Lovely

Yesterday was a lovely day for a bike ride - even if you are like me and you haven't ridden your bike outside for months and months and months. I'm pretty certain that I haven't ridden outside since last July - kind of skipped the whole fall riding thing.  Oh that's right...last fall I was under my own delusional plan to do "lots of road races." That really didn't go as I'd planned...live and learn.

Despite the constant headwind (at least it felt that way), the ride was gorgeous. We enjoyed a jaunt through Goochland, Henrico and Hanover (I think). I love riding out there - the scenery is pretty and the traffic is low...my kind of riding. Is it my imagination or has West Creek turned into some kind of crazy traffic zone? I felt safer out on the country roads than trying to deal with hostile soccer families. I never have considered soccer families as hostile...until witnessing how they drive in West Creek. I guess they don't believe in sharing the road?

Anyway, I haven't ridden that far (50 miles) since...um....2009. I will admit that I was pretty tired by the end. But it was that "good" kind of tired. The kind where you know you've really worked your muscles and cardiovascular system.

The day was capped off with a Richmond Spiders win (woohoo!!!) and dinner with some dear friends.

Yup....lovely

Hello blog!

It has been a long, long time since I last posted on my blog. What can I say? My return to the classroom comes with its share of sacrifices, including free time (what is that, anyway?) I have no regrets about leaving higher ed to return to the more intense grind of classroom teaching. While I really enjoyed my colleagues @ UR, I hardly ever saw them. We were like independent contractors sharing a hall. It was lonely for me. Yes, I like people. Now, I share a room with twenty first graders. There is nothing quiet or lonely about an elementary school - that is for sure. The energy, creativity and support at Collegiate are exceptional. It's quite a place - and I just love being there.

What about working out and triathlons? You may (or may not) be asking. Well, I fit my workouts in the only way that works. Usually, this means getting up very, very, very early....as in 4:30 a.m. It helps that Rick gets up at the same time. (We are obviously deranged, but we knew that already). Sadly, I am not running at all anymore. I have tried. In fact, I have tried just about everything from surgery to knee injections to stretching to lots of Aleve. If it's not my knees swelling like balloons, it's some secondary injury caused by running. Case in point: I developed a terrible case of plantar fasciitis last fall. It was so debilitating that I could barely stand on my feet to teach. Now that is just ridiculous. I need to be active and move around (a LOT) to keep up with seven-year old children.  After a lovely cortisone shot and some major anti-inflammatories, the pain settled down. But, I can only wear Dansko clogs or running shoes right now. I'm okay with that, but I would like to have the option to wear some sassy little shoes every now and then.

So...I have signed up for a few races - two are aquabikes and one is a Olympic distance triathlon. However, I probably won't do the run in the Olympic distance race. Yup - I'll DNF it. (Side note: if Set Up events would add the aquabike option to their Olympic distance events, I wouldn't have to DNF now would I? I don't know why they don't have that option).

In the grand scheme of life, giving up running isn't the end of the world. The truth is that it has lost its allure to me. After I run, I end up hobbling around. Isn't exercise supposed to make you feel better? I think so. So, I'll stick to things that make me happy without causing injury...like swimming...and biking....and teaching....and of course...wine drinking.

Back Home

Well...luckily, I do not have a torn meniscus (the good news). I just have really bad knees (otherwise known as old, bad and kinda boring news).

Let's not dwell on all that nonsense.

I am still so grateful that I added biking and swimming to my workout routine several years ago. They are keeping me sane - as is my return to the classroom.  Teaching first grade again is a unique combination of exhaustion  and energy - and even better than I remembered. Plain and simple, I love teaching again. Maybe it's because I'm older, but I am more conscious than ever that each of my students is a little bundle of potentiality in this world. My job is to (obviously) teach them the curriculum - but also instill in them the joy I feel in walking through our classroom doors. Pretty powerful stuff in my book.

I am finally at a point where I'm no longer sad about not being able to run as much as I'd like. It sure took awhile, but I'm (back) at a happy place. I may have underestimated how depressing two knee surgeries combined with a so-so prognosis can be. But I've worked though all that silliness.

This morning, I had flashbacks to training for Ironman Florida. (After all, IMFL is taking place right now). Sometimes, I wish I could go back in a time machine (a la "Lost") to experience certain moments of that day. There is nothing quite like your first Ironman race (or so they say - whoever "they" are). More importantly, today had flashbacks to how happy I felt training for that race.

In a sense, I'm home again.

Thank goodness.

Beware of dog

So...I went to see a sports doctor about my ongoing issues with plantar-however-you-spell-it-faciitis. While chatting with the doc, I mentioned that my knee was bothering me a little after my dog ran right into me (it's a good thing I love that dog as much as I do). Okay - maybe it was bothering me more than "a little." But, after two knee surgeries, I just didn't want to deal with the sharp knee pain I felt when trying to straighten my leg. I figured a little ice and Advil would take care of any issues, right?

