Whew, I haven't posted in forever. Things got pretty crazy for me in February and March.
My position changed at my job, which was unexpected. It is really cool, but unexpected and has brought about many feelings.
The thing with feelings is that I eat my feelings. Excited? Eat. Happy? Eat. Stressed? Eat. Worried? Eat. Eat all the feelings.
April is almost here and I stepped on the scale today to find that I've put on almost ten pounds in two months. This is what happens when you eat all the feelings.
I joined a Facebook group about making simple changes every day. That is going to be my focus this month as I get used to a new routine. Drinking water, getting 10,000 steps a day, cutting out the refined sugar, and working out on the regular. These are all things I usually do-- I just really let the ball drop over the last two months. My body is feelin' it and it hurts.
I'm going to try and write about getting it together this month. If the writing doesn't happen I'm sorry, but not sorry! Things are crazy, but it's good to know my little space on the internets is still here.
Well... I am addicted to yoga. I blame it on days 11-20 of this 30 Days of Yoga Challenge. Here are five things about days 11-20:
1. I am sleeping through the night-- deep and restful sleeps. I think it's the yoga.
2. I still haven't had any alcohol. I'm not giving it up for good because, why? It has been nice to detox, but I didn't really have a lot to detox from. I think I just liked the challenge. I can't wait to have a Two Hearted next week.
3. My pants are looser and my clothes are fitting the way I like them to fit. It could be from the no alcohol, or it could be from the constant yoga. We'll see when February hits!
4. My lower back still hurts every day, but the pain isn't as severe as usual. I decided on the day that I took the picture of the hyacinth bulb in the vase that I'm going to do yoga every day until the bulb blooms. Maybe my back pain won't be there anymore either. A fresh flower and a fresh back-- sounds like a good deal to me!
5. I went to hot yoga with my sista and sista-from-another-mista on day 17. Hot yoga is really disgusting and it doesn't really feel like yoga to me. I don't think yoga should make you feel so dizzy and gross. However, the minute it was over, I felt cleansed. It's all very confusing. I still don't think it's really yoga.
Bonus #6: God, my dogs are cute. Best yoga buddies ever.
In other news, the goal is to have my book proposal submitted to the publisher by the 31st. My brotha-from-another-motha is checking over the last sample chapter and then I'm sending it off. I care but don't care if it gets accepted. I just want to send it in so that it's done! That was the good thing about today's hot yoga session. I visualized myself finishing the proposal and emailing it to my bro instead of passing out from the heat. Then I actually sat down at my computer and did it-- after a long shower to rinse the rivers of sweat off of me, of course.
In my last whiny post, I wrote about how I've been sick for too long. That means I haven't worked out the way I like to work out in nearly three weeks.
Me on the inside (and eventually outside) without workouts.
Something I have been able to stick with is Yoga with Adrienne. She has a very helpful and comforting Yoga for When You Are Sick video that accompanied my pile of kleenex and cups of tea over the last few weeks:
I've written about this fantastic YouTube channel before and was pumped to see that she was starting a 30 Days of Yoga Challenge for the New Year. She'll be releasing a video each day for the whole month. Part of me is like, "Yoga every day?! Nope." The other part of me is up to the challenge of trying to do yoga every day for a month-- I'm curious if I can stick to it and how flexible I'll be after thirty days of focusing on yoga.
I just finished Day 4 and I love the way I feel already! In college I was really into yoga and meditation, but as I started getting into life I became more of a casual yogi. Sometimes I forget how much healthier I feel mentally, emotionally, and physically when I make time for yoga. Check out Day 4 if you're curious-- it's only 20 minutes.
Let me know if you're doing this challenge or if you're attempting a different challenge! I love having accountability partners when I'm focusing on my health and wellness.
1. Sticking to my budget. I NEED to save money. So... no going out to eat this month even though it's my favorite thing in the world to do. Actually, I did budget $100 for going out to eat.
