It's 3am...

It's 3 am...


...and I'm wide awake.


These last few weeks have been rather eye-opening for me, pun intended.


As many of you know, I broke a toe 2 weeks ago. I stubbed it on Friday, December 5th and had surgery the following Thursday (December 11th) to put a pin in the spiral fracture to keep the bones together and stationary while it heals.


My doc said he wouldn't routinely do this, but because of my running, Spinning and biking, he recommended we hold the bones together with something besides taping one toe to the other. He promised me a quicker recovery and less pain when I started running again. (My orthopedist is one of my Spinning students; we've known each other for 10 years.)


His original plan was to put two screws in the toe, but luckily he was able to get the two bones secured with just one pin; no incision and the pin will be removed at the end of 4 weeks post-op.
Of course, this means I am wearing one of those awful "moon boots" on my foot to keep my foot from moving around and to protect the exposed pin from getting stepped on. I'm still supposed to "stay off" the foot, and when I do walk, I'm to keep my weight off the front of the foot so I'm really hobbled by it.


Worse still? No walking, spinning, running or swimming. Yeah, you heard right. The cardio junkie is spending most of her free time on the couch.


And let me state, for the record, that if this is the worst thing that happens to me this year or next, I'll consider myself a fortunate person. In the scheme of things, I'm grateful for my health and my family's health, and I'll never take it for granted. But that doesn't mean I have to be happy about this!


I've always said no one ever got fat from sitting around...that people get fat from sitting around eating. So I'm trying my best not to do that. The good news here is that cooking is cumbersome--I am slow at EVERYTHING right now--so I haven't been too tempted to replace my exercise time with kitchen time.


But while inactivity alone may not make you fat, it has a whole lot of other downsides. And maybe for people who aren't used to exercising a lot, these things aren't an issue, but for me, as I'm entering my third week of doing absolutely nothing, I'm learning a lot about the hazards of inactivity...and a lot about myself.


1) Exercise is a powerful anti-depressant. Endorphins are feel-good hormones and exercise increases seratonin levels. Exercise improves your mood and decreases anxiety; suddenly doing without it is a lot like stopping your Prozac without weaning yourself from it. To call me "grumpy" would be a gross understatement.


2) Exercise improves your circulation and sweating makes your skin look great. There are really no benefits to sweating, per se. The idea that you sweat out toxins is bullshit. You sweat out SWEAT--water, salt, minerals--to cool your body. Contrary to what many people would have you believe, sitting in a sauna doesn't rid your body of toxic anything. It just dehydrates you.



That said, I swear that sweating a lot during a workout makes my skin look fantastic. In part it's the increased blood flow but it's also the oils and moisture brought to the surface of the epidermis. Right now my skin is dry and pasty looking.


3) Did you know the primary causes of constipation are a low fiber diet and inactivity? Sorry if this is TMI, but I had to take a laxative for the first time in my life last week because all this sitting around has all but brought my digestive system to a screeching halt. Everything I eat upsets my stomach because my whole system has slowed down...and you all know how I adore food. I guess the good news is it's forced me to eat less, which is good given the 3500-4500 calories a week I am suddenly no longer burning.


4) Cardio fitness gives you more energy and muscle makes you stronger. A bit of a no-brainer, huh? Yeah. Here's the thing. My friend Liz, who is an incredibly smart and educated trainer, says that after just two weeks of inactivity, you start losing muscle tone. After 4 weeks you start losing cardio fitness. But honestly, I'm feeling the effects of both already. I went from doing 7 hours (minimum) of exercise a week to nothing, and I have zero energy and I can already feel myself getting weaker.



5) Exercise improves sleep. Not only has this been scientifically proven a thousand times over, I know it from experience. I was always a terrible sleeper until my early 20s, when I started exercising regularly and intensely. I was amazed then at how quickly I fell asleep (it used to sometimes take me 30 minutes, usually more) and how well I stayed asleep, once I incorporated exercise into my life. This recent lack of exercise explains why I am writing this blog at 3:15 am, while everyone else in the house--including the cat--is sound asleep.


6) Ugly footwear blows. Yes, yours truly, in addition to suffering the indignity of dragging herself around in one of these...



