THE TOW

It's been brought to my attention that I did not actually tell the story of THE TOW..... well, by popular demand.... here goes.....

The night was dark....I was cursing the cruds who had invented the daylight savings time that we had reverted from the day before.... It was only just before 6pm and already dark - pitch black without the familiar guidance of a full moon or at least the galaxy that usually shone over my right shoulder on such evenings....

I was late. I was driving like a madwoman through the tunnels of Our Nation's Capital and then, after a long wait behind those with similar plans of escaping the city, through the mixed, winding maze of suburban streets.... I had the light voice of Waldo's gal at my ear, and Waldo's friendly display to assist her verbal advice. It was dark. The dazzle of the bright lights of the suburbs was disorienting, but I followed Waldo's mol all the way to the final destination... It should have taken less than thirty minutes, but I was now ten minutes behind schedule....

I arrived in the parking lot of the small stripmall 5 minutes late for the intended meeting with the gang... I did not like to be late, and could feel the sweat trickling down my temple, the smell of stress rising up from my pits.... The parking lot was full, I drove around the block, passing a gymrat leaving Gold's Gym who stopped a carlength behind me - I was too flustered to catch the opportunity when it presented itself.... I drove back into the parking lot and found the only empty spots were painted with the white 'P' surrounded by blue with a bright blue sign just at the front, indicating a handicapped parking spot - I could not park there.... I drove a little further and found, FINALLY, an empty spot at the end of the row - marked, comfortably, like all the other non-handicapped spots in the row with the white friendly words "RETAIL PARKING ONLY" painted in the spot, a gentle reminder that it was safe to park for someone like me going to the bicycle store to the right.... I quickly pulled in and jumped out of the car, barely noticing the glare of the lady staring out from behind the desk of the glass-enclosed bone-cracker's office across the way - I was focusing on making the "Cycling Tips Workshop" before all the good pointers had passed.....

After an hour or so of workshop and over a half hour of Q&A, we finally broke. It was well worth my time and the stress it had taken to get there.... or so I believed..... I walked out of the cycling store, only to find my car missing. My mind raced.... did I remember to lock Waldo, or did I just leave him open, waiting for some opportunistic Mini wannabe to take him away???? After a brief moment of sheer panic, I decided to share my panic with the others left in the store.... I quickly bound back in and, folding my hands at my heart and looking up to the sky, announced that my car was missing - the concerned immediately ran to my side and asked where I had parked - was it in the last space on the corner across from the chiropractor's office???

"Why, yes, yes, it was" I stated, breathless, my eyes darting back and forth in an ever-increasing panic, "Why?"

"That's a tow spot - you got towed."

"What?" I raised the back of my hand to my mouth, "There's no sign!"

"Yeah, it's on the wall, under the unlit light - it's not obvious...."

"Well," I stated, putting my fingers to my mouth, "That's improper - it's not painted like the other handicapped spaces....."

"Yep, they are vultures there....."

All the while, someone had called the owner of the bike store, who then arranged to take care of everything with the tow company himself, acknowledging that the spot was never proper....

I stated I would pay the fine and get the car, just glad that it had not been stolen, but the owner, over the phone, insisted he would take care of it.... I relented - it was late, and I had to get up early for the next morning's swim..... Coach Z drove me to the lot, where I handed the store owner's card to the smarmy lady behind the bullet-proof glass - she asked for my license plate number - the car is so new that I don't have it memorized, but, then again, how many Mini's are towed by this snarky, sleazy, low-brow, vulturesque service, anyway???

She let me in to retrieve Waldo, who looked like a forlorn Herbie among the dusty, skanky cars that had been held there in hock for weeks on end..... I did a little happy dance and ran to Waldo, putting the key in the ignition and starting Waldo - the computer went crazy upon start-up.....here's a smidgen of the dialogue it displayed:

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!! What happened?????? I don't know if the brake is on..... wait, are the tires pumped????? The passenger is NOT wearing his seatbelt!!!!!! You can't leave!!!! What are you doing, driving off while I'm in this state?????? Arrrrggggghhhhh".....etc, etc, etc....