Reflection: OHMYGOD this was so hard to do. I did it and it was terrible-- for my self-control. I'm still reeling. However, I learned a lot about myself. For example, I don't have to go out to eat three times a week.
2. Getting a hold of my refined sugar cravings and consumption. I'm starting with candy first. I haven't had a piece of candy in five days. Reflection: I did it. In all honesty though, I ate a Hershey's bar. One. When I had PMS. So, I still think I won this one. 3. Getting one to two days of weightlifting and core work in each week. I've got to get rid of this knee and back pain. Reflection: I only did one day a week, mostly because I was so effing sore that I wanted to cry and I thought adding another day would hurt even more.
4. Making sure I'm on a regular cardio routine. Now that my favorite time change has happened, it will be easier to get out of bed. I'm going to make sure I'm in the pool at least twice a week. Reflection: I'm on it! I was sick for a week last month, so I missed a week, but I'm working on it!
December Goals
1. Still sticking to my budget. I'm using a budget tracker and it was hard work last month, but I've got it.
2. Still trying to get a hold of my refined sugar cravings and consumption. This month, I am conquering baked goods. It's a good month for conquering baked goods. 3. Still getting one to two days of weightlifting and core work in each week. I just don't want to be sore anymore. I want to be STRONG! RARH! 4. I'm starting a #100HealthyDays challenge. I would love to not put on any weight this month. I want to win the pounds pool at my gym. I'd also like to not feel like crap. This is mostly about me feeling lethargic, not trying to get my ten bucks back. One of my friends challenged me to a #100HealthyDays challenge-- doing something healthy every day for myself. I can do that.
5. FINISH MY BOOK PROPOSAL. I have Friday off. It is happening on Friday. Wish me luck this month, my friends!
When I first saw this, I thought, "Whatchu talkin' 'bout, crazy lady?! You gotta speed up and live! Shove as much as you can into a day!"
I immediately thought of this saying today after I rolled my ankle while attempting to go for a cold weather run. Can I just quickly say that when you fall on your face in the summer, you are probably falling in dog pee, but in the winter you feel more disgusted by it because you can actually see the yellow snow everywhere after you fall. Gross.
I was hoping my Sunday would be full of laundry, organizing some paperwork, preparing for a presentation, weather-proofing all of my boots, and cooking. Then I couldn't do any of those things because I can't put any weight on my ankle. I usually hate being immobilized, but I just spent the last five hours icing my ankle on and off and watching Netflix and Hulu. It felt great.
Yes, the next few weeks are going to suck, especially since I was just getting back into an exercise routine, but hey-- that's how it goes. I'm going to stick to the pool and some strengthening exercises and try to keep it together until the ankle heals. That's how I roll. Get it?
Here's to trying to find the good in even the shittiest of things.
This post is in honor of the Great American Smokeout and the Quit for Life movement. It's a long one, but I want to share the darker, more tar-stained side of myself with you, especially if you're a smoker who is trying to quit. It's possible.
Oh, heck no, you don't. Until you do... someday. [via]
I started smoking cigarettes when I was seventeen to be rebellious (even though my dad was dying from cancer and heart disease related to his 30+ years of smoking), to calm my ever-present anxieties, and to look cool and detached. Plus, I loved the feeling of lighting up a cigarette after a day in high school. It felt adult. At the time, I thought to myself, "I'll quit when I start college."
Here's a timeline of my smoking from age seventeen to now, 'cuz I FER SURE didn't quit smoking when I started college.
Eighteen:
Everybody on campus smoked. How was I going to meet people if I didn't smoke?! [via]
College started and smoking was part of my life. It was a way to get away for a few minutes when I was waiting tables or needed a break between classes. It was a way to look "cool and detached" when meeting new people. Cigarettes tasted great with coffee. When I was eighteen and starting to smoke more than I did when I was seventeen, I thought to myself, "I'll quit when I turn nineteen."
