Takes A Village: It Starts With My Mom

(The month of May at Skratch Labs is #TakesAVillage. In this blog series I will be thanking all the people in my village who have helped me get to the start and finish lines).

The center and foundation of my village...my beautiful mom.

When thinking about the village of people - the support system - on whom I’ve depended to help me achieve my goals in life, the matriarch and center of that village is my mom. The beautiful thing about a mom like mine is that her love, support, and words have flowed through me and echoed in my ears for as long as I can remember. And they continue to do so even though she’s no longer physically here.  

She Provided My Foundation:  The earliest memories I have of my mom may be fuzzy, but the emotions those memories evoke are clear. For as long as I can remember, my mom encouraged me to be myself - not to conform to societal norms. Granted, I had my share of whoopin’s for misbehaving. And of course she taught me basic rules of common decency, respect, manners, love, compassion, and those crucial qualities of what it means to be a human being. But I never felt an expectation beyond doing the best I could and being a decent person. She never made me feel “less-than.” Never made me question who I was.

Although I may not have recognized it growing up, I see now as an adult that at the heart of every lesson my mom taught was that no matter what I did, she would always love me. Truly, unconditionally, love me.

Admittedly I sometimes took that unconditional love for granted. But it was always there supporting me, sometimes in imperceptible ways. That unconditional love is the foundation on which everything else has been built. Like a house with weak a foundation, a person without that type of foundation eventually will crumble and collapse. Thanks to my mom’s unconditional love, I never have. In fact, that foundation of unconditional love is what has allowed me to grow, be fearless, thrive, and become stronger.

             

Mom and me during the swim practice at Ironman Arizona in 2011. There was never a better Sherpa.

She Showed Me How To Hang With The Boys:  Like my mom, I was and am a tomboy. Sure, just like my mom, I also clean up pretty well. But underneath the make-up, painted nails, and occasional dresses is a fiery girl who is far more comfortable drinking beer, cussing, and telling dirty jokes with the guys.

When I was in elementary school, our teachers and principals had a policy that girls and boys could not play together at recess. (This was in the late 70’s/early 80’s, not colonial times). That didn’t sit well with a couple girlfriends and me who wanted to play football with the boys at recess. My mom even wrote a note to the school saying she had my permission to play football with the boys and wouldn’t hold the school responsible if I got hurt. The school wasn’t persuaded.  So one day at recess, my friends and I put on a couple of the boys’ hooded sweatshirts and sneaked over to play football. A few minutes later we were busted. When we got called into the principal’s office, my mom came too. Let’s just say the teachers and principal got an earful that day from my mom about the absurdity of their policy.

Because of my mom, I have never thought I had any limits because I was a girl. I have never doubted I can do anything just as well, if not better, than a man. I have never felt uncomfortable or intimidated in a room full of men. And I have never felt that I couldn’t stand up to a man.

People sometimes call me an “Ironwoman” instead of an “Ironman.” Frankly, that bothers me. I earned the title of Ironman because I have done and will do things that most men cannot do. And that’s because of my mom.     

Before the start of the Marine Corps Marathon in 2006. I had shirts made for us with my grandpa's Marine Corps photo.

She Taught Me To Help People:  Many people thought of my mom as their mom. Her business card at work even listed her job title as “Office Mommy.” If there were one quality I had to pick that best represents my mom, it would be her limitless ability to help and care for others, especially those who were struggling or less fortunate.

My mom had countless stories of standing up to bullies to defend other kids when she was growing up, giving care and support to people who didn’t have anyone else, and finding ways to encourage those around her. Because of my mom’s example, I am driven by a deep desire to help and inspire people every day, in even the smallest ways.

That desire carries through to my training and races. My most rewarding moments on the race course actually aren’t when I cross the finish line. They’re when I know I’ve helped someone else cross the finish line. At the end of one race a few years ago, a woman came up to me and said that she’d been struggling during the race. She saw me ahead of her, liked my pace, and told herself that if she stuck with me she could finish the race. For me, that moment - realizing I had helped someone without even knowing it - was more satisfying than finishing the race. 

During every race, I shift the focus from my pain and misery to finding others who are struggling. I try to encourage them, give them a laugh. During Ironman Boulder in 2015 I handed out all my Tums tabs to other athletes who’d also gotten sick from swim. That desire to help is my mom, working through me, to lend a hand to those around me. It's what a village is all about - helping others.       

A proud Sherpa Mom after my Ironman Arizona finish.

She Was My Original Sherpa:  Growing up, my mom was at every, single event I had. From spelling contests in elementary school, to sporting events in junior high and high school, to moot court competitions in law school. And she was always the loudest parent there. It never embarrassed me. It made me proud to know my mom was letting everyone know she was cheering for her Baby Girl. 

My first marathon was the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. in 2006, which I chose to honor my grandpa who was a Marine in WWII. My mom, without hesitation, flew from Nebraska to cheer for me. Navigating through thousands of people around the race course and cramming into D.C.’s metro like a sardine was a lot to ask of my claustrophobic mom. But she did it (along with her fiancé and several of my friends), just for me. She helped get me to the race start in the morning and helped me limping from the finish line at the end. 

She also came to my first Ironman in Arizona in 2011. She lugged gear around for me during race check-in, made sure I found a warm neoprene cap and booties at the race expo for the bone-chilling swim, and she (along with several of my friends) hustled all over the race course to cheer for me. She even spotted me in the water during the swim - out of all those swimmers - and got some amazing pictures. At the finish line, she was screaming her lungs out. Her face was the first one I saw when I made my way out of the finishers chute. She wrapped me in her arms and kept saying how proud she was. When I said I couldn’t go another step, she hailed a pedi-cab to take us the three blocks back to the car.  

Ironman Arizona was the last event at which my mom was my Sherpa. But I still feel and hear her at every race I’ve done since then.   

My mom was my original Sherpa, my foundational support.  She was and always will be, the matriarch of my village. She is the legend whose lessons live on, giving me and others within my village the courage, strength, and unconditional love to keep moving forward.

YOU Have No Excuse NOT to Meditate: A 5-Minute 30-Day Meditation Challenge

"[M]editation is a way to get in the space between your thoughts. You have a thought here, a thought here, and there's little space between every thought." -- Deepak Chopra

YOU have no excuse not to meditate.

Yes, you...I'm talking to YOU.

Yes, I'm pointing at YOU...

I'm talking to all of you out there who claim your mind is too busy to meditate.

To all of you who claim you have tried meditation and it just doesn't work for you.

To all of you who claim you don't have any time to meditate.

