My Attitude Adjustment

As you well know from my last post, my attitude was in need of an adjustment. Perhaps, I was on one of those downward swings of my training bi-polar disorder (for clarification, read Mary's post). Maybe it was PMS. Regardless, I was in need of some type of mental awakening. When one of your training buddies looks at you and says "You look sad..." and you snap back "no! I'm pissed! I hate failing. And I just failed" and they tell you that you need to take a breath, it's probably a good indication that you're taking yourself, and training, too seriously.

I went about my Tuesday night spin session. And my Wednesday morning run, which I described to a coworker as one of those workouts that is done on auto-pilot, kinda like sometimes you get to work and you don't really remember the drive there. It was that kind of a run. But it was fairly up-tempo. And I was sweating like a pig, so I'm not sure how it happened, exactly.

And then there was the 90 min Spinerval DVD last night. I did have some texting distraction for that. And I was checkin' out Coach Troy's legs. And, well, he needs some new shorts.

Anyway....I had this moment (while eating a large oatmeal cookie slathered in peanut butter. after dinner, mind you) where I was actually questioning why I even do this. Why do I kill myself day in and day out to be an age-grouper? Why do I get up at ungodly hours to go train, watch what I eat during the day, work out after work? It surely isn't for vanity because those 50 pairs of heels in my closet get very little use these days.

So, I went to bed. And I awoke at 4:30 am for swim practice. Ugh! And it occurred to me that this feeling happens every now and then. And then I thought about what brings me back. And I thought about the fact that I have a choice. It's when that choice to train is taken away that you TRULY appreciate the ability to train. I thought about how there is this 13 year old boy who was just diagnosed with bone cancer in his knee. And he has to undergo chemo, a joint replacement, more chemo, no school...

And like that, I was happy (see: training bi-polar post - it comes and goes that quickly sometimes)to be going to the pool at 5am being given sets that push my limits. And you know what? I made them. Even the ones I didn't think I could.

I still can't stand people who drive 60mph in the left lane or close talkers, but like Judi sent me via text the other night "Life is GOOD, girl!"

Pet Peeves

 It's one of those days. Bare with me.

1 - people who walk with a cart down the middle of the aisle at the grocery store.
2 - FAILING. Coach Aaron gave us a set at Masters today - 21x100 as in: 7x(1 on 1:30, 1 on 1:25, 1 on 1:20). Now, I know I can't do this. And so does he. He sets us up to fail. to push us, to help us break through. This morning, I couldn't take the mental beating. And I whined. I got attitude. The tears almost started flowing.
3 - nausea after long workouts.
4 - PMS (see #2 and #3. or this entire post)
5 - people who make assumptions based on looks...or worse, what is the norm, i.e. - stereotypes. (see also #8 below)
6 - repeating what was just said in a slightly louder voice at a slightly slower rate with a bit more annunciation after I ask "what do you mean?". I'm clearing asking for additional details or something to clarify the point. I hear just fine. And I speak English. Fluently.
7 - being told I need to do something by someone who doesn't sign my paycheck or write my workouts.
8 - being spoken to/treated like I am an idiot, in part, simply because I am female. I do not need you to go behind my back and double check everything I do. I have made it, at least, the last 12 years (if you give credence to my parents for the first 18) on my own. MUCHAS GRACIAS!
9 - asking me the same question over and over and over simply because you don't like the answer that was given the previous 15 times.
10 - planning out every. little. detail. Let some things just be what they will.
11 - snow. Like, 13 inches of it.
12 - being cold.
13 - unnecessary quotation marks.
14 - the dude driving a Hummer yesterday with his hazard lights on. Seriously. If my '98 Chrysler can handle the snow, so can your off-road vehicle.
15 - hearing what I say, but not listening to what I'm actually saying.
16 - realizing half way through the afternoon that there actually is a reason my bra feels uncomfortable...and it's not because the skeeter bites suddenly grew. Nope. Just somehow twisted the whole thing up. WTF? You'd think that after, oh, 18 years one would learn, right?
17 - did I mention the snow? Because it won't stop.

I could go on, but I'm going in for an attitude adjustment. Thanks.

the hilarity of cold rides, a racing team, and MORE snow

As previously stated, there was a plan to meet my buddy for an outside ride on Saturday, when high temps were to reach 28 degrees. We were supposed to meet at 10am. I got a text around 9 saying we should push it back to 10:30 to see if it warms up any. hahahaha. Like a half hour was going to make a difference. I was honestly questioning our sanity, and was thinking a 3 hour trainer ride would suffice. BUT, i told him that if he was going, I was along for the adventure.

