Visiting my oldest sister out in Long Beach, Long Island for the weekend and I had one too many long island iced teas Friday night. xP I hadn't felt this sick since college! But I had a great time with some of my most favorite people. :) I woke up really early Saturday morning, beat up, hurt and could barely move. I thought I'd be out for the rest of the day; but to my surprise, after a 2 hour power nap I felt like nothing happened by 8:30 AM. I inhaled some french toast and scrambled eggs (courtesy of Chef Esther) and went out to the boardwalk to start the day! Visit the local farmer's market, a surf shop, Starbucks, and then get back to the apartment to pick up our beach gear for the afternoon! Carried over a huge umbrella, chairs, beach towels and cooler, but the most important items to me were my
Orca wetsuit, googles and yellow swim cap. :)
After my sister and cousin settle down, I start putting on the wetsuit which was getting difficult from the sweat. I told them how my tri friends have called me a 'seal' because of the way I washed up onto the shoreline at the lake - and they laughed and said I'm more like a whale, particularly because of the ORCA written across my chest! For those of you who don't know, Killer Whales are also known as Orcas.
[Resource on Killer Whales] But for now, let's just take away from the whole whale and seal thing, and hold on to the 'Killer' aspect when describing me, okay? :) Yea, I like that idea.
So finally get the wet suit on. Put the swim cap on. (Check)
New Blue 420 TYR Goggles . (Check!) Say "Bye!" and dash towards the water like it's the start of a race! The waves were pretty rough, but not as bad as the Asbury Park race, and I swim out about 250 yards until the water calms down. I turn left and swim parallel to the shoreline and just keep going at a nice and steady pace. After about a quarter mile I notice a jet ski coming towards me. Assuming I'm about to get yelled at by the coast guard I decided to stay still and wait for them to come closer. Here's how the conversation went
2 Lifeguards on a Jet Ski: "Hey buddy!"
Me: "Hey there- what's up?"
Lifeguard: "We noticed this yellow thing bobbing up and down in the water and were like 'What the heck is that thing'"
Me: Smiling - [Thinking to myself - "Killer Whale"] :: nervous laugh :: "Heh, yea, I'm glad you noticed!"
Lifeguard: "It's a good thing you're wearing a noticeable cap, but you should really have a
buoy with you, you can get swatted by other jet skis and boats this far out!"
Me: [Thinking oh crap, he's right] "Oh crap, you're right! I guess I should swim back to shore then, eh?"
Lifeguard: "Yea, just pick up a buoy at the lifeguard house and then let us know if you come back out, ok!?"
Me: "Thanks!"
Lifeguard: "Want a ride back?"
Me: [Thinking to myself: it'd be pretty cool to ride on the jet ski, but then, other people might be like - 'Oh look at that guy that got picked up by the lifeguards, what a tool, thinking he's all that in the wetsuit'] So I politely declined the offer and said I'd swim back :)
Get to the shoreline and this diesel, grandpa lifeguard that looked like he could've been on Baywatch was waiting for me with his arms crossed out in front of his chest. He was smiling so it didn't look like he was going to lecture me too badly. After a quick little greeting he went on to say the following
Grandpa Lifeguard: "So we saw you get your gear on and we figured you were gonna go out deep. Saw that you knew how to swim and were like, 'Okay, he'll be alright.' We kept an eye on you but you gradually started drifting out further and further. Then there was a jet ski near you so we were like 'Hmm.. maybe we should bring him back' Now that you're here, just let us know if you'll be goin' out far and bring the buoy with you. At least that way we know you have something to float on if you get into any trouble. And just give the lifeguards a heads up, like, ya kno 'hey guys, I'm a triathlete and am just gonna go out for a long swim.' We're just lookin' out fer ya, so be safe and have fun!"
Damn- Long Beach, Long Island lifeguards are so nice. :)
So I walk back to our spot and take the suit off. Have a few laughs while sharing this nice little story with my sister and cousin and then relax for a couple hours. Wake up a little later and then did a quick 20 minute run in the sand, and let me tell ya- running in the sand is probably the best run workout ever! I highly recommend :)
Anyway, by the time my parents come over we just continued to lounge around and go for a dip in the water a few times. I thoroughly worked up the appetite to devour 2 burgers, and then a third an hour later. I guess I subconsciously needed to fuel up for tomorrow's intense workout! More details to come.... :)
(I didn't count, but I think this post has the most smiley faces to date.)
