Adventures in Running

This morning's mayhem was just so comical that I simply had to put it down on e-paper.

Let me start by saying that I've realized I've become a bit of a complainer when it comes to running. Partially justified, given the sheer physical endurance required to run a half marathon, but partially it's just been easier to complain than recognize how far I've come. So this morning, I left my apartment around 9 am expecting to do a quick and easy 3 mile run. About 20 minutes in I even realized that I was averaging a 13 minute mile, which is faster than usual, and I was feeling good and strong! I even started typing my post-run blog in my head, thinking about how I'd write a paragraph similar to the one I'm currently writing about how I know I've been complaining a lot, but now I had a run to be proud of!

Now, I'm not sure if it was the distraction of writing the blog post in my head, the faster pace or something completely out of my control, but the next thing I know, I'm tumbling into the grass and there are 3 people standing over me asking if I'm ok. It must have looked like a bad fall, because as I got up, I realized I had sufficiently removed the skin from my right knee, right elbow and left palm as I cruised the hard pavement before hitting the grass (the first thought that ran through my head was "thank G-d there was no dog doo in that portion of grass!"). Physically, I felt ok, but emotionally, my previously inflated ego was now about as small as it could get. Then some obese woman had the nerve to walk past me, give me a dirty look and say, "You shouldn't be running so fast!" I could think of about a thousand retorts now that would have put that woman in her place, but I held my tongue, which was probably smart.

One of the nice men who stopped offered to walk me home, but I told him I was fine and he could continue his run. I really did feel ok, but I was also awful bloody, so the worst part was having to turn around and walk the mile home with red grossness dripping down my arms and legs. It must have looked like I was attacked by an animal or something...and I may actually want to change my story to that in order to appear more brave and less clumsy.

Alas, I am now bandaged up and ready to start the rest of my day. I'll chalk the experience up to a battle scar, and be thankful that I took a spill now and not on actual race day!

It's Getting Harder!

I had a terrible awful thought yesterday. "Maybe I should quit this running thing," I said to myself after a debilitating 8-mile long run and post-run headache had me incapactitated for nearly the entire day. Even if it weren't for the utter exhaustion, I thought back to how badly my right hip started to ache after the sixth mile and it made me wonder if I was really meant to do this half marathon thing. Of course, getting up this morning and feeling well rested and non-achy (I went to sleep at 9pm last night because I was so tired), I'm not quite ready to quit, but I'm also starting to feel realllllly nervous about whether or not my body will actually hold up for a full 13.1 miles.

Allow me to vent for a moment:
- I had to do my 8-miler on the treadmill due to non-stop rain yesterday. This meant that I could bring two bottles of water (16 oz each) and my new Jelly Belly sport beans with me, and rest them easily on the ledge with a water cooler merely steps away. I broke away from the treadmill three times to refill my water, meaning that I effectively drank FOUR 16 oz bottles of water in 2 hours. That's probably good in terms of staying hydrated, but how in the heck am I going to get that much water during the actual race? I did buy myself a hydration belt from eBay that holds four 6 oz bottles, but that's just 24 oz, and therefore isn't going to last me very long. Apparently the water stations during the half are 1.5 miles apart, so I may have to literally stop for a minute each time to sit and refill my water bottles with the freebies they give out. Otherwise I really think I will pass out.
- The Jelly Belly energy beans certainly helped increase my overall energy level, but after a while they just became too darn sweet! I have a huge sweet tooth, so I was surprised at myself, but I just couldn't stand to get another one down by the time I neared my second pack. I wonder if this is an indication that my salt levels were too low (hence the reason I was craving salt?). I also sort of felt like I was going to puke at times...is that normal? Sorry for the TMI...
- I am STILL not able to run continuously for very long at all. I probably walked half of my 8-miler yesterday at a 15-minute per mile pace, running every so often for a minute or two at a 13/14 minute per mile pace. I did get a good 10-minute running streak in there at around mile two but then I got so exhausted that I just felt like my body was going to crumple into a little ball. I would have thought that by now I would be better at this!
- Then there's the headaches. OMG, I have never had worse headaches in my life. It can't be from dehydration considering how much I drank, and the Jelly Belly energy beans are supposed to be full of electrolytes so I'm not convinced that's the problem either. What I do know is that I had to take 6 advil yesterday throughout the afternoon to make it fully go away, and although it subsided after two naps (yes, I took two, one-hour naps yesterday), it picked up again every time I stood on my feet for more than a few minutes. Am I going crazy?
- Final rant: my hip. This is the second time that it's started to bug me during a long-run, and interestingly both times the pain began around mile 6. Anyone have any recommendations on what to do when something like this happens, or how to prevent it from happening? I could try taking some ibuprofen before the race? If my hip starts to act up, I know I won't be able to finish.

