Only 105 weeks to go!

I HAVE been doing new things - building my coaching business, running sporadically, healing A LOT from the stress of last year - and since the Universe is SUCH an interesting place - another new thing I've been doing is handling the stress of THIS year in new and (hopefully) healthy ways.

Stress this year has included a tree falling on our house, which totaled one of our cars and necessitated us living in a hotel (kids and dogs and all) for five weeks only to return home and have two appliances (dishwasher and gas stove top) break in alarming ways with the kicker being having another car totaled by someone rear-ending John as he was at a dead stop trying to pull into our driveway.  Sigh.  As you can see, I have had many opportunities to practice my new de-stress techniques.  I am EXCEEDINGLY grateful that all* of our stress has involved just "stuff".  The hassle factor is high but that's it.  People are ok and stuff can be replaced or done without.  Still - learning to handle hassle without having it negatively affect my body is a big goal of mine.  I think learning the skill of "resilience" is key to my Iron journey.  One new "tool" in my stress management repertoire comes from Heart Math and involves thinking of an uplifting/inspiring event.  You know it - I think of IRONMAN FRANCE 2014!!

Fun IMFR stuff -
1) IMFR 2012 is this Sunday!  Yay!
2) I don't know anyone personally to follow (now that they've barred Lance**) - but I did discover by perusing the competitor lists that there are THREE women in my age group from my local area in the race!  How cool is that?  I am totally wangling some introductions or something.  Surely I can find a way to meet these women when they get back!

Fun on-the-way-to-IMFR stuff:
Our training for the OBX marathon got derailed enough that we are pushing the schedule back a bit.  New plan is the OBX half mary and then the full shebang come Jan 27th in Miami.  I'm thinking Miami and Nice may have some similar conditions.  And that keeps us running steadily through the winter - which we NEED!  Historically - it has not been our strong point.  I'm excited about following the Hal Higdon Novice Supreme*** training plan.  I *heart* training plans!

So - happy summer everyone.  I am having fun reading your race reports and training stories.  Peace!

*Ok - I take that "all" back.  The evening the tree fell (=worst Cinco de Mayo EVER!) I had actually spent the entire day in the emergency room with our youngest son who had gotten smashed by an illegal check in a Lacrosse tournament.  He ended up with broken ribs but no lung damage.  Yay.  He's 13 and healed in about three weeks.  In fact I dropped him off at LAX camp yesterday:

See? He's FINE.  (Says the nervous Mama who is trying very hard not to worry about her baby's return to a sport involving boys crashing into each other and whacking each other with sticks.)

**Uh - NOT to imply that I know Lance Armstrong personally.  That would be cool but so far - haven't met the guy.  Still - I was planning on tracking him in IMFR until all this new bs started for him.  I guess the "innocent until PROVEN guilty" idea isn't part of sportsmanship??  I don't know. I have no idea if he cheated way back when or not.  I guess anyone is capable of it - but that many drug tests over that many years plus his leadership in the fight (personal and public) against cancer? Seems unlikely to me - and BESIDE THE POINT in terms of triathlon.  Worried about him "cheating" now? Ok - do more tests!  But barring him? Disappointing and unfair I think.  They can go back and strip him of titles if it gets "proven" but if they are wrong now- it's not like they can go back and give him the chance to compete in the race they barred him from.  Stupid officials.  :(  Anyway... (hand on my heart, think of a happy place, think of a happy place).
***Novice Supreme? Maybe it is telling how addicted to Mexican food I really am - but how do you read those words and not think "Nacho Supreme"??  And the Nacho Supreme Marathon training plan cracks me up.  It is soooo me.

Because I Can't Let Go

I have a hard time letting go of things. I am working on it, but it is a big challenge on so many levels. Recent examples:

• It shreds me to let my boys walk away from me and get on the plane. Inside I'm weeping and grasping. On the outside I'm playing all cool and giving them age appropriate hugs (bigger for the ten year old and only tight enough for the teenagers to be able to pretend to be embarassed, but not tight/big/long enough for them really to want to pull away first). I'm working on waving casually. I don't know how stealthy I am about it but I cannot keep myself from breathing in deeply in that last minute as if to pull some part of them back to hold onto even as they walk away from me.
• I have some clothes that need to go. Clothes that I don't wear and a few things that I have had for over 15 years. Mind you - I don't have a lot of clothes total. Shopping is not remotely my thing. It's not like my closet is bursting at the seams. But it has been bugging me recently to see these few things that are lingering. I don't know why I am holding on to them. I'm blaming this one on inertia.
• Football season is over - really over. Waaaannnnnhhhhh. I am jonesing for pigskin and I have months and months to wait. (While it is no substitute for the actual game, there is some off-the-gridiron drama percolating. With this past week's franchise tags going out and free agency starting next week and the draft in April, I can at least read about football. And talk about it. A teeny little bit. Like this rant - I am TRYING to like* Dallas but they are making it well nigh impossible. They let Pacman Jones go (which is key) but now there's rumbling that they might bid for Ray Ray? Bleck!!!!!! He's the player I despise most who doesn't already play for the Cowboys.)
  
