm going to be excited to get back to not-hot yoga for sure!

  

Smarts Mountain fail

The plan for today was to hike Smarts mountain, one of the 52 with a view. Unfortunately it just wasn't my day, and I didn't get the hike done. Sometimes it happens, but it's OK - the mountain will be there next time. I left home a little later than I wanted to and got to the mountain at like 10:15. Google took me there by all these dirt roads, and the start of the trail was on a dirt road as well. Google tried to send me up an old logging road, but I realized that wasn't going to work - fortunately I'd driven past a parking lot and figured it might be the trailhead, which it was. The lot wasn't huge, but it was fine for a Friday in November. 

I started out on the AT heading up, and right from the beginning things didn't feel great. There were a ton of leaves on the ground, so it was slippery going and I was a little concerned about how hard it would be to get down the mountain. I'd also read that the other trail wasn't as well marked, and it was pretty hard to find the AT. I was nervous about getting down the mountain and having to drive back in the dark, with no cell signal (I'd written down directions, old school, but the dirt roads didn't all have street signs.) Anyhow, the worry just kept building. I tried to hike through it, but it just wasn't happening, and finally I decided that I had given it an attempt and could call it a day. As soon as I made the decision I felt immediately better and sat down to have my sandwich a little off the trail. 

Heading down it was slow on the steeper parts, but I did make it back to my car in reasonable time. In total I hiked 1.5 miles with 700 feet of elevation gain in an hour and ten minutes. Which is respectable exercise for the day. 

I've been feeling envious of some of my friend's smart watches, especially this feature that tells you the temperature of the water when you are swimming on the apple 10. I decided that since I was in NH where there's no sales tax, I might as well hit the apple store and see if I wanted to get one. (Spoiler alert, I did get one and I'm pretty happy with it - it was a little more than the garmin I was eyeing, but so so many more features. And the super cute rose gold color!)

Since I had no signal I just put my map up on my phone and drove in the direction of the highway - fortunately I'd downloaded the route the night before, so this worked. It turned out that you didn't need to take the dirt roads, of course, though I guess they may have been a few minutes faster. Anyhow, as I was headed into the town of lyme, what I can only describe as a suicidal deer came flying in front of me. Fortunately I wasn't going that fast and there was no one behind me, because I slammed on the breaks and somehow didn't hit it! I mean, WTF deer? There was no one behind me - it was like some boston driver or something. I drove on but then pulled over in a bit to breathe. That didn't help with the whole anxiety thing of the day, that's for sure.

When I got back to the boston area I decided to take a quick dip in the lake to shake out some of the angst. It was super choppy and the sailboats were out, but I jumped in anyhow, and paddled around for 5 minutes and felt a lot better when I got out. Anyhow, not a perfect day, but I am happy with my new watch, and I suppose the money I saved paid for the gas. Next time I try Smarts I may go before the leaves are down, and will make sure I have a little more time. The part I did was pretty nice, so I'd like to do the hike in full.

Half Mile at 50 degrees

I took a long weekend this weekend, with Thursday and Friday off because I just really wanted to - I've been in a bit of a funk since the election and felt like I needed a little bit of a break to do some nice things for me. Today I slept in a little, then got up and sat on the couch with my cats for a while. I met some friends for an informal parkour jam at Harvard, and then went to the lake for a swim. After the swim I did my laundry and then went to this ski movie that was really good. And, I won a year of outside magazine, which was awesome! 

The swim was really nice - it was sunny and not windy out, which always helps. I met my one friend who's also really hard core about the cold swimming, and we decided to swim out to the point and back. It was pretty cold at first and I didn't want to put my face in, but then I just started counting and saying "breathe through it" to myself when I came up for air. It took about 25 strokes on each side before my face acclimatized, and then swimming was fine. I wore gloves for the swim (and I'm glad I did because I still had a spot on one of my fingers that was a little numb afterward, though it's fine now), which I actually think act a little bit like paddles. The swim felt pretty fast and before I knew it we were back to the beach. To the point and back is about .4 mile, which is so close to a half mile that we decide to swim a couple more laps to finish the half mile. After, I wasn't even that cold, though I did have a couple shivers. We sat and drank tea and admired the lake for a bit before heading out. 

Numb

Welp, we did it again. How stupid were we to think that a bi-racial woman could beat a felon? This time I'm just not going to engage with the drama. I haven't been on the news or social media, and I'm planning to take at least a week off. There were some teary folks at work today, but mostly everyone was resigned. We did get free lunch, so that was something. 

I met a friend at the climbing gym after work. We went to metrorock in littleton, which actually isn't my favorite because it's very overhung, but it's close to my friend and she's a member. She did get me in for free, so there's that. I did mostly 5.8's and I could not get over a single overhang. I need to do more lifting!

