Catch up...

 

  My parents came up to visit in July for a Langlois family reunion. My dad has wanted to hike the Y forever. And he reminds us every. single. time. he comes to Utah. So this time we did it! It was fun...hot but fun!

 Before the FULL Langlois family arrived, we took advantage and went out to dinner with our family, and my dad's two sisters families the Dennings and the Lindquists. It was very fun! We ate at the Pizza Factory. This was the 4th of July! Afterward we all headed to the Stadium of Fire at BYU where we got to listen to the Beach Boys and it was AWESOME!

 Saturday July 28th was a date in my head for the last 11 months or so ever since I signed myself up to swim Alcatraz. It finally came around and I headed to San Fran with my family. Steve was picking cherries in Utah but met up with us the night before the swim.

 As you can see, it was pretty dang cold outside. Most people think California is always warm, but in San Fran, you can pretty much bet it will always be overcast, especially at 6AM!

 I got my racing cap and numbers and timer around my ankle and I was ready to go! I was feeling a little nervous about my decision to swim without a wetsuit when I didn't really see ANYONE else without a wetsuit. I found out later, out of 1100 swimmers only about 100-200 swam without one. No wonder I didn't see anyone.

 Once I got on the ferry to head out to Alcatraz, I found a couple of friends swimming sans-wetsuit and we stuck together. As we approached Alcatraz I threw my goggles on and headed to the opening where I would jump into the water. They have two guys standing at the opening and they "help" you into the water. By "help" I mean they motion for you to come forward and if you don't continue walking and hesitate slightly, they just push you out the door! Totally understandable considering a lot of people get nervous at that point and it is kind of the point of no return, so a little shove helps keep things moving.

 When I jumped into that water it was a shock for sure. The water temp was less than 55 degrees and it was cold. Oh man! I just started swimming from the time I jumped off and I only hesitated so I could look and make sure I was still headed in the right direction. I was instructed to aim about 1 mile left of where I wanted to be, so I picked a long white building on the horizon and aimed there. The current is so strong, that if you aim for the opening of the water park we swim into then you will end up near the Golden Gate Bridge and have to swim up-stream to get back to the opening. My aim was great! I made it right through that hole you can see in the picture below.

 My goal time was 45 minutes. While I was swimming I had no idea how long it was taking. All I knew was I felt like I was making NO progress because the water current was SO STRONG! It was like waves crashing on me continuously. I learned by reading about open water swims that it is really easy to get chafing, so I put vaseline all over my body to prevent it. It worked great, but unfortunately when I went to wipe my goggles before I jumped into the water, I got a little vaseline inside which hindered my vision during the entire swim. Those were my biggest struggles--blurry vision and strong current. I ran into a couple of people but it wasn't a big deal and I didn't get hurt or hurt anyone else.

 When I got out of the water I had jello legs but I had to run past the finish line in order to get my time. I was shocked to see 40 minutes on the timer. I was so excited I made it in less time than my goal! It was a great feeling to accomplish that race.

 It was great to have my family support me. I am so glad I chose to do that swim. Definitely something to remember and every time I visit San Francisco I can say I swam across the bay!

 There is my time! 40:19!!! 4th in my age group, 55th overall out of 1100.

 I didn't get cold until about 30 minutes after the race. I guess my adrenaline died down. Luckily I had my high school swim parka, a sweatshirt and sweatpants. They were also handing out hot chocolate which was wonderful! All in all, it was a great experience I would love to do again.

Jake's Christmas present this year is a book full of pictures of people holding this sign. We also photoshopped some pictures and threw the sign into it. It will be a fun gift we hope for him to open on Christmas!

The reason I have been MIA is I am doing a difficult pharmacy rotation right now at the Shock-Trauma ICU and I wake up at 4 AM and have 12-17 hour days. So that ends this week and maybe my blogging will improve thereafter :) Steve is still busy, busy teaching and coaching football. His football team is 5-0 right now though so his hard work is paying off!

Last but most certainly not least, September is a BUSY month for birthdays. My mom's was 9/13, Courtney's (my best friend that unfortunately lives across the country in Georgia) is 9/14, my dad is 9/17, and Steve is 9/26! So HAPPY BIRTHDAY EVERYBODY!!!