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. 

If at first you do succeed...still Tri again!

Finish picture from Pardeeville Sprint Tri July 2016

I am not a multisport newbie.  Over the last 11 years or so I have done 15 duathlons, 17 triathlons and participated in 15 or 20 relays.  The dus and tris were largely "super sprint" distance (also called mini tri, try a try, teaser tri, starter tri, etc) along with a few sprint distance tris. 

What I have never done before is personal coaching.  I've had a coaches for running and I've taken part in triathlon programs.  I've been a member of a number of running and/or triathlon teams.  But when I hired a coach through my current tri team starting September 1 that was a new thing.

Always in the past I have pretty much thought of myself as a runner who does the occasional du or try.  As such, I have concentrated on running and used biking and swimming as cross training.  Even when I was part of the Tough Cookies, a women's tri team in Austin, TX and sort of following their tri training program this was my mind set. 

Oh, of course I did some masters swim sessions, and a few open water workshops.  And yes, I did a series of bike workshops several years ago...and some group rides.  But it was always a bit of an aside.  

It isn't that I haven't had success in duathlons and triathlons.  For example, in 2013 I was third masters Athena at the Fast and Furious sprint duathlon...enough to get me an invitation to du nationals (though I didn't compete in Nationals) 

Glenda and I in 2013 waiting for Fast and Furious awards

And I've done well in a few  tris, like....

This age group 2nd at the Ranger's Mini Sprint Tri at the School for the Deaf in Austin, TX

Or this age group first at the Earlybird  Sprint Tri in Whitewater, WI in 2017

I've enjoyed my past triathlons, and I don't feel any need or desire to be an Ironman or a Half Ironman...or even to do Oly. A sprint is a stretch for me, in terms of both race and training time. 

So if I have done these before, and I have had success in the past, and I don't want to do a different distance...why pay for personalized coaching?   It is simple.  I want to train for triathlon...not be a runner who is dabbling. I want to get to a start line at least as confident about the swim and bike as I am the run. Many people can do that by following a plan in a book, and many do. Many people can do that by participating in a training group and doing a set plan, and many do.

But for me a coach is important. Having one adds a layer of accountability.  There is also the fact that I do have some restrictions, physically and personally.  A coach can both personalize a plan to accommodate these restrictions and give a little nudge when I lean into them too hard.   It is the case that these limitations are real ...but that does not mean that I should not push to be the best I can despite them. 

So I've started early, my first race next season is the first weekend in May, I have another mid-July and I'm looking for something in August or September.  Right now I am building base...which means I'm swimming and biking more than I ever did.  And doing workouts that are structured.  I've already moved beyond dabbling runner status.

I know many people may wonder why I started so early.  I don't think that is necessary for everyone..but for me I knew I would need some time to navigate the relationship with the coach.  Physical issues need to be discussed and worked through...and personalities enter in to it.  I knew this from working with run coaches in the past and I am very glad that I can afford to start early and work through everything in to a comfortable working relationship.

I am now nearly 2 months in...and there is still some coaching relationship navigation going on.  But so far, so good!

Examining my path

If all goes according to plan, I will be finishing my quest to run in all 50 states in June or July of 2019.  I have other quests, of course...the Canadian Provinces and the counties in Wisconsin.  But a few years ago I did a sprint triathlon (not a relay) and have decided I would like to do another...but I want to do this one with more guidance than a book or my own guesswork.  I started looking into a coach, and have chosen one, I am spending a lot of time thinking about my path.  What do I want?  What am I willing to do? What is possible?

I have come to the conclusion that that last one is not the right question.  I know any number of people who will tell me that I can do anything I put my mind to and that nothing is impossible.  They mean well, I know, and are trying to be motivating.  I also know that pretty much all of us can do more than we think, and we can accomplish big things if we work hard (this is not the same as being able to do anything we put our minds to, btw). 

The real question here is, what are my priorities? And having identified those, what is it that I want and am willing to do? I am still working through this...and will probably continue to do so through my first months with my coach (I start in September). But this blog explores where I am with all of this now.  

I think people pursue recreational athletics for a lot of reasons, and I share some of those reasons with people...but I very decidedly do not share some of the common ones that I have read about.  My path is different from many, but I am not lost. Conveying what my path is, and what I want it to be, is now my task as I approach this coaching relationship. It is a coach's job to help you along your path...but you need to be able to tell them what that path is and where you want to go.  

Perhaps I should start by defining what it isn't...

It is not for the huge challenge. To be 100% honest, my life is challenging enough. For the last 18  years, I have been the primary family caregiver for a family member...my daughter.  She is doing reasonably well these last few months, and she lives in assisted living, so it isn't a 24/7 job physically, but the emotional component cannot be ignored. I also live with a couple of chronic illnesses, that are well handled, but require some energy. I am not saying "poor me" here...just saying that I am not looking for challenge for the sake of overcoming challenge. 

It is not to prove something to the world. I am 61 years old, and the older I get the less I care what the world thinks of me.  Soon I will be that little old lady in the Jenny Joseph poem who decides to, ".. wear purple with a red hat that doesn't go, and doesn't suit me," (because she likes to and doesn't care what others think). Of course I am pleased if people say they admire my work or are inspired by something I said or did.  It is nice to be appreciated.  But I no longer set out to be admirable, if that makes any sense. 

It is not to win.  Or rather not to win in the traditional sense.  For me every time I toe the start line is a win...every time I hit the finish line is certainly a win.  You can tell by the look on my face when I finish a race that, that is truly winning.  Do I ever place?  Occasionally.  Do I like it when I do? Of course.  But it isn't the point.  Being out there is. 

Proof that finishing=winning

And here are some things it is....

Getting and staying fit is one motivation for my journey.  I'll admit to not being the best in terms of my diet, but working out still helps maintain better blood sugar..and keeps me stronger (if not as thin as I'd like).  There is still a tremendous difference from when I started...and I want to keep building on that.  

This is where I started!

Enjoying what my body can do is an another important factor. For a lot of my life, I have been concentrated on what I can't or shouldn't do....starting with problem hips, later a banged-up knee and a less than perfect back and of course just getting older.  I don't know how many times that I was told by both medical professionals and concerned family and friends that I couldn't or shouldn't do something.  I bought it for a long time.  But then I decided that I'd be conservative, but I would try.  I found that I had to be a little careful not to push too hard too soon, but it was miraculous how good it felt to move and sweat. And as I go through phases of faster and slower, I am still grateful for these feelings. 

Just preparing myself to succeed :)

Having fun though, is my main goal.  That means I wear costumes, build relay teams and do goofy stuff. But it also means enjoying the feeling of moving in a group environment.  I will never beat myself up for not being competitive. But I would not be happy if I didn't pursue my race days, with the same intensity and passion that my grandchildren exhibit on the playground.

...with all the passion and intensity that entails!

This may sound like I'm not interested in working hard, but I am and I will..and I'm looking forward to seeing what this year brings.