I got home and discovered my cat had thrown up all over the couch. Yup, that about sums it up, Tigger.

Welch Dickey and a quick dip

I've been wanting to hike Welch-Dickey for the past few weekends, but I keep oversleeping or not sleeping, etc. But, today we "fall back," and so I had an extra hour in the day, perfect for sleeping in and taking a hike. It was a good one!

I got up at like 8, ate breakfast and thought that I would just bail and go climbing, but as I was eating I started feeling more energetic, and by the end of my coffee I was all in. I made sweet potato tofu veggie burgers yesterday, and packed one, in a bun, for lunch. On the drive up I stopped at a rest area, and snagged some condiments for it :).  Anyhow, even though I left a little later, I knew it would be OK because it's just a little less than 2 hours drive, and a 4.4 mile hike.

The parking area now has a credit card machine to pay for parking - crazy! It took forever for it to verify my card, though. Not a lot of signal I would guess. Anyhow, I paid and got all geared up and headed out. I wore my North Face hiking pants, my Smart Wool long sleeve top and a tshirt, and I carried Big Puff and an extra pair of pants. As I started hiking I got pretty warm, and actually pushed up the sleeves of my shirt - it was sunny and a beautiful day out! It took about an hour and a half to get to the top of Welch - as always it was a really pretty climb, and kind of intense at the top, but with really nice slab. I had to stop and breathe and listen to my heart a fair amount close to the top. One I got up, I admired the view and ate a snack. There was actually no one up there with me, and I admired the view and the sound of the wind. It was cold, and I put on big puff. 

I remembered that the steepest downhill was right after the top of Welch - it was pretty steep, but less so than I remembered. I think the last time I went it had rained a bit, which would have made a huge difference in the slipperiness. Dickey is so pretty, with these pine trees and moss, and then more slab and really nice downhills that are slabby. For some reason, though, they were a little stingy with the trail marks, I kept wondering if I was on the right path, and eventually finding a blaze, but there were a few times I wasn't sure I was on track. 

There's a really nice ledge where I like to stop on Dickey - I sat and admired how far I had come, even though it's not really a big hike. I ate my veggie burger with mustard, ketchup and relish, and enjoyed listening to the wind and watching the view. After that it was just a mile down.

I was planning to go to a nearby lake for a dip after, but right at the start I saw a couple pools in the stream that goes close to the trailhead, and decided that I could probably take my dip right there, and not have to drive out of the way, or walk far. I changed in the parking lot and headed into the woods. The pool I chose was about two feet deep and probably big enough to fit 2-3 people. The water was really cold! I brought my fish-momiter, and it said the water was about 45. I kind of crouched/sat for 5 minutes, and felt pretty good about that. My hands were really cold, but the rest of me felt fine, chilly but fine. I put on my dry robe and got changed at my car. 

I looked at my time for the last time I did Welch-Dickey and it was pretty much exactly the same as this time! All and all a successful hike. I'm glad I got off my lazy butt and went. Tuesday is election day - I've been avoiding the news, but it's going to be an intense week coming up. Might need a hike next weekend too.

A mile-ish at 56

Today I met a couple friends at the beach for a swim. It's been really warm out recently, and so the water is warmer than last year, it's still 56 in the lake. A couple of us decided that we were going to try for a longer swim to really start acclimating for the colder weather, and maybe another slush mile. We started by heading to the point to see how it goes. Because the last time I went swimming for 30 minutes I got a little claw hand and numbness, I wore gloves, which made such a difference!

It was really cold to put my face in the water, but by the time I got to the point I was completely fine, and so was my friend. We decided to do a little loop swim that we like, that takes us to the other side of the lake and then back to the beach. My goggles were totally fogged up, so I took a little detour because I couldn't tell where I was at all. I finally stopped and was pretty far off track, so I had to do some turning. We got back to the beach in a little less than 30 minutes, and were like, "think you could do a mile?" and we both thought we could, so we did. The triangle is about .6 mile - we decided to swim back and forth at the beach for the rest of if because we didn't want to get too far away and then get cold. In total it wound up being about 45 minutes, with a few short stops. I'm suspicious that it wasn't a full mile, but it was pretty close. 

After, we put our feet in hot water and drank tea, and had a little bit of an after drop, but not too much. It felt really good! I'm excited to try another slush mile soon.

56/57 Degrees

Winter is coming again! I was going to do a hike today, but last night my pre-hike insomnia got worse than it's ever been, and I didn't fall asleep until like 4 am, which is just silly. Especially because the plan was Welch-Dickey, which is no joke, but is also not a killer hike. I woke up late and decided to wait for next weekend to hike. Which left me time for a nice dip at the lake!

