7 Days Until....

Think Like a Bumblebee

This list of inspirational quotes, a combination of excerpts from the opening chapter in my tri training guide, has been taped inside my bedroom armoire for several months now (it spent its first few weeks taped to my bathroom mirror). I'd like to say that I've read these quotes every day, reflected on them, and used them to fuel my training. But honestly, if they weren't already somewhat true of my existing mindset, I doubt I would have made it this far. I've glanced at them a handful of times, but other than that they've served more as a conversation piece when I've inadvertently left that door open than anything else.

Today, though, I went to Audubon Park to practice "steering with my bum, not with my hands" on the bike. Resting on my hands is what caused my injury last week, plus I'll need to be able to fuel while on the bike, which means reaching for water and energy packs while in motion...an impossible feat if I'm leaning on my arms for balance.

I've always believed I've had terrible balance. I see kids riding their bikes and chatting on their cell phones and think "holy crap that looks impossible!"

But, within a few minutes' time today, I was riding one-handed, and then no handed, reaching for my water with ease. I discovered that the balance I thought I'd have to achieve on the bike was actually already there...I just needed to trust myself (as cliched as that sounds).

This made me think about that first quote: "Train like a bumblebee." This refers to a myth that, due to their body mass and the size of their wings, it should be physically impossible for bumblebees to fly. But they fly anyway. (I believe in my book it says, "Nobody told THEM they couldn't do it!")

Of course, though the book treats it as fact, I said myth. Here's an explanation from Wikipedia.org:

"It is believed that the calculations which purported to show that bumblebees cannot fly are based upon a simplified linear treatment of oscillating aerofoils. ...More sophisticated aerodynamic analysis shows that the bumblebee can fly because its wings encounter dynamic stall in every oscillation cycle."

To sum it up: Nothing that is IMPOSSIBLE is possible...that would be..impossible. But what is SEEMINGLY impossible is often possible, such as me steering with my bee-hind after just a few minutes of practice. (Badum...tish.)

I think that's what made this goal exciting for me. If I do complete this race, it will be just within what was possible for me to achieve in this given period of time. A larger goal would have been too much - I would have gotten discouraged and shut down. A smaller goal would not have been motivating, and I would have gotten bored. Goldilocks found her "just right" goal and she's sticking with it.

A Psychology Today article from a couple months ago discusses "peak moments" - unforgettable moments in our lives during which we are the happiest. Some of them can be spontaneous, such as a beautiful sunset you remember for the rest of your life. Others can be over an extended period of time, working hard toward a goal that is exciting and challenging. I'm definitely in that extended "peak moment" now - I don't think I've ever been happier than these last five months. So whatever the result, whether I buzz through race day effortlessly, or my wings give in to the weight, the time leading up to it has been worth it. So if you're looking for a pick-me-up, I'd definitely recommend taking on an improbable goal and sticking to it: It's a pretty "fly" experience.

(painfully cheesy ending. sorry.)

9 Days Till...

Some of my equipment

Swim (seal suit)

Bike (Giant Avail)

Run (old Spiras)

10 Days Until...

Learning the Hard Way

I sit typing this very slowly, both wrists wrapped in gauze to ensure I don't bend them back. (Reference: 11 days until...) All because I was too stupid to wear gloves for a four-hour bike ride. They're almost better, but I still don't have complete function in my right fingers. Currently when I straighten them, (for those of you cool enough to have watched "Mork and Mindy" as a kid) I'm stuck in a permanent alien salute.

I should have been more careful, I know. But I grew up with paranoid parents constantly warning me of the dangers of every activity except for breathing. Did you ride the bus as a kid? I didn't. I was the last one in the car line waiting for my mom to get off work, because if I'd ridden the bus, I would have been required cross the street BY MYSELF (horrors!). Gymnastics? I was great! But I had to quit because my mom was afraid I'd break my neck. What about getting on an airplane to go on vacation? Nope...road trip! Dad is afraid of flying. To be fair, he DID work in an emergency room for several years...I guess they'd seen it all.

So, in silent protest, I've often snubbed my nose at taking precaution. Not that I exactly consider myself a "rebel" (I mean, I like, wear my seat belt and all), but if I don't consider something life threatening, I assume I can probably get by with cutting a few corners.

Apparently, though, when you're training to propel yourself 70.3 miles by sea, bike, and foot, you need to actually....IDK...prepare as much as possible? Go figure.