• Water weight. I ate sushi yesterday for the first time in ages and ages**. And promptly gained two pounds. That is a pound per sushi roll! I promise you they do not weigh that much in and of themselves. I'm giving that bottle of "reduced sodium" soy sauce the evil eye but that's not getting rid of the poundage. Maybe the three gallons of water and peppermint tea I'm drinking today will flush the "reduced sodium" out of my system along with those opportunistic extra pounds!
  

In training news, I have some track workout questions for you. Next weekend I have a track workout that calls for doing ten of the following twelve drills (my choice) each for 100m:
1.Walk on Toes
2.Walk on Toes (Heels in, Heels Out)
3.Walk on Heels
4.Walk on Heels (Toes in, Toes Out)
5. Strides
6. Butt Kicks
7. High Knee running
8. Karaoke***
9. Skipping
10.High Knee Skips
11. Butt Kicks
12. Run Backwards – pushing off from your fore foot

The astute observer will note that the rat bastards who designed this plan said there were tweleve drills to choose from but then listed "butt kicks" twice thereby reducing the available choices to eleven. Which, in my way of thinking, means I only get to cross one off the list. I'm tempted to cross "butt kicks" off the list just on principle. Clearly I'm keeping the walking ones and the skipping one on the list because I know for a fact I can actually do those. (You see how hardcore I am about pushing my limits, right?) Cindy just mentioned a guy running backwards at the track and I was all "dude - I haven't even mastered the running forwards part" when ACK "running backwards" appears on the list. So I wanted to knock that one off the list, lest I do a skull plant and kill myself at the track. Then I saw the warning for the "Strides" drill that says, "Do not attempt this exercise if you’re not conditioned for high intensity activities." EEK. Now I want to strike that one off the list. But then Karaoke*** looks like a death trap of the tangled feet variety. I haven't even been brave enough to look up "High Knee Skips" but chances are that one is dangerous too! What is a klutzy girl to do?!! Do y'all do these? What exactly are these drills designed to help? Does it work?

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend! Peace out.

*And by "like" what I mean is "not loathe and detest". (Gotta walk before you can run.) I wouldn't even do that much because it's a serious effort, but my no-longer-blogging-or-I'd-link-to-her pal Cindy is a Dallas fan who started rooting for the Titans because of me. How can I not reciprocate?
**Where "ages" is entirely subjective and feels like months and possibly years, but may in fact appear to outsiders to be about 10 days.
***This looks like the grapevine dance step to me and maybe most of you knew what "karaoke" was vis a vis running. I was mildly disappointed (though not surprised) to see that it did not involve alcohol, cheesy music and laughing my ass off with friends at people who can't sing. On the other hand - the boy in this video is niiiiicccce to look at (IMHO) and that helped somewhat. Though (natch) it leads me to questions about how to apply this drill. He says to work one leg, you go one direction. Does that mean I would do 50 m one way and 50 m back? Or two separate 100 m stints, one on each side? And if I did the latter, then could I get away with counting it as two of my ten, thereby crossing a whole other drill of the list for the day? What think you?

Cardio Humiliation

We finally got our Dance Cardio DVD. (It had been delivered to our neighbors by our slackass, gnats-for-brains mailman, but I digress.) Donna and I immediately grabbed a bag of chips and sat down on the sofa to watch it put on our workout clothes and prepared to dance!

HA! What an amazingly intimidating piece of work this video is! We did have to spend about 15 minutes watching it and psyching each other up before we could start with the "5, 6, 7, 8..." If I'd been alone, I would have cried and pretended like the disc had gone permanently astray in the mail. How people do this stuff without a Donna to motivate them and keep them company, I will never know. We finally got up enough nerve to work painstakingly through the break down of the first of eleventy million maybe seven combinations. Rocky but doable (after about 30 minutes of intense concentration). Then we tried it up to speed.

HA! What a joke! I swear she threw in a couple of extra little somethings but she was moving waaaaay too fast for me to figure out what they were. My fall back strategy from my long ago step aerobics classes came in handy: I bounced in time with the music until we got to a part of the routine I remembered and could jump back in. Sadly, of the four eight-counts that made up the combination - I bounced for at least three of them on average. I could not for the life of me get my pliees or my pedal spin or my sassy little skips fast enough to catch up with her! And if I did get something right, when she reversed directions to work the other side of the body? I was a mess. I did consistently manage the first steps (right, left, right) and the last two beats (jumping jacks in place). My routine went something like this - step, step, step, "dammit!" bounce, bounce, twirl (wrong direction "dammit!"), bounce, skip ("dammit! dammit! how does she do two of them so quickly?!"), bounce, bounce, step ball change, power arms, "crap! missed that AGAIN!", bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce, (pant), bounce, JUMPING JACK, JUMPING JACK!