Today was the first day of the fall that I was really cold. It was really windy and the water was choppy, so I wasn't super excited about swimming swimming (also because I'm feeling a little low energy), so another friend and I just hung out and chatted for about 30 minutes. Towards the end I could feel my left pinky getting a little claw hand from the cold. When we got out it was pretty hard to get my hands to work, and took a little longer to get my swim suit off and clothes on. Fortunately I'd brought my heated gloves, so they did warm up. But, it was a reminder that it's cold out! Two people measured the temp at 56, though I think my thermometer said 57. But also I think we should go with 56 :)

There's a new guy in the group who brings hot cocoa that's made with cacao, ghost peppers, stevia, and some other things. It's really good, and really warming! Definitely a good addition to the group.

I'm thinking I might wear gloves for long swims this winter, and just keep no gloves for days when I'm doing a 10 minute or so dip. 

Bought a 10 pack at the climbing gym

Yesterday I went back to my fav climbing gym, metrorock in everett and climbed with a swim friend and his son. I did two 5.7's, two 5.8's, two 5.9's and a 5.10. Most of them not completely clean, but I did get up all of them. It was so nice to be in the climbing gym again, I really would like to be more into climbing. I'm gonna keep working at this one - we'll see how it goes! 

Mt Major and Slide Season

On Thursday night we had the opportunity to see the aurora in new england! I was looking at the posts and news about it at work, and decided it would be fun to drive up to NH, hike up a mountain, and watch from the top. It was a good plan, but sadly I had bad timing. 

I decided on Mt Major, of course, because it's my fav mountain, isn't too far, and isn't too hard, and it's got a beautiful view of the West from the top. As I was driving up, I questioned my judgement a lot. There was a ton of traffic and driving was stressful, plus I could see that the sky was red and I was probably missing the aurora that was going on. But, I kept going. When I was 15 minutes away I was like "this is stupid. Am I really going to hike this mountain by myself at night? I could turn around now and save myself a half hour of driving." But I didn't turn around. There's a lookout spot right by Mt Major, so I decided I would stop there and look. I could see a little bit of northern lights from there, but I could tell it would be better from the top of the mountain. So I decided I would just check out the parking lot to see if there were other people there. Which there were - I was not the only one who thought it would be a perfect viewing spot!

So, I hiked on up. On the way up I met two groups of people coming down who said that the view was amazing. But unfortunately by the time I got up there clouds had moved in and I couldn't see anything. I had brought my big puff, a wool blanket and my down sleeping bag, so I got all cozy and decided to wait to see if anything happened. Sadly, the clouds didn't move much, though it was windy as anything. I could tell that it was auroraing behind the clouds because I could occasionally see bits of color, and my camera picked up some lights, but I didn't really see much. I stayed up there for a half hour hoping for a view, but by then it was 10:30, it was going to take me an hour to hike down and two hours to get home from there, and I had to work the next day, so I reluctantly left. Sigh, stupid clouds. I drove home and got to bed around 1:30. A good adventure, even if I didn't see much.

Yesterday a group of us went for a swim off the docks. It's getting colder it the water, about 63 or so, but we were still able to swim over to the club, jump of their platform and go down the slide! So fun. I love that part of October.

My favorite yoga teacher is leaving the studio I currently go to. It's the second time that she's change studios, which is a little frustrating. She teaches in the North End, so I may have to follow her there.

100 feet in 2 minutes

Today in swim class we did 4 100 feet swims where you were meant to do each one a little faster than the one before. My last one was the fastest and I did it in 2 minutes exactly! Of course, now that I'm sitting down to right about it I realize that 100 meters is longer, but whatever, I'm pretty happy with how my speed is improving. I've got plenty of work still to do, but it's in progress at least.

As I was driving to mit there was a ton of traffic and then police sirens. I was stuck at a light and saw there was a protest and there were a ton of police there - stuff was going down. The police were holding someone down to arrest them, and then hauled them off in the van. There were so many police, but then once you got a half block away, it was like nothing was happening.

College Rock and a COVID Booster

Yesterday I went climbing outside at a new place! College Rocks is in Hopkinton - it was only about 45 minutes to get there, and you can see the crag from the parking lot! No idea why I've never gone before. It was a really fun day. I went with a few of my swim friends - one of the guys used to climb like 5 days a week, and was a guide for several years in CO, so he really knew his stuff. I went up to set up my rope with him when we got there, but after watching I was completely satisfied with his set up, and got to be lazy later when he moved the rope. 

We did six routes, though one of them wasn't really a route I don't think, just a chimney that looked fun to climb. They were all pretty easy peasy, except two of them that I wound up not being able to get up :) So those were hard. 

