wildcelticrose.net

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Welcome to “things that make me go Squee”.

After “cleaning out the pipes” yesterday by venting for WTF Wednesday, I’m ready to “squee with glee”.

In honor of Pop Fiend’s attempt at decreasing drama for at least one day a week on LiveJournal by promoting “Drama Free Thursday” (for those who aren’t aware, my blog is crossposted to LiveJournal, my self hosted WordPress blog, Blogspot, and Facebook), I offer up my own “special” (in a rode the short bus kind of way) contribution, “Things that Make Me go Squee!!!

* Things that make me go squee!” may has become a regular Thursday spectacle production because “Squee” rhymes with “Drama Free”, and I’m trying to do my part.

I think that almost everyone occasionally forgets to celebrate and share good things. I know I do.

So in the spirit of putting “good juju” out there, here are the current things that make me go “SQUEE!!!”

Last Sunday, I had the honor to once again be a Swim Angel for the Seattle Danskin Women’s Triathlon. This is a huge beginner triathlon and many women have never done an open water swim before. Many are cancer survivors, some in active treatment. One’s first open water triathlon swim can be quite intimidating.

I swam sweep on two waves and picked up swimmers that needed encouragement/help. The first one was having heart rate issues (too high, something I’m all too familiar with), but I got her to relax, kept her near the boats and she finished just fine.

The second woman was difficult to keep up with when she was doing a crawl stroke, but she’d get winded and briefly need the noodle to rest. It was a super choppy day out there, with some good sized waves at times, so I’d see her come up and gasp for air and hand her the end of the noodle. She also finished strong.

After my 2nd wave, there were no more waves starting, so I swam back out from the finish, helped some women in (often they don’t need the help or encouragement until the end of the swim course when they get tired) go back out and do it again. I lost count of how many times I did this.

One woman said that when she becomes a stronger swimmer and triathlete, that she’d like to come back and be a swim angel some day. I hope she does.

I missed Karen and Jenn, but did find Alisa and Robin doing just great.

As I headed back out for the last time, swimming into the sun, I could see the silhouettes of the kayaks, lifegards on surfboards and halos and swim noodles of the other angels coming in with the final swimmers. It was then that “Ride of the Valkyries” started running through my head. I laughed so hard. Then got unceremonially hit by a wave and sucked in a bunch of lake water. That will bring one back to reality quite quickly.

The last woman in the last wave (who was not the last finisher BTW, I checked) was the one I remember the most. She was not built like an athlete. She was someone who was out there changing her life and working very VERY hard. These are the women who (other then the survivors) are the most inspirational.

With all the kaykers, lifeguard and swim angels with her, she kicked her way to the finish, laughing, smiling and knowing that she was doing something extraordinary.

We angels were chanting “Jennifer… Jennifer… Jennifer…”

Soon, the lifeguards were beating out a cadence on their surfboards as were the kayakers on their boats.

The dumming and the chanting were contagious. Jennifer laughed, we all laughed. It was awesome.

The swim angels lining the exit ramp, noodles in the air joined the chant, as did all the spectators and race staff on the shore.

“JENNIFER… JENNIFER… JENNIFER!!!”

I’m telling you, the first place finisher at the Boston Marathon does not get this kind of reception.

I think more than one of us cried tears of joy when she hit the swim finish accomplishing what months ago she probably never dreamed she could.

This race always makes me cry.

You can see me in this picture, I’m the one with the halo and the sparkly pink princess sunglasses

Here’s the first pink swim wave, which consists of cancer survivors taking to the water.

Here’s what swim angels look like on dry ground

How can you tell that you shop at Home Depot too much? (other than having the folks in the garden department ask, “See you tomorrow?” when you leave.

I got a $50 Home Depot gift card in the mail yesterday as a thank you… It was a great surprise.

I am so happy that my wonderful chickens, MaryAnn, Ginger and Lovey provide me with healthy, safe and fresh eggs

I don’t have to worry about the massive egg recall (380 MILLION eggs as of this morning) due to salmonella contamination.

