Tri-training: Are you tired of this yet?

Just wondering if you're getting a bit tired of reading about running, swimming, and cycling?  There is less than a month to go til the triathlon, so you won't have to put up with this much longer ... unless ... I decide to keep doing this.  I am thinking now that an open water swim would be an interesting and exciting challenge.  But we'll see how this first tri goes before I entertain thoughts about doing another.

Regardless of whether or not I do another triathlon, I am well convinced of how beneficial training in three different disciplines has been for me.  Each one - swimming, cycling, and running - develops different strengths, and switching things up in training helps to prevent overuse injuries.  I've told you how my feet don't hurt anymore.  I think it's simply because I am not pounding them for so long on the less strenuous, but much longer (in time and distance) walks I used to do.  6 miles (combining walking and running) is now about my max when it comes to distance - and my feet are happy about that!

OK, so what about this week?

Monday was our long bike ride day.  Coty and I did our 23 mile loop and I worked hard to stay with him.  I drafted right behind him for the first 7 miles and I knew I was going a good bit faster than usual.  When we got to what is, for me, a very hard hill at 7.5, I slowed down a bit.  I felt a little sluggish on the middle miles but regained some oomph on the last few.  When I pulled into the parking lot at the end, after pedaling hard the last 2 miles, my time was a full 7 minutes faster than the last time we did that route!

Tuesday morning is a regular "walking with friends" time.  The four of us did our four mile route together.  I get a little extra workout by pushing Peg's little sweetie, Karis, in the stroller each week.  After our walk, I headed over to the park for a run where it's flat.  I wanted to go 2 miles, trying hard to push the first mile.  I did it and logged a 9:20 first mile, my fastest yet.  The second mile was a minute slower, but no matter.  I am setting a goal for myself of running the 2 miles at the end of the triathlon in 20 minutes or less.  If I can do that after swimming and cycling, I'll be pretty happy.

Wednesday I joined an aquatics center.  My swimming has been done in our little backyard pool and it seemed like a good idea to do some workouts with longer laps before the triathlon. In addition, for getting your start time in the triathlon, you have to provide the organizers with a rating of your swimming ability.  I wanted a longer pool to be able to better assess that.  So, I'm glad for access to such a nice facility at such a reasonable price.  Yesterday afternoon, I went for my first swim and loved the feel of a longer pool.  I may have overdone it just a bit, swimming 2600 yards (1.4 miles), but oh, it felt good, and the pool was practically empty!  I was one of three lap swimmers at the time.  I think I'm going to love this and will aim at three pool workouts a week at the aquatics center.

Today, a brick workout.  Biking and running.  Not sure how far, but I know that's something I've got to work on more as the time to the triathlon gets closer.

That's all.  If you're still here, thanks for reading!

Needle and ThREAD #14: The next quilt

Now that the sari quilts are on their way, it's time to start the next quilt.  I've been gathering fabrics for a little while for a quilt for my mom and for her birthday, I gave her a little box with some of the fabric squares that have already been cut and a few squares that have been pieced.  Of course, I brought it all back home with me and now my table is strewn with greens, yellows, and a few cranberry reds.

There is such excitement to starting a new project.  Can't wait to see how this one comes together as I get to know these fabrics and spend time with new color and pattern combinations.

Perhaps the hardest part for me is deciding on a pattern.  I loved working with the different values in Thomas and Kay's quilt and also enjoyed the play with half-square triangles in a two color range, made from a variety of pattern shapes and sizes in my chosen colors.  So, I'm going to do something similar this time.  I'll show you more as it comes along.

For now, just a peek at some fabrics ...

Mama's first peek on her birthday

Greens and yellows with a little red thrown in

and a slowly growing stack of half-triangle squares!

For reading this week ...

In the interest of fighting my penchant for having far too many books going at one time, I took a huge stack back to the library yesterday.  They were wonderful books and I had fun dipping into them, but for now it's time to focus.

The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard is the current read with our book group.  I am digging in.

80 years young

Last Saturday, my beautiful mother turned 80 years young.  She is an inspiration and one who constantly shows me what selfless, generous, untiring, uncomplaining, creative, thoughtful love and care for her family and friends look like.  She is a shining example for me to follow.

