Recap and Reintroduction - February 10, 2012

To those who are reading this blog for the first time:  I turned 50 one year ago, on February 10, 2011.  One year before that, I decided that I needed to do something spectacular during the year leading to my 50th birthday.  Since I'm an avid swimmer, I decided to try to swim in 50 different places.  The blog posts before this detail that journey (and yes, I did swim in 50 places!)

As the excitement of my 50th birthday drifted to a close, people asked if I was going to swim in 51 places this year.  It was difficult to imagine at the time, but I did record my swims "just in case."  Well, it turns out we did a fair amount of traveling this year to places surrounded by water, so just yesterday -- the day before my 51st birthday -- I swam at #51!

Over the next several days, I'll recap the year.  Stay tuned!

Am I done?

I accomplished what I set out to do:  Swim in 50 different places during my 50th year.  Does that mean I am now done?  This was WAY too much fun.  Can I do it again?  Perhaps.....

More about my birthday weekend

February 10-13, 2011 -- Okay, this is not a swimming post.  But I feel compelled to share my wonderful weekend!  Following my 50th swim at the Columbia pool (see last blog post), we checked in at our favorite hotel, the Eventi.  It's another Kimpton hotel, which is where we try to stay wherever we go.  The location is perfect (30th and 6th) and it's just got a great vibe!  Check it out at http://www.eventihotel.com/.

Birthday dinner was at a restaurant called PRUNE (http://www.prunerestaurant.com/).  In addition to the four of us, we were joined by Ellen, Steve, Phyllis, Evan, Ari, Paul and Mary.  We had a terrific meal and I am so touched by the travels of my family and friends for this event.  The birthday cake deserves its own shout-out: Banana cake with peanut butter caramel filling and vanilla buttercream frosting.  Probably the best cake I've ever had.

Ari and me

Yum....

Leah (second level, red coat)

Friday began with breakfast at Sarabeth's, another NewYork favorite, followed by a trip to the Guggenheim with Leah.  Leah and I are well-suited to visiting museums together;  we go at the same pace and our level of understanding/appreciation is about the same.  There was a special Kandinsky exhibit which we both loved!

Harvey & Leah, Ernie & Samantha, AJ & Anna

On Friday evening, Harvey, Leah and I had a quick dinner at Mario Butali's EATALY before heading uptown to meet Benj for the Columbia/Princeton basketball game.  By spectacular coincidence, both of Harvey's Columbia roommates, AJ and Ernie, were at the game with their daughters.  We could not have planned this better.  A post-game visit to Mel's for milkshakes capped the evening.



Saturday night was yet another wonderful event:  the annual Columbia Spectator dinner, held this year at the Columbia Club.  As outgoing Editor-in Chief, Ben delivered the State of the Spectator address, followed by keynote from Arianna Huffington.  It was a proud moment and an incredible event, shared by many of our family and friends as well as some of Ben's closest friends.

All in all, it was a truly wonderful weekend -- probably one of the best of my life!  I am thrilled to be 50.

Swim #50: Columbia University, New York, NY

February 10, 2011 -- Officially 50!  The Columbia University pool is where I first started serious swimming, so it seems only right that my 50th swim would be here.  It almost didn't happen:  the pool was scheduled to be closed for swim team practices for several hours during the window of time I could possibly get there to swim (after driving from Boston, and before birthday dinner).  Ben enlisted the help of the athletic facilities staff, who in turn enlisted the help of the assistant coach of the women's swim team, and voila!  A ten-minute window of pool time was opened for me in between women's and men's practices.

In my last few blog entries, I've written about pool temperature.  I can tell when the water is too warm for lap-swimming, but I couldn't have told you what the optimal temperature is.  Now I know, because I felt it today.  This is a pool meant for athletes, and the water was a perfect 78 degrees.  Most health clubs are around 80-82, and hotels warmer.  In any case, time was short, so I swam fast.  And it is remarkable how much faster you can swim in 78-degree water.

Nostalgia is a powerful force.  I really don't remember much about swimming here 30 years ago, but being here today meant the world to me.



And look at the fabulous t-shirt Deena got me for my birthday!

Swim #49: Mount Auburn Club, Watertown, MA

February 9, 2011 -- My 49th swim, the day before my 50th birthday!  Rose joined me for a swim at the Mt. Auburn Club -- http://www.mountauburnclub.com/.  This is the last stop on my tour of Boston-area health clubs (for now, anyway).  I have been checking to see that my beloved JCC is really the best of the bunch. The Mt. Auburn club is very nice -- high marks for the workout facilities and the indoor and outdoor tennis courts.  The locker room isn't very nice, though.  And the pool?  It's pretty good.  Decent size, maybe a couple of degrees warmer than I prefer, but overall good.  And it's incredibly convenient to my office.  How many clubs can I join?

Looking anxiously forward to the 50th on my 50th!!

Swim #48: Sports Club/LA, Boston, MA

February 4, 2011 -- Wow!  I had no idea this existed within the city of Boston.  Located next to the new Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Sports Club/LA (http://www.mpsportsclub.com/clubs/boston/) seems designed to fit in with the Ritz' clientele.  I don't mean that as a negative -- it's just really, really beautiful.  And incredibly spacious -- 114,000 square feet including huge lobbies and sitting areas in what must be awfully expensive real estate.


I came here today with my friend Debbie, who started the day with a hilarious argument with the Ritz doorman.  Upon entering the club, we found that the first Friday of every month is Free Guest day - lucky us!  We were given locker keys and set off to explore.  The locker room was beautiful and, again, huge.  The pool was a little warm (just a couple of degrees) but the cleanliness, peacefulness, and the view of the city make this a winner.  We had a wonderful swim and sauna.

Following that, Deb took me out for a birthday lunch at JerNe at the Ritz.  It couldn't have been a better day!

Swim #47: Commonwealth Sports Club, Brighton, MA

January 31, 2011 -- In the next installment of Find the Best Health Club Pool, my friend Rose (also a swimmer) has brought me to the Commonwealth Sports Club in Brighton.  Or is it Allston?  Here is the link:  http://www.commonwealthsportsclub.com/.

The pool here is quite nice.  It's smaller than the JCC -- that's a minus -- but a couple of degrees colder, which is a plus.  I like their less-chlorine, more-salt approach to water filtration. We had a great swim and even did a few time trials in the middle.  The locker room is nice, too.