Reach the Beach 2012 Part 1

Phew, I am home briefly (got home from RTB late last night and I am leaving for California at 4 am tomorrow morning). Reach the Beach 2012 was a blast and there is far too much for one post, so I'll break it up into 3 posts.

I met half the team at Hampton Beach on Thursday evening. My first year I ran with a random team from PA that I found on the RTB forum, but since then I've run with the team I helped found- Sole Sacrifice. There is a core group of 5-6 of us that do it every year. It's the only time all year I see these guys, so it is great to catch up. We met the rest of the team at our condo for the night up at Bretton Woods. We had quite a few new people this year and they were all great!

Friday morning we were up early to decorate the vans and have breakfast. It was a rare fall morning, warm and clear. The view from the condo was spectacular.

Eileen went crazy with the decorations this year, so our vans were totally pimped out.

 I LOVED the purple christmas lights because it made it so easy to find the van in the dark. No wandering around a giant parking lot full of white vans trying to find MY van. And of course, as always, we had our rubber chicken antenna decoration. We stole the chicken from a team 4 years ago and still have it!

Then it was time to head to Cannon Mountain for the start. It was kinda crazy as usual, but so much nicer this year because it was warm. Last year I had on about 8 layers and was still freezing!

We got all checked in and had time for some team photos.

 Then it was 11:40 and time for the start. After starting the last 2 years, I was ready to run. But it was Jimi starting us off and I had to wait.

 Jimi went out like a bullet and then we were on the road. I was good teammate, passing out water and giving some love out on the road. Around 3 pm, it was finally my turn to run. Although I had been enjoying the warm sunshine all day, it was a little too warm for running. I was HOT!

My first leg was 5.5 miles with a lot of downhill. I wore my Garmin but didn't use it for pacing. I just ran what felt good. After being very discouraged with my pace lately, I was thrilled to look down and see I was holding an 8:30 pace. I ended up running with a guy from Portland for 3 miles. It was nice to have some company. We got separated when we both stopped to get water from our teams, so I ran the last 2.5 alone. I felt good- strong and comfortable, except for some major chafing issues. I won't go into too many details but my clothing on my bottom half was not working with me.

And then I was done. I walked around for a minute and then hopped in the van to head to our last TA in our rotation. Round 1 done!

Reach the Beach NH: Runner 5

Each year I've done RTB, I've done different legs. My first year I was runner 10, my second I was runner 8, my third I was runner 1, and my fourth I was runner 1 again but we only had 9 runners so the rotation was different.

Runner 1.... starting us off right last year!

This year I am runner 5. Here is what my legs are looking like:

Leg 5: 5.50 miles: easy [map] Still more downhill awaits the runners of Leg 5, though not as steep. Be wary of the logging trucks that travel this main thoroughfare from the north woods of New Hampshire and Maine.

Commentary: This I think will be a breeze. I will be fresh and excited. And I love downhills!


Leg 17: 8.98 miles: hard [map] Leg 17 leaves transition area #17, crosses the dock area of Lake Winnipesaukee, and then climbs steeply for about a mile before turning right onto Route 106 (also known as Parade Road) and heads into Laconia. You follow this road passed The Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and continue until you hit Lexington Drive where you will turn right. You will follow for about .4 mile until you arrive at New Hampshire Ball Bearing on your right.

Commentary: This is the leg I am dreading. It is probably going to be around 2 am so it will be dark and lonely. It is still quiet hours so my team won't be able to play loud music to pump me up.  I will be tired, my legs won't be as fresh. I've seen these hills and they are long and steep!

Leg 29: 4.08 miles: moderate QUIET ZONE! [map] Leg 29 follows Route 121A for about 1.9 miles and turns left onto Hawkwood Road. It stays on this road for about 2 miles before becoming Colbey Road. It intersects with Rt. 111A where the runners will turn left. Use caution crossing this road. You will follow Rt. 111A for about .1 mile and transition at the Danville Baptist Church on the right.

Commentary: Boo another quiet zone. I like it loud! 4 downhillish miles, usually no big deal. But after already running 14.5 miles, not sleeping, and likely haven eaten a lot of crap, the last leg is always hard.

