In the throes of an endorphin-filled haze, I signed up for an event. Not just any event, but one of the bigger, more competitive races in my area: The Patriot Half IM. I’m not completely crazy – I’m doing the aquabike (since I don’t really run), but still: 1.2-mile swim + 56-mile bike is pretty ambitious for me! If you’ve read some of my earlier posts, you may recall that I run hot and cold about racing. Usually cold, unless it’s a swim-only event.
So how did this crazy lapse in judgement occur? COMPUTRAINER! Evil. Painful. And that glorious feeling of being capable of doing anything when the session was over. That feeling apparently lasted until I got home and whipped out my credit card to register. That was in mid-December. The race has been on my mind ever since. Now it’s a month away. Yikes! Am I ready? We’ll see!
So what else is new? In addition to the tried and true swim/bike/(hobble)run, I’m trying to do more regular weight-training. It’s not as bad as I feared! I had a few sessions with a personal trainer (LOVE my trainer!), and I take some circuit-training type gym classes. It’s really helpful having someone tell me what to do.
Swim: My usual pool routine, but now that it’s (finally) getting warmer, I’ll be wriggling into my wetsuit (and 2 caps, and booties – it’s not THAT warm yet) and heading out to Walden Pond and Mystic Lake for some OWS.
Bike: Ramping up mileage so the 56-mile Patriot course won’t completely destroy me (it WILL destroy me, but I’ll pretend it won’t for the sake of saving face). I’m riding with my friends again! It’s wonderful to be outside rather than stuck in spin class. Computrainer is a whole ‘nother beast from spin. I went to quite a few computrainer classes at Grace Bicycles over the winter, and I’m pretty sure my masochism has paid off in at least a little extra speed. That’s the hope, anyway.
Read: I read everything by Anita Shreve and Jodi Picoult, and lucky me, they both came out with new books recently. The Stars are Fire, by Anita Shreve, and Small Great Things, by Jodi Picoult. Both are really good. I’m not going to give anything away. Get them. Read them. I also read a lot of crap, which I definitely won’t recommend.
Happy Spring! Happy Training!
how I feel on my commute
A friend of mine has a cut-off temperature for outside biking. At one point it was 60 degrees, although she has been out in lower temps since she told me that. I think she might have dropped the threshold a few points as she became a more experienced rider. What’s my cut-off? I’m not exactly sure, but I think we’re there! I know I’m not happy riding in the 40s, and it snowed (ok, flurried) over the weekend. Sure, I’ll continue to commute my 3-4 miles each way to work and swim, bundled up like the Michelin tire guy – unless it’s icy – but I am by no means hard-core enough to road ride through the winter. Do you have a temperature range?
I did the Rapha Women’s metric century ride over the summer. FUN! There’s another one in December. The Rapha Women’s Braver than the Elements Ride. NOT SO FUN! I won’t be doing that one – I’m really not braver than the elements. I get cranky when my hands and feet go numb and turn funny colors.
So…
SWIM! My last Walden Pond swim was on September 23rd. It wasn’t awful in terms of being cold, but I could tell I was done. I rejoined Cambridge Masters Swim Club and am happily (?) getting my ass kicked in the pool 3-4 times/week. I need a push every few years – I was due. I’m curious to see if my shoulders get bigger with the increased yardage and effort. I’ll keep you informed. I might even do a pool meet in the Spring. Oh shoot, now that I’ve said that, I might actually have to do it. Something I found out: stroke workout right after spin class doesn’t work so well for me. Swim fail!
BIKE! See above. No more outside riding for me. I finished the season by joining some friends to do another metric century: The Calhoun Cancer Challenge Ride and Walk on October 5th (early and chilly!). It was my first benefit ride, and I hope to do it again next year.
first snack stop
It was a very well-supported ride through a scenic part of CT. I got out for a few more rides after that, and now I’m adjusting to ~3-4 spin classes/week. It might be time to put a crappy tire on my bike and set up my trainer, though. There’s only so much “Maniac” and “Eye of the Tiger” that this former Deadhead can take. I get gym class music stuck in my head and it stays there for days. That can’t be healthy.
READ! The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern. Suspend disbelief and let yourself be taken away. A Nation in Pain: Healing Our Biggest Health Problem, by Judy Foreman (friend from Cambridge Masters). This book explores chronic pain and how it is misunderstood and mistreated and a HUGE problem. It is accessible but still not a super easy read. I might be working on this one for a while. Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal, by Mary Roach. I just started it.
and EAT! Fig and Pear Crumbles by Frugal Feeding. Wow! Next up: something with apples since we just bought 3 bags of them at Clarkdale Fruit Farms while in Western MA for Cider Days in Franklin County.
