Running -- The Mind Game

On Friday, DH and I were all set to ride with the Cycling Club, but we bagged it because of severe T-storm warnings. The weather has been fairly violent over the past 2 weeks, and we decided to stay home. So I went over to the HS track to see what running a few miles would feel like. When I got there, it was just me and the track in the early evening, with ominous skies. After the first half mile, I settled into a nice easy (slow) pace (Mind: wow, this feels pretty good, no pain in toe or knee, I can just keep going! No one else around, I can even sing). At 1.0 miles, it started to rain, but lightly (Mind: this isn't too bad, I can run in this....can I get electrocuted wearing a heart rate monitor and an iPod in the rain? Maybe I should stop). At 1.50 miles, the wind picks up (Mind: this is getting harder, is that my knee I feel getting stiff? 1.5 miles is respectable for a 50 year old lady with a bad toe and a cranky knee.... but I did want to run at least 2). At 1.75 miles, the rain picks up (Mind: I am Xena the Warrior Princess, outrunning the evil storm) At 2.0 miles, the 17-19 year old soccer boys show up, totally ignoring the rain (Mind: ooooooh, I like the change in scenery. Well, if they can play in the rain, I can certainly run in the rain. I don't want them to think the mother of sons #1 and #2 is a total wimp). So I ran 2.5 miles, most of the time thinking positive thoughts. My HR monitor and iPod continued to function and I did not get electrocuted. My knee stiffened up a bit, but it seemed to ease up the next day when I took out my bike. I only ran 2.5 miles, but it was enlightening to think about what I was thinking about! For some reason, I became much more cognizant of the impact of state of mind on performance, and how quickly that state of mind can change. Now what I need to figure out is how much control I have over that "attitude." I want to keep Xena around and banish the fear of electrons. And of course this has other applications to other athletic endeavors and life in general! Yesterday there was a cycling club event which included rides for all level riders followed by a picnic. I had to choose between the D ride (25 miles) and the C ride (40 miles). I was leaning toward the C ride until I was told that the terrain was hillier than usual, so I took the D ride. I know I could have ridden another 15 miles, but I probably would have been on the edge, especially if I was pushing to keep up. Should I have brought forth Xena or is a slight fear of electrons a good thing? The D ride was challenging, and yes we took it slow, but it was still 25 miles! The bottom line, I guess, is that I went for a great bike ride, and had a lovely time at the picnic afterwards. I continue to be impressed by the friendliness and healthy attitude of almost every club member that I have met.

As an aside, DH faced a similar decision, either the C ride (40 miles) or the B ride (58 miles). He chose the B ride and totally rocked it. He came back so revved up and pleased with himself. Although he still needs to lose some weight, he is in very good shape. He attributes much of his success to having spent the "off-season" doing some serious swimming. The decision to hit the pool resulted from the need to rest and rehab his achilles tendon, which was chronically inflamed. Biking (and therefore spinning) and running were totally off-limits. He became a disciple of the Total Immersion approach to swimming and totally retaught himself the "proper" way to swim. When the outdoor cycling season started, I don't think he ever thought he would be able to ride 58 miles in July and ride strong! Although he is still cautious, so far his achilles has not been a problem. I don't know if his achilles will stand up to running, but I'm waiting to hear him say "triathlon." Wondering how long it will take for him to say it out loud.

Tour de Spin

During the Tour de France, spin classes mimic the tour. Yesterday was stage 15, from Gap to L’Alpe (as in mountains) D’Huez. There are 3 climbs; the third is 14 km, 8% incline with 21 switchbacks. In spin class (endurance, 75 minutes) this translated into going uphill for 55 minutes, feeling your heart pounding, wishing for an oxygen tank, and leaving giant sweat puddles on the floor. In other words, it was awesome. As an aside, the 116 mile stage was won by Schleck (Luxenberg) with an average speed of 24 mph! Don’t know how those guys do it, for 21 days. And I don’t know how they can eat enough. They burn on average 6,000 calories per day.

As spin class was starting, we got to watch another Mother Nature spectacular. There was a huge thunderstorm that brought hail that got progressively bigger until golf balls were falling. We had a tornado last week, which is a rare event in New York, so this storm was a little frightening.

On Saturday, I spent most of the day at the Pleasantville Music Festival. There were lots of musicians, many local, but a few big names. Roger McGuinn of the Byrds was the biggest. He opened with my favorite Byrds song of all time—Chestnut Mare—and got around to all their hits. The last band was World Party, which seems to be enjoying a comeback with a new “hit record.” I had a great time, sitting in a beach chair, listening to live music, wandering among all the vendors, picnicking and watching all the kids dancing, galavanting and eating continuously! Then there was dinner at a Thai restaurant to make the day complete.

