End of Drynuary

I planned my Drynuary to end on the day of my boards reverts. In theory I'd emerge board-recertified, skinny, and sober. There’s still a chance one of these might occur.

Nearly didn’t make it to the testing center in Northgate due to a random accident and horrible I5 traffic (OK this photo is from 520 from Redmond, but same thing).

Took nearly 2 hours to go what should have been 20 minutes, but by then I was already so detached, incapable of feeling more stressed. Got there with 5 minutes to spare. Had to rescan my palm 6x because of my cold hands. Lady checked my ID then did a little double take. “We have a REALLY OLD photo of you on file”.  Flashbacks of the last time I took the boards, when I had just moved to my sister’s sofa in Boston, the same numb feeling of barreling toward inevitable tidal wave of doom. Crisp autumn leaves on the window sill, my niece Vivian was turning 1. It was a long time ago.

That night, Ocean and Dyno came for Food Club Leschi which was roast chicken, root veggies, kale and of course champagne.

I apparently don’t know the difference between a turnip and a rutabaga, nor the difference between TS and NF1. For all the extra time I had on my hands from Drynuary, it did not help my productivity or cognition.

The next day woke up with a bang at 2 AM with pounding hangover headache and dry mouth like I’d just licked felt, a feeling I’d forgotten on my sparkling grape juice diet. Back to work.

Thank goodness it was a 3 day weekend, and a double to look forward to. Woolley 50k saturday, ran with MM friends old and new,

saw buffalo and horsies, no rain.

Then pleasant evening in Muk with Ocean's home cooking, watched a movie that seemed very entertaining at the time though all I remember is Ryan Gosling was in it. Fed pistachio gelato to Neeshacat.

Sunday Ocean and I drove up to Birch Bay for practice road march #2. 26.2 miles with 26.2 lbs on my pack. Employed the bags of sugar/ flour as recommended by the Colonel but it still kept sliding and bouncing. I think I needed some duck tape and bubble wrap. This time I met another MM who has run Comrades twice and doing again this year, my Canadian alter-ego. Even saw a bald eagle.

Time passes much faster when you have someone to run with, but the headwind from hell miles 22-25 made it feel like sloshing upstream in rapids. DFL but finished. Back to Muk for Chinese food and watched Olympics.

Ocean suggested for President’s day we drive up to Diablo Lake. Dyno came for early brunch, which was the famous Harry L. Davis pancakes (batter prepared night before), "low sodium bacon", and really strong Bloody Marys.

We headed up north again, this time through Darrington and Marblemount, suddenly entered a winter wonderland.

It was slushy but we didn’t feel it in the 4Runner (which Ocean affectionately has dubbed “the Beast”)

The snow was blue in pockets.

I wonder how that happens.

Amazing view. It was like Mt. Hood at HTTM

A honk from a snow plow broke our Reverie.

Didn’t even have time to make a snow angel, oh well, back to reality.