A Wise Fish Once Told Me

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming, swimming, swimming.

It was a sad day for America, but every day has its pluses. Shall I start with the good news or the bad news?

Good news it will be.

This was taken at 9:30AM... It snowed for another 7 hours after this

After a long day of dental work and coffee drinking while watching the snow fall, I decided it was time to get back into the water. Since it had been snowing all day long, I threw on my new bikini and covered up with booty shorts and a thick sweatshirt then wiggled into my Birkenstocks. Okay... so I may not have packed for Oregon well. I pulled up to the club and tried to keep the cold white fluff away from my toes as I shuffled my feet to the front door. Unlike my pool in California, the gym here heats the pool room. I shed my clothing and looked down to find I still had some definition to my abdominal region. I did a joyful dance as I thought to myself, "I've still got it", then I stood at the end of the middle lane and asked if the gentleman would mind splitting.

Scofield keeping me company next to the fireplace

With a pull buoy in between my legs, I did a 600-yard warm-up then followed it with a 1150-yard workout and 250-yard cool down. My balance was so off and it felt strange not to kick. I tried to add the kick at one point, but with a flexed foot, I felt like a flounder flopping about on a pool deck. Typically, I hate swimming, but I was so excited to be doing something with my body, that I forgot about the dullness of the activity and savored the moment.

Now, onto other news... This morning, my friend Dan texted me to let me know he had finished Boston in 2:50. Fifteen minutes later, I was sitting at a restaurant and the news popped on displaying the bombings at the marathon. Frantically, I checked in with all of my friends who were there competing; everyone I knew was safe. A few people were not so lucky today. I cannot even imagine being in Boston today. There are no words to describe the chaos, sadness and turbulence that is happening due to these bombings. One thing to keep in mind though, it takes a catastrophe to bring people together, but as soon as we start blaming others, we fall apart.

Remember When You Used To Be Skinny?

Have I earned the right to vent? Probably not, but for the first time in two weeks, I need to be sad for myself. Here's how this is going to go down: I plan to wallow is sadness for about 2 minutes, then I will count all of my blessings. Ready? Okay (claps her hands together like a cheerleader).

After swimming 2,000 meters on the Vasa swim, I decided to go stand on the scale. Weighing in every week is never a fun thing for me. I don't dread the numbers, but that number never seems to change, no matter how many miles I run, hills I bike or burpees I perform. Well, that number changed today. It changed by 7.8 pounds... 7.8 pounds ADDED to my original weight. WHAT?! But how?! I was juicing all of last week with my mom and Genna! I was healthy! I've been good, I really have! I was under my calorie goal every day last week. How is this logical?

I wrote my numbers on the board and looked at the differences between calories expended and calories in from the last two weeks. I definitely had been eating less (about 2,500 calories less), but I also had burned less (try 7,000 calories less). Despair. My greatest fear in life is that I will get fat. No joke. Even moreso than my fears of driving and of ice. It is something I dwell on daily. So I am just soaking in self-pity right now.

But let's turn that frown upside down, shall we?

My boss and his wife made me dinner because they knew I couldn't walk. My friend Chad and his wife made me a meal the next night. My mom flew all the way down to spend the week with me; that was a huge blessing. Caroline and Roger lent me their car. Deb and her husband lent me theirs. My lovely friends offered to bring me things if I needed them. Kim took out half of my stitches yesterday Clare brought me trail mix because she knew I trained with it. Torrey came down for breakfast on Saturday. Multiple people have offered me rides because they know I have no vehicle. My tri friends have checked in on me consistently for the past two weeks. Overall, I have been overwhelmed with the caring community I am surrounded by. It has been a huge reminder to me that this is where I want to be. I am so incredibly blessed.

Plus, I made the best purchase of my life yesterday, so all is right in the world.

My awesome purchase

Cousins!

Love friends who know me

New swimsuit! Something to look forward to!