On a positive note, it is pretty amazing to think that since I started training in April-ish (those first few months don't count for much since my training was so sporadic), I've run/walked over 70 miles...certainly progress!

Thanks for sticking with me during this difficult journey. Appreciate all the support and advice!

Updates! Marathon, Europe and Learning French!

Since it has been a good seven-ish weeks since I've updated this blog, I'm sure many of you thought I'd either a) become a total slacker or b) just given up on my quest to complete these 30 Things. Rest assured that the case is neither, and in fact, I've spent the last few weeks diligently chipping away at no less than FIVE items on my list. Updates commence:

1) Running a Half Marathon:
After a slow start (translate: running once a week, feeling exhausted by it and needing a full 6 days to both mentally and physically recover), I have kicked my butt into full gear. It finally hit me that the time to race day wasn't getting any longer, and frankly my couch potato "training" routine wasn't getting me any fitter. With inspiration in check, I purchased a Jeff Galloway run/walk/run timer off the Internet (which came with a signed Galloway Training Programs book) and about 4 weeks ago I officially began my training. Last Saturday my long run was 5 miles (I completed 5.2 miles if you count my cool down), and I must say I impressed myself. Never did I think this body could actually exercise for a full hour and 15 minutes without stopping/passing out/collapsing. Granted, if you calculate my pace based on that time of an hour and 15 minutes, you could argue that I was hardly "running" at all. And in truth, I'll admit that a very small portion of that time was actually spent running (I walked the first and fourth mile, and did a run/walk ratio of 1:1 for the other three). However, note that Mr. Galloway himself has said that it's NOT about the speed, but about the distance and endurance, and that us first timers should never set a time goal, but just a goal of forcing our bodies to continue moving forward for the full 13.1 miles. This weekend, I'm set to do a long run of 6 miles, which I think will feel particularly accomplishing as it's roughly half way there!

With all that said, I still have a long way to go (according to the training program, I still have 15 weeks left), but I am hopeful that my recent progress is an indication that I CAN actually do this. Of course, I still have a million questions running through my brain. For example, when does this shit get easier? Regardless of run/walking 5 miles last Saturday, my 30 minute, 2.7-mile "run" yesterday was painful with me reaching almost near exhaustion with a good 10 minutes left. Also, I still don't really understand how comfortable I'm supposed to expect my shoes to be. They definitely hurt, but I'm also doing an exercise that requires a consistent pounding on said feet, so I'm not sure how much I can expect my shoes to alleviate things. All things considered, I am enjoying the journey and hope to someday be able to feel comfortable self-identifying as a true runner.

2) Learning a Second Language:
Bonjour mes amis! Je parle francais un peu! (translation: Hello my friends! I speak French a very little bit! haha). For the last four months I have dutifully been studying the beautiful language of the Parisians thanks to the folks at Rosetta Stone. If you have heard of Rosetta Stone, I'm sure the first thing that jumps to mind is "Damn, that's expensive stuff!" and indeed, you would be correct. However, I figured that given my failing past performance in language learning environments (3 years of high school Spanish, failed college attempts at learning Spanish, French and Hebrew, AND a semester of Berlitz French at HBS that did nothing for me), this route was likely less expensive than hiring a professional tutor, which is about what I think I'd need if I were to take the structured class route. Instead (don't get scared) for $500, I have a program that I can use at my own speed with the ability to repeat lessons as needed...and I have it for life in case I forget things or need to take extended breaks! (Plus, I got a 5-month payment plan at 0% interest, so that helped soften the blow. Yes, I realize I am going bankrupt thanks to my 30 Things ambitions).