To all of you who think that meditation is for a bunch of hippies who like to burn candles and make weird chanting noises.

To all of you who have used any kind of excuse not to meditate, I am here to tell you that your excuse  is a cop-out.  Your excuse is nothing more than a self-created justification to keep you from doing the hard work - and yes, meditation is hard work - that you need to do to live a happier life.  And if you say, "I'm already happy, I don't need to meditate," then think about how amazing it'd be to feel even happier.  

Before I go further, I want to make clear that meditation is not a cure all.  It won't fix all the problems in your life.  It won't make money suddenly appear.  It won't make that guy you see at the grocery store magically fall in love with you.  It won't make the girl of your dreams come walking through the door.  It won't cure cancer.

Meditation, however, will make you happier - and that's completely relative to how you feel from day-to-day, moment-to-moment.  It will also make you more productive.  It will help you open your mind and see new opportunities that you may have completely missed otherwise.  Most of all, it will make you recognize that the little voice that constantly runs in your head - the one that tells you stories all day long about how you look, how you feel, how someone else looks, whether you're doing a good job - is not the truth.  That's right.  That little voice in your head is only telling you some version of a story.  Once you recognize that, pause, and realize that's all it is - a story - then your entire outlook can change a little bit at a time.

For now, I'll save the science and details of the benefits of meditation for another post.  My only goal for this post is to get you to commit for one month to meditate for at least 5 minutes a day.  There's no science to that number.  It's just a place to start.

I mentioned in my post a couple weeks ago, Slowing Down for Speed, Efficiency, and Endurance, that I'd been trying to meditate for 20 minutes twice a day.  I'll admit that there have been days when I don't fit in the 20 minutes or I don't do it twice a day, and I was feeling guilty about that.  (Actually, that little voice in my head was telling me that I was being lazy and failing at my goal).

Then I listened to a wonderful podcast by my favorite podcaster, Rich Roll.  I've mentioned him before and if you haven't checked him out, then you truly don't know what you're missing.  One of his recent podcasts was with ABC News anchor, Dan Harris.  If you think that meditation is a bunch of hooey, that it's for hippy freaks, that you can't slow your mind down enough, or that it's just a waste of time, then this podcast is a must listen for you.

I promise that if you listen to this podcast, you will wipe away every excuse that little voice tells you to let you get away with not meditating.  

You can read Rich Roll's notes about the podcast to get a better sense of Dan Harris and his entry into meditation.  In a nutshell, as a broadcast journalist, he's one of the busiest, most overstressed people you will find.  He's not religious and is a self-proclaimed agnostic.  His mind races probably faster than yours on any given day, and he's in a constant pressure cooker with his job.  He would be one of the last people you would think would take up meditation.  Yet, after an interesting couple of years following an on-air panic attack, some news assignments covering different faiths/religions, and reading a book on Buddhism that his wife gave him (which he thought was ridiculous), he decided one day on vacation to screw it and try meditation for five minutes.

As he describes, it sucked, it was hard, and his mind wandered off all the time.  Over time, however, it got better.  And over time, he got happier.  Consequently, he wrote a book called 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works - a True Story.  I implore you to click the link and watch the videos where he describes how he came upon this journey, how ridiculous he thought meditation was, and how he came to realize the immense benefits meditation would have.  The video is actually quite funny and sarcastic (right up my alley) as Harris tells about his journey.   You can also watch the talk he did at the MindBodyGreen seminar, which is on Rich Roll's website.

His point - and mine - is a simple one:  focus on your breathing for 5 minutes every day.  Don't call it meditation if that you creeps you out.  You don't have to light a candle or chant sanskrit.  All you have to do is sit comfortably - in a chair, on a couch, on the floor, however you want - close your eyes, then focus on the breath coming in your nose, moving down your throat into your stomach as you inhale, and then moving back out your stomach, throat, and nose as you exhale.  That's it.

Yes, your mind will wander.  You may take one breath and then that little voice will start saying "oh, wow, good job, you focused on that breath.  I wonder how long we can do this? I wonder if I'm breathing the right way.  I wonder if I should be sitting differently.  Did I turn my phone off?  Oh wait, I'm supposed to be focusing on my breath."  Once you realize that the voice is running on auto-pilot, just turn your focus back to your breath.

Then your mind will wander again...and again...and again.  Don't get angry, frustrated, or disappointed, and most of all, don't give up.  Just recognize that your mind wandered and refocus on your breath.

Contrary to what you may think, the point is not to clear your head of all thoughts.  That's not going to happen.  The point is to recognize when that little voice kicks into gear and just bring your attention back to your breath.  The beauty of meditation isn't to clear your mind.  It's to get in touch with your mind - more specifically, to find the space in between the thoughts.  That's where the true peace lies.  It's where - and this may freak you out - you will find the true spirit, God, or whatever higher power you want to call it.  It's where you find your true consciousness.  It's the place where that little voice - the one that only tells you stories, not truths - ceases to exist.

Okay, that was a bit lofty...but that's the carrot at the end of the stick.  Your goal isn't to wipe your mind clean, so stop stressing about how you can't quiet your mind.  Your goal is to find the space between the thoughts.  And you do that by doing one simple thing:  focusing on your breath.

Doing that one simple thing doesn't have to be a huge undertaking.  So don't let that little voice tell you that you don't have time.  If Dan Harris can find 5 minutes a day (actually he does more than that), then so can you.  If not 5 minutes, then do 1 minute and build from there.  Just establish a consistent, daily practice of focusing on your breath for a set amount of time.  Do it when you first get out of bed.  Over your lunch break.  Right before you go to bed.  On the metro.  Just do it.

Don't get discouraged and say "I can't do it, my head is to busy.  It's just too hard."  That excuse is the equivalent of not going to the gym because it's hard, it makes you breathe hard, and you get too sweaty.  Let go of any expectation that meditation is easy or that you should be able to be good at it in a matter of days.  As I mentioned in my prior post, you wouldn't expect to get up off the couch and run a 5k without training.  So don't expect your brain to run a 5-minute mediation session without wandering off for most it.

Doing some amount of meditation every day (well, almost every day) the past few weeks has nearly blown my mind.  Just in the last few days, I've begun to notice opportunities and meet new people that I know I would have missed before.  How has meditation helped me do that?  It's made me notice when that little voice is rambling on.  It's made me decide that I don't have to listen to that little voice.    Instead of letting that little voice talk me out of introducing myself to a new person, I let that negative thought pass, and decide to take another course of action by walking up to the person.  Instead of pre-judging a situation and assuming that a certain outcome was sure to be the end result, I decided to open myself up to at least trying to achieve a different outcome or exploring the possibilities.  I've had a more empathetic response - rather than knee-jerk reaction - to other people and situations throughout the day.  It's allowed me to focus better and not get caught up in the constant storytelling of that little voice.

