Very Busy Super Bowl Weekend

To begin, I think my body hates me! I put it through a lot over the last few days. The weekend started off with my office party at Chelsea Piers Friday night. We all got dressed up, headed over to Pier 60, enjoyed some dinner and drinks, and danced. I think the wine wasn’t the best way to start off the weekend when you have a jam-packed weekend full of snowboarding, running, and jumping into the Atlantic. Oh but it was fun and worth it. And to top the weekend off, the most watched sporting event in this country was scheduled for Sunday night—yup Super Bowl XLV! It was a very busy, very fun, and very tiring weekend!

#10

I’ve skied a handful times in my life, but recently in the last couple of years I wanted to see what the big hype was about for snowboarding. And since I don’t go skiing very often, the opportunities to go snowboarding have been limited. However, there are plenty of places within driving distance from NYC. And one of those places is Hunter Mountain in the Catskills!

My friend Sandra and her boyfriend Shakir invited me to come along with them this past Saturday so I can check off #10. I have never been on a snowboard and they’ve only gone a couple of times, so we all took the beginner lesson. I tried balancing myself on this contraption before even getting the board on. I then figured out how to put the snowboard on, learned about the turning and stopping. Once we got the hang of some of this (more so for others), we got on the lift!

On the way down, there were a lot of not-so-glamorous falls. I mostly fell on my butt (which luckily has some cushioning), and one time I slammed my head into the packed in snow. Good thing I had a helmet! But after a little while (and a few more falls), I started to get the hang of it. Since this was the first time I was attempting this, thankfully my frustration was nonexistent. I want to do things well and do it well very quickly. But the first time I do something, I give myself a pass.

We did a few runs and had fun, but of course the weather wasn't ideal. It was pretty warm, and therefore it was raining on and off instead of snowing! When it started pouring, this was our hint to head back to the city. But we did get an upgrade where we can come back 2 more times for only $40! I will then determine if I like snowboarding or skiing more. I did have a lot of fun learning how to snowboard, although my tailbone may disagree!

#9

Next on the agenda was attempting to lower my race pace to 7 minutes/mile. My official best is the Firecracker 5k on Nantucket last 4th of July weekend. I ran that race the morning after running over 10 miles throughout the island and hanging out at the Chicken Box. Waking up slightly hungover, and running a 7:16 pace was a pleasant surprise.

To attempt to bring my pace down further, the first race I signed for was the Gridiron 4-miler in Central Park Sunday morning. Well this wasn't the best weekend to attempt this goal since I have been battling a couple colds and am slightly out of shape, the ridiculous amount of snow NYC has been getting hasn’t helped my running, and of course going snowboarding the day before wasn't the best idea. So with all these challenges, it’s not surprising that I only ran a 7:44 pace (total time of 30:56). Still pretty respectable, but nowhere close where I need to be. No worries, there will be more 5k’s and 4-milers over the next 10 months to try again. My friend Steve came along, rocked the race, and got a 6:39 pace. Next time I will have to try to keep up with him!

#22

Next up—jumping into the Atlantic Ocean. Yeah you read it right. Polar Bear Plunge in Long Beach! My sisters, Ambreleah and Alysia, along with my friends Pam, Donna, Sara, and Randy also jumped in for support. Luckily the weather had changed dramatically from Saturday! It was a high of 44 and clear, blue skies! Much better weather than what we’ve had in the last couple of months. If you didn't know better it almost looked like it was July. But the water told a different story—it was about 40 degrees, so slightly colder than the air temp.

So how do you try ease the shock of jumping into the Atlantic in February in the Northeast? Why drinking a few beers of course! So with a little alcohol in us, the 7 of us and a few hundred of our closest polar bears made the plunge. We quickly run by all the people that had already jumped and make our way into the ocean. In order for this to count, everyone had to dunk. Which is what we did. With wet swimsuits, wet hair, and wet clothes, we left the water as quickly as we came in. I think the coldest body part for us all were our feet. They got the brunt of the cold with the snow packed into the sand.

The plunge was cold, kind of refreshing, and definitely fun! I would totally do it again.

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To wrap up the weekend (after taking a hot shower), I watched the Packers beat the Steelers in the Super Bowl. If I had been at the game (and it was closer to Long Beach), I would have checked off 3 goals, instead of 2 off my list. The NFL game will have to wait. Overall, a very successful weekend!

Next weekend: gun range!