As an extra perk, I got to introduce myself to a distant cousin who is a bit of a celebrity around NYC. Janet Maslin, long-time film critic and now book critic for the New York Times, introduced Roger McGuinn. We spoke for a few minutes, tried to figure out exactly how we are related. Our best guess is that our grandfathers were first cousins.

Son #2 came home for 2 days, when the camp switches over at the half-season. He devoured all the leftovers in the house—everything from a big bag of chips leftover from the World Cup Party and some chocolate chip cookies in the freezer (no need to defrost, they are good nice and crunchy), to a couple of slices of pizza, and a demented bagel. He was very happy to sit around, play video games and watch baseball games. He was very happy to get back to camp, too.

How to Weigh Yourself Correctly

I can't believe I've been doing it wrong for so many years!

Haiku

Here’s a Haiku for yesterday’s “adventure in fitnessland.”

Four pound hula hoop
It’s much harder than it looks
Need ibuprofen

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had to move my day off around to get son #1 to the doctor (see entry on broken ankle) or to do some training at work. I’ve been using this as an opportunity to try some of the funkier classes at the gym. Last week it was urban rebounding, which involves jumping on a mini-trampoline for a half hour. Yesterday it was a hula hoop class. When I was a kid, I could kick anybody’s a$$ when it came to hula hoping, so I thought this was gonna be easy and fun. Well, it is NOT easy to keep a four pound hula hoop going for 15 minutes, even standing in one place. Try moving around or doing lunges while hula hooping and it gets even more difficult. Last night my waistline was really sore, but not a DOMS kind of sore. I was beaten up by the hula hoop, like getting punched in the arm, except it was consecutive punches around my waistline! OK, it wasn’t THAT bad, but it was bad enough that I certainly didn’t want my DH to embrace me! This morning it was much better, but I won’t be doing any hula hooping for a few days. It was definitely a fun workout and I am told that your waistline gets used to it. So I might try it again. Maybe I’ll take the ibuprofen BEFORE the class.

Tend to Your Garden

The theme of this past weekend was “friends” from my oldest friend to my newest friends. It made me realize how important friends are, and once again I promised myself that I will work harder on my friendships. I have a tendency to neglect my friends. Yes, we are all busy and don’t necessarily live close by, and I hate the telephone, but there really are no excuses for allowing friends to fade away. I remember a colleague, a man of great wisdom, who would often comment, “you have to tend to your garden” when he spoke of family and friends. So this weekend I tended to my garden of friends. I even got to water the family tree a little bit!

On Friday evening I rode with the cycle club. Whoever shows up for the “fling” picks a ride according to their level, given about 2 hours of daylight. Just to be on the safe side, I chose the shortest ride, 15 miles, and rode with 3 other women. We finished well ahead of the other riders, so next time I will probably go on the longer ride. Afterwards, everyone is invited to hit the local pub for food and drinks and assorted chit chat, so I joined the dinner group. It was quite friendly and I’d like to think that I made some new friends.

On Saturday evening, we went to a 50th birthday party for my oldest friend. Judy and I grew up next door to each other and we moved in when we were 2 years old. Over the years, we have drifted apart, but we always drifted back together. Since we’ve gotten married and raised families, we have managed to speak to each other and see each other fairly regularly. Several of my childhood friends were there, some of whom I haven’t seen in years, so we took lots of photos. And of course Judy got out the pictures, including the class photos from elementary school. That was good for more than a few laughs. When we left, I turned to my husband and said, “my friends got fat.” None of them are obese, but they all need to lose at least 15-20 pounds. That was the only disappointment of the evening. I hate to see them struggling with their weight, because you know it isn’t going to get any easier as we get older. None of them have particulary active lifestyles either.

Yesterday, DH and I hosted a World Cup Party and BBQ. For every friend that did make it, at least 1 friend was unable to get there. So we had a small but enthusiastic crowd. Of course I had way too much food, and then one friend who is Indian and has a small catering business brought a small tray of roasted chicken with delicious Indian spices and then made shishkebabs! We finished off with an ice cream cake because Saturday was DH’s 51st birthday. About half of the group actually watched the game!