There was a bunch of claptrap at the beginning of the video about specific angles of movement and the benefits of working particular muscle groups in precise coordination. I'm sure that's all fine and well. If and when I get past the "white girl flailing" stage, I'll let you know how that works out for me.

Homecoming Drama

We have fantastic floor to ceiling windows in our living room. They're original to the house which was built in the 50's. They provide great natural light and a wonderful view of the squirrels in the yard. What is not so wonderful about these vintage windows is that when your slightly crazy dog tries to run at top speed through them (thinking they are open), they do not break into tempered, round, safe little bits like modern windows. Oh no. Instead, they crack and shatter and slice your poor puppy's face and paws. Wasabi is somewhat woeful right now but in a few weeks should only have some shaved spots and a Harry Potter scar to show for his misadventures. We're giving him lots of chin scratches, calling him Frankenpuppy, and trying not to think about how much worse it could have been.

In training news - the Madonna concert was incredibly inspiring. I love her music because it speaks to so many places I've been, but more than that. Madonna herself speaks to me. I admire and am inspired by her outspokenness, her ability to reinvent herself, her dedication to what she thinks is important, and last but so not least - her physique. Damn, she is hot! Her arms are chiseled, her thighs sculpted - she is so strong! She is ten years older than I am and in better shape than I have ever been in. Of course I haven't spent the last twenty-five years eating well, working out, and dancing eight hours a day. But I am ready to start now! Well, maybe not the dancing eight hours a day part. I'm thinking maybe 45 minutes a day might be enough to start with. Yes - I am all fired up to add Dance Cardio to the off season workout routine. (Remember the part where I think 50 degrees is too cold to run? Yeah. Clearly I'm gonna have to replace running with something indoors-y if I want to maintain any kind of aerobic base.) I'll let you know how it goes once I master all the moves but until then, you'll be on the money if you imagine the whitest girl you can flailing enthusiastically and arhythmically around her living room. Woo hoo!

And finally - push ups - Week 1 (for the second time): raging success. If I can do push ups when I'm hungover and do them well, then I know I'm going to finish this challenge with flying colors! Yay me!

Hope Springs Eternal

Thank you for the workout ideas. (If you think of more - send them on in!) I'm getting excited about working out inside again. I used to love going to the gym, but that is so not in the cards (i.e. budget). Besides, right in the privacy of my home, I have this (-->) awesome purple weight bench, a stationary trainer for my bike Vivian, my very own foam roller, a pull up bar, and even a purple zafu for meditation after my stretching routine. What more could a girl want?

Confession: I want this.
It's called The Wave. Not only is it cheesy enough that it could be hawked by Suzanne Somers, but it would be the death of me. Remember how coordinated I am not? And yet... It looks like fun! I would so rock around on that puppy - in the privacy of my own home. (In the days of yore, I had a plain, old boring step that I loved. It helped me get in shape again after my first two kids. I would probably still use it to workout except I wore out the tape and my sons absconded with the step to build one of their many forts and I never got it back.)
Sigh. I am such a gadget girl. There is probably an aspect of looking for the magic bullet in my attraction to new gear and the next hip training device, but there is also a recognition of my need to PLAY. I think especially in the winter when I don't have the pretty flowers to look at as I run, the hills to coast down on a ride, or the refreshment of a cool pool on a hot day - I need training to be fun. I need training toys, not training tools. For now though, I'm loading some great tunes on my iPod and heading out for a run. It's not too gloomy or cold just yet.

Organized Randomness

Hope all the dad's out there had a fantastic Father's Day! We had an early celebration last weekend (as I believe I mentioned) and then another, smaller celebration yesterday. John is one celebrated Dad! The picture is from the first celebration with everyone here. I'd post a picture of the second go 'round (Mexican food! Margaritas! Lots of laughter!) but my camera battery died before the fun could be memorialized. I got a chance to talk to my dad on the phone. He's not much of a chatter box, so if you call for no reason he totally doesn't understand it. Thanks Hallmark for making up a holiday so I can talk to my dad!! (I have a post started about my dad. Hope you get to see it someday. My dad rocks. Even though he doesn't like to talk on the phone.)

We are practically kid-less. Only two left at home for now. On July 1st we'll be down to one. The quiet one, at that! You would think that would mean I had more time to blog, wouldn't you? Not so much. John is working from home and Donna (hallelujah) is done teaching and home for the summer. Turns out they are fun people out with whom I like to hang.