So far, I am enjoying the Rosetta Stone course, and definitely see that I am making progress. The vocabulary piece comes pretty easily, but the pronunciation and actual creation of sentences that make sense is naturally more difficult. I'm nearly finished with Level 1 of the software (to give you perspective, there are 5 Levels...within each level there are 4 units and within each unit there are 4 lessons), and my goal is to complete Level 2 and be somewhere within Level 3 by the time I visit France for real next April (more updates on this in the next section). My only complaint is that the program does not give you any options for the asking of questions. The system relies on this "immersion" technique where they translate nothing, but rather show you pictures of things for you to build associations with. This works really well for basic vocabulary, but less well for grammar, as I mentioned. For example, I had to wind up Googling the difference between the French pronouns ce, ces, cette and cet, because I was utterly confused about when to use which. All else considered, so far I am a satisfied customer.

3) Visiting the Mona Lisa, Throwing a coin in the Trevi Fountain and taking a picture at Buckingham Palace.
You may be wondering how I can be "in progress" on things like this, seeing as they are events that happen during a moment in time versus something you have to practice for like my first two updates. Nevertheless, I felt the need to share the news that my trip to Europe is booked for next April, so checking these three items off my list is a guaranteed reality versus some of the other things I hope to do!!

I'll be traveling with my friend Melissa, and aside from a flight and a few Starbucks-fueled planning sessions, we don't have much under our belt at this point. Of course, if you have recommendations on places to stay, things to see, gourmand restaurants to try and the like, we will happily take every piece of your advice into consideration. Just leave your comments below! :)

The basic plan is to hit Rome, London and Paris, with side trips to Versailles, Florence, Stonehenge, Bath and Windsor thrown in. Yes, I know this is a lot to squeeze into 15 days, but we are not rich and do not foresee a return trip anytime soon, hence the pressure to do as much as we can mentally and physically handle. I can guarantee that I'll need a vacation from my vacation, but then again, what's the fun in taking a trip across the Atlantic to sit around and relax for two weeks?


So that's it for now, folks. I still need to get one of my "quickie" items on the calendar (I'm leaning toward my acupuncture treatment next, but need to find a good Asian doctor to go to), so hopefully I will have some additional updates, fun pictures and wacky stories to share soon. For now, au revoir!

#23: Sing Karaoke at CityWalk's Rising Star

Pre-singing dinner at Margartiaville with my very tan best friend Aynsley and 7 other friends! 

For those of you that didn't know, when I was growing up, I was very sure that one day I was going to be an actress. I'd watch movies like Girl, Interrupted with Angelina Jolie playing the crazy sociopath Lisa, and would then stare at myself in the mirror for hours perfecting my own version of crazy sociopath for the day that a casting director would stop me in the mall (because of course that's how it always happens) and proclaim that I was his next big star.

As a teenager, I actually took a step in the right direction by getting involved in my high school's drama troupe (4992!). As a sophomore, I played a cockney in My Fair Lady and had one line, which was the absolute highlight of my year. I followed that up with minor roles in my junior musical (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying) and senior straight play (The Miracle Worker), while also competing in district and state Thespian competitions. I had the time of my life, made great friends, and realized how to satisfy my truly introverted spirit by becoming "characters" that were outgoing or totally different from me.

The entire time I was in theater, however, singing was Achilles heel. I could carry a basic tune all right, but had a very restricted range, no control and extreme nervousness that restricted me from displaying a single ounce of talent. I pushed through my weakness, making it into my school's musical theater group more so because I was a decent dancer (and there were fewer good dancers than  good singers), but I was always relegated to ensemble numbers or non-singing parts.

Then something happened. I woke up one day my senior year of high school and, crazy as it sounds, all of a sudden I could sing. It was like Flowers for Algernon where in the blink of an eye I had gone from a dying cat to a melodious bird. Granted, I was still no Sutton Foster (for non-Broadway folks she is one of my idols when it comes to belting), but somehow things magically started to sound good. This transformation lead to the most impactful, memorable experience of my lifetime thus far -- being cast as the lead in my senior musical 42nd Street. And while I had several solos as part of the show, and for all intents and purposes carried them as decently as could be expected, I was still never confident in my singing abilities. After graduating from high school, the sad part of Flowers for Algernon unfortunately happened to me too. Little by little, my vocal instrument was used less and less, and by the time I graduated from grad school, almost all of my once promising talent had retreated, leaving me with that hideous dying cat sound once more.

