The Highs and Lows of Multisport

My goal was to get back into a regular fitness routine before the semester started because its so much easier to maintain a fitness routine and add academics to it, than the other way around. I didn't race this summer because I didn't want any comparison between this year and last, when I had a stellar season. Instead, I picked out two events in August that were more about fun and less about competition.

Purple Swim

This year, Purple Swim in Baltimore offered both one and two mile swims (and participants could swim both events for a total of three miles), so I signed up for the one-mile swim. The event raises money for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and I wanted to donate in honor of my co-worker Kate Thaxton who died of pancreatic cancer on June 6, 2010. She was 37 years old. I didn't know Kate that well, but followed her battle with cancer through news from co-workers and her blog. A lot of people will give you the big blowoff, but not Kate. She welcomed everyone in her life and when I sent a friend request on Facebook, she accepted.

In pictures of the event from the previous year, I noticed that about half of the participants were wearing wetsuits. I'd gotten a new wetsuit as a birthday present from my husband, and of course I wanted the occasion to wear it. I worried that the wetsuit wouldn't fit right because I'd lost several pounds earlier this year, but a friend said that unless I was planning to break an Olympic record, the suit would fit fine. Everyone encouraged me to try it out, but I felt self-conscious. Finally, on the last night of practice before the swim, I brought the wetsuit and tried it on. No one batted an eye. An experienced triathlete walked into the changing room while I was wriggling into the wetsuit, but to my relief, said nothing. The suit fit fine. It made swimming easy because it kept the whole body buoyant, and all I had to do was move my arms and kick a bit. The buoyancy was a drawback, however, because it made it more difficult to do breaststroke which I use to orient myself in open water.

In the end, I never wore the wetsuit. The air temperature quickly pushed into the upper 80s and the water was warm, and it just seemed to warm to be encased in neoprene. Only about a fourth of the swimmers wore wetsuits.

The swim went great. I'd been warned of a current that made swimming slow, so I decided to wear a watch so that if I seemed to get bogged down while swimming against a current, I could look at the watch and remind myself that I was still moving along. But the event organizer changed the course this year and we rounded buoys, making a 4-sided figure. I loved approaching one buoy, going around it, sighting the next and swimming towards it. This made the swim go fast and broke it down into several goals that I could meet and exceed.

My husband asked me if I had any particular strategies for the swim. I confess that I had none. I don't have an abundance of open water experience. My goal was not to get too winged out by anything: the taste or feel of the water, the plant life, and accidental contact. My major goal was to get into a swimming groove and keep up a strong stroke while using my sighthing skills. And, for the most part, I did this and felt that I gave a good effort. I'm typically a mid-pack athlete, and I was a wee bit disappointed to find myself in the bottom fourth of the swimmers for the 1 mile swim, with a time of 44:22.

My son brought his girlfriend and they swam in the water afterward and we all enjoyed a picnic lunch. We watched the two mile swimmers come in, and then we watched the dogs swim. It was a perfect day.

Eat a Peach Ride

The following Saturday, I headed up to Westminster for the Eat a Peach ride. It was a day that started out bad, and got worse. I was driving on the highway halfway to the Caroll County Agricultural Center when I noticed another car with a bike rack and spotted the spotted the seatpouch, which carries extra tire tubes, CO2, and the like. That's when I remembered that I'd forgotten to put my seat bag back on my bike after washing it last weekend. If my tire popped, I'd be entirely dependent on the SAG wagon to get to me. I couldn't believe I'd made such a stupid mistake.

The event was much bigger than I'd imagined and when I got there shortly after 7 a.m., there already were plenty of bikers parked on the grass. By the time I'd gotten my number, clarification about the flag system of marking the route, and my gear organized, it was 8 a.m. when I set out.

The ride started out good and I proceeded down Salem Bottom Road out of the town of Westminster. There were many rolling hills and I was encouraged by my ability to get up the hills. When I was confused about which direction to take, I got out my map, but others came up behind me and we figured out the way.

Things began to change when I turned onto Rt. 26 Liberty Road. I wasn't seeing as many yellow flags on the side of the road and when I passed a sign saying that I was in the next county, I began to have more doubts. My bike computer showed 14 miles and my cue sheet told me to take a turn at the 12 mile mark. I circled back, but then saw two riders going the way I'd been going, so I circled back to follow them, thinking that they couldn't be wrong. Soon, all three of us were having the same doubts.