It's made me....happier.  

Am I happy all the time?  No.  But I'm happier more of the time.

Do I still flip people off in traffic?  Yes.  But I do it less.

Do I still get annoyed with people throughout the day?  Yes.  But it's less often.

Am I able to meditate for 20 minutes without my mind wandering off?  Absolutely not.  But I'm getting better.

On my Helpful Links tab I've provided some Meditation Tips that provide a couple of resources to get you started with a simple meditation practice.  Whether you do one of those or find your own, all I ask is that you commit to focus on your breathing - meditate - for 5 minutes a day for 30 days.

Drop the excuses.  Just do 5 minutes of focusing on your breathing for 30 days.  Then I dare you to tell me that you're not even slightly happier at the end of that 30 days.

Can you commit to that challenge? If you do, I'd love to hear about your progress, your struggles, etc., so email me at mwally40@gmail.com or leave a comment below...

Slowing Down for Speed, Efficiency, and Endurance

"Sit down and wait 'til your hurry's over...because before you know it, in the blink of an eye, 

your life is over."

~ Norman Gibbs (my Papa Norman)

My Papa Norman - the greatest Grandpa ever to live - always used to say that to me.   He said it's something his Grandpa used to tell him.  I sort of understood it, but thought it was a little counter-intuitive:  how are you supposed to sit down and wait if you're in a hurry?  The past couple weeks, however, that little Papa Norman-ism has taken on a whole new meaning...one that I understand on a new and profoundly deeper level.

We're a crazed, busy society for the most part, and nothing makes you sit up and take notice of how busy we are like returning from a relaxing vacation.   I spent three weeks in Nebraska and Colorado in July and August, and returned from that vacation with an unsettling sense of how much I've been sucked into the rat race of urban life. I'm a very adaptable person and think I could live just about anywhere I had or wanted to.  But the mountains of Colorado and the Boulder area spoke to me in a way that only one other place has before (Ireland).  They didn't speak to me in a whisper...they spoke to me in a loud, drill sergeant voice (much like my Papa would have used in the Marines, although he wasn't a drill sergeant) to say "You must, for the good of your soul and to live your true life, find a way to move here!"  Yes, the mountains of Colorado are pulling at my heart and soul with as much force as the gravity between the Earth and the Moon.

Happy mountains in El Dorado Canyon outside Boulder...

Usually when I return from vacation, I feel a sense of calm and joy to be back home.  I've loved D.C and northern Virginia in the 17 years I've lived here, and always thought this is where I would stay.  But upon returning from this vacation, for the first time ever, I had the feeling of "I'm done with this place."  Done with the competitive chaos.  Done with the politics and suited-up Type A personalities who saturate this area.  Done with only feeling connected to nature on the weekends.

But recognizing that I'm not in a position to just drop everything and move to Boulder, I decided I need to set about implementing a path that will get me there.  In the meantime, however, I still need to live here, still need to work, still need to somehow thrive in the chaos.

But how do I do that?

On the drive back from Nebraska I was listening to my usual podcasts and one was on the topic of Zone 2 heart rate training.  This is a topic that I know all too well (see my prior post on periodization), but for those of you who aren't familiar with the concept, here's a simple explanation.

Whenever you're doing any type of physical activity, your body is primarily burning one of two types of fuels for energy:  fat or carbohydrates.  Your carbohydrate stores are limited and break down quickly, whereas your fat stores are significantly more replete and break down slowly.  Theoretically, even a skinny person with relatively low body fat has enough fat stores for days of energy.

Because your carbohydrate stores are limited, an endurance athlete cannot realistically complete an endurance event by burning just carbohydrates.  Instead, the endurance athlete needs to train the body to burn primarily fat, for longer, sustained energy release.  This type of training is accomplished by training in your aerobic heart rate zone, which will teach your body to burn more fats than carbohydrates.  Thus, heart rate zone training focuses on determining your aerobic zones (where your body is burning primarily fats) versus your anaerobic zones (where you body is burning primarily carbohydrates and producing lactic acid - the painful burning you feel in your muscles after shorts bursts of hard efforts).

Heart rate zones can be calculated based on your maximum heart rate with different methods and metabolic testing that I won't get into.  For this simple explanation, all you need to know is that there are basically 5 heart rate zones:

Zone  1:  50-60% of your maximum heart rate.  Base aerobic zone that is typically used for warm-ups and is a pace where you can easily hold a conversation.

Zone 2:  60-70% of your maximum heart rate.  Aerobic training zone where you can exercise comfortably at this pace and still hold a conversation.

Zone 3:  70-80% of your maximum heart rate.  There is debate over whether this is still an aerobic zone or is an aerobic/anerobic combination.  This is a more challenging pace and isn't typically used for training, with the thought that it "confuses" your body as to whether it should be using fats or carbs.

Zone 4:  80-90% of your maximum heart rate.  This is the first aerobic zone, at which point your body begins to lack in oxygen and primarily use carbs rather than fats.  You can only spit out a few words at this pace.

Zone 5:  90-100% of your maximum heart rate where you'll be gasping for air after just a few seconds.

The idea behind calculating your heart rate zones is to teach you to train predominantly in the aerobic Zone 2, so that your body learns how to burn fat more efficiently to keep you going for longer periods of time.  In other words, by training your body at this Zone 2 pace, you develop better endurance.  Moreover (and somewhat contrary to what you would think), training at this slower Zone 2 pace actually helps you become faster.  Thus, your body not only become more efficient at burning your primary energy source for endurance, but you also become faster and, consequently, can run a quicker pace at the same lower heart rate.  Don't believe me?  Then check out the story of arguably one of the best Ironman champions in history, Mark Allen.  By training in Zone 2, Mark Allen went from running an 8:15 minute/mile pace, to a 5:20 minute/mile pace in a matter of weeks...all while still functioning in that easy-going, fat-burning Zone 2.

So what on Earth does this have to do with functioning in a fast-paced urban setting and me trying to figure out a game plan for moving to Boulder?  Everything.

Quite simply, this concept of slowing down to become faster and more efficient translates just as easy to your mind as it does to your body.  

