RIP, Mrs. Russell

One of my favorite teachers died yesterday. Mrs. Nancy Russell taught social studies in sixth grade, ninth grade and 10th grade. To my knowledge, no other teacher had that much access to students in the VVS school district. I could be wrong, but it hardly matters. She taught me to love social studies, so much that when it was suggested I major in history in college, I jumped at it.
I remember several things about Mrs. Russell, especially once I hit high school. She was a teeny-tiny woman, a size 0 at most. Though small, she could command a room, but not in an overbearing way. She was good at getting, and keeping, your attention.
Her engagement ring was the most unusual I have ever seen--a huge black pearl, which looked ginormous on her tiny finger. I remember her telling us about how she preferred black pearls to diamonds--the things you remember, eh?
And I remember when I came back from the eye doctor, having gotten glasses, and she coaxed me into putting them on for the first time. Age 14 is a tough time for everyone--add eyeglasses into the mix, and it's really embarrassing. But she was wonderfully supportive, and generous in her praise for how "good" they looked on me.
Thank you, Mrs. Russell, for being a super teacher, a good friend and one of the consistent adults in my adolescence.
I hope my school-days friends will comment on this blog, if only as a way to pay tribute to a super lady.

Resolved: No Resolutions

I am not a big believer in New Year's resolutions. I mean, why wait until the first of the year to think about and implement changes. If you're thinking a mere once a year about improving yourself, it seems to me you're doomed to fail; shouldn't you be thinking about getting better every single day?
That said, I rather prefer to refer to them as goals. It turns what are negatives into positives.
So, instead of "I will lose 10 pounds" (oh, the work those five words dredge up!), how about "I will run 35 miles a week" or "I will strength-train three days a week." Already we feel better because the goal is action-oriented. And those five pounds will pretty much take care of themselves.
"I will quit drinking" sounds like you're beating yourself up. Try instead, "I will replace the alcohol I drink with water or herbal tea." Ahhhh, so much more soothing.
And of course there's no reason to wait until the turn of a new year to get to work! You can start running tomorrow, and take a glass to work that you will keep full of water (after you've already emptied it, of course).
So, here are a few of my Fitness Goals for 2011. Some I can implement while I'm recuperating from foot surgery. Some will have to wait until the doctor sends me on my way (April 11, I'm hoping--my 50th birthday).
Run another marathon; if I qualify for Boston, so be it. I'm not going to beat myself up if I don't.
Mix up my race selections. I did this last year and we enjoyed going to new places to compete, Shoreline Triathlon, Loop Around the Lake. We look at these as mini-vacations, day trips to new places. It's even more of an adventure that way. And our tradition is to get breakfast afterwards; upstate New York truly has an eclectic collection of diners, with interesting characters sitting at every table.
Practice yoga once a week, and joyfully. Some days I just don't want to, but here's what I've discovered about yoga--you always, always, always feel better after challenging your hamstrings in downward-facing dog.
I'll leave you here with a biggie, one that is very difficult for me, though it's more and more essential as I face my 50s--rest; every 10 days, take a day off.
In a few months, we'll check back and see how I'm doing. As it is, I have printed off a list of 10 goals and will tape them to my dresser mirror.

The Waiting. . .

I am looking at eight days until my foot surgery, and while I'm not relishing the thought of being unable to use my foot for five weeks I also realize the problem has to get fixed. Since I scheduled the surgery for Dec. 10 I've been running some (not at all fast), racing when I could (just because I can), swimming often and biking when the weather cooperates. I'm still lifting weights and practicing yoga, but at this point it's all to keep some amount of fitness. It's hard for me to believe that two months ago I finished, in a respectable time, a half-ironman triathlon.
Still, I anticipate the surgery to fix a bunion and dislocated second toe because I know I'll come through it a better, stronger athlete. I'll be entering a new age group in 2011 (50-54), competing against some of the strongest women athletes I know. I've had it easy these last few years because they have bumped up in age. Now I'll have to work hard just to be able to chase them.
Competing against the sisterhood is one reason I enjoy competing at all. We are all so supportive of each other, even though we all want to win!
So, my plan is to rest up as long as the doctor says I have to (which will be verrrrry difficult for me), and start upper body and ab work as soon as he gives his approval. Then after five weeks he should be able to take the pin out of my toe and I can get back into the pool. With luck, I can walk/run starting in March. I have already signed up for an Olympic-distance triathlon, July 31. That should give me plenty of time to train enough to at least finish the distance. That'll be a good race to gauge my progress and proceed from there.
I am in no way whining about this surgery; I know this is a blip, especially when I look at folks suffering from a chronic disease, or dealing with cancer. But it's my reality and I'm trying to make the best of it.
See you on the roads in April!

