A Strange Season

Glenda personifies the current oddness of life

Since my last installment, pretty much everything that was on the calendar for 2020 was cancelled...but that doesn't mean we just gave up.  Sometimes you have to embrace the strange and do what you can with it. So this blog is a catching up for this strange season an there will be more focused posts going forward. I think it mainly goes to show that life changes, but at least for me the REALLY important things haven't stopped (just maybe gone a bit virtual).

VIRTUAL VACATION SHENANIGANS

In June, we took a virtual running cruise to Alaska!  It was appropriate, since Alaska is one of our favorite places to go...and running cruises are one of our favorite ways to travel.  The "trip" included a FaceBook page where there were several activities such as telling jokes on hump day and karaoke on friday as well as just general sharing.  

We definitely went all in on the jokes...here's an example

There was also Karaoke and other photos and videos. 

And at the end of the cruise we got an "Oscar" for all our shenanigans...and Shenanigans Studios was born.  (A bit more on that later)

And of course there were virtual races.

The first virtual Alaska was the Moosehead 5k.  We repped for Bullwinkle Moose's alma mater (and it was my latest 5k so far this season)

Who better for a treasure hunt than a pirate and a prospector

A couple of well-fed Ravens (in honor of the Skinny Raven running store in Anchorage) ran a trail predictor race the "Ward Lake Loop"

Claiming to be "Fittish" for the final 5k 

MORE VIRTUAL RACES (AND ONE REAL ONE!)

Besides the Alaska Races, there have been a number of other virtual races including a Summer series put on by some of the same people that do the Virtual (and real, when it is possible) running cruises.  As such they each had a different way to win the race, which I find very appealing. 

The Summer 5 x 5k series

Race #1 was a patriotic themed "treasure hunt" that we did on July 4. (I also added on to complete the Have a Blast 4-miler)

Race #2 was the Lemonade 5k...a prediction race (I never predict well!) So of course we were lemony!

Race #3 was the Ice Cream 5k, to win you had to have the median time.  I was slower and Glenda was faster, but we definitely had the ice cream gear

Race #4  The Lightning But was all about speed (and Glenda won!)...we ran in at dusk with firefly skirts and blinking lights

And finally, race #5...the Roller Coaster.  Cue the hills, the rollercoaster skirt and the silly shirts

Plus 2 Virtual 5ks, a Du and a Tri (or 2)

Also in the last couple of months, I did a couple of other virtual 5ks which appealed to me, the 2nd in my progressive Du series, and a Virtual Triathlon that replace a travel race slated for October.  I also did another tri, but I'll talk about that later. 

On July 13 I did my second du of the year, one I completely made up, based on one I did years ago...The Suellen's a Tough Cookie Du

On July 28, I repped for Wisconsin in the Big Ten Network 5k, a race I've been meaning to do for awhile that was virtual this year

On August 7, I completed the Ramblin' Rose Virtual Tri (250 yds/9 mile bike/2 mile run) which took the place of the race I was to have done in Chapel Hill, NC.  Incidentally, I got one of my favorite run pictures of the year so far

August 18, 2020 was the hundredth anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment "Women's Suffrage" ...I ran a 5k to honor the day.

And a racetastrophy

And then there was the real life Du that wasn't.  I signed up for the Screw City Du months and months ago.  It was actually held on the 26th of July (after a postponement from May).  There were lots of precautions in place and masks were required except while actually racing.  The day came and the heat index at the 8 am start was over 90 degrees and the heat was oppressive.  By the end of the first run I knew it wasn't my day...so I dropped to the 2 mile run option.  Probably my worst race day ever. 

Masks and medals at the hottest race(s) ever

A BIG BIRTHDAY REIMAGINED

On July 8, 2020 my Mom turned 90 years old.  Originally we had planned for a big party, but COVID-19 put a stop to that. So the family "divided and conquered" to come together

The birthday girl on her 90th...doesn't she look great?