Let's look at all the things I should have been doing that I haven't:

1. Taking vitamins. There's a full bottle sitting in my cabinet, untouched.
2. Wrapping my feet with gauze to straighten my alignment. My massage therapist told me my feet naturally drop to the side (like a cowgirl...yeehaw!).
3. Wearing the right workout shoes. Three year old tennis shoes, no matter how great they were at purchase, do not = the "right workout shoes."
4. Wearing the right non-workout shoes. Heels do not = the "right non-workout shoes."
5. Stretching, before and after every work out. I stretch MAYBE once a week.
6. Sitting on the bike correctly. I've been gripping the handlebars for dear life rather than crouching in an aerodynamic pose and relaxing my hands. Hence my injury.
7. Also during biking, wearing the right gloves (with gels) and wrapping my handlebars (also, hence, my injury)
8. Strength training. I'd be in a much better place with speed and endurance, and less prone to injury, if I'd bulked up more.
9. Eating better...much better. And drinking more water.

So, for the next 9 days, I'll be a vitamin-taking, orthopedic shoe-wearing, foot wrapping, gel-gloved strength trainer with good bike posture holding a bottle of water and eating carrots. I can't make up for lost time, but I can make the most of the time I have. I guess that's true of everything in life.

Meanwhile, I'll also be figuring out the exact salt, electrolyte and fluid intake I need directly before, during, and after race. This one is BIG - I could actually get something called hyponatremia (which means I take in more fluid than I lose and dilute the sodium content in my body) and get really sick or even die during the race. (Read about it here: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=790). Women and/or beginning triathletes (check and check) are more susceptible to this, since they are slower and therefore racing / sweating / drinking fluids for a longer period of time.

As a result, getting a good nutrition consult is also on my list of to-do's this week. I'll need to determine how much sodium I lose in a typical workout (I have a feeling it's a lot - deer hunters could use my services as a salt lick by the end of a long run). Then I'll know what I need to do to be safe during the race.

And if I'm tempted to think, "it won't happen to me," all I need to do is look at my bandaged wrists and remember that sometimes (ok most of the time) momma knows best.

Damn...it took forever to type this post.

11 Days Till.....

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

I hate it when archaic -isms are right. I'll be taking a break from blogging and all other things involving typing to attend to my Handlebar Palsy, which I acquired from 4 hours of biking w/o gloves on Saturday. (Just typed all of this with one finger).

Hope to be back in the game by Fri. Cold and hot compress time!

Read of my suffering here: (I've got type 1): http://bicyclingaustralia.com/node/262

12 Days Until...

A Farewell to the Voices in my Head

Other than my workouts with Jamela the first two-ish months of my training, I've pretty much flown solo on this whole triathlon thing. As I write this, I'm staring at a couple of books currently occupying my coffee table: Endurance Sports Nutrition and The Triathlete's Training Bible. These books, along with The Paleo Diet for Athletes and Triathlete Magazine's Essential Week-by-Week Training Guide, have coached me along the way. Recently I've linked up with GNO Tri for some group swims, and if I can get up early enough this weekend, I'll go with them on a bike ride this weekend as well.

But tonight I realized I needed to acknowledge the people who have spent countless hours cheering me through each and every workout....albeit unknowingly.

Included in their ranks are Lil' Wayne, Cee Lo Green, and Nikki Minaj.

As stated in a previous post, I'll be hanging my music out to dry for these last few workouts, because, alas, my high-profile friends will not be allowed to ride and run with me come April 17.

During tonight's workout though, I cheated and spent some final, quality time with my playlist...partly for the sake of this post, and partly because the thought of an hour on the stationary bike with no music or other form of entertainment just seemed unbearable. (real biking without music is one thing..but fake biking..ugh).

I've always thought of music as a sort of time stamp for life, and I think that's what this play list has become for my training. It just so happens that I got a new iPhone back in October when I was in Chicago, right at the beginning of my training. The AT&T store where I purchased the phone was able to transfer pictures and other info from my old phone, but NOT my songs..I was supposed to do that from my MacBook. Unfortunately, when I got home I discovered that my old Mac was so full of JUNK that it couldn't download the new iTunes...etc., etc., it was going to be too much trouble to sync up everything and get my old music off.

So I started my playlist from scratch. Since I didn't want to RE-download anything I already had (with the intent that I WILL one day work out the bugs and get that old music off), I only downloaded new stuff, or old stuff I didn't have yet.

The result has been that my iPhone consists primarily of "work out" music - songs and artists that get me running faster, but that I wouldn't necessarily fall asleep listening to, or enjoy in my leisure time.

Of the 156 songs in my play list, tonight I counted 15 that I would consider "power songs" - the tunes I actually listen to all the way through at least 75% of the time, because, for whatever reason, they get me through the difficult parts of my workout.

As I was going through these, I thought about WHY they are my power songs. I mean, why would a song I wouldn't necessarily listen to in my spare time be exactly what I need during intense physical exertion?

