Philippine Journey- Day 3 The Recovery

We're going to the beach!
I woke up several times out of fear of missing my 3:30 am alarm. The family went to extensive efforts to arrange this trip for Cynthia, Christian and me. I was the first to be picked up by the driver at 4am. I got up early and was ready. Joseph, our driver was right on time. We went to get Cynthia and Christian. The streets were mostly quiet. We ended up in a gated neighborhood with guards. The houses were amazing. We arrived at Cousin Juny’s where they were staying.  I went in and Juny and Cynthia’s mother, Mely were awake. I had a glass of juice fresh from Juny’s trees and we headed out. The drive was about 3-4 hours. It was incredible leaving the city. I saw the lush green mountains and wanted to go there. The small towns were simple. I was texting with James and somehow our conversation resulted in a quest to see a water buffalo. I finally saw one on the way back fairly up close. Those creatures are weird. They stand in a watered rice field and chew grass? We passed too fast for a picture. We were headed to the Bataan area, home of the Bataan Death March. I took a pic of the marker for my brother.

 
 


We arrived at the resort. It was beautiful. This was a good thing for us and especially for Cynthia. After we were checked in and headed to the beach, I finally had my chance to take off my shoes and feel the dirt with my bare feet. I almost did this my first day at the park but then as I was untying my shoes there was a man urinating nearby. I just couldn’t after that. It was a beautiful feeling to touch the dirt. Then the sand. And eventually the warm water. Heaven.
                                                                      
We settled into our beach cabana and then went to the water. It was warm. I wanted to swim the width of the cove which meant going outside the buoys. I also realized I did not have a wetsuit and have swam open water without one a few times so perhaps I need to focus on staying inside the buoys first. The swim was amazing. I felt grounded instantly and floated well. There was more salt here than at home. I was thrilled to be swimming and could go on forever. I went past the bouys and was looking all over the bottom in the sand to see what I could find. Generally in the ocean I do not do this as I really do not want to see anything. I do not want to see critters, ever. So somehow I don’t. This time I saw a lot of rope and long slender leaves. The I see something long, fishy. Was this a sea snake or skinny eel? It was near the bottom and small and nonthreatening. I wasn’t thrilled so I thought maybe it was best to head back to the buoys and stay in the boundaries. I was creeped out but not too much. Actually I was surprised at how calm I was. I would normally have a panic attack at any snake sighting especially in the open water. I still felt grounded. I still wanted to swim the width…but not now. I loved it in this water.

                                               
 We decided to rent a 3-person kayak. That was fun. We checked out the edges of the cove. The edges were lined with rock. I really wanted to jump in and swim but I was the primary paddler. Christian was learning and doing pretty well. The views were incredible.

We headed back to the cabana and I napped for a bit. I woke up and decided to go back out and attempt to swim the perimeter. I decided to start on the north side and swim south. Maybe it wasn’t anything creepy. Maybe it was an isolated incident.  My desire to swim here superceded my fear. I swam the length from north to south which went fast. I didn’t go all the way to the south shore because critters live near rocks and I was on a roll. I went close and turned back to head north. This was exhilarating and peaceful. And then near the bottom on my right I see a rather medium to large jellyfish. It was clearly defined and passive with a few beautiful blue tentacles. I was startled and not sure if it was a friend or foe. i.e  poisonous. So I kicked hard and swam closer to shore. I started to go to shore and decided to keep going north to finish the width. I did not see any more critters other than small fish until I was exiting where there was this beautiful small stocky purple jelly fish. I watched it wash up to shore and wash away.
                     
Cynthia and Christian were in the cabana. We decided it was time to leave soon so we ate some lunch. Mmmm …samosa and fresh mango juice. James was texting me asking if we got massages. He was home reading about our resort and saw how little they cost. We decided to book massages for the three of us. $10/hour poolside! It was amazing. I tried cupping, didn’t feel a thing really. It was Christian’s first massage (he is 13) and he loved it. We were all relaxed and ready for the drive back.


The drive back was beautiful and then we were in Manila traffic ugh. I was happy to get to my hotel and go to bed.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ironman Arizona... the Sequel -Race Report

Image
Training for and completing an Ironman is never a solo endeavor. I would not have done this without the support of my family and friends. Thank you to my family near and far: James Field (for always listening to my processing, feeding   me, pumping my tires, ordering my tires and tubes, always asking me how my workout went, reassuring me that I could in fact do this, driving the kids everywhere, worrying for me about logistics on race day and running nearly every long run with me on the weekend when you could be sleeping in.), my kiddos Luna, Liam, Byron and Codi;   my sister Allison; nieces Valerie (for always being there at the swim start to make sure I get my butt in that water!) and   Kyrie (for always being there the day before, you are always so centering); nephew Leo, great niece Emily, sister-in-law Sherri; my awesome step- mom, Joan; and my incredible mother-in-law and father-in law Karen and Darwin. Thank you dear friends: Coach Julie Dunkle (for so much more...
Read more

Ironman Arizona 2015

Image
Brief History Sept 2007 - 1st triathlon, Ukiah sprint distance tri where I learned to swim and run. This is where the Ironman seed was planted. The pipe dream. March 2012-  3 mentally painful marathons and several half marathons later I tackled my first 70.3 (half Ironman distance) triathlon. Ironman 70.3 California Oceanside. In training I learned to ride clipped in my pedals.   The Ironman seed was starting to grow but remained very, very small. Summer 2013 - Failed attempt at training for marathon #4 to redeem myself mentally. The Ironman seed is growing, I am preparing for this to see if I can change things inside and consider moving forward. My knee issues are getting worse and I am no longer able to ignore my left knee pain. Time to check it out. This becomes a turning point. Fall 2013 - Injured athlete's party and some drinks. A few more drinks later, my two dear friends, Erin and Wendee and I decide we are doing an Ironman in 2016 together. The seed spro...
Read more

Listening to My Body

Image
I am in the third month of training out of nine. Listening to my body seems to be a recurring theme.   Physically I have been doing really well, better than expected. I did have a brief encounter with my troubled knee for a week but it's getting better.  It forced me pay closer attention. I was getting lax on the run and running the pavement instead of walking it. I was not using the foam roller enough.  If I was not training, I was doing something else, like standing 6 hours at a time. I ignored really uncomfortable pitches on the beach and ran anyway.  I was not listening to my inner self begging to put my legs up at night. At the same time I am so thrilled to be running and enjoy it so much I want to do more. The challenge is finding that balance. Allowing myself to appreciate what I can do while nurturing my knee so I can get to the start in November.   Lesson learned- continually give the knee lots of TLC. Take time to put the knee up. Sit dow...
Read more