Holy macaroni it's Tuesday again, and time for my weekly link-up with Cynthia and Courtney for TriTalk Tuesday! I was so focused on writing my race recap of Sunday's New England Trifest Olympic that I spaced on this until I was reminded late last night. By that I mean that I was an exhausted mess and very fuzzy and vague all of yesterday, so I took my kids to the beach and not much else. So everyone's going to have wait another day for my race recap (quick summary - it was awesome!!!!). The girls and I decided to stay in the swimming "flow" and continue the discussion of all things water with Swim Tools and Gadgets.
The short answer for me is that I don't use many. As a Total Immersion swimmer, the majority of focus in my training is maintaining proper balance and form in the water, thereby maximizing efficiency. While I do drills, they are focused in perfecting this balance and form, and do not use fins, pull buoys, kickboards or other "gadgets" that are common to most other swimmers. Putting a pull buoy between my knees destroys any balance I naturally have in the water - it just isn't helpful. So when I practice drills to maintain form while rolling to breath, keeping loose, and making sure my arms and legs are in the correct positions to create the most "slippery" shape I can in the water, it's just me and my swimsuit and goggles.
And if I'm in open water, my Safer Swimmer Bouy
That being said, there are a couple of training tools I use. The first is my tempo trainer. It is basically a metronome. A little do-hickey that sits in my cap and beeps while I swim. Total Immersion swimming is very mental (meaning mentally involved, not practiced only by crazy people). It is imperative to be very focused and present for every stroke of your workouts. A common goal in the pool is to count your Stroke Per Length (SPL). When I started my TI class, my SPL for a 25 meter pool was 30 SPL. Now my SPL is between 19 and 22, which is MUCH more efficient and consistent for a woman of my height. I really encourage you to check out my before and after videos - the difference is something I'm quite proud of.
Anyway, the idea is that you should maintain your SPL, which is a measure of your efficiency, no matter how fast or slow you are swimming. So a common drill I do is set my tempo trainer to beep slowly, swim, and slowly increase the speed up and then back down, making sure that my SPL stays more or less constant. It requires a lot of focus and counting in the water, which is why I also use this:
A finger lap counter and timer from SportCount. It is a very simple tool that you wear on your finger and just press the button at the wall. With all the counting of strokes per length, I sometimes lose track of what lap I'm on, and this helps. It also records the time of each lap, so I can see my pace, etc.
I also use the tempo trainer during races, since I know what my "comfortable" race tempo should be and I find it very helpful and settling to have my metronome beeping away during the swim, just like it does in practice. It keeps me from swimming too fast due to race nerves, or doing other things that are less than efficient in the water.
I also use my Garmin 310xt for swimming. Confession - I got the watch in April, and since getting it have not logged many pool workouts. When I have swam (which has been more or less once or twice a week), it has been in the open water. I don't know if that makes me a good triathlete for getting so much OWS time in, or a bad one for not getting focused pool swims in, but either way... I prefer OWS so while it's warm you'll find me at the lake. I don't wear it on my wrist during OWS because it tends to lose signal underwater, so I throw it in my swim buoy and tow it along behind me to get distances. Once uploaded into Garmin Connect and Training Peaks (love that they automatically sync now!) I get data like this:
Thus concludes that gadgetry that comes in the water with me! Just goggles, tempo trainer, lap counter, and if I'm outside my wetsuit and swim buoy. My Garmin is essentially an appendage at this point.
Race recap teaser - swim out Jazz Hands!!!!
What is your favorite swimming toy? Do you have a closet full or are you a minimalist like me? Tell us below and link up your blog!
Happy Tuesday everyone. It's really getting into the summer. Hard to believe we are dealing with 80 degrees days, too many bugbites, and sunburns after the seemingly un-ending winter we had in New England (and across the country). But summer it is, and with the warm weather comes the much-anticipated Open Water Swimming Season. We've chosen OWS as our topic for today, so along with Courtney and Cynthia, if you have a blog on the subject link it up below!
I talked a lot about techniques and tips for open water in our first TriTalk post, The Swim. Rather than to reiterate them (other than to again take the opportunity to say NEVER SWIM ALONE!), I'd like to share my thoughts and experiences so for this training season.
I've done 5-6 open water practices since mid-May. Yes, those first few ones were in very cold water and were short. In fact, I've hardly been in the pool at all in the last few weeks. When I do swim, I swim outside. Why?
I really enjoy open water swimming.
I grew up in upstate New York. It was about a three hour drive to any ocean. Summertime for me was long days at Greenwood Park, the local lake beach near our home. The feel of mud between my toes, the cool lake water, eating sandwiches on the gritty beach and begging my parents for popsicles from the snack stand.
My childhood stomping ground
I'm sure it the time of year and the fact that my own family is on summer break, but I'm feeling very nostalgic for those summer days. I learned to swim at a similar camping ground lake. Now my kids spend days at similar parks, and it brings it back. These parks are also where me and my training partners do the majority of our open water swimming. We even brought the kids along and parked them on the beach once with the Dads while the mommies swam:
My swim coach Gill started out our Total Immersion class with a comment that swimming is a very sensual experience. It is. The feel of the water on your entire body. Being supported by it. Water moving around you. Add in the open water portion and you have (to me), a very calming and fun experience. My most recent OWS was last week. I had had a killer stressful day at work, my husband was sick, and I was deeply frazzled. I met Gill and Gypsy at the lake for a swim. Gypsy was also pretty wound up with her own trying day. We were a bundle of nerves.