We are fortunate to live only a couple of hours away from Mama and Daddy. We had the privilege of spending her birthday with my sister's family and some old and dear friends of Mama's.  It was a special time.

I loved it that...

- I knew when I started out up the first hill and it didn't feel so great that it was just because my muscles needed to warm up and loosen up and my heart needed to get busy pumping that good oxygen to those hard working muscles.

- when I got up that hill and started a very, very gradual downhill to flat section, I felt like I was running, not just plodding.

- when I was on another downhill section and saw my shadow, I noticed that it didn't seem like I was lifting my knees very much.  I know my quads are stronger from all that biking, so the thought of lifting my knees more wasn't scary.  I did it and went faster.

- when I reached the bottom of the hill just before the 1 mile marker, I told myself to just push it up the hill, no problem, and though I can't say I went faster up the hill, I didn't slow down.

- when I got to the top of the hill, my time was faster than I've ever run that mile.  Yippeeee!

- the second mile was easier, even the hill right before the 2 mile mark. (Why do I have a course in which I have to push it uphill just before I reach the mile marks???)

- when I felt tired on the third mile, I started talking to myself, telling myself, "You can do this. It's flat.  Keep going," and on the hill at 3 1/2, I told myself, "One mailbox at a time and then you're at the top."  Along the way, I smelled pancakes and greeted another runner.  And then, just like that, I was at the top.

- the last little uphill grade didn't feel much like uphill and the last downhill to the driveway felt fun.  Yes, you read that right ... fun!  I could stretch out my legs and push it down the hill, knowing that I was almost done!!!

Do I love running?  Well, I loved a lot of things about my run this morning and I feel eager to run again.  I'm not dreading it like I used to.  I feel stronger.  I trust my legs and lungs and I've learned how to be more mentally tough with myself, pushing myself harder instead of wimping out halfway up a hill or when I start to feel tired.  I have learned that when I start to drag, sometimes the best thing to do is start pumping my arms and lift my knees and run harder.  Crazy, huh?!

Do I love running?  Well, let's just say I'm no longer a hater, I'm liking it a whole lot better, and I think I'm well on my way to loving it.  With a month to go before the triathlon, I'm pretty happy to be in that place.

-------------------------------------------------

I didn't do that brick workout yesterday.  Finishing the quilts and getting them mailed took a fair amount of time so I decided, rather reluctantly, that it would be a rest day.

Today, I did my 3 mile run in the morning, worked in the kitchen for awhile, and then did a speed workout on my bike.  Here's the speed workout Coty told me to do:

-ride 2 miles fast, as fast as I could go, keeping up a consistent hard effort the whole way.

-Rest 3 minutes or so, pedaling easy

-Ride another 2 miles fast.

I repeated this, going out 2 miles and back twice, riding a total of 8 miles at a faster speed.  I'm fortunate to have a great place to do this workout - a fairly straight, not too hilly, not too heavily traveled road with a 2 mile section that starts at the town ballfield and ends at a church.  It's really nice to have those parking lots at either end of the 2 mile stretch so I can just coast around and not deal with any road traffic before starting the next sprint.

Good workouts today!  Think I earned the yummy dinner we're going to have tonight!

Needle and ThREAD #13: Tagged, bagged, and on their way!

The sari quilts are finished.  This morning, I finished the name labels, sewed them onto the backs of the quilts, spread them out to look at one last time, folded and packed them up, and sent them on their way!  I felt oddly sad to see them go, though I expect when I see them online in the Sari Bari auction, the sadness will pass.

detail of the quilting on the back side of the Sari Swirl quilt, contrasted with part of the front

The Diamond Quilt - hard to get a picture of the whole thing,

it's so big!

simple hand-stitched tags sewn onto the backs of both quilts

double bagged and ready to go in the box

It's just funny.  You work on something for a long while, getting to know the fabric - how it feels, how it looks, the way it absorbs and reflects light, the gradations of color, the irregularities in the prints (with Indian fabrics, especially!).  You spend your time and creative energies, you put some of yourself into every stitch and end up with a finished quilt and it feels quite special ... and very hard to part with!

I'll let you know when the Sari Bari quilt auction goes online.

As for reading ...

I'm still plugging away in some of the books I mentioned before, especially Closing the Food Gap.