Packing for Reach the Beach: Relay Race Packing Tips

I am heading out to Reach the Beach New Hampshire tomorrow which means that today is packing day! I always try to pack a day before I leave so that I have time to remember all the stuff I forgot before I leave! This will be my fifth RTB and I can't wait! Each year I've learned something new about what to bring and what not to bring- here are my tips:

1. You will want a clean outfit for each leg you are running. Putting a cold sweaty sports bra back on later is not fun. My favorite trick is to put together each outfit (top, bottom, sports bra, underwear, and socks) and then put them in a giant ziplock bag. That way, when I'm trying to get dressed in the dark in the back of the van I can easily find everything I need. After my run, when I change out of the outfit, I seal it all back in the bag to minimize the stink factor in the van.




2. Bring warmer clothes than you think you'll need. It gets COLD at night. I bring fleece pants, wool socks, and a warm coat.






3. Don't pack TOO much. You will just make the van overcrowded. This is not a fashion contest, so I basically just bring one warmer weather and one cooler weather outfit for between legs.

4. Bring double the required safety gear required. Stuff inevitably gets lost or broken and it's hard to find replacements in the middle of the race. It's also nice to have 2 complete sets of safety stuff so that you don't have to switch any gear from one runner to another at the hand-off.

5. Pack snacks, but don't try to bring complete meals. Our first year we carried enough food to feed all of us for 3 days. It took up a ton of space and most of it didn't get eaten. Bring snacks to tide you over and to eat immediately pre/post run, but there will plenty of other opportunities to buy food. It's nice to have one sit down real meal at a restaurant and groups are selling food to raise money at all the transition areas. The towns that the race go through put up with a lot of disruption, so it is nice to support them. Nothing tastes better at 2 am when it is freezing out than hot homemade mac and cheese!

Have you ever done a relay style race? What tips do you have?

Bagel Run and some apple picking

This morning I woke up craving a breakfast sandwich made on a bagel from Scratch Baking Company. They are the best bagels every. Crunchy outside, light inside, with lots of fun seeds and flavors on the everything bagel.

But I knew by the time I ran, came back, did some abs, stretched and showered, I would have lost motivation. So I strapped on my super sweet running fanny pack and made a stop at Scratch during my run. Yep, I sacrificed my dignity for some bagels.

I tend to be annoyingly literal. When I am running, I am running. Everything else has to wait. Really this is stupid. It's not like I am anywhere close to an elite runner. Stopping for 3 minutes to admire the ocean view or stuff my bagels in my fanny pack is not going to totally derail my run. The stop was a good decision- the breakfast sandwiches were awesome.

After I was fueled and caffeinated we headed out apple picking. The air cooled off a lot with the thundershowers we had overnight, so it felt like fall. Apple picking is a fall ritual I look forward to every year. Fresh picked apples and cider are the best. The trees were just loaded this year!

 Normally I eat myself sick when we go apple picking. I like to try an apple from every tree. I managed to have some impulse control today. Win for me.

 We did some tree climbing, even though there were plenty of apples within reachable height. Climbing the tree is just more fun. We filled our giant 1/2 bushel bag in no time. On our way out we had to stop to buy one of the giant pumpkin whoopie pies we saw when we bought our bag at the beginning. So much for the self control. It was an awesome whoopie pie- the pumpkin cake part was so moist and there was plenty of frosting. We polished it off before I could get a pic.

Tonight we are whipping up some apple crisp. But I'll still have a lot of apples left!

What else can I do with all my apples?

Road Warrior no More

For the past 2 years as a consultant I was traveling 90-100% of the time. At my job before that, for 5 year, I was on the road a good 50-70% of the time. So I have a been a road warrior for a good long time. I hit 50,000 miles flown for this year by May.

When I first started traveling for work, I loved it. I got to see so many different places for free. 

Free wine tasting at Korbel in Sonoma while on a trip? Ummm yes please.