When we got in the water, it all melted away. It was a beautiful evening. Clear and warm. We swam, enjoying the peace and quiet of the lake. Just a few fishing boats. By the end of the swim we were giggling (not Gill - would not suggest that a man giggles) and chatting at our stops. Even Gypsy, who is as critter- and icky mud- phobic a swimmer as I've met. We came out feeling much calmer and centered.
New stomping ground: Photo credit Gill
Fun to swim outside the buoys!!
There are a ton of blogs and articles out there about conquering fear of the open water. I get it. I do. But the next time you are out swimming in a lake (or ocean, or river - wherever you train), I challenge you to remember back to being a kid. Back when you had no fear. When you still thought worms were cool. To summer days spent swimming and splashing. And have fun. Yes, your pace is important, as is sighting and many other skills for triathlon, but...
if you aren't having fun.... why are you out there in the first place??
Happy swimming everyone!! Next week we'll be getting back into the technical and talking about swimming gadgets, aids, tools, gismos, etc....
Sometimes triathlon is more than three sports. It is three sports, a job, two young kids with all the associated homework and activities, a mortgage, the weather, injuries, bills, and two cats that, despite my multiple attempts to convince otherwise, still feel that the bed is their territory and that their food bowls need filling at 5 am.
Triathlon becomes Decathlon.
Who set this bar so darn high????
In actuality, the word decathlon refers to a 10-part track and field event originating in the Olympics. Your daily Wiki trivia. But I think that it should also apply to a working parent / aspiring triathlete as well. Because there are days... ok there are weeks and months, where it feel like the daily juggling act pushes me to the very limits of my mental, emotional, and physical endurance.
I'm in one of those sets of days.
In addition to the usual, we're heading toward the end of the school year, with all the various assemblies and reminders. The kids schedules aren't that nutty for each of them individually, but adding their schedules into the family's schedule and my work/training schedule.... it all starts to look like this:
I used to get frustrated at my husband for calling me at work to verify their various appointments and practices. After all, he is the stay at home parent, and I have my own work schedule and training schedule to contend with. I have recently come to the realization that it is simply more than any human mind can comprehend and keep straight. This is clearly why man invented the IPhone. On any given day I have at least ten different email and pop-up reminders for tasks, appointments (both mine and the family's), and which workouts I'm supposed to do when. My google calendar is no less than 4 calendars merged together. Side note - I've changed my workout schedule so furiously the last few days that I'm pretty sure my coach is just hunkering down and wait for the storm to pass. He's good like that).
Introducing disruption into this particular vat of insanity can have dire consequences. I felt like I was teetering on the edge yesterday, and then I got the email from my daughter's dance studio detailing what each girl was to wear for accessories (the expensive outfit already having been purchased) and how to do their hair. There are about 20+ classes in her studio, so I scrolled down the list through "High ponytail", "Two pigtails","Braided bun", "Side ponytail"..... then down to my daughter's class.
Sock bun.
What? What IS that?? How did my kid end up in the complicated hair style class? I spent a few minutes googling and watching YouTube tutorials. I decided that there was no way my husband could conquer this hairstyle solo in time for her pictures. Heck, I'm not sure I can. I went through several mental scenarios involving him taking her over to a [more hairstyle competent] friend's house to be coiffed before practice, doing her hair in the parking lot (what if there is wind?), asking to leave work early to do it myself (even my boss isn't that tolerant!). Furious texting with another dance mom friend (her kid is in the ponytail class. Lucky duck). Finally figured out pictures aren't until later in the evening. Thank god.
They gang up on me
Exhausted from this and many other mental battles, I decided the best way to de-stress would be to go to bed after drinking far too much wine. But my coach and my husband weren't behind that approach, so I took second best. Excessive exercise. Since there was only so much time I could spend obsessing about sock buns and career paths, I looked up the courses and previous times from my upcoming Oly and obsessed about that instead. (Triathlon is so good for transference....) I decided it was imperative that I utterly exhaust myself with a 1000 meter time trial in the pool.
Actually, I decided to do 1500 meters, but my coach told me 1000 would be fine. Phew. At least someone has some sense. I've never done a time trial and really didn't know what to expect in terms of how fast (or horribly slow) I am since finishing Total Immersion class. I hit the pool at a quiet time of day, warmed up, and had a nice conversation with my lane-mate, an older woman who told me I was "a beautiful swimmer". Oh heck yeah, I'm beautiful. I will crush this! 21:40 later my trial was over and I was feeling pretty darn good about my swimming and my prospects for my Oly. At least one part of my life is in order....
Safe zone
Headed home to wage the Sock Bun Battle Part II: Implementation.