Also starting to read The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard.

Happy Thursday!

Tri-training: I don't love running yet ...

... but there's hope!

Remember, I said this was the week I decided to learn to love running.  It's Wednesday.  I'm not there yet, but Monday's workout got me a bit closer.  It was a ladder workout.  Actually, it was sort of a half ladder.  I did it at our local park that has a running track around the soccer fields.  2 1/2 laps of that track = a mile.  Here's what my coach told me to do:

-Warm up by walking/jogging easy once around the track at the park (.4 of a mile)
-Run at a faster pace two laps of the park track (.8 of a mile)
-Walk a half lap
-Run 1 1/2 laps (.6)
-Walk a half lap
-Run 1 lap (.4)
-Walk a quarter lap
-Run 1/2 lap (.2)
-Walk a quarter lap
-Run 1/4 lap (.1)
-Walk a quarter lap
-Jog 2 1/2 laps (1 mile) easy

With most ladder workouts, you start at the shorter distance, work your way up, and then work your way back down (like this one).  Coty had mercy on me and just had me do half of that for this first ladder workout.  Each "rung" of the ladder is supposed to be run at a faster than normal pace (race pace), and as each rung gets shorter, the pace is supposed to quicken.

I found that as the rungs got shorter, I was really working hard to increase and maintain pace on these laps, focusing on the finish and trying to push hard all the way to the end.  I was thinking about running form, particularly using my arm swing to help me maintain pace.

My ladder pace was about a minute a mile faster than I usually run.  The pleasantly surprising thing is that when I ran that slower mile at the end, it felt easy, really easy.  I felt like I could comfortably just keep on running.  That has not happened before!

I am still comparatively slow, but seeing that progress, feeling that I am, in fact, able to run a bit faster and not die, makes me want to run more.  This feels big for me and I think bodes well for the possibility that I really just might learn to love running.

On Tuesday, I did a looong bike ride.  I was planning to ride the loop that Coty and I usually do, but I was enjoying a particular stretch of road and wanted to keep going past our usual turnoff.  I knew I could work my way back on some other country roads, but I'd never been on them before. There was a very freeing feeling - just riding out in the country, not knowing exactly where I was, seeing new hills, pastures, farm houses, and woods.  I had looked at the map before I left home and had a rough idea of how the roads would connect and it all worked out just fine.  I was pretty tired at the end and my legs felt a bit rubbery. When I mapped and logged the route online, I had gone 28, instead of the 23, miles I had set out to do.

Today was a long swim day.  The air temperature was cooler and with the rain and cloudy days we've had lately, the water in the pool has cooled down quite a bit, too.  It took a few laps to warm up and I am starting to realize the importance of a swim cap to help retain some body heat in a cold pool.  The swim felt good, but I was chilled at the end.  A hot shower and a cup of tea took care of that.

Tomorrow will be a cycling/running brick workout day.  Ride and run, ride and run.  I'll let you know if I start to feel the love!

The weekend

I finished this quilt.  

The binding is Kona cotton Espresso.  

It beautifully frames the intricate quilting design, which shows up best on the solid quilt back.

I don't remember the crape myrtles ever being so laden with flowers.  They look a bit like lilacs.  I wish they smelled like lilacs!  My backyard would be a perfumery.  The tiny blossoms are pink snowflakes in the breeze.

I planted so little in the garden this year.  Only basil and a few flowers.  A couple of cherry tomato volunteers came up.  I'm thankful for my herbs that flourish with little care.  Sage and rosemary bracket the basil, and a mass of lemon thyme fills a corner of the terrace below.  

It's that time of year again.  Another fall soccer season has rolled around, Joel's last as a high school player.  He's on two teams this fall, his Covenant Classical team and his FCCA team, playing Region 3 ball this year.  Lots of soccer.  We've had three games since Thursday and two coming in the first two days of this week.  Yep, lots of soccer!  So far, both teams have posted wins in their first games.  

I've already been thinking about the end of this high school soccer era and savoring the moments watching my young man, who always plays with intensity and integrity.

I'm off to run now.  I've decided that this will be the week that I learn to love running.  I'll let you know how that goes ...

Happy Monday!

Needle and ThREAD #12: Quilt Binding

No more new sewing projects until this gets finished!

