Vacay

We were on vacation last week, and went to Florida for the warm, warm sunshine.

Apparently the warm, warm sunshine was also on vacation, but we enjoyed temperatures warmer than the Northeast and did not get rained on so we considered it a success.

One thing that was infinitely more fun in Florida was running. For one thing, the sights are so different. Palm trees, flowers, green grass. As opposed to potholes, barren pine trees and snowbanks. It was really nice.

And flat. Extremely flat. Makes running more fun for those of us who are not inherently fans. Of running that is.

I did stay on the lookout for reptiles of the funky sort. When we were on our honeymoon in Key West umpteen years ago I saw the oddest looking creatures that enjoyed creeping out of the bushes right in front of me while I wasn't looking. Scared the bejeezus out of me. Bright blue and green lizardy looking things. Some of them even crawled up the walls. I pretty much ran with my eyes on the ground to make sure nothing caught me unawares. Mission accomplished. No reptilian heart attacks this vacation.

Now we are back in the snowyish, coldish Northeast. And beginning the countdown to our first triathalon. May 8th. Just over two months away.

Okay then, I am off to hyperventilate. See you all in a few.

Progress Is Being Made

My daughter, sister and I ran in the Polar Bear 5K this weekend in Portland, Maine. Not as cold as it could have been—just a semi-chilly, beautiful sunny winter day.

I started the race with high hopes. My goal being to break a 40 minute pace. It started out promising- downhill. I do so love running downhill. The race wound around onto flat ground and then by the Portland waterfront. Very beautiful to look at.

Not so great to smell.

The race went right by Portland’s sewer treatment plant. ‘Nuf said.

It was still flat for quite a while and I felt like I had a good pace going. Not a whole lot of stopping. A little bit of fast walking. And no swearing .

Until the hill came into view. A winding, hairpin, straight up into the air hill. Oh. My. Gawd. Well, I guess what goes down must go up, right? So up I went along with the rest of the stragglers. You know, that group of runners that finishes so far behind the rest of the pack that people cheer them wildly just for their effort? I am officially in that group. But I embrace the slowness.

But not the Feaster-Five slowness. As the finish line came into view, my sister was standing there pointing at the clock, ticking away 38:29. I was so excited I almost lost my iPod as my arms flew up in the air in a geeky-cheer wave.

Yeah for progress.

This is my daughter, sister and me at the end of the race.

After burning hundreds of calories. And just before we hit IHOP.

I Almost Can't Believe It

Who am I, and what have I done with myself?

I am only asking, because two nights ago I set my alarm for 11:45PM, woke up and registered myself for a triathalon in August. I was dreaming I was in a wheelbarrow race when the alarm went off. I kind of wish that's what it was. At least then I would know what I was doing.

Exercising, running, swimming, ellipticalling, spinning.....all that stuff is great. It's been good losing some weight, getting back in shape, finding some semblance of a waistline.

But the closer we get to May, the more freaked out I am getting. What the heck am I doing?

After I registered for the Tri For A Cure in August, I could barely sleep. I started getting butterflies.

Again, what the heck am I doing?

I had a dream last night that I drove hours and hours from home to go to some 2-day athletic event. Then realized upon unloading the car that I had forgotten to bring my bike. I woke up in a cold sweat with my heart racing.

Oy veh. Subliminal?

Perhaps. I hope it subsides :)

Convenience? Check.

All talk no action. That's what's going on here.

After going on and on about Latitudes---which was quite honestly, awesome--we have decided to stick it out at the Y. Why? Because I'm lazy.

Not in the sit-on-the-couch-eating-chips kinda lazy way. Although I have been known to do that on occasion. It's more lazy in the I'm-driving-all-the-freakin'-time way. If you have ever doubled as a chauffer, you know that of which I speak.

Days when you go from dance lessons to guitar lessons to the grocery store to the post office to the dentist and then back home again? When you wish you had Depends on so you don't have to use some random public bathroom?

Lazy in that way.

Because, truth be told, having a gym 5 minutes away as opposed to 15 minutes away makes a big difference in the course of a week. In 4 round trips to the gym, that's a savings of 40 minutes. Not insignificant in my book.

So we are forgoing the beautiful locker rooms, larger facilities and expanded class schedule for the closeness of the Y.

But we will probably avoid the locker room. At least for a while.

Harder Than It Looks

Still swimming. Still biking. Still running. Just in case you thought I had keeled over from all that exertion.

Just not bloggin' about it. Truth is, it's harder than I thought it would be. The exercise and the blogging.

I have always loved writing. Ever since I was a little kid. Creative writing and I got a long great. Math and I? Not so much.

When I was in high school, I had this amazing English teacher. She really saw how much I loved to write, and encouraged me by having me take extra classes, and do extra writing to keep the creative juices flowing. Which was kind of good since they "advised" me not to take any math above trigonometry when I was a junior. Something about calculus being beyond me. Go figure.

My mom had this friend who did career counseling when we lived on Governors Island. When I graduated from the High School of Music and Art, she gave me a "session" as a gift which was really nice of her. She let me come and take all those aptitude tests that point you in the right direction before you start off on your college career.

There were all kinds of sections. Analogies, math patterns, writing, the works. Most of it was pretty enjoyable. Except for probably the math. When I see lots of words together I see descriptive possibilities, spelling patterns, latin roots. When I see numbers I glaze over like a 5'3" donut. And then I completely tune out.

So it was not suprising when the results came back. When asked to identify number patterns I had scored in the 20th percentile. Ouch.

When asked to freeform write about what my favorite movie was, I wrote 10 pages just because. She told me I should do something creative. And when I saw anything involving math, I should run very fast in the opposite direction.

Which actually did come back to haunt me later on in my working life. I was working for an insurance company (how's that for creativity), and was vying for a job in the marketing department. Standard company policy was to have all applicants take an aptitude test. Which was almost all about numbers. Which I bombed. Mostly because I got totally bored in the middle and started drawing on the back of the packet.

When my boss saw the results I think he was a little shocked. I mean, I don't come across as a moron, but I apparently test as though I might be one. So he told the hiring manager that I had done so badly because I forgot to wear my contacts that day. Which I didn't actually wear. And he hired me. For a job that involved absolutely no numbers. **Loved it**

In any case, the exercise is going decently well and the creative inspiration to bore you with the details of that exercise comes and goes.

I am still holding out hope that I can break the 40 minute 5K next weekend in Portland, Maine. After that, I need to get cracking on the details of the triathalon. Buy a spandex outfit to swim/bike/run in. That ought to be interesting. Take a class on how to change a tire on my bike in case I get a flat. That could prove to be even more interesting than the spandex.

Stay tuned and thanks for reading along :)