Which consisted of the Jedi and I cutting up 3 different socks, rolling them, watching several more videos, and a few attempts with my very patient little girl sitting on the bathroom stool while I brushed and rolled and pinned, swore unrolled brushed again and repeated the process. With her golden thick straight hair down to the middle of her back, my little girl is dead ringer for Rapunzel. She is actually growing it out to her ankles to see if it will turn magic (I'll cross that bridge when we get there). My husband helped by holding sections of her hair. Every so often she'd ask, "Mommy do you know what you are doing?" No honey, Mommy does not know what she is doing. Really at anything in life, so if you haven't figured that out in your six years of life, you're in for some more disappointments down the road.... "Is this supposed to be a two person job?" Yes lovey, all of parenting is a two-person job. Even dance recitals...
The result. Sock bun achieved. Good enough....
For all reasons related to sock buns, time trials, work stress, and a full brain... the alarm went off this morning at 5:15 and I just did not have it in me to get up. I've been tracking my resting heart rate for the last 2 weeks with my Sleep Cycle app. On a good day it's in the mid 60s when I wake up. A regular day, the low 70s. Yesterday it was 80 bpm and this morning was 85 bpm. Your resting heart rate can be a good monitor of how well your body is recovering between workouts (or other stress). Anything over an increase of 5 bpm or so might indicate overtraining or some other stress. Clearly a resting heart rate more than ten beats higher is a sign I'm burning out a bit.....
I think today will be a full rest day. I'm also trying to look through my various lists and to-dos and decide which I can safely ignore for a while. Or at least a day or so. Prioritize. Triage. Wine now?
Have you ever had something silly push you over the edge? I want to hear about it!
Welcome to my first post in our new Tri Talk Tuesday link-up with Courtney at The Trigirl Chronicles and Cynthia at You Signed Up for What. We started this link-up as a place for triathlete bloggers to get together and chat about all things tri. As relatively new triathletes, we all felt like there was a general dearth of free information and support out there for aspiring triathletes. Further, as bloggers, there's not a ton of places in the cyber-world to connect and share experiences. So please, leave your own TriTalk Tuesday link at the bottom of this page!!!
We decided to kick off our link-up with a topic that is on the mind of almost every beginner triathlete (and many seasoned ones, too).
The Swim
This is the leg of the triathlon that seems to generate the most anxiety among new racers. After all, there's a lot to feel apprehensive about. You've got to squeeze your jiggly bits into a speedo or worse, a wetsuit... you've heard stories about being punched and kicked in the start of the race. Furthermore, these swims don't always take place in nice, civilized pools. You have to go out "open water swimming", a phrase that is both baffling and frightening to the uninitiated. Plus, we as land mammals breath air!! Not water!! We're not the Little Mermaid after all! So what to do? Let's take this one step at a time....
1. Getting dressed.
Congrats! You've plucked up the courage, found a pool, and made time to swim. Time to take all you've got and squeeze it into a garment that you've likely not worn voluntarily (or at least, non-grudgingly) since your twenties. Athletic suits are fitted. Meaning no skirts, ruffles, padding or other funny business designed to hide or accentuate whatever part of yourself you think needs it. Deep breath - repeat this phrase:
No one cares what you look like in a swimsuit but you.
Say it once more for good measure. No one cares what I look like in a swimsuit but me. Get a suit that fits, is comfortable, and has no extra what-not to create drag. The old mommy onesie you have in the back of your closet will do. The string bikini that falls off at the slightest turbulence will not. Continue to repeat your mantra as you head to the pool deck. Mind your manners - don't stare at the other swimmers and they won't stare at you. We're all here to do our own thing. It's all good.
2. The actual swimming part.
This is the part I am lest qualified to talk about because frankly, I'm a beginner myself. I took a Total Immersion class that vastly improved my stroke. You can read about it here. Instead I'm going to talk about water anxiety. You may feel like everyone is watching you (they are not). You may feel like the pool is endlessly long and getting to the end of it takes more time and gasping breathes than you can manage, much less for the distance of any triathlon race. My best tips are:
Breathe. It's amazing how often this gets overlooked. The sensation of anxiety and panic is hard-wired in your brain. When you panic, you feel like you can't breathe. If you are pushing yourself so hard that you can't catch your breath, or you're so focused on the task of maintaining whatever swim mojo you have that you forget to take regular breaths, your brain might start to interpret it as anxiety. Your breath should be steady and natural. Breathe out continuously underwater, then in when you turn to breathe. Even if you have to stop, roll on your back, stand up, what have you - breathe. Breathe more often.
Breathe on both sides. This doesn't mean breathe every stroke, or even alternating all the time. It means become more or less equally comfortable turning your head to either side to take a breath. In addition to creating troublesome imbalances in your body, always breathing to the same side can leave you choking in a race when waves are coming from your strong side or another swimmer's feet are kicking up water at you. It's just a good habit to get into.
Relax your head and your neck. Swimming uses almost all the muscle groups in your body. It does NOT use your neck and head. Let those muscles relax and turn to jelly. Shoulders down your back. Head bobbing. The water will support your head, I promise. Check yourself as you move through your training set, as we have a tendency to tense up as we go along. Maintaining a relaxed head and neck will greatly reduce your overall tension, increase your calm, and improve your overall experience in the water.
3. The Open Water Swim
Now you've put in some good laps at the pool. You are confident you can swim continuously (or mostly, pausing for the occasional breather), for a good chunk of time. If you are lucky you live in a climate where ice does not cover your open water training areas for 9 months of the year (grouchy New Englander here). Time to head to the beach or the lake for open water swimming practice.