And on a final note, family. My uncle was recently diagnosed with lung cancer. They discovered something in his lung quite by accident, when they did a CT scan looking at something else. He will require surgery but may not need either radiation or chemotherapy. DH lost his uncle to lung cancer a couple of years ago. He fought the disease for 3 years, and during that time, I would constantly remind (even nag) DH to call him. DH was grateful that I did that, so he is now returning the favor. He has been reminding me that I need to call my uncle, and I finally did. He sounds very upbeat and wants to get on with the surgery so he can get on with his life! The man is 78 years old and behaves as if he is half that age. He works full-time, travels, skiis, hikes, and just lives life to the fullest. Go Uncle Go.

Fitness, Food and a Broken Ankle

We spent the long holiday weekend at Skytop Lodge in the Poconos with my mother, brother, sister-in-law, and 2 nieces. It was loads of fun and quality family time. DH and I brought our road bikes and went out for a nice ride on Saturday. The only problem is that the lodge is on top of a fairly large hill, large enough that the first 5 miles were downhill. As we are coasting along I kept thinking “it’s going to be a tough ride back!” The uphills were steep! The next day we rented mountain bikes and took off on the muddy trails. That was really fun. We were only on relatively flat roads, so I know mountain biking can be much more difficult but I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity too try something different. On the last day we went hiking. There was a guided “fitness” hike which was described with verbiage to keep beginners away. Well, good thing it wasn’t really all that difficult or that guy in penny loafers would not have made it. Or the other people who should not be partaking in anything described as physically demanding. I wish I could get into their heads—do they really think they are “fit” or do they think the description is inaccurate or that there will be options if they can’t climb out of the ravine? Anyway, with hearts pounding, they put one penny loafer in front of the other and made it out alive. Then brother, nieces and I went for a real fitness hike, complete with switchbacks and a gazebo atop the mountain. The view was awesome and we could see all the way to the Delaware Water Gap. In between all these outdoor activities, there was a belly dancing class, water aerobics, and the great indoor sport of eating large quantities of food. In addition to huge buffets for breakfast and lunch, there was the omelet man, the crepe man, and the stir fry guy. Luckily there were lots of healthy choices, so while I definitely ate too much, at least I ate too much good food and not junk. Except for the chocolate obsession dessert, with ice cream.

So at one point I decided to call the kids at camp especially so they could talk to grandma. Son #1 gets on the phone and the first sentence he utters is “I broke my ankle.” That kinda put a damper on things, especially since the camp had called my cell phone but I didn’t have it turned on. To make a long story short, we were not that far away from the camp, so we picked up his xray at the hospital, picked him up at camp, brought him home, had our favorite orthopedist check him out and put a real cast on, and then took him back to camp. The only glitch is that the break is oblique, kinda like a fault line in his bone. The doctor wants to be sure it doesn’t slide out of alignment, so he needs to see the doctor and have it xrayed once a week for the next 3 weeks. Luckily the camp is only 80 miles from home, so DH will pick him up on Monday evenings and I will take him to the doctor and then bring him back to camp on Tuesdays. Ah, keeps life interesting. It’s always something, right?

A Poem about the Lifecycle

In my attempt to appreciate poetry, I found an anthology of poems entitled Boomer Girls: Poems by women of the baby boomer generation.  Edited by Pamela Gemin & Paula Sergi. Here’s one that immediately connected.


Fitness Club: Riding the Lifecycle
By Judith Hougen

The control panel counts time, calories, miles
gone, outlining hills to come, the red lights
beating calmly, saying the place you need to go
is at least 15 pounds from here, how willing

are you?  mile after mile.  I could have pedaled
these phantom wheels across America by now.
Anchored to this amputee of the modern age,
I give away the last thickness of fat to computerized

inclines, to a blinding honesty that must negotiate
with everything I see.  After years of struggling through
a life fed by half-truths, I am laying down the past like
the careful molasses of asphalt: a thick methodical

roadway.  It doesn’t solve everything, but it’s real.
I am willing to hold the sad weight of every lie
I told while raging at the world through my body.
These days movement is no longer

optional.  I have learned to welcome
the sanity of each mile, to love the woman
inside this engine, who reinvents the wheel
daily and now has important places to go.

Hurts So Good

I've spent the last week (since the kids went to camp) kicking my own ass, with a little help from a personal trainer. To prove what a warrior woman I am, today I went to the gym twice! Today I didn't have to commute into NYC and I didn't have to be at work until 9:30, so I went to the gym early, did a little cardio to warm up, then got beaten up by aforementioned personal trainer. I was done with work in the late afternoon, but since the weather has sucked for the last 5 or 6 days and taking the Trek out was not a good option, and DH had to work late, I went back for a spin class. That proved to be the proverbial "icing on the cake." I am officially beat! The abs, the inner thighs, the triceps, you know the feeling. It hurts so good!