.
















..has had to encase her one good foot in a thick soled, flat shoe so as not to walk like a drunken sailor or risk hurting my back and knees with an uneven gait. A colorful collection of sexy, beautiful shoes is languishing in my closet the way I'm languishing on this fucking couch, and I feel like a frumpy old lady.

So what have I learned here?

Well...I've learned that I am an exercise junkie. And based on how I feel physically and emotionally, I'm learning that this little addiction isn't a BAD thing.

I've learned that I'm going to be a crotchety bitch in my old age. If I ever get to the point where I lose my mobility before I lose my faculties, it won't be pretty.

I've learned that handicapped parking spots aren't really any closer to the door than the regluar spots, and that an aircast boot in the snow is more slippery than a greased watermelon in a swimming pool

I've learned that you can't teach a Spinning class with one leg but that you can teach a really challenging, interesting class without ever once getting on the bike. Any instructor will tell you that the hardest thing to do is to teach a whole class off the bike. But once you nail this, it will forever change the way you teach--for the better.

I've learned that I have to learn to be patient and give myself a break. I can't change this situation, I can only make the best of it. So I'm going to hobble to the weight room tomorrow (um, ok, technically TODAY) and at least do all my upper body and ab work, and see if I can manage a few unweighted squats without hurting my foot. I'm going to try to do this a couple times a week. I won't get the endorphine rush and I won't work up that great-for-my-skin kind of sweat, but at least it's something.

And I've learned that I really, really, really miss my shoes.

Performance Enhancing "Drugs"

Originally written September 24, 2007 - Monday


Just to be clear, this isn't a missive on how Floyd Landis was stripped of his Tour de France title. That topic has been discussed ad nauseum on every cycling board in the world.

This is a post about something to which every athlete reading this can relate. The "runner's high". The "endorphin rush". The natural version of morphine that is produced after an extended period of high intensity exercise. The natural performance-enhancing drug.

You've all been there. Four miles into your run, thinking you won't make it through the fifth when suddenly you feel a burst of energy that takes you easily over that last mile. Or even 20 minutes into Spinning class, feeling like you have legs of lead and won't make it through the class...and the next thing you know the instructor is leading the cool-down. Or climbing some 15% grade on your bike, thinking you might actually have to get off and walk at some point, and the next thing you know you're at the summit.

It's real. It exists. And if you like challenging your body, you've experienced it and you crave it. That explains why athletes and triathletes go out there day after day and push their bodies to their limits.

In Philadelphia there is an annual bike race; it's one of the top races in the country and it draws riders and teams from all over the world. The course for the race takes riders through the city, along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway by the famous art museum, and along beautiful, winding Kelly (East River) Drive along the Schuykill, then through a neighborhood called Manayunk. Manayunk is literally set into the side of a hill, like some of the villages in Italy.

This is obviously an important part of the course route because it features a stretch of road known as "The Wall". Thus nicknamed by local cyclists, as in "hitting the wall", it is about a 20% grade if memory serves. I've walked it (difficult in and of itself) but never ridden it. When I lived in Philly I wasn't a strong enough rider to attempt this hill. But I'm going there in 3 weeks and I've already arranged to rent a road bike at a shop a few blocks from "The Wall".

Note the photo below. Don't look at the rider yet, just look at the crowd of spectators to her left and then the roof-lines of the houses. The fact that the roof of one house is level with the first story of the house above it gives you a pretty good idea of the steepness of the hill.

I don't have a lot of experience with hills. Michigan, at least in the lower portions, is pretty flat. I'm pretty sure I'm not up to this challenge, but I'm also not above getting off my bike and walking. The worst that can happen? I lose my momentum while clipped into the pedals, not be able to get a foot down in time and go over sideways like some Monty Python animation. One good thing about being too old to be a great athlete is that I'm mature enough not to give a shit if I make a fool of myself.

Back to the photo. We've established that this is a bastard of a hill. Now look at the rider. She's out of the saddle; that means she's really pushing hard. Look at her braids flying. She's got that bike whipping back and forth with the force of her pedal stroke.

Now look at her face. That grin is priceless.

I want to be her, if only for 5 minutes.