Visiting my oldest sister out in Long Beach, Long Island for the weekend and I had one too many long island iced teas Friday night. xP I hadn't felt this sick since college! But I had a great time with some of my most favorite people. :) I woke up really early Saturday morning, beat up, hurt and could barely move. I thought I'd be out for the rest of the day; but to my surprise, after a 2 hour power nap I felt like nothing happened by 8:30 AM. I inhaled some french toast and scrambled eggs (courtesy of Chef Esther) and went out to the boardwalk to start the day! Visit the local farmer's market, a surf shop, Starbucks, and then get back to the apartment to pick up our beach gear for the afternoon! Carried over a huge umbrella, chairs, beach towels and cooler, but the most important items to me were my Orca wetsuit, googles and yellow swim cap. :)
After my sister and cousin settle down, I start putting on the wetsuit which was getting difficult from the sweat. I told them how my tri friends have called me a 'seal' because of the way I washed up onto the shoreline at the lake - and they laughed and said I'm more like a whale, particularly because of the ORCA written across my chest! For those of you who don't know, Killer Whales are also known as Orcas. [Resource on Killer Whales]
But for now, let's just take away from the whole whale and seal thing, and hold on to the 'Killer' aspect when describing me, okay? :) Yea, I like that idea.
So finally get the wet suit on. Put the swim cap on. (Check) New Blue 420 TYR Goggles . (Check!) Say "Bye!" and dash towards the water like it's the start of a race! The waves were pretty rough, but not as bad as the Asbury Park race, and I swim out about 250 yards until the water calms down. I turn left and swim parallel to the shoreline and just keep going at a nice and steady pace. After about a quarter mile I notice a jet ski coming towards me. Assuming I'm about to get yelled at by the coast guard I decided to stay still and wait for them to come closer. Here's how the conversation went
2 Lifeguards on a Jet Ski: "Hey buddy!"
Me: "Hey there- what's up?"
Lifeguard: "We noticed this yellow thing bobbing up and down in the water and were like 'What the heck is that thing'"
Me: Smiling - [Thinking to myself - "Killer Whale"] :: nervous laugh :: "Heh, yea, I'm glad you noticed!"
Lifeguard: "It's a good thing you're wearing a noticeable cap, but you should really have a buoy with you, you can get swatted by other jet skis and boats this far out!"
Me: [Thinking oh crap, he's right] "Oh crap, you're right! I guess I should swim back to shore then, eh?"
Lifeguard: "Yea, just pick up a buoy at the lifeguard house and then let us know if you come back out, ok!?"
Me: "Thanks!"
Lifeguard: "Want a ride back?"
Me: [Thinking to myself: it'd be pretty cool to ride on the jet ski, but then, other people might be like - 'Oh look at that guy that got picked up by the lifeguards, what a tool, thinking he's all that in the wetsuit'] So I politely declined the offer and said I'd swim back :)
Get to the shoreline and this diesel, grandpa lifeguard that looked like he could've been on Baywatch was waiting for me with his arms crossed out in front of his chest. He was smiling so it didn't look like he was going to lecture me too badly. After a quick little greeting he went on to say the following
Grandpa Lifeguard: "So we saw you get your gear on and we figured you were gonna go out deep. Saw that you knew how to swim and were like, 'Okay, he'll be alright.' We kept an eye on you but you gradually started drifting out further and further. Then there was a jet ski near you so we were like 'Hmm.. maybe we should bring him back' Now that you're here, just let us know if you'll be goin' out far and bring the buoy with you. At least that way we know you have something to float on if you get into any trouble. And just give the lifeguards a heads up, like, ya kno 'hey guys, I'm a triathlete and am just gonna go out for a long swim.' We're just lookin' out fer ya, so be safe and have fun!"
Damn- Long Beach, Long Island lifeguards are so nice. :)
So I walk back to our spot and take the suit off. Have a few laughs while sharing this nice little story with my sister and cousin and then relax for a couple hours. Wake up a little later and then did a quick 20 minute run in the sand, and let me tell ya- running in the sand is probably the best run workout ever! I highly recommend :)
Anyway, by the time my parents come over we just continued to lounge around and go for a dip in the water a few times. I thoroughly worked up the appetite to devour 2 burgers, and then a third an hour later. I guess I subconsciously needed to fuel up for tomorrow's intense workout! More details to come.... :)
(I didn't count, but I think this post has the most smiley faces to date.)