I've posed this very long introduction in an attempt to explain my reasoning for choosing #23: Sing Karaoke at CityWalk's Rising Star. As I've mentioned before, I tried to compose my list with a balanced combination of things I've always wanted to do and things that scare the crap out of me. This item falls into the second camp. I think I sort of wanted to test my abilities, and see if somehow the magic from high school would come back and I'd be able to blow the audience's socks off. I also get a kick out of forcing myself to do horrifying things -- something about it just makes you feel so alive! And who knew? Maybe my casting director was sitting in the audience and this was my big break? With an impending birthday, I decided this would be the perfect venue to host a celebration of year 27.

Apropos liquid courage of choice

For those non-Orlando folks who may not know, Rising Star is a karaoke club at Universal's CityWalk where you sing on a stage with a live band and back-up singers. It's an elevated experience from standard karaoke mostly due to the swanky ambiance and 400-seat audience. Intimidation is high! Not to mention, I chose to sing the very ambitious "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele -- because there is a live band the song list is fairly limited, and I wanted to choose something that I felt comfortable with, but would allow me to actually sing versus just speak the lyrics.

We arrived at the bar just before 9pm, and the place was significantly less full than the bouncer told me it would be by that time (I was told that by 9pm on a Saturday the place was standing room only...so not true!). After ordering a few drinks, I filled out a card indicating my candidacy for the spotlight and was slotted to sing fourth. To be honest, the nerves that I was so accustomed to feeling when I knew I'd have to sing solo in high school were nowhere to be found. Not sure if this was thanks to the black feather earrings that I donned especially to prove to onlookers that I was a real rock star, because I had 11 friends in the audience, or because I knew that if I screwed up there were only about 40 people in the audience that would boo me. Needless to say, I walked up to the stage pretty damn confident and ready to tackle my song.

Then out of nowhere, the nerves reappeared. I think it happened right as the band started playing and I realized that there wasn't a very long intro for me to find my groove and prepare. So, I took a breath and started to sing, only to realize that the mic I was using was one of those where everyone in the audience can hear you perfectly, but you can't actually hear a single note of yourself singing. For anyone who has ever performed, you know this is a nightmare. It becomes almost impossible to know if you are on key or singing well -- hence the reason most real musicians use those little ear plug thingies (it transmits their voice into their ear so they can self-correct). Of course this made me even more nervous, which resulted in that throat constricting, dry-mouth, out-of-breath feeling. This was not going as planned!

Here you can really tell I am a rock star

The good news is that I made it through the song and my friends were all kind enough to lie to me and tell me I did great. The second piece of good news is that my "videographer" friend Kyle accidentally forgot to push the record button until I was walking OFF the stage, meaning my performance cannot actually be published to this blog. Oh well! The only bad news is that because of the video mishap, I can't actually play back my performance and see if I was as horrendous as I thought I was. Not a whole lot lost, if you ask me.

Regardless, I am a Star because they stamped it on my hand

The rest of the evening was much more relaxing, as we sang along to other folks' karaoke as a group and laughed when a 40-year-old man who called himself "Bad Tony" performed Jump Around. That was almost as funny as the Ice Ice Baby man, or the two geeky "we're here for a bachelor party" guys singing Don't Stop Believing. All in all, a good night for sure, and a place I'd love to check out again sometime in the future.

Before I sign off, I just want to make sure I thank Aynsley, Betsy, Kyle, Katie, Denis, Dana, Reid, Rachel, Chris, Cara and Paul for coming out for my birthday. You all helped make my night so special and I appreciate your support! :) Til next time -- au revoir (and yes, this is me practicing my budding French -- another one of my 30 Things!)!

#27: Go Fake Skydiving

This particular item on my "30 Things" list has unequivocally received the most wrath from those that are following me on this journey. "FAKE skydiving?" they ask. If your aim is adventure, challenge and conquering fears, why on earth would you decide to go fake skydiving instead of pushing yourself to experience the real thing?