I racked up a bunch of frequent flier and hotel points that I could use for fun vacations. It was a nice change of pace from sitting at the same desk all day every day. I had very few living expenses at home, since I was never home.

Driving through the giant redwoods on my way to a hospital. Not bad. 

 

 

But after awhile, the travel began to get old. I was tired of living out of a suitcase. I was tired of standing in security lines, being frisked, the endless delays at the airport, being smushed on an airplane all the time, and living on restaurant food. It started to take a toll on my health. I really tried to eat well, but it is just so hard when you can never cook healthy food at home. I tried to be very regular with my exercise, but those 15 hour travel days and hotels with no gyms made it pretty hard. I did manage to train for several marathons while traveling that much, but it pretty much sucked. Doing a long run immediately after getting off a red eye is not fun. Getting on a plane a few hours after finishing a 20 miler does nothing to help with recovery.

But mostly, the travel started to take a toll on my relationships. I was home just enough to see my friends and family enough so they remembered who I was. When it came to romantic relationships though, it was pretty impossible. I'd meet someone new who seemed really promising and then after a month or two it would just fizzle. It is hard to move to the next level when you see each other maybe once a week. 

So, last week I accepted a new consulting gig that has me working at home 95% of the time. Being home all the time is almost mind boggling to me. I don't think the work will be all that exciting, but at this point I think this is the right thing for me to do.

I love my house that I bought nearly a year ago. I want to spend time in it and have the time to tackle all the little projects I want to do. 

Hey house. Remember me? I own you.

I love where I live. I want to be here to enjoy it.

Yes Portland. I heart you. So much.

I am in the best relationship I've ever been in. I think that's partly because I got to work at home so much this summer. We really got to know each other. Maybe it isn't very modern or feminist of me, but at this point in my life I need to focus on my relationship. Getting married and having kids at some point is something I really want.

We are grossly cute. Even if we don't take good pictures. 

What do you think? Was this a good decision? Are you a road warrior or a homebody?

Labor Day Islesboro Trip Part 2

Monday morning I woke up early, since we'd gone to by 9 pm! I decided to go for a run before everyone else got up. It was another glorious run where I was just so happy to be out moving that the time flew by.

When I got back Gerry had a roaring fire going and water heating for hot chocolate. Mmmm there is just something magical about a hot drink around a fire in the morning. We wanted to get an early start because the wind and seas tend to pick up as, but the tide was not cooperating. It was dead low. There was an awful lot of mud flat between us and our boat.

Cousin Rob to the rescue! He drove Gerry, R, and all our crap to the town dock while my Mom and I schlepped the zodiak out over the mud to the boat. Typical men, leaving the women to do the hard work! Just kidding, we volunteered, since we are the lightest we figured we would get less mired in the mud. We got mired enough to completely ruin my sneakers though, they were totally caked in thick, smelly mud. MMMMM.

Once we had the men and the gear loaded we set off again. The clouds of the early morning had dissipated, leaving us with with beautiful day.

The sun was bright and again the water was amazingly smooth. We decided to take a longer route home and do some exploring. We headed through the Fox Island thoroughfare and went out around North Haven  and Vinalhaven. It was spectacular. For awhile we had 8 seals swimming right around our boat. We saw a lot of harbor porpoise too.


We found a place to tie up on North Haven and R and I went in search off coffee and bathrooms. We didn't find coffee, but we found a great little cafe and decided it would be a good chance to get lunch. It was good food- not your typical fried seafood fish shack. I got a black bean burger topped with pineapple sauce, local microgreens, and green goddess dressing on a fresh roll. Yum-o! We basked in the sun on the boat and enjoyed our lunch before setting off again.

Gerry wanted to visit his step-brother on the way back, so our next stop was Whitehead Island. While Gerry visited, R and I explored the lighthouse. Besides almost getting mauled by an unfriendly dog, it was interesting. The Whitehead light was the 7th lighthouse ever commissioned in the US and was built in 1803!

Our last stop of the day was in Tenant's Harbor for fuel where my Mom's college friend owns a restaurant and fuel dock, Cod's End.  We couldn't resist getting a piece of their famous pie while we were there.