After bundling up in two pair of tights, a nice warm cycling jacket, wool socks, shoe covers and thick gloves, we were off. The sun was shining and after a half hour, the cold wasn't that bad, surprisingly. As we're heading up the first (of very very many) hills, he tells me of the conversation between he and his wife that morning, which had me laughing so hard I could hardly catch my breath. He told her he was going out riding. She called him a retard. And he said "She's usually right, but she let's me do what I want."

Then came the debate about Cadbury cream eggs. I LOVE them. Seriously. I could eat like 10 of them. He recounts a tale of a conversation he'd had just nights before about how his friend has only one fault with his wife "she fucking love those things. they're like chocolate covered snot". the descriptions only got better from there.

After two hours, I started to get cold. And whiney. But we hammered out another hour. And then busted out our 30 min run.

I proceeded to go home, eat and nap. Which would be a theme for the weekend.

Sunday morning was the scheduled Splash 'n' Dash, a 1k swim indoors followed by a 5k run outside. Driving up to Kettering, my car read as low as 5 degrees. And it ended up on 11. Coach had started a bunch of smack talk between those of us on the team, specifically pitting us girls against the guys. The focus was on the swim. And I'm happy to report that I spanked all but coach (and fellow teammate, Missy, but she's unnaturally fast and i don't even consider her in competition in the water) in the pool.

Our team made a great showing.the 7 of us that showed took 3rd, 6th, 8th, 10th, 11th, 13th and 16th overall. (there were no age group breakouts) We also got sample sizes for new unis! After an additional 40 min run, we gathered to discuss swim technique and drills to work on.

And then I headed home, where I ate and took another nap.

And then got up for an hour spin while finishing up Food, inc. before heading to the grocery....where I spurged on all organics. Seriously, WATCH the movie. I don't know how anyone could watch and not be affected.

Luckily, today is President's Day. No work. And no fighting snow covered streets. because we got another few inches overnight. UGH!!! And we're supposed to have a few more by end of day. And just after Clubber went potty outside twice yesterday...

friday thoughts

 - why am I always having a good hair day on the days I need to hit the gym at lunch?
 - riding outside tomorrow. should be interesting. high of 28 degrees. will be testing new cold weather gear.
 - Splash'n'Dash on Sunday. I'm actually going to do it this time. 1000m indoor swim followed by 5k outdoor run. then more running with teammates.
 - will also be trying on new team unis.
 - speaking of which, Triple T tri top designs are out. they look tight. per usual.
 - looking at going some place warm soon. wait. even TX and Atlanta are getting dumped on with snow? f*^k!
 - thank you Lincoln and Washington for President's Day. and that I have a job at a bank. three day weekend in store!
 - the above is much more exciting to me than valentine's day, which is just another day. I guess I don't understand why we only show our love one day a year through obligatory flowers and candy.
 - not that flowers and candy aren't nice and yummy...
 - because the tulips sitting on my kitchen table are beautiful. and the chocolate covered strawberries were delicious.
 - the half hour on the treadmill at the gym just now seemed to take FOREVER. much longer than the 80 laps on the indoor track on Wednesday.
 - tomorrow will be the 5th and final day on the bike for the week.
 - and Sunday will be the 5th and final run. but only the 3rd and final swim.
 - perhaps I should get in the pool more?
 - I'm leaving early again today to kick off this 3-day weekend.
 - and I'll be hanging with an old high school friend. should be entertaining.
 - Oh, and Winter Olympics start this eve. I like the Olympics.

No joke

The winter wonderland has continued. I awoke at 4:30 am to an additional three inches of snow blanketing my car. And the roads. And the walkways. This means a few things. 1) Clubber will not go potty outside. 2) There will be massive accidents on the roads - allow for extra time to get anywhere. 3) The city will damn-near shut down. And we'll get out of work early.

And so far, the first two of those things has occurred. For some reason, today, the city is still in motion. The first time it would have been justified that they shut down, we're all working. Like, full days. Kinda. I mean, half the people didn't show to the office today, but those of us that did, I think we're stuck here for the long haul. But the snow hasn't yet stopped. I'm wearing a little school girl skirt, tights and hiking boots. It's a good look. If you're 12.

Since I was able to make it out to swim practice this morning, which requires a trek on the highway, across the river, etc., it was only right that I come into work. Swim practice didn't disappoint either. It wasn't a ton of yardage (~3k) because we did some non-free stuff to start, but seriously, 8x200 on 3:00 with 10-15 sec rest is no joke.

Aaron only stuck me in that lane because he said he wanted to see me "go after it a little more". Right. What about what I want? Whatever. I survived. And I made all the sets, though those last two only had 3-5 sec rest.

And my legs were only a little achey and oxygen-deprived feeling today. I spun them out and then attempted to roll the knots out of my quads on the foam roller last night. Um, ouch. It was all I could do to BREATHE while attempting the roll. I guess it was all the jumping over logs and scaling the sides of mountains and sliding down hillsides that left my legs so trashed. Because I haven't felt like this since post-IM.

