spidey sense and winding down

I saw Spiderman 3 on opening weekend, and all I could think of after I left the theater was how, when Peter Parker was in his "dark" phase, with the bangs, dressed in black, strutting down the street, and being rude to MJ, he looked just like k.d. lang.

Separated at birth?



A week from now the triathlon will be over. I feel pretty ready, which is good because there's really nothing more I could do to physically improve at this point, anyway. So, after three months of 6am swim practices, and 7am Saturday and Sunday running and biking workouts, wherein I learned that my favorite event is running, that I enjoy boot-camp style core training more than a sane person should, and that working out with a group of people is really fun and motivating, all that is left for this week is to eat well, get plenty of rest, and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. We have some easier and/or shorter workouts this week, and a karaoke spin class Thursday. Friday evening I'll do one last open water swim - for the love of swimming (words I never thought I would say).

Next up will be the Danskin triathlon, which I'm doing as a relay. With my mother! I'm really excited about sharing this thing that I love with her. She's probably not as excited about it as me, but she's being a good sport.

The Great 172 Mile Training Ride

Or, Insanity Loves Company
I've been going nonstop since finishing the MS150 bike tour, which I affectionately refer to as "The Great 172-mile Training Ride." This year I managed to take care of myself pretty well in the week leading up to the tour, tapering my triathlon training so I'd be as rested as possible. I was pretty nervous leading up to the ride because my longest training ride was only 32 miles. This would also be a big test of my recent change to a (mostly) vegan, gluten-free diet. I've been surprised at what a difference the new foods have made, but that's a topic for another post.

I was telling a tap dance buddy of mine that I wondered if I was overdoing it to do the MS ride and train for the Cap Tex triathlon. Then I found out that several of my triathlon teammates were doing the MS ride, too, and thought, OK, I'm not so crazy after all. To which she replied "insanity loves company." So true. There are worse kinds of insanity. This is one I can live with.

The greatest thing about this, my fifth MS150, was that I had asked more people in my family to support me. I had also told many of my friends that I was doing the ride, and was overwhelmed by the well-wishes and moral support that I received. It made for an extraordinary ride. It had been seven years since I had attempted the MS150, and while my circumstances were similar, I was clearly a different person this time around. Stronger, more focused on why I was there, and more present for myself throughout the ride.

We were blessed with ideal cycling conditions - overcast skies, cool breezes, and predominant tailwinds. Really the best conditions I can remember of all the 150s I've done. But what was even more magical was the strength I felt as I rode. Especially the first day. I spent well over six hours in the saddle, pedaling along, and much of the way I felt both propelled and carried along by the support of my family and friends who had told me they'd be thinking of me that weekend. I also felt strongly connected to my Aunt Jan, for whom I was riding. There were so many moments where I felt sheer gratitude well up in my heart. Gratitude for the support I received from others, gratitude for the opportunity to be of service to my aunt, who suffers from MS, and gratitude for the ability to be out there on my bike, riding, riding, and riding. Most of the time it felt like I was flying, hardly working at all. So, to my friends and family who supported me, in more ways than they knew, Thank you. You made this the best MS150 ever.

Other notable happenings on the ride included sightings of scissortail flycatchers, and roadsides teeming with wildflowers, especially the field of bluebonnets where several Jersey cows were resting, clearly making the best use of their time. My favorite town to ride through was Fayetteville, where it seemed like the whole town had come out to line the streets to greet us, blowing bubbles and cheering us on, with signs welcoming us to their town. Heartwarming, too, were the people living with MS who thanked us as we rode by. I smiled a whole lot on this ride, and that was wonderful. Here's a photo from the first day of the ride.

is it wrong to love my wetsuit?

Our wetsuits came in a couple of weeks ago, and I can honestly say I'm now looking forward to the open water swim practices. Not so much that first night. I really had my guard down because the coaches had assured us we were just going to put them on and get wet, not do a full workout. So when they said swim around the perimeter of the lake, I was not at all mentally prepared. That made for an anxiety-ridden half mile swim, which was probably more of an emotional/psychological workout for me than a physical one.

I was better prepared for week two, having done some of my swimming affirmations. That night, I completed two laps around the lake with my awesome swim buddy, and we both got checked off for the swim portion of the race. There is a lot of value in practicing in open water. My comfort level went up exponentially in one week. The skills are taking a bit longer, but in this race, to finish is to win. At last week's open water swim practice, I actually got into a groove for about a minute on the second lap. Progress!

