Aug 31
The Chicago Triathlon is always a grab-bag of an experience, and this Sunday was no exception. From the musical accompaniement of a post-swim strip to drinking a stranger’s fluids, this day had something for everyone, including awesome moments of pure human kindness and a kick-ass video to summarize how it really looks from the inside.
Aug 23
One of the most amazing things about writing here is that I come into contact with all these people who are trying to change their lives. They’re embarking on running programs for the first time at age 35. They’re re-discovering the joys of biking with their kids. They’re off the couch, and excited about doing it, and there is no WAY, once they’ve made that decision, that ANYTHING is going to stop them.
Like, for instance, an injury. Or, clothes that don’t fit. Or, people who say “you shouldn’t do that so soon”. These people, my people, (if I may be so bold as to call you “my people”, since I pretty much share the same exercise DNA with y’all)…anyway, we people have hearts of gold but damn, we are T-I-R-E-D of people thinking we do nothing but eat bonbons and watch Jersey Shore.
So when we decide to get moving, we move with some purpose. We set out a plan. We stick to that plan. And sometimes, we forget that what took us 2, 5, or 10 years to create can’t be un-done in a day. Or even in 60 days. We forget that our bodies are living, breathing things, that are not exactly following the plan our hearts and minds have set out. So the body, it protests. It complains. And sometimes, it breaks.
I thought of this all last week as I was offiically discharged from a few months of physical therapy as a result of a running injury years in the making. Dr. Chin and the awesome folks at The Running Institute of Chicago (I know, you’ve heard me talk about them, but I have to give them props) and the amazing Joel Nourie at Accelerated Rehabilitation Center’s West Loop location did their best to cure me. They gave me good PT for the Plantar Fasciitis. They diagnosed a problematic nerve in the ankle and eventually helped it calm down with some cortisone. And they gave me a realistic Return to Running program, which I gleefully kicked off about 4 weeks ago.
My problem (if you can call it that) is that I had my heart set on doing the Chicago Triathlon this coming weekend. You know, the one with the mile swim, 26 mile bike, and 10k run at the end? Yeah, that one. Only, as I approached Dr. Chin’s office on Thursday to be “discharged”, I knew that I hadn’t done enough distance to be able to say – without fear of re-injury- that I could do the whole 10k – without injury. I was only up to about 3 miles of run/walking – and the jump to 6, which woudln’t have bothered me two years ago – was just too big now.
Not surprisingly, he agreed. He, and Joel, and pretty much anyone who’s watched me rehab would probably have had the same answer. Why risk it? Why risk the run, increasing by almost 100% the amount you’re running in one day – only to get injured and delay for another 6 months something you’ve worked so hard to fix?
And here’s where 10 years of running and racing kicked in: I agree with them. Why WOULD I risk it? Why would I risk NEVER running again to run this week? Why would I risk having that level of pain again when, with some patience and a little bit more work, I could run next month? There’s just no reason. But I know I’m not alone in weighing the decision carefully – in saying “hey, I’ve trained all summer for this race – and if I drop it, what have I spent all that time on? What do I have to show for it?” I know right now, in doctor’s offices and PT facilities all across Chicago (and heck, across the country), there are many people who, new to running or new to activity, are feeling the effects of too much, too soon – or too much, too often – and are being met with angry diagnoses of stress fractures, plantar fasciitis, and a variety of other things that are killing their fall race calendar.
So what do you do, if you’re one of those people? Do you risk it? Do you find some way – ANY way, to keep going? And if you quit now, what do you have to show for all that work?
If you find yourself asking that question – and really wondering what it was all for – allow me to give you an answer: You have months – MONTHS – of hard work and training to show for it. You have the knowledge that you did your long runs, or your core work, or your half marathon or marathon training program – with a dedication and commitment that maybe, just maybe, you never had before. Maybe you have stronger friendships, or healthier relationships, or less stress over the past few months. Perhaps you have tighter abs, and sexier hammies, and a blonder ponytail. (I’m just saying.) Or maybe you just have some awesome nights where you slept like a log because you were so gloriously, awesomely tired, that you just fell into bed, and woke rested and happy.
No matter what you spent your time training for this season, you’ve gotten something else out of it – other than a medal or a race.
So if you happen to be one of those people who is breaking – right now – just stop. Stop hurting yourself and your body. Take a breath. Shed those tears when the doc tells you you’re hurt – you’ve earned those. But do the work you must NOW do to recover. There are a lot of you out there right now, and you must not lose sight of what you’ve done this summer. It’s not about the Chicago Marathon, or New York, or that upcoming triathlon. It’s about building a healthier body – which will help you exercise for life.