So what’s all this about mason jar koozies? Apparently the hipsters in Union Square are enjoying their coffee in mason jars these days. My husband, not one to miss out on such a fun fad, told me about it. But glass jars full of coffee are HOT! Enter, the KOOZIE, or COZY. Are koozies only for cold beer? But cozies are for teapots… (they seem to be interchangeable). Anyway, after a few false starts (pics if you’re interested) – one being so small and cone-shaped that it has been re-purposed as a bear hat – I finally got it right. Or at least right enough.
Swim! My old swimp3 died – it wouldn’t hold a charge – so I contacted Finis Inc. and they sent me a new one. I was expecting to get the same kind I sent back, the yellow and black 2g, but when I opened the box, I saw that they had sent me the new Neptune. Hmmm. I wasn’t so sure about this: it looked a little like the original SwimP3 I had oh-so-many years ago: a chunky box-like contraption to clip onto my goggle strap in addition to the ear paddles that I was used to. I kind of liked the streamlined ear paddles + small, light USB port of the 2g. But after trying it out, I’m a convert! The Neptune is really light and the ear paddles are smaller and lighter, too. The sound is great, not that I ever had an issue with the sound in earlier models. And the part that clips to the goggle strap is actually informative! There’s a small screen so I can see what’s playing (if I want to stop and look), and I can choose among playlists and whether to shuffle songs or not. I used to have to guess if shuffle was on by the frequency of the blinking green light. I hope this device lasts a while!
Bike! Spin class is all fine and good, but no comparison to being outside. Except maybe the no cars or pot-holes part… In addition to other rides, for the last couple years I’ve been riding weekly, weather permitting, with a great group of women. We’re compatible in terms of speed, temperament, and desired ride distance, so it works out really well. It’s such a gift to have found the right group. I ride with others, too, and it’s fun, but this group feels like home. Now that it’s finally warm enough, the group is heading out again!
Read! I’ve read quite a lot since I wrote my last blog, so I’ll only mention a few highlights. Thirty Girls, by Susan Minot; Life After Life, by Kate Atkinson; Museum of Extraordinary Things, by Alice Hoffman; Swimming Studies, by Leanne Shapton; and Ripper, by Isabel Allende. I also read The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt. A lot of hype about that one, but it didn’t really work for me, and it was too long. Actually a lot of books seem to be a little too long to me lately! Even some of the ones I mention above could have been cut by about 100 pages give or take. Not Shapton’s book though. That one was just about perfect. As a longtime swimmer, I struggle with how competitive swimming fits into my life, so I can relate to what she says (on a completely different ability level, though, of course!)
and EAT! boring, boring, boring. Except for cookies. Oh, and I made a killer Chicken Marbella (mostly like this recipe) for Shady and a friend. I don’t eat chicken, so I didn’t have any, but it smelled really good!
c. Summer 1968 @ The Farmington Club, Farmington, CT
My older brother said I was bad luck since I was born on Friday the 13th (he wanted a brother and ended up with me, another sister). Scarred for life. Both of us!
This Friday, December 13th, I turn 50. Wow. How did that happen? And what’s it supposed to feel like? I don’t feel 50 – that sounds so…, well, OLD. Where do I go from here? Oh no, am I having a mid-life (or later) crisis? Does that mean I get to buy a mini? Um, pretty sure I’m not getting a mini.
What I think I’ll do is go to spin class in the morning, work for 3 hours and then get beat up (in a good way) swimming with Cambridge Masters. Sounds like a perfect birthday to me! Who needs all that mental anguish about getting older anyway?
If anybody is interested in a really fun read (much better than this drivel), check out my brother-in-law’s blog post about signing up for IM Mt Tremblant. Warning: sarcasm and humor!
As for next summer’s triathlon season: I can’t believe my sister has already signed me up for a Team EnVision relay (I swim, she bikes, and we beg another team member to run). I guess she didn’t hear me when I said no races. I guess I didn’t hear me, either!
Happy Holidays
Now what? The race season is over – and has been, for me, for a couple months already. My husband and I went on a VBT cycling trip to Croatia in mid-September – it was fantastic.