Independence Weight Loss Challenge: woo hoo! I lost just enough to be back down to my starting weight. Two weeks (half of the one month challenge!) and I'm breaking even. :-S I truly had to force myself to email that I'd gained weight the first week. I was hoping to lose enough to be down - even if it was only two-tenths of a pound! - below my starting weight, but nope. I had to force myself to email that in too. But I realized something positive. The person I used to be would be so embarrassed that she wouldn't have emailed "bad" results. The person I used to be wouldn't continue with the second half of the challenge if she'd messed up the first bit. That horrid streak of perfectionism would have made her wait until she could start "fresh" on some other challenge. I decided that the challenge was a good start but I needed to get some tools in place to get me going - even two weeks late! I had been thinking about joining Weight Watchers. I know lots of people have had success with the online WW. I kept putting it off waiting for things to settle down with the kids, waiting to have the "extra" money - and it just wasn't happening. I decided that I needed to do something free. Food is an issue for me (5 years of anorexia/bulimia and 20 years recovering from it will do that to you) so I haven't counted calories in a looooooonnnnng time. I used to be so punitive with myself that it was an emotionally dangerous thing to do to focus on restrictive numbers. I thought about how changed I am now (e.g. being able to send the "Hey did you say weight "loss" 'cause I think my body heard weight "gain" email).

So guess what I did? I went and signed up for The Daily Plate. For anyone who doesn't know - it's a free (love that word so I'll say it again - free!) calorie counter/tracker/networking online gizmo (<--the highly technical term). It is EASY PEASY to input the foods you ate. You can create your own "meals" of foods that you eat often so it's even easier. You can get calorie "credit" for your workouts by logging them too. I LOVE it. It's exactly the right mix of clear tracking, good information, and fun (like the slider to fill the glass as you track your water or the reward sticker "badges" you earn)! It is sooo working for me. It feels like it suits me for food the way Workout Log suits me for training. I did flounder around looking at lots of online programs like Extra Pounds and PeerTrainer. I think TDP is for me, but I'd welcome any feedback or ideas! I'm looking forward to next Sunday's weigh in!

Slipping in the training info at the very end (so as not to have to put the NTR warning in the title - slick!) I swam Saturday, ran (HILLS) yesterday, did a BRICK today. In the heat. Good., yes. Strong, yes. Fun, no. For fun, you'll have to check out two of my bloggy peeps. If you haven't already seen - both RBR and Stef have amazing posts up about their race weekends. Before this becomes a nominee in the "Epic Length Post" category, I'll end on that note with the promise (or threat) to tell you more of my run stuff tomorrow. Peace my friends!

Monday Mashup

Thang One: HRM Saga (part one too many)
Here is my HR chart for today's 45 minute cycle on the trainer. Warm up, 6 X 20 second spin-ups with 1:40 min rest intervals, easy cadence (Zones 1-2) for the rest of the ride.
Warmed up, felt fine, did a spin up or two which felt ok - looked at my Garmin and HOLY HANNAH it said my HR was 224 bpm!!!! That can't be good. It can't even be right, can it? I did finish out the spin-ups - but I did the last three slower than the first three. When I look at this chart I know my Garmin is smoking crack because I didn't do anything for the last 20 minutes but spin easy. Yet there are five almost perfect stalagmites right there. And look at the one below. It shows my heart rate (red) in comparison to my elevation (gray).
Hel-lo, my bike was on the trainer on the tile floor in my bathroom. Very flat, I assure you. Not a single hill. That gray line should have been straight across! I'm not sure what to do about all this. I suppose I could just forget about the HRM, but (like RBR), I enjoy all that geeky number crunching. I like just running or riding and listening to my body talking to me, too. Shouldn't I have the option? Is it greedy to want as many training tools as possible? Am I total diva to expect my training tools to work?

Thang Two: Thanks for all the input about shoes and the sympathy for the sunburn. (<--I so don't deserve the sympathy though. I have great sunscreen - Mary Kay for my face and special long lasting sport stuff for my body. It works great when I remember to put it on!) The shoes though, I do think I'm going to try the Brooks. Now that I've heard so many good things and read some more about not only pronation/foot anatomy but levels of support available - it looks like it could be a good match for my needs. (Here's hoping!)