Tonight, trainer ride! If I ever make it home. It's funny because people who always get snow think it's no big deal to get 8 inches of snow. Difference between Cincinnati and Denver? They're prepared for snowfall. Removal and salt and plows and all the things that are required to NOT induce panic among the citizens are built into the budget. Not so much here. We got snow on Friday and aparently, that took out seven of our plows. Seriously. SEVEN of them broke down! That's, like, half our fleet.

OK, was I just whining? I just got a call that we're leaving at noon. Later peeps! I'm going to get on the trainer

A Winter Wonderland

The snow gods saw fit to dump a bunch of the white stuff out here in the Midwest. It looks beautiful. But it makes for interesting race conditions.

This was my first orienteering/adventure race. And the first couple hours were grueling for me. I was cold. And I was running with a sub-3 hour marathoner. And I didn't know what the hell I was doing. We were running through the woods, sometimes on trail, most often not. Up hillsides.Down creek beds. Through sticker bushes. Over fallen trees.

All following the direction of my teammate. He was very helpful in showing me how to navigate. 

  

It was amazing out there. We tried to stay warm. And for the most part, we did. Because we were running. But stopping on a knoll or ridge top got chilly. And sometimes searching for those checkpoints took some time.

At the end of it, I was able to stand back and revel in how much fun I had...and feel the welt on my head from running it smack into a tree branch that I didn't clear.

I woke up yesterday feeling like I got hit by a truck! My legs look like I got attacked by a mountain lion and beat with a stick. That makes shaving tricky. And the foam roller was a huge help to kneed the knots out of my quads as I fought back tears.

Recovery week is over and there are races the next two weekends!

It happens to us all

You know, those events that occur that make an impact on your life, your behavior, your thoughts... And as they occur, you don't necessarily know that they're that important. It's only after the fact that you realize just how much they matter.

I had one of those this past weekend. I was given the opportunity to remember the things that are important to me. And I was reminded to slow it down a notch every now and then and assess the moment.

It's all very fitting because this is a recovery week. And I was beginning to feel the effects of the training build-up over the previous three weeks. I don't just mean physically. It's all very mentally exhausting as well. I get a little tired of always thinking about the next workout and it's purpose, going to bed at such-and-such time so that I can assure at least eight hours sleep, what to eat and when for optimal recovery, and let's not start on when to fit in the grocery shopping, cleaning, laundry...planning, planning, planning. It gets to feeling like I never have time to enjoy RIGHT NOW because I'm always thinking about what's next.

And recovery weeks help me get back to being able to do that. I take my focus down a notch. It's not that training is any less important. Or that I love it any less. It's just that I'm not taking it so seriously. And it seems this might be a better approach to training every day. So, I think I'm going to try and be a bit less concerned with how it all fits in and just be a bit more grateful that I always fit it in... If the laundry sits in the basket for five days, it doesn't mean I'm a bad person or that the world is falling apart. The laundry will wait. And it will get done. Eventually. Lord knows, I have plenty of gear to get me through more than a week of training.

Speaking of which, Boulder was in town over the weekend and brought lots of goodies for me - cycling jerseys and shorts and jackets and gloves, running shorts, tops, a trisuit. Yeah, I'm spoiled. It was in part due to a friend of his, but still, free gear is always much appreciated. We had a fun weekend overall. But I can't say it was training focused. And that, in part, is what led to my little revelation over the weekend.

On to other things...
 - The Lost premier last night? Well, I loved it for all it's literary and biblical references, but I was a little annoyed with the introduction of, yet, more new characters. This show always makes for good work conversation.
 - I got my Splish grab bag suit today. It's super cute - red and black tiger stripes...but it does say "Boston University Masters Swimming" on the back and "BUMS" on the, uh...bum. Regardless, good training suit.
 - A copy of Food, Inc. is set to arrive from Netflix today. I've been wanting to see it for a while now and with Marni making note of it in her blog, I'm even more interested.
 - I have my first ROGAINE this weekend. And they're calling for cold wetness...a mix of rain and snow coming in tonight and leading into Saturday. Yay.
 - I also have a Nathan hydration pack coming tomorrow for use in that race. I'll let you all know how it works.
 - ...because I'll likely be using it for Leadville Silver Rush 50. I registered on Monday.
 - Coach Troy, from Spinervals fame, is competing again this year and has a blog. If you haven't stumbled upon it yet, go see him here.
 - Somehow, I am still loving those Spinervals Dvds. And they are getting easier. Judi and I love making fun of the cyclists in the videos. Boulder knows half of them. It makes life on the trainer more interesting, that's for sure.

That's about it. Oh, wait, we got sun this weekend! Yes, SUN! It's gone now, but still. It graced us with it's presence for about two gloriously cold days.