Odds and Ends

I’m feeling the pain!  Yesterday’s workout used bands, steps, balls and a dab of free weights—no machines.  The lunges and squats got me good!  Walking up the stairs at the train station this morning with my backpack, well, I’m glad it was only 1 flight!  

Other news—sons #1 and #2 are both at camp.  So we borrowed a child for a couple of days.  A friend of ours went out of town for a few days and he was going to take his son with him.  The boy child would have had to spend 2 or 3 days doing nothing but hang out in a hotel.  Now while I would jump at the opportunity to watch TV/movies, order room service, read, use the fitness center and can you throw in a massage, more than a day of mindless activities would make me crazy.  Boy child must feel the same way because when I offered to have him stay with DH and I, he was very happy.  So far he has been the perfect house guest! He even brought his own computer and wiggled into the wireless network in 10 seconds flat.  

Sons #1 and #2 both have summer reading lists.  I abhor this practice. If you want to turn a kid off to reading and fill him with resentment on the first day of school, assign summer reading.  Require the honor students to read more than the “regular” students so they feel like they are being punished for being smart.  Son #1 complains bitterly about summer reading because summer should be a time when he can read what he wants to read instead of what someone else wants him to read.  So instead of digging into Liberalism and the Limits of Justice (I kid you not! This is on his Amazon Wishlist), he has to suffer Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass.  Son #2 dislikes reading, so when given a choice of books, he selects the shortest, regardless of the content.  He won’t read an extra 100 words even if he would potentially enjoy the book 100 X more.  Luckily, the shorter books on his list are probably better choices for him—Into the Wild by Krakauer and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Haddon.  

While on the topic of books, tonight is my Bookclub meeting.  This month’s selection is The Ha-Ha by Dave King.  I’m having trouble getting through it and for the first time since joining the club, I may not finish it.  I still have the train ride home this evening, but I don’t think I’ll get through 100 pages.

And lastly, I have a new hobby—T-shirt transformation.  I bought this book, Generation T, 108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt.  This is perfect for my level of sewing skills.  So far I transformed a tanktop that DH was getting rid of and I added an iPod pocket to a sleeveless V neck.  Nothing extraordinary, but I will try to get some pictures up.  I need to get to work on making digital photography a habit in my everyday life.  

I Ride C

On Sunday I made the transition to level C. There was a self-paced ride for levels C and up. There was a choice of a long (44 miles) and short (35 miles) route with a sweeper riding at the back of each ride, instead of a leader at the front. This offered several advantages. First DH and I could both ride, even though we did not ride together. We both chose the shorter option. He found some guys that rode his pace and I found some folks that rode my slower pace. At the end of the ride, his bike was already on the car and he put my bike on the rack while I visited Dunkin’ Donuts. Second and more important, having a leader at the back gave me the security of knowing that I would not be left in the dust or struggle to keep up the pace set by the faster riders. I ended up riding faster than my usual pace and finished with the middle of the pack. Woohoo! It was a hot day, but we were done before things really heated up. I actually emptied my Camelback at mile 28, which was good and bad. Good that I drank that much water but obviously bad that I had to ride the last 7 miles on empty. Overall I declared the ride a major success. DH enjoyed it, too, and the iced coffee was excellent.

Finding Motivation

I have been doing better, but still feel like I’m not 100% there. Yesterday, I took advantage of not having to commute to work and went to the gym early. This was good! And it felt great to be pushing and pulling those weights. I was home early enough to go out for a bike ride on a really beautiful day but I never got off my butt. This was bad, a lost opportunity. I have been lazy about preparing food, and I know I have gained back a few pounds. I’m not worried about that, as long as I get my act together those pounds will come off fairly easily. So I have been searching for some motivation to get it together. I have been reading the blogs of some totally awesome women and they certainly inspire me—check out the accomplishments of Heather and Nancy. Then there’s the perseverance of Slem and the wisdom of Kyra. I thank Flo for the reminder that once in a while, you’re going to have an off day, and Skwigg for reminding me why it’s important to keep going even if you have an off day. So in the spirit of moving on and getting my act together, I have been doing a good job with food today and working on emptying the bottle of water on my desk. I am going to the Yankee game tonight so I won’t be working out, but I will get my gym bag packed up tonight so I can get there tomorrow. The last few weeks have been very busy, but next week son #2 is off to camp to join his brother, and DH and I will have 7 weeks without children. Yes, I am spoiled. My kids have been going to sleep-away camp for 6 years now! Although we don’t have a big vacation planned, we do hope to put together some getaway weekends. We will be spending July 4th weekend at a resort in the Poconos with my mom, brother, sister-in-law and nieces. Plan to bring the bikes up to provide opportunity to burn some of the extra calories we are bound to consume. The last weekend in July DH and I are going to ride the Harlem Valley Rail Ride and I made a reservation at a B&B for the weekend. I am planning on riding the 50 mile option. Looking forward, taking it one day at a time.

