A new year for snowshoeing

Mt. Waterman is one of our favorite place to snowshoe in L.A. Next weekend, the GM told us, the ski lifts should be fully operational. That will mean that we can buy a ticket to the top, rather than hike up the fire road. Mind you, the fire road is a perfectly good hike, particularly on snowshoes, but I'm looking forward to being at the top with energy to explore up there. I guess now I'll have to pay more attention to the skiers, though, to make sure I'm not in their way. That wasn't really an issue when the lift didn't work.

Christmas Cheer

I'm not training, but I'm definitely eating. Frosted cookies, fudge, carrot cake, gingersnaps, triple sec pound cake--and that's just the desserts.

I'm also enjoying the influx of holiday cards. I really like seeing all of the photo cards. But here's a note to many of my friends: your children are adorable, and it's fun to see them grow up. But you know what? I'd like to know what you look like, too. Include yourselves in the family photos. And if you're sending a regular card, please don't pick one with glitter. It's the gift that keeps on giving, and I'd rather it didn't.

Regardless, I love having a tree decorated, and I really enjoyed having my family spend several days here. It's Christmas Eve, and I'm having a great time celebrating the season.

And now, let Linus explain the meaning of Christmas.

Failing to Meet My Goals

I was going to lose 5 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Instead? Up two.

Belated Triathlon News

The training paid off! I still have a bad knee, which limits my running, and I'm still afraid of biking down hill, which limits my cycling. But I rocked the swim, if I do say so myself. I expected to cover the 1/4-mile distance in about 20 minutes, and came out of the water in just under 13. The entire experience was fantastic, and I decided to follow it up with a relay at the Catalina Triathlon.

This race featured a 1/2-mile swim, which made up my portion of the event. I was so excited at not having to prepare for the bike and run that I completely forgot to prepare for the swim. I was late to the transition area, and as I was laying out my towel, I realized that I couldn't find my official swim cap (color: yellow) or my ear plugs. Fortunately my husband was able to provide extra ear plugs, and I did have my regular swim cap (color: blue). Naturally, in between the discovery and the solution, there was freaking out and shrieking.

So I made my way over to the start, where I waited for my wave (relays go last). I couldn't see anything, because I had torn a contact and therefore decided that it would be better not to wear them. In retrospect, that might have been half right.

Soon it was time for my wave to begin. I gave myself a quick pep talk (I am a strong swimmer! I am going to swim very fast!) and ran into the water. Within 50 yards, I was shocked to realize that (a) I was already dead last, and (b) I felt like I was going to drown. What kept me going at first was the realization that I was part of a team, and that I couldn't let my friends down because the swim was too hard. After that, what kept me going was the people on surfboards. The support crew was absolutely fantastic, providing moral support and directions to the buoys. After I rounded the second one, I could see the shore, and somehow things got easier. One woman paddled the entire way in with me, cheering me on the whole way.

At this point, I was clearly the last person out of the water. Apparently the race photographer didn't see me, and left to take pictures somewhere else. (Harumph! I was only 40 seconds behind the person who finished immediately ahead of me!)

However, in spite of being incredibly slow compared to the other racers, I improved on my previous pace. This time I finished in just under 22 minutes, which means that my pace was faster over the longer distance.

So on a personal level, my training paid off. On a team level, it's a good thing that I was on a team with people who were faster on the bike and in the run in comparison to other racers--my friends and their speed are the reason that the team didn't come in last, even though I did!

That's it for this year. I don't know what next year will hold.

And Now We Return to Our Previously Scheduled Program

Saturday: walked 2 miles

Sunday: swam 700 meters (600 freestyle, 100 breaststroke)

Which Austen Heroine Are You?

Just in case you think I'd lost interest in everything but training.

Take the Quiz here!

Gym

So on a speedy lunchtime trip to the gym (nearly all of my trips to the gym are speedy and at lunch, but this one was extra speedy), I did 10 minutes on the treadmill, including two 1-minute running intervals (6.1 mph and 6.0 mph, respectively), a variety of free weights and weight machines, and 13 minutes including cooldown on the bike.

Go, me!

Putting it Together

100m breaststroke + 700m freestyle = 800m

And I did them in 100s! (Well, not the breaststroke lap. Still gasping at midpoint on that.)