Well folks, that's because I'm chicken s**t. I value my life and would very likely be haunted by nightmares filled with parachutes that fail to open, giant birds that appear out of nowhere and crash landings into shark-filled waters should I decide to actually attempt jumping out of a plane. The contradiction here is that part of me really, really wants to experience it, and thus I discovered a happy medium that a) was affordable thanks to Groupon, b) simulates the feeling of skydiving and c) offers minimal risk of bodily harm. The compromise came in the form of none other than iFly Orlando, a tourist trap conveniently located on International Drive and home to a 130 mph wind tunnel.

My partner in crime for this adventure was my sorority sister and almost-lawyer Alex (P-S: Good luck on the bar!), whom despite not seeing me since college graduation, so kindly responded to my request on Facebook for a tag-along. The two of us met promptly at 1pm for our reservation and were swiftly shepherded upstairs to the "observation" deck where you can sit and watch other people take part in their "flying 101" class. It's all a little bit comical to be honest -- those observing are positioned on one side of a giant plexi-glass-framed wind tunnel with 8-10 people donning embarrassingly blackmail-worthy "flight suits" sitting on the other side. One by one they get up and enter the flight tunnel, only to flail around like a fish out of water as an instructor pulls and prods them in an attempt to help them take flight. For a moment, you feel sort of like a spectator at a zoo. Here you are sitting in front of this glass tube and laughing to yourself as people contort their bodies every which way and make incredibly "flattering" facial expressions thanks to the wind. It's all very funny until you realize that very shortly this will be you!

After about 20 minutes of watching others in the observation deck (and intently studying the body position of those who were "successful" at flying versus those who were not), we were taken upstairs for our flying class. This wasn't much of a class, but rather an opportunity to meet our instructor, Adam, watch a short video about what the experience would be like and then learn about the body position we were supposed to mimic (arms bent at the elbows and held up by your ears, legs bent at about a 45 degree angle, back curved at the hips to create a gentle U shape, chin up). From there we were given our very own flight gear -- a jumpsuit, helmet, goggles and ear plugs -- and corralled down to the wind chamber to await our turn at flight.

At this point, I feel that it probably makes sense for me to share the video of my flight experience, as well as Alex's. Please excuse the incredibly amateur editing and crappy quality, but at 4 minutes in length, I had to reduce the quality to make the video compatible with this blog. Commentary will resume below...

As you can tell from the video, my flying skills were less than stellar -- Alex did a much better job than I did! Apparently I was bending my arms too much and my instructor kept telling me to relax, which was weird considering I felt totally relaxed! The weird thing is that as much as you think your body will just assume the right position once inside the wind tunnel, when you actually get in there for the first time, the experience can be incredibly disorienting. Not to mention you have just 60 seconds to get it "right" (the experience includes just 2 minutes of flight per person, 1 minute at a time), so there is pressure to figure things out quickly so that you can actually experience the sensation of flying. Luckily, I caught on eventually, and my second go around I had a complete blast during the 30 seconds that the instructor grabbed on to me and literally flew me up and down, spinning in circles throughout the tube.

Once everyone in the group has had their two turns, it's back upstairs to return your flight gear, get your certificates of flight, pick up your DVD (hence the reason I was able to share the above footage) and see some photos of yourself in flight (they charge $3.95 just to E-MAIL you one photo, but c'mon, if you don't have someone on the other side taking pictures for you, how can you NOT buy at least one?). And with that, you're done!

In all honesty, I left the experience a heck of a lot closer to considering going REAL skydiving someday (the instructor assured me that the feeling is almost 100% replicated by the wind tunnel and that there is no actual feeling of falling), although unfortunately, my bravado has since faded the more I have time to actually use my brain to think about the situation. At the end of the day, part of me still really wants to push myself and just go for it -- I think I may regret it when I am older if I don't -- but in the meantime, I still have to work on squashing the paralyzing fear that has prevented me from doing it thus far!

Stay tuned for a new blog post in about two weeks as I tackle yet another item on my list -- singing karaoke with a live band and back-up singers at CityWalk's Rising Star (I'm heading there for my 27th birthday, ya'll!). Video evidence will be in abundance, so it will be a sight worth seeing!