Perhaps this will make more people consider backyard chickens, farmers markets or at least supporting small local farms instead of factory farms where this sort of thing happens due to crowded, unhealthy and inhumane treatment of these birds.

And let me tell you… with chickens and a compost pile, NOTHING goes to waste from the kitchen or garden.

Speaking of urban farming, my garden continues to grow like mad.

My first Juliet tomato is finally turning red.

My corn is getting tassels

And I have cucumbers…

I also have squash, green beans and apples that are almost ready to pick.

A few more updated garden photos are available by clicking here

I received my pasta extruder (a manual crank, no fancy electric for me) and I made my first batch of yummy home made pasta. It’s easy (the hard part is letting the dough sit for an hour) and WAY better than the dried crap you get at the store.

My blog post about said pasta making is available by clicking here

I went on an AWESOME hike up to Spray Park at Mount Rainier National Park on Friday.

More photos are available by clicking here

I went on an AWESOME hike up to Snow Lake in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness on Monday

More photos are available by clicking here

And here are little smilies for all the squees left unsqueed

And of course, the greatest squee of all…

I am blessed to have really GREAT friends in my life

And you can see a lot of them here… (if I don’t have a picture of you here, send me one)

Insert “squee” of your choice here

I wish everyone a happy and drama free Thursday, as well as lots of things to go “Squee” over.

SKA-WEEEEEEEEE

Now, I’ve got to get back to work, I typed this up last night and posted on my break, (which is now over).

~L

Mood: Gotta Squee

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Welcome to “things that make me go Squee”.

After “cleaning out the pipes” yesterday by venting for WTF Wednesday (OK, I didn’t have time to rant, not that there isn’t plenty of fodder during this election season), I’m ready to “squee with glee”.

In honor of Pop Fiend’s attempt at decreasing drama for at least one day a week on LiveJournal by promoting “Drama Free Thursday” (for those who aren’t aware, my blog is crossposted to LiveJournal, my self hosted WordPress blog, Blogspot, and Facebook), I offer up my own “special” (in a rode the short bus kind of way) contribution, “Things that Make Me go Squee!!!

* Things that make me go squee!” may has become a regular Thursday spectacle production because “Squee” rhymes with “Drama Free”, and I’m trying to do my part.

I think that almost everyone occasionally forgets to celebrate and share good things. I know I do.

So in the spirit of putting “good juju” out there, here are the current things that make me go “SQUEE!!!”

Yesterday was my final, informal open water swim clinic for girlfriends at work who are training for their first triatlhons.

Karen, Alisa and Robin ROCKED the swim. They all swam the whole course and will do fine at Danskin on Sunday.

We had a special guest yesterday. We were out on the middle of the lake when a chocolate lab who lives at one of the houses surrounding the lake decided to jump in off his dock and swim out to play with us. We think he might have been attracted to the orange float which may have looked to him like a dog toy.

He was…

Wait for it…

Dog paddling.

The orange float (my lifeguard can) that I tow when open water swimming was named “George” on the first swim, because the girls occasionally wanted to “love him and hug him and squeeze him…”

And always remember to…

My garden is growing like mad; it’s filled with mutant vegetables thanks to late planting (no freezing and killing like those who got theirs in on time) and filling my raised beds with TagGro. The stuff is magic (or is it voodoo?) I tell you.

My newest crop to come in is crisp, sweet tasty peas… (it’s normally too hot for them at this time of year)

I finally got the fence and pergola/grape arbor stained, so I can get my grapes and marionberries planted (grapes will grow over the arbor, marionberries on the back fence)

The chickens are back on schedule giving me plenty of eggs. Here they are taking care of some kitchen scraps. Between the chickens and the compost bin, nothing goes to waste.

I’ve been making a concerted effort to bring healthy breakfast/lunch to work every day. I have been bringing (in little bags) fresh hard boiled eggs from my chickens, raw almonds, dried cranberries, cherries, cheese and a few shredded wheat crackers.

I realized that was I was doing was “bagged Bento”, so I got a Japanese bento box.

