Going Home Again

I went back home to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for a conference. When I got to the hotel, the first thing I did--instead of heading over to the conference--was go straight down Wisconsin Ave to the lakefront. Many things look the same as they did when I left about 18 years ago, but there are some changes. There's a new addition to the art center that I learned was built in 2000 (see the white building above). There's also some other buildings in that area, and the whole lakefront looks more manicured and built that I remember it. As another photo above shows, there are restaurants along the Milwaukee river, although it's still as brown as ever.

I passed the bank where I once got chewed out for parking my bike there. The irony is that there are now two bike racks in front of the building. I don't know if riding my bike more is making me more aware of cyclists, but it seemed that every five minutes in the late afternoon I saw a cyclist going by down Grand Ave. The streets are wider and even during rush hour, the traffic is not too congested, so it's easier to cycle downtown. It seemed that a new generation of broke college students were riding their bikes, just as I did. Some had old beat up bicycles, but some had new modern bicycles (hmmm.....), while I'm riding the same bike I rode in Milwaukee years ago. The street names on all of the buses that went by were familiar.

I stopped at the Grand Ave mall and ate a gyro. Most people cannot figure out how to eat a gyro with any dignity and avoid eating them. Should one pick it up and eat it, or use a fork and knife to cut the meat? My boyfriend would order a gyro right along with me, and that's how I knew we were compatible. There was a Greek restaurant on Oakland avenue that served gyros piled high with lamb meat, and we liked to go there. I typically spent only $10 - $12 on food -- for the week. But on this day, I spent about $6 on lunch.

The conference closed with a Summerfest Party, and I hooked up with a group and went down to the lakefront for the music festival. The others walked to one end of the festival, and then back. I went with them, covered in memories that I tried to push to the back of my mind. Everything looked pretty much the same, although the festival has grown up. There's no charging into the main stage for a concert and there are more bathrooms. But the people watching is still pretty interesting! Then, much to my disappointment, everyone wanted to leave right away.

I kept bursting into tears as I walked around, homesick for the town I'd left so many years ago. I think when I was younger, I was anxious to leave and start a new life in the Washington, DC area, and I left under ambivalent conditions. Now that my oldest son is 18 and grown, I thought about the life and town that I'd left and almost wanted to come back.

Fortunately, when the plane landed in Maryland, I stepped back into the life I've made for myself and everything was as usual.

Woo Hoo for my Sister

She says, "I did the Lake Pflugerville Tri (500 meter swim, 14 mile bike, and 3 mile run) and I got 5 th place in my age group! (out of 20)…..not too bad! To break it down even more, I beat the 1 st place woman (in my age group) in the swim! And I got 4 th place the run! My total time was 1:33. (one hour 33 minutes)"

Here's to a super talented sister! Way to go!!

Dew Tour

My kid took these photos! His dad, who's a journalist, got him a press pass to the AST Dew Tour and he went with a staff photographer who gave him some tips. The result: Great photos and an up close and personal look at the BMX bikers. Awesome!!

Manassas Mini Tri 2008

At first, I wasn't even going to do this race and instead go right to a sprint -- but I'm soooooo glad I did! I was inspired to do so because I'd read reports about other beginners starting with a super sprint. I'm really glad this series is held, because it's the perfect introduction to a triathlon, which is what it's designed to be, and for others, a great way to start the season. The distances were not intimidating at all:
250 yard swim
4 mile bike
1.4 mile run.

The race was an excellent opportunity to round up my gear and go! I was sooooo excited and nervous about the race, much, much more than I thought I would be!! I used a checklist given to me by a member of the swim team to round up my gear the night before. I fretted that I might forget something, but I didn't. Everything was just perfect. With three disciplines and two transitions, I worried that I would forget to do something, but I didn't. Well, I almost forgot to get bodymarked, but my helpful husband who came along reminded me. The pettiest things confounded me. I couldn't figure out how to get the race number on the race belt until I saw someone else do it. Once the race got underway, everything more or less fell into place.

Swim 5:18
I was seeded at the beginning of the race, and was the 36th person in the water (out of about 280). I found it really challenging to get in the water and go. Unlike a swim meet, we had no opportunity to warm up in the water and I had to get in and start swimming fast. The snake swim format of touching the wall on both sides of the lane marker plays into my bad habits. When given the opportunity, I'll hold onto the wall and take a few breaths. This gives me the opportunity to rest as people bunch up in the middle of the swim...but then we spread out, so it went well.

As I swam, I couldn't help but think that the swim team was great preparation. The race was almost like swim practice in which there's the intimacy of having 7 co-ed people in a lane and all the splashing that ensues. The swim team is also a great introduction to swimming as a contact sport as I sometimes accidentally hit other people and they accidentally hit me. Nobody complains. In the race, there was one guy tapping my toes, and of course I tried to swim faster, but I thought he should just back off a bit.

T1
Took really long....way too long. The transition times weren't reported, but it can be surmised from the overall time. I wore my crocs into the pool area and put my cochlear implant processor in them. A friend suggested that I put them near where I come out of the pool, but since I couldn't tell where I'd come out, I had to ask permission to walk across the pool and get it. I also expected this transition to be lengthy because I spent time putting on my socks and tying my shoes and generally assembling myself. Should I put on the race belt now, or later? I clipped and unclipped the belt. Sunglasses on or off? Let me decide. Next time, I'll make a plan and stick with it to avoid making all of these decisions mid-race.

Bike 21:18:00
Flat and fast, but for me very slow. Cycling is my weakest area and many people who were next to me in the swim passed me. I'll have to work on this. As I came back into transition, I also remembered to put my bike in lowest gear to generate leg turnover for the run.

T2
Much faster because I simplified things by using my running shoes for the entire race. But for the most part, the race was an opportunity to experiment and try things that I might do in the future.

Run 12:56
I started out behind a 61-year-old gentleman -- the oldest person in the race -- although I didn't stay behind him. I was surprised by how tired I was at the end of the short-distance race.

And then in 39:32 minutes, it was all over. I finished in the middle of the pack in my age group. I had a great time!








A sherbet green bike is really easy to find in transition!

First Brick

I did my first brick today by cycling 2 miles to my favorite park, running 2 miles on the trail, and then cycling 2 miles back home, and then running a short distance around the neighborhood. The shorter distances suited me fine, and I could see that the repetition of the final run was helpful, as that's where I felt the slowest on a morning that was heating up quickly. On the trail, I could also see a lot of other folks had the same idea of getting their runs in early before the heat came on.

Cycling back home, there's a long, steep hill and a sign prohibiting truckers with heavy loads. All last summer, I could never make it up that hill and always wound up walking halfway up. Today, I had no problem getting up the hill. And as LeftRightRepeat says, this is a small victory!

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.