CD Swap

It is time for the Summer CD Swap.  Everyone summer I organize this illegal activity among a group of friends, who live in various locations across this fair land.  Many of these people (but not all) are friends from high school (so we’re talking 30+ years ago), and this is a unique way for us to stay in touch—with music!  Every person in the swap creates their own unique mix of music, burns a CD for everyone in the swap, and mails them out.  I have found the ideal number of swappers is about 7 or 8.  So, over the course of the summer, you receive 6 or 7 CDs filled with a musical surprise.  Every CD is bound to hold at least a song or two that you have never heard and a couple of tunes that bring back memories, fond or other wise.  The CD Swap for which I am the Commissioner has a few other rules:

1. There is a theme, and you have to have at least one song on the CD that relates to that theme (most swappers have more than 1 song, and often every song related to the theme).  


2. You can’t have more than 2 songs by the same artist.  This just keeps it interesting.  As much as I and some of my friends love the Grateful Dead, I prefer to expand my musical horizons during the swap. You can always send a 2nd  CD along, if you’re in the mood to rip and burn!  


3. There is a deadline, but no overdue fines.


4. If you accept the challenge and fail to mail out the CDs, nobody gets too bent out of shape, but you probably won’t be asked to join the next swap.  

A friend of mine IMed me this morning that she was ripping a stack of CDs that fell into her lap like manna from a VW Passat.  Her car is being serviced and she picked up a loaner from the guy who owns the dealership.  In it was a huge stack of his CDs.  She was very excited and reminded me that it is time for the swap!  My iPod awaits.

XY and XX Hikers

On Saturday I had to get up early to deposit son#1 at non-local HS to take his SATs. So, I got to the gym early, had plenty of time to stretch, do assorted core activities, take a spin class, do UBWO, and stretch out some more! I sure felt it the next day, but it was a great feeling.

On Sunday I did some trail maintenance with my hiking buddies. Our first task was to clean up the "white trail." It made me realize how much maintenance these trails really need. There were several downed trees across the trails, and since we were not carrying a chain saw, all we could do was cut off as many of the branches as possible so you could easily hop over the trees. We hammered some new trail markers onto the trees (leave a half inch of the nail out, to allow the tree to grow without popping off the marker), and lopped off overhead branches that could poke your eye out! Our second assigned task was to try to finish the yellow trail so it connected back to the blue trail. It was like a dream come true for the people in our hiking group with gender XY. Wander around in the woods without having to ask for directions. Tell hikers with gender XX that all you need is a compass and a topographical map to succeed in this mission. When mission fails, blame it on lack of adequate number of XY hikers. When we finished a little walk in the woods and found ourselves at a trailhead about a mile away from where the cars were parked, XX hikers walked down the road to the deli to enjoy refreshments and conversation while XY hikers made their way back to the cars (we assume on marked trails, but we can never be sure). We walked up and down some big hills, had some good laughs, and definitely burned some calories. We saw some incredible wildlife, including a very new faun sleeping in the tall grass.

Sweat and Balance

It’s been hot, and we have no AC.  We’ve been “sweating it out” for the past 3 days.  AC Man came yesterday and it’s an electrical problem (bad breaker).  DH will be home early today and he will wait for the electrician.  The boys have been sleeping in locations other than their bedrooms which has caused some minor disagreements but nothing major.  Neither one has suffered bodily injury.  DH and I have been sleeping in our fairly hot bedroom, with the windows wide open, jealously listening to the compressor for our neighbor’s AC unit going on and off.  I’m sure it will get fixed today because the heat wave is over, but at least we will be ready for the next one.