And now, without further adieu, a couple of paeans to the wetsuit:

Top five reasons I heart my wetsuit:

5. I get a nice aerobic and strength workout putting it on, thus negating the need to warm up once I'm in the water.
4. Black goes with everything.
3. Black is slimming.
2. It keeps me warm and cozy.
1. I float!

And here are the top five things I feel like when I wear said wetsuit.

5. The sta-puft marshmallow man.
4. Angelina Jolie in a Tomb Raider movie (a girl can dream).
3. I'm gliding through the water.
2. A river otter.
1. A good swimmer!

how swimming reminds me of golf

Practicing swimming, to me, is a lot like practicing golf. It's all in the details, the technique, and there are at least fifteen things to think about while swimming if I want to be efficient at propelling myself through water. Elbows up, chin tucked, don't rotate too far when turning your head to breathe, keep one eye on the bottom of the pool, kick from the hips, reach, but don't overreach, breathe from alternate sides, exhale completely before taking a breath, check your position every tenth stroke, don't cross your midline with your stroke, press your chest down, and above all, relax. That last one is the hardest of all for me.

No wonder swimming wears me out! I see swimming as a problem, and that is part of my problem with swimming. I describe myself as a poor swimmer, so that is exactly what I am. It finally dawned on me last week that possibly the best thing I can do to improve at swimming is to adjust my thinking and attitude about swimming in a positive direction. Create some swimming affirmations, if you will. I can comfortably swim one mile without stopping. Swimming is a fun way for me to challenge my abilities. Swimming is fun.

I actually had fun swimming for the first time in a long time last summer, when I visited Balmorhea State Park. It was such a delightful place to swim - a huge, clear, spring-fed West Texas desert oasis, with a smattering of native fish sharing the 25 foot deep pool - that I jumped off the high-dive with the excitement and glee of a kid, and challenged myself to swim across the widest parts of the pool, reveling so much in the wash of the cool clear waters that I forgot to be afraid. I consider San Solomon Springs to be a magical place. Why else would I take a two hour detour for a chance at another swim on my return trip? I am not the kind of person to plan my journeys around swimming opportunities. Accessing those positive memories of swimming for pure enjoyment and adventure would probably serve me well in my swim practice.

How Sweet It Isn't

Lesson Learned: When you have track practice at 6pm, eat something more substantial than a chocolate chip cookie at 3pm, yet more bland than a hummus and sprouts sandwich.

March 17 track practice started with the usual warm up and drills. Drills are best done in groups, it makes the silliness factor manageable when you're doing high knee kicks, butt kicks, grapevines, and backwards running. Then we were charged with running three 1 mile repeats, with a generous 3 minutes rest between. One at warm up pace, one at a hard pace, and one at race pace. After the hard mile, I was sure I was going to toss that cookie from 3pm. I backed off my pace a bit for the last mile, but was still nauseous when I finished. I mentioned it to the coach who said "great! that's exactly where you should be!" Ugh. I run alot, but never have I experienced that level of exertion. The consequences of both not eating enough, and eating something with lots of sugar, which I'm not accustomed to. I'm learning to make better food choices before my workouts.

March 24 track practice was warm up and drills, then 10 x 400 with 1 minute rest between. Those 3 minutes seem much more generous today. After the third 400, however, the hummus sandwich I ate before practice seemed like less and less of a good idea.

This past summer, I gave up almost all sugar. I allowed for things sweetened with fruit juice, evaporated cane juice, and honey. I also made exceptions for special occasions and birthdays. Since starting training, I've been more lax about eating sugar, mostly because I'm burning so many calories, but I'm still pretty sensitive to sugar. If I eat too much, my tongue feels like it got burnt, and I notice when food is overly or unnaturally sweet. For example, I had a can of tomato soup that I thought would be good with the bit of fresh basil and half & half I needed to use up. In the past, it was the high sodium I always noticed when I ate canned soups. But with the first spoonful, all I tasted was sweetness. Not what I was expecting. I checked the back of the can and the second ingredient was high fructose corn syrup. Bleah. I had to throw out the rest. Another time, I got a sugar cookie at Whole Foods. Its crispy, chewy texture was just the way I like it, but something was a bit off. I tried adding a sprinkle of salt and voilà, the perfect cookie. Just not to be eaten before running!