As for me, I’ll be there Sunday, doing the Chicago Triathlon. I’ll swim my mile, and bike my 26. But when it comes time to do the 10k run, I’ll take advantage of paying my $150 race fee, and I’ll run/walk my short little 5k. And at Mile 1.5, I’ll turn around, and head home, shorting the run. Yeah, it might hurt a little to do it – but last year at this time, I wondered if I’d ever run again. So I’ll take 3 miles. And I’ll come in smiling.
See you on the path.
Jul 7
Danskin 7″ Triathlon Short – $48, available up to a Size 22 (essentially)
Just got a call from the most excellent client service representative at Danskin (Gina, thank you!) who has informed me that they’ve just received a shipment of their super-functional, wicking, great-fitting 7″ triathlon short.
They have a limited stock, but there are about 150 of them in currently in a Size XXL, and another 300+ in an XL, so if you are looking for a short, check this one out. REI, which previously had them in stock in an XXL and XL, is out of stock in this 7″ model, but still has the 5″ model in.
Click here to access the page on Danskin’s site (you cannot navigate there from the main site – there is a problem with the indexing on the online catalog, which is tech speak for “no one connected this short to the main page”).
Jun 23
Just got a note from Xterra saying that for the next 5 days, they’re offering their sleeved wetsuits for $199 and sleeveless for $149 – a 50% discount on mid-season pricing.
If you need a suit and have been holding off, I’m a big fan of the sleeveless suit, and the price point is really good…
Enter the code SUMMER50 to get it going on.
Jun 21
When I was a kid, there was a great little golf driving range a few miles from our house. Nestled up to an overflow basin for the Ohio River and some gigantic creek, Green Tee Golf was the location of both the Tastee Freeze (or its equivalent) AND the place where I got to spend time with my dad. Once I was old enough, he’d take me and my brother (and later, my punky little sister) down to the range. When we were really young, we’d play mini-golf while he hit golf balls; once we were older, he taught us how to hold the club, and how to swing.
I liked mini-golf a lot to begin with. It had a clear beginning and end, and a purpose I could relate to – hit the ball in that hole (which was no more than 10 feet away.) I also enjoyed that, in Cincinnati’s soup-like humidity, I could be outside, but not have to run around and get all pink-faced like I did when I played soccer.
But most of all, I liked the fact that I got to hit things indiscriminately. Once I actually figured out what I was doing, I wasn’t really any good at golf, but I made contact enough to like it. I’d pick up a rental club, stand over the ball, and whack at it. Sometimes I made contact, sometimes I didn’t.
My dad would stand behind me (mostly, immediately behind me) and offer insruction on how I could improve. Never shy about my personal space, I’d let him get in a few comments before telling him he could stuff it and leave me alone. How could I know that he was trying to teach me a sport I’d play for life? I was a snarky 11 year old who knew better. Please.
Of course, I never really aimed for anything. Oh, sure, there were flags out there. But I just needed to hit.the.ball. I didn’t care where it went, because it wasn’t a part of anything larger for me. I wasn’t playing for money, or keeping score of how many times I hit the green. In fact, I usually wanted to get out of there as fast as I could because I wasn’t nearly as good as those people around me, and who needs to prolong THAT kind of misery?
Turns out, when I finally did get around to playing on a real course, I wasn’t much good. All I had really learned to do was make contact. I didn’t know how to avoid the trees down the right side of the fairway, or to modulate the distsance on a shot. And I didn’t really care for the fact that it didn’t come easy to me. I think, before I turned 18, I played only one real round of golf with my dad. And then I didn’t play again until I was 24.
Only then, when I was getting back into the sport with some seriously fun friends, did I learn the key to practicing: aim for something. All the time, I’d go to the driving range at Diversey here in Chicago, and see these guys, winding up like 30-year-old versions of my punky 10-year-old self. They’d just pound the ball wherever, and never give any thought as to where it was going. Which is great, if you’re just angry. But if you’re actually trying to accomplish something, you’ve got to learn how to aim. An instructor once told me that going to the range to practice was absolutely useless, unless every single time I got over the ball, I aimed for a flag. With golf, you can concentrate a lot, or a little. Sometimes, you can get so wrapped up in the grip, or your stance, that you forget to aim. You forget what you’re trying to accomplish. And sometimes, you don’t even have the grip or the stance to blame. Sometimes, you just stand over the ball, and fire.
But that’s not the way to become a better golfer. To do that, you have to aim every time. And then you’ve got to learn finesse. You’ve got to check your fundamentals. You’ve got to learn what makes a ball shank to the left or slice right, and what small, simple changes can impact your entire game. In short, you’ve got to become a student of the sport.