I really cannot stress enough how important it is to get in as much open water practice as you can before your first race. Especially if you have any qualms about swimming in general, or swimming in the great wide open specifically. It's a totally different experience. It's darker. There are no lines on the bottom of the pool to guide you. You have to "sight" to stay on track. You now share the water with various plants, fish and other critters.
Let's explore this one a little further. You will share your swimming space with lake plants, which can feel ticklish or grabby. There might be minnows that nibble your toes. A frog might jump. I have been swimming along and startled because a bass nearly hit my goggles. It happens. None of these creatures are going to harm you in any way. Nor is the mud/sand/rocks/pebbles/slime on the bottom harmful either. It just is. Make your peace with it. You have enough to worry about come race day without irrational fears that something is going to eat you.
This guy does NOT share your swimming space
Safety tips. the biggest one is.... Never, EVER swim alone!!!! "Not alone" means having someone swimming in the water with you, or in a kayak next to you, at close enough range that they would notice if you went under. Having your buddy drink sodas on the beach while you swim does not count as being with someone. Most areas have open water groups that will go out together - some investigation and putting yourself forward will hook you up with some new friends to swim with. Plus, as swimming outside designated areas is restricted in many areas, folks that have been doing this a while will help you sort out where and when are the safest places to go. Don't worry that you might be slower or less proficient than your new friends. Triathletes are by nature a gregarious bunch and most understand the importance of OWS, and that folks can't do it alone.
Grab a buoy. ISHOF SaferSwimmer makes these neat little blow-up bouys that clip around your waist and trail behind you. They make you more visible in the water, and are there if you need to grab onto them and catch your breath. Not just for beginners - anyone can have a cramp! Plus they hold your car keys and your GPS watch.
http://www.ishof.org/safety/ssd.htm
4. The wetsuit
Do I need one? Do I not need one? What's the difference between a wetsuit and a trisuit?? How do I put the darn thing on and whaddaya mean they cost at least $200????
Black is slimming
Here's the deal: wetsuits have two [potential] benefits. They make you more buoyant in the water, which if you are a poor swimmer who tends to drop their legs, will help you swim more quickly. If you have good swimming form already, you won't notice the benefit of this as much. They also keep you warm. They are going to be a necessity in some conditions - cooler climates and early/late races where the water temperature is too cold to do without.
On the flip side, wetsuits can feel confining, are hard to get on and hard to get off in transition. If you wore a wetsuit for a sprint triathlon in 90 degree heat you would like give yourself hyperthermia trying to get the blessed thing on you, and quite possibly spend more time trying to get it off in transition than you spent actually in the water. For warm weather, warm water races they are not necessary. If it's your first season and you are on the fence, there are many places that rent them for a day. Try before you buy. Or simply restrict yourself to races that don't need them as you get started.
Oh, and a trisuit is what you wear under your wetsuit and throughout the whole race. You wear the wetsuit over it and only for the swim.
5. The "mass-start"
The craziness of hundreds of swimmers packed together, pushing, kicking and grabbing at each other to reach the front. Swimming in a washing machine. Sounds pretty scary to me!
This was on Survivor, right?
Except that this has yet to happen to me. True, I've only done a couple of races. But I've employed a very simple strategy at both to avoid it.
Here it is: 1.....2....3.....4....5....6....7....8....9....10...
There you go. Now most swimmers are ahead of me and I have the water to myself. That ten-count just greatly reduced my anxiety at the start of a race and gave me my own "bubble" in which to swim. I'll make those seconds up later. You can also stand to the side a bit at the start. Don't cluster in at the middle. Don't hug the turn buoys as everyone cuts in there. As you become a more confident swimmer you can go use your elbows. I plan on positioning myself closer to the front and center of my wave in this years races than I did when I was a total newbie. But you have time to get there. Don't let a scary bad swim leg ruin your race.
Another great tool is attending an open-water swim clinic prior to your race. Many tri clubs put them on. I went to one last year sponsored by VMPS. Their coaches walked us all through many aspects of the open water swim, including a drill where we all bunched together and dove in on top of each other to simulate the mass-start. It was tremendously helpful.
My swim wave at a race last year. Isn't it pretty?
I hope this has been helpful. Was the swim your biggest hurdle getting started? Any heebie-jeebies I didn't address?
Whew that was fun! I think this was playing at the finish line (or somewhere) of the New Bedford Half Marathon last weekend. I thought it was ironic at the time, but it's been stuck in my head ever since (which makes a nice change from Frozen music). I'm going with it.
Buoyed by my resolution against negativity, I also took the advice of my wonderfully wise PT and friend Laura and signed up for the 100 Days of Happiness Challenge. It's simple - for 100 days you take just five minutes to appreciate and enjoy something that makes you happy. Then ideally you take a picture of it and share it via whatever social media floats your boat. 100 days of being annoying cheerful to your friends....
But in all seriousness, it is a great idea. When I was a kid, I also had a tendency to be pretty negative. Not remember the good stuff. Which, as a parent is deeply annoying when you spend all day playing with your kid and doing nice things for them only to have them throw a temper tantrum at bedtime. So my mother started a tradition of making me tell her three nice things that happened to me during the day. (We have also employed this parenting strategy with my daughter, who is a copy of me in all things).
