sporty: August 2004 Archives

The end of my first full week of law school is drawing near and I'm exhausted. I'm hoping its just because this is all so new and will get better. My somewhat erratic sleep schedule this week hasn't helped (I've desperatly needed a nap every afternoon which has made it very hard to sleep at night). I'm definitly looking forward to the weekend. But I've got two more days to get through first.

I'm aching at the moment to get on my bike... any bike... and go for a ride. The trails are slushy thanks to this monsoon season we seem to be in. But the road would do. My knee feels about a jillion times better than it did at the end of last season, and running doesn't hurt it at all but the biking still makes it sore.

I've managed to go for short runs and lift or do yoga every day this week which I'm pretty proud of. But I'm already starting to feel like an out of shape slug. I miss feeling like an athlete. Its funny, because after Ironman Wisconsin 2002, I was forced to take 2 or 3 months off from EVERYTHING because my knee was so sore, and after Lake Placid I only took a couple weeks off and then started running again, so why do I feel so out of it? I think it may have something to do with the fact that for the first time in three years, I don't have an Ironman, or any race for that matter that I'm signed up for in the future.

I was considering an off-road du at the end of September but the knee doesn't quite seem to be cooperating, so I guess my off-road multisport debut will have to wait till next year. Whats most likely is that I will sign up for either the Kansas City Marathon or a trail 50k at the end of November. Both are good motivation to get my ass back in gear (hopefully still having a large endurace base from IM training).

So I've been thinking about the whole "50 marathons in 50 states" thing and how its kind of cool and how I'd kind of like to try something like that. But the idea of being locked into the 26.2 distance for that many races bores me. I thought about 50 tri's in 50 states but that doesn't really seem all that difficult (not that shorter triathlons are in any way easy, but if every tri counted you could rack 'em up pretty quick... I'd already have Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin...) So I'm toying with the idea of 50 ultra-distance races in 50 states. Including (but not limited to) Ironman, ultraruns, 24 hour mountain bike races, adventure races.... it seems cool and I like the idea of the freedom that the format provides. We'd have to decide what technically qualifies as "ultra" at some point. I'm pretty sure Ironman would count... thats one, but unfortunately NOT two (friggin Lake Placid!!) down... gonna wrestle with this idea some more....

Today I got my last complementary issue of Her Sports magazine, which I will now shamelessly plug.

This is the first attempt I've seen, since the very short lived (one issue I think?) Outside Women (or whatever it was called) mag to create a publication that is actually written and designed for women who want to lead healthy and active lifestyles. Sure, there are lots of magazines out there that SAY that is what they are doing... check out Shape, Hers, etc...where you can read all about how to tone your butt and flatten your abs. This magazine is different. This magazine encourages sport and fitness for a different reason: because its fun.

I can't really say that by reading this mag I've figured out how to take 10 minutes off my 10k time (truth be told, I've never run a standalone 10k), do a 24-hour mountain bike race, or finish the damn Ironman next time, but every time I put it down I WANT to go out there and do something. Sometimes a little inspiration is worth more than all the technical tips in the world.

My complementary subscription is up (thanks Active) and I think I will be signing up for an actual 12 month subscription.

Last night J and I watched last night's swimming events, along with the men's gymnastics competition, some volleyball, and synchronized diving (which I didn't even know was a sport). As it usually does, it left me longing for some sort of greatness and a life I once led. I wondered if I took a year and swam my butt off, if I could walk on to the KU team. I bet I could and I might actually consider giving it a try just to see if it could be done after 7 years off if I were a sophomore in college... not a first year law student!

So last night I lifted for the second time since Lake Placid. It was the first time I've been able to do lower body stuff because of my knee and it felt oh so good. I'm a little sore (muscle-wise) today but nothing major and the knee feels great. I miss this feeling. Tomorrow I'm done with my skin testing and then its time to get movin again.

In the great decision making process of whether or not to do Ironman Wisconsin next year, I'm leaning away from it. The more I think about it, the more I think that maybe this is a good year for some time off. From what I've heard the first year of law school is the hardest and most important. I think that maybe I need to look at the big picture here and see that the better I do in school this year, the more options I will have in my future and that this will help me to be able to do this sort of thing for the long haul. I also want to be able to take a really cool job this summer without having to think about whether or not I could to it because of Ironman training. I want to be able to study, travel, hang out with some new people and be able to take every oppurtunity that comes my way.