And now it’s Fall in New England. There’s still outdoor riding to be done, but it’s definitely getting colder, and I’m not sure how many layers it’s worth putting on! – especially when my feet turn a funny shade of yellow and/or purple, even with shoe covers! So spin classes and gym classes here I come. I’m still trying to venture out of my comfort zone (once in a while) so this might be the year I try a step class. I just hope there’s enough room around me so when I go the wrong way I don’t take anybody out like I almost did in cardiokicks (not pretty) a couple weeks ago. And there’s always the pool.
SWIM: trying to get to the pool 3-4 times per week. That’s the goal, anyway. Sometimes it’s only 2xweek. I didn’t swim much while on vacation, so I’m just starting up again. I do ~2000-3000 yds each time – more often 2k than 3k! Here’s a fun swim workout I did today.
BIKE: hoping for a few more rides outside before heading indoors to spin class hell.
READ: The Shell Collector: Stories, by Anthony Doerr was a really nice collection. Where’d You Go Bernadette, by Maria Semple, was a fun quick read. I’m into Claire Messud right now. I read The Woman Upstairs – wow what well-described rage!, and I just started The Emperor’s Children. I really like her writing. I’m looking forward to reading Survival Lessons, by Alice Hoffman, one of my favorite authors.
and eat! I haven’t been that inspired lately. But I did manage to make jam bars and peanut butter squares (yum), and vegan banana biscuits (from Julie Hasson’s Vegan Diner) recently.
I haven’t written anything lately mostly because I haven’t had much to say. I survived my 4 TRX classes. They were good and I really liked the instructor. I can see how doing it regularly would help with strength and tone, but then again, it doesn’t seem like it would be that hard to do similar exercises with weights or body weight in the gym. I still would need to actually GO TO THE GYM (see previous post on gym aversion)!
So… it’s finally race season. I watched a sprint triathlon on Mother’s Day – poor racers. The water was maybe 59 and it was cold and rainy out. So glad I didn’t sign up for that one! My first event is coming up on June 8th – Escape the Cape:
SWIM: That’s all I have to do. Hurray for relays! 1/3 of a mile. Easy. Cold. I did the whole tri last year (water was 64. Yikes!), but opted to be part of a relay this year. My goal is to beat my time, but I’m not swimming quite as well this year so we’ll see. Swim time to beat: 7:24. Last year it was a small women’s only tri, but this year it’s co-ed. I just hope the relays don’t get put in the same wave as the Clydesdales – it hurts when they swim over you.
Exit the water at a run!
2011 Title 9 tri
On one of my swims last week, I was lucky enough to have a kayak escort. I say “lucky” because it was foggy and I couldn’t see beyond the first buoy. But my kayaker could. Pretty cool! He just positioned himself so I wouldn’t go off course. The kayaker is planning to escort a swimmer for the Manhattan Marathon Swim in a couple weeks. Now that’s a serious swim.
BIKE: I ended up going to a spin class last week, but for the most part I’ve been riding outside. It’s so nice to be on the road again! I did 41 miles with a friend on Memorial Day and hope to get out a couple more times this week.
READ: Being Henry David, a young adult book, but suitable for adults. It’s set in Concord, MA and some of the action takes place at Walden Pond, where I swim, so I couldn’t resist. I also read two books by Gillian Flynn: Gone Girl and Sharp Objects. Dark and twisted. Creepy good.
and… EAT! A while back I wrote about what I was eating for breakfast. I was on an oatmeal kick for a bit – it was good – but I needed a change. Hello, Smoothie! But what to put in the smoothie? EVERYTHING (see below)! I consulted No Meat Athlete’s perfect smoothie recipe, and then went wild. I’m not vegan so I’m using BiPro protein powder – it’s whey protein isolate. It dissolves really well, no weird grittiness or taste. If at some point I decide I don’t want to eat whey, I’d probably use Hemp protein. Tons of options when it comes to smoothies.
Ingredients may vary
green goodness!
SWIM: After my February-March slump, I think I’m back. Even during my down time I was still getting to the pool at least 3 times/wk, but I just didn’t love it. Now, even though it’s still hard to actually hurl myself into the water from the dry, relatively warm, deck, at least I’m feeling more motivated and as though I’m swimming better once I do take the plunge. I’m even trying to do some sprints! Left to my own devices, I tend to swim at a constant effort for 2000 yards or so, but I know that’s not helping my racing any. Here’s a sample set from today, in case anyone is interested: 6×150 yds, broken up as 100 sprint, followed immediately by 50 recovery swim. Try to descend the 100s or at least hold them steady. Pick an interval that gives 15-20 sec. rest after the 150. Personal preference: I pick an interval, rather than a rest amount. It keeps me honest! And it’s easier for me to calculate time.