I've finished hand-stitching around three sides of this 90 x 90 quilt.  It's big, folks!  Lots of little stitches, which means lots of sitting.

I have another large quilt for which I must make and sew on the binding. These quilts will be mailed off early next week and not too long after that, I'll have details to share with you about the Sari Bari quilt auction, which will include these two quilts, plus the beautiful one Kandyce has made, and more.

All this hand-sewing means not much reading, but a lot of watching and listening.  So, instead of books, how about a few links to the online viewing I've been doing ...

Tentmakers in Cairo - artisans who are not what we would think of as tent makers, but makers of beautiful, intricate appliqued wall hangings.  

A couple of TED talks - A teacher growing green in the South Bronx and How we can eat our landscapes.

Part 1 of The Story of India, 

and yes, a West Wing or two ...

I have some other podcasts and an audiobook in the queue.  I'd like to watch something else about India.  Any suggestions?

What do you do when you're sitting still hand-sewing for a long time?

Tri-training: A little Southern courtesy

Monday mornings have become our long ride time.  Today Coty and I repeated the long loop we did last week and the 23 miles didn't seem nearly as long.  When a route starts becoming more familiar, it goes by faster.  We get to know how hard to pedal and how much we'll have to shift on the hills, what sections of road are more bumpy, and where the turns and landmarks are, when a more difficult section is coming.  I think part of the fun of the ride is learning the route.

Today, as I stopped at the stop sign at the only major intersection on our route, a pick-up truck pulled up beside me.  The driver rolled down the passenger side window and starting saying something to me.  I couldn't hear him, but thought maybe he was asking for directions. I rolled my bike over closer so I could hear and he said, "Ma'am, I just wanted to tell you that with the color of the shirt you're wearing, it's awfully hard to see you.  It's the same color as everything out here, the grass, the trees, everything.  I just wanted you to know that."

He was very nice.  I thanked him and told him I appreciated him telling me.  He pulled off and I pedaled off, very aware that I had just been given a little gift of concern, mixed with a large dose of southern courtesy.

Note to self: Wear a BRIGHT shirt when cycling.  No more grass/tree green for long rides!

   

Arthritis and exercise

This could be a very short post.  I could write ...

Exercise is great.  If you have arthritis, you should exercise.  Period.

But, you'd probably like a few more details.

Well first, as in the previous post on arthritis that focused on diet, there are some overarching principles that guide my thinking.

1.  Our physical body is called a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) and we are exhorted to glorify God in our bodies.  We could spend a long time trying to figure out how this works out practically in our lives, but I will simply say here that I believe that it matters what we do with our bodies.  We can live in our physical bodies in such a way that we show something of the beauty and glory of who God is or we can misuse and abuse them so that His image in us is obscured.

2.  How we treat our bodies can aid us in drawing closer to God or it can hinder us.  What I am not saying here is excellent physical health = excellent spiritual health.  Like you, I know many people for whom illness or disability has been a key element in sanctification.  However, I also know others whose laxity in caring for their physical bodies mirrors a laxity in the care of their souls.

3.  There are many physical/athletic analogies in Scripture.  Understanding these athletic images helps us to understand some essential facets of the Christian life - perseverance, discipline, hardship, focusing on the goal of our striving to name a few.  In 2008, at the time of the last Olympics, my husband/coach/cycling partner/personal trainer/masseur who also happens to be a pastor preached a series of sermons on "The Race of Faith."  As a former track, cross-country, and marathon runner and a lifelong athlete, the running analogies have particular appeal to him.  If you are interested, you can follow this link and find this series of sermons and devotions, with a couple of video links to great races and interviews. (scroll to the bottom of this page for the first devotion and/or use the Race of Faith link in the sidebar of the page to access all the sermons.)

OK, now let's talk about exercise...

During a recent visit to my rheumatologist, my doc and I spent the majority of the time discussing my triathlon training and goals and my current great decrease in pain and increase in function.  While she couldn't say for sure why I feel so much better, she posited that it could be due to the increased release of endorphins in my body due to more strenuous exercise. Endorphins are the body's natural pain relief and there could be a link, she felt, between my increase in exercise and decrease in pain.  (This appointment was a real joy for several reasons.  The doctor never once mentioned drugs, she was thorough and hands-on, carefully examining all the joints in my hands and looking at x-rays with me, and we talked a long time about both of us.   I love knowing my doctor as a person not just a dispenser of medication!)