As I drove off, blithely ignoring Waldo's posted warnings, just wanting to get home, I contemplated the extra damage that may have been done to the fragile BMW computer implanted into this friendly Mini..... what would these repairs to my brand new car cost me????

I had brief visions that a simple reboot of the computer would take care of the problems, but these rays of hope were quickly dashed by the feeling of doom that had already overtaken my mind in that dark, musty lot.....

I managed to limp home and could not sleep for an hour or so, envisioning the doom I had caused my new fun friend..... I even had to get up out of bed once to go check around Waldo and ensure there was no visible damage to him on the outside..... crawling around him in my pajamas, feeling foolish all the while.... I didn't find anything amiss, though, and hoped this would ease my mind enough for a decent, if not short, night's sleep....

The following morning arrived too soon... the alarm rang and I dutifully rose, got ready for the swim and made my way down the dimlit, cold, misty street to once again meet up with Waldo, hoping he didn't hold the previous evening's adventure against me...

I gingerly put the key in the ignition and pushed start - nothing happened.... I blew out my breath and then remembered I had to put my foot on the break to get Waldo to start.... whew!!! Once again, I held my breath and pushed start....Waldo started up as if nothing had happened.... another exciting day to be driving the streets of DC.....

The morning suddenly began to get brighter.....

Some days are a little bit harder.....

Hmmmm, what's that? Ouch! Arrgh. Hey, why can I just sit here and something randomly begins to ache? What's up?

Things are going well, if you don't include all the random aches and pains I feel (mostly) in my legs. I'll be at the office, in bed, watching TV, when something just begins to ache. A low feeling of discomfort, builds up into a crescendo of pain that sits for a few minutes and then wanes, but not completely.....a ghost of the pain lingers as a reminder of my new endeavor......

Right now, I'm in a sea of these waves, sitting here in front of the computer - I'll just sit here for a moment and report.....

Well there we begin, it starts at my shin...........
Oh gee, it's up to my knee.............
Oh fiddle, it's creepin' in the middle........
Ah my, down the right thigh...........
Woo wee, there 'tis in t'other knee!!!!
Oh rankle, it's hittin' the ankle.......
Oh soot, it's hurtin' my foot......


I think I'll take a break over Thanksgiving......


Many thanks to Shel Silverstein......

Swim Congress (afterall, it's the opposite of progress.....)

At the bike clinic last week, I talked to Coach Z about my shoulder pain - he had asked me to remind him about it after the swim. He showed me a different stroke so I wouldn't hurt my shoulder anymore. I tried it at the swim Thursday morning - worked like a charm, but everything else was harder since I can only concentrate at one thing at a time while trying not to drown.....

Swam about 45 minutes (not straight, found lots of reasons to stop.....) I worked on the "catch-up" drill along with the correct arm position. It was hard. I was fighting the water more than swimming, but I've got plenty of time to get it right. After I got to work, both my arms were killing me, but it was muscular, not the pain I had felt before.

Did my other workouts as well, but I want to focus on the swim here.....

Tuesday morning, I swam again, with the sole goal of getting the stroke right, including the catch-up drill, not really worrying about the workout. He wants me to get comfortable so I can just swim an hour.

I stopped at about 50 minutes Tuesday, though, not a true 50 minutes - this was with many pauses for breath, air and sweet, sweet oxygen at the ends of the lane, as well as ostensibly to converse with the one person not used at all to swimming, in the lane next to mine (letting the other 3 or so people in my lane keep swimming, mind you.....). I'm in the slowest swim lane, #1 out of about 12..... I think it's too fast for me.....

I think I'm getting less comfortable. Focusing on all this positioning stuff makes me forget to get all the water out before I actually breathe in.....I think I inhaled less than a gallon on Tuesday, though. Is there sodium in pool water - should I cut down on my salt intake on swim days?

I can't take a breath. When I stick my mouth out of the water, I gasp for air, not really breathe. I just realized that at the end of the practice on Tuesday, so I'll try to think about (oh, no, not something else!!! I'm liable to drown at this pace!!!) breathing through my diaphragm vs. gasping - no telling how much water that will take....

