friday quotation

"It Couldn't Be Done"

Somebody said that it couldn't be done,
But he with a chuckle replied
That "maybe it couldn't," but he would be one
Who wouldn't say so 'til he tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.

Somebody scoffed: "Oh, you'll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it";
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
And the first thing we knew he'd begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you, one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start to sing as you tackle the thing
That "cannot be done" and you'll do it.

- Edgar A. Guest

what goes around comes around

Funny that we started our training with strong winds every time we went for a long ride. And today on my last time "long" ride (it's relative...it was 30 miles!), I got the wind again. Sometimes at my back. And my front. And my side. Fun times on South MoPac! I had to laugh though because it just seemed appropriate that my time on the bike should end (for this training season for CDA...not forever!) as it began.
And I realized during my last loop on the bike that I was actually a bit sad to be letting it go on Saturday. Sort of an odd feeling to be attached to a bike. But we've spent some quality time together! Anyway, I'll see it again in Coeur D'Alene next week...safe and sound.
By the way...that wind was a prelude to the big storm that is coming through Austin right now. Crazy summer storm with thunder, lightning, hail, rain (that we need!). Good sleeping weather! It has not swept through my "tri room"...although from this picture, you wouldn't know it! Off to pack...

#191

Things I like about this number:
- I graduated from high school in '91
- It's only three digits...I'm not so good with numbers so it's easy to remember
- It's a palindrome (same backwards and forwards...fun!)
- 3 is my favorite number and 9 is a multiple of 3
- It's got three parts...just like the triathlon (minus the transitions!)
- My mom's birthday month is January or month 1 + Gran is 91 = 191...so those two wonderful women will be with me in spirit on June 21

But what I'll always remember about this number is that it's my number for my first Ironman (which is about 10 days away...yikes...in a fun and exciting way!).

ode to my appetite

For 6 months now, I've been going strong
Fast and furious and my appetite's come along
I used to eat just like a little bird
Picking at things all day...nothing too absurd.

Then IM training started with workouts twice a day
And meals guided by Meredith became my mainstay.
At first I wasn't great at this new lifestyle plan
But soon enough I came to embrace it and pulled out a pan

Almost every night to cook a great meal
Veggies, chicken, shrimp, and grains were part of the deal.
Cereal and oatmeal and lots of fresh fruit
And even dessert every now and then to boot!

My stomach soon started to learn the new routine
Workout then breakfast, snack, and some noise near my spleen
Lunch, afternoon snack, and then a pre-workout Gu or a bar
To tide me over because dinner time wasn't too far.

So every three hours I'd be eating a treat
And my tummy came to expect that cycle to repeat
And each day it did, come rain or come shine
Until one day we were told that it was taper time!

We have to keep eating and to keep eating well
But the quantities are smaller and my stomach can tell!
"Don't eat like you're biking 100 miles when you're only going 50"
Sounds all good and well but my stomach doesn't think it's so nifty.

It still growls and gurgles and screams for some food
Even though I've fed it enough, it's not always in a good mood.
So appetite o' mine, better get a clue and listen to what I say to do
Our hours have dropped on paper, and I am still giving you plenty of food...so pipe down and just give in to the taper!

cooking up a storm!

It's a funny thing this taper time leading up to an Ironman. There are a million things to "be" done. But in a lot of ways not too many things to do that are related to training. Really, the money is in the bank (or not in the bank!) at this point. It's sort of like final exams - cramming the night before doesn't usually pay off or at least it didn't for me - except for that while muscle memory might work for textbook material it doesn't give you the endurance you need for an IM. There's not a lot that one more practice in any one area will do to make a difference in how I feel on June 21 - at least not physically. But what I do in terms of eating and sleeping in these last 12 days or so really could make a difference. So yesterday I decided to crack open Meredith Terranova's cookbook and get my food in order for the week! By the way, Meredith is a wonderful nutritionist here in Austin! She's an incredible athlete herself and has guided many an Austin athlete (or aspiring athlete!) through training and races. She's down-to-earth, realistic, understanding, and very patient when folks like me have to keep going back to the drawing board to try new things or hear the same thing over and over again. (Thanks, Meredith, for all of your help!)
In a very clean kitchen (down to the kitchen floor!), I tested out balsamic-glazed roasted chicken, pasta with olive oil & roasted veggies, and spinach parmesan orzo...meals for the week! Thumbs up on all of them. My refrigerator finally looks like someone moved back into my house - last week it was looking a little anemic food-wise. Could have made batches upon batches of chocolate chip cookies but no square meal...not good!