That’s a lesson I think we can easily apply to training for any event, whether it’s your first 5k, or your fifth triathlon. You see, when you first start training for triathlons (for example), you think that it’s all about getting in the miles. You’ve just got to pound out a half mile in the pool. Who cares if you’re efficient? You don’t want to drown. Then, there’s the bike. Most of us are simply concerned with making sure we don’t get a flat…and that we can actually remove a water bottle from our rack and not end up on YouTube while doing it. Small goals, right? Even with the run, at first, all you care about is having the legs to wrap up a 10k after a 26 mile bike, and a mile swim. You don’t care about pacing or strategy. You can’t focus on technique, because you’re too worried about baseline fitness, and not dying out there.
But after awhile, you realize something important: when you’re just getting in the pool, day after day – or on your bike, because that’s what the schedule calls for, you’re not really doing yourself any favors. Yes, you’re learning how to pound the ball (figuratively speaking), but are you learning how to aim for the flag? Are you paying attention to the feeling in your chest when you push it too hard on your swim? Are you doing the drills that will make you more efficient, or are you just clocking time? Do you know whether or not you’re wasting energy as you haul yourself down the lane, day after day? And on the bike, are you still operating on the same gear you’ve been on since day one, or have you ever figured out how to really climb a hill? Have you learned how to change that flat so it doesn’t ruin your race? Or are you still at the range, firing away, hoping that things will come together?
These journeys we take are important. They have the opportunity to let us become more aware of our bodies, our capabilities, and yes, sometimes our limits. But they also give us the chance to expand our body of knowledge – to truly learn something more about the sports we’re trying, and to take those skills into other areas. When I learned how to change a tire on my bike (which didn’t happen until the Chicago Endurance Sports Triathlon Training in 2003, a full FOUR years after I started doing triathlons), it rocked my world. I went from having a panic attack every time I saw glass in the road to knowing that I would be able to help myself – and others – whenever I needed it. It also gave me a whole new world to ride in, because I was no longer limited to taking rides with other people, in the city, where a cab or a friend could come and get me if I flatted out. Suddenly, I was free to ride wherever I wanted. And that meant I could ride hills, and practice my cadence, and feel what race day would feel like – and that, that was very, very cool.
You, too have the ability to build your skills, and learn more about yourself, and your sport. But you have to consciously think about what you want to accomplish when you go out, every day. Yes, there will be days when you just want to pound away, with no goal in mind. But mostly, there will be something you can learn, something you can accomplish, as you’re becoming an expert in your sport. I call it Aiming for the Flag. It’s a simple concept, but one that can help you sustain your enthusiasm for the sport long after your first race is done. Because when you become an expert (and here’s the kick) it gets easier. You can make those adjustments to stay on course, to save energy, and to hit your targets. You just need to focus on them to get there.
So next time you go out for a run, or a swim, or a bike ride, think about what you’re really trying to get out of the day. Pick one thing – just one – and pay attention to it. Think about your swimming form, or how you feel on hydration on the bike, or how you can get the most power from your ride. Pay attention. And pick a small goal, for every session, to keep you focused.
I promise you, the rewards you see will make that little bit of patience, that little bit of finesse, worth your while.
See you on the path…
The weather in Chicago’s been uncharacteristically warm these past few months, and as a result, Lake Michigan is rolling out a summer welcome – well, in time for summer. With the solstice quickly approaching, our long days have been filled with 80 degree glories, calm water, and gorgeous sunsets worthy of a Florida night.
I’ve been watching the temps rise, and trying to plan a day to get back in the lake. Though it’s merely a mile from my house, I wanted to take advantage of the Ohio Street Beach, from which a nice 1/2 mile stretch of water runs next to Lake Shore Drive and offers a straight shot of swimming in a protected cove (with a 5′ depth the entire way). It’s also watched over by lifeguards, which means it’s safe, too.
I haven’t been in the pool yet this spring/summer. For one reason or another, I just haven’t been working in the swim workout, and as this week approached, I was wondering if starting off in the lake was the right way to go.
See, this week officially began my training for the Chicago Triathlon. Oh, did I not mention that? Yeah. I got a little ambitious a few weeks back and decided that the only way to stay active this summer was to put the Olympic back on my schedule. So Monday began the schedule (borrowing heavily from last year’s) to get me ready for the distance. That included an 800M time trial on Thursday.
I enjoy swimming after work, and Thursday was no exception (except that I needed to jet to Book Club after. Slight overschedule). As I arrived at the beach, I pulled on the wetsuit with a minimum of fuss (and noted that when you have a suit that fits you, there’s far less walrus-wrestling). It was the first time I had swam in this new suit, an Xterra that I bought last year at the end of the season. This one has sleeves (I had also bought a sleeveless, but thought the sleeves might be a good option for 68 degree water). Turns out, the sleeves were probably overkill – AND they required quite an adjustment for me.