In Progress "Things": #20: Run a Half Marathon and #21: Learn a Second Language

While many of the items on my list are discrete things that can be accomplished in a single day, there are also several items that actually require a bit of preparation, be it mental, physical or both, to see through. These include #20: Run a Half Marathon and #21: Learn a Second Language, as well as a few more, like learning to ballroom dance or play golf. For now, I've set myself up on a course to tackle the former two, and wanted to write an introductory post as I plan to update the blog every now and again with my progress on these items. Let's start with the first one:

#20: Run a Half Marathon
I'm not sure when the running phenomenon started, but I must have been living under a rock somewhere, because all of a sudden I move back to Florida and everyone I know runs. Friends at work are constantly posting Facebook pics from races of all lengths and obstacles (something called the Warrior Dash looks particularly interesting) and every time I look out of my apartment window I see someone running down the street. Old, young, fit, fat -- it seems that no matter their story or physique, everyone in the world is out there pounding the pavement except me.

Now, I'm not usually much of a follower in life (if anything, I have a tendency to rebel from things that are too trendy), but I figured that if everyone was running, there must be something pretty fantastic about it. Not to mention, I've been carrying around an extra spare tire for the last who-knows-how-many years, and I very conveniently read that the first place one loses body fat from when beginning a running regimen is none other than the gut! So I said, what the heck, this stuff can't be all that hard! I'm going to join the group of running people so that I too can post fun Facebook pictures of me panting like a dog, sweating like a banshee and running at full speed when I'm neither being chased by a serial killer nor a scary dog. Sounds like a party, right?!

Needless to say, in a moment of insanity, I registered myself for the Disney Half Marathon in January 2012 (to the tune of $100), because of course, it's go big or go home! I figured that if I was going to start running, I needed some sort of goal to keep me from quitting day two because it's either too hot in Florida or I'm just too darn out of shape. Plus, 13.1 miles seemed a little more reasonable than the full 26.2, which I still can't fathom. It's less than 26 miles from my home to the Orlando International Airport, and I can't imagine getting on the 417 and running to catch my flight. That's a looooooong run.

In my fervor, I rushed to the mall and immediately purchased an expensive pair of running shoes from a cute salesman named Travis -- now that I am a "runner," my regular old sneakers just would not do! $200 in cute running clothes from Target later (if I'm going to be out there looking like a piece of lard trying to exercise in full view of cars driving down the street, I better at least be dressed fashionably!) and I was ready to begin my training.

It's funny because there's a whole lot that actually needs to happen between being "ready" to start training and "actually" starting training. You see, I did all this massive research about half marathon training programs and running for beginners, and EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM says that you have to be able to run for 30 minutes consecutively PRIOR to starting your marathon training. Hey folks, what happened to the BEGINNER part of the phrase "beginning runner." I haven't gotten a true session of exercise in for, eh, three and a half months, and you expect me to put on my running shoes and be able to just go for a full half an hour? I'm lucky if I can run continuously for 30 seconds without passing out. I think this was the point when I realized this was going to be a lot more challenging than I thought.

The good news is that I can actually make it through a 2 mile exercise session relatively easily. The bad news is that I spend very little of that 2 miles running. Most of it is more equivalent to a fast walk with short periods of jogging thrown in until I feel like my chest is going to explode along with my burning, tight calves, and then I walk some more until the pain subsides. The worst news is that I've still been making excuses as to why I can't get out for a run as often as I should, and thus my progress hasn't really progressed any since I started this path a couple of months ago.

I think part of my problem is that in the back of my head, I know I have 6 months to train for this half marathon, and most of the programs I've seen involve about 12-17 weeks of training, meaning I've got more than enough time to get my butt in shape. Of course, when I signed up for the half, I had 8 months to train, and we've seen how far I've gotten in the first two months, so this mentality obviously doesn't bode too well!

Regardless of the obstacles, I'm not giving up, and I've gotten some great advice from fellow runners as to how to tackle the "getting started" hurdle, which is apparently the hardest one to get over. I've been told that there is something called a "runner's high" where you get to a certain level of physical fitness and all of a sudden you are able to zone out in a sort of meditative state and just run, feeling this cathartic calming sensation washing over you. It is my goal to find out what this feels like!