It was a nice day out, and it was so fun to just be outside, hanging out with some cool people, doing some climbing and watching some talented climbers. I've missed it. Hopefully this group will continue climbing together.

Today my arms were killing me! But, I still got my COVID and flu shots because I'd made the appointment and didn't want to ruin a weekend. I went to my swimming lesson and the arms were fine. I guess I'll see about side effects tomorrow.

Middle Lane in Swim Class

My swim speed is improving! In class last week and this week coach bumped me up from the slowest lane to the middle one! We started class with 8 25's and for some of them I was swimming as fast as the folks in the fast lane! I did look at the clock and my first 25 was 30 seconds. I also did a 100 in about 2 minutes and 7 seconds. The Memphremagog time limit is supposed to be 4 minutes for the 200 - I'm going to set a goal to be able to do it in that time. It's harder to swim fast in cold water, but I feel like I'm getting the hang of the catch and the pull, and can move faster. 

North and South Baldface

I've been wanting to hike the Baldfaces since I read about them on the terrifying 25 - well, wanted to and didn't want to. The hike sounded really fun and also really hard, which it was. I decided that since it was almost a 3 hour drive to the trail I would try going up the night before, camping, and just driving 35 minutes to the trailhead. I stayed at the "Back 40" at this hostel in north conway - it wasn't bad, except that the "bathroom" was a bucket! I slept much better than I usually do the night before a big hike, and woke up at 7. But then I had to pack up my tent and all my stuff, and it was about 7:30 when I left. I stopped at a nearby cafe for coffee and a pastry and was on the road at about 7:45 and at the mountain at about 8:30. Which is earlier than if I had driven up, but later then it would have been if I stayed in the hostel. I think the camping idea is good for a shorter hike, but maybe not a big one like this.

Everything I read about the Baldfaces said not to hike them when wet because there are some slabby climbing bits. Sitting in my tent in the evening, listening to it rain, I planned out doing a hike next to the one I wound up doing - I would still like to do the alternate hike. But when I parked at the trailhead, there were a ton of people headed out to the hike, so I decided if they could do it, so could I! And that's what I did.

The hike starts out pretty flat, and then goes gradually uphill. For the first bit it's just a stroll in the woods. I took my time and enjoyed being out there - it was brisk but not cold and the leaves are starting to change. There is a little lean-to shelter that was super cute and would be nice to sleep in. I took a little break there and had a snack. That's when a bunch of people caught up to me (of course), because right after the shelter things got real. There are some ledges that you need to climb after the hut - they were all dry and quite manageable, but also about 1000 feet of elevation gain in less then a mile, which is a lot. 

It was quite a slog getting up the mountain - I didn't even take any photos. And, as soon as I got to the top, this cloud bank rolled in and blocked the view! Ugh! I did look like it was pretty fast moving, so I ate an orange and rested for a little bit before walking the ridgeline to the other baldface. I do love a ridgeline, and this was a good one! No views because of the clouds, but a really nice pine forest and tons of blueberry bushes. There was another 500 feet elevation gain to the top of the second mountain - pretty tiring TBH. When I got to the top of the second mountain, the fog rolled away and I got to enjoy the view as I ate. I had a delicious (though somewhat smushed) avocado and cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread and watched the clouds. 

After about a half hour I reluctantly left, thinking about how ephemeral hiking is. I mean, you work so hard to get to the top of the mountain, eat a sandwich, and then you have to hike back down. The way down was also steep, not like the way up, but the first mile or so there was a lot of butt scootching. I took Bucknell Ridge trail, and really enjoyed the viewpoints. I got to look at South Baldface at multiple points on the way down, and be impressed with myself for hiking up it. 

The best part of the hike was the Emerald Pool at the end. It's a pretty deep pool at the base of a small waterfall, and with the way the light falls on it, it does look pretty green. My feet were killing me, and I was all kinds of sweaty, so I started by sticking my feet in, but soon realize that wouldn't be good enough, and stripped down to my underware for a dip. The water was so nice - pretty chilly and clear. After just a couple minutes my feet felt better and I felt great. I didn't stay in that long because I still had .75 mile to hike, and I didn't want to get hypothermia. Also, I was in a popular pool in my underware. Best 2 minutes of the day, though!

I finished my hike, got to the parking lot, changed into clean clothes and just needed one last pee before leaving. There was an outhouse, but no one was there, it smelled really bad, and there was this really nice tree.  Of course, just as I squatted down this guy came flying at me on a mountain bike. I did a funny hop around the tree, in squat position, but I still think I flashed him a little. Usually I have such good pee karma! In the end the hike was 10 miles, 3455 feet elevation gain and 7 hrs and 15 min moving. It was fun, especially the ledges, and I would do it again, but also it was no joke.