It seems that we think the faster we can go each day, the quicker we can plough through our never-ending "inbox" of things to do, and the happier, more fulfilled, more productive we'll feel.  But does that really work?  Is what you're doing really working for you?  Does your inbox ever empty?  Sure, there are times when you have specific deadlines that must be met, where once they are, you feel that sense of accomplishment and completeness.  But those days likely are the minority.  For most days, your schedule consists of little "goals" that you feel must be accomplished:  walk the dog; workout; get ready for work; commute to work; work; commute home; do laundry;  fix dinner; feed the kids; do dishes; pack lunches for tomorrow; walk the dog; go to bed; get up & repeat.  Then somewhere in the midst of all that hurrying around, you also have to find time to pay the bills, see your friends, spend time with your family, clean the rest of the house, run errands and, oh yes, just sit and relax.

Unfortunately, it's that last bit - the relaxation - that often gets kicked to the curb (along with other self-maintenance "luxuries" like working out).

But what I'm here to tell you is that my Papa Norman was right all along:  just sit down and wait 'til your hurry is over, because before you know it, your life will be over.  What you need to understand is that your "life" isn't your commute, your house chores, or even your job.  Your life is what happens in between all the self- and society-imposed obligations. Your life is what happens in the seconds and space between all that...when you're not looking.  So the trick is this:  teach your mind to see the space in between.  Teach your mind to slow down time.  In doing so, you will find that precious gift of time, along with peace, happiness, and love.

It's no secret that our stressed out lifestyles are killing us.  So stop accepting that.  Stop thinking there's nothing you can do to change that.  Stop treating yourself like you're just another burnt-out, typical American.

Start slowing down.  Start training your mind to function in Mental Zone 2.

Think of it this way:  if an athlete tried to go out and do a marathon or an Ironman at a blistering Zone 4 or 5 pace, she wouldn't last more than a few miles.  If she tried to push through that burning pain of lactic acid building up in her muscles, she quite likely could cause a heart attack, collapse, and die.  Best case scenario, she'd just pass out or fall to the ground.  Athletes know better than to do this.  So why can't we, as normal, every-day humans, know better than to do this on a daily basis?

You may think you're winning your race by functioning in Mental Zone 4 or 5 every day just because you're still waking up every day.  You think this pace is sustainable simply because it allows you to keep slugging through each day.  Truth be told though, the race of life obviously (and hopefully) is vastly longer than any marathon or Ironman.  So the fact that up until this point in your life you've managed to function at Mental Zone 4 or 5, really only means that by comparison, you're only a few feet or maybe mile past the start line.  Trust me, your breakneck pace is catching up with you.  You will collapse in just a few miles...and it will be ugly.

I've said it before and, indeed, the entire theme of this blog, is that life is an endurance event.  Let go, right now, of any notion that you'll be able to get through this endurance event by continuing to function at Mental Zone 4 or 5.  If you refuse to let go of that notion, then you will fall well short of your finish line.  By that I mean, what should be a long and happy life for you, will be dramatically cut short by precious years.

So what's the solution?  Sit down...and wait.  Better yet, sit down, and meditate.  Yes, I said it...that lofty, weird, new-agey word:  meditate.  I'm not going to go into the benefits and in's and out's of mediation right now (I'll save that for a future post).  Right now, I'm just going to leave you with my experience the past couple weeks....

Since returning from vacation, I set out to start meditating.  It's been on my "to-do" list for quite a while now.  But given my burning compulsion to make some dramatic changes in my life, I finally realized that the only way to do that was to slow down and open myself up.

I started by downloading an online course from MIndBodyGreen by vegan Ultraman Rich Roll called The Art of Living With Purpose.  If you're not familiar with Rich Roll's life-transforming story, I highly encourage you to check out his website, podcasts, and book, Finding Ultra.  The dude will inspire the hell out of you...seriously.

His online course is all about how to set goals and achieve them.  Perfect for a Type-A, goal-driven person like myself, right?  Well, his approach is a little more holistic than just writing down some goals on a piece of paper and carving out time every day to devote to them.  Yes, his course starts with the "assignment" of meditating twice a day for 20 minutes for 30 days, and journaling for 20 minutes once a day, by hand (not computer).  Ideally, you do your journaling right after one of your meditation sessions when your mind is more free.  You can journal about anything and everything.  Just let the words and emotions flow.  

I can hear you now:  that's dumb.  That'll never work.  My mind is too busy.  I can't mediate.  This is crap.  And journaling?  Who has time for that?  I'm going back to how I normally set and achieve my goals.

Well just hear me out.  I was right there with you.  My head is as twirling as the spin cycle in the washing machine.  I'm sure yours is too.  But like training your heart to slow down in heart rate zone training, you also have to train your mind to slow down.  Yes, it's really true: your brain is a muscle that you have to train.  If you'd been eating McDonalds every day, living an unhealthy lifestyle, and filling your body with crap, you wouldn't expect your heart to be able to go out and run a marathon, let alone a 5k, with no training would you?  So why do you expect more immediate results from your brain?

I took my task to heart, put faith in the process, and began meditating twice a day.  It's not easy by any means and I've only been doing it for a little over a week.  I missed a couple days of meditation and journaling, and there were some days where I only meditated once.  But that didn't derail me.  I was gentle and forgiving with myself and just started anew the next day.  Mediation isn't about perfection.

My mind still wanders during meditation, but that's ok.  Again, training yourself to slow down - physically and mentally - takes time.  But I'm certainly better than I was when I first started.

Admittedly, it's hard to carve out essentially another hour of my day - 20 minutes of meditation in the morning, followed by 20 minutes of journaling, and then 20 minutes of meditation before bed.  Interestingly, however, I haven't felt like my "inbox" has fallen behind.  Whatever can be accomplished in my remaining time for that day gets accomplished, and what can't, will wait until tomorrow.

As for how I feel...almost indescribable.  I started this journey with the intent of freeing up my mind to ways of developing a game plan for moving to Boulder and, in the process, of opening myself up to great joy and happiness in my every day life.  Cosmically, however, another purpose has emerged.  My dog, Addie, was diagnosed last week with lymphoma.   While I obviously had a day of sadness and many, many tears -- and still have moments of sadness -- I also feel an extreme sense of acceptance.  As my Uncle Bud used to say when he was battling cancer, "It is what it is."  Another somewhat baffling saying that seems to now have more meaning.  I've accepted Addie's diagnosis with a clear head, recognizing that I can only control what's within my power - like her diet, her exercise, how I react to this illness, and what I ultimately decide is in her best interest.  I can't control how she'll react to the weekly chemotherapy treatments or how this disease will play out.  So we'll just take it a day and a week at a time, while enjoying every precious minute with her.

