Category Archives: health

The journey continues. February, poof, gone just like that. I’ve been training. Doing some different stuff actually, lots of bicep curls. Haha! No, really, I’ve just had a different outlook this season, it’s felt more like a secret covert mission. More like how much stupid fun stuff can I do and still train for an Ironman. But you see, the Ironman is in Brazil, it’s not like any of you will be there. It’s covert, good luck finding the results, I can’t ever seem to. We travel really far, mostly there to have fun, and then I race my ass off for 10 hours…maybe less…maybe more. No Troy to tell me where I’m at, he’ll be on the course with me. Probably no heart rate strap, maybe no watch, definitely no power. Just me for 10 hours of pain/awesome/ouch/Grr/gogogogo, and then about 10 days of pure amazonian adventure. If it seems skewed, it’s because it is, on purpose.

That’s how triathlon training should be. See the races are really short, even the long ones, so there should be lots of fun in-between. You can be serious on race day, and at the end of hard runs, and when sad songs come on your iPod. But the rest of the time, well, why so serious? Why so Type A? How about a bit-o-sass.

Annie gets it, she lives it and she’s such a wonderful inspiration. She sits next to me now, like a bumbling hive of energy. At any moment she may run 10 laps around our bedroom, or jump on the bed trying to reach for the roof, or will turn to me and just nuzzle in. She’s just such a reminder to stay in the moment of life, to chase what feels fun and silly, and to not be so serious.

This is a problem of mine, the over seriousning (not a word) of absolutely EVERYTHING. Bheh, I make myself sick sometimes. Troy and I were having a chat at lunch today, basically discussing my faults. It was an awesome conversation, and it went on for quite awhile, after all, my flaws are many. But it was an honest one, the kind of honest that I only entertain from very few people in my life. We agreed that much of the time, my biggest problem in life, is that I have trouble coping with my awesome life.

Literally, that is the way we decided to put it. I get overwhelmed with my own life, a life that is absolutely ideal in every way, shape, and form. I have trouble coping with a long to do list. I have trouble coping with large amounts of responsibility. If you look close I am an underachiever. I’m a mom, but only 1 kid. I stay home, but detest housework, sitting down for dinner, grocery shopping, or laundry. I don’t work, unless you count coaching, which you shouldn’t because I get oodles more from my athletes than I give. I spend the middle of most days training, coaching, and relaxing, and sadly I get overwhelmed by that at times.

Apollo….now here’s and example of someone who never gets overwhelmed by the awesomeness of their own life.

But hey, it’s me! I’m me! I kinda like me, I’ve worked hard to like me. What a sad statement. I’ve got my shit, and therefore I try to keep my life simple for a reason (TRY). I don’t handle the opposite very well. I’m at my best with a life where I have singular focus. I think it’s what makes me a strong triathlete. When I’m out on the bike, or the run, or swimming, I’m there completely. I’m not wishing I was elsewhere very often, I’m in the moment. I take charge, I’m a leader, and it’s because I love total singular focus. I’m intense, been told that several times. If you ever meet me when I am “working” (whatever that may be…remember, I don’t work) you’ll think wowah…this girl is a bit intense. She smiles a lot…but she a little bat shit crazy too.

A case of the intense hit me a few days ago and I went off my rocker. My poor closet was the victim, and after I was done with it, this was in the hallway…

Don’t worry, I didn’t throw away my Freak…just the stupid briefcase that it came in. Come on people, it’s a wetsuit, and as much as I felt like a cool kid for all 15 minutes after walking around with my Freak of Nature briefcase…I soon realized I’m a complete dork-face walking around with a wetsuit in a briefcase. Talk about intense…

And this was the closet afterwards. And let me tell you, while I was pruning the poor thing there was no other task in my life. I was made to purge my closet, put on the earth at that moment for that single task. I did nothing else but cut out every single superfluous item from a 6×8 square of my belongings. But the effect was calming, and after it was done, I could move on with life, albeit, with very little left to wear.

So, ya know, this year is going to be different, it’s already been different. Scratch that last bit…this year IS different. I’m taking myself on a crazy ride. It’s going to be better, mostly because my head is either going to be on more straight, OR, I’m gonna accept that it’s crooked for the time being. Crooked is good, everyone needs some of them to be a bit lopsided at times. It’s like perfect teeth…I’m always skeptical of someone with perfect teeth. A little flaw in there, some yellowing, or some intertwined bottom teeth prove that your human. Nobody wants to look at a perfect smile.

As I continue down the journey that is this year, I’m going to continue to see things differently. I’m going to try to not get as overwhelmed with the awesomeness of my life, a task I know I will continue to fail at on occasion. But when I fail at it, I will get back up and try again. That’s all I can really task myself with. Keep trying to be better, and to leave others better than you found them. That too.

Doopy-Doo. Laa-Tee-Dah.

Soooooo, hummm, what now?