Biking in Croatia

For vacation this year I joined a big group with a friend on a packaged tour biking in Croatia. I wasn't totally sure about this, because there were 22 of us and that's a lot of people for me to be nice to, but it wound up being a really terrific trip! I went with VBT, which was so lux - they did everything for us including booking my flights. Also, I had an ebike, which was the best! We biked on two of the Dalmatian islands - Brac and Hvar, and they were pretty hilly. With the ebike, though, it was no problem. I also swam in the sea every day, ate a lot of ice cream, and had other wonderful food. 

The trip started with a day in Split, where I had my first swim and walked around a few historic sights. The time difference is 6 hours - I slept a little on the flight there, but was pretty tired, so the first night I got into bed at 8 pm and fell right to sleep. I wound up sleeping for 10 hours, and woke up on Croatia time. The second day we met our tour guides (totally awesome, of course) and took a ferry over to Brac. Our hotel was right on the ocean and we had a balcony! The water in the Aegean sea is so clear and blue, I loved being able to just jump in at any time. We also got our bikes on the first day in Brac, and my bike was soooo much better than a blue bike or my ll bean bike, it was such a pleasure to ride. Our first ride was just a 6 mile loop to get used to the biking, and I was totally stoked to find myself ahead of the pack while just riding a normal speed. That held true for the entire trip - I was always up front and loved the biking so much.

The two big days of biking on Brac we went to an Olive Oil Museum (which I thought was a little silly when I heard about it, but actually turned out to be really interesting, and they gave us samples which were delicious) and to a stone cutting school which was so hot I mostly just wanted the tour to be over. It was in the 90's the first couple of days, and everywhere was hot, except biking because of the breeze. And the sea, of course. We also went to a dinner hosted by a local family, and I had some of the best gnocchi ever - I'm going to try to make some here I'm pretty sure. 

We took a small boat to Hvar after three nights, which was a non-biking day. We got to spend time at this amazing beach and eat more ice cream. In Hvar we went to a fortress and then walked down to town to our next hotel. This one wasn't on the sea, but there was a view from the window, and we had a suite with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, so no sharing required! The biking on Hvar was even hillier than Brac, but the uphill was pretty slow and steady, and with the ebike it wasn't a problem at all. I loved poking around in some of the shops and eating some really delicious food. I also felt pretty good about myself because most of the women decided not to bike on the hills. On our last day of biking we wound up at this amazing beach, with an inflatable bouncy park that one woman and I did, and some cliffs (low - like 6 feet high) to jump off of. I was already done swimming and dressed by the time we got to the cliff, but it looked so nice that I stripped down to my underware and jumped in :)

We ended the tour in Dubrovnik, where I walked around the walls of the old city and had some really delicious food. The town was really amazing, but so touristy in the old city - I wasn't sad that I only had an afternoon there. We flew out from Dubrovnik, and it was the first time that the weather was anything other than sunny and hot - there was a wind storm that caused our flight to be delayed by 4 hours, which meant we missed our next flight and had to spend a night in Zurich. Happily, we got vouchers to stay at a hotel (instead of like last year, when I had to sleep on the airport floor). Still, it was a taxing flight home, and I was exhausted and jetlagged after. We flew lufthansa on the way there, and swiss on the way back - definitely recommend lufthansa over swiss - seats were just a little bigger and more comfy. Two thumbs up on Croatia - it's becoming a real tourist destination, and I can see why.

World's end and nantasket

I had the day off today, and was thinking about a nice hike in NH, but the weather was calling for rain and it wasn't appealing. I've been wanting to go swimming at nantasket beach on the South Shore for a while, because I've heard that the water is really cold. Looking at a map, I saw it was right by world's end, which is sort of part of the Boston Harbor Islands, though I guess it's really a peninsula. Anyhow, someone I used to work with was always talking about going there for walks, and checking it out it looked nice, so I did a little south shore day trip.

World's End was really nice - much more chill than a hike in NH for sure, and easier to get to. I pretty much walked around the entire trail system; according to all trails I walked 4.76 miles, but it only took a little over 2 hours of walking. And I was strolling. It doesn't always have to be a 4000 footer! Towards the end I sat on a rock by the water and watched the boats go by - it's so pretty there. 

After, I drove over to Hull and went for a nice dip in the ocean and sat on the beach. The water was chilly, but not so cold that I had any after drop. 

Last night was slightly past the full moon, but a group of us swimmers met by the dock at 9:45 and went for a dip in the lake and watched the moon for a bit. One of the guys brought this propane fire thing that he has, and we roasted marshmallows and had smores after. The water was warmer than the air. I feel like it's going to start getting cooler soon.