I flounder when I realize I missed the proper stroke - generally drink a little water as I flub through the next stroke while trying to regain my rhythm...grasping, as a drowning person is apt to, for the wall as a great savior when I finally make it there. I hold on to it and regain my composure, and remember.....

Fortunately, the lane we are in is only 4 feet deep.....

This week...

Swam Tuesday, made it to the meeting on time. The swim was crowded and crazy. My left shoulder hurt - pretty strongly. It takes me about 10 or so minutes to warm up, so I was ready to go about 30 minutes into the activities - which may actually mean it takes about 20 or 30 minutes to warm up in the mornings - I'm not a morning person....

My shoulder hurt all day - when I got home, I put some ice on it, and also remembered to take a painkiller - I'm not really good at thinking about painkillers to actually take care of pain - I only really think about it when my back gets really bad, so it always surprises me when I remember to take one for other pain.... it worked about 3 or so hours later.....

Evening was a run or off, and I took the path of least resistance again - however, I actually wanted to run when I got home from work. I resisted the urge, since I didn't have enough time to do that and arrive in time to the "rules of cycling in groups" clinic - which was at the same store where my car was towed (have I mentioned that yet?) - -- guess I'll have to tell that story..... The clinic was great....and my car wasn't towed this time (when I parked, I walked around the car looking for secret towing signs of the vultures.....).

Wednesday, I got up and did the strength workout. No problem, did hurt the shoulder, but not excessively. After work, it was dark, but I ran anyway..... think I'm sort of getting into this....
uggh. I walked home from work, but remembered to slow it down to keep it easy on the knees and hips, so I could save all the pain for the run....

Got home, quickly changed and got outside (before I could come to my senses).... I decided to run around the Capitol - they were still in session around 6pm - GOOD - they need to pass a budget for next year - it is hell on agencies when there is no budget.....(by the way, you can tell they are in session by the light on at the top of the capitol - The lantern is lit when one or both houses of Congress meet in night session. Although there is not a legal requirement for the night lighting or a record of when the lighting began, it is believed that the practice started in about 1864, when members lived in boardinghouses and hotels near the Capitol - find more information at the Fodor's web site... I can't find where I learned the more relevant information for the light, but when I do, I'll post it.....)

Anyway, it may sound glamorous to be running around such sights as the Supreme Court and the Capitol, but, when you are huffing and puffing and staring at the ground watching out for the errant brick or tree root sticking up out of the ground - not to mention the suicidal squirrels - it's not quite so fascinating....

I ran around the Capitol....actually ran (though, if anyone's been following, my running is more of a fast up and down slow walk - I could actually walk faster than what I'm calling running at this point... makes a jog look like a fast sprint.....) around the capitol.... (once, my goal for tonight....)
I got a whole 25 minutes in when I noticed the pain in the right side of my neck increasing significantly (a long-term issue) and a pain in the top if my left foot (not to mention the pain in my knees, which I don't count), so I stopped and walked. Checked the watch and it was 25 minutes in..... pretty good, I would say.... I was paranoid about the pain in my foot since I've had a stress fracture there and can't stand the pain in my neck (no pun), so figured since all I wanted to do was 25 min, I could walk the rest of the way.

It was difficult to walk. You know, when you've been driving 70mph on a freeway for awhile, and you exit on a quite country road with a 35mph speed limit, it seems like you could walk faster.... though I was running at about 4mph and walking at about 3mph, it wasn't quite such an extreme difference, I wanted to run again - what was that about??? After 5 minutes, I ran the last 4 minutes back home.... think I'm starting to get pulled ever further into this cult.....

I'm becoming such a joiner.....

What Happened?

It's Monday, Veteran's Day. I've been working out, but the workouts have exhausted me so far, so too tired to write anything. Took Thursday and Friday off (Friday is an actual day off).