At nineteen, I started dating the future Hubs. He didn't like smoking, so I told him I didn't smoke. I was a bad liar. There aren't any pictures of me smoking from the time we started dating because I didn't want him to know I smoked. If I knew I was going to see him, I would smoke and then chew gum and spray myself with Bath and Body Works spray. I really thought it worked-- Bath and Body Works spray is strong. In reality, who was I kidding? You can smell smoke on someone the minute you come into contact with them. I didn't know-- my sense of smell was not so good because, duh, smoking. I thought to myself, "I'll quit if we get serious."
Twenty came and I smoked for all of the same reasons as when I was eighteen and nineteen. As a someone who has always been a workaholic, the only way I would slow down and take a break was if I was taking a smoke break. At twenty, I moved in with the Future Hubs. After I moved in with Future Hubs, I tried to quit, but it was too hard. I was full of excuses. I just told myself I'd never smoke in front of him. He was, after all, playing with the band in smokey bars and everyone smelled bad when they got home. Like, smelled bad FOR DAYS. Twenty-one approached and I knew I couldn't quit yet-- beer tasted so good when accompanied by a cigarette. I thought to myself, "I'll quit when I get a real job."
I got my first teaching job at twenty-two. My first year teaching was terribly stressful. My teacher friends and I would leave the school during out plan period and smoke cigarette after cigarette while driving around the block in one of our cars. We'd smoke and laugh and vent-- it was my favorite time of the day. I thought to myself, "I'll just smoke for the first few years of teaching and quit when I'm twenty-five. Then teaching won't be so stressful."
At twenty-five, I got married to the Hubs. It was beautiful. I was down to smoking one or two cigarettes at day-- did I mention I always enjoyed running for fun and had stuck to my habit of running three to five miles a few times a week this whole time? Running kept the cigarette number down. A few months after our wedding, I blew out my knee while training for a half marathon and settled in for a long year of surgery and recovery. Then the surgeon said no more running, never again. At twenty-five?! A piece of me died and I got really depressed. I smoked to relieve the stress of being injured. I thought to myself, "I'll quit when I'm up and walking and less depressed."
I lost almost fifty pounds by not eating. No exercise was involved-- just very obsessive not eating. I decided to not quit smoking because I didn't want to put any weight back on. I thought to myself, "I'll quit when I'm at my goal weight."
In the winter of 2010, I tried to quit because my best friend was quitting. I stuck to it for four months with lots of flavored gum and tins of mints, but I eventually quit quitting. I'd put on almost twenty pounds and I kept getting sick with sinus infections after I quit. It was too hard. In the spring of 2010, the Michigan Smoke-Free Air Law was passed. No more smoking in bars and restaurants meant I had to move myself outside during the Hub's shows and now everyone could smell it. I stopped smoking at bars and restaurants. One day, the Hubs pulled up next to me while I was smoking in my car. He called my cell. "Was that YOU smoking while I drove by?!" Busted. I quit smoking in my car. The real quitting had begun. Then it was erased when I went to Paris and everyone was smoking. I succumbed to peer pressure and smoked. It felt great. I thought to myself, "I'll quit when I get home. When in Rome..."
Twenty-Nine: The Year of Becoming a Quitter
Thank you, swimming.
In August of 2011, at the age of 29 and a few months before I articulated all of my athletic goals on my 30b430 list, I finally quit smoking for real. After returning from my second summer in Senegal, I was sitting around and feeling extremely out of shape. I went out and got a gym membership. With the membership came a free health assessment. My weight was back up-- WAY up. The health assessment did not give my a glowing review of my health. And I was still smoking. WTF.
Ran a 10k last April. Boo to you, mean surgeon-- and he was mean. I'm not just picking on him.
