Working Out

 So a significant amount of posts have to do with training as we are nearing time to do the Nation's Tri. So much of our free time it seems is spent swimming, running or cycling.  All but the running is fun to me and I've been reading a lot about strength training for people MY AGE.  Nicholas (who has been training a lot and is looking at personal training as a career) suggested I needed to up my strength training so I've been doing some light weights and machines at the gym as well.  I do have to say that is very frustrating to be eating better and exercising more than anytime in my life and still not losing weight.  I just read another article about age, menopause and "oh yeah, it's practically impossible to lose weight no matter what you do even if your spouse is becoming skeletal doing the exact same things!"

 So Saturday Tom prepped our bikes as usual and we headed into town to meet our group but when we got off the metro his tire was flat.  We pumped it up, it seemed fine and he followed behind me as we cycled over to Hains Point.  But he never showed up.  He called (thank goodness for cell phones) and turns out the tire went flat again and of course he didn't have another tube AND his glue was dried up.  Fortunately Dave went to rescue him with a new tube.  In fact Dave was helping everyone with their bike issues.  Good guy!

Dave, V and Nicole

 Kristen wasn't there so Ben took the lead for the day.  Rick and Kelly brought their son Ty who is very athletic though a little shy.  He did part of the run with them.

 After our workout we rode our bikes over to Barracks Row where there are a couple of bike shops.  Tom needed a tune up and new tubes.  While he was inside talking to them and I was outside watching the bikes, his new tube that Dave had put on suddenly popped and the air came shooting out.  Good thing it was staying put for a check up.

 The people here were really great and as I think about transitioning to a road bike they had me try out a few different bikes.  They were really light and felt good to ride but they're crazy expensive so I need to look for a used one.  Since Tom was now without wheels we decided to walk (with me pushing my bike) to the metro at Navy Yard but stopped first for some lunch.  Yummy salads and bread at Sweetgreen with lemonade/green tea.  Healthy and good!

 It just happens to be across the street from the Trapeze School of New York so we got to watch them while we ate.  That's also on our bucket list!

 Tom took off work yesterday so we could join a few of our other work out friends for a day of open water swimming at Sandy Point Beach.  We had never been there before and it was awesome!  Only 40 minutes from our place and the water was perfect!  Great place for training! Hottest sand ever on our feet!

Holly, Rob and Herbert

 Tom and I did 800 yards first then got out while the other three worked out.

 There are lifeguards there and the space is marked off so we could gauge our distance AND it's right at the base of the Bay Bridge which is cool.  Tom and I did another lap later so ended up with a total of 1200+ yards for the day.  We both felt really good and Tom especially was happy because he was able to do the whole thing without stopping.

 There was a scary point where fire engines and ambulances showed up and then the medical helicopter.  Apparently a little kid swallowed a bunch of water and started throwing it up along with white foam.  I didn't see them load him in the chopper so not sure what ended up happening. Prayed all was okay.

Herbert brought his paddle board along as well but it turned out we would have had to take it clear around the other side of the beach so we didn't get to try it out.  Bummer!  Was looking forward to giving it a try!

We ended up spending the whole day there and had such a great time swimming, enjoying the sun and getting to know each of them better!   Herbert-teaches math to high school special ed kids including autistic students. Holly-used to be a researcher but will be graduating from nursing school in Dec.  Rob-just returned yesterday from a mission trip in Zambia working with kids in an orphanage and is self-employed in property management.  All great people and a blast to hang out with!

Some This and That

 We invited the missionaries over for dinner and cleaned out the freezer for a yummy meal of ham, cheesy potatoes, veggies and rolls.  But topped it off with a build your own ice cream sundae!  Two new elders since we saw them last.  Elder Coombs had just arrived from Paradise, Utah.

It was organizational day at Fort McNair which is really a fancy name for field day for adults.  Competitive activities, food, photos with Washington Redskins cheerleaders, helicopters and horses from the Caisson Platoon.

 This horse had actually been in the funeral of General Green which had been held the day before at Arlington.

 Oh.  And they had a military dog who helps sniff out drugs and bad guys.  Tom yelled out from the crowd and volunteered me to be taken down by the dog.  Awesome.  Fortunately they gave me a giant layered coat to wear so I didn't get my arm taken off but the fact that it weighed 500 lbs made it hard to make that fall gracefully.

 We ran out of salsa and I just don't like the store bought stuff (except the mango peach salsa from Costco) as much as my traditional.  Spent one day bottling some homemade that made the house smell yummy!

             We've spent most evenings relaxing and watching the Nats play really well.  Fun!

Tom stretches, eats watermelon and watches baseball all at once!

 So I lost my mother's ring months ago which still hurts my heart and have been waiting to get another one.  But I've also wanted one of these necklaces for a long time and finally found a deal on Groupon.  Happy to be able to wear the kidlet's names next to my heart.  One day they'll be back on my pinky finger as well!

A Bunch of Stuff

 Cute Alexis returned from Singapore and brought her parents to see America.  They had just arrived the day before and were still suffering from jet lag, especially after having been on their feet all day walking around DC.  We served a very American dinner: Pulled pork sandwiches, corn on the cob, watermelon, potato salad and strawberry shortcake for dessert.  Both speak very good english and were delightful to be around.  Brought us a beautiful coin set from Singapore, a book and some fun food items to try.

Thursday night we went to do our first open water swim for Tri training this season.  It's a little unnerving and both Tom and I felt a little off in our swim in the Potomac.

 

Rick, Kelly, Tom, Me and Jason

The swim takes place at twilight at National Harbor and a few of the others from the group met us there.

Friday night I packed a dinner and met Tom by the Navy Yards for the free concert.  We had our picnic and enjoyed the music before walking along the waterfront then moving up front to watch everyone dance.  Great band and fun night!

 Saturday morning we metro'd out early to meet the Tri group in Columbia Heights.

 We rode to Rock Creek Park to do rep runs up and down a steep hill.  I was really struggling all day. Just felt really tired.  HYDRATE! It's a several mile ride to get there, then the hills, then we take some rolling hills back into the city.  Even though it's really hard it is so beautiful and the rolling hills are so fun, it is totally worth the pain!

 Some of us went to Panera to grab some breakfast after the ride to relax, refuel and just chat.

 Sunday we had some new people working with us at the Connections Table.  They were great!

Kelsey and Charlie

Tuesday night Kristen braved the pouring rain to come over.  She wanted to cook for us and as she is gluten free and we're still trying to vegan it she offered to make tofu pad thai for us.  She brought everything including her very cool spiral veggie slicer which I'd heard about but never seen.  We made zucchini noodles to add to the pad thai noodles and they were awesome!  I have to get one of those!

Cycling the Waterfront

After our Tri training at Hains Point we generally bike some more in the area.  We took a different way out on this Saturday to get some shots of our old neighborhood on the waterfront.  

 You can see all the cranes as they have completely torn most of it down and they're rejuvenating this area.  Not supposed to be done until 2017.

                               The fish markets will stay but hopefully will get a facelift!