Saturday morning we had a run clinic at a local running store, then afterwards, we were going for a run. After some started the run, I stayed to find shoes. I bought a pair of shoes 7 years ago, when I first planned to continue training before the downhill spiral - those shoes were purchased at another running store with the same types of experts who watch you run in different style of support shoes and recommend a pair. The pair the guy recommended back then hurt my knee, so I bought a different pair (neutral pair), rather than the stability pair he thought I should have.

I wanted to try again this time, and the stability shoes they recommended seemed to work on the treadmill, and my knee didn't hurt (it was probably injured from the century, back then). So I bought the shoes, but had been in the uber-shy state I get into sometimes, so I snuck out of the store and drove home, rather than run with anyone. It was cold, damp and I only needed to do 3 miles (most of the people hanging around were supposed to do 10 miles....), so figured I could do that later in the day, when it could be possibly warmer.

I ran later in the day, and think I have shin splints.... the question becomes, if your body is used to doing things wrong for so long, is it worth correcting them, or are you introducing the opportunity for hurting something else by correcting one issue??? Should I stick with the old shoes, or try longer on the new, better-correcting shoes? I'll try the new shoes for a week.... (I'll add Paolo Nutini's song, New Shoes to my running song list.....)

I didn't do the bike ride on Sunday - figured I'd let the legs rest a little more. Today is Veteran's day, so figure I'll do the run on the new shoes again (only 25 minutes) and see where the pain is... after that I have to do strength training - I'll be leaving in 7 minutes for the run.... better get up and ready, I suppose.....
.....................................................................

Ok, I ran, did strength exercises and stretched. My knee hurt, but that's because I missed the last step yesterday and landed on my knee. It's bruised, but the good news, is that it seemed to take care of my shin splints. We'll see as the knee gets better.......

The run still wasn't easy, still hated it. How long before you start looking forward to these things? The good news - I didn't check my watch nearly as often. I must not have been wheezing quite so loudly as I crept up on a cat watching something across the street - I was about 5 steps away when it turned and saw me - it sprawled flat on the ground for a second then faked right and ran left under a parked car to get away. Funny, I thought it would have noticed the "thump, thump, thump, wheeze, wheeze, wheeze" from much further away. I won't describe the age of the decrepit cat, so everyone will think I surprised it on my own, not due to the fact that it already had 8 lives in the ground.....

My left arm still thinks it's the only one doing work around here, but it's not complaining nearly as much. After Saturday's awful run, my shoulderblade was completely cramped up. I was surprised that it didn't seem to complain so much today. Probably letting my knee do the whining. I think they are all taking turns.... This is the second time I have tripped on the stairs since I decided to do a triathlon - maybe, since I'm not listening to my conscious mind listing all the reasons this is ridiculous, perhaps my subconscious mind is trying another tactic to get me to quit - a little injury here or there..... I don't intend to let that stop me, as long as it keeps it to bruises, not breaks.....

Tomorrow morning is swim workout #2 - unfortunately, I forgot that I have a swim, which means a new schedule for getting to work - I usually get there around 7am, but now, with the swim, I'm later, but haven't done it enough to set a schedule. Anyway, I set a meeting up tomorrow morning for 8am - my bad. Forgot about the swim..... I think I've worked it out..... we'll see..... Hate to be late to my own meeting.....

The actual Swim Workout....

Well, Tuesday was my first actual swim workout..... Nothing too spectacular, especially for me... I wasn't (or am not, since not enough time has past for me to fondly reminisce upon it....this is pretty much present...) in aerobic shape to complete an actual swim workout for an hour.

Not surprisingly, not everyone is cognizant of this on the team.... they view your swim as your ability to be in a certain lane, and start off assigning the lane based on your swim technique, since that's all they have to go on initially....so I started in some middle lane (the one suggested was quite crowded, so I went to the one below that, which, to me seemed too fast, anyway....). I swam the first few laps with the lane folks, but felt I was trying my hardest to keep up with them.... and, though I try my hardest to look good (after all, it's not how you feel, it's how you look....), I was gasping for air.....