So, I quit. It felt like my 1000th time quitting, although I'm unsure of what number the actual attempt was. I didn't do it with patches, gum, or e-cigarettes. I did it with swimming. I got into the pool and tried to swim one length. I couldn't. My chest was caving in. I thought I was having an asthma attack. I wanted to pass out. "OH, HELLS NO!!!!" I said as I finally reached the end of the pool lane. It sounded more like, "OH" sigh, breath, cough, phelm, "HE" breath, breath, "LLS," cough, wheeze, breath, "NO."
I can bike over twenty miles now. Without wheezing.
I quit cold turkey and started going to a water aerobics class with a feisty group of women over fifty until I could work out for an hour straight.
Not these feisty ladies. Healthier feisty ladies. [via]
Then I took swim lessons. Then I started swimming laps on my own. Then I decided to start biking, then I decided the rebellious thing to do as I approached thirty was to start running again (because EFF YOU surgeon), and then I decided that triathlons were for me.
What I Won (Besides My Age Division) by Quitting
August, 2014: Still tri-ing, still a quitter.
This list isn't from a quit smoking website. It's based on what I noticed about myself after I quit smoking:
1. I can breathe.
2. I can breathe.
3. I can breathe.
4. I smell nice.
5. My car smells nice and there are no burn holes in the seats.
6. I don't have to wash my jeans after each wear.
7. I don't have to brush my teeth to kiss the Hubs.
8. My teeth are merely stained from coffee, not tobacco.
9. I can swim almost two miles.
10. My body is healing itself from the years of abuse. I can feel it, I swear! It's awesome! Regeneration!
11. I don't sound hoarse after a night of non-stop smoking.
12. I get sinus infections a lot less than I did when I was smoking. I don't know if this is something that happens to all people who quit, but it happened to me!
13. If we have kids, our kid won't be the one whose worksheets smell like cigarettes when they turn their work in. It's a thing I noticed when I was teacher. Just go with it.
Check out the Great American Smokeout Tools and Resources if you're interested in quitting. It took me more than ten years, but I did it. So use the tools and resources. Or, just quit cold turkey. Or, get some gum. Or, get Chantix. I don't care how you do it, as long as you're doing it.
This morning I decided to get back into my morning workout mode. When I had the HORRIBLE shigella infection this summer, I stopped working out in the morning. I started working out again for my health and triathlons, but I switched to the evening. My work schedule is getting filled up again and it's getting darker earlier, so I'm back to the morning.
This is a minute-by-minute snapshot of my morning of getting back to working out in the morning:
4:00am, 5:40am: Wake several times and feel anxious because my alarm is going off early but then feel relieved because I have a few more hours/minutes to sleep.
6:15am: Alarm goes off
6:16am: Press snooze.
6:26am: Alarm goes off again.
6:26am: Press snooze and stare into the the darkness.
6:27am: The Hubs mumbles, "Seriously dude, if that goes off again... [unintelligible babble]"
6:28am: Turn off alarm. Grab phone and procrastinate by checking Facebook instead of getting out of bed.
6:29am: Read some blogs. Tell myself I'm only going to do this until 6:36am
6:36am: Google search "reasons to work out in the morning." Read a few of the search results.
6:39am: Feel inspired by the results and slowly move out of bed.
6:42am: Get swimsuit on. Think that I should have slept in swimsuit for motivation/inspiration. Shuffle around the house.
7:00am: Go to gym.
Yeah. I'm dropping an eff bomb. It was like that.
I got up at 5:14am for the last eight years of my life. This shouldn't have been so hard.
The good news is that when I left the gym I felt like a boss.
I went home, made breakfast, folded laundry, went to the bank, AND went to the store all before work at 9:30am.
An old man flicked me off hard on the way into work because I was accidentally tailgating him (he, going 20 in a 45. Me, so happy from working out that I was singing and moving around all cool-like to West Coast by Lana Del Rey and accidentally tailgating him because he was going SO SLOW) and I didn't even get sad about it. I waved and smiled when I passed him.
