Boiler Troubles

image Things are heating up in Seattle, which means it’s time for shutoff valves to stop working on our furnaces. See, in the middle of winter is when the furnace stops working, and when it’s 70 outside, that’s when the heater decides not to turn off anymore – which is exactly what is happening.

My parent’s house has floor heat, where hot water flows under the floorboards and heats the room from the bottom. It’s supposed to be really efficient, but I’m wondering how efficient it is if I have to open all my windows to cool off. I turned the thermostat to ‘”off” about three months ago, but the floor in my room is still so warm that my swim bag radiates heat when I pick it up in the morning. I finally got my dad to agree that ‘tis the season to turn off the boiler entirely, so hopefully that will solve the problem of nighttime sweating, tossing, turning, sweating, and morning dehydration. Plus the utility bill should be a bit smaller.

Turns out the problem is not isolated to home either. This morning I slept in until 5:30am and went with Courtenay to swim at Juanita lap swim. The pool was about 95 degrees, and it felt like swimming in jello. I decided to work on technique, but my muslces were so relaxed that I couldn’t actually get myself into proper form. I floated slowly for about 25 minutes, during which time I found it annoying that other lap swimmers had the nerve to swim faster than 5min per 25 yard pace. This finally ended when I saw Courtenay exit the pool, at which point I jumped at the excuse to leave, got my $3 (which – along with a ride to the pool – I had mooched off Courtenay) back from the lifeguard, and booked it home for some cold water and breakfast.

Two hours later, I’m still burning up from that swim. I may go run topless in 60 degree weather, or swim in Lake Washington, where the water is a pleasant 46 degrees.

Published by Ben

Ben Collins Professional Triathlete

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