Whatever the reason for my improvement and whether or not the pain stays away or returns, I know, and Dr. Z heartily affirms, that it is essential for people with arthritis to exercise.  It can be hard, though.  If you are hurting, one of the last things you feel like doing is exercising.  The wonderful thing is, though,  that when you do start moving, if you start slowly and take care to exercise in a way that doesn't stress painful joints, you will start to feel better ... and better ... and better.

"This makes sense, when you consider that movement lubricates your joints and enhances elasticity in your tendons and ligaments.  Motion is lotion.  If you rest, you rust."  Dr. Nicholas DiNubile in Framework: Your 7-Step Program for Healthy Muscles, Bones, and Joints.

But what kind of exercise?  In all the reading I've been doing lately on triathlons, as well as books and articles on arthritis and exercise, I keep coming across four different forms of exercise that are all necessary:

1) aerobic exercise - think running, swimming, cycling, anything that gets large muscle groups moving, your breathing a bit faster and deeper and your heart beating faster

2) stretching - think slow movements, yoga-like, some Pilates

3) strength training - think weights or anything with resistance, core strengthening (though my knowledge of Pilates is limited, it seems to be a great combination of stretching and core strengthening)

4) range of motion - these are exercises targeted at specific joints

Rather than repeating what lots of folks have written elsewhere, I'm going to give you a few links and a couple of book recommendations.  I am not an exercise scientist or a physical therapist.  I'm not an expert ... but just someone who is currently reaping the benefits of increased exercise and eager for any of my readers (especially any readers with RA, any other kind of arthritis, or any chronic condition) to experience those benefits, too!

So here are a few links:
Arthritis and Exercise (from npr)
A good article on core strengthening exercises with picture and instructions
RA and exercise with links to exercises in all three areas
Very thorough article from the CDC with recommended guidelines
Range of motion exercises (scroll down on the page for links to individual videos)

And a couple of books:
Framework (quoted above) I'm reading this now
Spark by John J. Ratey (after talking with Dr. Z about exercise and brain health, too, I am looking forward to reading this one)

Whew, I've been sitting at the computer far too long this morning!  It's time to get up and move. Actually today is going to be a really fun training day because today's the day I mentioned last week that my good friend, Amber, and I will pedal to Cabarrus Creamery.  I've never biked for  ice cream before ... except maybe when I was a kid.  It'll be a fun celebratory ending to a good ride!  It's 11 miles with some nice rolling hills so I think we'll earn our ice cream!

The perfect height

I used to say that a child was the perfect height when she/he (mostly he around here) could fit nicely right under my neck when hugged.  You know what I mean, right.  They just snuggle in and you can rub your chin on the top of their head.  Perfect fit.

It is no longer the child who fits under the chin.

We said good-bye to Matthew, Thomas and Kay today.  They're heading to Denver, where Matthew will visit a special friend ; ) and of course, Jonathan and Kandyce, too!   From there he flies back to Minneapolis to start school and Thomas and Kay head west on a month long road trip adventure!

Before they left, I made a send-off dinner with ravioli (Matthew's favorite) and these two antipasto trays.  I've never made antipasto before.  It was fun and they turned out so pretty and delicious with a variety of olives, prosciutto, salamis, pepperoni, marinated green beans, cauliflower and carrots, fresh mozzarella and parmesan cheese, artichokes, and pepperoncini peppers.  Nice last dinner together for awhile.

Bye y'all.  Safe travels.  Godspeed.  We'll miss you!

Needle and ThREAD #11: Totes

I should be sewing bindings on quilts, but instead I've been making bags.  I finished Angie's bag and made another one today.  It's a surprise for someone.  Shhhhh!  Can't tell.

Surprise bag on the left and Angie's on the right.  Angie's is reversible, with a khaki fabric and second African print on the bottom of the alternate side.

This fun tote is made from a heavy canvas with the rust fabric lining (same as Angie's bag) and another African print from my stash for pockets.  There is a pocket panel on the front, a water-bottle sized pocket on the side, and small key pocket on the back.