Raspberry peach and wild Maine blueberry topped with fresh blueberry ice cream. Holy Moly! It put me into a pie coma.

The last hour home was just a little rough. Standing up in a moving boat on moderate seas counts as a core workout right?

We finally pulled back into Cape Newagen Harbor in the late afternoon. I felt as if we'd been gone for a week since we pack in so much activity! It was a great, great trip, even with the rain. I feel so amazingly blessed to live in such an amazing place, have such amazing family, and finally be in a relationship that makes me happier than any relationship I've ever been in. Life is good.

Labor Day Islesboro Trip Part 1

The second half of my Labor Day Weekend was just as wonderful as the first part, if not better. I went on a great boat/camping adventure with my boyfriend (the mysterious R), my Mom, and her boyfriend Gerry. R actually grew up on Islesboro and my Mom's cousins live there as well, so it has significance for all of us.

We headed to my Mom's house Saturday night so we'd be ready to go set off bright and early Sunday morning.

We set off Sunday morning with the boat fully loaded. It is amazing how much crap you need for 1 night!

The first hour of the trip was nice. It was a mix of sun and clouds, but the water was calm, calm, calm. It was chilly though. I started off in shorts in a tank top, but quickly added a long sleeve shirt and jacket once we were underway. Thanks to our new GPS and Gerry's vast knowledge, I safely navigated us into Port Clyde for some breakfast at the Port Clyde General Store. Hot coffee and breakfast sandwiches taste extra good on a boat.

The weather forecast was for a mix of sun and clouds with a 20% chance of rain. Apparently the 20% was directly above us. Soon after we left Port Clyde it started to sprinkle. That soon turned into a steady rain. I was freezing! I pulled pants on over my shorts and switched my sandals for sneakers. We all huddled in the middle of the boat under the bimini and put up the side curtains to try and stay a little drier. The visibility wasn't great, but luckily Gerry is amazing and kept us on course.

2 hours later we finally got to Islesboro! And it was still raining.......  My Mom's cousin Rob and his daughter took the ferry over to meet us and he was definitely our savior. The tide was high so we were able to pull the boat right up the shore by his land where we would be camping. With his help, we unloaded the boat and ran the gear up to his little camp shack so it wouldn't get too soaked. Then Gerry took the boat back out the mooring. Poor guy got stuck out there for 2 hours! It started pouring and there was thunder and lightning, so he didn't want to be out in the open water in the little inflatable dingy.

The rest of us huddled in the shed and had a little picnic. It wasn't super fancy, but it was sure better than being outside or stuck out on the boat like Gerry. Then, since it was still pouring, Rob drove R and I around the island so R could show me the house he grew up in and other things from his childhood. Finally, mid afternoon the rain finally stopped. Yippee! R and I went for a walk down to Big Tree Beach, where I learned that I can't skip a rock for the life of me. Also, i throw like a girl.

After huddling on the boat and in the shed all day, I was itching to stretch my legs, so I decided to go for a short run. I have been stuck in a rut with running lately. I just haven't wanted to do it. I am tired of my routes and it just feels like a chore. On Islesboro, I rediscovered the joy of running. I ran because I wanted to. I discovered that my i-pod which has been in the process of dying, now doesn't work at all, and I didn't care. I loved running with just the sound of the ocean and my footsteps in my ears. I felt light, my stride felt smooth, and I couldn't stop grinning.

 After my run it was time to set up camp. We got the tents up and built a campfire. Campfires are definitely the best part of camping.

I was seriously starving by the time we started making dinner, so I mowed down on a million pretzel things as we cooked. We also had a super classy cocktail hour with the assortment of nips I found in kitchen and packed for us. Dinner was amazing, pulled BBQ chicken on cheese toast. Hot and gooey and filling. Perfect camping food. We topped it all off with classy s'mores- toast marshmallow on TJ's dark chocolate with caramel and salt and pretzel thins. It was a great combo of salty, sweet, soft, and crunchy. I forgot how much I love toasted marshmallows. I ate about 7.