So, the last few days have been about balance.  On Tuesday I didn’t get to the gym because I had to work late.  I had to take a phone call from Chicago at 5 pm and that took about an hour.  By the time I got off the train, it was almost 8 pm.  On Wednesday I was just plain lazy.  I blew an opportunity.  I took the day off because I had a doctor’s appt at 1 pm.  Did I get up early and go to the gym?  No.  Did I get up at a normal time and go for a bike ride? No.  I did get up at a normal time, and I did get things done around the house that absolutely needed to be done, but I could have gone for a bike ride and then gotten down to chores.  Did I really do laundry instead of going for a bike ride?  How sick is that?  On Thursday, I had my training session with trainer, then I packed veggies for the organic food coop, then I had to be home in the afternoon for aforementioned AC Man.  Of course, all they can do is tell you “he’ll be there between 1:00 and 4:30.”  But the poor overworked AC Man did not ring my doorbell until 6:00.  I was hoping to either take a bike ride after AC Man had fixed the AC or get to the gym for spin class.  What a total disappointment, since AC is still not fixed, could not leave for bike ride, bike ride probably not feasible anyway considering violent thunderstorms, and AC Man came too late, even for spin class.  At least I did some cooking and I have packed a very nice lunch for today.

The bottom line is I need to commit anew.  May and June have been about standing still, not moving forward.  Actually, my body fat has crept up a little bit.  I have been indulging in some bad habits and not practicing good habits very consistently.  I have really been sliding on my strength training.  It’s a good thing I still work with a trainer—I know I am going to get pounded on Thursday mornings! It’s definitely more difficult to get to the gym because I want to spend time outdoors, so strength training and cardio have become separate events.  I expect things will get easier in a few weeks when the boys are off to camp for 7 weeks, and the next two weeks are going to be very busy getting them ready.  So once again, it’s about balance.  But whatever way the scales tip, I can’t make it worse with bad habits and laziness!

  

Holiday Weekend

I so enjoyed the Trek over the holiday weekend.  On Saturday morning, I showed up for a club ride that was aborted.  Only 1 other person showed, and the leader had to work.  I decided to return home and take the opportunity to ride with DH.  We did the usual ride with an add-on loop to bring the mileage up to 21.  He rode my pace, which was just under 12 mph.  When I asked him if I was slowing him down much, his response was “considerably.”  Still, it was nice to be out with him and it was turning into a really nice day.  We finished before it got really sunny and hot, which was good.  We watched son #2 play baseball in the late afternoon; the perfect complement to the morning’s activity.

On Sunday we had tickets for the Yankee game.  It was a fun game, which the Yanks won.  Rivera came in for the save.  As expected Richard was selling beer in our section.  Richard and I went to JHS and HS together.  The man is a CPA who has been selling beer at Yankee Stadium for over 30 years.  Actually, I think he’s a beer man who has been dabbling in accounting for 30 years!  When we got home, I went to the track and ran a couple of miles.  I really wanted to keep going but I held myself back.  I only ran 2 miles because I wanted to see how my knee would take it.  Tried to stretch out, warm up, stick to a padded track.  A few hours later I could feel my knee getting stiff.  The knee saga continues.  

Monday was a warm and sunny day. I tried to find a riding companion but was not successful.  DH offered to ride with me, but I declined so he could ride his usual pace.  I mapped out a ride that looked to be a bit over 20 miles. I decided to take it slow to keep my knee in the game.  Luckily, the knee was not a problem. The route was a big figure 8, so I had the opportunity to quit at 10 miles, but the ice cream store was on the 2nd loop!  I had my ice cream cone at mile 14 and I was ready for the biggest climb of the ride.  When I got to the top, I knew the rest of my ride was going to be relatively easy, and I settled in for the last few miles.  It was 22 miles, and it was a great ride! I’m sure I would have enjoyed it more with a companion, but there’s something to be said for going solo.  I went my own pace, thought my own thoughts, and stroked my own ego (whether or not it deserved stroking).  

In the late afternoon, son#2 came along to the supermarket to make sure I bought everything needed for a BBQ/fajita dinner including the watermelon to make watermelon salsa.  Son #1 was a complete vegetable on Monday after reffing a soccer tournament on Saturday and Sunday.  He worked 2 very long days, and was totally beat.  He apologized for stinking up my car with his smelly feet and socks.  He gave me a lesson in offsides.  Today he promised to teach me about penalty kicks.  I can’t wait!

Two Events and In Between

I have participated in two “events.”  On May 7, I rode in the Five Boro Bike Tour.  It was a great day, and a great bike ride.  It is 42 miles, most of it flat.  Most of the hills are the ramps up to the bridges (and there are 5 of them).  We rode over the lower level of the Verrazano Bridge, which was very cool.  It was a perfect day—beautiful sunshine temps into the high 60s.  I came home with a sunburned nose! Riding with 30,000 other bike riders was quite an experience.  It makes you realize that this is really a big city and that there are lots of people committed to this type of lifestyle.  I made two decisions that were key.  First, I rode the hybrid.  I decided that riding with cleats with 30,000 other riders was going to be difficult if not down-right stupid.  That was a good choice.  I’d say that 75% of the riders were on mountain bikes and hybrids.  And I would say that 90% of the bikes that got flats were road bikes.  I had pedal clips put on the hybrid at 4:45 the day before the ride, and that definitely helped with my riding “efficiency.”  Second, I decided to take the train into the city.  Metro-North made this easy and I felt like I belonged to a special club.  All the bikes and bikers were in the front 2 cars of the train both coming and going, and there was all this bike karma and energy there.  Everyone had a different bike, different attire, different reasons for riding, but we shared the experience and I know I felt special.  