Miraculously, a SAG wagon pulled up within minutes to steer us back to the course. We took a shortcut back to the route by going up Buffalo Road (part of the century and 40-mile route) and then taking a left to Barnes Road. Getting lost rattled me. I'd gone 2-3 miles out of my way and I was a bit more tired than I wanted to be on a hilly route this early in the ride. I rode along with the two other riders, a young couple who were strong riders, until we got to the rest stop at the 18 mile mark, which was a welcome sight. The ride promised two rest stops, but I hadn't seen the first. It really didn't matter, though because I and most other riders brought snacks.

After this, I caught up to a rider who was a strong, young dude with attire indicating that he was with a local cycling club. We were on very narrow country roads now. Many of the roads were not well marked and we were dependent on sighting flags to guide the way.

In one bad moment, I found myself on a very steep, short hill right before Sams Creek Road. I'd made a tactical mistake and was in a gear that was too high. I lacked the strength to get up the hill and couldn't get out of my clips, so I avoluntarily tipped my bike so I could walk up the hill. The other rider didn't look back, but didn't leave. I skinned my knee, but promptly got back on the bike.

Several miles later, the young dude popped his tire. I was planning to wait, but he pulled out a spare tube, said that he had the SAG number and walked away. I rode onward and was lonelier than I wanted to be on a group ride. The scenery was beautiful and at one point, I was on a cliffhanger road overlooking open farmland, rolls of grass, and big open sky. I rode past cows in pastures and a crumbling barn. The middle part of the ride didn't have as many hills. But that changed toward the end.

At about the 28 mile mark, I spotted a stone near the side of the road near a turn on the route, got off my bike, and decided that I needed a snack and gobbled down almost an entire bag of energy chews. A rider with zip wheels flew past me up the hill. Not me. I began to walk some of the steeper hills. The younger dude who'd stopped to change his tire caught up to me and passed me as I walked.

We got close to the end, speeding down a hill toward a stoplight at the intersection of Rt. 27--only to see that the route heads straight upwards on a huge hill. Wicked!! The stronger riders rode up the hill, but there were a good number of people--including me--who walked up the hill.

I was glad to reach the finish. I enjoyed the post race food and some conversation. Then I went into the agricultural center to the Eat a Peach festival and bought some pear bread, red raspberry jam, and an old fashioned kitchen towel that hangs over the oven handle. Of course, I helped myself to several ripe, juicy peaches!!

Then I went home and shed a few tears. I've never been disappointed in my performance in an event, and this was a first. I was disappointed that I tipped my bike and disappointed that I'd walked the hills. My future goals involve riding hilly routes, and I couldn't even get through 33+ miles of hills. Most likely, I need a deeper base with cycling, more hill climbing experience, and better technique. But I also thought back to where I started and I've come a long way. For my first triathlon, I specifically chose one that was flat and wimped out of signing up for a triathlon held in Carroll county after driving the bike course. I've come a good distance--but I have a ways to go.

* * *

I'm in better shape now, and in an endorphin rush, I'm fighting the urge to sign up for a Big Event. I read an article in The Washington Post magazine about someone who has a busy job as a project manager for a big highway construction project. She recently completed an Ironman. She gives me the inspiration that a busy life doesn't necessarily preclude big athletic goals. For me, only time will tell as I balance schoolwork with the desire to maintain a base over the winter.

* * *

Here are some hill climbing tips that I'll be thinking about on my next ride:

Hill Climbing Technique

• Gear selection is important—this comes with experience. Experienced cyclists shift gears all the time to achieve the right cadence, about 70-80 rpm. Some athletes use a higher or lower cadence. Get into a good rhythm!
• Get into rhythm at bottom of hill and gain momentum. Don’t attack too hard. Get into a good pace—don’t get anaerobic. Get into your groove. Hit the sweet spot. When you bog down, shift gears or stand up.
• Sitting is the most efficient way to climb—scoot back in the saddle to use your hamstrings or glutes. Then scoot forward to give those muscles a rest. Shift position frequently, especially on longer hills. Can sit at a 45 degree angle or sit more upright to use different muscles.
• Don’t tense up--drop your shoulders. Relax your jaw. Wiggle your fingers. Synchronize our breathing. Place your hands on the top of the bars. Push your stomach out. Hands are relaxed so you don’t waste energy. The more still you are, the less energy you use.
• Pedal with an ankeling style—pull back on the 6 to 9 o’clock part of the stroke.
• Stand up—don’t lose momentum. When one pedal goes down, shift your weight onto it and pop up. Standing is less efficient, but important because you generate more power. Stand when the pitch gets steeper. Let gravity work for you. Feel like you’re standing out of a chair. Pull up on your handlebars. Then resume seated position; go get back into your grove.
• Pick up the pace during the last 20% of the hill as you crest the hill and get over the top. Recover only when you go down.

IT TAKES PRACTICE!

Tips compiled from videos by Troy Jacobson and Bill Strickland

IG Dress Rehearsal

Every, once a year, Columbia Triathlon Association hosts an IronGirl dress rehearsal and allows people to do a practice swim in the lake. I didn't get into the race this year because registration closed unexpectedly quickly - just a day or so after it opened. I volunteered this year as a swim buddy, to swim with someone who might be hesitant or unsure about the swim. Frankly, I was just looking for an excuse to swim in the lake for some open water swim practice.

I admit I had a preconceived notion of who might request a swim buddy. To my surprise, I was matched with someone who was slightly younger than I who was thin and fit. She explained that she was doing IG as a relay with two other women, and I envied the friendships that made it possible. She wanted to do the swim because she wanted the "full experience." I knew she might be thinking about doing the full race herself one day.

The similarities between us were uncanny. We had the same name. She wore a swimsuit that is almost exactly the same as mine. She had tri shorts that are nearly the same as a pair I have.

As we walked toward the water preparing to get in, I saw her jaw quiver. Was she cold? Or was she scared? I wasn't sure.

In the water, she and I swam side by side. I tried to position myself close to her so that other swimmers wouldn't make contact. I wasn't too sure what to say during the swim, so I pointed out the scenery and offered a few tips. She swam with her head above the water at all times. She swam slow...but then she would surge and I knew that she was strong and fit.

When she got out she was crying. She'd been more scared than she let on and these were tears of joy that she had overcome a fear.

I was haunted by what I didn't tell her: She's a strong swimmer. All she needs is a little more experience and a lot more confidence. But which Susan are we talking about?

Milestone

I finally did it. I went back to the swim team.

I got injured last fall and got busy with grad school and decided to take time off. But the stress of school and lack of sports did me in. All fall, I looked out the window and thought about the leavees turning color on my favorite trail. Then I'd munch on a bag of chips while completing a paper.

At the end of the semester after a long layoff and the addition of a few pounds, I tried to get back into my exercise routine around December and January. I thought about returning to the swim team. I'd pack up my swim bag and put my contact lenses in and tell myself that this was the night I'd return. But then I thought about how slow I'd swim and how humiliated I'd be with my complete lack of fitness, and I just couldn't do it.

I got involved in the biggest loser program at work, met my goal of losing a few pounds, and aced another grad class. I'm now at my "race weight," but still without a fitness base. I've had time to accept reality.

Going back was just as I envisioned. I walked up to the slowest lane, got in, and warmed up. I then realized that I couldn't swim more 100 yards without tiring. I couldn't swim more than 200 yards without a foot cramp. Well, at least my arms are still functional and I did most of the workout with a pull bouy. I called it quits 45 minutes later after trying to kick again and getting more foot cramps. I probably did less than 900 yards.

The one good thing was that everyone was nice and welcoming, regardless of my complete and total lack of fitness.

What are my goals? I don't have any. It feels really weird, but I have no big athletic goals. No race lineup. I signed my husband up for his second marathon, but I knew I'd never have time to train for a marathon, so I didn't sign myself up. Hubby ran a 10K, I stayed home and did homework.

My only goal is to find a new balance between work, grad school, family, and fitness (not necessarily in that order!). And this juggling act may be my biggest challenge yet. I know I'll have to scale down my athletic goals. Maybe I can rebuild a base. And then maybe I can dream.