I know that I wouldn't have embraced this mindset if I hadn't started calming my spastic mind and opening it up to other feelings, emotions, and messages.  I feel a sense of calm determination - not just about Addie, but about everything.  Each day I now awake without a dread of the looming "to-do" list.  I simply wake up, walk and feed Addie, mediate, journal, do some yoga, and start about my day.  I feel more efficient - almost as if things are in slow motion like in the movie, the Matrix.  Life isn't about trying to get a certain list of things accomplished during the day.  It's about just moving through the day, unhurried, yet efficient.  It's something you have to experience for yourself to fully believe it.

Believe me, I'm nowhere near living in some zen-like state.  But the small amount of meditation and journaling I've been doing has opened my eyes to the vast power of our mind and what lies beneath.  We can be guided by something more powerful than our self-made drive to tackle our daily to-do list.

I am beyond excited about the infinite possibilities that will emerge as I slow down my mind.  It's even more exciting than the prospect of being able to run better than an 8-minute mile at a Zone 2 pace.  It's actually very fortuitous that I'm having to re-start my run training at the same time that I'm starting my mental training.  Due to some injuries, I've had to re-start my run program, so I'm slogging away at a very slow Zone 2 pace right now.  Yet, I know with time, that pace will improve, my heart will become stronger, and my body more efficient and faster.

Likewise, with time and training, by bringing my mind into more of a Mental Zone 1 or 2 pace, it will become stronger more efficient, and more open.

Many of you probably don't believe me.  Many of you may believe me, but think you're somehow different and that this won't work for you.  Trust me, you're not different, and trust me, it will work for you.  It won't necessarily work within the first day or even the first week.  But again - if you're out of shape, you won't go run a 5k within a week's time.  Accept the fact that right now, your mind is out of shape.  Commit to giving it the time and training it needs to get into shape, just as you'd made the same commitment to get your body into shape.

I'll post some resources on the Helpful Links tab, but here are some meditations and other resources that I've found most valuable in starting this practice, training, and journey:

• The Headspace website and app and guided Take 10 Meditation with Andy Puddicombe:  This guy is amazing and his website and app are great resources for beginning mediation.  I became interested in him through his 10-minute TED talk, which you can watch on YouTube.  His app and website have wonderful visual aids, and his Take 10 series - a series of 10-minute guided meditations for 10 days - are an excellent way to break into meditation.  
• Deepak Chopra:  That's right - the man, the myth, the legend - Deepak.  Seriously, his stuff is the bomb!  His website is a wealth of meditation and wellness information, as well as downloadable guided meditations.  I've recently been doing his 21-day meditation experience, which is almost over.  You can access meditations in this series for 5 days after they post.  But I'm hoping he'll have other series after this.  His voice is so calming, and the messages and mantras he delivers with every meditation are so powerful that I find myself repeating them - without even knowing it - throughout my day.  

I know many of you will use the excuse (let's call it what it is, it's an excuse) that you don't have time to meditate.  Don't elude yourself into thinking that you're any busier than the next person.  If this is your excuse, then check out these ways to squeeze meditation into your busy day.  

Even more of you will probably cling to your self-limiting story that for some reason, you are unique and you won't be able to mediate or that your problems are too insurmountable for something as silly and simplistic as meditation.  But ask yourself what is truly holding you back.  Whatever story or facts you're telling yourself isn't the "truth" - it's only the version you choose to see.  Ask yourself:  is my desire to hold onto whatever is holding me back more powerful than my desire to slow down?  A desire or need is only as powerful as you make it.  Only you can choose which one you want to give more power to.  

Are you meditating?  If not, what's holding you back?  If you are meditating, what helpful resources or tips can you share?  

Two Trail Races, the Air Force Cycling Classic, & a New Charity Race Team

The 2014 race season has started off with a bang!  My race calendar is packed this year as I venture into the world of ultra trail running and continue to try to build triathlon strength for the brutality that is the SavageMan Triathlon in September.  So let's get right to the recap of this season thus far....

EX2 Adventures Backyard Burn 5-Miler

My trail running kicked off this year with a 5.8-miler at the EX2 Backyard Burn at Wakefield Park on March 16th.  If you live in the DC area and have any love for trail running, the EX2 Adventures Spring and Fall Backyard Burn series is a must.  With both 5- and 10-mile options for each race around four Virginia parks, these series are always a good time.  The organizers are awesome, the race support top-notch, and the post-race food can satisfy even the pickiest of trail runners.

The Wakefield Park run ended up being a 5.8-miler through the undulating wooded trails.  I pushed it hard from the outset, dodging around the other runners and hoping to stay vertical in the process.  Amazingly, I did.  The last mile or so, I noticed a woman just in front of me that appeared to be in my age group.  So, of course, my competitive side kicked in as I pushed a little harder to get past her.  She had the same competitive drive and stuck right on my tail.  With 25 yards to go, the course split between the finish line for the 5-miler and the rest of the course for the 10-miler.  Naturally, I went the wrong way onto the course for the 10-miler.  My detour only last about two seconds, but it was enough for the woman behind to shoot past me down the finisher gate.

I finished in 57:41 (a 9:44 pace) and finished 7th out of 24 in my age group, just missing 6th place by one second.  I missed 5th place and the podium by less than four minutes, but I felt better about that than missing 6th place by one second!  It just goes to show that seconds really matter in a race...

Fountainhead Offroad Half-Marathon

Another amazing EX2 Adventures race was the Fountainhead Offroad Half-Marathon on May 18th.  This would be my first real trail running test and my longest trail run at that point.  I'd done a couple of trail runs on the Fountainhead course and knew that it'd be a good test for a newly trail runner.    

I stuck to my plan for the most part and treated the race as a training run.  Given this was my longest trail run and race, I didn't expect a stellar performance and I told myself I'd be happy with under a 2:30 finish.  

Boy, did I surprise myself!  I felt great the entire race.  I restrained my competitive fire when people were sluggishly passing me to run the uphills.  But I held my ground, did my own thing, and power-hiked the uphills.  I figured that most of these people either were the 10k folks or were half-marathon folks who'd be kicking themselves toward the end of the race when their legs were shot.  I was right.  

As the race wore on, I started passing people (many of whom passed me running uphill).  Around mile 4 or 5, a woman and I were running close to each other, so naturally we started up a conversation.  She stuck behind me for much of the race, but I lost her the last couple of miles.  I was actually disappointed because I enjoyed running with her.  