Umm...maybe not.

I have what is known as a "meniscal cyst" - which, I have now learned, is commonly a symptom of a meniscus tear. We'll know more after next Tuesday's MRI.

It's possible I already had a small meniscus tear - and the force of my sweet, goofball dog's body slamming into my knee tore it a little more. Who knows. I have already had a conversation with Josie about her need to use more self-control around my tender knees. She wagged and licked me. I gave her a little pat and said it was okay.

And it really is okay.  I'm surprisingly okay with this possibility. My knee isn't hurting much at all, with the exception of when I try to run. So, I'm not running. A rather simple solution - but one that I'm not always very smart about doing. I can swim and bike as much as I like. So, that's what I'll do. I'm at a point in my life where I'm much more interested in being healthy and happy and pain-free.
I'm thinking I might do an aquabike event here and there next year as my friends and hubby gear up for their next big Ironman. We'll see.

And - I will be much more vigilant of my dog when she does her little "run around like a puppy" routine.

Random Post

So...I've had no real training plan this fall and it's been kind of nice. I decided to take a break from triathlons until 2011 or 2012 or whenever the spirit moves me. Maybe it will...maybe it won't. I have gotten back into twice/week strength training which my old body definitely needs. I've been swimming a little - and by that I mean once in the past three weeks. Luckily, ProK will soon be kicking my slack butt again soon. (Oh no...does that mean I have to try that insane butterfly stroke again? Talk about feeling uncoordinated...)

And I'm running more - about 3 times/week. I've run in Asics for years, but I've decided that I'm not a fan of those clunkers anymore, especially when the dreaded plantar fascitis reared its ugly head again. It plagues me - and I'm blaming the shoes.

After doing some research and chatting with the nice guy @ the Short Pump 3sports, I have switched to some super-light Sauconys. I LOVE them. I ran yesterday with Rick and actually felt kinda peppy at the end of the run. (Or maybe I was just elated that I was not running 20 miles like my somewhat crazy hubby). Whatever the reason, it was a gorgeous morning for a run.

Anti-Garmin

A few weeks ago (while trying to get organized), I found my old Garmin. It's one of the older versions, but it still works. Of course, I immediately became entranced in figuring out how to get the thing working (instead of cleaning out some boxes of junk - I can be such a good avoider of mundane tasks). Despite the fact that the Garmin was twice the size of my wrist and basically looked like some kind of James Bond gadget, I decided to use it to pace my runs.

I discovered that I do not like it one bit.

The Garmin completely sucked the joy of running right out of me. I mean seriously - do I really need to know how slowly I'm running up a hill or how erratic my pace can really be? I don't think so. I found myself checking my pace about every other minute. What I should've been doing - which I've done all my life - is to rely on how I feel. Do I feel like I could hold this pace all day or do I feel like I might pass out?And most importantly - am I enjoying this experience?

Before the Garmin, the only time I even thought about about my pace was a) during a track workout or b) in a race. And these days (considering what my knees have been through), I don't give my pace much thought.

I just run because I like it - and I can (thankfully) do it again.

This morning I put the Garmin back in the box I found it in. I laced up my running shoes and headed out on a run. I took in the gorgeous blue sky and felt the strong breeze on my face. Yup - I enjoyed that experience.

HOT

Umm...so it's really, really hot in Richmond these days (in case you missed that minor fact).  Obviously, it makes sense that I would try out Bikram yoga (also called "hot" yoga) on a day where the temperature in the shade was over 100.
In my defense, I've been wanting to add some form of yoga to my workout repertoire (thank you Rusty for inspiring me).  I checked out the wide variety of classes at one studio and was...overwhelmed.  How the heck do I know which type of yoga to choose? Sure - I could check out each class and decide, but that makes way too much sense.
My buddy Debbie Jo reminded me of good ol' Bikram yoga. Years ago (like eight or nine), I tried it and actually liked it. I remember vaguely that it was extremely hard - almost to the point of misery - and that I sweat like crazy.  And that one time, I almost passed out. I am not averse to passing out while working out (remember - my nickname is four-bagger)...so...I signed up for a class.
First, I made the really smart decision to go for a long (for me) run in the heat. But, I ran with my friends from Team in Training so how could I miss that?
I followed that up with not eating or drinking enough post-run (which is rare for me - I love eating post workout).
I did survive my 90 minute bikram yoga class.

Barely.

It was oh so humbling because I'm not flexible and I definitely was struggling to adapt to the heat in the yoga room (yup - they keep it at a solid 105 degrees).
But, I liked it. It's an incredibly supportive group. I realized pretty quickly that no one cared if I...well...sucked. Once that class was over (and I was able to regroup with my icy cold lavender scented towel) I was so proud that I actually stayed in the darn room and even attempted some of the postures. And - get this - an hour or so later (after I HAD eaten and drank enough), I felt...great. 

I'm going back this week.