Wednesday, December 14, 2011

The Danskin Swim: now with more arms and legs!

One month after the ChelanMan race, it was time for the Danskin!

And guess whose ear was still mostly blocked?


I SAID: GUESS WHOSE EAR...Oh.  Right.

Quick sidebar: here is an actual conversation I had with TriGuy around that time, when he was leaving town for a business trip.

(TriGuy, from another room): "I hope your hearing (mumbo jumbo bumbo wumbo)"

(Me): "What's that?"

(TriGuy now shouting, but still from the other room): "Are you SERIOUS??"

(Me, now shouting as well): "Yes. What did you say?"

At this point TriGuy walked into the room I was in:


I had been on two rounds of antibiotics and it was awesome awful.  I was pretty sure I would never hear properly out of my left ear again...remember, someone's a tad dramatic.

Anyhoo, back to the race.  As with Chelan, once Ann Marie and I were set up in the transition area (which was waaay bigger than Chelan) we set our sights on an end target and went for a warm up swim.  By the way, Ann Marie is in the red cap, which will be relevant in a minute.



We found each other and swam back to shore, then stood around nervously mugging at the camera for TriGuy.


Ann Marie was not overly confident about the swim and was wearing a non-tri wetsuit.  The benefit was that she did not feel like she was being strangled, but the down side was that it was less buoyant and colder.  I told her I would stay close to keep her going.

I made sure we were in a middle round of the mixed-age wave, and off to the side for the start.  We swam out into the chop with lots of flailing arms and legs (some of which may or may not have been my own).

It was so great to look around and see Ann Marie's red cap in a sea of orange, and be able to encourage her through the swim!


The swim was much more crowded than Chelan, with murkier water and lots of doggie-paddlers to weave through.

Finally, I reached the last buoy and headed to shore.  Luckily this race has a HUGE swim out ramp with helium markers and about 50 people standing along it to pull you out if necessary.  This meant that I did not overswim my finish, but the last 25 metres was full of seaweed (or as Tonya from Where Have All the Hobos Gone? calls it, the toilet paper of the sea).

Super.


In other news (in case you missed it):  My blog turned ONE YEAR OLD on December 7th! And I missed the day.


In this past year I've published 56 posts, started selling things on Zazzle (for a preview check out the sidebar on the right), and become a FitFluential Ambassador! But, most importantly, I have made some fabulous friends through blogging, most of whom I have yet to meet in real life!  I am so grateful for each and every one of you who follow, and for those of you who take the time to comment!

Oh!  One more thing:  if you're trying to follow and the widget doesn't work, try reloading the page.  That usually takes care of it :)

UPCOMING POSTS:  DANSKIN BIKE AND RUN RECAPS

28 comments:

  1. Love it! I thought about doing the Danskin tri this year but missed registration.

    Happy (late) Blogiversary! :) I'm making up words now.

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  2. Happy blogiversary. Mine is the 17th, so ill be sure to take it out to a fancy dinner or something. Id say you have accomplished quite a lot in a year and I can't wait to see where next year takes you!

    Ps toilet paper of the sea? Lol, you tri people and your funny jokes!

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  3. Too cute& congrats on a year filled with accomplishments! I guess it's because you're kind of funny& relateable ..or something ;)

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  4. Lindsay: Thanks! Lots of people say blogiversary, so you're in good company, even if spell check disagrees :) You should sign up for next year's race! It's good clean fun!

    MegO: Holy cow! We started at the same time? Crazy! Yes, do the dinner...mine pouted that I was late, but still enjoyed the cake ;) It has certainly been a fun year :)

    Yvonne: Thanks! Well, you know, I try to be something like what you're describing.

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  5. Congrats on the one year! Champagne for all. If swimming through ocean t.p. is just stage one, I look forward to the next stages.

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  6. Whoo Hoo! Happy belated one year blog-iversary!
    p.s - That's 'toilet paper of the sea' line had my whole office laughing :)

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  7. Murkey water and seaweed?!? EEK EEK EEK. Glad you didn't lose a toe or two to some gators.

    Also, happy blogiversary!

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  8. Happy blog birthday!! Our blogs are 2 days apart :)

    The ear thing would drive me nuts...ugh.

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  9. Oh blah! That toilet paper of the sea picture makes me want to spit it out for you. What a busy year this blog has had. Congrats on all fronts and keep em coming!

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  10. Not a Perfect Mom: Thanks! Guess it's easy to miss :)

    Pickleope: Champagne! Yum! No more TP of any kind, thankfully :)

    Kristin: Thanks! I'll be sure to pass along the laughing office comment to Tonya!

    Gia: Thank you. Yeah, if I start seeing gators in these here parts I might stick to indoor tris!

    Ixy: Oh hey! Happy blogiversary to you too!! Yeah the ear thing...so annoying.

    Vapid Vixen: Welllll, I may not have had it in my mouth exactly...but yeah, seaweed takes a lot of mental fortitude for me to swim through. And thanks! I plan to keep going for now :D

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  11. Love the TP comment...although I have to say I may not have survived that swim myself!

    Happy Blogiversary to you!! That is so awesome - and I love every one of your posts and can hardly wait for the next one ;)

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  12. The TP comment is perfect. I hate seaweed or algae brushing my legs. Brr, made me shiver just thinking about it! Happy one year to your blog! I am coming up on my one year re-blogging versary (real thing) too! :)

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  13. Erika: It's probably one of the more unique swims just with sheer crowds. There's lots and lots of support too though :) You're so nice too, thanks for that comment :D

    Texa: Thanks! Oh yes, it's definitely a real thing...it's interesting how so many people I follow started at the same time!

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  14. Okay. Is it bad that my attention span is zilch today and I studied your pictures but didn't really read much at all? Forgive me but your drawing is captivating, haha!

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  15. Congrats on the blogiversary!

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  16. Congrats on the anniversary!

    I feel your pain with the ear blockage, I get it a lot, despite that fact I don't swim. Ear syringing is one of those things I enjoy a lot more than I should.

    Really, I'm not as gross as I seem, promise!

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  17. Amanda: That's alright, the writing will still be here when you're ready to read it...besides it would be worse if you came for the writing and skipped the drawings!

    runningonwords: Thanks lady!

    Cranface: Thank you! Ear syringing?

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  18. Congrats on your birthday! My blog isn't even half the age of yours yet. :(

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  19. DWei: Thanks! I don't know if the webs could handle the size yours would get at a year old!

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  20. haha. just found your blog (FFA love). this is amazing! love the artwork. you've got a gift. :)

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  21. Andrea: Yes, Tonya tells it like it is. You should check her out! She draws too!

    courtney: Thanks so much! Hooray for FFA love! Fun to find new blogs that have common interests.

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  22. Hope you start hearing better soon. I said, HOPE YOU START HEARING BETTER SOON!!! And congrats on turning 1 year old :-) I SAID, CONGRATS ON TURNING 1 YEAR OLD!

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  23. Dr. Cynicism: THANKS!! I enjoyed your meme dude...did you see I did one on my last post?

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  24. Happy 1st blog-birthday or whatever it is called!

    Love your drawings!

    TP of the sea - awesome!

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  25. HHHMMMmmm... every time I read a post, there's another several reasons to give exercise a miss ...!!! There's a special Xmas surprise for you on my blog in my 'Sunshine' post! Enjoy!!

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  26. Andrea: Thanks! So glad you came by!

    Red: Hehe...but if you notice, I keep going back! So despite the foibles, I do love it! A surprise?? For moi?? Can't wait! Thank you in advance!

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