My legs felt amazingly good - tired, but good.  So I just powered through and ended up finishing at 2:27:35 - under my goal!  Not only that, but I was 6th in my age group out of 23.  I've never finished that well in any running race.  Once again, I missed the podium by about three minutes, so I need to focus on a bit more trail speed.  For my first significant trail race, however, I'll take that finish!  

Fountainhead trail  

I have to say though, as happy I as I am with my finish, I'm even more stoked about my race wounds. Until this race, I hadn't really fallen down on any of my trail runs.  Around mile 5, however, I was talking to the woman who I ended up running with for awhile and we were trying to figure out if we were still on the half-marathon route instead of the 10k route.  Forgetting that I don't tend to multi-task very well on the trail, I was yammering away and gesticulating with my hands when a tree root reached up, grabbed my ankle, and threw me forward.  I took a pretty good spill.  Fortunately, runners (and especially trail runners) are very kind folk, so the woman behind me and another guy stopped to make sure I was okay.  Not wanting to hold up their race, I thanked them, waved them on, and popped back up.

As I started to run, my right knee felt pretty sore and for a few minutes I was concerned that I'd bruised it too badly.  When I looked down, I saw blood streaming from both knees.  At that point, rather than freaking out, a feeling of "damn, that's pretty badass" surged through me.  So I pushed on and finished the race with some bloody knees.  

A happy finisher...

Muddy...

and bloody...

My new saying:  It ain't a race unless you finish muddy and bloody.  

The best part about this race, however, was the fact that it was my first official trail race on behalf of my new race - Team Rescue Tails!  I'd done the GW Parkway Classic 10-mile road race as my first official road race for the Team a few weeks earlier and did a blog post on our Team website about that race.  But given my focus this year on trail races and ultras, I was particularly excited to be running my first significant trail race wearing my Team Rescue Tails t-shirt!  

I'm so thrilled and honored to be part of this Team.  It's no exaggeration to say that this is a dream come true because for quite some time, I'd been wanting to set up a charity race team for the Animal Welfare League of Arlington.  Finally, after months of work and thanks to the tremendous help of other passionate folks, the Team is up and running.  Our goal is to fundraise to benefit the League and all the animals it helps.  I see great things in our future and I look forward to the Team growing throughout the year.  So please check out my fundraising page and the Team's website at www.teamrescuetails.com.   

Air Force Cycling Classic

Mixed in with all my trail running and ultra training are some long bike rides.  I need to work on my bike strength in preparation for the SavageMan half-iron triathlon this September, which is dubbed as the toughest triathlon (or at least the toughest half-iron).  More on that later...

So as part of my training rides, I signed up for the Air Force Cycling Classic in Virginia on June 7th.  The entire event hosts two days of rides over the weekend, with a challenge ride for regular folks like me on that Sunday.  The course is a 15k (just over 9-mile) loop starting in Crystal City and going up into Rosslyn, Clarendon, and around by the Air Force Memorial.  With that short of a loop and all the riders registered, I envisioned a full-on chaotic crashfest...but I was pleasantly surprised.  

The race was controlled chaos and I actually felt very safe and in control the entire time.  The race goes off at 7:00 a.m. and you can start any time up until 8:00 a.m.  You must be off the course by 10:00 a.m.  You get a medal depending on how many loops you do:  3 loops or less is bronze; 4-5 loops is silver; and 6 or more loops is gold.  I was shooting for 5 loops and the silver.  

My friend and I waited to start until some of the crowd thinned out because I didn't need to get caught up in someone's wheel as we slow-rolled our way through the starting gate.

Yeah, no way in hell was I jumping in the middle of that in the beginning...

Great view riding up to the Air Force Memorial....

Once I got past the start line though, it was pretty smooth sailing.  The 9.3-mile loop took us up route 110, into Clarendon/Rosslyn, then back down to the Air Force Memorial.  There were only 2 little climbs that were enough to slow you down for a bit, but other than that, it was a fast course.  I was surprised at the variety of cyclists - everyone from kids with their parents to elite athletes gunning for the gold.

For a few moments, I thought I could push it hard enough to get six laps...but I slowly realized that I wouldn't make the 3-hour cutoff.  Next year, if I start right away and push it a little harder, I think I could go for the gold!


So in the end I got my 5 laps for the silver medal.  I finished in 2:46:17, which was good for 17th out of 78 female age 40-49 riders.  That number is a little deceiving, however, because it includes all those female age groupers who did at least one lap.  Out of the 19 females in my age group who did 5 laps, I was 12th.  My pace was 16.8 mph.  To get 6 laps next year, I'd need to pick that up significantly to 18.6 mph.  A tough feat....

Me with Cherry Cervelo and my silver medal after the Air Force Cycling Classic...

With these races under my belt I feel like the 2014 racing season is off to an awesome start...but I have a lot to improve upon.  My biggest goal, however, is to gain recognition and support for AWLA's Team Rescue Tails.  No matter what my personal accomplishments may or may not be this year, I will consider the year to be a tremendous success if Team Rescue Tails continues to grow and raise money to benefit AWLA.  

Next up on the list is my first ultra trail run:  the Rosaryville 50k on July 20...

Please share how your race season is going....I'd love to hear about your accomplishments! 

If I Were An Olympic Athlete, I'd Boycott Sochi for Killing Stray Dogs

History is replete with instances of sports and athletes breaking barriers, changing the way people think, and bringing people together in solidarity.  In 1926, Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim across the English Channel, dispelling the notion that women were "the weaker sex."  In 1947, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier by becoming the first African American to play in a major league baseball game.  In 1954, Roger Bannister defied what were believed to be human limitations by becoming the first runner to break the 4-minute mile.  And in 2012, 78-year-old Harriett Anderson became the oldest woman to ever finish the Ironman World Championships in Kona Hawaii, which she did this after flying over a guard rail on her bike, injuring her shoulder.

These are just a few examples of how sports have defied expectations, pushed our limits, and caused a sea change in people's beliefs.

So why hasn't the killing of thousands of stray dogs in Sochi for the 2014 Olympics caused a similar sea change in how the world - or at least Americans - view and treat homeless dogs?  

You've probably heard by now about the thousands of homeless dogs that have been ordered to be killed by Sochi's City Hall.  The purported reason for this mass slaughter is "so they don't bother Sochi's new visitors."   I find this "justification" to be bullshit.  While there may be some health issues associated with homeless dogs (such as rabies) or random incidents, many people are reporting that most of these stray dogs are extremely friendly, affectionate, and healthy, as seen in these photos.

One of the dogs from The Scruffy Faces of Sochi website who looks like he could be really threatening...NOT!