wiring

Don't worry - taper has not left me so bored that I've re-wired anything in my house. I'd send out fair warning to everyone if that were the case as it would almost certainly end in some small disaster!
But, recently lots of things, lots of little comments, lots of different interactions with people, lots of experiences...have got me thinking about how we're all wired so differently. I know, this is not headline news. But every once in a while it just occurs to me that so much of how we experience life depends on something that we have very little control over. Yes, we can choose how to react to situations in life. But the amount of energy required to change a potentially negative reaction or to re-direct the messages that we're sending naturally really varies from person to person. I won't pretend to understand it all. I'm sure that biologically and psychologically it's way more complicated than I even realize. And I've never read any scientific research on this. But if you spend enough time with other people, you can do your own study on this topic!
My very unscientific observations have happened as people have given me credit for things that I do or say that I think are sort of beyond my control. As I have watched our community at school react to new leadership. As I interact with my family. I have found the words "that's just how I'm wired" coming out of my mouth so often lately that I started wondering if it was an excuse for my behavior! I don't think so. I think it's how I explain something that I really don't have an explanation for when it comes to my reaction to something. When there's no reason why I'm reacting one way and someone else is reacting another way.
I guess I'm thinking about this a lot these days as a bunch of us experience the taper phase of IM training. And we're all having different reactions to it. Since this is my first major taper (confession...I was supposed to taper before Longhorn last year but I didn't really do it...because I was afraid to trust the taper...silly, silly), I wasn't sure what to expect. There were plenty of words of warning about what these three weeks might feel like - everything from "the taper blues" to an emotional rollercoaster. I started to get a little worried that I had not done the training right since I had not really experienced much in the way of either of these things in this first week of taper.
And then I realized that it in both the physical and emotional reactions to taper, we probably have to take a small peek at how we're wired. I thought I'd be getting stressed and worried over not training enough right up to the race. But (so far!!!) I've been remarkably calm about it. No sneaking in extra workouts. No fretting about doing fewer miles than other training programs. I guess because it's in my wiring to stick with whatever plan I've been given. I didn't really do that too well during Longhorn training (for the taper) but I've been really good about doing it through CDA training. So, even now in taper, it's felt natural for me to just do what the C Plan says for taper. Last week it was 10 hours of training. This week it's 9 hours. Okay. I can handle that!
Physically it feels really good to be getting more rest - to be letting my muscles and tendons and ligaments get ready for June 21 when I'll be asking a lot of them. And since school is out and I'm not taking work home with me in the evenings...summer rules for myself...I have been able to get to bed earlier. Yeah! 8-9 hours of sleep has become the norm. And I'm loving it.
Emotionally it has been a pretty smooth ride, too. But again, I think that's sort of how I'm wired...to some extent. What I'm not wired for is not getting worked up about details. Seriously, I'm way more fixated on those right now than on the race itself. I'm more concerned about getting things in the right bags than I am about swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles, and running 26.2 miles. (I had to write that down to help get things in perspective!) Anyway, lists will help me with this and I'm about to become a slave to them! The other thing that I'm not always great about doing is tackling the thing that I'm unsure of how to do. For example, yesterday I needed to clean my house, go to the grocery, cook, and make my packing lists. I put off the latter because I'm uncertain about it. Grocery shopping, cooking, and cleaning I can do. Evidence: a late afternoon trip to the store that allowed me to cook up three recipes last night yum!) + scrubbing the kitchen floor. Okay, so maybe taper is affecting me in a funny "let's be productive and get all of your ducks in a row at home way"?!
So there it is...ETG wiring in a nutshell. It's not always as clear as I've made it sound. In fact, I'm sure my wiring is freakishly complicated, as all humans are. (Some of you might be thinking that mine is more complicated?!) And I certainly got some wiring that doesn't always serve me well - like sometimes crawling into a cave and not asking for help and turning stress inward in unhealthy ways instead of outward and thinking that more work is always/usually a good thing, just to name a few. But I was also blessed with an extra dose of general optimism, cheerfulness, and "I will figure out a way to handle it"-ness that has served me pretty well through life. Seriously, I just got lucky - I am not sure that anything around me growing up made me that way. (Except for maybe denial and a desire to escape from certain realities sometimes!!) I'm super grateful for this stroke of luck. And I think lots of other people I know got it, too, because I know many folks with the same gifts. And for my friends who got other gifts, I'm just thankful that I don't drive them crazy, that they keep me around as a friend because I need their gifts as much as they might need mine. I've been really lucky to have fallen into circles of friends throughout my life who accept me and have yet to toss me and my wiring to the curb!
My hope for the next two weeks is that I don't blow a fuse or have any short circuits in my wiring...trying to not overload the wires is a start...off to make lists!

