Are We Having Fun Yet?

I have a coworker for which this is their standard water cooler greeting, similar to "How's it going" or "Sounds like somebody has a case of the Mondays!"  Of course being at the office the standard reply is usually some version of no thanks and when can we go home?

Yet it is a very relevant question.  Are we having fun?  Am I having fun in everything that I am doing?  Is training for a half marathon, while learning a whole new way of swimming, and also trying not completely lose to ability to identify my bike, all at the same time, actually fun?

My daughter thinks the
treadmill is seriously fun.

As adults we spend tend to describe facets of our lives as rewarding, meaningful, fulfilling... but not often fun.  In my experience, most problems can be fixed not by excessive over-analysis, but with more fun.

On the trail

Yesterday Gypsy took our kids for the entire day, giving the Jedi and I several blissful hours of uninterrupted time to just enjoy each other's company and talk.  As our kids + her kids = 6 kids solo for the day, this earns her Best Friend of the Year and Mother of the Year simultaneously.  Seriously.  We went for a nice long cross-country ski on the rail trail, and followed it up with some chores around the house (remarking the whole time how quiet it was) and lunch out at our favorite local sushi place.  I cannot describe to anyone who is not a parent what a tremendous gift it was to have that much time together, and how much ground we covered as a couple. Career.  The kids.  Training.  The correct method of snow removal from our driveway.  The future.  The past.  All these things that you never get a chance to really connect about when the day-to-day reality of work and parenting turns you into Mrs. "Why can't she stop leaving dirty clothes all over the house" and Mr. "You always load the dishwasher wrong".  So that was excellent.  Just a few hours of fun together smoothed over months worth of bumps in the road.  Not that we have major bumps in the first place.  But nothing is perfect, not even us.

Wine and Sushi.  Big fun.

After Sunday's race, I was seriously questioning my sanity and the fun-ness of training this time of year.  I mean really - THIS is the correct way to cover a long distance on semi-packed snow:  Not running.

They make these things called skis that slide over the snow....

Similarly, getting out of bed early, trainer rides, and cold pools were starting to top my list of non-fun things. Ditto for lonely long runs in the cold that left me Cranky Tired Mom afterwards.  Ironically one of the reasons I wanted to run longer distances was to be able to go out with some of my runner friends.  Who now are running much less or not at all because of the weather, leaving me to soldier on alone.  Not fun.  So friends - as it warms, expect me to come for you.  I'm a lot faster than I was last fall and I want buddies again!!!

I talked to Sheriff about all of this in a few back and forth emails, and we decided that truly, what is needed is less pressure and more fun.  He even gave me license to "goof off". (I'll be testing the limits of what that means!).  We agreed that for the next few weeks, it's ok if I can't get up super early.  The cycle of packing for a workout, hitting the snooze and then feeling guilty about it all day is killing me.  I will religiously complete my three key runs a week to get ready for the New Bedford half, but other than that I can swim, bike, ski, yoga, or lay around with the kitty as much as I like.  This sounds like fun.

For clarity, here are some examples:

Not fun: commuting home in a huge snowstorm - the third in four days.
Fun: stopping at the gym to wait out the storm, and doing a 2000m swim set that felt like much less, in a completely empty pool.  Oh yes, this happened today.  After running a pretty fast 5K on the treadmill this morning.  Funny how I celebrate freedom to punk off by working out twice in one day.... hmm......

Not fun:  Watching every. single. thing. I. eat.
Fun: Weirdly slug-like and suggestive flambeed banana.

Not fun: Endless trainer rides in the cold basement.
Fun: Trainer rides in the warm living room, while watching Game of Thrones Season 3 which we got on DVD yesterday.  I'd adapted this drinking game for use on the trainer.  Shift up a gear every time someone dies.  Spin up whenever a White Walker appears (bike away!).  Stand up and push for 3 minutes whenever a main character dies.  The Red Wedding episode is gonna be tough....

How do you make exercise fun when you really aren't feeling it?

Any other GOT and SciFi geeks shout out!  (come now don't be shy....)  I'll send you the complete rules to Trainer GOT.....

For your meditations - watch the pretty snow fall......

How Did I Get Here? 2013 in Review

This was me in March of this past year.  Beer in hand, having just jogged/walked the St. Patrick's Day 5K in 35+ minutes.  On a dead flat course.  Followed up immediately by chugging two beers and having the brilliant idea to buy my kids a plastic toy trombone thing that deeply annoys us (and certainly the neighbors) no end.

Now admittedly, that race was a blast because I was there with two awesome friends, BUT I've come a long way since.  I've read innumerable blog posts from other athletes summing up their years, so in the interest of not making mine just one more, I'll try to keep it brief.  By the numbers:

• 6 5K races.  That includes 2 color/glow runs and a Warrior Dash
• 2 10K races
• 3 sprint triathlons
• 150+ miles of charity bike rides
• 3 rides up and down Mt. Wachusett
• 4-5 open water swims across a substantial lake and back, during none of which did I drown
• 764 miles logged total, according to my various compulsive tracking programs.  That's combined sneakers, wheels, and swim.
• 12 pounds lost
• 5 weeks in a walking boot on crutches
• 1 coach obtained

I love numbers just as much as the next endurance athlete, but the most important moments of 2013 are those that can't be quantified.

Like becoming a triathlete on the same day as my kids.

And teaching them to love being active as much as I do.

Like getting spectacularly messy with friends.

And meeting some of the most amazing women I know.

Also defying the number are how many fears I've conquered, and how much I've learned - not just about the sport and being active, but about myself.