I switched to the next slowest lane, and gasped even further... the coach suggested I move to a lane slower, a suggestion to which I happily obliged... I think I dropped one more lane, but can't really remember, but I ended up in a lane where I could concentrate on my technique and breathing without worrying about slowing the folks around me. I swam every other lap with them - I've got a ways to catch up (and, don't forget about the left shoulder constantly complaining - must have done some sort of secret rescue last night while I was sleeping....). I'm comfortable in that lane (and that's all they care about from the team perspective - they are not there to push you beyond your perceived limits, unless you specifically request that - they want you to be comfortable).....) - I'll be good for at least past Thanksgiving, I believe.....

But, then, there was a second workout again that evening - running...

But, for my reformed couch-potato level, I had the option of a run, or.....OFF.....

Guess which one I chose.......

though, I must mention, I was really keen on running that evening...... don't ask me why - I think I'm falling further into the Triathlon cult.......

But, I resisted, and went out to dinner and drank beer that evening.....

However, since, I'm behind on the blog, and expect to keep falling more behind as this keeps going, (I'm getting really tired as I keep waking up early, but still can't fall asleep quickly - I'm waiting for my body/mind to catch up to the new routine - I'm not slacking off for it - eventually I should just collapse when I go to bed.....I hope...... rather than collapse at work or something.....), I'll talk about yesterday and today (it'll be really short, I promise.....)

Yesterday, Wed, I got up and exercised again (and again, my left arm acted like it was the only one working.....), worked, then, got ready for the run in the evening.

Should I mention it's gotten really cold suddenly? My mind did a symbolic protest, but only to keep up the facade, I wasn't really into skipping the run...., I ran (though it took more delay than I expected - it was cold).....

Not much to say, except for the fact that the cult is taking hold..... I went up the previously described ski jump, and was lucky enough to get caught by two red lights, so I had to stop for a couple of seconds, then ended up making it to my anticipated half-way point and checked my watch - hmmm, it has noticed my suspiciousness and kept better time.... it was about my actual halfway point.... pretty cool.

But the way back held some eerie implications of things to come......

I saw a light was turning in half a block (based on the time left to cross the street that has become popular in the metro area....) and actually thought about speeding up to catch the red light so I could have a little break - what was that about???? I was going to speed up to have more rest? I chuckled all the way to the corner, and, no, didn't catch the red light and had to keep running - I was hoping for luck, but it wasn't coming. Then there were the lights that I was fortunate enough to catch - I got to the corner, which said "Don't walk*", stopped, but then there were no oncoming cars, so I had no choice but to keep running, how unlucky is that????

I finished the run, and still didn't promptly fall asleep in the evening - the way I am so tired during the day, I expect to eventually collapse once I lay in bed.... hasn't happened yet.

I didn't swim the next morning (this morning). I had heard that there would be no hot water in the showers, and had too important a meeting during the day to take a cold shower after the swim, so had enough excuse to skip the swim.... and skipped the evening bike ride as well, since it was out of my normal habit of commute from Virginia one day a week.

Friday is the normal day off, I thought about riding the bike to catch up on Thursday, but feel so exhausted this evening, that I'll take two days off this week. Saturday morning is the run clinic, followed by the run, then Sunday I'll have another group ride. Tuesday I have to do the swim since Thurs is Thanksgiving and I'll be out of town for that..... I don't want to lose any momentum..... (or too much momentum - it's amazing how a few month's worth of work (an example, not reality here), can take only a week to dissolve into starting all over again - makes you think about the purpose of man and exercise - maybe we weren't meant to be in shape if it is so easy to drop out of the habit.....)

Maybe I'll post on Saturday - haven't yet talked about the towed car.......
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*actually, it showed a red person standing, which, is the US universal symbol for "don't walk". In fact, it is not a universal symbol. Countries all over the world have different symbols - in Berlin alone, they have three symbols - one in former East Berlin, one in former West Berlin, and a third in some area I haven't actually figured out, but is probably some sort of EU symbol..... - a good example, though difficult web site is the Berlin Ampelmann site.....)

Two workouts in one day, imagine that....