Thang Three: Sometimes this sport is a total crapshoot. (A nicer way of phrasing that is that triathlon is as much art as science.) There are myriad factors both controllable and wildly unpredictable: gear, weather (temp, humidity, chop, surf, surge, wind...), training, mental status, nutrition, terrain, hormone cycles, other racers, alignment of the planets, etc. I think about the range of emotional maturity staying in this sport requires. I am inspired by posts like Stef's where she comes to terms with a swim DNF due to dangerous conditions and like Shirley's where she overcomes (and possibly overcompensates for) cutting her foot in the race. (Digression of the saddest sort: I try not to freak out about people dying in races. I've read nothing that explains what has happened to these three athletes! The fact that this happens makes it that much more difficult for me to know when to push and when to regroup and try again later!) I'm trying to learn balance and flexibility. I want to be stronger and yet more patient. Connection to the world around me and being present in the moment are important. I want to expand my limits but I don't want to break myself! There is so much to triathlon.

Thang Four: Hydration and Nutrition. We were much more intentional about our night before and breakfast nutrition this weekend and it showed. For Donna particularly. She had a strong transition (=hard but good) from the 2 hour bike to the 3 mile run. She seemed to get better with each stride on the run. Granted - she is solar powered. (She grew up in Miami and completely thrives on sunlight and heat!) Still - she hit her calories and hydration just right for her and for that day. For me, I could feel everything working for the first 3/4's of the bike. (I found a great new breakfast of Nature Valley Granola bars sandwiched with PB in between. Just enough and not too much for me!) But by the end of the bike I needed more. I am getting more confident but it is hard sometimes for me to find the right time to eat/drink on the bike. I feel like a klutz fumbling around trying to get the bike bottle out or back into its cage!! I can't do it if I'm chugging uphill, zooming downhill, or worried about traffic - and I control none of those factors! I have read about taping the top of gel packets to your bike frame so you can rip the gel off and suck it down, but I know you HAVE to follow that up with water so I haven't tried this yet. (The pressure!) I love the structure of a nutrition plan like IMAble's but eeeep! I can't imagine being able to stick to something like that. Are there any tricks or is it just one of those things that only time and practice will help? Question 4B: What about these little dudes? Is this what people mean when they say "electrolyte tabs" or do they mean something else? I had some G2 on the run with me. I know I was already in deficit because of my sunburn and inability to ingest enough on the bike - BUT I wondered if something with a little more ooomph in the electrolyte department might have helped. Thoughts? I'd love to hear what works for others. (I'm supposed to work all this out in training but man, even a couple of months doesn't seem like enough time to try all the combinations out there! Any starting points or way to narrow the field would be helpful!)

Thang Five:

This picture cracks me up. My poor ITB if this is how I'm supposed to stretch it out. I do realize they have taken out the desk support in front so you can see the stretch better, but still! I have fallen and hurt myself in far less Twister-ish positions! On the other hand, I LOVE speed skating. If I can channel my inner Anton Apollo Ohno, maybe I'll be ok!

Be Still My Beating Heart Rate Monitor

Tuesday was insanely long. I left home before the children were up and got back after they were in bed. It was wonderful and important and I'd do it again in a heartbeat, but I'm thankful there are (at most!) only a couple of elections a year. I do NOT know how Southbay Girl can stand working those kind of hours day in and day out! Tuesday was also a very social day. I saw dozens of people I knew and of course, I spoke to hundreds and hundreds of people I didn't know - answering questions, giving instructions, etc. That is a huge departure from the tenor of my usual day! As social and loud as it feels when all my kids are home after school, most of my normal days are spent in near silence, writing. Having to be "on" and interact with people was more exhausting than even the long hours. I spent most of yesterday attempting to recover my internal balance.

To that end, I planned to swim then run. I couldn't get all the pieces together though, and missed the lap swim time at the community center. I did run, but with mixed results. I told myself - easy run, even pace, loosen up the legs, take as long as you want. I followed Shirley Perly's advice and wore an older pair of shoes to see if perhaps my changing shoe brands/types a couple of months ago might be contributing to my brand new knee pain. That part of the run was a success. No pain in my knee or hip or anywhere but a little in my shins, which was expected as that used to be my warning sign that it was time for new shoes and I already knew those Saucony's were at that point.

The part of my run that was less successful was the "easy pace" part. My training plan called for Zone 1-2. All well and good when I was using the rate of perceived exertion chart. Zone 1 and 2 meant easy, can breathe freely and talk, feels smooth. I can do that - a little jog down my almost flat trail - 12 min/mile pace - no problemo. Only now I've got my Garmin who informs me that no matter how slowly I run, no matter how much I think I can breathe, no matter how clearly I can talk - my heart rate is not in Zone 1, but rather is in Zone FIVE when I run. Like redlining. Even at 12 min miles on the flat. The lowest I was able to bring it down and still be considered "running" was to a number that put me in the top of Zone 4. I thought I must have my max HR set completely wrong, but after following these instructions, I feel like my estimate of 194 has to be pretty close, if not a little high. I did average several tests together as she suggested and I'll do the same tests again in a couple of weeks to see if there is any inconsistency, but in the meantime....what? I don't know what to do!