This picture gives a general idea of how training is going so far. That is, if I'm not swimming, biking, or running, this is how I feel:

Ready for a nap. At these times, I remember that I'm not doing this just for me, but to help others win the fight against cancer. To lend your support and help find a cure for leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma, just follow the donate link in the sidebar.

reading Joseph Campbell

After sitting quietly on my bookshelf for over five years, the time was apparently right for me to take a crack at Joseph Campbell's The Masks of God Vol. II Oriental Mythology. Described succintly on the back cover as "An exploration of Eastern mythology as it developed into the distinctive religions of Egypt, India, China, and Japan."

Heavy reading, as in, I can manage maybe two or three pages before I'm done when I read before bed. I've actually written down several words from this book to look up in the dictionary later, which is unusual for me. PBS aired a Joe Campbell video during their last couple of fund drives, and I really liked the way he lectured. He had a very lyrical and poetic way of relating the stories of myths of the ages, and when it gets really challenging to understand his writing, it helps if I imagine that I'm listening to him speak the words on the page.

Early in the book, he uses a simple phrase to elucidate the main focus of Indian and Far Eastern spirituality: "All is illusion, let it go," and "All is in order, let it come," respectively. Further, in India, meditation is with eyes closed, in Japan, with eyes open. Both have the goal of release, but each is different. What a fantastic encapsulation.

Training Recap Week 2

I survived the second week of training, and added some new workouts to the mix, which meant whole new realms of soreness. The week began with a brick workout early Saturday morning. We were rerouted to the Veloway because of fog, which also meant (blessedly!) a slightly shorter workout than originally planned. 18 miles (6 laps) on the veloway, followed by a 2 mile run, then another 2 laps of the velowaty, and a one mile run. It's been so long since I've done this much endurance training, that I've forgotten the importance of eating during the workout. Thus, it wasn't until I'd finished the last mile of the run that I realized I should've eaten something before the second leg of the bike. Lesson learned.

The Sunday morning run was great - weather was not too cold for shorts, and I surprised myself by finishing the 6.9 mile Mopac to I-35 loop in just under an hour. The drills following were a challenge, though, because I'd worn the wrong socks, and felt a blister developing on my big toe.

Monday night's swim practice, I noticed some improvement on my kick drills on my back, as in, less water up my nose. The lesson there is to relax, one of the biggest challenges for me in the water. By the fourth length, I was actually able to focus on my kick, as opposed to not getting water up my nose. Tuesday morning swim workout involved an incremental mile swim. Swimming just wears me out, but the coaching is helping.

Tuesday's track practice was canceled due to rain, so Gracie & I took to the track on our own Wednesday morning. Six 800's at 5k pace. I have no idea what my 5k pace is, so we guessed. Apparently it was fast enough to wear Gracie out. By number four, she was lagging almost a leash length behind, so I put her in the car to rest while I finished the last two 800's. I don't think there's a marathon in Gracie's future.

Wednesday I checked out the core workout. From the start I thought. this must be what marine basic training is like. I have never been so sore, and so aware of my lack of strength, than I was after this workout. It was by far the most challenging workout I've ever experienced. Will I go back? Probably.

I started coming down with a cold or sinus infection Thursday, and it's no fun to cough and sneeze when you're sore to the core. In an attempt to sweat out the sinus toxins, I went to my first spin class Thursday night. I was pleasantly surprised that we had class on the second story deck overlooking a lake. I'd much rather be out moving, whether running or biking, than on a treadmill or stationary bike, so it helped to have scenery and a breeze. It was also good because I don't usually vary my workout on the bike, and there was a lot of variation to the spin class. On my bike, I tend to shift to an easier gear anytime resistance increases, say on a hill, because I like to keep a high cadence. Biking is a lot like running to me, an aerobic exercise, more about cardiovascular endurance, not strength. So I was "feeling the burn," as Jane Fonda used to say, as we cranked up the resistance and pushed through some "hills" on the spin bikes. Still, I couldn't tell if the cold felt better or worse after the workout

Friday, I rested. I'd planned to bike to work, but thought the better of it since I was under the weather, and still sore from Wednesday.

So, that's week 2. More soreness, some sickness, some newness, and I keep showing up and hoping that my body will adjust to the demands I keep making on it.