I woke up a half hour early on Monday in order to do the strength training (they have an at-home one, which includes the exciting things like pushups and calf raises, etc..... I think I prefer the one at the gym, but this is cheaper.....) It wasn't too bad, minus the pushups in particular.... my arm still hurts a day later..... ah well..... Only one arm hurts - does that mean I was doing them wrong? Was my left arm somehow miraculously holding and balancing my whole body while my right arm slacked off? Its acting like it.... Wow, I didn't know I had that much coordination...... You think the arm would have mentioned it was SuperArm before this - imagine how my life could have been different..... "Hey! Look! Up in the Sky! Is that a bird? A plane? Superman?..... NO, IT's SUPERARM!!!!!!" Here to save the daaaaaay!!!!! Here comes The Arm to rescue the weakened swimmer from the jaws of DEATH!!!!! Here comes The Arm to pull all those children from the burning building!!!!! Hey, there really were NUKES in IRAQ - Thanks to SuperArm, We found them!!!!!!"

Hmmmmm..... Maybe there were NUKES in IRAQ, but The Arm found them before the army and hid them......

Ok, I'm tired -

Because..... it's Tuesday, and I'm only writing about Monday's activities..... Just WAIT until you hear about today.......

Now, where was I?????

Ah, yes, let's skip over all the terribly exciting stuff beyond finally learning about the wonders of my left arm and move onto WORKOUT #2 in a SINGLE DAY.......

I got home from work and spent a cool 5 minutes or so debating whether I was up to a second workout, which was a 25 min run..... jeese, I already did a just-shy-of-20min-gasping-run on Saturday and a 10-plus-mile bike ride on Sunday - you expect another run on Monday? Where is the break?????

But, somehow, I-don't-know-what prevailed, and I decided to do the run. I figured I could just get out there and do a little and, you never know, we'll see. (Sometimes I trick myself like that - I'm stubborn).

So I got to the corner and, quickly checking my peripheral vision to see that no one was looking, moved into something resembling a horse trott..... or possibly a really bad canter..... - certainly no one would mistake it for running. I think a description of what it was I was doing was more along the lines of hopping up and down while moving slightly forward - and, once the wheezing kicked in, I thought I should have thrown on a horse costume on Halloween and been convincing to anyone..... Perhaps my next Broadway casting call.....

I currently* live on Capitol Hill, though, if you ask me, I live off Capitol Hill, or more accurately, at the bottom of Capitol Hill, since my run starts uphill (though, as a normal person, you wouldn't notice the slight incline from my house to the Capitol** - I notice it only because I'm huffing and puffing my way at the start of my run, which is verrrrry discouraging.....

I make my way up the long, steep incline, similar to an Olympic ski jump ala "Eagle Eddie" (though in reverse....but just as incompetently....) to Stanton Park, not far from my home or the Capitol.... I think, "I must have done 20 minutes by now, so I'll check my brand new 'low-end Triathlon' watch....", and promptly check my new 'low-end Triathlon' watch. Harrumph. It isn't working.... it says only 4 minutes have passed, and, astoundingly, as I watch the seconds pass upon the face of the watch, it seems they are moving in slow motion, like one watch-second to every 5 earth-seconds!!!! What kind of cheap watch have I purchased? If I had wanted a watch that would have made me age more slowly, I would have purchased a 'slow the effects of aging by slowing time' watch, not a 'low-end Triathlon' watch. Maybe it works better under water. Maybe you have to purchase an 'under water Triathlon' watch, then switch to a 'bike Triathlon' watch, then switch to a 'run Triathlon' watch in order to get your times correct.

Well, I kept running in spite of the fact that I was certain that I was almost done in spite of the fact that the watch disagreed - I'm certain that I would have won in court, had I sued the watch....

