The Wit and the Water - a Vacation report

Last week was my vacation, one real roller coaster ride of ups and downs. It started driving down to 30a (South Walton) on Friday. I take these trips with my best friend Wes and his wife Amanda. Amanda is a scary driver, and Wes had just come off a work shift, so I loaded up on caffeine and strapped myself into the drivers seat of Amanda's 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Between my race equipment and Amanda's closet packed into the back, we were looking back with mirrors only :)

8 hours driving - endurance event #1

It took us around 8 hours to get into Walton County. The trip through Alabama is miserable... so entering into Florida is generally a ray of sunshine on a dark day. In this case, it was pouring down rain. Sigh. We get loaded into the Condo and I start getting the Felt (S32) ready to race on Saturday morning at the White Sands Triathlon in Panama City. At this point I'm a little concerned of the weather (it's pretty cold considering we're on the Gulf) but I brush it off with my usual bravado... besides, it's too late to worry about it at 9p.m. the night before. After a mediocre dinner at a local pub food place, it's off to bed.

Waking up I walk out on my deck to be greeted by some frigid temperature. I consult the internet... 38 degrees. Wow. Oh well, when the sun comes up it'll get better...right? I get my stuff loaded in the car and have one final laugh at my swimskin... regretting that my wetsuit is 500+ miles away.

In my last post I go over the mishaps of my actual race, so I won't take the time to refresh. The quick of it... Started with the elite wave, got about 200m out, threw up salt water, pulled out. Froze.

Post Race Disappointment face

The rest of Saturday and all of Sunday was about taking some time off and getting rested up. Although the temperature was still a bit on the cool side compared to what I am used to, the weather was nice and I was able to enjoy the beach, actually managing to get some sun without turning into a well done lobster. (Thanks SPF 50!) I also had the opportunity to try out my new Fuji camera, touted as waterproof on the label, I got some pretty cool shots of this curious little fellow who kept following me around.

I'm sorry sir, I haven't seen Nemo

Monday it was back to business. I changed the wheels on the Felt (disc + hed3 seemed a little too dressy for a training ride) and headed out. This is one thing I LOVE about 30a. Straight, flat roads that span miles (30 of them coincidentally) and are pretty sparse of traffic earlier in the morning. I got an hour and a half ride in and made my way back to the condo to get ready for the day!

Tuesday I was up early and ready for a run. One great thing about the cooler than normal temps was that it wasn't balls hot at 6-10a.m. in the mornings, perfect weather to train in. I lace up the shoes and head out the door. There is also a trail/sidewalk that spans all of 30a, so running is super convenient.  I get about 3 minutes into my run and my leg starts feeling like it's went to sleep. I stop and hop on my right leg a second... then it too feels that way. I lose strength and hit the ground! Holy Crap!!!!! what just happened? I don't feel light headed... I stand up and am able to walk back to the condo. This mishap scares me pretty bad. (A visit to the dr. on my return home thinks that my Potassium dropped to a very low level) and we (myself and my coach) decide that I should cut further exercise until I can get home and get checked out.

Not how I had expected to spend my vacation... but all right.
I spend the rest of the week lounging around, eating entirely too much (good!) food, and having a couple of drinks.

If you ever Visit 30a, you MUST go to Barefoot BBQ. Best Nacho's on earth, and a strong Pina Colada as well

The Great Southern Café. Best Mojito's I've ever had, in 12 assorted varieties. Fresh seafood is awesome too!

Finally, on our last day there, I rent a SUP (Stand Up Paddleboard) and give that a try.

I hate the phrase Yolo... But this thing is actually called a yolo yak... so yeah.

  Actually, it was a YOLO Yak as opposed to a true sup, but it did the job. I wouldn't call it the most fun thing I've ever done, but I enjoyed it enough to think that I might put some effort into doing some of the races. It was certainly a good core workout... especially considering once I was on top of it I could see all of the Sea Critters hanging around us. At one point I was surrounded by these little fellows

You Jelly bro? Oh... I guess you are.

A powerful incentive to keep your balance on the board.

Finally it was time to come home. I'm glad to be back, and glad to have been given the A-OK by my doctor to return to training. I was able to go for a 30 minute run earlier this morning and didn't have any "problems" so I am hoping that I can get back to racing soon.

Sadly, I will be missing Rev3 this weekend (AGAIN!) as I don't think I'm quite in shape for it nor do I think it's a good idea to press my body too hard immediately.

Next week, considering all things are running smoothly, the blog will return to it's normal schedule (Wednesdays)

As always, thanks so much for reading.

-Christopher Morelock