Detail of the key pocket with clip for keys.  I like this bag so much.  Think I'm going to have to make one for me!

And what about reading this week ...

Working my way through some of the books mentioned last week, but mostly reading Framework for guidance on training in a way that makes my bones and joints strong.  (post coming on arthritis and exercise).

Needle and ThREAD #10: Sewing with Angie

My sweet friend, Angela, came over yesterday to finish a project we started long, long ago.  While Angie hand-sewed the facing down to the ruffles on the peplum belt/waistband, I put in the zipper, sewed on the top band, and hemmed her skirt.  We had such a good time just sitting and talking while we sewed and though I don't have a good picture of the finished skirt, it turned out very nicely.

Angie also chose some African fabrics from my stash to coordinate with solid canvas colors for a reversible tote bag, but we didn't have time to finish that.  It's next up on the sewing machine!

What's up on the reading list:

More triathlon books - Triathlons for Women by Sally Edwards and Triathlon Revolution by Tom Schneider

More quilting books - The New Quilting by Machine from Creative Publishing International, Modern Log Cabin Quilting by Susan Beal, and The Quilt that Walked to Golden by Sandra Dallas

Some poetry - New Collected Poems by Wendell Berry and Quilting: Poems by Lucille Clifton

A couple of food books - Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty by Mark Winne and An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage

And lastly, a novel - The Blue Castle by Lucy Maud Montgomery (glad to be reading some fiction with two dear friends).

Happy Friday!

Tri-training: It gets better

For those of who have been distressed reading about running, roadkill, and vultures, let me assure you that things are looking up this week!

Cycling: We did a long ride on Monday.  I felt crummy when we started out.  I was in a bad mood (not sure why) and after the first hill, I thought maybe I'd just turn around, go home, go to bed, and forget this whole triathlon thing.  But, I kept going, because I've experienced this enough times now to know that it will get better.   And it did get better, lots better.  When we reached the turn where we could make it 23 instead of 19, I was gung-ho.  Coty, however, had a twingy achilles so we went the "short" route.  I was tired at the end, but not exhausted.  It was a good ride.

Today, I did an interval/cadence workout.  The goal was to pedal 95-100 revolutions a minute for 5 minutes, ride easy for 5, and repeat that 4 times.  Instead, after the first 5 minutes, I felt so good that I kept pedaling at my target pace for 10 minutes, easy for 5 or so, hard again for 10.  Before and after the cadence intervals, I rode for 15 - 18 minutes (warm-up and cool-down).

I am really enjoying cycling now and made plans with Amber today for a ride we've talked about since last summer. We're pedaling to Cabarrus Creamery in Concord next Friday for sliced lemon ice cream (which happens to be my favorite ice cream in the whole world).  How's that for a goal!

After Monday's long ride

Running:  I did an interval workout on Wednesday that did not feel like death.  I jogged a half mile and then sprinted for 30 seconds.  After sprinting I walked for a minute and a half and then sprinted again.  I did 10 sprints and then jogged back home another half mile or so.  Right now, I do a lot better if I walk instead of trying to jog between sprints.  I can catch my breath and feel stronger when I start to sprint again. I'm happy to report that during this workout there were no vultures in sight anywhere.

Swimming:  It's hard to watch Franklin, Schmitt, Soni, Phelps, Lochte and all the other amazing Olympic swimmers and not just want to get in the water!  I reached the goal of swimming a mile on Tuesday.  Once again, there was that feeling early on of being tired and winded, but after 25 laps or so, I felt like I could go on for a long time.  And I did.  160 laps of our little pool = 1.14 miles.

Today, I swam after the bike interval workout.  It was a much shorter swim, but I was really getting the feel of the catch and pull.

So, aren't you distressed readers feeling better now?  I'm not in misery.  I'm not worn out.  I'm not doing too much.  In fact, I'm feeling much better than I have in a very long time and I can tell that the hard work is starting to pay off.  I feel stronger.  Distances and speeds that were difficult to impossible a few weeks ago feel easy.

There is more to say, especially after a really encouraging visit to the rheumatologist on Tuesday, but I'll save that for another post and just leave you with some totals from the week so far:

Cycling - 32.61 miles
Running - 2.65 + a 5 mile walk with friends on Tuesday
Swimming - 1.61 miles