Another couple weeks or so and I’ll be swimming outside! Albeit totally covered in neoprene.
BIKE: Finally riding outside! I can’t believe how great it feels. I really don’t want to head back inside to spin classes, but
43cm Trek 1500 WSD
since it’s still early Spring, and often chilly when I have the opportunity to ride, I’m resigned to doing a few more classes. I think spinning over the winter might have actually helped with my horrendous hill climbing. I’m still not about to set any speed records, mind you, but at least I feel a little stronger. I’m supposed to ride with friends this weekend, but since it’s supposed to be in the low 40s, we’ll see. It’s hard to ride when bundled up like the Michelin tire guy!
READ: Hmm, I tried to read IBM and the Holocaust, by Edwin Black, but it was difficult – emotionally – and, unfortunately, somewhat boring and repetitive. Now I’m devouring Esmeralda Santiago’s Conquistadora. I saw her speak at Radcliffe recently. She was there for Harvard’s Diversity Dialogues series. LOVE HER! She’s so full of energy, and such a great story teller.
and… EAT! I made Peanut Thai Vegetable Stew from Let Them Eat Vegan! Definitely a success. 
I’m not big on soups and stews, but this was really good and not difficult to make. Just lots of cutting stuff up, which is pretty much par for the course… I didn’t want to overwhelm the other flavors so I used the minimum amount of peanut butter suggested. Now I just have to figure out what to do with the extra stalks of lemon grass. Hard to buy just one stalk!
I guess I’m supposed to do some cross-training – it has been suggested more than once. Actually I think I do a LOT of cross-training – the whole I’m-sort-of-a-triathlete thing – but what I mean is, I guess I should be doing more specific weight-training. I don’t mind the idea of it. I can see how it might be helpful to my performance and fitness. But as I commented to Waterblogged, I suffer from gymnesia when I walk into the gym alone. Even when I write circuits down, I manage to “forget” what I intended to do. Self-sabotage? Perhaps. Self-consciousness? Definitely. I go to gym classes at Harvard. There’s an Interval Challenge class I like: HIGH-intensity simple heart pumping cardio drills combined with muscle conditioning exercises to give you a total body workout. Be prepared to sweat! And I’ve been known to attend Total Body Conditioning: The focus of this class is to strengthen all muscle groups using hand weights, your own body weight, and much more! So it’s not like I don’t have a clue. Except when I walk into the gym. Alone. And I don’t have a clue.
In the spirit of trying new things – or old things that I haven’t done in a long time – and working on expanding my exercise boundaries, I’m going to make a concerted effort at… jumping rope. As a kid I used to spend afternoons jumping rope in my driveway. Imagine my surprise when I tried to jump rope the other day and could barely manage. Of course I blamed the jumprope. Well, it WAS a sucky rope: plastic, too light, too long. Did I mention I’m good at excuses? Stomping my feet, complaining, I cried to my husband. I wanted a REAL rope. He made me one. Shit. I mean OH BOY! It’s real rope. It’s just the right heft. I can adjust the length by wrapping the ends around my hands. It’s just like I remember from childhood!
First real attempt. After swimming 2500 yds, I went next door to one of the gyms that isn’t very busy (maybe 3 people there!) and did my best to hide in a corner. Got my supplies: my rope, some weights, a ball, a step. My idea was to just do a few rounds: alternating jumping rope with triceps, biceps, planks, core stuff. Takeaway – probably best to be a little more systematic about the whole thing and not just wing it! And doing all this after swimming? I was a little tired. I’m not sure I would have gone swimming afterward, though. What order do people do this stuff in? Swim first and then I’m tired, but probably still getting some benefit. Swim after and I’d be tired and probably end up with a lousy swim and leg cramps. A work in progress. I topped it off with a spin class after work. I’m trying for that full-body thrashing!
Swim: Results are up from the USMS one-hour swim. I was 30th in the women’s 45-49 age-group. Not bad. Then we went on vacation (ahh, warmth – our winter escape from New England) and I didn’t swim for 2 weeks. Wow, getting back in the water and moving with anything like speed or grace was tough. It 
took me about a week to convince myself that this whole swimming thing was a good idea. Then last week I swam 5 days in a row, so I think I can say I’m mostly back now. Phew. Sometimes I really wish that my favorite exercise did not involve being cold and wet. I find that February and March are tough for me motivation-wise. Do you have a time of year that’s hard for you? I’m making myself go through the motions – go to gym classes, get to the pool, put one foot in front of the other… I’ll get there, I just hope it’s soon!