Injury to Insult

For me, injuries are the most humbling aspect of being an endurance athlete. You feel invincible, you just ran a 4-hour marathon, you just completed (in respectable time) a half-ironman triathlon, and gradually you are slowed by a pain that seems to appear out of nowhere. In reality, you've ignored it for months, hoping it will go away.
2007 was my best year ever--I set a PR (personal record) in every distance I raced, and missed qualifying for Boston by less than two minutes. I was regrouping from that disappointment when, snap!, the second metatarsal on my left foot snapped in two. I had felt pain in that area for weeks, the result of a stress fracture, but not knowing what a stress fracture felt like, I just kept on running.
The day the doctor put me in a cast I cried like a baby, and I kept crying for a few weeks, my dear, supportive husband patiently tolerating my fits. Six weeks later, the cast was off and I gingerly started a run/walk regimen. Eventually I got my groove back until first the left hamstring, then the right hamstring, then the piriformis muscle sent me screaming for the Aleve and the chiropractor.
Each time I have gotten injured, I have gotten angry about it. It just seemed so unfair, at first. But then it causes you to reassess, back off a bit and change some aspect of training, whether it's biking more and running less or working to strengthen those ever-vital hamstrings.
This latest injury started acting up some time in March. I have gotten two cortisone shots to try to alleviate the discomfort I feel at the ball of my right foot. The fact that they didn't work led the doctor to refer me to a podiatrist, who took one look at the foot and immediately diagnosed the problem.
So. . .I will be having foot surgery in December. It's not going to be pleasant or pretty, but it is necessary if I plan to keep competing. The bunion I have developed will not go away; the only way to manage it is for a doctor to operate. He has said I will be out of commission 3-4 months, but, given my obviously high tolerance for pain, it could be 2-3 months. That dashes my plans for a lot of triathlons next year--I don't want to register for races I might not be able to swim/bike/run, and the registrations close so quickly I might just be out of luck. That one we'll wait and see on.
Once I have the go-ahead I will get back in the pool, back on the bike, back into my running shoes, healthier and pain-free. So this will short-term discomfort for long-term gain; not a bad tradeoff.

Managing the Malaise

I read it very well might happen, but I didn't think it would happen to me: the post-race blues. Since I never suffered through postpartum depression after my two kids were born, I didn't think this would affect me--but it has.
So despite my personal triumph in the Syracuse Half-Ironman, that high has not translated.
Some mornings I sleep until 6:30, even though the alarm is set for 4:30. Some mornings, I run 3 miles instead of 7. Some mornings, I just don't want to get on my bike, so I don't. I've had a flat tire for about a week, and I just don't feel in any rush to get it fixed (though I'm buying a new tube today).
The pool? While the thought of gliding through the warm water comforts me, I just don't feel like hassling with leaving work, changing, swimming, showering, changing and going back to work. Seems like too much trouble these days.
Now part of the issue could be this nagging right-foot pain I've suffered with for about six months. Some days it's better than others, Aleve helps, and it doesn't hinder my running; it just makes it less enjoyable than usual. I am seeing a podiatrist next Friday, and hope for some definitive answers, and a solution to the problem. I'd even consider surgery; at least then the issue won't keep popping up.
I signed up to race a 5-miler in Eastwood on Sunday; somehow I'm still able to run fairly quickly, though my speed isn't what it used to be. Training more for endurance, plus the foot pain, kept me away from the track all season.
So, I'll keep pushing through this haze, planning my workouts, likely upping my weight work to three times a week since biking falls off when the weather worsens, and think about running a half-marathon in April. If I need foot surgery, that would give me plenty of time to heal and recover and train. Either way, having a goal should help dispel the malaise that has descended. I can only hope.