Recently I’ve gone through a bad case of the “Don’t Wannas.”  I’ve gone through it before and I’m sure that I will go through it again.  It is the time in training where you just don’t want to do anything.  This was a very bad case as it progressed much further than normal.   A typical day would go like the following:

- I don’t wanna get out of bed.

- I don’t wanna go training.

- I don’t wanna put on my swimsuit and I definitely don’t wanna get wet.

- I don’t wanna go to work.

- I don’t wanna go train again.

- I don’t wanna go home.

- I don’t wanna do laundry, cook dinner, watch TV, read a book, etc.

I pretty much didn’t want to do anything.  I have to believe that I’m not alone in this type of episode.  I imagine that there are times when everyone wonders just exactly why they are doing something.  And there are times when we really don’t want to do the thing that we love most in the world. 

Thankfully these times past.  This particular episode lasted about a week and a half and then all of a sudden it was gone.  I noticed that the familiar feeling of being content in the water.  I was in the middle of a 1500 and then I got to thinking that the heavy weight that had been with me for the last week was gone.  I was thankful for that and got back to the “Wannas”.  I wanna be in the water and I feel most at home when I’m there.

So if you ever get a bad case of the “Don’t Wannas”.  Give yourself a break as they will pass.  I find that good friends and a bottle of good wine also helps.

So much has been going on lately, that I thought I would share some of it. 

Another family member is making headlines these days, my brother-in-law.  His latest business venture, a brewery (aren’t I lucky), is doing very well.  http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/taste/39435212.html?page=1&c=y  If you check out the picture of the guy with the pitcher of beer, that’s Dan, my brother in law.  The arcticle goes onto the second page where they get to the details about Lift Bridge Brewery’s selections.  In the words of Rachel Ray, Yum-O.

You all remember Lucy Roper from the New Zealand adventure.  Well, she has been constantly been told to write a book about her adventures/mis-adventures in sports.  She has affectionately called it ”A Life in Stitches”.  She has been kind enough to let me share a portion of the hopefully future book.  You all have to help me convince her as I was in tears from laughing and then I found that her experiences weren’t all that rare.  A Life in Stitches – Chapter 1 and A Life in Stitches – Chapter 2.

An article about a swimmer’s attempt at swimming Lake Wakatipu in New Zealand South Island.  Lake Wakatipu swim

Julie Bradshaw’s account of the Lake Taupo Triple Relay Crossing.  http://www.getset4success.co.uk/news_item.php?wnID=673

I think it is so great to see all the different accounts of the same swim.  While the main themes remain the same it is fun to see the swim from another’s perspective. 

As always, I’ll share more when I have it.

I just realized that I never talked about the what I did the day I left New Zealand.  Now I had an early flight from Taupo to Auckland and Penny and Chris took me to the very small airport.   It was a bittersweet good-bye, as I knew I had made new long lasting friends, but it was time to say good-bye for a while.  It hit me pretty hard as the plane started its climb above the lake that this adventure was coming to a close.

I arrived in Auckland with a 6 hour layover before my next flight back to the States.  I didn’t want to hang around the airport, so I hopped a bus into downtown and walked along the waterfront and main drags.  I was able to see a Palenstinian Freedom March, watch some tourist scream as they jumped from the Sky tower, and wandered around Victoria Park Marketplace.  All good things.  However, in true swimmer fashion I had read about these Tepid Baths where you could swim for cheap.  I set out to find them.  And they were as good as the guide book said.  For $4 NZD I was able to swim and get a towel.  What better way to spend the last few hours but with a quick dip before a long flight.  After swimming, I headed back to the airport and hopped on the flight home.  (Note: the flight was packed, but somehow the people next to me got upgraded and I had 3 seats to myself.  YEA!!)

Here are some pictures from the last few hours.