Musings for the New Year

For anyone who wants to know what I do at master's swimming, just take a look! The group is temporarily crowded into a very small pool, so we're focusing on stroke and the coach is videotaping team members and critiquing our stokes. It was really neat. I have a hard time finding myself on the video--despite watching it several times!! I'm the one with the great stroke, right? Nope, I need to work on keeping my head level with the water at my hairline, which should help me breathe more efficiently. (There may have been complaints about posting the video to YouTube, and if that happens, it will disappear from this blog.)




It's a new year and it's time for some goal setting. After my half marathon, I fell off the bandwagon with all three sports. I worked out periodically during the week, always trying to get back into a routine, but never achieving my goal. At night, I just wanted to go to bed and pull the covers over my head, and there were days I did that. I came to realize the value of going to swim practice and engaging in an endorphin-producing activity with people that seemed happy. Sometimes the good mood even rubbed off on me, even if just for a little while.

My son came back from college for winter break and with both kids home, I took the last two weeks of the year off for a blissful time of relaxing with family, sleeping, eating, watching R-rated movies (I could have lived without) and playing Monopoly (my oldest son became very strategic with the game). My husband and I ran together down our favorite trail, taking our first steps to getting our base back...




Hubby decided that a marathon is on his Bucket List (although I think he's too young to have one). Maybe it was watching me to a half marathon....maybe it was watching the marathoners, run, walk, and crawl to the finish line...or maybe it was the movie and the New Year...but he says that he needs to do the marathon this year.

He's been running for two years; however, he isn't consistent in the days/miles he runs per week and the most he's ever run is 15 miles per week. The longest race he's ever done is a 10K. When I posted his background info to an e-mail discussion group, wondering if perhaps a marathon was a crazy proposition, all I received were words of encouragement. The marathoners who responded said that if he trains consistently and builds a decent base, he can do it. Of course, if he gets serious, I'll be thinking about it too.

I have a lot of big goals this year with sports and studying. And as I try to regroup and rebuild, I hope my son does too. This should be an interesting year, and we'll see how it goes!

Discouraged

I've avoided posting this for a while....but I'm feeling really discouraged about all three sports. Back in April, a sore right arm after a swim workout evolved into a rotator cuff injury. It's not bad, but it's June and I've done all the right things and it's just not gone. I also got sick a lot in April, so I took two weeks off. When I tried to go back to things, my knee started to talk to me in a way that I didn't like. Of course, it's all on one side of my body. Now I'm trying to come back from another two weeks off due to injury/schedule, and I don't know if it will be a success.

I'm going to a chiropractor who cracks my back and my neck only because I didn't want to go to an orthopod and inevitably get referred off to a PT. My insurance only allows five sessions of PT and I'd rather save it for a bigger injury. Don't know if the chiropractor is doing any good, but the one nice thing about him is that he's patient with people like me who read the Internet too much and worry. "If it were that, you'd feel this...so it's not that."

When I was last swam with the team, it wasn't an encouraging night. I come, I swim, and I go. Sometimes I feel as though I'm on the outside looking in, listening to everyone tell their stories when I have none of my own.

Sometimes I feel that three sports means triple the injuries. It's the story of my middle-aged athletic life: I had a grand vision, I tried to train sensibly, but then I always wind up injured. I'm worried that my season will be over even before it begins.

I'd sit on my couch, but I wake up before my alarm clock goes off and think about swimming, biking, and running. I like all three flavors of stress-reliever.

Venturing Into Open Water, Right in the Neighborhood Pool

We've been tackling the open water...right in the swimming pool at swim practice. One night we learned how to sight a target, a skill needed to swim a straight line in open water where you can't see underwater. Last night we built on our skills by swimming around a buoy. We combined lane dividers and broke into groups. The coach jumped in with a big mesh bag filled with pull buoys and held them in place. Then the group sprinted off, simulating the water orgy of a mass start, and swam around the buoy. The coach probably got clobbered by the crowd. Then the group moved into the next section of the pool and sprinted from one end of the pool to the other, simulating the experience of swimming in a pack with people tapping your feet the whole time. I probably should have tried to spot the person beside me as an aid in pacing and alignment.