After dinner we sat around the campfire singing. We left the lantern on the boat, so we didn't have a whole lot of options for entertainment! By 8:30 we were all falling asleep after such an early morning. So we crawled into our tents and snuggled in for the night. I fell asleep to the sound of owls and the ocean.

Part 2 coming tomorrow...

Painting Class and a Bike Ride

My Labor Day weekend is off to a great start and it isn't even half over yet. I heart 3 day weekends.

Last night my friend Breezy and I went to an art class at Artascope studios. I have zero artistic talent when it comes to painting or drawing, but it was cheap thanks to Groupon and BYOB so it couldn't be all bad. The studio was very cute and our instructor Sarah, was fun and knowledgeable. There were 4 other women in our class and they brought some yummy munchies for us all to share. Breezy and I were oh so classy with our cake vodka and Crystal Light in a Nalgene!

 

We were making a painting of poppies, which is nice because there was some room for interpretation. Sarah suggested when sketching out the design to do it upside down. It helps you to focus on the shapes and lines without worrying too much about the overall result. It really did help! Once we had the outline sketched, we pained in the background. I obviously went with blue, since it is the best color ever. Then, we started with our darkest colors and worked to the lightest colors. It surprised me how much fun it was, and that my result wasn't totally embarrassing!

After painting we decided to drive out to the beach to see the full moon. Unfortunately, it was cloudy, so the moon pictures were a fail. Oh well. It was still a nice night for a walk on the beach.

This morning I hooked up with the Casco Bay Cycle Club for a ride. Since I moved back to Maine I have been running and riding alone. I have also been doing basically small variations of the same ride. And while it is beautiful, I am pretty darn sick of it. I was excited to ride with a group again and check out a new area. On the schedule today was a 36 mile ride from Yarmouth out to Pineland Farms. I x-c ski at Pineland, but have never been there in the non-winter months. It was a perfect day, sunny but crisp, on nice rolling hills on country roads. The miles just flew by with people to talk to. I definitely pushed myself a little more than I do on my own, but I didn't ever feel like I was working uncomfortably hard. We stopped at Pineland about halfway through. I love their little market. I wanted to buy everything. Luckily, I only had $2 so I bought a banana and coffee. I wished I had gone for the giant chocolate chip cookies after I saw everyone else eating them.

 The coffee must have been really strong, because I felt awesome on the second half. I was riding up front with the big boys.

Now I have some packing to do. I am leaving late tonight on a boating/camping adventure. My Mom, her boyfriend, my boyfriend, and his dog are going to try to take our boat all the way up the coast to Islesboro and camp for the night. If you don't hear from me by Tuesday, call the Coast Guard!

Foodie Pen Pals Reveal: August

Getting my foodie pen pal box is always one of the highlights of my month, and this month was no exception. Not familiar with foodie pen pals? It's a great idea, thought up by Lindsay over at the Lean Green Bean, where you are matched with a fellow foodie every month and exchange a box of goodies.

This month I got my box from Sarah of Mom Running on Empty. Check out her blog it's great! I found my box waiting for me when I got home late at night. I was starving so I dug right in!

Sarah really nailed my likes, she had some familiar favorites, like walnut butter, fruit twists,dark chocolate with cranberries, and organic dark chocolate peanut butter cups. She also included PUFFS, a fun puffed treat. I had 3 right away. They have a great crunch and flavor. I noticed they had them at my grocery store, so I will be getting them from now on.

 There was also an awesome pouch of honey garlic BBQ sauce that I can't wait to try. I might end up just drinking it because it looks so darn good.

Finally there was some Athlete Fuel Muesli that is chock full of yummy stuff- flax seedsm almonds, cashews, pumpkin seeds, raisins, and whole grains. I had some hot with almond milk the next morning before my long bike ride. It was wonderful. I want to try using it for my cold overnight oats and hot banana oatmeal too.

Thanks Sarah!

Exercise for Weight Loss: Is Less More??

It's Wednesday, Wednesday is a good day for some science right? I thought so. The other day I read a really interesting article on Runner's World.- Exercise for Weight Loss: Is Less More?