Bike: We got home from vacation to deal with the aftermath of a blizzard. We were actually delayed in Chicago a couple nights because we couldn’t get home. So after 2 weeks of lazing in the sun in Baja, we had to shovel. Or, more accurately, my husband ran the snow-blower while I unpacked and did laundry. I shoveled a little… ugh. No bike commuting for a bit – the roads were too icy and narrow. And after being away and warm, I’m having a tough time biking in the cold. I rode (commuted, that is) in temps in the teens before vacation, but I think now it needs to be in the 20s at least! Another month and I’m hoping to get out on my road bike for some real riding. Spin classes just aren’t the same, but I’m trying to go at least twice/week.
Read: The trashier the better while on vacation, right?! I cruised through about 5 books while lying around the pool, none really worth remembering although Oxygen, by Carol Cassella, was pretty good and a little more substantive than say, Nicholas Sparks’ Safe Haven (which I think I read in a day). If you’re into silly dog humor, Thereby Hangs a Tail is just plain fun. Now I’m working on Freud’s Sister, by Goce Smilevski. We’ll see how that goes. Never mind that one: couldn’t get into it. Now I’m reading Swim: Why We Love the Water, by Lynn Sherr. Much better!
and EAT: nothing compares w/fresh flour tortillas right from the tortilleria! But that seems like a distant memory now, so I’ll have to console myself (and husband) with “kitchen sink” cookies. AKA your basic toll-house chocolate chip recipe with other stuff that I find in the drawer. This batch was by request with the following additions: molasses (back off a little on the sugar, and add maybe a couple Tablespoons molasses), white chocolate chips (so use fewer choc chips), dried cranberries, chopped nuts (walnuts were handy, sometimes I add pecans), some shredded coconut. Yum. I better get back into my exercise routine or I’ll be in trouble!
I considered signing up for the Janathon challenge, but didn’t find out about it until January 1st, and I was basically a slug that day. I generally do some form of exercise (or 2) every day, which, according the “rules” is the whole point, but it seems like the focus is on running. Every day. And that’s not going to happen! I also doubt that I’d blog every day. I encourage you to take a look at the Janathon site and participants – it looks like a fun challenge and a great way to find new blogs to read.
SWIM – the usual. I try to swim most days, but end up taking a day off here and there. On my own I’ll do 2000-2500 yds; more when I swim with the team. On New Year’s Eve day, I took part in the Miles for Marly 100×100 benefit swim. A Cambridge Masters Swim Club coach was killed in a bike accident a few years ago, and a scholarship has been set up in her name at Smith College, where she did her undergrad. I did 55×100 on a 1:35 interval. I had only planned on doing 50 so I was pretty happy with that. Hey, I wanted to go out on New Year’s Eve and be able to raise my arms in celebration! Next year I might try for more 100s at a slower interval and see how it goes. Next up: USMS One Hour Swim on January 13th – unless I’m sick. I seem to be catching a cold but hope to be better by next week.
Two new suits
Very exciting: I got 2 new bathing suits! And I’m waiting for one more (back order). I decided to give AgonSwim grab bag another try. Unfortunately the one w/the paw prints is too big. Oh well, someone will take it off my hands for $18 (cheap, I know).
What the hell is Cimarron-Memorial anyway?! That’s the fun of grab bag. Maybe somebody will recognize it somewhere along the way.
BIKE – other than commuting my 3 miles to/from work, I’m not riding outside.
My trusty tank w/lots of lights
It’s just too cold. I went for a road ride when it was in the 40s and I was NOT happy by the end. I hate it when my feet turn purple. And that was WITH shoe covers! So I’ve been on my trainer a couple times and am resigned to spin classes until… June? No, probably April, though.
[RUN – I figure it’s worth mentioning when I actually do it. 3 mile run with a friend, talking most of the way. Actually fun and not horrible! And not too slow – it’s all relative, right?]
READ – Fugitive Pieces, by Anne Michaels. The writing is beautiful, descriptions and characters are rich. But I’m not loving it. I can dive into it and get lost for a little while, but can easily put it down. And I’m not rushing to pick it up again. I’m hoping the next book I read will really grab me.
and EAT! – after run snack (aka breakfast): a banana, 1/2 an apple, 2 dates, home-made almond butter and home-made tahini. Yum! Oh, and MORE COFFEE!!!
swim.bike.read. 