I have two happy experiences today and I can't decide which to post about, so I will just tell you about both.

Today I was brave enough and motivated enough to sign up, attend, and complete the Columbia Pedal and Paddle. In doing so, I met some awesome people to ride with, and got a sense of accomplishment when finishing.

The event was to bike about 45 miles through the neighborhoods of Columbia, and stop at each of the 23 Columba Association outdoor pools and swim a 50 (2-laps). We started around 7:20am and finished around 12:50pm. My bike computer said I rode 45.15 mile with an average speed of 13.7 mph (but don't forget some of that was stopped while swimming at the pool). 

Luckily, the ride was not 45 straight miles, as this is the farthest distance I have ever rode. The distances were divided into about 2-5 mile segments give or take a mile, and in between we would stop at a pool and swim. It was quite interesting because you never really had enough time to dry off between each stop. So, even though I was taking off my shoes, socks, shirt, and helmet to swim, when it came time, I was putting on wet clothes as if I hadn't actually taken them off while in the pool. In fact at one stop I tried leaving my shirt on to save the hassle, but the drag bothered me too much. Although I was thrilled to see the end of the course, and lots of delicious snacks, I am very glad I decided to do the event (not sure if my legs are quite as happy at the moment). It was quite an experience! And, I got some wacky tan lines from my bike shorts, shirt, and kinesiology tape all over my leg.

I was also excited to be able to go on a picnic dinner date at the Lake with my boyfriend. We picked up some food at Wegman's, yum, and drove to the lake, where we set up a blanket and enjoyed our food and each others company before heading back home.