I set my watch and wandered into the lake, surprised at how nice the temp was. Two guys coming out were smiling like kids who just got out of school early. “It’s great, right?” the one guy said to me. I nodded. “I can’t believe it’s this warm – in JUNE!” We were so excited because, as veterans of Lake Michigan swimming, we knew it was usually mid-July before it was this warm.
Turns out, the water being warm didn’t give me superhuman strength, though. As I got started swimming, my arms felt like lead, and I couldn’t seem to keep my hair from getting caught in the velcro in the back of my suit (even though I had a swim cap on). My goggles were leaving bruises on my eye sockets, and I simply couldn’t find my mojo.
After 4 minutes, I stopped and stood up. I didn’t have the heart rate monitor on, but I knew I was working too hard, and needed to slow it down. So I channeled a little U2 and began humming on the exhale, my equivalent of the “talk test” in running. Yes, this was a “time trial”, but I also needed to get through a half a mile. That meant slowing down.
So slow down I did. After awhile, the arms got a little better, and I even remembered some of the form lessons I learned last season. I made it through a quarter mile in a molasses-like 14 minutes, turned around, and headed back.
It was not an “A” day. And I’ll admit, I was pretty mad at myself. For most of those ten minutes heading back in, I was giving myself a drubbing. “Why haven’t you been in the pool?” “What’s so important about work that you’re not making time?” “Why not make time for THIS, the best sport for you?’ It’s been awhile since I kicked my own ass that much. But you know what? It didn’t help. As I got closer to the finishing point, I was even more dejected than when I started. And I had just swum almost a half a mile, having not been in the pool since January. Nothing hurt, nothing was broken, and I was fine. Yes, I was slow, but I was getting it done.
And that’s what I started to tell myself.
See, we all have different paces to our journeys. I generally like to give myself credit for doing ANYTHING active, and try to stay away from the self-flaggelation. But Thursday night, I was really mad at myself, and it was okay, too, to look inside and realize it doesn’t have to be this hard. I can make better choices, and plan realistically, and work in working out as much as I want. But what I really ended up telling myself was this: I had a lot of choices on Thursday. I could have stayed at work late. I could have left and went straight to meet the girls at book club. I could have skipped them both and went home and sat on the couch. But I took the path I had planned, and I got in the lake, and I swam.
It’s only one night, but more than ever, I was reminded of John Bingham’s great mantra: the miracle isn’t that I finished, but that I had the courage to start. On Thursday night, having been away from the pool for awhile, and seriously, seriously wanting to quit so many times, I hung onto that statement. I kept swimming until the beach touched my feet again, and when I got out, I was smiling. And it wasn’t about my 30 minute time trial. It was because against all indications to the contrary, I had prioritized that one night of moving, and felt better for it.
So I guess this week’s lesson is this: there are days when training and being active may not be as easy, or as convenient, or as rewarding, as we might expect. It’s the law of averages. Hard days are part of the game. But they’re always good for you, in ways you can’t begin to comprehend until you’ve gone through them.
So that’s it from here. Keep training, keep dropping me lines, and keep your chin up.
See you on the path!
Jun 7
Hi all!
A few quick notes here, and then I’m punting you over to Plus Athlete for the Little Red report!
I was lucky enough to spend this weekend in Utah, taking part in the Little Red Riding Hood Ride with fellow blogger Diane, and riding friends and all around cool women Jeannie, Kym, Karen, and others. The weekend was a total hit, but I wanted to share a few key finds that might help you ride this summer!
First, serious props go out to my LBS (local bike shop) On The Route here in Chicago. They packed and shipped my baby Trek without problem, and the folks in Logan who put her back together at Sunrise Cyclery rock, too. If you’re looking for the epitome of great technicians with a flair for the helpful, these are your guys.
Second, I had the good luck to run into the reps from Born Fit (based in Denver) who make maternity AND general fitness clothing. They were displaying at Little Red, and shared the really good news that they’re now producing running, walking, and general fitness apparel up to a size XXL. I can’t say this enough: their stuff is cute, it’s functional, and it works for pregnant women, so I’m pretty sure they’re going to do just find in the Plus market! Take care to watch the size charts, but if you’re looking, I would recommend checking out their lines, especially their capris and short sleeved tops for summer.
Finally, good news from Chicago – the weather’s been so good, the lake temp is up to a balmy 65 degrees, which means this week, you should expect a report from me on triathlon training – and my first open water swim of the season. I’ll keep you posted on whether I lose feeling (or, I should say, when.)
See you on the path!
Jun 3
Finding triathlon shorts for the plus community can be an exercise in frustration. Here, a direct link to the best shorts in the business, Danskin’s 7″ and 5″ triathlon shorts, ready for ordering now.
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