Holy Moly!

Truly amazing. That's what I said when I saw the headlines "First American Woman to Swim the Atlantic". But it was even more amazing when I saw that I KNEW the woman in the picture - Jennifer Figge.

Kurt and I met Figge way back in the early 90's on the bus to the Las Vegas Marathon starting line. She was walking up and down the bus aisle waving her magic wand saying "PR's for you and you and you...." She was very charismatic - someone you never forget. We laughed the entire time we were in her presence.

At the time, she was trying to run across every country (yes, every country) and when we got home, she mailed us a picture of her running across some God-forsaken middle-eastern country that I had never heard of.....with a big smile on her face.

Then a few years later, she told Kurt that she had developed osteoporosis and couldn't run anymore. She switched to swimming. She sent us a picture of her walking out of a mountain lake with a full wet-suit on (including her head) and smiling a big smile.

I remember being in total awe of her (but that was back when I could not even imagine swimming across Windsor Lake, let alone the Atlantic ocean).

Since then, she has swum across the Straits of Gibraltar, from Tahiti to Moorea, from Turkey to Greece, across the Cozumel Channel, in Sydney Harbor, and 52 miles from Cay Sal Bank in the Bahamas to Marathon in the Keys. Amazing....

Speaking of swimming, I actually did that this morning. Had a busy morning planned so got my butt down to the Rec Center at 6:20 this AM. Only swam for 30 mins but that is all that I can do right now.

Actually, this was kind of a cathartic swim. My kids were fighting a lot this weekend and after putting out fires all day long, I blew up at them. Totally exploded. It sounds funny now but it wasn't at the time. Although I had every reason to be angry, I don't feel good about yelling at my kids. I went to bed feeling like a horrible parent. My head is still reeling from all the drama.

The one good thing about endurance activity is the stress-relief it provides. Running, biking, swimming, whatever...it gives you time to calm down and process whatever it is that's bugging you. I needed that so much this morning that I actually looked forward to swimming. And that's a first!

Maybe Figge's magic wand really did work. I may not get a PR in anything but I sure got some good karma from her today.

Mommy got ran over by a snowplow....

Those were the words going through my head yesterday as I slugged through the dense snow in my neighborhood on my run (sung to the tune of "Grandma got run over by a reindeer....). I will pat myself on the back, however, because it was ZERO degrees outside and I got my butt out the door!

I'll give myself a double pat on the back because I made it to the pool this morning at 6:00 AM. It's kinda nice driving through Greeley at 0-dark-hundred....listening to Bret Saunders on KBCO....except I almost ran a red light and that woke me up.

It was worth it, however. Richard videotaped us today with his fancy-shmancy underwater camera. I learned that I need to keep my arms straighter after they enter the water....he said I'm bending them too much. I'll remember that along with the 100 other things you're supposed to remember while you swim (that's why I hate swimming, it's way too technical for my pea-size brain. Running is sooooo simple - it's just "right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot").

So I tried doing what Richard told me to do.....arms reach out further, hands enter the water with thumbs first (palms facing outward), pull arms back and then when they get right below your belly, bend your arms and then push all the way back.....ARRRGGGHHHH!!!! Why is it so hard to do this??? Will I ever be able to swim 2.4 miles in the ocean????

I used to think that an Iroman would be easier than running the Leadville 100 but now I'm not so sure....

Turkey Relays

Today at swim practice we had the "Turkey Relays". This is a beloved tradition of the master's swim group (from what I learned) and although Kurt tried to assure me that "it was for fun", my arms hurt so much right now that I can hardly type.

They started with a typical warm-up (which, for me, is a workout by itself): 250 yd swim, 250 yd pull-bouy (or whatever those things are called), and 250 kick (the easiest part for me). I could've easily gone home after that but nooooo, we had to do THE Turkey Relays.

It started with SIXTEEN fast 50's. SIXTEEN! Did you hear me??? I said SIXTEEN! I just about died. They were all very fast, very anaerobic. I wore my fins and thank God I did, there is NO way I could've kept up without them. My arms were killing me now!

Then we did a kick-set relay with 3 people on a team. That was easy. Being a veteran runner and cyclist, anything involving the legs is relatively easy for me. It's just swimming that is so hard on my wimpy little arms.

I realized this AM that this blog is more about me learning to swim than anything else. At least for now it is. I can run in my sleep - it's part of my existence that I don't even think about anymore. I just do it and I really enjoy it. I'm not particularly fast....at least not anymore but I can run forever and I can run up mountains. But put me in a pool and well, it aint pretty.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we're all doing the Turkey Trot. I hope I can get myself out of bed!

Humbling experience

I made it down to the pool again today (at 6:00 AM, mind you). This has been such an unusual experience for me that I feel the need to write about it! I've been running for 20-some years and it doesn't even enter my mind to mention that I ran today, yet I want to shout to the entire world that I actually swam AGAIN today. Must be love? No, it must be paranoia about swimming 2.4 miles in the ocean come November.

Anyway, I had a decent swim and the water wasn't cold like it was a few years ago. They say it's 84 degrees but whatever it is, I like it. But it was one of the most humbling experiences I've ever had.

There are 8-10 regular swimmers there, about half of which are triathletes who have done an Ironman (guys I know very well). My husband, Kurt, and a few women I haven't met are also there. Richard Hess is the coach and he has a workout for the group when we get there. I usually do my own thing because I could never keep up with everyone else.

Well, today I thought I might be able to keep up. I wore my fins which I thought would even things out. Wrong! I was still way behind everyone else. Plus, I couldn't seem to get my left arm to do what I wanted it to do. I ended up leaving on a sour note, feeling very frustrated and wondering if I'll ever be able to swim a mile.

I feel like I don't belong there. But I'm determined to keep trying. Kurt keeps telling me "it's only a matter of time before you will swim well". Everyone tells me I'm "doing fine", yet why I am so incredibly slow??? It's because I'm incredibly inefficient!

I'm going to keep trying.

I rode my bike trainer for 50 mins at noon. My house stays so cool that I didn't even consider riding outside because I was so cold in the house. Later, when I picked up my kids and we played outside for awhile, I saw how warm it was and kicked myself for not getting out for a ride. But at least I got a ride in.

For my ride, instead of using my Spinervals tape, I turned the channel to HGTV (which I love but never have time to watch) and decided to ride for the length of the show, increasing the pace during the commercials. It worked like a charm. I kept up a good pace during the show but then hit it hard during the commercials. Had a great workout that way!