Powerful drugs, those endorphins.

I DID IT!!!!

Well, I did it. After 4 months of training and just one year after stressing at the thought of running 3 mile relay leg, I ran 13.1 miles this morning, with 18,000 of my closest friends.
And I had a blast!!!

Kellie arrived at my house this morning at 5:45. Criag drove us downtown, and we were in our starting corral with my friend Shannon from Indianapolis (my friend Michael's best friend from college) by 6:50. The starting horn for the hand bikes went off at 7:05, followed by the full marathon runners and half-marathon walkers at 7:10 and the half runners (our group) at 7:15.


It was just dawn at this point. It was 37 degrees.

Within the first mile, folks were shedding clothes like molting snakes and we had to be careful not to trip over discarded sweatshirts, gloves and jackets for the first 3 miles or so. Kellie ditched me at about the half mile mark (this is the problem when you run with younger, faster friends!)


At around mile 4, I think, we hit the approach to the Ambassador Bridge, which would take us over the river and into Canada. The hill on the bridge wasn't nearly as bad as I anticipated, and my practice running hills actually allowed me to pass some folks on the few uphills. At the peak of the bridge, there were too many runners and too little pavement and we actually had to slow to a walk for a few minutes, which was a total drag. But then it was downhill and down to the riverfront in Windsor with a great view of Detroit's skyline from there. The sun was up but it was still very much a dawn sky, and just beautiful.

After a couple miles in Windsor, we ran the world-renown "Underwater International Mile" through the tunnel under the Detroit River. It was downhill in the tunnel except at the exit back onto US soil, which was a killer uphill. When I came out of the tunnel, Craig was there with the camera. Said he had a great shot of me waving, but a border control guy with a large weapon yelled at him to get back onto the sidewalk (they're really touchy, those border dudes) and he missed the shot. He got a great one of Kellie, though!

The exit from the tunnel marked the start of mile nine and felt very much in the home stretch. Mile 10 took us through Corktown, a historic old neighborhood where everyone was out on their porches cheering us on and ringing cowbells, with the runners shouting "more cowbell!!!" as we came by.

There was music all along the way, with live bands playing for our entertainment, and hundreds and hundreds of volunteers handing out water/gatorade at the fluid stops and countless others who make an event like this possible. I made it a point to thank them whenever I could, as did many of the other runners. I met a lot of nice folks along the way.

I don't remember seeing the 9 or 10 mile markers, but I remember the 11th. I remember thinking, "Oh my God, I only have 2.1 miles to go and I feel great!" so I looked at my heart rate monitor (160) and took it up to about 170 for the rest of the race. I felt like I was flying.
This photo below was taken at mile 12.5 (by Michael, who was there with his wife, Darla and their son Max, and Bob, Shannon's BF, and her daughter Gracie). I'm just about 1/2 mile from the finish, and I can't believe I was actually smiling.










I finished in 2:27:13 and Kellie was right there waiting for me (2:13:20, not too shabby!) with a big hug! I had calculated my time as 2:30, so I was pretty close and considering the slowdown at the bridge and the fact that the course is a little slow, I'm actually pretty happy with my time.
After two Aleve and a two hour nap, I'm feeling not too terribly sore, happy that we had such a gorgeous day, and really excited to have set this goal for myself and achieved it.



The first hand-bike emerging from the tunnel.






















Some of the first runners coming out of the tunnel.




















Runners in the streets of downtown...what a gorgeous day!

Kellie, after that killer climb at the tunnel exit.

Somewhere during mile nine, happy to be handing off my jacket to Bob and Michael. I hate running with anything tied around my waist, but I was a little over-dressed.

Now...time to hit the pool to start training for that June triathlon!

Frowning drowned rat

I've been decapitated. Guess I just ran my little head off. ;-)

"Running behind"...this week's training update.

Well, I'm a mile behind on my half marathon training.

And although I was cautioned by a seasoned runner (Sarah Reinersten, no less) not to "cram", I think I need to compress my training cycle to 5 days instead of 7.