So yeah... gonna start those morning workouts again fer reals.
I never thought I'd like Katy Perry, but there is something about the song Dark Horse that I just love. I woke up last night with the song in my head and I didn't hate it. It's been coming on when I work out and the beat is just intoxicating. It's one of those songs that makes you feel sexy when you're running. You know what I mean--
What I feel like when I'm running to Dark Horse (or any sexy song with a good beat) vs Reality. [via]
Plus, the video is hilarious. 1) It's badass, 2) It's ridiculous, and 3) It makes me want to learn how to pole dance.
Enjoy. I'm going stir crazy over here and regretting my decision to not go to Ft. Myers this year.
I've been working out like a fiend for the last few months. I've found over the last few years that it's the only thing that helps me beat the winter blues. Exercise equals endorphins, right?
I don't want to shoot anybody-- Legally Blonde is just proving my point.
I feel better, my clothes fit better, I have more energy, and I'm an all around happier person. Plus, if I go to the gym fifty times within a six month period, my health insurance pays me. I've already gone forty-eight times and it's only been three months. Needless to say, I've been feeling really good about myself. I even weighed myself at home and the scale said I've lost six pounds.
Or did I?
I thought our scale was broken because it's old and the one never shows up on the screen, so I've been weighing myself on it over the last few months and just ignoring that it was "broken." Then, the Hubs texted me last week to let me know that the one on our scale hasn't been broken this whole time. Here's an excerpt from our rage-ful texts:
Hubs: I just realized our scale got set to kg instead of lbs... I was assuming the "1" was broken. AHHHHH
At the beginning of this post, I said I've been working out like a fiend, I feel better, my clothes fit better, I have more energy, and I'm an all around happier person.
So, seriously, why do I put so much worth into the scale?
Yeah, that's right you stupid scale. This is what I've been doing while you've been making me feel bad about myself:
Lifting weights and getting stronger.
Push-ups-- I can do those now.
Strengthening my core. Yeah, you stupid scale. I can do planks without crying now.
Swimming like a boss. I'm faster than last season.
Training for a 10k. Yeah, you dumb scale. I'm not the best runner, but I've been running outside while other people haven't been. In yo' FACE.
Yoga. I'm better at downdogs than you are.
Dance. Yeah, that's right you stupid scale. I've been shakin' my curvy self at the dance studio.
Going to hour long spin class twice a week and killin' it.
I'm done weighing myself for awhile. I'm just going to let my jeans fit better without the side of depression because the numbers don't match my body. I'm going to focus on eating foods that make me feel good instead of not eating anything to look good.
Empire Records is one of my adolescent self's favorite movies and over the last few weeks, I've been finding myself constantly making comparisons to Liv Tyler's character-- not the losing my virginity to Rex Manning part-- but the using every hour of every day to do something part... minus the speed. If I don't clear some space for myself, I'm going to FREAK OUT:
Oh man, that is some A+ acting... fer reals.
But seriously, I have been way too busy for the last two weeks. My expectation of what my summer was going to be compared to what it is is making me feel really overwhelmed. I just finished my eighth year of working in schools and teaching and I want to write down the lessons that took me six years to really learn so that I don't forget as I delve deeper into my summer work:
1. My family comes before my career.
2. My physical and mental health come before my career.
3. No teacher should strive to be a martyr.
Easy, right?
Bwahahaha
Anyway, onto tri training and my week of workouts...
Going back to clean eating was fairly easy and it made me feel awesome. I slipped a little lot yesterday when we had people over, but it was to be expected and I'm not beating myself up over it. Plus, I rode 36 miles on my bike (more on that in a minute) so I didn't feel too bad about eating like crap. Back to it this week!
Training this week was a bit brutal on my body. I'm left with these questions:
When will the day come when I am no longer sore?
What am I doing wrong?
Is my body just not meant to be athletic?
Should I stretch for longer than 15 minutes after my workouts?