I was going to take a workshop to learn these skills...someday....when I was ready. The team is practicing for the bay swim, but I'm not venturing into open water at any point in the near future. But I really appreciate the coach taking the time to teach the team these skills.

To My Sister: You Go Girl!!!

I sent my coach's report of the swim meet around to my family, as that's the kind of things moms and other folks like to read.

My sister e-mailed back and says that she is also swimming, biking, and running and is thinking of trying a triathlon. Isn't that weird? My sister and I almost never talk to each other--we haven't had any contact in more than a year, and we're practically estranged. And now--separated by 1,500 miles, three states, and a lack of communication--we happen to be doing the same three sports???!!! Is it coincidence, or something more? Is it hereditary, or the environment? Or...is there something devine that bonds sisters?

So often I've wondered why I'm doing this. Now I know. I hope this triad of sports brings us closer together, but I'm also realistic.

To my sister: YOU GO GIRL!!! I hope you try a tri!!

Above: My younger sister (at left) and I growing up in Wisconsin, where we had a suburban home on an acre of land. My mom made the outfits, as you can tell.

17 Again...or Not

I swam my first master's swim meet, the first meet since high school. The meet was the season finale which was held at the U.S. Naval Academy. I was curious to see the swim facilities at the academy, and pool was really nice and crystal clear.

Before the meet, I finally got up the nerve to put on my new racing suit. The suit I'd been wearing, while pretty, wasn't made for speed swimming and had very little give in the torso. The new suit had been on my dresser for a month, but practice after practice went by and I couldn't bring myself to wear it. There are no "kindest cut" racing suits for the middle-aged figure--although I think there should be! Every suit I put on looked horrible, highlighting some figure flaw or risking overexposure. Finally, I realized that my mind was what needed to change. Of course, all of my teammates noticed the suit right away and complimented it, while I stammered something about getting up the nerve to wear the suit.

At the meet, I showed up punctually and started my warmup. After swimming a few laps, I began to use the blocks to start. To my horror, every single time I dove in, my goggles fell off or they came apart at the nose bridge. Panicked, I sought the assistance of my coach and one of the really experienced swimmers on the team. They tightened my goggle straps to a migraine-inducing tightness and suggested that I wear my swim cap over the goggles, pulled down over my forehead. Before the meet, I wanted to practice diving off the blocks, but was afraid to ask and say that I'd developed a mental complex about the starting block. After a few more dives, I was somewhat more comfortable and managed to keep most of the water out of my goggles, which was a small reassurance.

I swam the 50 free in 37:90 and thought I did alright, although I could feel myself slow down perceptibly over the last few yards. Afterwards, my coach came by and corrected my stroke and I was glad to hear it. However, I knew that I was getting distracted by the starting bock, my goggles, the competition, and I wasn't really focused on my stroke as much as I could. There's one member of the team who gives stroke pointers to everyone. He has an uncanny ability to just glance at someone in the water and tell how their stroke could be improved, and he spent a lot of time helping a teammate with her stroke at the meet. I learn a lot just by listening to him and watching him coach other swimmers, and I later learned that he had swum on the national team in the Philippines.

After that, I swam a relay with the team. I think I must have been picked for the relay just because I showed up early, not because of any actual talent that I might contribute. The mixed relay paired men and women, and I and another inexperienced swimmer were paired with more experienced, faster swimmers on the team. We came in last. But even some of the faster swimmers on the team got washed away by the competition.

Before the meet, I hit my longtime goal of being able to do flip turns again. I started practicing them when I swam by myself, but when I began practicing with the team, I felt so distracted by all of the people swimming close together in the lane that I didn't want to flip. But after the realization that I was spending too much time hanging onto the wall taking a few breaths, I pressured myself to flip again, and I did, most of the time. I was able to flip in competition, but during the relay I flipped too soon and nearly missed the wall.

At the meet, the most amazing event was seeing one of the team's coaches swim the 200 yd fly. I marveled at his aerobic capacity to stay underwater for half of the length of the pool before surfacing, and then he breathed only every other stroke. The team stroke sage explained that in staying underwater and going deep and coming up actually propelled him when he began swimming.