When you have to deliberately find something to be happy about each day, it makes you appreciate your life more. Because, let's face it - most of life is craziness sandwiched between responsibilities and more responsibilities. If you don't look for them, it's easy to miss the small things that are most important. Also by tagging all your photos, you are able to look back over the days and months and get a picture of just how nice a life you really have. Even on days that aren't so great. Even on Mondays <<cough>>.
This weekend kicked off my 100 Days. It was a pretty amazing weekend.
Saturday morning the kids and I packed up early and headed to the gym. Although my Total Immersion class is now over, I am fond of our Saturday schedule. Plus Hummingbird is starting TI at the same time, so I wanted to be in the pool to make faces at her (which she appreciated). I had a really nice, comfortable swim set of about 1300 meters. It was slightly abbreviated due to child watch difficulties, but that's ok. I got to take my class picture with Gil, and received a TI swim cap as my finishing prize. Also bumped into (almost literally) Laura from A Fat Girl's Ironman Journey, which is the first time we've met in the real world versus online. Yay!
Me and Gil.
Hummingbird also hopped out of the pool long enough to give me another present out of the blue - Shwings!!
All Shwinged out!
I'm not sure what possessed her, but it was really sweet. I've wanted these for a while, just because I think they are cute. She told me that they would help me run faster. I guess she knew I needed a confidence boost. I felt so very lucky to have good friends. It takes a village to raise a triathlete.
I followed the swim set up with a spin class - something I have not done in literally months. I had forgotten how much fun they could be!
Total mileage for Saturday: BRICK Swim 1300 meters, Spin 22.1 miles in 53:46
In the afternoon we took our kids to a local historical museum and enjoyed the temps in the 50s and the warm(ish) sunshine. It was a perfect day.
On our run. There's a instrument business
the next town over.
Love me some French horn!
Sunday was cold again, and I did NOT feel like running. Happily (there's that word!) Sheriff has told me that I can keep my long runs close to the Oly distance (6 miles) from now on. No need for epic shenanigans in the cold for hours at a time. I was still in bed when Hummingbird texted that she was on her way. Shoot! Quick breakfast and throwing on my not-yet-clean running tights and we were off! We did a nice, slow 6ish mile loop from my house. My hips were still just a little tight, but overall I felt really great. So relieved to be feeling strong and well again after my tough run a few days prior. We even ran negative splits with the last 2 miles in the 9:00s for pacing!
Total mileage for Sunday: 6.2 in 1:04:03 plus some good yoga
After lunch it was back to the Y with the kids for their swim session. Humongous mommy brag alert:
Both kids now swim with no floaties or bubbles.
I was thrilled. Getting my girl into the water has been a pretty big deal - she has a lot of fear to work through. It's just a great milestone for them both. I rewarded them with pizza and hitting the Lowe's to pick out seeds for their garden this year.
Helpers.
We rounded out the weekend with some new recipes - broccoli rabe from our organic vegetable share, and maple white chocolate brownies in honor of our visit to Maple Days at the historical museum. One upside to scaling back the cake business is that I have the energy and inclination to bake for the family. The kids were so happy when I answered Yes! to their question of "is that for us?" instead of telling them the treats were for customers....
Maple brownies
So now it's Monday. I have the kids cold, so perhaps I should be grateful for modern medicine:
Or perhaps I will be grateful when I get to go home and curl up again with this one:
Cuddle me!
There is a lot to be happy and grateful for. Even on Mondays. Let's hear it for the next 97 days and me keeping this streak alive!!
This coming Saturday is the last day of my Total Immersion class. I started taking TI back in December, with little to no previous swim instruction. My first season of triathlon swimming felt more like what I imagine a hamster would feel like if you threw it in a pool - lots of thrashing around, fear, and not much forward momentum. Certainly the swim leg of my first two sprints was something that I survived, rather than excelled at. I've already written one post mid-class extolling the virtues of TI swimming and how it has changed my experience in the water. Coming to the end of the class I can only repeat the already positive things I've already said. If pictures paint 1000 words, then videos must be even more illustrative. So here you go:
BEFORE
AFTER
Some of the big differences should be obvious between my swimming at the beginning of class and end. Overall, I'm a lot quieter in the water (less splashing). That's not because I'm moving more slowly. I'm not. My overall stroke count for 25 meters has gone from 30 strokes per length to 19 strokes per length. That's consistent at most paces for me now, even when I'm stroking pretty quickly (which I'm not in these videos bc of my sore shoulder). My head position is much better, even though I have room to improve on that while breathing. My balance in the water is greatly improved. My legs no longer sink if I'm not kicking vigorously. I can, in fact, swim without kicking at all and still maintain my position. These are all huge improvements.
Some differences you cannot see. That I enjoy swimming much much more now. That I find it relaxing instead of stressful. That I look forward to my swimming days instead of dread them. That I'm looking forward to the open water season in a way I never did before.
There is a certain amount of discord regarding the "right way" to swim. Total Immersion vs. conventional practice. I cannot speak with any confidence about right and wrong outside my own experience, which is that TI helped me learn to swim in a way that was right for me. By breaking down every part of your stroke, teaching me how to relax in the water, teaching balance, swimming has become a completely different sport. Completely different experience. I would highly recommend it to anyone who feels like a drowning hamster, is starting their first or second season and is still uncomfortable in the water, or just wants to learn a different way of looking at swimming.