When I saw my heart rate was not coming down after I was warmed up, I walked a quarter of a mile. It came down. I felt completely recovered. I started to run again and boom! My hr shot right back up to the top of the zones. I worked on my breathing and relaxing as I ran, wondering if being anxious about it was making it higher. That helped to a point, as my hr didn't spike going up the one hill on the trail like it did the other day, but I couldn't get my hr anywhere near Zone 3 much less Zones 1-2 and still run. Am I in such terrible shape that it isn't possible to do what my training plan calls for?! (I couldn't even stretch later in the day and keep my heart rate in Zones 1 and 2!!) Either I am ridiculously unfit or I am stupid about how this whole HRM crap works.

I already have enough issues about not doing things "right" and about not being "good enough" - who needs more of that?! Yesterday, seriously, I was about ready to throw my Garmin against the wall. Hard. Poor Garmin. And I didn't want to run ever again if I couldn't do it "right". Poor me. I was in a snit and I was taking Garmin (and quite possibly the fucking bike trainer that I couldn't get to work on Monday) with me straight to couch potato hell. Bring on the Cheetos and Lemonheads***!!

TOTAL DIGRESSION:

***Isn't it a bit disturbing how much the Lemonhead logo looks like Dubya? Or vice versa, I suppose, as the Lemonhead guy is older. Lemonheads are about my favorite candy EVAH but I've gotten to where I pour them into a ziploc rather than look at the creepy yellow dude.

ANYWAY, after the worst of the unladylike cursing and stomping around was over, I pulled out the two poems that turn me around every time. (I've attached them to the end of this post and probably should put them in my sidebar or something.) Dozens of Mary Oliver's poems speak to me, but these two...these two stop me in my tracks. They strike true, cut through my pretensions, remind me to reconnect to center, and lure me back into the painful and joyous mystery of living. They work together like a band-aid and neosporin for my scraped psyche when I trip over myself. The words in the middle are fine and wonderful but it's the first line of the first poem that stops my heart, each and every time. And it's the last line of the second poem that gets it going again, each and every time. Correct zones or no, as long as my heart still responds to poetry, I'm in the game. The rest will work itself out. My Garmin is safe. For now.
Peace.

Wild Geese
by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting —
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

from Dream Work by Mary Oliver
published by Atlantic Monthly Press
© Mary Oliver

The Summer Day by Mary Oliver

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean -
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down -
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

I Once Was Lost

But now am found...
Yay! I not only got Garmin to look for me on the right continent, but saved, imported and exported all my data. Now I have graphs, maps, and charts! I clearly don't have my max hr set correctly, as I could not have spent 3o or so minutes in Zones 4- 5 today while talking to Donna all through the run. Still...we're making progress.

We had a solid run: three flat miles (which for us is our "long" run at this point in our training plan) with the goal of running steady and under our comfort pace of 12 min miles. It was a fine run, slightly warm and humid but overall ok. There's a hill at the turnaround and I felt great coming down it. I was warmed up, striding smoothly, and digging into the run. BUT the last 3/4 mi got harder and harder. I had tightness in my right hip on the outside that started creeping down my leg. It wasn't pain exactly but like someone was using a wrench and winding up something in my leg. The tension crept down to the outside of my right knee - exactly where the pain was last week after the mini tri. This time it did not hurt but it was slowing me down. Like my leg just would not do what I was asking it to do. Instead of finishing strong, my run dribbled off while I saw later that my heart rate went up. Very weird! I came home and stretched and iced. I wasn't even sure what to ice! The knee or the hip where it seemed to start? (I concentrated on the knee but gave the hip a short turn with the gel pack.)

When I get done with the family portion of the day (yard work, family meal, weekly grocery run, kid playdates etc!) I'll try to find some time to do more research. I am determined to stay healthy and whole. Determined.

Peace out peeps!

Bits And Pieces

My bits and pieces are sore after my bike ride. When exactly does that benefit from "time in the saddle" kick in? (Clearly I am NOT there yet!) But that's not the whole reason for today's title. The true reason for the (lame) title is that I don't have an actual theme or even semi-cohesive plan for today's post. So...bullets of randomness it is!

• I forgot someone the other day when I was listing buddies on deck for upcoming competitions. I just realized today that Shirley Perly is racing this Saturday, too. She's doing the Derby! Go Shirley Go! (Derby Day was always a big deal in our house because my sister was one of those horsey types. First of May meant big hats and Mint Juleps. Mmmmmm. I love Mint Juleps. Wonder if they drink those when people run in Kentucky or if it's just for the horses. Note to self: ask Shirley.)
  