That doesn't mean I will be sitting on my ass. I still plan on doing some crazy cool endurance events, just ones with smaller time and money commitments. As of right now I'm planning on doing the local sprints next summer, but I also really want to get into off-road stuff. There is an off-road tri down in Oklahoma in June and several in Colorado throughout the summer and a couple off road duathlons here in Lawrence. I miss mountain biking. I also really want to try my hand (or legs) at trail running... thinking about doing a 50k in November! It'll be nice to have some different options for a while!! There's also the possibility of doing a small local iron race if I somehow end up getting the training in.

(Please forgive me for quoting Garth Brooks)

Its a beautiful 70something degree day ... in August these are few and far between. I would like nothing more than to be out on a bike grinding out the miles on the road or trying desperatly to stay upright on the singletrack, but alas, I'm still injured.

Almost two weeks post-Ironman and the knee is still sore. *growl* I've been walking a bit (in flip flops so as to not have any misillusions of actually exercising) but really miss not being able to really do what I love. I'm trying to tell myself that if I'm patient, by the time that the temps actually cool down for good, I will be healed and ready to rumble. But I'm getting antsy.

I'm thinking that this evening I might saddle up the old mountain bike and go for a spin down the bike path. I'm torn tho as to the attire to wear for this. I'm assuming a helmet is a good idea (mainly so as not to be a hypocrite because I scowl when I see people out without them), but beyond that, what does one wear? Would I look like a complete joker on a 5 mph spin on the MTB wearing the normal gear? Bike shorts, jersey, swanky helmet, Rudy Projects? To make this matter even worse, I have yet to develop the cajones to move my clipless pedals to my MTB, so I would be sporting all this attire with running shoes or potentially TEVAs or birkies. Would it make a difference if I wore my Ironman socks?

Maybe I'll just go for another walk... ;)

Last night I dreamt that I decided to return to my swimming days. In my dream, I was at my first meet since my 6 year hiatus and I was about to swim the 200 fly, which once upon a time was by far and away my best event. It was so vivid. We were at the St. Pete's beautiful pool that sits right on the beach and my old swim coach was there. I was so nervous because it had been so long since I had last raced and the 200 fly is anything but an easy event. I remember getting on the blocks and taking a brief look down that loooong pool before bending over and taking a few deep breaths and clapping my hands several times. Funny how excited I was to do it in my dream. That small stupid thing, hand clapping on the blocks, had become my signature. It fired me up and hopefully distracted the people next to me a bit. And in my dream it just felt so right and so good to be doing something like this again.

I'm not gonna lie, I miss it at times. The Olympics is coming around again which means that the TV is full of images of people (some of whom I knew personally and who made up part of my athletic childhood) doing what I used to do flash on the screen. I'm not comparing myself to them, I would have never made the Olympics, I would have been extremely lucky to have made the trials or Senior Nationals.. but those images still represent something that I was once pretty darn good at. And something I loved deeply. I miss the competition. I miss being able to get on the blocks and look around and have confidence in the fact that this was what I was meant to do.

I don't feel this way about triathlon, not yet at least. I took my swimming VERY seriously and was pretty good at it. Triathlon is all for fun and I'm definitly not the biggest threat on the roads. I'm always torn about how seriously to take this sport. I think most of me wants to just enjoy it, to NOT make it what swimming was... but part of me also misses the pure adrenaline rush that I got when I got on the blocks for a 200 fly or 400 IM knowing that I was in for a helluva race...

I just wanted to write a quick note thanking everyone who has been oh so supportive after my DNF at Ironman USA. It was incredibly disappointing and I'd be lieing if I said my "ok"-ness about the whole thing has always been as high as it was when I wrote that race report. Coming home from one of these things and having to face the fact that all that time and money and energy didn't get you to where you wanted to go is not easy. All in all, I've managed to be pretty positive, but it hasn't been easy. The kind words and reassurances that I've gotten from my friends near and far have helped more than you will ever know... Thank you.

I have been toying with the idea of signing up for Ironman Wisconsin (aka MOO) next year. I know, I know... I said I would take a year off. Do other things. Ride my mountain bike and sleep till noon and drink a lot of wine. But I'm not sure if thats the route I want to go just yet. I feel like I COULD use a year off from Ironman, but I don't know that I'm ready for it yet... I don't know that I want to go into that year off after a DNF. I feel like I need to conquer this beast again. I had such a great experience at Wisconsin in 2002 and in some ways I think it would feel SO RIGHT to go back there and get the job done this time.

I've got a month and a half or so to decide what I want to do. Even longer if I decide to race in the collegiate division.