First came the "card shower" before the birthday...she got cards and letters from many.  There were signs in her yard and on her door into the hall in her condo. 

On the day of her birthday, my son's family brought candy and the girls made a giant card, my brother and his wife brought her a steak dinner, and later we stopped by with cake. 

A few days later there was a firetruck parade, photos, another cake and a family Zoom meeting with special guest appearances by several old friends and co-workers. After all of this Mom declared herself more than sufficiently celebrated.

SUCKING IT UP FOR MY KIDDO

On July 21, 2020 my daughter. Melanie was scheduled for back surgery to extend her spinal fusion.  She was allowed one support person and I was elected.  

I hadn't been able to see Mel for some time as for several weeks her group home was being very careful about visitors. But once the surgery was scheduled, I attended her last two pre-op appointments. I also spent the night in a hotel the night before the surgery and sat in the hospital most of the day of surgery.

I was glad to do those things for her, but the anxiety about these visit was pretty overwhelming. 

Pre-surgery photo in her stylish chapeau. After a month, she is healing well, through inpatient rehab and back home.  Surgery appears to have been a success.

TAKING A CHANCE WITH A SHORT TRIP

We had MANY trips cancelled this year.  One of them was a trip with our granddaughters and their parents to Branson, MO in July.  At that point the virus was high in our area and blowing up in that area of Missouri/Arkansas, and none of us was comfortable with the trip.  

So we decided that we needed to try to find something safer.  We settled on a big house in Door County, WI with amenities that meant that we didn't have to interact with the rest of the world any more than we wanted. We were fortunately able to be quite certain that no one had the virus before we went.

There was fishing both in Sturgeon Bay (directly behind the house) and the stocked swimming/and fishing pond in the front of the house. 

Fisher Ellie

Fisher Maeve

Some of the fisher crew

Swimming was another favorite activity

The pond had a floating dock

And we put on our own triathlons,  one for us and one for the kids

Ellie finishes the tri

Maeve dashes to the finish

Glenda and I preparing to start our tri

And of course, there were s'more...because, s'mores!

S'mores!

BECOMING UNRETIRED

About 18 months ago I announced my retirement from adjunct teaching,  mostly because helping to deal with all of Melanie's issues before, during and after her major bladder surgery was consuming. Between that and our athletic and travel pursuits I couldn't really give my work the time and energy it deserved.  But I really never fully adjusted to being retired, I frankly did not like it.

Once Melanie was settled not quite a year ago, I told just one school (that I'd been adjunct for for almost 9 years at that point), that I might be willing to teach again. I early August they contacted me to see if I would teach a class...and by the time all was said and done I was teaching two, and have been assigned two more for the Spring. 

MORE SHENANIGANS AHEAD!

So what's next?  Lots of things.  For instance starting August 30 we will be doing another virtual cruise...this time Hawaii! And there will be more videos and races and general goofiness. All of our videos are now "credited" to Shenanigans Studios, an idea born in the wake of our Alaska videos. 

Work in progress...adjusting to change.

Presenting at a conference in my academic persona

I have had a number of careers over the years.  I have been everything from a bartender, waitress and short order cook to a librarian to a business coordinator for a video game company to a librarian to a college professor.  And all the way I was very dedicated to my work...even defined myself by it.  And then, a year ago I retired.  But it didn't last and I went back to teaching for 9 months.  But now I have retired again...this time for real (I hope!).  That's a good thing, but it is also unsettling...what am I going to do with this chapter of my life?

So I am still finding my way, and will continue to be a work in progress.  But I have found a theme, which is not exactly what I expected it would be. So I want to talk about that theme, what I hope to do with it and how it is different from what I expected.

WHAT DID I EXPECT?

I will be totally honest.  As much as I was ready to retire, I feared that my life would be consumed by care-giving. Don't get me wrong, I love Glenda and I love my kids and grandkids and my mom, for that matter...and I want and expect to spend more time with them. Helping them is a good thing, and I want to do that. That said, however, I have been care-giving on an "extra" level for a long time for my daughter. 