• Thank you Thea for my absolutely favorite new word: ironmongery! I am a word magpie. I hoard collect words, argue about them, mangle their pronunciations, use them incorrectly, polish them, and in general, love the bejeezus out of them. Bling is fun but IRONMONGERY is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay mo' better. Do you think I have to be especially or chiefly British to get to use it myself? If I do turn out to be UK enough (hey, Scottish, Welsh, English, and Irish ancestors - surely I pass!) and I also happen to get brave enough to say this marvelous word out loud, do I say it this way or this way? 'Cause dude, I don't think I can say it the second way without laughing.
  
• Did you see the estimates for this week's Powerball? (Slight digression to follow - I live with a Math Geek who is constantly pointing out what our mileage or training time is divisable by. We celebrate Pi Day. During the incredible saga of trying from 500 miles away to buy an affordable house with room for eight people and dogs, within walking distance to the schools we needed - Donna freaked out the world's most amazing realtor by commenting that the street address of a property we were looking at was divisible by 3, 6, AND 9. Robbie whipped her head around and asked in a panicky voice, "Is that a requirement? Or is that bad?" After we stopped laughing, we managed to reassure her that we'd live at 123 Sesame Street or even 666 Crowley Way if she could please just get us enough bedrooms zoned where we needed to be!) Anyhoo, 144 is one of Donna's favorite numbers to comment on ("It has a shitload of factors!" she said this morning) and it's got the whole dozen dozen thing going for it. Wouldn't it be fun to win a gross of millions of dollars?! Not only that sports fans - but the cash value is the 1/2 Iron mileage! (Bet y'all saw that part first, didn't you?) It's destiny! It's fate! Some triathlete needs to be the winner of that jackpot! I don't want to be a pusher or anything but go buy a ticket! (Here it is typed with subliminal backmasking - Ickybu A Goet. Or is that Pig Latin? No, Pig Latin would be more like - Ogay Ubay A Icketay, wouldn't it?) Ok fine, whatever. But if you're not going to buy your own ticket, would you root for me to win it? If I win, I promise to pay the entry fee for any triathlete I know who would join me doing this one. (But like, not until 2013 or something because I've already told you guys what a crock pot I am!)
  
• Still finangling the Garmin stuff. I've made progress but don't have a chart to post for you because a) I have a Mac and that makes the computer end of things a bit stranger (even though I got advice about this from Rainmaker) and b) I rode on the trainer so my elevation chart would look like this anyway "_______________________". Woo hoo! I do have heart rate stuff but I can't get it out of my Garmin and into my Mac (=Veronica.) Soon! Thanks for all the Garmin love comments. Fun times.
  

That's all the bits and pieces for now my friends. I think I've used up my quota of bullets and hyperlinks for the day. Happy training and tapering (and traveling!) to all y'all.

Solidarity

Feeling a little left out of the April 26th action, Donna and I decided to join our buddies in a long distance show of solidarity by racing that morning, too. We just signed up for the Franklin 5000. It's not a marathon or even a half, but it looks like it's going to be a great little race. (There is an inaugural Tarheel 10-miler associated with the Franklin 5000, but we're not quite ready for that!) I think in addition to being a cool race running through Chapel Hill/Carrboro and benefiting the Y's Strong Kids Program, the organizers have a thought to grow this race (eventually) into a marathon event. Maybe by the time they do that, I'll be able to run a marathon!

Our training plan calls for us to do our own mini-tri that morning which means we'll hit the pool, then bike our loop and end up in downtown Chapel Hill just in time to race the 5K. I think it will be good practice to navigate some race energy, but mostly I don't need more justification than it sounds like a fun thing to do. There is a definite zing to signing up for races. That part could get expensively addictive as Donna and I have also found three other races we'd like to register for. We may end up with a "season" yet!

Happy Training to all! I've got my Wednesday run - short and sweet (and we'll have to see if that means fast today). Oh, oh, oh - thank you for the food help/sympathy/kind comments. I was feeling so stuck in old patterns that I didn't even really see what the gas station had to offer. I bet they did have nuts (sunflower seeds or almonds or something) that I hadn't thought to look for! Great idea. And stocking up the car is another great idea! I used to do that when the kids were little so that I'd never get caught out and about without something for them. When will I learn to care for myself with the same attention that I care for others? Ciao.