On May 14, I ran a Mother’s Day 5K.  I can’t remember the last time I ran in a race.  It’s gotta be at least 17 or 18 years.  The good news is that I ran it in 32:15, which is under 11 minutes/mile.  For me that’s fast.  The bad news is that my knee stiffened up.  It feels OK today, but it was “bothering me” yesterday.  When I saw the doctor about my toe, I had him check out my knee as well, and he really didn’t see any problem.  I know there is a problem, just not something that is easily defined or discernable on X-ray. So right now, I am going to put my 10K plans on hold and concentrate on cycling.  I may seek a second opinion, but it’s not a big rush.  I’m fine with limiting the running and spending the summer on my bike.  My toe is no better, no worse, it’s something I can live with for now (especially if I run less).  I could have surgery to remove the bone spur, which is causing inflammation and pain, but I would still be left with an arthritic joint.  The recovery is 3 months, so that is something I would put off until the winter anyway.  

In between these 2 events, son#1 and I went college touring.  We visited 3 colleges in 3 days: Wesleyan, Tufts and Northeastern.  We both liked all 3.  I also enjoyed spending the time with son#1.  We talked about some of my experiences in college, especially my father’s prohibitions.  I made it clear to Eric that I would not limit his experiences the way my father did.  That also got us into a discussion of what I would do, where I would go if I could do it all over again.  That could be an entire blogatation.  The bottom line is I would do it very differently and I am determined to let him get the most from his experience, in and out of the classroom.      

Music for Mother and Me

When mom was visiting, we took atrip over to the library and checked out 20 CDs, everything from Madame Butterfly to Loretta Lynn. I now have the job of copying them and mailing them to her. She did the same thing when visiting with my brother. In fact, this has been going on for about a year. When my brother was visiting her, he took her to buy a new VCR and she said she wanted a CD player also. She bought 2 or 3 CDs and has not looked back. I have no idea from where this interest in music has sprung, but I'm all for it. I took it upon myself to nurture this and copied a few things I thought she would enjoy. Now she makes requests, I try to find them through the library system, copy them and mail them to her. She even bought herself a portable CD player which she keeps on her night table for when she has trouble sleeping. We found this case for a CD player and about a dozen CDs in the basement and offered it to her and she was so happy. Now she can take her music with her when she travels. As happy as I am that she is enjoying all this music, it is difficult to fathom. I think my parents had about 10 record albums in the house when I was growing up, and I played them far more often than they did. I didn't care what I was listening to, I just played them and learned to appreciate them all, from Tchaikovsky's piano concertos to Man of LaMancha. If she had any computer savvy, I would buy her an iPod! That would be a hoot.
Yesterday I endulged my own music habit on iTunes. Those Apple people got it right. It is so easy to explore and buy music. I ended up buying a mix of old and new. Here's what I added to my playlist:
Taylor -- Jack Johnson (Live)
Better Way-- Ben Harper
Tom's Diner-- Suzanne Vega
We Belong, Promises in the Dark, Love is a Battlefield-- Pat Benatar
Take on Me-- a-ha
Cruel to be Kind-- Nick Lowe
Ain't Nobody-- Chaka Khan
Everything Falls Apart-- Dog's Eye View
As I Lay Me Down, Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover-- Sophie Hawkins

BTW, I ran 4.5 miles today indoors. I got tired of waiting for the weather to improve so I went to the gym and got on the hamster wheel, uhhhh, I mean treadmill. Got it done. A few minutes after I got home a friend called looking for someone with whom to share a big pot of vegetarian chili. How lucky am I? I made the salad and the rice and prepared some "mix-ins" (cilantro, cheese, scallions), found half a bottle of wine and we had a wonderful dinner.