Kind of negative, I know, but GEEZ. I think I've been sore since January.
The Plan
Monday: 23 swim
Tuesday: 46 bike
Wednesday: 31 swim, 62 bike
Thursday: 31 run
Friday: 39 swim
Saturday: 5K and 36 mile bike to South Haven
Sunday: Off!
The Real Deal
Monday: 60 swim
Tuesday: 90 bike and yoga
Wednesday: 31 swim
Thursday: 60 bike, 35 run
Friday: Off (my low back was KILLING me from my run)
Saturday: No 5k due to the killer low back, 36 mile bike ride adventure to South Haven
Sunday: Off
Conclusions:
I need to run more and stretch for longer afterwards.
Yoga is key
The better I eat, the more energy I have
Now, I'd like to expand on what I meant when I called yesterday's bike ride a "36 mile bike ride adventure."
I wanted to ride to South Haven to celebrate being what we like to call "Dirty Thirty." Here is the conversation I had with the park volunteer before we set out on the bike trail that gets people from Kalamazoo to South Haven:
Volunteer: Where are you riding?
Me: To South Haven
Volunteer: Didn't you read the signs? There are about 100 trees down between here and there.
Me: Well, we're gonna try it anyway.
And try it we did. It was truly a Dirty Thirty celebration.
The volunteer was wrong. There were 185 downed trees. And we traversed the wilderness to make it work. What is usually a two to two and a half hour ride became a four hour riding and hiking adventure:
I'm fairly certain this ride did not help my low back issues... however, it was so fun that I threw caution to the wind.
Getting our bikes through became a crazy obstacle course.
At one point we hit the road because the trees were too much. I may have turned to drink.
Then we were back to the trees!
We lost our man Joe when the derailleur was ripped off of his bike (the Hubs picked him up), Alyssa and I probably have poison ivy, Miche became a professional weight lifter to get her bike over branches, and DWebb lost a spoke and got stabbed by a branch, but it was all in good fun. I have really good friends, and despite the crazy overwhelming busy schedule, I got to spend a lot of time with them yesterday. :)
This week's the training schedule looks like this:
Monday- 23 swim, 43 bike
Tuesday- 23 run
Wednesday- 2k Open Water Swim (ooooo, my first open water swim competition!!!!) I'm nervous!!!!
My original goal was to just bike there and have the Hubs come pick us up after we spent a lazy afternoon at the beach. But this girl wouldn't let me:
She has a 30b430 list too and has supported me in many of my endeavors. I decided to support her list by adding another 35 miles onto my ride. Our friend Joe joined us because he likes biking, beer, and beach, so why not?
I didn't ride my road bike because the tires are too thin. That was probably my first mistake. I rode my hybrid Trek with the nice bouncy and wide seat thinking that it would be more comfortable-- I'll come back to that horrendous decision later. Each of us carried a backpack and Joe had some saddlebags on his bike filled with beer and ice.
My backpack weighed about 30 pounds on the way there. While riding, I thought a lot about how I've lost 30 pounds and I can't effing believe I carried that extra weight on me! DANG! Anytime I want to stop working out and start eating all the fried food I want I'm going to fill my backpack with books, put it on, and walk a mile. Truth.
We made it there and my seat was already hurting my delicate behind. Those types of bike seats are NOT made for long distances. They seem comfortable and bouncy, but ride more than ten miles and your bottom is screwed. I vowed not to complain, drank a beer in a park behind a tree, ate a delicious and fattening lunch of chips, tacos, burritos, and mojitos at Su Casa, and headed to the beach.
Before the butt blisters wiped the smile off of my face.
Then it was time to ride back...
...but not before riding to Dairy Queen for a sundae (lactose intolerance aided by Lactaid)!
The ride back is kind of blur. We all said we weren't going to complain and the conversations began to go like this:
Danielle: Ughhhhh this is--
Me: AWESOME! This is so AWESOME! We should do this every day!