a trip down...

Had a great ride this morning - I'm so thankful to be feeling strong as we taper toward CDA on June 21. We did the Kyle Valero + 1 south MoPac loop ride. It's sort of funny that this was the first long ride that I did with T3 when I started training with the team about a year ago...and it's the last long ride that I'll do with the team before CDA. (This coming week will be loops on south MoPac before my bike leaves on Thursday.) When I did this ride for the first time I remember feeling like I'd ridden to another universe - a very pretty one but a very far one. I rode with someone who didn't end up sticking with T3 very long and I was supposed to turn around at the first gas station but I went to the second one because I didn't want to ride alone! I remember not really knowing anyone that day; but I know I was at the back of the pack. And it felt sort of lonely but something clearly kept me coming back. Today I was also at the back of the pack. But I was with Amy. And it felt anything but lonely. What a difference. I now have no questions about what keeps me coming back. What a difference a year makes! In training, personally, professionally...wow. And I can't even say it's been a blur because I've felt so present in all of it. Very cool. I'm feeling very fortunate right now...and I'm grateful, not taking anything for granted.
And then to make the trip down memory lane a little longer, I ventured to the Danskin Triathlon Expo to help as needed. Danskin is the first triathlon that many women do. It was the first one I did...back in June 2004. I remember crossing the finish line with my friend Kimberly...I immediately exclaimed, "Cool! I want to do another one!" as Kimberly said, "I'm never doing that again in my life." Both statements held truth. I will forever credit Kimberly for getting me into the wonderful, crazy sport. And she's been a terrific friend and supporter along the way. Anyway, seeing so many women out at Decker Lake today getting ready to take on the Danskin Triathlon tomorrow made me excited. Some had done the race before. Some were total rookies - asking awesome questions and looking both nervous and excited to be doing this. I had a blast being out there...and am thinking that I could be a professional volunteer!
Later afternoon smoothie with Amy...plus a little shopping on the drag. Got to meet Amy's dogs, too! Rio and Norman...total cuties. And Rio didn't freak out when he saw me...clearly he thinks I'm okay!
Early to bed tonight so I can put in a solid 10 miles tomorrow with Laura...our other running buddies are riding tomorrow, out of town, or running earlier so I'll be trying to hang on the heels of speedy Laura. I'll let you know how I fare! For tonight though, I'll be thinking of just how different an athlete and person I am since my first Danskin 5 years ago...and even since my first long T3 ride 1 year ago. Life is a wonderful, crazy adventure...so glad to still be on it.