Run, Camp, Sleep, and Repeat

The Alafia Ragnar Trail Relay was a super fun experience that took me completely out of my comfort zone. First of all, if I wasn't as healthy as I am right now, camping with Crohn's disease would have seriously freaked me out. Thankfully, I am not dealing with any symptoms, so it wasn't an issue. Secondly, even though I was camping with strangers (now I consider them new friends) and sharing a tent with a guy I only met a couple of weeks ago, my social anxiety was nonexistent because I felt welcomed and a part of the team, aka, Sloth Squad!  Lastly, I had never done trail running before and this past weekend I did an extremely difficult mountain bike trail with cliffs, hills that seemed like mountains, and hairpin turns (it felt like I was running in another state) and I even ran a trail at night...in the dark with a head light!  It was an amazing whirlwind of an adventure.

Unfortunately, I am not very good at trail running. I fell a total of four times and bruised my knees like a kid on the playground. I sprained my ankle on my first trail run. Somehow I managed to push through the pain and finish strong. I went straight to the first aid tent and had the medic tape my ankle tightly to limit its range of motion and offer support so that I could continue the relay. We had a onesie party at camp, porta potties became a way of life, and we became a part of the Ragnarian family!

I carpooled to the relay with two people on my team, The Sloth Squad. We left early on Saturday after we were finished with our legs of the race because we had to get back to Orlando while the rest of our team finished their last legs of the relay. Our team captain picked up our medals when they were done and I'm excited to get it from him Tuesday night at Ten10 Run Club.

I had to get back to Orlando to attend my company's holiday party. It was kind of a rush to get cleaned up from camping and running in order to be presentable at the semi formal event. I'm really glad my sister, Kelly, went with me as my plus one. We enjoyed the cocktail hour before the grand ballroom opened at the Orlando World Center Marriott. I introduced Kelly to co-workers, most of which were executive managers because that's who I work closest with. She got to meet George Smith, the co-founder of the company, which was neat. The International/Entertainment VP told Kelly and Mr. Smith about the Owner Contracts I'm working on for him. The party had a live band, a dance floor, a delicious buffet, and an open bar. I lost count of how many jack and cokes I enjoyed. I had an interesting conversation with our W/WW (water/wastewater) VP about running and triathlons. We are both typically quiet, but the alcohol made chatting more natural for both of us. lol. My supervisor even gossiped about office drama. I stayed seated for most of the night because my ankle was swollen and it hurt to walk, so walked with a limp. By the end of the night, I went to dance with a lady who asked me to go on the dance floor earlier. She danced all night long with her husband and others and was constantly pulling folks up on the dance floor with her. She introduced me to a guy on the dance floor and we danced together for a couple of songs. He twirled me!!! Seriously, I was twirled and I wasn't sure I was twirling correctly, but it was fun! I likely wasn't very graceful with my bum ankle though... not that I would have been more graceful without a bum ankle. Afterwards, Kelly said "Well, he was hot!".

The last few days have been a blast with very little sleep, which means it's time for a nap!

Parasailing

I went parasailing with my sister, Kim, today!  I don't know what I expected, but it definitely beat my expectations. It seriously felt like we were flying! We flew higher than the birds. I live for little adventures like this. Kim and I even faced our irrational fears of the ocean and let the captain of the boat dip our feet in the water as we made our decent back to the boat.

 

 

I'm so happy we got to tandem because it gave us more time in the air and I think we had more fun enjoying the experience in the air together than we would have had separately.

 

If you ever have the opportunity to parasail, go! You'll feel liberated and you won't regret it! I'll totally go again.  



Confession Time

I'm sitting in bed as I type this. The catch is that I'm supposed to be at UCF for my class that started at 2pm. I wish I could say this is the first time I've taken off work to go to school only to skip class so that I can go home to rest instead.  The thing is...I feel good, no pain, regular poop, and my energy is better than it's been in months. Why did I skip school today with the final exam tomorrow?  I don't have an excuse or rational explanation other than I didn't want to go to class. What's up with that? Depression? Grief?

I was supposed  to go parasailing with my friend, Gabriel, this Saturday, but his babysitter cancelled and he in turn cancelled our parasailing plans. Fret not, I'll be going parasailing with my sister, Kim, instead. Times like these make me thankful I don't have any kids. Don't get me wrong, I understand putting family and kids first. I'm just not at the stage in my life where I want to put others before myself. I don't typically have that kind of energy and I have too much I want to accomplish before I'll be ready for that. I totally confess that I don't know if I'll ever be ready to constantly put others first. Does this make me a bad person? 

Stand Up Paddle Boarding and a Pathetic Goodbye

          After I took my last final of the semester on Saturday, I didn't take a nap. I went on a two hour paddle board tour with Taylor in Merritt Island on the Canaveral Barge Canal. I felt shittier than shit. I woke up the day before with a cold. I had a terrible headache that nothing would cure and being in the bright sun made it worse. I didn't eat much of anything all day because I've had the craps lately and I didn't want to have to crap while I was in the middle of nowhere on the paddle board. Could you imagine? Oh yeah, and that thing called energy is still avoiding me like I'm the plague. Any other time I would have asked Taylor for a lazy day, but I couldn't this time. She's moving away in two days, so I wanted to spend time with her doing something we'd remember.

          If you've never been paddle boarding, I totally recommend doing it. The feeling of the wind hitting my face as I paddled through the water was liberating. I experienced a rush when waves from boats rocked the board I stood on. I let out a few unrestricted screams of delight along the way. How great it was to paddle along side Taylor. I think we will be paddling along side each other in this life for many decades to come.  We got to see three manatees fucking, literally. They rolled around in the water like wild animals. One even swam right along side of my board for a bit. It was very cool. Our guide said that since it's mating season they like to get friendly with the kayaks and paddle boards. On the way back, we had to paddle against the current and against the wind. I was exhausted and didn't seem to be moving anywhere fast, so the guide in the kayak was kind enough to give me a tow back to the dock. I am so weak that it's annoying.

          Taylor and I were supposed to go to dinner after we got back to her place, but I was fatigued, indescribably tired and didn't feel well so I went home to go to bed instead. I know, it was a pathetic goodbye. I guess it's a good thing I don't ever say goodbye to people I want to stay in my life. I say see ya because it's like a promise that I'll see you later . Unwanted tears found my cheeks on the car ride back to my place because I'm sad she's moving. Then I scolded myself for being selfish. I'm selfless, too.  I'm glad she's found a new job with great potential of moving to the top quickly. I'm not only excited that she's starting a different chapter of her life, but I'm also happy that she'll be beginning another chapter with her boyfriend by moving in with him.  I admire her courage in this life-changing move.

Dear Taylor,

I can’t say that I’m not a little sad

I can’t act like you’re not the bestest friend I have

I can’t say please don’t go. Don’t go and leave

I can’t ask you to stay in this old town for me 

I can say best of luck. I’m excited for you

I can sing our song because I believe it's true

I can say you should go and chase your dreams

I can ask you to never forget about me

 

Your wings are ready and so am I

Your next chapter awaits

May you find much success in Sunrise

As you go on your way

Spread your wings and don’t forget to fly