I’ve been told/urged/requested by pretty much every one I know to take some time off. Like a month….or as PIC says…maybe two. I don’t really even know what that means. Like, off meaning absolutely no swim bike run? Or just put the Garmin away and stay laxidasical about SBR? Me No No.

Is laxidasical a word? Spell check doesn’t like it.

This week I’ve been going to Yoga. I hate yoga. But I keep going. My hamstring flexability is worse than 100% of the 70+ year old women in Gentle yoga…oh and all the guys too. I can not downward dog, can not touch my toes, and the worst… I can not sit with my feet straight out in front of me. Like just sit there, can’t do it. So, I keep going to the yoga. Yes, THE yoga. It’s good for me to just simmer the F down for awhile and be still.

But I can’t say I’m comfortable with it.

Are all triathletes just hyper ADD compulsive exercisers? I don’t even know what fitness and exercise looks like without SBR. So, I’m doing some new things to keep me entertained. I walked the dog at the dog park with Michelle yesterday. It was thrilling…

I had a reservation to go SUP in the res but it was bogus and they were closed. Not the most “with it” state park I might add, letting people make reservations when you closed for the season.

There is probably some Zumba in my future, and some indoor rock climbing, definitely some roller skating. I love roller skating.

Half of me wants to make all these decisions about next year. Get my schedule figured out and tied up, decide what direction I’m going to head, how it’s all going to go down. But then another part of me knows I just need to let things sit for a  little while. Take some walks, think about other stuff. Take a chill pill.

So, that’s what I’m doing. I’m delaying thinking. I’m just simmering.

It seems like in past years there was no break, I was onto the following year before the previous one ended. The “off season” was basically me swim/bike/running around and exercising without my Garmin. Some of my athletes are doing that as well. I can tell, I tell them to take time off, but they just put away the Garmin and call it good. It’s not really time off folks. But, you can probably get away with it for a few years.

I know I lose my fitness very quickly. Every winter with just one month of reduced work I come into the season with low watts and slow running and high heart rate. But I’m trying to not think about that. It usually takes me until June before I feel like I am somewhat back. So this month or two is probobly going to tank me, but I think after 6 years going hard, it’s time.

Did I just type 6 years…. 07/08/09/10/11/12 dang it, 6 years. Yea, this is probably long overdue.

So here’s to embracing real time off. Whatever the heck that means. Here’s to crappy yoga and sitting still and knitting and reading, and really trying to eat well and stay on track there so I don’t have to combat lack of fitness and weight loss at the same time come January. Here’s to embracing the break (shaaa…right).

Dang I have been put in my place. Take something for granted in this sport and you’ll get knocked upside your head. As per previous posts I’ve been a bit overwhelmed recently. I’ve been progressing through this Ironman build, coaching 15 athletes, and working for Rev3. Along with that Troy is IM training and I try to spend as much time as possible with Annie when she is out of school.

I am a big believer in doing things that you love. So much so, that I like to set up my life so doing the things I love don’t take work. Live next to the track, live simply, etc etc. I like to outsource the things I don’t like doing, or get rid of them completely (one car, all the bills on autopay, organic veg delivered to the doorstep, etc)

I feel if you chase your love then good things will follow. And the funny thing is, my life is full of the stuff I love. Training, coaching, Rev3, Troy, Annie, PIC, I love all of that, so fulfilling! I don’t feel like you can have too much of a good thing in your life but you can.

You can.

I was starting to feel like there weren’t enough hours in the day, like I couldn’t currently do all the things I love at once, at least not to the level that the perfectionist in me wants to do them at (100%). But my response was simply to buckle down, work harder, work faster, be more efficient, be better. The time that I used to have to hang out on the porch with a cup of hot coco was gone. I was about being productive, and focused…the majority of my days…7 days a week.

Then I got a saddle sore. That’s odd. I’m used to riding my bike a lot and have never experienced one. Then it got worse, kept riding. Then it got to where every pedal stroke was pure pain. Then it got to where walking around was bad pain. I hauled myself into the doctor (usually a practice I save for Pap smears and drilling holes in my toenails to drain them). I had a fever, and infection, and a saddle sore that had to be cut open, drained, and packed with gauze.

I was laid up for several days on antibiotics with a nice amount of pain and a fever. I had to cancel my plans to work for Rev3 at Quassy this weekend, a race that I LOVE, and that 5 of my athletes are racing at, and at the last minute which left Rev3 high and dry, which still makes me weepy. I’m so disappointed in myself over this.

Laying in bed these days I think about Maffetone, about Chuckie, and how much it was drilled in me to seek health first. It’s an adage I live by, and why I’m honestly not sweating the loss of fitness that this time off has no doubt resulted in. Dirk has been awesome along the way, and such a source of knowledge and experience, as he says “It’s not the Titanic” which makes me laugh. I need to have a shirt made.