I passed along houses and trees (not quickly, mind you), and found myself mocked by squirrels.... they ran ahead of me, waited for me to catch up, then ran ahead again..... I'm certain I could understand their chittering "oooh, oooh, oooh, you're going to catch me.....HAHA!!!! You didn't catch me!!!! oooh, oooh, oooh, you're going to catch me.....HAHA!!!! You didn't catch me!!!!" etc.... this went on for at least a block from a single squirrel, then his buddy would do a suicide run in front of me (run just at my feet but not let me hit him - my cat does that, but she tries to trip me so I'll feel sorry for kicking her - the squirrels do that as some sort of gang initiation that they weren't afraid to run in front of the big scary person) - I figure this was the lesser of the squirrels - the bigger tougher gangs require squirrels to run in front of cars, or at least faster runners.....

I tried to pace myself by following a woman with a baby carriage.... she kept outdistancing me, though... I had a hard time keeping up....

HEY, I bet you thought she was walking..... well, I'll have you know it was at a race-walk pace, okay - not a slow, let the baby enjoy the sights pace, ok!!!!

But, at least, I got my 25 minutes in.....


*Currently, according to Real Estate folks, who keep extending the boundaries of Capitol Hill every season to justify the increasingly expanding housing prices..... technically, I live in Old City #1 - don't ask me, I don't know the origins of that - but that's not nearly as romantic as Capitol Hill......

**Unlike the implication of this comment, there is not a direct path from my house to the Capitol - I don't want to sound too snooty like I live across from the Capitol or something - only lobbyists and the receivers of their funds can afford that.... I live more down a few blocks, over a few blocks, past the police barriers, then a block or so over, from the Capitol....

The first group ride...

The time changed this morning. I was well aware of that. I knew I had an extra hour to chill before heading out to the group ride. I sat and watched a movie on TV that was supposed to end at 9am, the time I wanted to leave. It is about a 15 - 20 min ride to today's location, so leaving at 9 would be plenty of time to get to the ride before the 9:30 start.....

You know, sometimes, how the more time you have to kill, the quicker it passes without your noticing? Well, the stupid movie (and it was stupid) didn't finish at 9am on the dot, so I left late - less than 20 minutes to get there. I kept telling myself, on the way, to not bother and turn around and do today's 10miles on my own, kept watching the clock as I got nearer, but not getting closer as quickly as the clock neared 9:30. I consoled myself with the thought that they would be talking to newbies like me at 9:30, so I had a few extra minutes to be late if I didn't get there right on time. I got there at just exactly 9:30. The high school's parking lot was full - probably the majority Team Zers..... quite impressive. They were all hanging around, picking up cue sheets and grouping up. I saw a gaggle around Coach Z and headed there, where he was explaining cue sheets (ride maps), and other pointers for our ride.

It was hilly. Quite so. I had a mountain bike (the only one there.....) - I had to walk the bike up a couple of hills, but it was no problem. Coach Brian and others were there to help me along and give a lot of pointers and tips. No one left me behind, and there was nothing but encouragement from everyone there, no pressure to go faster. Coach Brian pointed out that getting off the bike to walk up some hills was actually better to keep you in your training zone rather than fighting your way uphill.

I only had 10 miles on my plate for the day, but we never got back to the high school as 10 miles passed (on the way uphill, mind you.....). I kept looking for the high school, but there was nothing but hills ahead of me - big, giant, tall, killer hills - I thought, as I kept looking forward, we were riding our way directly up a mountain, rolling along taller and taller hills - I think we were working our way to the top of probably the second tallest mountain in the US behind Mount Ranier.... it's amazing that I have never noticed this on the commute to Eric's work inside the beltway. Amazing. I'll pay more attention next time we pass on Route 50 in the car. It's amazing this is in the middle inner suburbia....

It turns out that the cue sheet was set for the full 20 miles (I missed this since I was late), and it turns out you get picked up by the sag car (support car) when you are done for the day - Coach Z was there to pick me up. I had a nice conversation with him while we kept an eye on other riders along the way. One other person was finished before the 20 miles (she stopped at 15).

So in this group of newbies that I have joined, I was the only one training on the basest schedule for their first triathlon, everyone else from the talks yesterday and today seemed to be going for their second or more, and had joined the team for tri-specific training.

Which was my biggest fear before joining the team.