(Side note - do not ever google "drowning hamster" in an attempt to find a funny cartoon for your blog. It's disturbing. People are sick)
Loose Ends - Injury / Diet Update:
I went to physical therapy this afternoon for my shoulder and for a wicked case of TMJ that I seem to have developed. It happens a few times per year when life gets particularly stressful. Which it is for me at the moment. A cocktail of work stress, kid stress, and taper week stress has caused my body to revolt. I've cried about seven times in the last 24 hours, twice actually at work (which is awesome. Highly recommended for your career).
Anyway, the folks at Central Mass Physical Therapy are great. A large proportion of their practitioners are triathletes, including my therapist Laura who also follows my blog. The latter is great because they really take a whole-body, whole life approach to your therapy (including keeping you up and training as much as possible). The latter is great both because she clearly has excellent taste in reading material, and because I never have to fill her in on what I've been up to.
Laura noted (rightly) that I never wrapped up my Clean Eating adventure. I've alluded to it, but yes, I did drop off the clean eating wagon. For a multitude of factors. Cost, my son's utter rejection of all things gluten-free, and general laziness. Once my running mileage starting topping over 15 miles per week, I switched onto the "Eat Everything in the Refrigerator" plan, with blatant disregard to what I was putting in my mouth, and a complete laziness as to meal planning and organization. Which you really need to have. Truthfully, my stomach problems did not seem to improve on the diet. I may have been a little less moody (Jedi says he couldn't tell), but I believe the sugar was the biggest contributing factor. Maybe I wouldn't be the emotional mess I am right now if I'd stayed on plan. Who knows. I'm still trying to reduce the amount of sugar I eat. Despite the presence of these in my house (my Easter favorite):
Do. Not. Eat. Whole. Bag. Not carbo-loading!
After having me go through the usual movement evaluation (bend over touch your toes, look down, touch your chin to your collarbone, etc.) Laura also confirmed what I already guessed. That the exterior rotator cuff muscles in my right shoulder are quite weak and painful, and not really doing what they are supposed to. Most likely they haven't been in years, since I first injured that shoulder during martial arts. Also I have an epic amount of tension in my neck and upper shoulders, which is very likely contributing to the jaw pain. Pain that, at the moment, is severe enough that I'm nauseous and almost seeing double. She prescribed some excellent and unbelievably painful tricks with a foam roller and tennis ball, made seven more appointments over the next month, and thinks I'll be fine. Once again leaving me to wish I was a professional athlete who only had to concern themselves with their training, their therapy, and their nutrition, instead of all of the above plus that pesky job/family/bills/life. Ah well.
Since it's taper week, I'll end this post with my biggest athletic project so far. Resting. With my kitty, working on my Boston Strong scarf for the Boston Marathon.
It's funny how life's experiences have a way of coming around again, no matter how far in the distant past you think you're placed them. No matter how much you swear you've forgotten them. Those following my blog for a while might remember that I come from a martial arts background. It is, in fact, how I met my husband, and the reason I refer to him as the Jedi. They might also remember that it has been years since my husband and I have practiced, mostly due to the lack of time and training partners that comes with moving and starting a family, but also due to the untimely death of our teacher a few years ago. We have vague plans of starting a school at some point in the future - especially my husband who I think misses teaching. But all things karate for me are tinged with a bit of regret and sadness, both at the loss of a friend and of what used to be a big part of my life.
This weekend brought martial arts to the front of my mind for two reasons. First, because Lego's little guy is turning the big "0-5", and had a party in his dojo today. I called dibs on making his cake, of course. Unbeknownst to me, they would slice it (or try to) with a giant samurai sword. Too funny.
Perhaps because karate was already on my mind this morning, I made a major mental connection between martial arts and swimming. Really. Total Immersion swimming teaches propulsion driven from a streamlined body position, weight shift emanating from the core, and their "two-beat" kick. When I swim, I kick a lot. It wears me out - give me a pull buoy and I can swim forever breathing every 3 strokes, but as soon as I have to integrate a flutter kick I'm sucking wind and sinking.
He just tried this, so front kick maybe?
Except I'm not anymore. Gil had me and another student swim a lap today without kicking at all. I did not sink, I did not break position, and I went just as fast as I do normally. Unreal. I laughed out loud. Later, as Gil demonstrated the weight change coming from the hips at the switch of your stroking arm, a concept that is integrated into every TI drill that I've done, I had a "light bulb" moment. The same weight shift that used to allow me to lock up my 300 lb training partner's wrist and throw him to the ground, using only the force of my core, is the same motion and source of power for swimming. Not my shoulders or legs. Combined with my increasing balance in the water, I am really getting somewhere! My body does actually remember how to power via my hips - that "engine" is still there. And getting stronger from my increasing yoga practice. I said in my last post that my hope is that swimming will take the same role of active meditation that my martial arts practice used to fill. I'm on my way.