 

Wild Fish

I did a third swim "race" today - the Wild Fish which is in Salem harbor. I've been feeling sick with a cold all week, so I decided to do the half mile instead of the mile - good choice! I did it in 23 minutes, which is a 46 minute pace! Which is faster than what I've swum before. Of course, it was only half the distance, but I was also recovering from basically lying on the couch all week, so I counting it!

After my friends and I went to Gloucester for a little town fair, and then ice cream. Wouldn't want these things to be calorie negative events :) 

Perseids on Mt Kearsarge North

My first 4000 footer was hiking Mt. Osceola, camping overnight and watching the meteor shower. At the time I was pretty unprepared, didn't have enough layers and was freezing all night. I went with a meetup because I wasn't experienced enough to go alone. It was nice, but I didn't see a lot of meteors and I've always thought it would be good to try a do-over. This year I thought I would give it a shot!

I invited some friends to come with me. A few of them found other meteor shower things to do, and one said she would come, but then bailed. So, I did it solo - IDK why I try otherwise. I was kind of glad I did it solo because for some reason I overpacked (probably remembering the last time) and my pack was really heavy, and therefore I was pretty slow. I decided on Kearsarge North because there's a fire tower up top where you can sleep and there's a good view from the top - you really aren't meant to camp out on a lot of the open peaks. I had done Kearsarge N a number of years ago and remember it being hard but really nice views from the top. And, that's how it was.

I got to sleep in and leave a bit late because it's only a 3 mile hike up. Because of this I packed the day of, which I think was a mistake. I didn't need a tent, and I decided not to bring my jetboil, so I took a canned coffee drink and premade oatmeal. Plus an apple and a banana - all heavy! And my sleeping bag liner that I didn't use. plus two sleep pads where I only used one. And, I forgot that one of my sleep pads (the one I didn't use) has a pillow, and brought an extra. I did use my smartwool long underware, ninja hoodie, athleta pants, big puff, wool hat, gloves and two pairs of wool socks. And my kindle (though I didn't need the case, which I brought.) I also brought a change of underware which is kind of a luxury. I was a little worried about water on the way up, which I didn't need to be because there was a huge puddle under the fire tower (though it had just rained).

Anyhow, the hike up was slow and steady. The entire way up was pretty unrelenting up hill, with almost no spots where it was flat. The only really bad part, though, was when I got to the sign that shows that you are a quarter mile from the top - I thought I would hit the top in the next 15 minutes, but the trail actually didn't go as the crow flies, and it took forever! I was so glad to see the tower up top - I really wanted to stop hiking and eat something. Of course, as I got up there I saw 4 little kids, one who looked like she was about 4 and was wearing those light up velcro shoes. Ha! Keeps you humble.

I went to the tower to find a spot to lay out my stuff, and it was pretty full. Fortunately everyone was thoughtful in laying out their bags, so I was able to squish in, but I wasn't so psyched. Then I went to the "toilet" (two walls and then a box with a hole in it and a seat cover. Not glam, but I used it anyhow). Then I cleaned up a little, changed my clothes, and found a place to eat. I'd stopped on the drive up and got pretzels and hummus (also heavy) and chowed down. It was the best hummus ever. The view there is so nice, and I enjoyed looking at all the high peeks, and remembering that I had hiked the tallest ones. 

As it started getting dark I went back and gathered all my stuff together and got set for the meteor shower. The kids fell asleep, but everyone else was sitting out watching - I saw about a half dozen, but then the clouds came in. I wasn't really tired, so I wrapped up in my sleeping bag and read on my kindle, stopping to see if the clouds parted every now and then. Then for a while I just lay out and looked at the sky, seeing an occasional meteor. There were also these weird flashes of white and red, that I learned after were part of the Northern Lights! But, I couldn't see them in their entirety because of the clouds. In the end I saw about a dozen meteors and slept for less than two hours. I tried going inside at about 430 am, but couldn't really sleep so gave up after about a half hour and went outside to watch the sunrise - that was amazing - there were clouds below and a beautiful sunrise. There were 4 of us watching the sun come up, and I ate all my remaining heavy food - it was really nice. 

I had to work at 2, and I was a little worried that it would be hard to get back, but it was no problem. I left the top around 6:30 am after spending plenty of time appreciating the view and the fire tower. The hike down was much easier because my pack was lighter and, though there were a few steep and rocky spots, it was mostly just a steady downhill. I got down, bought a big coffee and a bagel with cream cheese in North Conway, and drove home. I had enough time to unpack, take a shower, and eat some real food before I had to start working. All and all, nice hike, tough and unrelenting but no killer stretches. Would do again.

