Firsts
So today was a very interesting day...!
What I'm loving about this Summer (first Summer off since I was a kid) is that I'm doing a number of really cool things, and a number of things I've never done before.
I've been taking yoga, dancing, working out, running, cooking, and pretty much saying yes to every social event I'm invited to.
A few days ago I went sailing with the ex (The Hot Man-- we're still good friends and he can't stay away from me because I'm awesome). I've never been sailing and I'd always wanted to go. He has a real sailboat that used to be his mom's and we finally went out on it. It was AMAZING. I was content to just hang out in the dock... but we ended up taking it for a spin and I'm so glad we did. I was up at the way front and felt like Kate Winslet in Titanic! It was beautiful and scary and thrilling. It reminded me of my first motorcycle ride. The BEST part was when we went way out on Lake Michigan and he turned the engine off (the engine is still needed sometimes on sailboats) and we just hung out there for like an hour. It was a beautiful day, close to sunset, and it was so calm... the beautiful Chicago skyline in the background.
Today I had another couple firsts... I ran my first 10k and went to my first Pride Parade!
Running the 10k was harder than I thought it would be... I almost started crying at Mile 3. It was so hot, and I was sweating buckets, and it felt like everyone was passing me... but I pushed on, ran the whole way, and finished strong. I had a goal of keeping a ten minute per mile pace but I didn't know how to keep my pace up without my ipod... and... it was hot. I ended up finishing in 1:04, which was a good enough time for me all things considered. When I reached the finish line, I was so happy and so proud of myself... it felt like a real accomplishment. For someone who couldn't run more than a block (literally) a year or so ago... this was amazing. Our bodies are amazing. Mile 4 was hard too for some reason, but there was this lady running next to me (thin, tall, blonde, 30'ish) and she looked at me and said, "we can do anything for 20 minutes... it's only 2 more miles... let's keep it up!". It REALLY helped me and gave me the push I needed.
Lessons learned... next time, I'm bringing my ipod, even though it's "discouraged" (I still saw many people running with one)... and in the summer months, I only want to run 5k's. I can't wait to try another 10k in cooler temperatures.
Later in the afternoon, I went to my first Pride Parade!! We went to new friend Ken's house... he lives in Boystown and has a beautiful roof/patio so we watched it from there and sipped (uh, gulped) Bloody Mary's. New friend Jeff was like, "it's so nice that you're proud of your friends!" which really reminded me how proud of them I really am. I love this group of guys we've made friends with. They are great, and so very sweet. The parade wasn't as glitzy as I thought it would be, and I remarked that it seemed a little political... lots of boring floats... but it was a nice thing to be reminded that all these Chicago organizations couldn't happen without their gay employees. Pride! I loved it. :)
So anyway... that's my summer so far. I love it and am so grateful. I'm very happy these days. Very happy.
What I'm loving about this Summer (first Summer off since I was a kid) is that I'm doing a number of really cool things, and a number of things I've never done before.
I've been taking yoga, dancing, working out, running, cooking, and pretty much saying yes to every social event I'm invited to.
A few days ago I went sailing with the ex (The Hot Man-- we're still good friends and he can't stay away from me because I'm awesome). I've never been sailing and I'd always wanted to go. He has a real sailboat that used to be his mom's and we finally went out on it. It was AMAZING. I was content to just hang out in the dock... but we ended up taking it for a spin and I'm so glad we did. I was up at the way front and felt like Kate Winslet in Titanic! It was beautiful and scary and thrilling. It reminded me of my first motorcycle ride. The BEST part was when we went way out on Lake Michigan and he turned the engine off (the engine is still needed sometimes on sailboats) and we just hung out there for like an hour. It was a beautiful day, close to sunset, and it was so calm... the beautiful Chicago skyline in the background.
Today I had another couple firsts... I ran my first 10k and went to my first Pride Parade!
Running the 10k was harder than I thought it would be... I almost started crying at Mile 3. It was so hot, and I was sweating buckets, and it felt like everyone was passing me... but I pushed on, ran the whole way, and finished strong. I had a goal of keeping a ten minute per mile pace but I didn't know how to keep my pace up without my ipod... and... it was hot. I ended up finishing in 1:04, which was a good enough time for me all things considered. When I reached the finish line, I was so happy and so proud of myself... it felt like a real accomplishment. For someone who couldn't run more than a block (literally) a year or so ago... this was amazing. Our bodies are amazing. Mile 4 was hard too for some reason, but there was this lady running next to me (thin, tall, blonde, 30'ish) and she looked at me and said, "we can do anything for 20 minutes... it's only 2 more miles... let's keep it up!". It REALLY helped me and gave me the push I needed.
Lessons learned... next time, I'm bringing my ipod, even though it's "discouraged" (I still saw many people running with one)... and in the summer months, I only want to run 5k's. I can't wait to try another 10k in cooler temperatures.
Later in the afternoon, I went to my first Pride Parade!! We went to new friend Ken's house... he lives in Boystown and has a beautiful roof/patio so we watched it from there and sipped (uh, gulped) Bloody Mary's. New friend Jeff was like, "it's so nice that you're proud of your friends!" which really reminded me how proud of them I really am. I love this group of guys we've made friends with. They are great, and so very sweet. The parade wasn't as glitzy as I thought it would be, and I remarked that it seemed a little political... lots of boring floats... but it was a nice thing to be reminded that all these Chicago organizations couldn't happen without their gay employees. Pride! I loved it. :)
So anyway... that's my summer so far. I love it and am so grateful. I'm very happy these days. Very happy.