If At First You Don't Succeed...

No laughing allowed as you read this post!!! Today, I was going to participate in a weekly Saturday morning bike ride organized by a local women's bicycle store and I was really looking forward to it. But then I began to have doubts and psych out. I see people with very expensive bicycles at the YMCA for a trainer workout and they look so incredibly fast. What if these people showed up for the ride? I'd never done the course before and hadn't even gone that far.

I decided that I would do the course by myself first, building up my confidence. I got up early Saturday morning, anticipating my ride. It was one of those spring days where I wished it was warmer than it actually was. As I set out, the wind tore through my long sleeve shirt and light jacket and through my light gloves, making the tips of my fingers hurt.

The route started out at the local park, and turned on a road past some government buildings. Then it goes past a new housing development, with homes starting at just under $1 million. Suddenly, there was the scent of cow manure and I found myself in the middle of farmland that I never knew existed in this suburban area. As I ride along, I could see white flakes drifting down. Snowflakes in late March with the temperature in the mid-40s!!?? My hands gradually warmed up...but then I heard a popping sound. Was that what I thought it was? Yep, it was. Five minutes later I could no longer ignore the bumpy ride cased by a rear flat.

I got off and walked up the hills, riding only when it was flat. I didn't want a small problem to become a bigger, more expensive problem by wrecking the tire and the bicycle rim. About 10 cyclists saw me on this well-known bike route, and each one asked "Are you OK?" I said that I was, but it was kind of a neat group of people that would express concern. I read somewhere that one should take a cell phone, ID and credit card on a long ride, and bringing the cell phone was the one smart thing I did. I called my husband who eventually came and got me.

The bike is now in the shop for the week, and I asked the friendly folks to show me how to take off the rear tire so I can change it myself next time. Guess I'll be getting that small seat bag, CO2 cartridges, and spare tube that I'd been putting off purchasing.

The day ended with another dose of discouragement as I drove the bike route for a race I was thinking about entering. It's a challenging course and I don't think I'm going to be able to get up the hills. Trying to find a race has been logistically challenging. Three conferences, a family vacation, and two overnight camps for one kid and another graduating and going off to college in the span of 12 weeks make for a very busy summer. Each weekend this summer, I'll be doing one of the above or prepping for one of the above. Guess I'll have to go back to the drawing board with this.

Above: You wouldn't believe the number of people who are unloading their vintage Centurion bicycles from the 1980s on eBay. Just for kicks, I set up an alert and here's one that looks like mine. In making repairs and adding parts, I've decided to preserve the retro look, like an old Volkswagen Beatle.

Sunday Run

I had a really nice run with my husband today. But it didn't start out being that way. It was a cool, drizzly morning that makes one have second thoughts about running. My husband proposed running from Patuxent Branch, around Lake Elkhorn and back, a 6-mile route. I wasn't really quite up to 6 miles yet, so I wanted to walk quite a bit.

My husband started out fast, and then midway through the run, he had a neat idea. He suggested that we run from bridge to bridge, and then walk a bit. Apparently, he doesn't like to run over bridges, and the walking part was fine with me. It turned out to be a really enjoyable run. I like running side-by-side with him, even if he listens to his iPod and then starts singing along! At the end of the run, the sun came out and raindrops hung from the branches, glistening with sunlight.

The run capped off a weekend that started with a Saturday morning 1,300 yd swim that included two 400m time trials, to get a seed time for a race I'm thinking about entering. It was a really warm, spring day, so I got in a 9-mile bike ride in the afternoon, and topped it off with my core routine. Then I did the run on Sunday and an abbreviated core routine. Afterwards, I was just pooped! When I look back at previous posts, I realize that I'm slower to hit milestones this year, like a 6-mile run, but at the same time, I feel stronger and things seem easier.

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.

What's Next?

After learning the results of the CAE exam, I was suddenly left without any Big Hairy Audacious Goals -- BHAGs -- and a lot of free time. I feel adrift, unable to decide what to do next or formulate any concrete plans for the next Big Thing. Should I go to graduate school? Am I really ready to commit to the life of an adult grad student for the next 3-4 years? Which program should I go into? Will a degree in mid-life really pay off? I find myself looking at other areas of my life wondering if there are other directions in which I would like to go.

It's winter, and as usual, I feel like hibernating. The one thing I've been doing a lot of is rest. I hit the sack at an early hour and I no longer need two alarm clocks to get up. I've finished a cable knit scarf (I'll post pictures soon) and am now working on a lace scarf for those days that aren't so cold. Scarves are nice show-off items!! I ordered all of the supplies for an afghan and let my kid pick out the pattern. He was so impressed by the cables on the scarf that he choose an easy cable pattern.

I've been spending a lot of time with my son and his homework and I know that the spring sports season is around the corner, about a month away. I feel that this focus is the right one.

Running, cycling, and swimming are all going well. Right now my focus is on getting into a routine and sticking to it. Tuesdays and Thursdays are double-workout days with running in the morning and swimming in the evening. Wednesdays are bike days. My weekday workouts are sandwiched by rest days on Mondays and Fridays. Saturday is a long run, and Sunday is a long bike day with stretch and strengthen thrown in both days for the sake of convenience. I'm very slowly building my base, and although I'm never quite satisfied with it, I know that patience is a virtue.

I'm eyeballing several races, but can't even decide what to pick! I had my heart set on IronGirl, but with my son going off to college around that time, I didn't want to commit to a race in which there might be a schedule conflict. I did my research and picked out another early summer race that seemed nearby, simple, and shorter -- but very hilly -- but I now realize that schedule may not be an issue. I hope that I can be guided in making some decisions.

Thilled To Be CAE

I secretly hoped and prayed that I might pass the CAE exam, but told everyone else -- and myself -- that I didn't think I would pass. But I passed the test!!!! I keep reading the notification letter over and over, just to confirm.

I am thilled to be CAE. This is a major career accomplishment.

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.

My So Called Scarf

Although I stopped knitting for much of 2007, this scarf is the result of my vacation knitting. I began this last year around this time and finished it a year later. Be sure to click on the photo for a larger picture of the really beautiful stitch. It is knit with ImagiKnit Manos del Uruguay yarn that is variated in both color and thickness using a pattern for My So Called Scarf. I originally got the idea from the International Scarf Exchange which has a list of links on the right-hand side for some truely beautiful scarf patterns. I knit this straight from the pattern, but after I finished the scarf, I realized that YouTube has a helpful video for mastering this stitch. Would have been nice to have this when I started!

People have commented that the bindoff allows the scarf to flare out at the ends. With this in mind, I cast on tightly. For the bindoff, I got some of the smallest knitting needles I could find, about a size 4, and knit one row of the pattern stitch and then did a bindoff stitch. It worked perfectly and I have a nice tight bindoff.

Right now, I'm working on a very simple knit-while-you-watch-TV pattern using really thick yarn that had been sitting in my stash. As soon as I saw the pattern, I knew this was the perfect yarn to use. Soon, I'll have a thick and warm warp around the neck scarf, perfect for winter mornings. More knitting projects to come!