Next, I swam the 100 free in 1:24 and then the 200 free in 3:10. I'd been ambivalent about signing up for the 200 free--an event which combines both speed and endurance in equal measures--but wanted a third event and decided to sign up. I regretted it, as I was tired at this point and really dragging. By the time I finished, all of my competition had gotten out of the water. Very discouraging.

The swim meet was all about everything that I couldn't do in high school, and the events that I signed up for were the ones I couldn't swim back then. At that time, my event was the 500 free but now I don't want to touch it. I went out for the swim team, not because I was fast swimmer, but because I moved to a new town where my favorite sport, the one that I was actually good at--synchronized swimming--wasn't available. I'd been lap swimming in the morning and after being challenged by my high school guidance counselor who happened to coach the team, I decided to move on to speed swimming. I believe the coach put me in the 500 free because I was slower, but could endure. It was the event that nobody else on the team wanted to do. In high school, you do what the coach tells you to, but now, I can swim whatever events I want. If I do another meet, I'll focus on shorter events, maybe 50 free, 50 breast, and 100 free. Thankfully, I've forgotten all of my times so everything seems almost new to me now.

So many things have changed since high school. I've had five great years with the cochlear implant, and I enjoy the conversation that swirls around me in the locker room and talking to my teammates. What could I hear in high school? Not much.

But the thing that hasn't changed is that without modern technology, I'm still deaf in the water. In high school, someone tapped my ankle to start me so that I could get off the bock. But now, I want to be more independent. So for my first event, I started off the block myself, just by watching what other people were doing. I was gratified that I could start independently, although in reality the independence is probably costing me precious seconds and I'm probably the last one off the block and in the water. At the end of the meet, an official told me that I could use an arm signal to start, if I wanted.

The meet motivated me to get in the water and focus on my swimming! My goals are to work harder in practice, not just survive practice as I've been doing. I also want to focus on improving my stroke, and to focus on being focused in competition, without environment distracting me from my stroke and my swimming. I also want to be more independent in getting myself down to the deck for my events. My reward is two new swim caps, building a collection just as I'd wished.

Small Wonder

Our computer networks are down at work, so I'll take a moment to tell you about a small victory: I swam an entire workout last night without one of my dreaded foot cramps!!!!! Since I've started swimming with the team in January, I've had an arch cramp on the bottom of my right foot (the leg that always whines) every single practice. The same time. Without fail. If I'm lucky, the foot cramp comes later in practice, when it's winding down and then I can pretty much bag the workout. Sometimes I can swim though it for several challenging laps, but then I'll kick harder with the other foot and get a cramp in that one. Sometimes my toes will cramp, but not my feet...how weird is that?

I've asked a co-worker and searched the Internet for solutions. So far, I've tried pulling out a sports drink and sipping that as an afternoon beverage for hydration. Of course, if I down a sports drink right before practice, that leads to other problems. I also strongly suspect this is a relaxation issue. I'll try to gradually ease into kicking during warmup and really focus on keeping my feet and legs relaxed. After all, I'm a person who felt the beginnings of a foot cramp after a really sad funeral. I hope for I can have more cramp-free workouts. Swimming is one of the nicest things that's happened to me lately.

Fast Fish

I've joined the master's swim team. This is my first formal foray into swimming since the high school swim team more than 25 years ago!!

It's very different for me because previously I've done all of my training alone and it's very different swimming with a group of people. At my other pool, there was one person to a lane, or at most two, and very little splashing. Once, I accidentally touched someone and she looked offended and found another lane.

This group is the complete opposite. There's about six lanes to the pool and about five or so people in each lane. An older gentleman behind me tapped my feet several times when he got too close. Definitely a high-contact group. It was all I could do to keep up with the frothy kick-foam of the swimmer ahead of me. It's challenging because I'd prefer to do the drills slower than they're swimming them so that I can focus on the stroke details. I'm also weak at just about every stroke except freestyle, as I haven't really practiced these a lot in the last few months. Overall, I'm a reasonable swimmer -- and I've met my match.