It turns out, it's no big deal. They are there for you, Olympic athlete or first-timer......

November 1 Stats

Since this is supposed to be a "no ego" practice, I'll post my stats each month.

Weight: 147.5 (can't see if the scale is 147 or 148 - I think the lines have been shrinking in the bathroom's humidity).
Height: 5'3" (not that I expect that to change.....)
Waist: 40"
Hips: 42"

None of this is scientific - I'm not sure where I'm supposed to measure exactly, but as long as I do the same places consistently, I suppose.....

The Power of Team

Today was my first group run. I got not quite 20 minutes in, but, getting anything in is an accomplishment at this time. I have to say, joining this team, though just one week in, was the right choice. I wouldn't have gotten up and gone out in this chilly 40 degree windy weather first thing in the morning on my own. I even had thoughts of slinking away after the talk about cold weather clothing (good ideas, key point: lose the cotton, at least as your primary layer!!!), but Coach B had promised to run with me this first time to check out any back pains, and just ease me into running. So I couldn't leave.... It worked out great. I ran (slowly - verrrry slowly) the whole time, which was the second major accomplishment of the day (if it isn't obvious, just getting there was the first).

I'm old. My ankles are now complaining, my back is stiffening up, and joints that should not have been bothered by the run are complaining. Fine. I'll go easy on them tomorrow by going on the group bike ride, so at least it's sitting all the way (sorry butt - it hasn't recovered from last week)! If that isn't enough to get them to shut up, I'll torture them some more with Monday's run..... My back has won out in the past, but I plan on following the slow, easy introduction schedule Team Z has set up for ex-couch potatoes like me and ease it into submission....

The bad part: I love driving the new Mini, but have to leave it at home tomorrow - need to order the bike rack for it, which will be first thing on my list Monday morning! That's the only thing I'm not looking forward to tomorrow!

The Swim

It was a cold, dark morning...... I stepped into the dark quiet street, the buzz of a streetlamp the only sound, its flickering the only light guiding my way. I checked for signs of life on the street as I quickly crossed to the car - no movement, not even a leaf sliding across the cold gray stone. As I placed my bags in the back, a cold trickle of dew dripped onto the back of my neck from the raised hatchback.....I knew it was going to be a long day. Not even the cats had gotten up to see me off.....

I took off into the lonely predawn darkness. No cars on the road at 4:45am to delay my path to the highway, and few on the highway itself. It was too dark to read a map. Thank goodness, I thought, for the companionable voice of the gps system to guide me on my way.

As I turned up the dark, quiet windy road which was said to be the final trail to the center, a few cars came into view, one with a bike rack on the roof. This must be the place, I thought. I parked and hesitatingly wandered towards the brightly lit doors, just behind two other hesitatingly wandering women, who seemed just as lost, tired and confused as me. A man walked in behind us, recognized us as initiates and pointed the way...

I had made it to the swim. We, ~12 women and 1 man, sat in the (thankfully) warm, humid air of the poolhall and looked out among the dozens of swimmers occupying all of the dozen or so lanes in the pool. It was crowded, impressively so. The swimmers were divided by pace and ability, from "learning to swim" novice in the first lane, to the 12th or so lane occupied by elite triathletes training for a shot at joining the Olympic team. I, for one, felt humbled, and, not quite so odd for getting up so early.

I wasn't horrible. Spending last year at the Y, swimming twice or so a week had paid off. Last year, it took me a month to become comfortable enough to get my face in the water. The month before that all I had swum was the backstroke and breaststroke, since those are the two easiest strokes to keep your face out of the water. After a swim class, I was comfortable enough to do the freestyle on my own without the unfounded fear of drowning that I had had. Throughout the year I worked on my stroke and breathing out through my nose under water. While not proficient by any means, and not having swum in the past 10 months, it was enough to get me to the pool this Thursday morning and know I would be able to conquer any fears and move forward.

The hour passed quickly. I had made it through the swim. From now on, every Tuesday and Thursday morning at the unwakeful hour of 0530, I will be one of the comatose dipping into the pool to start the day.....