It’s perfect, cleans up easily and is reusable (those sandwich bags have to be tossed after a number of uses) and it’s cute.

I’m super excited to be a Swim Angel at Danskin again on Sunday.

It is one of the most rewarding volunteer experiences I’ve ever had and am so happy to be able to help these women (many of them cancer survivors, some in active treatment) take on a life changing challenge and raise money for Breast Cancer Research.

My report from last year is here

This year, I won’t be sick (you can tell from the bags under my eyes how sick I was last year) so this year will be even better (no flu, no intestinal issues, no scumbag neighbors keeping me up all night, no recent death in the family, no selfish “boyfriend” making it all worse than it already was)

Today is my Friday, I have a long weekend and it’s supposed to be beautiful, hot and sunny for the entire four days.

And here are little smilies for all the squees left unsqueed

And of course, the greatest squee of all…

I am blessed to have really GREAT friends in my life

And you can see a lot of them here… (if I don’t have a picture of you here, send me one)

Insert “squee” of your choice here

I wish everyone a happy and drama free Thursday, as well as lots of things to go “Squee” over.

SKA-WEEEEEEEEE

Now, I’ve got to get back to work, break’s over so that I’m not behind before my long weekend.

~L

Mood: Gotta Squee

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I only have time for a quick update.

Work is getting slightly less hellish but since I can’t talk about it, I’ll just move on.

Even though I was tired I got off my butt and went swimming at the Y after work.

I was long overdue for some “Angie time” so I met her for happy hour at the HUB after my swim.

Then I was off to my friend Carol’s shop, Wildside Wine for a wine tasting.

I picked up a lovely French Bordeaux to bring to WineHog tomorrow night.

While I was there, I accidentally “but dialed” Bill. Since the weather is going to be pretty good, we’re going to do a quick ride around town tomorrow. We’ll be doing a longer ride with the Cascade Bicycle Club on Sunday.

Last night, at the Speakeasy 1st Thursday event, I gave Jada some of the San Francisco sourdough starter I’m been culturing. I had to split it again tonight, so I have some for Aaron tomorrow and will have some for Taraz in the next day or two.

That’s one really cool thing about sourdough, it’s alive, it grows and it can be shared.

I’m hoping to bake a whole wheat sourdough baguette on Sunday.

I also need to get up early to run (I have been a total slacker about running) and then get another swim in (I’m tired of master swim class kicking my butt)

After the ride, I’ll be getting ready for WINE HOG!!!

Don’t forget, it’s not at my place this year-if you show up at my apartment, you’ll be lonely.

Let me know if you lost/don’t have an invite. I’ll hook you up.

And now, I need to get some sleep. I’m tired and tomorrow will be even more tiring.

~L

Mood: Happy

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I slid into frostbite falls (after swimming and biking in circles) via the RedHook Brewery yesterday at the end of my 162.1 mile trek, the grand finale of which was a 35 mile bike ride with the Cascade Bicycle Club around Lake Sammamish.

a few pictures of the ride can be found here:

For those not familiar with the “journey to Frostbite Falls” that runners make each January, you can find a synopsis here

and a fun blast from the past can be found below:

That total includes:
100 miles of bicycling, (on my road bike)
33 miles of spinning (you don’t get far on those stationary spin bikes),
13.6 miles of running, (need to work on that now that I’m uninjured)
6 miles of cross country skiing,
5 miles of snowshoeing and
4.5 miles of swimming.

Obviously, none of these totals are where I’d like them to be. But when I think if where I was at this time last year (sick, stressed, sick, grieving) I am 130 miles ahead. I’ll take it and try to improve on it each moth.

Additional fun factoids: I exercised for 23 hours and 15 minutes this month.

I burned approximately 10,035.4 extra calories; at 3,500 calories a pound that’s good for just under a three pound loss. OK, I only actually lost two pounds, but I’m in the rebuilding muscle stage, and muscle weighs more than fat. (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it)

I’ve got a February sheet on my spreadsheet just waiting for me to start out the month right by filling in today’s bike ride this morning and a masters swim tonight.

