September will mark a year since our last actual dive at the Philadelphia Quarry in Tennessee. We were completing the Open Water Diver certification through PADI, and hopeful we might get to dive our first salt water dive during our trip to Orange Beach, Alabama. While our vacation plans didn't work out as planned whatsoever, we continued along our way while literally dreaming of diving.
Months went by, spring came to an end and our Facebook group was abuzz with divers planning trips up to the local quarries and nearby Florida beaches. Money was tight and we certainly could not pay for the refresher course, as needed. We continued dreaming and dredging down the path set before us.
One of the instructors who helped us pass our certification program, a PADI rescue diver at the time and, most recently, Dive Master, invited us to visit his pool for a refresher course. His wife, a talented diver in her own right, graciously entertained our toddler to no end while we dove down to the 8ft mark for some fun.
You may feel a little nervous when you are trying something again for the first time after a year. Your heart beats with a little more feeling, and I definitely felt I was breathing a little heavier before my feet touched the water. However, I cannot explain the familiarity that came over me when we were kicking around in full gear. It was the most amazing feeling since we dove in the first place, and I instantly remembered why I enjoyed diving in the first place.
I have always been terrified of water. Even on the first day of our certification, I was still scared. I felt like my mask was my only lifeline, considering it is the only "force" keeping water out of my nose. To this day I still have to remind myself that my regulator is what I truly need to "survive"; I can make it home without my mask and snorkel.
To those of you who may fear the water or diving in general, don't let this fear keep you from getting certified. I am certainly living proof that it is possible, and you will be so happy you worked to overcome it.
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Thursday, August 27, 2015
An Abandoned Running Track
My husband and I recently expanded our walking and running route to the length of our street, which equaled out to be the distance of a 5k. While this gives us the length we need without running laps or experiencing redundancy, we were constantly running up against obstacles.
Because we run after my husband, Daniel, gets off of work, there is a lot of traffic using our road as a cut through. You literally save two minutes taking this "short cut" down a country road filled with horses and cows. Two whole minutes of driving way to fast down a road known for it's 35 mph speed limit. This road is not exactly straight. It curves up and down, left and right, which I didn't realize until we began using it and tracking it on RunKeeper. Cars don't see any pedestrians, bike riders, strollers or horse back riders until it is nearly too late.
Daniel was talking about the disappointment, of using our road as a route, with some coworkers, when they suggested using a running track at the abandoned middle school in town. While we enjoy the ability to walk straight down our driveway to our "track", this football field is only about a 5 minute drive from the house. It is flat, there aren't any aggressive dogs, and we did not need to dodge any cars.
We wanted to take it for a simple trial run, because we have kind of been rained out for the last week and a half. RunKeeper tracked 1 1/2 miles at a 16:53 minute pace; our best time! It was an overall good experience, very quiet and amazingly no disruptions, besides a few other walkers. I found it rather pleasant to focus on my exercise without being startled by a mule whining for attention.
And, our upcoming weekend should be fun, too! Daniel will be having hand surgery on Monday, so some friends from our Scuba diving group have put together a refresher course for my husband and I to take. They organized another dive member to lend us gear, will be providing the filled air tanks, and even want to grill some burgers while they babysit our daughter. We are so thrilled at the opportunity and feel so blessed to have wonderful dive buddies.
Because we run after my husband, Daniel, gets off of work, there is a lot of traffic using our road as a cut through. You literally save two minutes taking this "short cut" down a country road filled with horses and cows. Two whole minutes of driving way to fast down a road known for it's 35 mph speed limit. This road is not exactly straight. It curves up and down, left and right, which I didn't realize until we began using it and tracking it on RunKeeper. Cars don't see any pedestrians, bike riders, strollers or horse back riders until it is nearly too late.