The article summarized some recent studies that found that more exercise isn't always better. I was expecting it to find that extreme levels of exercise, like marathons, isn't always better. I have certainly found that I tend to gain weight when I am marathon training.

I just ran 13 miles, shouldn't I be thinner?

 

But the study found this true even at much lower levels. They found that 30 minutes of exercise is better than 60 minutes for weight loss.  WHAT??? I always try to get a minimum workout of 60 minutes a day.

Another surprising study was one that found that the super skinny Hadza hunter-gatherer tribe of Tanzania doesn't actually move around more than big-bellied Westerners.I totally feel like my sedentary work life is a huge factor to my increased pounds, since they all piled on after college.

What do you think? Do these findings surprise you? Is 30 minutes of exercise a day enough?

Hummus Cookie Dough and Silly's Restaurant

This is a post about some healthy food and some completely unhealthy food. Healthy first.

I was totally intrigued when I saw recipes for dessert hummus over on Lindsay's Blog @ The Lean Green Bean. I like hummus and I certainly like dessert, but would I really like them together?

I roughly followed her recipe, with a few minor tweaks.

Ingredients

• 1 can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
• 3 – 4 Tbsp peanut butter (or desired nut butter)
• 3 – 4 Tbsp agave nectar (or honey)
• 1/3 c chocolate chips
• 1-3 Tbsp water (or milk)
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder

Instructions

Combine the chickpeas, peanut butter, agave, and cocoa powder in a food processor and process until smooth. Add water (or milk) as necessary until desired consistency is reached. (I had to process for a LONG time to get all the chickpea lumps out). Stir in chocolate chips.

While the cookie dough was pretty good just like this, it still had a slightly weird taste that I didn't love. So I divided the dough up into balls and froze them. They are GREAT frozen!

And now on to the totally unhealthy. I have a new obsession with Silly's. I have been there 3 times in the last week. I just love everything about it. First the decor. From the street it doesn't look like much, but then you walk back to the patio and it is like entering a secret, super fun, garden. There is so much color and fun whimsical decorations. The menus are inside lunch boxes on the table along with fun little card games to play while you wait.

And then the drinks. They have all kinds of vegan milkshakes and the most fun cocktails ever. Friday night I got a vegan white Russian in a glass rimmed with nutella and pretzels. Ummm best thing ever. Last night we ordered a 1/2 pitcher sangria. There was NOTHING half about it. I had 3 giant mugs and we didn't even come close to drinking 1/2 of it. 

And then the food. They have so many options, I can never make up my mind. Again, they cater to every dietary option out there- vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, they got it all! I have never had anything bad there.  Friday I got the Love Goat pizza, with goat cheese, caramelized onions, almonds, and honey. It is sweet and salty and delicious. Last night we decided to go for gold and split the chicken in a boat. Ready for this? It is chicken, mushroom, and rice noodles covered in a peanut sauce and then rolled inside a burrito with cheese and scallions. They they fry the whole thing. 

I didn't even finish my half and felt like I was going to explode for hours after. But it was totally worth it. If you are in Portland, you must go to Silly's. 

Hop Picking

One of my favorite local breweries, Sebago Brewery, held a hop picking party today. They asked for volunteers to help pick this year's hop harvest in exchange for free beer and lunch. Free food and beer? Naturally I was in!

I had never actually seen a hop, and in my mind they looked like little mexican jumping beans. I mean they are called hops right? Actually they look like little fuzzy green pinecones and grow on long vines. They grow up on the vines on tree trunks or old telephone poles that are stuck in the ground. I didn't know hops were grown in Maine, but all the hops we picked were grown in the state, and harvested within the last couple days.

After arriving at the brewery we posed for a few pictures and then set to work.

 At our table were 2 brothers who actually own one of the hop farms, Rock Island Hop Farm. That was pretty neat because they explained a lot about the hop growing process. Their hop farm is only a couple years old and they do it as a hobby right now, but they hop to make it a full time job in the future.