~L

Mood: Tired

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The temperature for Saturday’s triathlon is forecast to be 86 degrees.

That may not sound like much to many of you (and may even be laughable to some) but for someone living in Western Washington, it’s extreme. Consider the fact that black asphalt can radiate 180 degrees 6′ above it’s surface on such a day, and it’s down right scary.

This may be the race where I finally barf.

Today I needed to get one last (or maybe the 2nd to last) open water swim in before my first Olympic distance triathlon on Saturday (which I am totally freaking out about and am not ready for this early in this, my 2nd season of doing these things)

My regular swim partner Gene has had some “complications” at work and couldn’t get off in time to do the swim with me.

I had another potential partner from the South Sound Triathlon Club who wanted to come out, but he recently moved and couldn’t find his wetsuit. (no way do you want to try a mile in the current water temps without one)

So I had to suck it up and go solo.

I made sure that people knew where I was and when to expect me back.

I called the Icky Boy before I want in and after I got out (even if he came out to be bored and watch, he’s not a swimmer and even if he was, with me out in the middle of the lake, there wouldn’t be anything he could do anyway-but I know I like to know when he’s returned safely from something with significant risk)

The police are usually there and the outrigger canoe club practices in the area-both parties usually watch out for swimmers.

I was probably safer there than I was driving to work on I-5 this morning. I’m a strong simmer (but I’d by lying if I didn’t have self doubt and anxiety even though I swam that exact route last week with no problem)

It would be virtually impossible to sink in the wetsuit.

I towed my lifeguard float in case I got a cramp or took on water…

I hydrated well today (it was HOT out) and ate some shot blocks for extra energy before I want out (they really help after a 10 hour shift at work)

People looked at me like I was nuts; nuts for wearing a wetsuit, nuts for carrying that silly float and nuts for getting in the lake and swimming out to the far end.

I felt good…

relaxed…

I swam it a bit faster than last time (no one to shoot the breeze with)

if you are viewing this via LiveJournal or RSS feed where the map doesn’t display properly, click here

I got out, texted work and called the icky boy to check in and headed home.

I’ve been tired the last couple of weeks.

I did two sprint triathlons in a week, and did runs two days after each of them.

I did a 71 mile bike ride a week and a half ago ago.

I haven’t been running as much as I’d like, but I have done a (slow) difficult half marathon this year.

I’ve done two open wter swims of just over a mile…

I’ve done FOUR sprint marathons (3 with 250 meter swims and one with a 400 meter swim) which is likely more than a lot of people have done this year but not enough if my books.

I just don’t feel fully trained up enough in any of my disciplines. Training for a triathlon and to be a staff rider for a double century with a full time job (oh, and a life) is a daunting task at times.

I feel like I’m not giving anything enough time or attention.

I’m resting tomorrow.

I’ve been tired. My legs feel fatigued and my morning resting heart rate is a bit higher than I think it should be (60 bmp)

I may do another swim on Thursday afternoon for confidence. I don’t’ use my legs much when I swim (difficult in a full wetsuit and counterproductive in a triathlon where you need to save your legs for the bike and run), so I should be OK. At this point, I really don’t consider swimming a workout.

Can I do an Olympic distance triathlon (full mile swim-40K bike-10K run) in the heat, this early in a season where I don’t feel I’ve done enough?

We’ll see on Saturday.

I will be supported by good friends (and my Icky Boy)

And I “haz he stubborn”

~L

Mood: Swimmin’ baby…. Swimmin’

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Sometimes…

Ya just gotta just…

Especially when you’ve been brain damaged and signed up for your first Olympic Distance Triathlon early (as in WAY too bloody early) in the season in only your 2nd season of doing triathlons.

WTF was I thinking?

I barely survived my first sprint triathlon (with the full 750 meter swims, not the 250s down in Elma)

My best friend Molly (a former triathlete herself) told me last night, )when I was whining about how “far” and “hard” the 250 meter swim tris I’ve done this year (3 total, I’m hitting it hard and early) and I’ll never pull off a full mile/1500 meter swim in a little over a week) “You’ll do fine”.