I really like the challenge. They have different groups: A (fastest; longer workout), B+ and B (faster; longer workout), and C (slower; shorter workout). The first night I swam with the B group. These fishies are fast!! I was so very glad that I'd worked up to swimming 2,000 yards in close to an hour because that is what the B group seemed to do. The second night I swam with the C group, just to try it out. I was the fastest swimmer in that group. But it also seemed like a good fit because I'm only used to swimming once a week and I didn't want to suddenly double my swim yardage. So, for the next several weeks, I plan on swimming with both the B and C groups on alternating days.

I was really nervous before each practice. I worried that ... I'd suddenly forget how to swim. Or, I'd sink to the bottom of the pool. Sort of like my first job when I was worried that I'd walk into the office without any clothes on!! Each day for the first year or so, I'd check to see that I had clothes on before I walked into the office. At the pool, once I got into the water everything was fine.

Another big concern was my hearing loss. I told the coaches that I'm deaf. I felt that if the coaches provided leadership in demonstrating acceptance, than others would follow the lead. Before I joined the team, I had a strange premonition that one of the coaches would know sign language. This turned out to be true! One of the coaches is a certified perofessional interpreter. He signs really fast, and my comprehension is not that great. I have a very vague idea of what we'll be doing next, and then I try to follow along. I worried that my speechreading skills would not be that great, since I don't rely on speechreading that much now that I have the implant. This also turned out to be an unfounded worry. I was able to speechread my teammates discussing the upcoming exercise and in conversation. Not only will I be able to improve my swimming skills, I'll be able to improve my communication skills.

I was also a little worried about the cochlear implant. It looks like a hearing aid, but then there's the magnet that sticks to the side of the head over the swim cap, which is quite a different look. I decided that I was going to wear the cochlear implant around others right away so that they could get used to seeing it. This didn't seem to overtly faze anyone. I'll be trying to experiment with ways that I can get to know other people and converse with them while I have my implant on, since it's much easier to follow a conversation.

I pray that everything continues to go well.

Rebuilding

I haven't been running regularly at all, except for going out on the weekends with my husband. I've introduced him to my favorite trail which is a path through the woods where the leaves are turning color. I only run 2 miles now, so that means that I follow him for a mile, and then walk while he goes to the turnaround point and comes back, at which point I follow him again. I like the feeling of running and gliding along with a thick carpet of leaves beneath my feet. That's the enjoyable part.

Getting back into running regularly on the weekdays has been a huge challenge. I think I'm going about it all wrong. I finally Googled up articles on returning to running after injury, and I now believe the best way to do this is to start by walking 30 minutes with a 5 minute run, gradually increasing the length of the running portion, and then increasing the run to walk ratio, until I'm running 30 minutes. This should take about 4 weeks. I'll see how this works out.

Just to make it more challenging, my treadmill broke. This means no indoor running in the comfort of my basement, even if I'm staring at my insulation. I've been getting up in the wee predawn hours to jog outside, armed with a headlamp and dressed warmly, although the temperatures keep dropping. My biggest surprise is that I'm not the only one stirring at this hour. I see about three other cars warming up and getting ready to go to work.

Right now, swimming is the best thing that I've got going. It always makes me feel like a million, like running used to. After swimming, I'll get in the car and drive to work in bumper-to-bumper traffic, and it won't bother me. Ohmmmmmmm! I actually decided to cut back on swimming and gradually build up. I'll warm up, then swim about 800 yards working on my flip turns. Then I'll do another 500 free at a very relaxed pace, almost a cooldown, until I've been in the water for 40 minutes or so.

I'm reaching to the finish line with CAE studying. I've got one more domain to tackle and a final exam with my online course. I also need to produce notes for my study group on D10. After that, I'll begin taking practice tests and reviewing everything as I head for the finish line.

With the half marathon, I was completely unprepared for any alternate outcomes. But with the CAE exam, I've met *more* than a half dozen people who didn't pass the test the first time around--really bright people--and I'm mentally prepared for either outcome. And as I head into the final stretch, I have this feeling that 2008 is going to be redemption year -- the year that I try to accomplish what I don't accomplish in 2007.

Week 11: Crash and Burn

I made an appointment with my sports doc after my knee hurt in the swimming pool, which was too freaky for me. Then I went on a great recovery weekend run and a Tuesday morning 60 min. run and felt fine. So, I canceled the appointment.

