32 miles and counting

i must sincerely apologize for the lack of boggling lately. since the start of my new second job at rei i have had two days off. the first was when k and i photographed a wedding for our friends. well i mean it was there wedding. the other day off was my fathers 50^th birthday party. i believe that it was the best birthday party ever and it lasted from 11am to 5pm. i still can’t believe that my father is actually 50. i never ever want my parents to get old. they remain youthful and extremely active and i look up to them so much.

this last sunday, my parents, a few of their friends, k and i all participated in bike the drive. they close off lake shore drive and allow bikers to ride on it. you start at jackson and ride north till the end of lsd, turn around and ride south till the museum of science and industry, then back north to jackson. i believe the entire trip is 32 miles.

i ride a bike most days and k rides up to work in evanston and back most days. however, we don’t usually do long distances. we were not at all tired of riding after the 32 miles and would have loved to keep going. the major restriction was that i needed to be showered clean and at work ready to go by 11am. we were both a little surprised how easily we rode the 32 miles. i was also a bit taken back a how much i enjoyed it. yes of course it was insatiably beautiful to be on lsd early in the morning and watch the sun come up over lake shore drive. but what i enjoyed the most (well besides being with my family) was not having stops light and cars. i felt like i actually got stretch my legs and ride! non stop and at a desent speed and for a girl that does 99% of her bike riding in a urban city that was quite a treat.

i believe that my dad and i will do the ride for awareness again this year but i would also like to do the 62 mile boulevard ride  the late night and will and i are planning to ride for world naked bike ride. i don’t really know why i don’t participate in critical mass but I really should start. in addition i really would not mind doing some light racing. my mother is about to do her first min tri at age 45! i forget how much she needs to swim but she needs to run 3.5 miles and bike 15. not to bad. i have just re-picked up swimming. i have a pool in my building and last year i didn’t use it a single time! what a waste! this year i am doing laps.

in addition i have always been opposed to the idea of running as a sport. so much impact on the knees especially when swimming and cycling when done right are no impact on the body. besides it had always been one of my least favorite things to so ever. i would like to give it a second chance. i live right next to the lake shore path which would be great to run on and in have treadmills in the work out room of my building for the winter. who knows maybe next year i can do a tri with my mom? Maybe even the chicago marathon? i had always wanted to do something like that but never thought i could, well now im beginning to think that i totally could.

to keep this up i want to go kayaking like no other! k and i have not been in a long time and i really don’t want to go on the chicago rive again. it smells! however, i don’t really know where else to go kayaking. we usually go out to washington/ oregan for an extended time in the summer and do all kinds of amazing things and camp but that will not happen this year due to our jobs. it breaks my heart and makes me what to scream we are going to go for a few days at the end of next month for a friends wedding and i am really hoping that we get to go rafting at least one time.

at rei i work in footwear and have been helping a lot of people with boots for hiking trips. these trips sound amazing! i have never done more then a day hike, i have never been back packing and i really really want to. i would love to camp in the red woods for a few days and im hoping k and i could make that happened soon. also, i am scuba certified and k is about to take certificating classes. we for a while have talked about going to Costa Rica. k went there with friends when he was younger. i have been many tropical places but not there. well we can go diving for a few days and then go hiking in the cloud forest. i really want to do that.

also after a long break i have once again returned to my obsession to bikram yoga. i am considering participating in the il state asana championships this year. however they don’t know when it will be yet this year. the reason i want to do it is all the extra training. last year my yoga studio did competition traing twice a week after the regular class. I think that extra training would really help me go deeper in my practice.

the main point is that im just trying to be healthy. i have always had a horrific immune system and i feel as if i am finally starting to strengthen it. i feel like i can do things i ever thought i could do before and that is just empowering.