Me: I want to die--
Danielle: Of HAPPINESS! O M G! ME TOO!
We all began to get kind of loopy. When I get loopy, I try to carve my initials into picnic tables with my Swiss Army knife:
Feelin' cray-cray, shortly before I got my lip caught in my water bottle.
I decided that it was too much work to carve a whole word, so I just wrote a message for the next people to stop at the picnic table:
With about ten miles left, but butt was almost at its limit. It was screaming in pain and I felt like blisters had formed on my cheeks, burst open, soaked my bike shorts with blood, and then somehow caught on fire. I still managed to smile for a picture!
For the last two miles, I threw my no complaining vow into the woods. Poor Danielle and Joe had to deal with this:
Me: MY ASS HURTS!
Me: I HATE THIS!
Me: I THINK I'M BLEEDING!
Me: FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS. MY BUTT HURTS FROM DECIDING TO RIDE TO A BEACH AND BACK! I DON'T CARE THOUGH!
and finally in mile 70:
ME: UGHHHHH. HUMPHHHHH.
Gosh, they started riding so fast in the end. Weird.
Then it was over and I rested my sweat-soaked self onto the pavement.
Cars, beautiful cars.
My goal was doubly achieved, my butt wasn't bleeding (although I had some CRAZY butt blisters in the morning), and Danielle and Joe decided to stay friends with me.
Thumbs up.
Plus, I got to take a screen shot of this:
I feel so cool!
I definitely ate all 1600 of my assigned calories and probably all 4172 calories from the ride. But really, what better day to eat Mexican food, drink microbrews, and indulge in ice cream sundaes?
Whew. That was harder than a sprint triathlon!
1. Complete an indoor triathlon. 2/12/12 2. Complete an outdoor triathlon. 6/2/12 3. Swim across West Twin Lake and Rose Lake (or Pine Lake). 7/14/12 and 6/26/12 4. Bike the Kal-Haven Trail.7/30/12 5. Play the piano in front of people. 6. Visit my family in the Philippines (or at least have tickets booked by my 30th birthday). 7. Have a conversation with a dear Senegalese friend in French or Wolof (preferably Wolof).
8. Visit my grandparents in California. 9. Pop a champagne cork with no fear. 10. Make leche flan (it's Filipino, it's amazing, and I'm makin' it). 11. Jar or can veggies, pickles, sauce... something. 12. Revised 5/1/12 because I remembered that I'm supposed to graduate in December and my Master's degree is really important to me!!! Get my Master's degree and submit some of my academic writing and then, maybe, you know... get it published. 13. Travel out of the country with Nate. 14. Pay off at least 50% of my remaining undergraduate credit card debt. 15. Sing karaoke by myself in Kalamazoo in front of all of my friends. 16. Eat clean for one month. 17. Pick berries and bake something with them. 18. Write at least one chapter of the novel that I write in my mind while I'm walking the dogs. 19. Thank my mom for everything she's done for me. 20. Go further into the UP than the Mystery Spot tourist trap and jump into Lake Superior. 21. Get chosen for one more summer fellowship in another country where I am able to work with youth. 22. Go on a police ride along. 23. Get to 200 blog posts. 24. Revised 5/1/12 Make some decisions about my career and/or PhD prospects.Apply for PhD programs. 25. Attend roller derby training so I can learn the moves. 26. Learn how to flip turn when I'm swimming laps. 4/19/12 27. Take a real personal day. 6/8/12 28. Learn how to drive a stick. 29. Go horseback riding. 30. Poach an egg perfectly.
I've been slowly working away at my 30 Before 30 goals and I've found June and July to be the perfect months for one of my favorite Michigan activities: Lake swimming!
I had originally planned on swimming across Rose Lake (a favorite camping spot with friends), but time and circumstance made it look like it wasn't going to happen this year. It's still in the back of my mind and I hope to swim across during my 30th birthday weekend.