The weather was nothing short of spectacular this past Saturday, when I had intended to get up early and get my 8.5 mile run out of the way. But the two cocktails I had the night before had me feeling a little rough around the edges. It seems I've become the proverbial "cheap date" since my weight loss, and very little alcohol not only has the "desired effect" but also leaves me with a hangover. Ugh and double ugh.

Add to that the LONG list of things I had to do to prep for a dinner party at Chez Spinnerpom that night, and...well...by the time I cleaned the house and shopped for exotic ingredients at the Indian grocery store, it was 3:00. I honestly almost said "fuck it"...but I sucked it up and went for it.

I ended up running 8.75 and only the last half mile or so were uncomfortable. So I felt really good about that, and the 1,010 calories I burned made my "cod poached in coconut curry" and the yummy banana wontons I made for dessert almost TOTALLY without guilt!

Anyway, I'm getting back on track. I've been teaching a LOT of Spinning classes (a few extra $$ to pay for the daughter's books and tuition) so I'm having trouble finding time to run.

I taught Sunday morning, Monday evening and Tuesday evening, and am on the schedule for Friday at 6 am and again on Sunday at 9:30 am. Well, I can't be accused of not cross-training!!

Anyway, I have to get cought up, so I got up and ran 4 miles this morning as soon as it was light out (which is getting later and later--bring on Standard Time!) I'm going to try to get my long run (9.5) in on Thursday, even if it means sneaking out of the office early. That means I can do my next long run on Tuesday (10.5 or so) and be close to back on track.

Wow, that ten mile mark is a tough one. Kinda like turning 40. Or 50. ;-)

Spinning, Lox and New Friends

This morning I was fortunate enough to finally meet my on-line friend Mary Lyn. Mary Lyn and I "met" on the Weight Watchers fitness discussion board and tried to meet up at the 10K at the Zoo a few weeks ago, but due to the deluge of rain that fell that day, we never managed to meet up.

But today she drove all the way across town to come take my Spinning class. She did GREAT; some people look like they're born to be on a Spinning bike (and some people never look that way, even after years of Spinning) so I was really impressed. And she worked REALLY hard, but then, I expected nothing less.

Here's a photo of the two of us in the studio this morning...not the most flattering light, but the smiles are genuine!



Afterward, we showered and went to a local deli so I could introduce her to some Jewish food (she's an east sider and all us Jewish girls live on the west side). She tasted lox and bagel and we ordered two blintzes (rolled crepes filled with a sweet cottage cheese mixture); we split one and she took the other home to hubby.

We drank at least a pot of coffee and talked about everything...love, life, kids, being a woman...all the really important stuff.

Sometimes when we get to a certain age it gets more difficult to meet women who are kindred spirits and with whom we share not only some values but also some hobbies and lifestyles. I consider myself blessed to have met Mary Lyn.

Solo Ride

I don't often ride alone, at least not long distances. I'm almost always either with hubby or with friends when I'm on my bike for any length of time.

But this past Sunday morning, hubby and the boychild were playing golf down near the state line, and it was another in a string of perfect days. My bike had just been rescued from the shop for a new derailler and bottom bracket (don't ask) and was riding like a champ.

So I suited up and rode from my house to a friend's house in Royal Oak; according to mapmyride.com, about 15 miles in each direction. I normally head west from my house; the scenery is pretty and there are tons of lakes and a little less traffic. But this ride called for me to head east and my only choices were one road that was very busy (a primary east/west thoroughfare with two lands in each direction) or a road one mile north that was less traveled but had no shoulder in most places and was only one lane in each direction - meaning drivers would have a hard time passing me and I'd have no choice but to ride in the traffic lane.

Although I intuitively preferred the road to the north--it was residential, wooded and rolling--I knew I'd be safer (ironically) on the busier road.

I was right. I kept to the right in the right hand traffic lane; it was early enough that drivers were able to easily move to the left lane to go around me.

I flew. I averaged about 19 mph the whole way there and it felt great. I hit about 24 mph for a few miles at a stretch. It felt GREAT. There was something really empowering about riding alone on a busy road. Weird, huh?

The ride home was a little tougher; bit of a headwind dropped my average speed to around 16, so it took me a little longer.

But it felt great to ride alone, and I won't hesitate to do it from this point forward...unless someone wants to offer to come along. ;-)