So why is Sochi continuing their practice of killing as many homeless dogs as they can find, despite the city being in the limelight right now?  My speculation is that there are several reasons.

First, the homeless animal population in Sochi is out of control and, sadly, seems to be indicative of the problem throughout Russia.  In Moscow in 2012, it was estimated that there were tens of thousands of homeless dogs running Moscow's streets, with another 17,000 in private and state-owned shelters.  With such an overwhelming homeless animal population, the poisoning and shooting of massive numbers of homeless dogs is common practice in Russia.  Yes, that's correct:  Sochi and other Russian countries have been engaging in this type of mass killing of dogs for years.  Moreover, this is not a practice developed just for the Olympics, nor is it a practice specific only to Russia.  National Geographic reports that other countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Kenya, Egypt, much of eastern Europe, and the Baltic countries have "mass dog-killing programs."  Moreover, the "stray dog problem" also was an issue in the Beijing and Athens Olympics.

Second, the vast majority of Russians don't have the mentality about dogs that Americans or other Westernized countries do, nor do they have the animal shelter infrastructure that we do in America.  One organization in Moscow - Moscow Animals - reports that "there are few western-style societies that aim to protect the interests of animals in Russia."  It seems that like many things in Russia, the few state-owned shelters that exist actually are rife with corruption and bribery.  

Third, Sochi officials apparently think it's easier to kill the dogs than to sterilize and vaccinate, or even to sponsor legislation that would fund a better shelter network.  Russia, like other countries with an extreme homeless animal population, doesn't have programs for the mass sterilization and vaccination of dogs.  Why?  Because killing them is less expensive and/or more efficient.  Interestingly, in April 2013, when it was first learned that Sochi would institute this mass killing to "beautify and sanitize" for the Olympics, the Humane Society of the United States offered to help Sochi with a mass sterilization and vaccination program to discourage the city from following through on their killing program.  Initially, Sochi agreed last year to forego their mass killing plan.  Clearly the Russian city didn't keep their word.

As a consequence of all the media coverage of Sochi's massive dog-killing program, Americans and others throughout the world have become outraged, with many people saying they will not watch the Olympics.  As an athlete and an animal lover, I have a bit of conflict or confusion over this move to boycott watching the Olympics on television.

Although I commend and respect the sentiment behind such an approach, I think it inadvertently hurts the athletes who have worked for years to compete in the Olympics, and is too passive of an approach.  First of all, neither Sochi nor the IOC cares if you sit in front of your t.v. and watch the Olympics.  Granted, I don't begin to understand the moneymaking aspect of the Olympics, but the only thing a boycott on television watching seems to do is hurt NBC's ratings, which has no impact on or relevance to Sochi's massive dog killing program.

Second, what such a boycott really does is weaken the support for American athletes.  Although I am not nor will I ever be an Olympic athlete, I have a good idea of what it means to commit yourself to an athletic goal, train hard for years, and pour your heart and soul into that goal.  These athletes have committed their lives to this one goal.  They have trained countless hours.  They have shed tears, blood, and sweat that could fill an ocean.  Their families and friends have stood behind them at every turn.  They've made extensive efforts to obtain fundraising and sponsors to support their journey.  If you are an American who loves sports, you must feel compelled to support these athletes through something so simple as watching them on t.v.  After all, isn't that what we Americans do when it comes to major sporting events?  Professional baseball and football players don't know that you are watching the World Series or SuperBowl to cheer them on.  But you know it, and you feel a certain solidarity with the rest of Americans who also are huddled up in front of their televisions to support our American athletes.  So while the athletes may not know that you are watching them on t.v., they know that their country as a whole is watching.

Third, boycotting the Olympics by not watching them on t.v. is too passive.  If you really want to have an impact, then be active.  Again, I completely understand the motivation and sentiment behind boycotting the television viewing of the Olympics and I respect that decision.  If, however, you really want to put some meat on the bones of your intention, then make your actions more active.   Find an organization to which you can donate to help save the Sochi dogs.  (I am not personally recommending any particular organizations here because I cannot vouch for their veracity, so that decision is left to your judgment).  Or, if you want your actions to have a more local impact, donate to or volunteer at a local shelter where you'll be able to see first-hand the impact your actions can have.

At any rate, taking some action is better than nothing.  And what may seem like small actions by just one person, can collectively create a significant impact.

Which leads me to wonder why more Olympians haven't taken a stand against this massive killing of homeless dogs.  These athletes have the world's attention right now, so think of the incredible impact they could have on the collective conscience of millions of people if individual athletes stood together to speak out against this horror.  It has warmed my heart to see athletes like American Olympian Gus Kenworthy and Russian Olympian Oleg Deripaska take a stand.  Kenworthy found a group of stray puppies and their mom, and immediately took to social media to announce that he'd brought them food and made vaccination appointments for them.  Even more inspiring is Deripaska, who reportedly is taking action to build shelters just five miles outside Sochi in Baranovka.

There's also former American Olympian Tom McMillan (1972 U.S. men's basketball team), who has written a letter to the IOC urging the governing body to intervene to stop the killing of Sochi dogs.

It's individuals like this who are using their status as current and former Olympians to stand up and bring awareness to this issue.  Individually and collectively, their actions are making a difference - both on the ground at Sochi and around the world as other individuals are inspired by their actions.

That's why I can say, with 100% confidence, that if I was an Olympian in the 2014 Sochi Olympics, I would boycott my event because of the government's decision to kill thousands of dogs and the IOC's blessing of that action.  Now granted, I will never qualify for the Olympics, so maybe that seems easy for me to say.  But not so fast.  Although I may never be an Olympian, I am an avid athlete and an even more avid animal lover and animal welfare activist.  So while I've never devoted the effort and resources to training for the Olympics, I have done so in training for other events like Ironman Arizona and Ironman Lake Tahoe.  I was fully committed to each of those events.  I'd poured my heart and soul into training for each of them.  I was obsessed with making sure that I finished each one and was determined not to fail.  And when I came so close to not making the bike cutoff for Ironman Lake Tahoe, I started to panic over the thought of being pulled from the race.  All those hours of training would be down the drain.  All the people who came to support me would be let down.  I would have done it all for nothing...(thankfully I did finish Ironman Lake Tahoe!).  

Yet, despite all of that, if I'd arrived in Tempe, Arizona or Lake Tahoe, and discovered that the Ironman Corporation had decided it needed to "clean up" the town by ridding it of any animals - dogs, cats, deer, birds, whatever...I would have refused to participate in the event that I'd devoted so many months, hours, blood, sweat, and tears to.