We'll work on her hand position
My elation from this morning's swim practice was short lived, however, as Legos texted me that another storm was on it way. It's an hour's drive to her house, putting my commute to and from the party in the leading edge of the storm with two sugar-crazed kiddos in tow. What's more, the race course for tomorrow's ten mile race is near the blizzard zone. It's in Foxborough (where the Patriots play. Tom is leaving the kids with Giselle and coming out to cheer me on). Which will be under about ten inches of snow by midnight tonight.
Light purple folks
Not an ideal situation for a race that I was already nervous for, since it is by far my longest attempt. I hemmed and hawed at my husband, my coach, some training friends and some random bystanders at the birthday party. Then I felt a bit of that bad-assedness I had in my twenties when I was actively practicing karate kick in. I worked really hard for this. My karate teacher, who was also a marathoner, would not stand for giving up because of a little snow. He taught us:
The first rule of self defense: believe in something worth defending. Or as Loreal puts it, "You are worth it". Got it.
The second rule of self defense: dress for the weather and wear the right shoes.
Dressing for the weather is no problem. I have done plenty of cold runs. (Side note: under this mantra, even on the rare occasions I went to parties in college I never forgot a coat for the walk home. Never a scantily clad coed stumbling home in the freezing cold.) But the shoes? With ice and snow on roads that will likely not be 100% clear and dry by morning, my usual running shoes won't do. Heck, I was planning on replacing them this coming week anyway because their tread is worn down to nothing and they have over 300 miles under them. Even if every sporting goods store between the party and home wasn't sold out of YakTrax, Mini-spikes, and other running aids, the snow was coming down hard enough that side trips weren't an option.
Luckily, not only am I my sensei's student, but I am also my father's daughter. Which means I can use power tools.
Type A labeling is genetic in our family
We were scheduled for a stop at Gramma and Grandpa's anyway after the party, so while the kids played I snuck down to my dad's workshop. His workshop that looks like a cozier, better organized version of Lowes. I found what I was looking for among his hundred neatly labeled drawers, came upstairs, and asked as nonchalantly as I possibly could if I could have 30 of his hex-head 1/2 inch sheet metal screws please?
To my parents' infinite credit, neither so much as batted an eye about why I felt the need to mutilate my shoes and run a stupidly long distance in a blizzard. They adopted the calm patience I imagine they used when I was a teenager and insisted I would simply die if I couldn't wear $60 acid washed jeans to school. Dad even threw in a hex driver for good measure.
Once we got home (a scary and long process in the building storm), I dug out the drill, my faithful yet nearly exhausted running shoes, and set about creating cleats for the ice. I set a pattern of screw heads on the outer edges of each shoe (not the middle, which would interfere with foot strike). I followed the places where there was the most wear on the tread.
Don't overdrill - stop once the head touches rubber
Completed
Winter storm Quintus, you've been screwed.
Today was not the best prep day for a long race. Instead of eating clean I had pizza (with gluten crust) and birthday cake. I've eaten so many Valentine's day chocolates that I'm seriously considering just stuffing a few Russell Stover's in my pockets for race fuel. It's what I'm acclimated to now, right? Instead of resting, I drove around like a madwoman with my kids in the snow. But at least I have a better chance of staying on my feet tomorrow. I hope.
Wish me luck and see you on the other side!!!!
Does anyone else use "aids" to run in the snow and ice? Which do you like best and why?
My first triathlon swim did not go well. To say the least. It was a lake swim - the Quaboag Plantation Sprint Triathlon in West Brookfield, MA last July. Only 400 meters, in a simple (ha!) triangle. Walk in the water, wait, swim out, turn, swim back, proceed with your first triathlon. Easy, right? WRONG.
My time was well over 12 minutes. For a quarter mile. I got off track. I got so winded I kept having to stop. Once I finally did get out of the water I was still so out of breath that I never got it back on the bike or the run. It was miserable.
Horrible race photo - coming out of the water.
See that guy behind me? The wave that started
FIVE MINUTES after mine. Yeah.
I'm not afraid of the water. As a former scuba diver with hours and hours underwater, it is safe to say I like being in the water. I was raised in upstate New York, where "the beach" meant a gritty strip of sand and dirt on the side of a lake, where you shared the water with all sorts of pond scum, frogs, fish, and Loch Ness monsters. No trouble there. Open water swimming doesn't make me claustrophobic, or anxious, or any of the other issues that often trouble newbie triathletes.
I simply don't know how to swim.
I learned to swim (meaning keep self afloat and propel self forward in some manner) at a lake beach. My mom pretty much threw me in, kept watch to make sure I didn't drown, and that was about it. (A method I stand by and in no way criticize). I was on the junior varsity swim team in the sixth grade for exactly one week before I quit because I was the slowest girl.
I went to the pool several times in preparation for my triathlon career. I signed up for two different classes at the Y, but didn't find them particularly helpful. Partially because I didn't show up half the time, but also because I just didn't understand what was being asked of me by the very competent and well-meaning instructors. "I want to see more of a pull." Pull on what? Huh? I even swam open water several times with a local group (and Gypsy for moral support). But, in layman's term, I got no game....
Clearly I needed the basic basic basic package. I had to take remedial gym in the first grade, I was so uncoordinated (really - this was a real thing in 1984. Imagine any class with "remedial" in the title now! Unthinkable). I needed the equivalent for swimming.
