Tasty Morsels

For Tuesday, Jan 04, 2011

The only good thing about having a trip start out so very badly, is that you appreciate anything that goes right after that.

My flight from Tampa to Minneapolis boarded on time, but there was an issue with the pilot’s backup oxygen mask and we couldn’t take off until that was fixed. About an hour later, the toilet in the back of the plane overflowed. Now it would be a race to see which was fixed first! They brought in maintenance to shut off the water. Great, one toilet for 175 passengers (and one toilet in first class for only 8 passengers). But we were still waiting for the oxygen mask to get fixed.

And I had a middle seat with a crying baby right behind me. This is gonna be a really long 3 hour flight.

I called Orbitz for Business knowing I would be missing my connecting flight to Boise. The next flight out was at 5:45, but it was booked solid. They booked me on the next available flight at 9:30pm. Instead of arriving in Boise at 2:00pm, I’d be getting in at 11:30pm. So much for being well rested tomorrow!

2 hours after the scheduled time, we finally took off (first morsel). The older lady sitting next to me was a real joy to talk with. And that crying baby… slept or played and laughed the entire flight (another morsel).

When I arrived in Minn, I checked with Delta and was able to get on the standby list for the 5:45 flight – and I was the first one on the list. Oh, and they gave me a food voucher for a whopping $6 (another morsel). That covered part of my $14 lunch (I had a chicken wrap, fries, and iced tea).

For exercise, I walked the length of the airport about 3 times (another morsel) and stopped in a shop where I bought a new shirt (another morsel).

Finally, it was time to go to the gate. I sat patiently watching the plane board. The overhead monitor showed that one seat had not yet been claimed – maybe I had a chance. There were four passengers waiting for a standby seat. A few minutes later, the monitor showed all seats had been claimed. Still, I waited. After they finished boarding, the called my name and I was the only standby passenger to make the flight.

It was another long 2.5 hour flight, but the Boise airport is small and I got my bag and caught the shuttle to the hotel. By now it was 9pm.

Like a Christmas present waiting to be unwrapped, I can’t wait to get out tomorrow to see what Boise looks like!

Frogman

For Sunday, Jan 2, 2010

Frogman Swim

I had an early run with Robin Hawk this morning. We had to limit it to 50 minutes since I had to get going as soon as we were done. The run was nice, jog 9 minutes, walk 1, five times. We were a little surprised that it was overcast today, and actually started drizzling. We were not expecting that!

After the run, I picked up Dawn Clark and headed to the Gandy Bridge for the start of the Frogman 5k swim across Tampa Bay. It was a nice start to the event as there was a rainbow adorning the start line! What a great turn out! 67 participants were braving the cold water (around 53 degrees), head wind, and light chop. Darry Jackson brought out his swarm of kayakers and there were a few stand-up paddlers as well.

Boat support for the Frogman Swim

On Board: Eric Herman, Tim Kennedy, Chris Burke, and Bryant Davies

Dawn Clark with her kayaker, Kathy Selles, getting ready to start.

I watched the start, then drove on to Picnic Island to be there to greet my friends who were participating in this great fundraiser to benefit wounded Navy Seals and their families. The first swimmer was out of the water in 1 hour and 3 minutes. The last swimmer was in after about 2 hours and 35 minutes. Roger Little was second to last in 1:30, but he is 70 years old! There was one swimmer out of the bunch who did the swim with no wetsuit.

Dawn finished at around 1 hour 45 minutes after a rough start having to stop for about 10 minutes to mess with her wetsuit. When I greeted her on the beach, she smiled, and I frowned. Her smile was just not working and it really concerned me. The lower left side of her lip wasn’t moving. Why would that happen? Could it be that she was just cold – early signs of hypothermia? It looked kind of like Bells Palsy? Could she be having a stroke brought on by that much time in the cold water? I looked at her eyes and her pupils were pinpoint. Not good.

“You’re freaking me out” she said. “Well you’re freaking me out” I said.

There was no medical tent at the finish line. I took her to the car and we tried to make some shade around her head so that I could see if her pupils would dilate. They did, slightly, but we didn’t create much shade either. We got her out of the wet clothes and into warm dry clothes and got her a cup of hot chocolate. Sure enough, as she warmed up, her smile was back in working order!

Later that day, we had a nice, warm, relaxing dip in the hot tub… that’s sure to get the last of the chill out!

Frogman Finishers

What SUP for the New Year

It's a new year and time for some new plans.

I've been so busy with traveling lately that I haven't had much time for fun, let alone getting in enough training for my "Goofy Challenge" next weekend. I am so not ready for that event. So the goal is to just get through it and then get on to some fun new things.

That means Stand Up Paddle (SUP). Tim ordered his new board just before Christmas and I ordered my board on 12/30 - the same day his arrived. I can't wait until it arrives!

On New Year's Eve morning, Tim, Chris Burke, Carl Selles, and Eric Herman headed out to christen Tim's new board. What a great day it was! Beautiful sunrise, warm air, but really cold water.

Tim with his new Oxbow board.

Sunrise SUP.

SUP in front of The Pier

So... my goals for 2011? After finishing Goofy, I'll focus on SUP and XFit. With XFit, I'll work on the intensity of the training (finally) and schedule a few short, fast, and hopefully fun events including some 5k runs and maybe a few sprint triathlons. Maybe St. Anthony's and, if I get a wild hair, Gulf Coast Triathlon (half ironman).

Nutritionally, I'll try to focus more on my Alcat diet and see if it improves my health and reduces the inflammation. I'll be posting results on training, racing, and any insights on the nutrition.

Here's to a happy and healthy New Year to all!