I broke it down into these reasons:

1) Something about the beat!
2) Strong emotion (channeling someone else's anger, hurt, or elation to power me through)
3) Braggadocio (I'm the best, and because you're listening to my lyrics and running or biking as well, you're the best, too...and if you run/bike faster you'll be even better)
4) Catchy Lil' Wayne interlude (I love this dude's voice...it should annoy me, but instead I find it appealing? It's strange).

So, here are my 15 Power Songs, followed by the reason(s) I believe they made the list: (they are in alphabetical order except for #1, the clear power song winner):

1) Destiny Child's Survivor - the beat!, strong emotion, braggadocio (add Lil Wayne to this one and you've got a four star!)
2) Bow Chicka Wow Wow (featuring Lil Wayne), the beat! and, the other is obvious from the title
3) Can't Be Friends - Trey Songz - Strong Emotion
4) Down On Me - Jeremih and 50 Cent - the beat!
5) F**k You - Cee Lo Green - The Beat, Strong Emotion (specifically, repeated use of the "F" word)
6) Fly - Nicki Minaj and Rhihanna - Braggadocio
7) I Ain't Thru - Keyshia Cole and Nikki Minaj - the beat!, braggadocio
8) I'm the Best - Nikki Minaj - the beat!, braggadocio
9) If I Ain't Got You - Alicia Keys - Strong Emotion
10) Jar of Hearts - Christina Perri - Strong Emotion
11) No Love (feat. Lil Wayne)- Eminem - the beat!, Strong Emotion, Lil' Wayne interlude
12) Pretty Girl Rock - Keri Hilson - the beat!, Braggadocio
13) Raining Men - Rihanna and Nikki Minaj - the beat!, Braggadocio
14) Sure Thing - Miguel - the beat!
15) Welcome to My Hood - the beat!, Lil Wayne interlude

And...if you're laughing at the thought of me jamming out to "Welcome to My Hood" as I run down the street....go ahead and have a giggle. It's pretty ridiculous.

Farewell, play list!

- HH

Tips for Riders....from Down Under!

This is a Great article on being a better biker.

Reasons why it’s great:

1. It’s from “Australian Rider”, so I can read it with an Australian accent
2. It contains the phrase “Poo off the Shoe”
3. One major piece of advice? “Steer with the bum, not with the hands”
4. And oh, it has the info I was looking for.

Check it out: http://www.australiancyclist.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=13258

13 Days Till...

Less than two weeks remain before my big event, and I’ve decided it’s high time to start recording some of my thoughts, seeing as I’m not sure if I’ll do one of these again (at this distance) and anyway, like anything else, there’s no time like the first time.

Also, for these last two weeks, I am ditching audio devices during my training, since I won’t be allowed to use them during the race. This gives me an exorbitant amount of think time during which, left to my own devices, I might create a plot to take over the world or something. And if said plot was hatched and proved successful, I doubt I’d really WANT the world once I had it….in which case I’d have to hand it over to my parents. And they’re too busy taking care of my dog and finding homes for various stray cats I send them to worry about running a world.

So…better I use that time to reflect on my training thus far.

Today, during my swim, I was thinking about how I even made it to this point. In September of last year, I was huffing and puffing after swimming just ONE LENGTH (that’s 25 yards, or one trip across the short part of an Olympic-size pool). Now I’m swimming the whole 1.2 miles (which is about 76 lengths….yikes!) in about 43 minutes, and contemplating how I can get it down to 40 minutes by race day.

What’s nuts is, swimming was the event I was most concerned about going into this. In August and September, I was getting into the pool, doing a few laps in horribly incorrect form, and thinking I just “wasn’t a swimmer.”

Thank God I mentioned to Jamela that I was thinking of training for a triathlon. The stellar teacher / opera singer / kindest person I know also just HAPPENS to be an experienced swimmer who has TRAINED PEOPLE FOR TRIATHLONS. You know, like, in her spare time. (What??)

So, she volunteered to help me out. We started meeting on Mondays and Wednesdays at 8 p.m. at the Tulane Reily Center, and kept up our tradition for a long time. We’d swim first, and run afterwards.

I remember when I first felt like a “real swimmer” was after our first swim lesson, Oct. 26th, when I learned proper stroke and breath form.

Because I was SO WORRIED about the swim, I’ve devoted the most attention to that event. I don’t think I’ve missed a single swim workout in my 20-week training plan. And now, I do believe it’s my strongest event (knock on wood). My new swim challenge is the dreaded open water swim, during which I’m convinced I’m going to be attacked by a school of hungry piranhas, or the giant alligator from Placid Lake.

I’m hoping my healthy fear of nature will help me get to that 40-minute mark.

Peace,

HH