OK, that wasn’t just a best friend propping me up, it was actually based on some good sense and personal experience. (as much as I hate to admit it)

“We’re endurance athletes”, she reminded me.

It’s true, the first three miles or so of a run do nothing but hurt and piss us off (OMG, you’ve never heard such whining and bitching as the two of us on the first few miles of a long run). For her (and likely me), it was the same with swimming. She excelled when she moved to the longer events.

Now that I think about it, even though I was sick with a horrid sinus infection (had a raging fever the night before) during the US Women’s Triathlon last year, I kicked butt on the 750 meter swim. (too bad I sucked hard on the run and was extremely mediocre on the bike)

This afternoon, my triathlon buddy Gene picked me up at the train station in Auburn and we headed out to Steele Lake to do my first full mile swim on the season.

I had several stops and starts as I realized that my nose clips weren’t on (I don’t care how annoying they are, I never want one of those horrible sinus infections again) and then had goggle trouble.

The first ¼ mile or so wasn’t that great, but once I got in the groove, I was fine.

It was a reasonably easy mile+. I didn’t cramp up, didn’t take on any water.

On the other hand, I no longer kick Gene’s ass all over the lake (which I did only briefly at the end of last season) He was up to 3 mile swims this winter when I weenied out and wouldn’t get near the sub 50 degree (Fahrenheit) lakes.

I felt slow and sluggish.

But then again, I remember feeling that way last year after a 10 hour shift at my high stress job and having been up since 4:20 AM. Perhaps I won’t feel that way on the day of the actual triathlon when I’m “hopefully” well rested.

I was leery of taking my Garmin in the water since it’s “water resistant” for only 30 minutes in one meter of water.

I swam with it on my wrist for 5 minutes and 26 seconds in my last triathlon with no problem, but I wasn’t going to risk it for nearly an hour today.

So I attached it to the strap on the back of my swim cap. It was hardly in the water at all and got great satellite tracking. The buttons (only two) are big and it was easy for me to reach back and stop and start it without looking)

Here’s today’s swim.

We were in the water for 57 minutes. Some of that was treading water fidgeting and fussing with nose clips, goggles & the like.

Our total moving time was 39:35 which is dead on what I expected for the Moses Lake Olympic Distance Triathlon.

I felt slow and like a slug, but I was relaxed and had no trouble controlling my breathing.

I did the 750 meters in the Subaru Women’s Triathlon in took me 20 minutes, so I calculated 40 minutes for the full mile.

My 250 meter time indicates that I can do it in 33 minutes.

With the adrenaline of race day (and another triathlon and two more mile+ long swims under my belt before my Olympic distance triathlon in less than 9 days) It may very well be closer to 33 minutes.

Of course, then I’ll have to get on my bike and ride 40K and then hop off the bike and complete a 10 K run…

~L

Mood: Swimmin’ baby…. Swimmin’

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My 4-day weekend is coming to a close. [sigh]

We had some decent weather on Friday and I’m glad I took advantage of it and rode my bike, because the weather for the last three days has sucked pond water. Snow, wind, hail, rain… YUCK!!!

One of my LJ friends (can’t remember who this late in the day) posted THIS in response to complaints from friends that he hasn’t been updating…

this is for Lazy Bloggers

I took yesterday (Sunday) as a rest day after pounding my legs on the St Patty’s Day run after the 32 mile bike ride. I really let the last weeks/months of stress/sleep deprivation wear me down and it’s not easy getting built back up.

I had a good swim today. The new suit works well and I no longer have to worry about falling out of the top or the halter coming unsnapped. It doesn’t have quite the coverage in the rear that my “fashion” suit has, but I actually look more trim and fit in the higher cut race suit.

