You know you’re a rookie when….

…dark hickeys circle your eyes.

Your question is probably, how did they get there? The simple answer is this; it was a Rookie mistake.

Since moving to California, Justin and I have joined two different clubs, the Palo Alto Running Club (PARC) and the Menlo Park Masters Swim Team, which takes me to 5:30 am, Monday morning.

I wake up and head to the pool with snarly hair and wearing my pajamas (some things never change). I walk onto the pool deck, introduce myself to the coach and then jump into the pool.

I was a mess. I missed the wall on most of my flip turns. I drank about three gallons of salty pool water. I struggled to keep up with the other swimmers in my lane and I wore my goggles too tight that lead to bruised tissue around my eyes.

Therefore, I spent my whole work day with huge hickeys around my eyes. I bet people were wondering what happened to me. The funny thing about it all is no one said a word. Maybe they were just being kind.