old friends/new friends

This weekend was a mesh of hanging with new friends and seeing old friends, all in an athletic setting! Saturday, I met the folks I've been trail running with for a 9-10 miler around Lake Youngs. I hadn't been there before and looked forward to checking it out. It's the end of a "recovery" week for me. My peak week ended with a (grueling) 13 miler at Cougar last Saturday, so I was quite pleased how easy this run felt. Though not as hilly as Cougar, it was rolling, and very pretty with all the fall leaves! The best part was I met more new faces. I ran with Tracy and Ali, whom I knew (though not that long) and met Jerry, Eric, Cam, and Kevin. We had such a nice time and they are such good people. I can't wait to run with them again - next week it's Rattlesnake Lake, or something along those lines. Afterwards, Tracy and I headed to The Balanced Athlete to look at shoes. We ran into Scott M. from Seattle Running Co and helped him load some shoes in his car. I got some Filas to try - they encourage a midfoot landing - and Tracy tried several shoes before she decided to take more time. We visited a little with Eric, who was running ragged as he was the only one in the store at the time. Then we went over to Wild Wheat and had a yummy lunch, before heading back north to Seattle. The rest of the day was spent hanging out at home with Donn and enjoying a movie. It was a very pleasant day!

Then, today, for the first time since July (?) Queen Anne pool was open for our swim club! It was SO GOOD to see old friends, and I even managed to make some new ones too - met a trail runner in our lane! But first, I met up with Charlene and Sarah for an easy run around the top of Queen Anne. Then we got back to the pool (Sarah went to work) and got in to see all the changes they made- new filtration (half UV, half chlorine), cool new pool lights (LED, and they can change colors or go to disco), and new spiffed up locker room. It was way cool!! I came in all sweaty from my run, and saw Michael coming out of the locker room in just his bathing suit. I couldn't resist giving him a big hug and rubbing my sweaty face on his chest! :-) The pool was a little cool - 78F - but not bad for swimming, once you got going. They are still bringing it up to temp; too bad! Our swim was good and I took breaks when I felt my bp was getting too high (headaching, pounding). I even managed a hypoxic set - 3-2-1-0 breaths for 25! I just loved it! Got some sauna time afterwards and then out to Cafe Ladro with some of the gang. I'm so happy to be back there - signed up for 2x/week come hell or highwater!

What a great weekend! I shall sleep well tonight!