More Core

I so love being on the bike.  Apparently lots of other people feel the same way.  I went for club rides on Saturday and Easter Sunday and both rides drew about 20 riders.  Saturday’s ride was not the prettiest, but I felt strong and it warmed up to 70 by the time we got done.  Sunday’s ride was perfect—the perfect distance, the perfect terrain, the perfect weather and the perfect blooming landscape.
I have been thinking about where I want to go with my “program.” If I could quit working and workout several hours a day everyday, I would do it all! Ride, run, lift, hike, pilates, urban rebound, swim, maybe even yoga!  But the reality is that I’m going to have to establish some goals and fit the program into my available time.  So 10K and a Trek is going to be my mantra for the next few months.  I also need to strengthen my core.  I have no doubt that strengthening my core will have impact across all activities, beyond running and riding.  During the week, I am going to focus on core, lifting and running.  On my day off, I am going to aim for a nice bike ride.  On weekends, I will mix riding and hiking.  This still sounds like I’m biting off more than I can chew, but I’ll see how it goes.  
I have been very inconsistent with workouts over the last few weeks.  I have not been as good about my nutrition as I should be.  Then there was Passover and Plattsburgh cinnamon buns and jelly beans everywhere!  I have gained a pound or two, which is not a big deal.  It will come off once I get back on track.  
And I am back on track. I got back to the gym last night and it felt good.   I did a series of pre-exercise activities, ran 30 minutes, prehab activities, and lifted.  It took me 90 minutes to get thru this workout.  I did not have to drop my weights.  This morning I am a little sore through my core, which is a good sign.  Shoulders, back, glutes, obliques, I hit them all yesterday.  I’m downing the H2O, the lunch bag is packed with good food.  
DH had an Achilles setback.  He started stretching it and it got very sore.  So he is back on the clogs, no stretching.  The good news is he has taken out his bike a few times and been pain free.  I just hope he doesn’t push the bike.  

I Am Cranky

Last night I had too much to do around the house to go to the gym.  I made dinner.  I cleaned up the kitchen.  I hemmed a pair of pants for son #1 who needs "something nice" to wear 1 night during school trip to Mexico. I watched American Idol.  Most of the contestants were mediocre. I folded several loads of laundry which had been sitting in laundry baskets for several days.  I prepared 2 more loads of laundry with specific directions so son #1 can get it going when he gets home from school.  I tried to set up TIVO to record final episodes of Sex and the City but other scheduled recordings plus son #2 needing to watch Yankee game made this impossible.  I stayed up until midnight to watch final episodes of Sex and the City.  The reconciliation of Carrie and Big was unrealistic—fairy tale ending was a disappointment.  DH’s alarm woke me up at 5:30 am (now I know how he feels 4 days a week when I get up before him, but usually I wake up before my alarm goes off and turn it off), fell back to sleep only to have my alarm go off at 6:00. I’m tired.  The weather sucks. Tonight is likely to be more of the same.  No gym--library, food shopping, preparing DH to prepare son #1 to pack for Mexico, reviewing carpooling and food for the 3 days I will be away.  I am not looking forward to driving 5 hours tomorrow to Plattsburgh! Ahh well, this is the way life works.  But I still have the right to be cranky.      

50 is a BIG Number

"You're only as old as you feel." That's what they say. I don' think I feel fifty. I don't think I look fifty. But I think I think like I'm fifty. And that means I think about what a big number 50 years is, and sometimes that freaks me out. Well, I have decided I will be the fifty year old lady that I want to be, and not your "typical" 50 year old lady. So onward and upward, to 51!
I did have a really great birthday and first weekend of my 51st year. DH sent me a dozen roses, and on Saturday night sons #1 and #2 took DH and I to dinner at a very nice but not real fancy restaurant. I enjoyed the dinner and watching them open their wallets when the check came!

I picked out a couple of races and events-- the 5 Boro Bike Tour is May 7, Mothers Day 5K on May 14, and a 10K on June 10. I'm going to ask Niece A if she will enter this race with me. I don't expect her to run with me, just to wait for me at the finish line!! I entered the Spring Fling Challenge at Pink Dumbbells, and set goals of 10 miles/week on foot and 25 miles/week on wheels (spinning and hiking will count). I am excited that the Daylight Savings Time has started and the weather is warming up and I can take it outdoors. On Saturday I ran 3.4 miles on the road and on Sunday I hiked 7 miles. I took my bike out for a 2 mile ride just to check the alignment on my new saddle. If I didn't have a ton of things that needed to get done, I would have taken it out for a 10 mile ride. It felt so good to be on the black Trek. DH took his bike out for the first time since we returned from Hawaii last summer. So far, so good.

On Saturday I donated an old bike to Pedals for Progress. I got there a little early and they already had at least 50 bikes that they were getting ready to pack. What a great way to open the bike season.