On the way over, I stopped at Super Suppliments to see if I could find some BCAA. (branched chain amino acids) I chose some that also had glutamine and B-6 to help absorption. Of course, I won’t take anywhere near as much as they recommend for big guys doing body building, but I think that at least for the time being, I need to make sure I have a little extra to help me recover from long rides, runs, etc… Normally, I don’t believe in supplements and that we should get what we need from food, but I do take a multi-vitamin and a calcium supplement as well as MSM/Glucosamine when I’m running and pounding my fractured joints. In any event, I’ll reassess in a couple of weeks to see if they’ve done any good.

I also decided to add an egg a day to my diet to get more protein and choline. I’ve never had much luck boiling eggs without the yolks turning funny colors, so I tried the method from this website How to Boil the Perfecct Hard Boiled Egg. I’ll know tomorrow if it worked or not.

I made another “Bad Beginner Adult Fiddling” video. I’m going to need to experiment on where to place the camera. I know it doesn’t pick up sound all that well, but it seems to be much worse quality where I had it set up this time. I may not sound all that great, but the violin sounds MUCH better in real live than in this video.

And now, I need to get to bed so that I’m ready for my work week.

~L

Mood: gotta get busy

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Last night, my friend Steph and I (not Steph I work with, Steph who writes for our local alternative paper the Weekly Volcano) and I went out to hit a couple of the local art shows. (note to self, start making time to go on the 3rd Thursday Art Walks) and had a blast!

The first show was at the Mad Hat Tea Company (not only part of the art scene but a great place for tea, herbs and relaxation), where several artists were showing. Most notably the photographic work of Grittefolio. The owner had a clever way of getting people to pay attention the photos. He created a little “quiz” about the exhibit and you wandered around and filled it out before dropping it in a red box for a chance to win the photo of your choice in a drawing.

Of course, there was wine which we were happy to enjoy. Stephanie Johnson (yes, another Stephanie) was singing and playing guitar which made us want to sit down and listen.

Then Steph wanted to get a henna tattoo…

After that, we headed over to the Fulcrum Gallery to see an exhibit by Lance Kagey, better known for Beautiful Angle guerrilla art project here in Tacoma. We met some other artists there and even though we got there a bit late (after indulging in wine, music and the aforementioned tattooing, there was still some Brie left (I never met a cheese I didn’t want to taste) the nice thing about showing up as the evening was winding down was that we got to talk with the artists, most notably Oliver Doriss who is the owner of the gallery and a wonderful glass artist, as well as Lance.

On the way home, Steph decided to be “reckless” and jump out of the car to grab something out of the back. We were near Wright Park, so I just couldn’t help jumping out to get a shot of the park lions lit up at night.

I was going to over to the Icky Boy’s after our night on the town, but it ended up being a bit too late to do so by the time we got back. He was good about it when I called to let him know we were running late. (in all fairness, Steph and I had plans first, that’s they way it rolls sometimes.)

I left the Nike swimsuit I ordered in my swimming bag I keep at work and brought the Zoot home for my longer swims.

There’s nothing quite like trying on a racer’s swimsuit in winter when you’re well into middle age (turning 47 this year) pale and more than a bit out of shape to motivate one to get back on their workout plan.

These aren’t the most attractive suits, but they should hold up to the chlorine and make me more aerodynamic in the water (heck just the fact that my boobs are squished so flat should boost my speed) I also don’t have to worry about the top shifting or coming unclipped at the neck (my cheap suits are halters) and there won’t be any cleavage to attract unwanted attention from the dirty old men at the pool or slow me down.

Speaking of working out, I need to get off the computer, take care of some chores and get ready for a bike ride. The icky boy and I are going to take a ride over to Gig Harbor (yeeha across the Narrows Bridge) this afternoon, then I have to head over to the Dock Street Landing to pick up my race packet.

Tomorrow, I’m running the first Tacoma St Patty’s Day run and then will try to get a swim in.

Sunday will depend on how crappy the weather is.

Monday, I’ll likely run and swim.

Have a good weekend all.

~L

Mood: SUNNY!

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That bright orange ball is out in the sky… It doesn’t mean that it’s warm out; it’s butt cold, but at least it’s not gray and dreary.

