Exercising on Vacation

Spring break was last week - hence the lack of posting - and for the first time, I attempted to work out during vacation.

Typically, vacation for me entails eating lots of food (best way to learn about a new city!), drinking with friends (and making new ones in the bar), and eating fast food in the airport. This time around, I packed up my tennis shoes and headed to Seattle for a yearly reunion with some of my best friends.

I decided I would get some exercise the morning before my flight by cycling to work. The trip is 5 miles each way, and it is by no means grueling, but hey! I'm trying here, people. Unfortunately for me, I have a horrible habit of leaving my apartment without looking out the window first, and this morning I was greeted with rain as I wheeled my bike on to the street. The ride got me ready for the weather in Seattle.

Vacation started that evening, and I hydrated well by choosing two delicious Malbecs for dinner and even ordering a side salad rather than another plate of gnocci! For the next two days I got my exercise by walking all over Seattle from places like Pike Place to the Space Needle to the dressing rooms of Nordstroms. Further exercise occurred at night in the form of dancing, sprinting to cabs, and eating hot dogs with cream cheese (a late night delicacy in Seattle apparently). Then we were lucky enough to head up to the San Juan Islands for the weekend on a friend's boat where I went running. In my efforts to maintain my vacation feeling, I went running without a watch and with no idea of where I was going. In my head I think I ran for 40 minutes, but in reality it was probably 30 minutes or so. The good news is that for one of the first times in my life, I looked forward to running, and I kept a steady pace. Now I'm back in the midwest and planning on a run tonight. I'm looking forward to flat surfaces and no rain!






Roche Harbor, San Juan Island, Washington. A wonderful place for an afternoon run. This picture was taken by Nicole, and I stole it from her with the idea that as long as I gave her credit she wouldn't sue me. Thanks, Nic!

First Triathlon

So last spring I was eating a bowl of Wheaties for breakfast (already off to a great start with my diet btw!), and as I sat there spooning the bowl...read third... into my mouth, I read about Hunter Kemper. Prior to this day, I had never imagined doing a triathlon. Triathlons fell into the category of impossible things like marathons, speed skating, dancing, etc. Things that my body cannot do basically.

Sure I was on the track team in high school, but I joined to hang out with my friends and let's face it, I threw javelin, and I sucked at it. My favorite days were when we got to stab pop cans with javelins in an attempt to improve "aim" and "return to our cave man roots." In college I mainly worked out at our campus gym, but that workout schedule strictly evolved around the days when I was not hungover.

In an attempt to try a team sport (my concern with maintaining a firm sense of a physical personal space boundary kept sports that involve other people from being "my thing"), I joined the law firm softball team where I was working one summer. This short lived attempt ended with a black eye and the nickname, Rocky, for the rest of the summer. Real professional, guys. Oh yeah, and I got this shiner during "practice" when a paralegal threw a pop-up towards me. Biatch.


I bought my first bicycle in college to avoid riding the metro or paying for cabs in DC, and somewhere along the way, I really began to enjoy bicycling. Likewise, swimming has always been fun. I was a lifeguard in high school and could swim the distances required for weekly trainings, but I was always last. Never mastered that flip turn. So, reading about Kemper inspired me to challenge myself and work off some of those cheese curds. I actually enjoy two of the three aspects involved in the competition, and after a brief Google search, I found plenty of triathlons in Minnesota.

The real journey here will be developing endurance, and hopefully, an affection for running. I have always been a fan of the brisk walk. I bust it out on city sidewalks and the hallways of the Mall of America alike. No one can hustle it to make an elevator like me. My 7th grade gym/health teacher once told our class that you could burn just as many calories running as walking the same distance, and as much as I've tried to forget the Richard Simons dances we were forced to learn, I have kept that simple equation (running calories = walking calories) at the forefront of my mind. Until NOW.

Dissuaded about the amount of time I would have to prepare, I delayed participating in a triathlon until this year. I sent in my registration and $65 fee last week and IT HAS BEGUN. Thus far, my training has consisted of running/walking around Lake of the Isles or Lake Calhoun and attending a 90 minute hot yoga class. I'll be participating in the St. Paul Triathlon, sprint distance, and I am hopeful! 160 days until race day. Stay tuned!