This is Mel, my daughter

For many years after her accident she really needed my help on a high level, first helping with personal care, wound care, education, etc.  And later with coordinating medical care, housing, etc. It became so ingrained that I think I just assumed it would always be that way.

But here's the thing, Melanie is still a person who needs help and support and she still has health problems. But she also has a team to help her, she is in a safe place and as I am increasingly aware she is developing her own voice and is getting better and better at advocating for herself. It is time for me to truly be a mother to this adult...not a manager or care-giver.  

I will always want to spend time with her and be supportive, just as I like to spend time with any of my family...and wish to be supportive of them.  I am sure there will be struggles, but I'm actually looking forward to seeing how things progress. 

SO WHAT IS THE THEME?

Me before I started running

A little background, when I was in graduate school working on my dissertation I started walking and going to a women's gym called Curves just to help my brain activate.  Before this time, even though Melanie and Glenda were running and racing I was still claiming to be the world's biggest indoors woman. I was heavier, yes, but what I really want people to see here is that I was unfit, disconnected from my body and a little scared to try to change that.

One day Glenda was out walking with me and I was suddenly struck with an idea and without thinking I said it out loud.  I turned to Glenda and said, "D'ya think I could walk a 5k?  I'd like to try." Once she picked herself up off the ground, she encouraged me to do it.  And when we got home, we found one and signed up.

By the time I finished grad school, I decided my next big dream would be to train for a marathon.  About this time I also got a tattoo, which reminds me that there should always be dreams.  I realize I have appropriated a native symbol...but the idea of catching dreams is so close to my heart and I couldn't find a better way to remind myself (and others). So I thank that culture for my reminder. 

My reminder to continue to "catch" my dreams

I did that marathon in 2009, and though it was my only one, I have continued to train and race and try new things ever since.  It has not only made me fitter, it has improved my confidence...even though I never got very good at it.  I'm still slow, and not getting much faster...but it doesn't matter.  It is for me both my health regimen and my playground.  And I want to share it with other people like me. 

So the theme is PASS IT ON. PAY IT FORWARD. GIVE BACK.

CHEERING YOU ON!

I am not going to stop racing by a long shot,  but in the last several months, Glenda and I had made a concerted effort to cheer some local races instead of racing them.  And of course we do it in our own special way....with costumes and signs and sometimes music. 

The Blues Sisters cheering on their friends...and random strangers!

OTHER WAYS I AM THINKING OF PAYING FORWARD OR GIVING BACK?

In thinking about how I can give back, particularly to those who are just starting out or who are older, I began to think back over what I might have to offer.  One of those things is just support...mentoring, cheering, making myself available to help with training runs.

Then it occurred to me that both my research and my personal experience might help others just starting out. All the work I've done on play and also on the learning about self that comes with running could be turned into something.  And all the lessons I've learned about starting late in life and not being the fastest might have something to offer other beginners.

So I finally reached out to someone local who could help me find a way to mentor newbies and also possibly create talks or workshops.  And the response was positive. So we are in the planning and thinking it through process. 

Over the last several years I have come to discover what is important to me in a coaching program. And I finally seem to have found a coach who has the qualities that are important to me. I think those qualities might also be important to others.

Many older "adult onset athletes" or athena/clydesdale newbies, in particular seem to be somewhat intimidated by coaching...but could benefit from it. Even older and heavier and not new athletes like me can benefit. But it has to be the right kind of coach.  I haven't done much about it yet, but I'd like to get USAT certified and be a coach specializing in these types of athletes.  Stay tuned.

Finally, I think it is really important to document  those athletic moments (just as it is important to document all kinds of important moments).  I already work on a part time basis as an editor for Focal Flame Photography...a local company that photographs many local and regional events.  I hope to increase my involvement, and learn some new skills in the process. So stay tuned for that too!

So while none of this has come to pass yet...I am hopeful that some of it will soon, and I will keep considering more things. And, as always I will continue to be a work in progress.