Oh, yes, and when I got home I started noticing that my throat was a little scratchy and I felt sniffly. Turns out I have a cold - glad I didn't sleep inside because I don't think I will have given it to anyone, but also may explain my slow progress uphill in part.

Table Rock, Pisgah and kayaking

Over the weekend I had a fun adventure with my swim friends and doing some solo hiking! There's a summer swim fest at the same place as the winter one and a group of us went for the event. I didn't swim, instead I kayaked for a friend who did a 5K and for the 1 mile swimmers, which was so fun!

On the drive up I took a little detour to do Table Rock, which is on the terrifying 25 hikes of the White Mountains list. I did a short route up - just 1.5 miles, and only 750 feet elevation gain. It actually wasn't too hard, though of course I was still breathing hard and glad to get to the top. The big thing with this hike is the rock at the top - it's maybe 4 feet wide, maybe 20 feet long, and about 100 feet straight down on both sides. I got about 10 feet from the end before I started thinking too much, and crouching lower and lower to the ground. I didn't completely think I was going to make it to the end, so I wasn't too disappointed, though I did give it like 3 tries. Then I had a delicious cheese sandwich at the top and hiked on down. By doing the hike on the way up to the swim, I didn't drive 3.5 hours for a 1.5 hour hike (good choice me) and I got to take some of the back roads to get to Lake Memphremagog, which I also liked. It's so nice out there!

We camped at a really nice place in Vermont, which turned out to be where the races left from. Two thumbs up, would definitely do again. I just got a new inflatable mattress, and it was so lux. We stayed for three nights, and had a fire each night. Really fun!

On the second day I hiked Mt. Pisgah, which is about 30 minutes from the campground. I took the North Trail because the trailhead was closer to the campground. Very random reason, but they both sounded good. Also enjoyed this hike - the trail up was steady uphill, but there were switchbacks for some of it, and only a couple really uphill bits. On the way up they seemed to take forever, but on the way down they weren't so bad. There were 4 viewpoints at the top, all of them really nice, but the first two were the best. I was so hungry when I got to the first one that I ate my sandwich (white bread, cheese and avocado. So good!)  The hike down was pretty easy - in fact I did both of the hikes in book time. 

That evening we went to the pasta dinner at the race place. Honestly, I don't love their favorite restaurant and my stomach was a little upset after eating. Then, I must have walked through some kind of bug's nest or something, because after we got back to the campsite my feet were itching so badly I didn't know what to do. When we looked at them, they had swollen up like crazy and someone had to go get me Benadryl to make them stop. Fortunately by the time we went to bed they were only a little itchy, and they were fine the next day.

Race day was so fun - I loved being the kayaker. My friend had rented a kayak for me to use, and I have to say it did work better than my folding one. It was pretty fun to zip around in the water, though mostly I lazed along because my job was to guide her along the route and swimming is just going to be slower than kayaking. She did so well - she didn't even train and swam 5K in 2 hours and 10 minutes. After we had to stand in line for over a half hour for the race lunch, and it wasn't that good. Note to self - bring a sandwich next time. The other two people I went with did the 1 mile race, and I kayaked for that. It was so fun being the person in the yak being supportive of others. There was one woman who was really the slowest, and so after everyone else finished I went back and met with her and another kayaker and cheered her on. I would totally do that again.

Definitely a fun weekend, would do again for sure! Except for the bugs...

Swim Stroke Changes

I've had two really helpful swim lessons in a row - the first one last week Coach said that I was looking too far down and that was causing drag. And, I was moving my head too much - it should just go into the water and out, not move around. Also my left arm was dipping and not getting as much power as it could. Today he said that I was only swimming with one arm at a time - so, I am doing stroke and back, then stroke and back, like that catch-up arms drill. But, really both arms should be going at once, like on a bike. When one arm is pulling, the other is recovering and going into the water. Once I started doing that I swam faster! I even caught up with some of the "fast" swimmers :) I'm going to have to do some practice with that. I will also say it's much more of a workout.

Speaking of workouts, I switched my YMCA membership to a larger network where I could register for classes online and don't have to be Julie. I've been thinking I should do this for a while, but haven't because it's so hard to cancel a gym membership, but the woman was really nice about it and didn't give me any hassle. Anyhow, the new gym gives me 2 free personal training sessions, so I did my first one last week and have my next one this week. It was kind of fun, the guy who was teaching me was nice and he set up a couple of good circuits for me to do. I think he saw me and kind of underestimated me (not sure how I feel about that) because he kept giving me things to do and looking surprised when I could do them. I mean, super easy things like the world's greatest stretch. The two things that were the weirdest were that he just kept watching me all the time, and instead of telling me to go during a timed exercise he started the timer when I started. I'll do the second session, but I don't think I'm going to pay for more.