Daniel was talking about the disappointment, of using our road as a route, with some coworkers, when they suggested using a running track at the abandoned middle school in town. While we enjoy the ability to walk straight down our driveway to our "track", this football field is only about a 5 minute drive from the house. It is flat, there aren't any aggressive dogs, and we did not need to dodge any cars.
We wanted to take it for a simple trial run, because we have kind of been rained out for the last week and a half. RunKeeper tracked 1 1/2 miles at a 16:53 minute pace; our best time! It was an overall good experience, very quiet and amazingly no disruptions, besides a few other walkers. I found it rather pleasant to focus on my exercise without being startled by a mule whining for attention.
And, our upcoming weekend should be fun, too! Daniel will be having hand surgery on Monday, so some friends from our Scuba diving group have put together a refresher course for my husband and I to take. They organized another dive member to lend us gear, will be providing the filled air tanks, and even want to grill some burgers while they babysit our daughter. We are so thrilled at the opportunity and feel so blessed to have wonderful dive buddies.
Monday, August 3, 2015
Where Have We Been?
Most of the time I start a blog related to exercising and I either stop running or forget to write any posts. Thankfully in this case, the lack of articles is related to a busy schedule and doctor's appointments, and we are still "on the run".
In the past few weeks my husband and I, as well as my sister for a few days, have increased our distance of walking and running to the length of a 5k. The road that we live on can equal over 3 miles of winding, uphill and downhill cement. Although we are just running 60 seconds and walking 90 seconds, we are feeling challenged and see improvements.
My husband has been facing some different obstacles of late. He has a developed a lump between his thumb and pointer finger, that has significantly enlarged in the last three weeks. We have been to a few doctor's appointments, he had an ultrasound and MRI to determine whether it is a complex cyst or tumor (cancerous or otherwise). At this point, we are awaiting the call regarding our scheduled visit with a hand specialist surgeon.
Last week Daniel also got the opportunity to experience a real mountain biking trail ride. He, along with his coworker, drove up Lookout Mountain to bike a route in Cloudland Canyon. They road for an hour before moving on to a round of disc golf. Even though this doesn't seem like much, it is a gigantic improvement from my husband's past.
Neither of us were good at exercising beyond normal day to day activities in and out of work. Then our daughter was born and we both began gaining multiple health problems. Since we have started running and walking multiple times a week, and working up a good sweat, we both feel better and are finally starting to look better.
In conclusion, I am still here, sorry for the hiatus. For now it is back to a semi-normal routine, while we await results of Daniel's scans. I will most certainly work on posting more updates and discoveries while we improve our running times and distances, training for an upcoming 5k!
In the past few weeks my husband and I, as well as my sister for a few days, have increased our distance of walking and running to the length of a 5k. The road that we live on can equal over 3 miles of winding, uphill and downhill cement. Although we are just running 60 seconds and walking 90 seconds, we are feeling challenged and see improvements.
My husband has been facing some different obstacles of late. He has a developed a lump between his thumb and pointer finger, that has significantly enlarged in the last three weeks. We have been to a few doctor's appointments, he had an ultrasound and MRI to determine whether it is a complex cyst or tumor (cancerous or otherwise). At this point, we are awaiting the call regarding our scheduled visit with a hand specialist surgeon.
Last week Daniel also got the opportunity to experience a real mountain biking trail ride. He, along with his coworker, drove up Lookout Mountain to bike a route in Cloudland Canyon. They road for an hour before moving on to a round of disc golf. Even though this doesn't seem like much, it is a gigantic improvement from my husband's past.
Neither of us were good at exercising beyond normal day to day activities in and out of work. Then our daughter was born and we both began gaining multiple health problems. Since we have started running and walking multiple times a week, and working up a good sweat, we both feel better and are finally starting to look better.
In conclusion, I am still here, sorry for the hiatus. For now it is back to a semi-normal routine, while we await results of Daniel's scans. I will most certainly work on posting more updates and discoveries while we improve our running times and distances, training for an upcoming 5k!
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