In the meantime, I could use some advice from those who run in the following areas (please leave your answers below, if you would, or send me some other form of communication if you'd prefer not to share your thoughts with any and all that read this blog):

• What kind of arm band do you use to hold your iPhone/iPod while running so that you can listen to your motivating/pump-you-up music? I bought one for $3 off eBay and it is the itchiest thing EVER, plus it slides down your arm, making it more of a nuisance than anything.
• If you are a glasses-wearer, how do you run while wearing your regular glasses? Once I start to sweat, these babies slide right off my nose leaving me blind. Not good.
• What are the best stretches to do before and/or after a run?
• How do you run at a pace that allows you to carry on a conversation? Anything faster than a power walk and I'm winded. Is this something that comes with time? All of the training books tell me to run slowly, but I'm not sure I actually know how to run "slow" unless I'm copying the gait of a prancing unicorn, which isn't what I imagine they mean.
• How do you really know if the running shoes you've purchased are good for you/your feet? Should your feet feel completely 100% comfortable in them the entire time you run? Or are tingly feet and aching arches par for the course no matter the distance or speed?

Naturally, any and all other advice is always welcome! And since this turned into a longer post than I originally expected, I will leave thee for today and save my progress report on learning a second language for another day. However, I will say that I am getting "somewhere" a lot faster on the language front than I am on the running front. Ta ta for now!

#30: Swim with Dolphins

Swimming with the dolphins is something I've wanted to do for years, but admittedly was always too cheap to pony up for. The price/value equation just never quite seemed to work in my favor at prevailing cruise tour operator prices of $150+ per person. Needless to say, the method I took -- spending a day at the limited-admission "water park" Discovery Cove -- was still not cheap (I got a Florida Resident rate for $199 per person), but somehow I felt better about opening my wallet knowing that I was not only getting a full-day experience, but also the chance to swim with stingrays, eat breakfast and lunch, and imbibe in as many alcoholic beverages as my heart desired. When my best friend since high school -- Aynsley -- agreed to be my co-conspirator, I threw out all remaining procrastitory excuses (is that a word, procrastitory, because I like it...) and took the plunge (literally and figuratively).

Since the item on my list specifically had to do with the dolphins, I'll start there and will then backtrack to give you my full review of Discovery Cove (for those who are interested in potentially taking a trip there).

The experience began with a short "instructional" session with one of the trainers. Basically, this included a 5-minute "romancing" video about the beauty and intelligence of dolphins, followed by a quick Q&A session. As the animal lover, I was quick to ask whether the interactions we were about to experience would hurt the dolphin at all (hey, they tow people through the water and we all know that many tourists are a bit...rotund). They, of course, said no, that if the dolphin doesn't want to participate or is uncomfortable he or she will just swim away. Obviously, I was happy to hear that there was no animal torture involved, but I have to say a small piece of me started thinking that I would be awful mad if I paid all this money to swim with a dolphin who decided they'd rather take a nap that day.

From there, we were split into small groups and corralled over to a wading pool that was freezing cold. Ok, it was only 75 degrees, but in 90+ degree weather this feels cold, especially to a Floridian used to sweating more than witnessing snowfall. So after tip-toeing into the waist deep water, we were told that our group was among the lucky ones as we were going to have the chance to interact with two dolphins. Thelma, our first dolphin, recently had a baby (named Hurley) and was therefore just getting back into the action after her maternity leave. She'd be doing most of the "tricks" for us, and then they'd bring out Hutch, an older male dolphin, to do the hard labor of towing people through the water.

The tricks section was certainly cool, although it was obvious that the dolphin was paying little attention to the signals we were giving and fixating completely on the bucket of fish in the instructor's arms. Of course, we saw the cliched "clapping" of the flippers, the "wave goodbye" with the tail fin, the "funny noises" from the blow hole (these included a scream, bird chirping and a fart) and the "ooh ahh" inducing big flip. We also got to see Thelma "dance," blow bubbles and swim upside down so we could pet her belly.

About 15 minutes in, we started the "swim" and picture portions of the experience. The picture section involved each of us going up and hugging and kissing the dolphin (a very good Kodak moment, but I'll admit that I was secretly thinking about how dirty that dolphin's snout must be). Then one by one, we swam out into deeper water and the dolphin gave each of us a 10-second ride back to the shallow water. Yep folks, that is why earlier I referred to this as a "swim" -- there is very, very little actual swimming involved.

