And to be honest; I sorta missed chasing the Ponytails.
Since I’d get comp’d back for it from work, it was just a matter of having some extra cash on hand to put on the table. With a sudden surplus thanks to some Birthday Money from The Moms, I just happened to have an extra Hundred I didn’t know what to do with.
The plan was for me to hang out at home to meet up with one of D’Wife’s friends from the Bank, who we hadn’t seen in ages, then skip on over to Voorhees to re-up.
I had my gear all packed up for a run, a ride, a swim, whatever might present itself, but I was REALLY looking forward to getting into the pool. Sometimes, a dude just needs some chlorinated weightlessness to recharge the surfy-ness; know what I mean? Probably not, sorry.
The pool was already hopping when I completed my renewal. Two people to a lane, all dudes, too. Not the way I’d planned on making my “comeback” To tell the truth, I was a little bit uncomfortable about this. I can swim fine when I’m out in the waves and only have to stroke-stroke-stroke while kicking to catch a wave, then glide in. The idea of continuing for 25 yards at a time always brought a bit of anxiety with it.
To kill some time, to give the fish some time to thin out, I started out like I usually did: on the track.
“We all lost one helluva guy in Joe two years ago. I had the idea of doing a 40 mile bike ride on what would’ve been his 40th birthday on Nov 4th. While we all knew him from running, I wasn’t gonna run 40 miles lol. So however you see fit to honor our friend so be it. You wanna run 4.0 miles, a 40k, ride 40 miles or swim 40 laps, I think he would be proud in whatever we choose individually. It also doesn’t have to be on that Friday if it’s not convenient for you, it could be over that weekend. Whatever works for you. VTFU!”
Oh No … I HAD forgotten. I would do 40 laps on the 12 lap/mile Track at Bally's in honor of Joe "Voodoo" Truini's 40th Birthday.
Kept my pace nice and even at 42 seconds per lap [8:24 pace] until some kid came by - understand this, the place was practically empty so having company was both welcome and sort of an annoyance. I mean, he certainly could have run on his own, once I was on the other side of the track. But, no. He ran with me for a lap & a half or so, then he gave me this look ... not once, but twice ... and took off. I countered and followed him, right on his shoulder. I couldn't believe it, but the little punk pulled me through 3 laps at 37sec per [7:24] before he blew himself up. I eased back, stopped checking my splits and completed my 40 circuits for Voo'sDay.
Mostly out of habit, once my run was done I hopped on the Bike. The Bally's LifeCycle bikes limit you to 30 minutes at a time. And, no matter how fast or slow you pedal, after ½ and hour, it's always the same distance. The calories and wattage change depending on your cadence and resistance, but the mileage never does. Odd.
UFO Expert: I've been coming to this circle for about five years, and measuring it. The diameter and the circumference are constantly changing, but the radius stays the same. Which brings me to the number 5. There are five letters in the word Blaine. Now, if you mix up the letters in the word Blaine, mix 'em around, eventually, you'll come up with Nebali. Nebali. The name of a planet in a galaxy way, way, way... way far away. And another thing. Once you go into that circle, the weather never changes. It is always 67 degrees with a 40% chance of rain.
I turned my iPod on and cruised for 10 miles [there's some weird km/minute x some factor math going on in there, if I remember correctly].
The whole point of GOING to Bally's and renewing the Membership was to get in the Pool, right??? Well, it was kinda crowded when I got there so I killed some time on the Track and doing the Bike. But I REALLY wanted to get in [and come home with that chlorine smell in my hair] so after a quick change I flip-flopped over. Timidly, asked the only dude who had a lane to himself, if I could share. He was very welcoming and once he had pushed off from the wall, I dropped in. I made some adjustments to the goggles that have been sitting in the bottom of my back pack since forever, hoping to get a good seal. As it so happened, the foamy gaskets around the lenses were pretty beat and there was no way to get a good watertight seal on them. Things being what they were, though, I tried my best. Let me just say, I STILL swim like a brick. I did 8 trips down and back JUST in time for the Pool Attendant to say “9:30 sir, pool is closing now”
Thank goodness. 400 yards in 18 minutes; just about the same time as my first EVER triathlon!!! If I'm gonna keep this up, gotta get new goggles. And practice. A lot. I even thought “Swim Coach” for a minute there, but there’s no way I’d find one that would let me get away with the crap I’d pull on my running coaches.
Add it all up, and I did a Reverse Indoor Sprint Triathlon, in about an hour and a half. Darn that Fatty for putting the idea in my head!!!
With a 10K on Sunday, that may or may NOT have been the best judgment. But we’ll see.