Here is the originally planned Rose Lake swim from our hang-out spot:
One of my friends just moved near Pine Lake (which makes her house the perfect summer hang-out spot... hehe). One afternoon last month we were hanging out at the beach and wanted to kayak. We only had two kayaks for three people, so I started swimming while my kayaking friends stayed close to me. I ended up swimming across and when I reached the other side I decided to swim back. All in all, I swam much further than the Rose Lake distance! What a rush!
Here I am after my Pine Lake swim. I was flabbergasted by the distance because I've never really gone that far:
Swim across Pine Lake: Check!
Now for the big one: The West Twin Lake swim. The last time we went up north to Lewiston I decided it was time to tackle one of my favorite lakes in Michigan and my favorite summer spot in the world. Paris? It's okay. Dakar? Yeah, I love it there. But Lewiston, MI? It's my favorite:
Here is the route:
West Twin is quite large, so I had my Safe Swimmer, the Hubs in the Whaler, and my in-laws on the pontoon in the distance as a marker:
The Hubs is the best... he didn't mind boating next to me for an hour. :)
I was aiming for a white cabin that you (or me, really) can't see:
I got all sunscreened up and felt a little nervous:
I hopped in the water...
And started!
For the next hour and six minutes it was just me swimming along at a steady pace. When I finished I felt like Rocky:
I wasn't tired and I contemplated trying to swim back, but the wind was blowing and I needed a celebratory Tom Collins!
Swim across West Twin Lake: Check!
I can't believe how far I've come with swimming in the last year. Last August I was still a casual smoker when I first hopped into the pool at my gym and attempted to swim one lap. Just one. I could barely make it. My lungs felt like they were going to burst out of chest and my muscles burned. Now I haven't had a cigarette since September and I can swim almost two miles! It's amazing how our bodies heal after we've abused them.
Next summer I'm going to try a race called Swim to the Moon. It's a 5k swim. Right now it seems like I'll never be able to make it, but we all know that it's probably possible. :)
1. Complete an indoor triathlon. 2/12/12 2. Complete an outdoor triathlon. 6/2/12 3. Swim across West Twin Lake and Rose Lake (or Pine Lake). 7/14/12 and 6/26/12 4. Bike the Kal-Haven Trail. 5. Play the piano in front of people. 6. Visit my family in the Philippines (or at least have tickets booked by my 30th birthday). 7. Have a conversation with a dear Senegalese friend in French or Wolof (preferably Wolof).
8. Visit my grandparents in California. 9. Pop a champagne cork with no fear. 10. Make leche flan (it's Filipino, it's amazing, and I'm makin' it). 11. Jar or can veggies, pickles, sauce... something. 12. Revised 5/1/12 because I remembered that I'm supposed to graduate in December and my Master's degree is really important to me!!! Get my Master's degree and submit some of my academic writing and then, maybe, you know... get it published. 13. Travel out of the country with Nate. 14. Pay off at least 50% of my remaining undergraduate credit card debt. 15. Sing karaoke by myself in Kalamazoo in front of all of my friends. 16. Eat clean for one month. 17. Pick berries and bake something with them. 18. Write at least one chapter of the novel that I write in my mind while I'm walking the dogs. 19. Thank my mom for everything she's done for me. 20. Go further into the UP than the Mystery Spot tourist trap and jump into Lake Superior. 21. Get chosen for one more summer fellowship in another country where I am able to work with youth. 22. Go on a police ride along. 23. Get to 200 blog posts. 24. Revised 5/1/12 Make some decisions about my career and/or PhD prospects.Apply for PhD programs. 25. Attend roller derby training so I can learn the moves. 26. Learn how to flip turn when I'm swimming laps. 4/19/12 27. Take a real personal day. 6/8/12 28. Learn how to drive a stick. 29. Go horseback riding. 30. Poach an egg perfectly.