The actual picking was pretty easy. The hops pop right off. They also have a great smell- like beer, but really fresh and almost piney. We did find all kinds of interesting bugs and catapillors as we picked. We took advantage of the free beer as we picked too- we tried the hop swap, a summer ale, and the Frye's Leap IPA.


Lunch was pretty awesome too. I had one of their awesome pretzel rolls and a delicious assortment of anti-pasto veggies- eggplant, sweet potato, mushrooms, and zucchini.

We shared our table with various people as the day progressed. The time just flew by between the beer and the great conversation. Many hands really do make light work, by 2pm we had emptied several trucks full of hops! It was an awesome way to learn more about the beer making process, I definately can't wait til the local hop beer is released this fall and I can drink the fruit of my labors.

My essential self

I went up my Mom's midweek this week to teach an early morning yoga class. I got there late Tuesday afternoon and it was just spectacular. I couldn't resist going out in the kayak. It was just too perfect- no seas, no wind, sunny and warm. I went way out around the backside of the Cuckold's light. My Mom and I ate a dinner of portobello BLT's while sipping red wine out on the deck before sleeping down in the boathouse. I just love tucking into my bunk and falling asleep to the sound of the ocean.

Wednesday morning I was up at 5 to teach yoga. I was so energized after that I just had to go for a bike ride. I went all the way around the island, venturing down all the small side roads to get as many ocean views as possible. When I got back I rowed out to the motor boat to attach the new mooring line. I think I even mastered the new know my Mom's boyfriend taught me to attach it so if one side releases, the other will hold.

As I rowed back to the dock in our dingy it occurred to me that I was happy. Not just happy, but really happy, blissful even. This is the place in the world where I feel the most alive, where I feel the most like the true me. The road warrior, world weary, fancy, IT consultant, that I have become in the past few years is just a character I play sometimes. The girl with the wild wind-blown curls, barefoot, in an old t-shirt and cut-off, sun kissed, and in a boat. This is the real me.

When do you feel the most like yourself? Where are you the happiest?

My first yoga teaching experience

As I have gotten more regular with my yoga practice, I've also gotten more interested in possibly getting certified to teach. I went to a yoga seminar early in the summer where there were several women who had just gone through the teacher training process and they all said it was wonderful. So when my Mom's neighbor asked if I'd be interested in teaching a yoga class at the conference she was organizing at Newagen Inn, I jumped at the chance. I figured it would be a good idea to try teaching to see if I like it before making the significant investment in getting certified. In college I learned that while I love to ski, I do not enjoy teaching people to ski (at least I didn't enjoy teaching large groups of 3-4 year olds to ski).

My alarm went off bright and early at 5 this morning. I'd had a nightmare during the night that I got to the Inn and there were people waiting for me to teach a Zumba class. Of all the various forms of exercise I do, Zumba is not one of them! Luckily, when I actually got to the Inn the women waiting were waiting for yoga! I had been hoping to hold class outside, right down by the water, but we'd had a really heavy dew and the grass was soaked. So we were on the screened porch instead. There was still nice fresh air and a great view.

How could you not like the view of this harbor?

I'd spent quite a bit of time designing the flow of my class. I took a lot of notes at the yoga classes I've been to this summer and did some on-line research. I tried to design a class that started slow and easy with childs pose, cat/cow, and thread the needle to ease everyone into the day, then got hearts and muscles pumping a little with sun salutations and warrior series, before slowing down again at the end with boat, wheel, and bridges to leave everyone feeling refreshed.



I felt a little awkward at first. All those inspirational sayings I love hearing during a class sounded cheesy when I said them. I was sweating like crazy even though we had barely started. It was hard to demonstrate a pose and talk at the same time. But just as my body always loosens up while taking a class, I started loosening up into teaching. I laughed and made jokes when I messed up. I liked observing the participants of the class and trying to take them right to the edge where they were challenged but not push too much.

In the end I loved the experience. What could be better than sharing something you love and making people feel great? I wish I could commit to teacher training this fall, but I just know with my travel schedule for work that there is no way I can be at training all day every Saturday and 2 nights a week. But soon.

Namaste friends.