Comeuppance, It's A Good Thing

Donna and I went to Diva Night at our Fleet Feet in Carrboro. "Bra fittings, food & wine, chair massage and much more!" the ad said. "Sign us up!" we said. It was a blast. Reason number one: there was swag. We got a Brooks travel coffee cup, the Moving Comfort "A fit woman is a powerful woman" sticker, a pen, and a sample package of special detergent for washing sports gear - all tied up in red cellophane with racy red shoe laces, topped by a tiny tiara hair comb. Fun! We had an Arbonne hand treatment (sea salt/essential oil goop that left our hands so soft!), macked on fresh fruit, cheese, and wine (well, I'm not drinking but D had a yummy white), got a 15 minute massage (melt!), spoke with an incredibly interesting researcher about risk factors and healthy lifestyles, and tried on gear. We didn't win any of the big door prizes, but we were given zippered, mesh bags for our workout dainties. Donna got fitted for a new sports bra while I (having been fitted the week before) found (and had to buy) a Nike running skirt. I'd had it in my head that I would post about the zaniness of sports bra fittings - but that will have to wait until I can snag a picture of the visual aid from Fleet Feet. For now - don't you love the picture above that they sent out in the email invite to the event? Who wouldn't want to spend all of their cashola with these wacky folks?

There was so much going on. Women everywhere. It was energizing to hobnob with that many athletic women. At one point, I saw a pile of yoga books and a woman in pin stripes signing them. At the very moment I was deciding to avoid that corner of the room like the plague, Donna said, "Oh, yoga! Let's go check it out." I said, "You go right on with your bad self. I hate yoga. I have no patience for breathing through your eyeballs or whatever it is you have to do while playing twister with yourself in yoga class. And yoga people smell weird. Besides - look at her." Donna looked over. "She's looks great! What's wrong?" "What's wrong?" I asked. "She's tall. She's thin and beautiful and sitting like a pretzel - a pretzel in a fabulous pant suit. A pretzel in a pant suit with perfect hair. That's what's wrong. I hate her from afar. And it's YOGA." You see where this is going, right? You would think I would learn! The minute - nay the very second - I am a judgmental ass, the universe hits me in the chops with it. Rightfully so. But still.

Of course this gorgeous creature turned out to be not only gracious, articulate, and nice, but she's a TRIATHLETE (like USA world team or some such). She is also a certified triathlon coach. To top it off, she didn't smell like a yoga person at all. She did end up having a total yoga person name - Sage Rountree. ("Hello, Kettle? This is the Pot. You're black. And? You have a weird yoga person name too. So shut up already.") Naturally we ended up with our very own signed copy of Sage's book The Athlete's Guide To Yoga. Worth. Every. Penny. For one thing she explains specifically how to integrate different types of yoga workouts into a triathlon training schedule. For another, she has some wonderfully helpful core exercises. I know my core needs stabilizing, but I've had a hard time focusing on it.

I want her DVD. (The book came with a sampler short DVD which is great.) Sage also has a podcast too (in the sidebar --> if you want to check it out) - which might help me once I can figure out the basics. One reason I hate yoga (and I really do loathe it even though I practically worship Sage now) is that I SUCK at it. It makes me feel stupid. And clumsy. And rigid. Which I know is what yoga is supposed to help - but I haven't ever been able to stand it long enough to get any benefit whatsoever from it. In fact, the only positive I've ever been able to chalk up to yoga was getting to learn Sanskrit** but after a few classes I've always decided there must be a Sanskrit class I could take without having to put up with this yoga crap! FTR, John LOVES yoga and has wanted to get back into it for years. Donna, while more of a Pilates person in the last while, has also wanted to give yoga another try. I have had ZERO interest in figuring out going to a yoga class with them. Until now. Now I'm practically yearning to go. As long as Sage is the one teaching. And there's no stinky incense. It's absolutely on the to do list as soon as we can coordinate the budget and eight people's schedules. It takes some serious planning ahead to make it alright for the three adults to leave the five children home alone on a school night. It also wouldn't hurt to win the lottery. Then we could go to yoga class and afford real triathlon coaching. Hello, universe? Are you listening? I'm sorry I was snarky. I won't do it again. Please, please, please can there be some magic to help us hire Sage? Pretty please?

P.S. **I know. I'm a language geek. But how can you not want to learn Sanskrit after reading TS Eliot? Datta, Dayadhvam, Damyata did it for me. Give, Sympathize, Control. Not bad words to put in my triathlon obsessed brain.**

I Loves Me Some Training Tools

I geek out on training plans. I just love them. I (heart) Workout Log! Our official training plan doesn’t start until March 31st, but we decided to do a couple of shakedown weeks first. We didn’t want things like figuring out pool passes or times, running routes, biking in weather or on the trainer, etc to foul up our “real” start. We figured it couldn’t hurt to do the workouts scheduled for Weeks 1 and 2 a couple of times. So far we’ve biked and swum. Today’s easy 15 minute run is going to be a challenge because it’s so flipping cold - but soon, soon, soon the weather should be warmer. It feels fantastic to have my training plan in ink in my paper calendar (from March 31st to September 13th!) I’m working on getting the plan(s) all in workoutlog. Saturday is the first day of registration for the race. I can’t wait!!!!