I signed up for George Randall's Total Immersion swim course at my gym starting in early December. I knew George only by reputation, by his welcoming attitude in local online groups for local OW swimmers, and through my friend Spark, who took his class in the fall while I was coaching kid soccer and mucking around on crutches.
Like the good little bookworm I am, I had read all about Total Immersion. In simplest terms, TI is a way of breaking down and rebuilding every aspect of your stroke to achieve maximum efficiency in the water. Dolphin-like swimming. (As we learned in my last post, I like dolphins). This is good. But learning to swim from a book is like learning to... well... something that really doesn't work. I needed to see it.
George is every bit as patient, calm, and encouraging in person as I had heard. Which is excellent, as I can have worked up some pretty good tantrums when swimming isn't going well. The first day he took videos of all the students, and asked us to count our strokes.
My stroke count was 30 for a 25 meter pool. As a reference, this is pretty terrible. A person my height should be able to keep her stroke count around 16-19 for this length. Clearly, there was work to do.
George's comments:
Hi Miranda,
Glad you received the videos! Looks good I can see a lot of potential in your stroke. A few things I noticed:
Your left and right arm in your recovery phase as they enter the water are creating a lot of drag(splash)in front and around your body. The reason for this is your forearms are hitting water before your hands enter. You're dropping your leading(catch arms)to soon both during breathing and non causing a loss in your streamline body position. You lift your head a little bit causing your hips to sink which results in more kicking to level your body to be parallel with the water.
We will cover everything in the class to address these issues and more.
If you have any questions don't hesitate.
Happy Laps
George
See how nice he is?? Sheriff reviewed the videos as well and mostly agreed, with some added comments on my underwater hand and something about my butt. (And now I'm putting a video of my butt out in public. Hmm.)
Fast forwarding, today's class I was holding steady around 20 strokes per lengths at a variety of paces. For those that are math challenged, 30-20 = 10, which is 1/3 better than I was. That's a lot. I am significantly more comfortable in the water, I look forward to swimming much more than I did. TI has helped me make huge advances in my swimming in a relatively short amount of time. Here's how:
The first day of class we worked on nothing but relaxing our heads. First objective and I'm already tense. My reaction to anyone telling me to relax is usually to get angry, stubborn, and tense up. I'm good like that. You should see me in yoga! Okay, shake it off. Head down. Stare at the bottom of the pool. Relax. Relax your neck. Relax your head. Do this for over an hour, and then practice it all week.
The next class we built on the first lesson of "head relaxed" to balancing in the water. Just balance in the "skate" position, or rolled about 45 degrees so your shoulder is barely out. George gives us visualizations to get our bodies in the right spot. The next week we added an arm, but only the recovery arm, and only partway. This is the mother of all baby-step programs. I love it.
Even love the slogan. Happy Laps!
I love the mission of Total Immersion. To move as effortlessly and quickly through the water by being as efficient as possible. Move through the water, not moving around in it. This resonates with me both as a swimmer, but also as a metaphor for what I am trying to achieve as a whole by triathlon training. I want to learn to relax. To enjoy the water. To enjoy life and not tense up. To have better technique, so things are easier without having to thrash around and get winded (yes, still on a metaphor for life here. Stay with me.)
I have zero ambition of becoming and elite swimmer. Of completing Escape from Alcatraz. Of being Michael Phelps (my nose is big enough as is thanks). My #1 swimming goal? To be the fit 70 year old woman who swims 3 times a week because she loves it, and is still healthy because of it. Sheriff and I have talked several times about getting older, about our bodies breaking down, and that running and even biking someday will fall by the wayside. But swimming is for life. As Sheriff commented on a recent swim workout of mine, "swimming is harder to see improvement overall and being a good swimmer is badass". Huzzah!
TI class wraps up in another 6 weeks. We will take more videos then and I'll do a final wrap up post then, along with any questions anyone has for me or for George (comments please!). George will also be teaching at the TRI-MANIA Boston Expo on March 29th. I cannot recommend enough that you check it out if you are going!
Lastly, as George has quite graciously become a follower of my little blog, and has noticed that everyone gets nicknames (here's the "who" and "why")..... today he asked me if he was going to get a nickname. Drumroll George, I christen thee....
Gill
It had to be a fish. Duh. I almost went with Dori, just because George really is just so nice and so positive. And he talks a lot (sorry George, you do! Not in a bad way). But a female blue fish with no memory wasn't quite right. So I went with Gill. The mentoring thing, the determination. George has shared that he was overwhelmingly afraid of the water when he started - to the point that he couldn't put his face under. To go from there to the instructor and athlete he is now is some epic determination. I haven't been summoned to the initiation ceremony at the top of Mt. Wannahockaloogie yet. I assume that's the last day of class.
Please leave any questions or comments about TI for me or George. We will respond in the next post. Learn more about Total Immersion at https://totalimmersion.net. Usual disclaimer... these thoughts are my own, I am not sponsored, paid by, or compensated in any way by Total Immersion. Just my two cents.
A finger lap counter and timer from SportCount. It is a very simple tool that you wear on your finger and just press the button at the wall. With all the counting of strokes per length, I sometimes lose track of what lap I'm on, and this helps. It also records the time of each lap, so I can see my pace, etc.
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