Shortly thereafter, we were done and being escorted up to the photo tent to spend more money. Of course, you aren't allowed to bring cameras into the water so they have professional photographers capturing every adorable moment. And after paying $199 to experience this, who in their right mind would walk away without any images to remember the moment? Naturally, they are well aware of this phenomenon and thus charge a whopping $20 per 6X8 -- robbery, I tell you. Thankfully, Aynsley was there, so we split the cost of a photo CD and got all of our images to do as we please with (because we split it, I got all 15 photos, plus the rights for the price of 3 of their 6X8s -- still highway robbery, but somewhat more justifable right?).

All in all, I walked away from the dolphin experience feeling somewhat disappointed that it wasn't longer or more involved. Granted, I did think it was really cool to be so up close and personal with such a beautiful creature, but it definitely felt a bit more cheesy and touristy than I would have liked.

And here is where I can dive into the rest of my Discovery Cove review (no pun intended)! Overall, this is not really a full-day park. There's about enough to do to take up a half day, slightly more if you enjoy baking in the sun for hours, but in truth they really do need some expansion efforts. The free flight aviary is simply wonderful, and is what we enjoyed most during our visit. There are SO many exotic birds -- big and small -- and since many of them were bottle-raised, they feel comfortable flying down to eat food from a small cup in your hand Now, this is precious with the tiny little birds (we met once particularly friendly bird named Scamper who would hang on you as long as you'd allow her), but slightly more unnerving when they get any bigger than the size of your hand. Case in point was the beautiful orange sun conure that randomly decided to land on my head and give me a heart attack.

Outside of the aviary is a non-plus lazy river (no floats or rafts except a dumb noodle), a wading pool with a "cave" (it's like 10 feet long), and the Grand Reef, which just opened a few weeks ago. The Grand Reef is pretty cool, as it's another opportunity to immerse yourself in sea life. Inside are free-swimming stingrays and Manta rays (which are humongous and kind of scary at first), man-made coral structures and lots of little fish (some of which swim in schools, which is cool to see up close). There are also some closed-off areas with sharks, lionfish and eels, but those areas weren't as impressive. Really and truly, one of the big questions I had was what guests did with themselves prior to June when the Grand Reef wasn't open? Then we're really talking about an expensive park with nothing to do.

The food was just okay -- I was expecting more. Breakfast was very touristy, very mass produced, and while lunch options stepped it up a bit, you were still required to take a tray and scavange for a clean outdoor picnic table to dine on. For the amount of money we were paying, I expected at the very least indoor seating, optional table service and some sort of themed restaurant. No go.

Snacks and drinks were just okay, too. If you're into potato chips or granola bars, you would have been in heaven, but again, I was hoping for something that seemed more fresh. Fruit trays, a sandwich station, an ice cream bar -- sort of like what you'd find in the quick service area of a cruise. Another no go. Beverages were certainly plentiful with alcohol options including tap margaritas, weed lemonade (some sort of long island), wine and beer, but in truth, it was so darn hot that I thought if I drank too much I'd pass out from heat stroke. So I stuck mostly to water, with one weed lemonade thrown in.

Some of the nice perks included the all-inclusive nature of the experience. You get one complimentary entry photo per person in your party, free snorkel/mask rentals, free sunscreen, towels, and products in the showering facilities, and complimentary wetsuit/vest rentals. Perhaps the biggest perk is the 14-day unlimited pass to one of SeaWorld's other parks -- you could choose either Aquatica, SeaWorld or Busch Gardens. This is a better deal if you are a tourist since you're more likely to now have passes for everyone in your travel party -- for a Resident the deal is less attractive since I now have a 14-day pass and the only other person I know that has one lives in Gainesville.

Honestly, I probably have zero desire to ever return to Discovery Cove, but I'm happy I went and got to check it out for myself. As far as my recommendation, I'd say go if you can get a good rate, but do so in the slightly cooler months so that laying out in the sun is feasible for more than 15-20 minutes, otherwise you're bound to run into the same issue of running out of things to do/see.

Next up on my list: indoor skydiving a week from Sunday with a sorority sister. Stay tuned!