• I am no longer afraid of falling off of the back of treadmills (though maybe I should be).
• I know the difference between a spin bike and a regular exercise bike.
• I learned how to swim (kinda....)
• I learned how to put on a wetsuit.  Even more impressive, how to get one off.
• I learned how to change my own bike tire.

• I learned how to shower at work and wear spandex in front of whatever coworkers happen to see me running near the building without being embarrassed.
• I learned how to sleep in workout clothes in order to get up and out the door just that much faster for a 5:45 a.m. strength class.
• I learned I push myself too hard.  In all things.

• I learned just how important it is to have Date Night.

• I learned that many people will not understand, and not be supportive.  You lose friends.  But you also gain friends, and those that stick with you and cheer you on are worth a dozen of the ones who drift away.
• I learned that a really good workout is better therapy than a really good beer.  And that when you can't have one all of a sudden, the beer doesn't really help either.
• I learned am learning moderation.  And humility.  And hopefully to let things go and let someone else drive for a while (that's the coaching part.  Eventually I imagine he'll stop letting me schedule my own workouts).
• I even learned that I'm not actually afraid of things I thought I was.  Like rock climbing...

next up... dinosaurs (maybe)

So yeah, 2013 was a heck of a year.  Add in our oldest starting school, our first year doing wedding cakes, and the day to day business of sick kids, ER visits, work, promotions, bills, homework, and forgetting to buy cat food and I'm somewhat amazed I'm still standing.  I don't believe in New Year's Resolutions specifically, but I do have some ideas for what I want to work on next in this journey on mine.  

More on that soon...

Don't Swim Angry. Or Do.

I've been angry.  Really, really angry.  At just about everything.  And guess who I've been taking it mostly out on?  Those people that have the misfortune to live with me and take care of me - my husband and kiddos.  Mostly my husband.  You see, yesterday the office called to schedule my MRI, they gave me a 7:45 am. appointment this Friday.  As we had been told it would take 7-10 days to get an appointment (and this was only 5) I was happy.  I knew it was early, but I called my neighbor to ask if she could watch my daughter and put her on the bus, and my son's preschool to drop him off early.  Called the elementary school.  All arrangements - no problem.  And then I told my husband.  In the two second pause before his lukewarm reaction of "Ok", I saw it.  Saw how it was inconvenient.  It didn't fit into his schedule.  He'd have to get the kids up earlier.  And I was livid.  He tried to save it by saying "I just wish you didn't have to go through this", but the damage, in my mind, was done.

All day today whenever he's come to check on me its been with the careful smiles and solicitude of a person who's not sure if their patient is going to burst into tears, bite their hand, or throw something at them.  He's been great.  Finally before dinner he sat down and basically asked me what the heck was going on.  Was I nervous about the MRI?  No.  Mad?  Yes.  Very very mad.  At the same time, understanding that I shouldn't be that upset and that yes I was feeling pretty down.

Jedi then made the best suggestion ever.  Since it's still early, do you want to go to the gym?  YES!!  So we fed the kids, I scribbled a workout on my hand, and off we went.  Jedi would watch the munchkins up in the kid gym while I swam.  I posted a status that I was going, to have Coach Sheriff comment to "kill that 300".  You got it.  Coach is watching.

The pool in the evening is very different than my usual early morning sessions.  For one, it's dark outside.  Big glass windows of dark.  I got there at 6, when most people are eating dinner, so it was just me and the seniors water fitness class.  I did my warmup.  I floundered through my drills.  I am not the most dedicated swimmer - in fact today might be the first day I've actually finished a swim workout.  I had a very comical moment where I couldn't reach my water bottle which I'd placed on the starting block.  Several jumps, pulling self up, falling back into pool, etc. and the 16 year old lifeguard came over and asked if I need help just as I finally got it. I'm sure I looked like a wetter version of Scrat from Ice Age with his acorn.  Then I got into the workout set - my 300 endurance swim.  I was tired.  My foot hurt even from the force of the water flowing by it.  About the 3rd lap, I started to get really, really mad.  Shouting in my head - at my husband (what do you mean inconvenient!  it's not convenient for me either!), and my kids (I know it's past your bedtime - suck it up buttercups Mommy needs to finish!), the medical system in this country.  My job.  The list went on for several more laps, until I was spent.  All of my anger was left behind in the water.  As I cooled down with shaking muscles, I felt calm and tremendously grateful.  That is what exercise is for - to let you bleed and sweat out every last negative feeling you have until you are physically, mentally, and emotionally released.  It is wonderful.

On the way home, Jedi also explained that my MRI will be the morning after Halloween, and if the Socks don't win tomorrow, the morning after Game Seven of the World Series.  So it's possible that he'll be functioning on about four hours of sleep.  Alright - for all of those reasons, I'll forgive him that two second delayed response.  All is well in our house again.

Tomorrow night an awesome friend is coming to pick me and my daughter up and bring us (oh yes) to a bar.  My little girl got in a habit of coming to Zumba class with me and my girlfriends and then out for drinks after this past spring.  She likes the Shirley Temples.  She's requested to go out with "Mommy's grown up girlfriends".  It is good friend indeed that will not only join you to bar hop with a kindergartner, but will also drive.  I'm grateful to have those friends.  Don't worry - we'll go before the game starts.

My best drinking buddies

P.S.  For those that can't read my handwriting (get it?  HAND writing????) tonight's 1100 meter workout was:

• Warmup: 6x50 with :30 rest
• Drills: 4x100 with :30 rest, broken into 25 scull/25 swim/25 fist or fingertip drag/25 pull
• Main set: 300 endurance
• Cooldown: 1x100 easy