Swim?

Yesterday, we had on and off showers all day.  I procrastinated my run until my daughter got home from school.  She arrived, but by then I decided I was hungry and would rather eat than run.  I thought I might go when Pete got home at 7, but I had a borderline catastrophic (well, catastrophic to me) evening between a Sharpie masterpiece on the new couch in the den (courtesy of two year old), my two eldest kickboxing to the point of tears, and my son puking up his entire dinner while picking up #1 from soccer.  Running might have calmed my nerves, but by the time Pete came home, all I wanted to do was run away to Italy with my young, imaginary boyfriend Leonardo go to bed.   My 9 miler evaporated into thin air.

Today there were no excuses.  Pete shuffled me out the door a little after 9am.  It was very foggy, damp and 38 degrees.  I ran my first two miles at an 8:30 pace.  I figured this run was going to be slower than I planned.  The next five miles I picked up my speed to what I thought was half marathon pace.  It was tough.  I thought by my effort that I was dragging along.  It ended up being a 7:26 pace.  The last mile I cooled down.  I cut the run short because Pete had to get to work.  I finished 8 miles in 1:02:24, a 7:48 pace.  This actually really surprised me, but I'll take it!

I wanted to mention my friend, Lori King.  She is not a runner.  She is a swimmer.  Not just your ordinary run-of-the-mill swimmer.  She swims marathon open water events.  And she places overall (meaning above the guys).  You would never guess this upon meeting her.  She is adorable, tiny, self-depracating, and modest beyond belief.  Her next big adventure is swimming the Catalina Channel in August.  This is no easy feat.  It is 20 miles from the coast of California to Catalina Island and the water temperature is typically cold.  Part of her training consists of swimming in the ocean off Coney Island, Brooklyn in the middle of winter.  Yeah, crazy.  But dedicated.  The reason I mention her is because she is looking for corporate sponsorship.  If you're a swimmer (I know there are a bunch of triathletes out there!  Yeah, I'm talkin' to you!), know a swimmer, or know anyone in the swimming apparel/gear industry and think you'd like to help, please visit her site www.lorikingswimming.com.  She's pretty awesome.  (For the record, I'm a terrible swimmer and I dislike swimming in the ocean immensely.  And yes, I did sail across the Atlantic Ocean in a 44 foot catamaran as a lass.  Did I mention I'm a sucker for adventure?)

Hi Lori!