I got up at 4:20 AM (my usual time,I work ten hour shifts) and discovered that not only did it snow again last night, but there had been freezing rain on top of it. I could hear tires spinning in the alley and on the side streets, so I went ahead and logged into my work computer and then drove it at about 10:30 when the sun had melted the slimy mess off the roads (too bad it hadn’t hit my front steps yet)

I worked a bit extra yesterday, so I left work about 2:15 and headed for the pool (here in Tacoma so I could avoid rush hour traffic). The avoiding traffic thing didn’t work so well because there was a rollover accident on I-5 in Fife and the vehicle upside down in the median created quite the backup.

I’ve been being pretty cautious after my big bonk and the cardiac issues, but I felt really good today (that whole eating and sleeping thing is a pretty good deal)

I cranked out 30 minutes of lap swimming today without slowing down or stopping. 30 minutes may not sound like much, but the thought of swimming 30 minutes without a break to even catch my breath at this time last year was in my mind, impossible. I was hoping for 40 (what I need to do for my Olympic distance triathlon that I’m doing this year) but I tried to adjust my nose clips while moving, sucked in a bunch of water and started to cough and choke. At that point, “Cheeseburger in Paradise” came on my iPod and all I could think about was food. Maybe next time.

I felt really good after the swim. I could have done 40 easily. Thank the gods for my waterproof iPod case. It keeps me from getting bored. Of course, I kept it on when I walked to the locker room and unintentionally put on a bit of a show by dancing and singing along to “Fins” (another Jimmy Buffet tune) in the shower. I hadn’t heard anyone else walk in. They were amused.

And with that, I’ve got to practice my fiddle and get over to the Icky Boy’s for dinner.

See ya!

~L

Mood: in the swim

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Today’s blog post is brought to you by the letter “S”

“S” stands for Snow, Stress, Siren Song, Swimming, (my) Sharona, Slipping, Sliding, (too) Sexy and SuperBowl.

This morning started out with lots of slipping and sliding on our local roads due to another round of light yet slimy snow and the obligatory black ice.

Luckily, it was 33 degrees, (barely) above freezing when I woke up at 4:20 AM this morning, and the snow didn’t start until I was getting on the train. Generally, the coldest part of the morning is 6-7 AM and I’m already at work.

This was a shot from the traffic cam on Highway 512 this morning; good fun I tell you…

Luckily there were no kids on this bus…

Work is insane and stressful right now (tis the season). I didn’t get away at lunch for a swim because Steph (oooh, she’s a “S” word too) and I go to Taco Del Mar on our break every other Tuesday and today was the day.

So I came home from work and resisted the Siren Song of my evil couch that wanted me to lay on it with a glass of wine (S is also for Syrah) and BadKitty.

I grabbed my swim gear and headed out to the gym.

5:30 is not as bad a time as one would imagine to go to the gym and I was able to get a swim lane pretty easily.

I managed to get a nice 30 minute swim in without stopping. Having music really helps.

Some of my favorite swim tunes are:

Tusk by Fleetwood Mac (great beat for inspiring a strong stroke, rotating, reaching and gliding)

I Love Rock & Roll by Joan Jett

Fins by Jimmy Buffet

The theme from Top Gun

and believe it or not My Sharona by the Knack. (see notes above for Tusk)

The problem is, I can’t listen to My Sharona without giggling. A person could drown laughing their butt off in the water. (oh, and I don’t recommend trying to do the “WOO!” part of the song underwater.)

And the finale of today’s post.
The PETA ad that was deemed “Too sexy for the SuperBowl” that won’t be shown because it was BANNED.

I present to you without comment. (which isn’t easy, trust me)

“Veggie Love”

‘Veggie Love’: PETA’s Banned Super Bowl Ad

I managed to squeeze in some violin/fiddle practice in between typing this out and posting it) and need to get ready for another busy day.

Tomorrow is work, hopefully a bike ride after work if it’s not snowing or raining (I can do cold and wet and I can do dark, but not both at the same time) some more practice and then dinner with the icky boy.

~L

Mood: busy