I did do my first zumba class last week also. It was super fun, not too hard but still got my heart rate up, and I didn't crash into anyone. I will definitely do that again. After I lifted some weights.

It's been so hot here, and I'm not a hot weather person. I've been hanging out at home in the AC a lot, but yesterday I went with a few swim friends to the beach on the north shore. It was over 90 out, but the air was a little cooler at the ocean and the water was 59. We stayed inside long enough to get a nice chill going, it was great! It took about 45 minutes to get there, definitely something I could do again.

Fireworks from the Charles

This year for July 4 a friend and I decided to watch the fireworks from kayaks in the river - so fun! Two thumbs up. Would do again.

We strategized about our paddle and decided that it might be easier to get parking if we went earlier in the day - so we drove over there, parked my friend's car with all the heavier stuff in it, and then biked home. We both biked back to meet at 8. Biking home I took a blue bike and went over the river to check out the action while people were waiting. They had already closed Storrow, so I was able to bike down the road, which was pretty cool, and I watched everyone walk around and get set up for later in the day. There was such a huge police presence, it was pretty crazy. I saw one of the police dogs eating a stick, so not everything was serious. I took a regular bike at first, but then about half way home I switched to an ebike - they are just so much easier. For the ride back I took my own bike and went down Mem Drive, it was starting to get a little crazy by that point.

My friend has an inflatable kayak so we took her kayak and most of the other stuff down to the river in a wagon she has. Then I went back and got my kayak, because the foldable is easier to set up. There was a picnic happening, and a lot of bollywood music, which was kind of funny for July 4, but it was a fun atmosphere. We launched around 9 ish and paddled from BU bridge almost to Mass Ave bridge, and then dropped anchor near the MIT boathouse. We used an old cinderblock and a dog leash for the anchor - it took a while to come up with that, and unfortunately the cinder block was too heavy to pull back up, so it had to stay in the river at the end.

Once we dropped anchor and tied together we just hung out chatting for a while. I pulled the pops concert up on my phone and we enjoyed being out on the water. The fireworks were amazing, as they always are! So big and they go on for so long. From right by the MIT boathouse we could see perfectly. It was a really good spot to watch from. 

As soon as the fireworks ended people raced off to try to beat the crowd. On the water that meant that there were kayakers zipping past us - it was pretty amazing. Then there was the crowd that was in less of a hurry - there were so many human powered boats on the water. You could see the lights everywhere, and it was all kinds. The most popular were the kayaks, but then there were also canoes, paddleboards, some funny looking rowboats, and someone had one of those boats that you move with bike peddles. My friend and I headed back and it was so fun to be a part of this huge crowd paddling down the river. 

I was a little worried that it would be hard to get out because the boat ramp wasn't that big, but it was totally fine, no issues at all. We packed up our stuff and headed back (which was much easier without the cinder block - we did it in one trip.) Even the ride home was no problem, we ran into a little traffic but honestly not much. Definitely the way to do the fireworks! We both agreed that we would love to go again next year. The one change that I would make is trying to bring two anchors because we kept turning during the fireworks and it was a little bit of a pain to have to keep the boat facing the right direction. 

4 mile kayak

It was a beautiful day today - sunny, cool and not humid. I was mostly feeling lazy from yesterday's exercise, and spent a good chunk of time lying in my chilbo shwagins in the back corner of our parking lot listening to a book on audible and doing sudoku, but after dinner I decided I had to stop being lazy, and get some exercise. I'm kayaking for a friend at a race in Vermont in July, so I wanted to be sure that I could do the whole thing. The race is a 5K, so I decided to go kayak 4 miles and make sure it was fine, which it was!

I decided to kayak up the mystic river to the lower lake. There's a spot on the Mystic that's really close to me, but it's not really that nice for kayaking. The highway goes right next to it, and it just looks like a river at the side of a highway. A little further up it's more residential and parks, and a lot of birds. I love the folding kayak that I have - it's really easy to unfold and get going, the only thing that's a pain is drying it off at the end, but really it's not that big a deal. I had no problem with parking, got set up in just a couple minutes, and was off.

It was a really nice night for a kayak - just a tiny breeze, but nothing that I would call a current or that I had to paddle against. I saw a bunch of guys fishing, people walking on the lake, birds and a few turtles. I'm kind of into the book I'm listening to, so for a change I brought my earbuds and phone, and listened as I paddled. 

According to my fitbit it took me and hour and 15 minutes to do the 4 miles, which I'm pretty happy with. At no point was I rushing, but I didn't really stop either. I feel like I should be fine for the length and duration of the swim, as long as the water isn't horrible. I'm going to try to get out at least once a week to prep for the event, just in case the weather is rough.