Swimming right along

There's that expression "the only things certain in life are death and taxes." I'd like to add AGING. The only things certain in life are death, taxes and aging. Now, into my 55th year, I have met the medical threshold for menopause. Friggin finally! Groveling to my doctor for HRT has been a two year beg fest, and after the latest round of labs there is no argument that I'm fresh outta estrogen. So bring it! Adding to my fine lineup of care experts we now have pulmonologist in addition to endocrinologist and neurologist. 

All last year (2023) I kept getting knocked down with respiratory illnesses--for weeks at a time basically every other month. I spent a lot of time in the guest basement bedroom hacking goobers and coughing to exhaustion. I lost work. I lost weight. I lost a lot of confidence in my swimming despite a Catalina relay in Aug 2023 and marathon swim plan for Oct 2023. 

The Oct Pt. Loma to Ocean Beach tandem swim (The PLOB!) with Becky proved successful, but barely, because I found myself shivering only 30 minutes into the swim! Becky was fine--although she told me at the end "I love you, but...never again!" :) Extra miles were added for me to keep warm (and thankfully all warm liquid feeds!) - this saved me. I followed kayaker Summer on a serpentine course and she kept me swimming and kicking. On land, standing up at the finish, I felt my lungs closing in. Asthma hit hard--if I was suffering in the water all those 7 hrs 50 m, which I probably was, but kept a nice steady pace, I didn't notice. Felt like crap the next couple days only to discover I had COVID, too! I did that whole 15k (17k for me) with frigging COVID incubating! 

David and I had driven back home from San Diego. He caught the bug, too. We felt like zombies and arrived home late at night. Our impish kitty Coco was missing. Neighbors had seen repeated coyotes around. We canvassed the neighborhood and she never returned. It's a gut punch to this day. Our pet sitters felt awful. It happens. If your cats are in/out, it's always going to be a risk. 

Ireland

I made it out of the country in Nov. with Anne to do a little Ireland exploring! I had an unused British Airways credit that was going to lapse, so heck yes let's see Ireland. We walked like crazy, saw art, shopped, toured Guiness, did two bus tours to see the Cliffs and Celtic lands, I had food poisoning one day and  had also forgot my thyroid meds like a fool, which merely required a "weekend dr" consult--so easy to get this done when you aren't in AMERICA! Shopped for mod clothes at Rebirth of Cool. 

Also while there, I tried to root out which of my relatives gave me nearly 1/5 Irish DNA, using the Epic museum's genealogy pros and they were stumped! We found super detailed British and Welsh documents of my relatives...then my dad shared later that night he forgot that his paternal grandma had been adopted in Erie Weld, Colorado from a coal miner and his young bride. BAM! I think we solved the mystery. Back in the 1800s they didn't have adoption records--it was more of a handoff through the church, as was the case here with G Gma Winifred Hughes, her name at birth. Her non bio mom, Mary, was a bible thumper of the Presbyterian variety and her folks were straight out of the UK; that genealogist showed me their church wedding records, which is pretty cool because we're talking like 150 years ago. In Erie Weld, CO they actually performed church services in Welsh way back then. That tells you how clustered these immigrant communities were. 

We also took a dip in the sea, well Anne almost did, and I definitely did at Vico Baths, Dalkey. I bequeathed American swim caps to the local  ladies who befriended us. Must go back! My London stopover gave me just enough time to dine with Chris and his partner Robert.  

Back home David and I had a nice chill Thanksgiving and then Christmas. We were missing Coco and resolved to add to the cat fam, maybe only indoor kitty status this time. Bug and Mia are out in the day only now. We adopted two young sister torties, Noriko and Gracie. They bring lots of happiness! 

Swimming didn't totally suck considering how sick and gunky my lungs were all 2023. I made the open water top 10 regional high point awards for placing decently in my open water races. That was cool!

I got another whopper round of bronchitis in Jan and finally got the lung function test done in mid Feb--that came back with moderate persistent asthma and obstructive lung disease. I'm now on Advair (before that, Symbicort) and let me tell you: being on corticosteroids has made all the difference. Just got a lung CT and I'm all clear! 

SCAR kayaking

I paddled my arms off - 43 miles or so - while Mary Singer slayed the 4-day SCAR swim series in Arizona in April. Apache Lake winds, with Gale Force 8 gusts, had me praying to the departed in the last 2 miles. The spray from headwinds off the water were power-washing me from waist to noggin. I sent Mary ahead to finish her swim (meanwhile I had all her nutrition on my kayak!) while I struggled to hold my ground and not drift backwards! She made it and I got a boat tow just in time to watch Dan Simonelli kayak-escort her to the finish line. Huzzah! Mary treated me to a massage after--I was outta my mind dazed and mildly hypothermic. I slept hard that night.

English Channel relay - again! 

The last time I posted anything I had done an EC relay qualifier with the Marys. I'm happy to report that our team kicked ass! We took a swim window at a VERY cold time in the season, and water ranged from  53.9-57 degrees the whole damn swim. TOO COLD for this body. But for an hour at a time it was okay. Cap, goggles, ear plugs and swim suit.  Our team was Mary Singer, Chelsea Lee, MarySue Balazic, me, Mary Robinson, and Erin O'Regan.  All WA, all trained up! 13 hours and 50 minutes is a mighty fine crossing time and it was NOT FLAT CALM. The boat Anastasia was a vomitorium even with seasick meds. Rob Thompson, pilot, Garry Salter, observer, Phil and Vernon were great crew. 

We swam in the first hour of the first day in the window. Which meant we had 9+ more days to burn in England. We had a cute AirBnb paid for so we just made lots of day trips, one weekend in Wissant France, and little swims. Damn Swimmers beach in Dover, not five minutes in jellyfish were stinging me coming and going. GAAHHH. We signed our team names on the wall at the White Horse, ate our way in scones and tea, saw some old friends and just had a cool sightseeing time. 

Boys

Alex had a stopover from China on his way to do grant-funded research. Zach is assisting but back to work soon. It's a joy to see them both at home always, and David makes a taco feast that seals the deal.

Catalina relays x 2 up next

I was invited to swim on two relays this year so here I go again! She Creatures on Aug 27-28; and Slippery When Wet on Sept 24-25. Lord have mercy! I'm practicing. There are some fast swimmers on that second team, so I'm doing intervals to shave a couple seconds off my time until then. Two local open water races will help in the next few weeks. 

I got down to San Diego for two practice blocks---so fun. Also get to see Dad when that happens, another bonus always!

I'm Observing

I recently got the training and certs to observe local marathon swims in the Puget Sound. It's a fun way to serve this community, get inspired and stay connected to my favorite goal-oriented achievers. 

Work is picking up again. I was wondering if this was gonna be my last year of freelancing--I questioned everything! The economy is wacked. I need to invent something awesome and retire on a buyout of said widget from some corporation. In the meantime, I'm here, writing away. And swimming.