While I feel that “balance” doesn’t have much of a place in Ironman, or Ironman training, or Ironman athletes, I do think that HEALTH is at the heart of the matter. It is painfully obvious to me that I am no good as a mom, as a wife, as a coach, as Transition coordinator, as a athlete, if I am laid up, stressed out, feverish, and on antibiotics. You have to take care of yourself if others are depending on you. You have to look out for #1, and you have to put health first.

So, while I am disappointed, and a little weepy about the last few days, I know that this is what had to happen.

Crash

Burn

Wake.up.call.

Received loud and clear.

All we can expect of ourselves is to learn from these mistakes. Sure we may repeat them, sometimes they morph, sometimes the lessons taught fade and we have to be retaught. That’s life.

That feels so much better. Sometimes a little change is needed and all that big hair had to go. Ahhhhhh, now I’m ready for summer!

Troy threw down a challenge last week that has rocked my world. I’m a night owl big time. If left to my own devises I would be up until 1am or 2am every night. In fact at about 8pm I usually get my second wind for the day and start to perk up, it’s really quite unfortunate. It’s right about the time that he winds down for bed time.

I also sleep like the dead. It usually takes me about 30 seconds to fall asleep. It doesn’t matter if I go to bed a 10pm or at 1am, head hits pillow and I’m sawing logs. I sleep deeply and soundly most the time and I tend to have a very hard time waking up.

When I wake up in the morning, whether at 7am or at 11am, I’m grumpy. I’m sloggy, quiet, don’t like to talk, and feel like I am traveling through mud. I also don’t drink coffee or anything caffeinated in the morning so I just have to wait for my stupor to wear off. As the training picks up, this process tends to lengthen. Drag drag drag, then then by 9:30am or so I’m usually rocking’ and rollin’.

So, we are walking through Best Buy last weekend and I see one of those ZEO sleep monitors. Oooohhhhh, me likely, me want!

Again, I’m going to reiterate here that I am a junky for data items like this. I think at some point I’m going to need to go back to college to study physiology.

Zeo Inc. was originally started by a group of sleep-deprived students at Brown University.  Looking for a way to fight grogginess and perform at a higher level during the day, they learned that the stage of sleep from which a person awakens has a huge influence on how that person feels in the morning.  So, they developed a comfortable way to track sleep and help people wake up “on the right side of the bed.”

Needless to say I wanted to buy one right then. That’s where Troy stepped in and put the smack down. No way Sonja, why do you need that?…. he said as he slipped a new ginormous iMac into our cart. Seriously?

So I used my female ways of persuasion to say “If I go to sleep before 9pm for a week will you get me a Zeo”? Yes, we’ve been married for 10 years…

He said “1 month”.

I knew I had him then….”two weeks?”

“Okay, two weeks”. He thought he had this in the bag. So he thought.

Upon arriving home I immediately made a sticker chart. These sorts of things are best executed with a well thought out intermediate reward system. Case in point:

Let me tell you, this is probably one of the harder things I have ever endured and I have a new appreciation for those who have trouble sleeping. The first few nights were fine. Then there was a hiccup and I needed to take a call that would extend past the 9pm barrier. That night I had to use my true female persuasion for that damn sticker. But then after that night, back to the plan. And here’s what I found.

First off…in 7 days I slept 66.5 hours. That’s a lot of sleep!!!

I could not get to sleep later in the week. Wednesday and Thursday nights it took me over an hour to get to sleep despite the fact that I had trained a lot those days. I was rested and just laid there and tossed and turned for an hour before sleep found me. Then I woke up about 10 times each night and was AWAKE, but forced myself to count back to sleep. That’s something my mom taught me when I was little, she would tell me to count to go to sleep. Thursday night I told Troy “I just hit 109″ I usually don’t make it past 12. He was a little pissed, I think because I woke him up, and he said “just go buy the damn Zeo”. Hahahha! I know how to break him!

Last night I almost didn’t make it. I shut the lights off right at 8:59. Troy comes in, and I say “Shhhhh, I’M SLEEPING” and then erupt into giggles. But, a magical thing happened. I was out in 15 seconds  and I woke up naturally 10.5 hours later without waking up a single time. 7:30 this morning I was fresh as a daisy and felt so alive.

So, next week will be interesting. I’m not holding Troy to his resignation of the bet. I want to see this one through. But it is OH SO HARD to turn off all the lights at 8:59 when I am in the middle of a really good chapter in IronWar and I’m not tired, and I just WANT TO STAY UP ALL NIGHT. Ha!

I’m not even going to tell you what I have to do if I lose the bet, because honestly, the probability that I will lose this bet is ZERO. Take that Troy!

(Troy snickers in the background knowing that by getting me in bed by 9pm every night means he has already won)

So, does anyone have the Zeo, have you played with it, what do you think? Also, does anyone have advise on the differences between the Zeo with the little clock or the one with the iPhone instead? I’m excited to learn more about sleep and about what kind of sleeper I am.