On Thursday, I got on the treadmill and my knee hurt, so I began to experiment with solutions. I tried a longer warmup. Wearing my knee strap, then taking it off. Finally, 40 minutes later, I gave up. And then I couldn't go up and down the stairs or get up from a sitting position without knee pain. I knew I was in trouble. I've been limping around ever since and walking up the stairs with one foot. I'm back on my sports doc's calendar in two weeks.

I don't know whether to cry or scream. I spent months preparing for the half-marathon and now I don't know if it's in my future. I can't help but feeling that I'm being smited. Every time I run 8 miles, I get injured. I can't understand what I did wrong and why this happened.

What I do know is that I'll be cross-training until I can see the doctor, and then I'll make a decision about the race and any future sports participation. But it's hard to keep it from my thoughts as I move from sadness to frustration to self-castigation and maybe finally to acceptance. The endorphins will come in handy! I am so glad that this is a busy time of year and that I have the CAE pursuit, family, and work to take my mind off of this.

Week 10: Keep on Going

Due to time constraints and declining daylight, I finally took my training indoors to the pre-dawn hours. Don't even ask me how early I'm working out. And looking at my basement insulation for an hour is really interesting. This is going to take a lot of discipline - and a second cup of coffee for the drive to work. It's also strange because in the afternoon while driving my kid to soccer or tutor, I look at the runners and cyclists going by and think about running. Then I realize that I already did my run.

The highlight of my week was going to the local aquatics center for a Friday morning swim workout. I figure I can come in a little later on Fridays because typically I put in more hours earlier in the week, and I always wind up staying later to wrap up the week. After a search of local indoor pools, I found a pool where the water is warm and the membership is cheap!!! There's an open lane, a nice hot tub, and a swim suit dryer. What more could I want?

Otherwise, things are going along. Work is so so. I fall asleep while reading. I got the answer wrong on this week's scenario question. My knees hurt in the swimming pool!!!?? I wake up with a sore throat. I feel like I lack discipline half the time. Just keep on going. And keep on going. Because then when an easy 6 mile run comes along on a perfect early fall day ... or my kid gets in a chatty mood and decides to tell me everything about his day ... I can enjoy it even more.

Week 6: Yin and Yang

The week started out good with an easy 40 minute run with generous walk breaks. I swear, it doesn't make that much difference in time if I take walk breaks. My knee has been good, for the most part. I was working at home, so I took the opportunity to run at about 7 a.m. in the park. It always amazes me the number of people running in the park on a weekday, during rush hour when most people are commuting to work. There's some equipment sitting in the middle of the lake, but I never took much notice of it before. Today, I saw the equipment in action and realized that the algae is periodically removed from the lake.

This week, I did three workouts--run, bike, and run--on consecutive days. The whole thing is making me incredibly sore, and I'm a bit discouraged. I took Saturday off due to muscle soreness, skipped the swim workout, and then closed the week by running on Sunday (after volunteering at IronGirl). I'm also frustrated with wearing the knee band, which seems to help prevent knee soreness on longer runs. When people see me at the end of a workout with that band on, more than once I've been asked "Are you OK?" Yes, I'm OK!

I'm trying to figure out how to juggle all of the workouts so that I can complete everything without falling apart. I believe that the developers of the training plan envisioned that people were going to be doing a very leisurely bike ride or a very slow swim on their cross training days. Instead, I'm able to bring some conditioning to both sports and I'm an experienced swimmer, so I may be doing these workouts at a greater intensity and overdoing my crosstraining. Maybe juggling days will help and watching the overall intensity level of crosstraining will help. Maybe, just maybe, my body might adapt someday.

Phase I of my CAE prep came to a close. This weekend, I didn't do any real reading; instead, I'm reviewing my flash cards prior to my online class starting. I think I'll also go back and tackle the new edition of PPAM and take notes on the marketing book. Every time I turn around, I find a new book that's recommended reading, and now a book on core competencies in professional development is recommended reading before ASAE's course. I quickly ordered it and I'll tackle it when it arrives on my doorstep.

I think I finally comprehend the meaning of studying and running. To my understanding, it's like yin and yang -- the equal and opposing forces of mental and physical that when combined in proportion can complement and counterbalance each other to bring about an equilibrium to life.