Water, water everywhere!

So, I have an update on my epi quiz - I actually did better than I thought I would. Considering that I got exactly a 50% WITH the curve (quite an epic fail!) on the first epi quiz of last semester, I will gladly take the B that I earned this time around.

One of the reasons I love Boston is the city's proximity to water. Boston is built right along the ocean, and a series of bridges connect Boston with the surrounding cities of Cambridge and Watertown. My favorite part of my daily commute is seeing the sailboats on the river.

I am taking advantage of this proximity to water in two ways: swimming races and sailing.

I swam every day when I was younger, but gave up swimming in high school (a sport I am actually good at) because of parental urging - my mom thought swimming would make my shoulders too big, and according to her, boys don't want girls with big shoulders (I thought, and still think, that these are ridiculous reasons). So, she forbade me from swimming.

Being the rebel that I am, I swam in college, but not as frequently as I wanted to.

Over the summer, I swam in the Atlantic and in Walden Pond. It was nice to swim in the open water, but it's too cold now to swim in either of those places. I was discouraged, because I didn't know where else I would be able to swim.

Then I saw the aquatic center. There's a 10 lane competition pool, a separate pool for diving boards, a small recreational pool, a hot tub, and a lazy river. And the whole pool is lit with an enormous skylight! And the best part is that it's free for me to use!

If this isn't true love, I'm not sure what is!

I now associate my weekdays with swimming, which makes every day much happier. I swim a minimum of one mile (~ 33 laps, or ~66 lengths) every time. I'm working my way up to to swimming 50 laps, or 100 lengths, as an easy day. I've gotten up to 45 laps without being too tired, which means that I am close to my goal.

The goal in all of this swimming is to compete in the Boston Harbor "Sharkfest" race in the spring. It's a 1-mile open water race, recommended for swimmers who can do 1 mile in a pool under 40 minutes. As is, I can easily swim a mile under the qualifying time. But, swimming in open water is VERY different from swimming in a pool. If anyone has any stroke technique tips, please send them my way.

I also went sailing this weekend. I love sailing. It was freezing, but totally worth it. Unlike the last sailing experience that I wrote about (which was basically me paddling in the Mystic River on a piece of cardboard), I actually went on a boat in the Harbor.

I went sailing (real sailing) for the first time in June. A friendly breeze was blowing, and the weather was much warmer. There were no problems coming in and out of the harbor.

This time, the wind was much stronger (and much colder). Every time we turned in and out of the wind to get back to shore (tacking), the wind would tip the boat over so far that the deck's surface skimmed the ocean. We were in a keelboat, which can't tip over, so falling overboard was not an issue. But it was still scary to see water creep over and onto the seats on almost every tack.

We made it back to the pier in one piece, but partially soaked. My gloves were soaked with ice-cold seawater, my fingers were stiff and unfeeling, my nose and face were numb from sailing into 40 degree wind, my pants were wet from sitting on water that leaked into the boat, and my toes were freezing. I left the dock with chattering teeth and numb hands and feet, but totally content. I can't wait for next year's sailing season.

Maybe I should just rethink this whole school thing and become a sailor. Or a pirate. Minus the scurvy. I already know how to swim, which means that if I do something stupid and am forced the walk the plank, that I'll probably be ok. And, I like sailing and am somewhat familiar with it, so I would actually be able to help out on a ship.

Or maybe not. But I can certainly dream about it.