Why?

Because I would want to show the world how important the issue of animal welfare is to me; how important it is to be kind and compassionate to all living creatures; and how important it is to recognize that at the end of the day, no sporting event is worth killing any living creature.

I simply would not want to be a part of something that resulted in the massive death of any creature.  It's how I live my daily life, and I would expect nothing less of myself just because it's a "big race."  At every race I do, I show up hoping that on that day, I will be the best version of myself -- the strongest person I can be, both mentally and physically.  If I participated in an event that was the impetus for the massive killing of animals, I'd be turning my back on that.  I'd become the worst version of myself all in the name of that one event.  All in the name of my personal glory.

I wouldn't be able to look at myself in the mirror.

So instead, I'd want to send a message that no matter what the event or situation, your belief system should always be at the center of what you do.  Sometimes that will require you to make an awkward decision that may make you unpopular or the outcast.  But at the end of the day, if you compromise who you are, what kind of message are you sending?

I certainly don't expect any other athlete - professional or amateur - to feel the same way or take the same action.  Nor do I think that the Olympic athletes at Sochi have compromised who they are.  I just think that they could all send a much stronger message - one stronger than "what it takes to be an Olympic athlete" - if they stood up for creatures smaller than them.  These athletes who are on the world's center stage right now could stand together to send a message that homeless pets are an issue throughout the world - not just in Sochi - that can be addressed through spay/neuter programs, vaccinations, education, and better shelter systems rather than massive killing.  These athletes don't necessarily need to boycott their events - just standing up on a different podium to speak out against this injustice would be a wonderful step in the right direction.

The power these athletes have is the same power that Jackie Robinson had to change an entire country's view of African Americans.  It's the same power that Gertrude Ederle had to defy all notions of women's strength.  And it's the same power that Roger Bannister had to change all understanding of what the human body can accomplish.  These Olympians have the power to change the world's view on how to treat homeless pets.  These Olympians have the power to shed light on a homeless pet problem that permeates so many countries.  Yes, these Olympians - like Gus Kenworthy and Oleg Deripaska - have the power to teach people all over the world that compassion, love, and kindness should transcend all boundaries, including those of an Olympic sports pavilion.

I only hope that the world follows in Kenworthy's and Deripaska's steps and learns from these Olympics not only what it means to have the spirit of an Olympic athlete, but what it means to have the spirit of a compassionate human being....

What would you do if you were a Sochi Olympian?  

Stop Trash Talking About Each Others' Sports

(**WARNING:  this post contains explicit content not suitable for under people 18)

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions.  Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."

-- Mark Twain

Seriously, the trash talk needs to stop.  It seems like every day I read or hear something bashing CrossFit, triathlons, ultra marathons, or cycling.  I'm not talking about the "scientific studies" out there taking issue with each of these - that's a topic for another day regarding how you can find a "study" to criticize anything you want.  I'm talking about the personal attacks and criticisms being made by people in one sport against another sport.  Now I have no problem with friendly jokes between athletes in different sports in the spirit of a little competitive ribbing, like the YouTube video below between Ironman and Ultraman.  What I take issue with are the gross generalizations and personal attacks that people are making against their fellow athletes from another sport.

Here are very few examples of some of the ridiculous trash talk to which I'm referring:

• "Triathlon isn't really a sport but the narcissistic indulgence of rich assholes."

• "My bottom line with Crossfit is that in an effort to be extreme, these workouts are poorly executed, and the elitist attitude of the CrossFit community rubs me the wrong way."

• "I don't get the ultra-endurance snobs, especially slow ones. People who think they're awesome because they did some really long race, but think that short events aren't real."

Comments like these from online blogs, forums, and articles are only part of the problem.  Personally, my bigger problem is with the statements and Facebook comments I hear and read from friends and fellow athletes.  Comments along the lines of how "trail running is just too slow," "CrossFit is just a bunch of beefed up dumbasses," "triathletes are a bunch of Type-A snobs," or "cyclists are self-righteous assholes who think they own the road."  To the people out there making these comments - you know who you are; but, in case you don't know this, the only reason you feel compelled to make critical generalizations about athletes from other sports is this:  to compensate for your own insecurities.

It's not rocket science; in fact, it's psychologically simple.  The only reason we gossip about, criticize, or put down other people is to make ourselves feel more important, more powerful, or "better than."  So it's not puzzling why some triathletes, ultra athletes, cyclists, runners, and CrossFitters feel the need to criticize and trash talk each other:  the athletes who engage in this type of negative behavior are insecure about something.  Maybe she felt snubbed by people in the other sport.  Maybe he wasn't good enough at the other sport.  Maybe she feels like her sport is the only "answer" and everything else is inferior.  Maybe the only way he can feel validated through his sport is to put down other sports.

Whatever the reason for your insecurity, knock it off.

Now before you get your tri-shorts or cycling shorts in a wad, let me be clear on two things.  First, all sports -- hell all areas of life -- have assholes in them.  There are asshole triathletes, CrossFitters, cyclists, and runners, just like there are asshole lawyers, doctors, police officers, and teachers.  Believe me, there are triathletes who make me ashamed sometimes to be a triathlete.  These "sportholes" are the ones who seem to be the fodder for the  negative generalizations out there.  They are the bad apples that spoil the whole bunch.

Second, not every athlete engages in this negative, cross-sport trash talk.  Although I don't have any numbers to back this up, I bet it's safe to say that the vast majority of athletes in all these sports do not engage in that behavior.  So I'm not talking to them.  I'm talking to the few insecure athletes in each group who engage in this behavior on a regular basis....and you know who you are (although right now you're probably taking issue with the fact that you have any insecurities...but trust me, there's no other reason to justify that kind of behavior).

In addition to the trash talking, these insecure athletes often have the tendency to push their sport on other people by claiming that his/her sport is the "only answer" and all other sports have various flaws.  I'm not talking about the enthusiastic people who have pure joy from their sport and try to spread that joy through positive, non-confrontational messages.  Rather, I'm talking about the athlete who posts about their sport and how awesome it is in 95% of his/her Facebook posts.  The athlete who (in response to anyone who wants to lose weight, become healthy, or address an injury) claims that the athlete's chosen sport is the only answer.  The athlete who dominates 90% of the conversation with talk about his/her chosen sport, how wonderful it is, how people in other sports suck, and how other people must do this sport.  

You know who you are...and you need to knock it off.

Why do you need to knock it off?

First, and most obvious, is the fact that it's negative.  It's soul-sucking negative behavior for both you and the person at whom it's directed.

Second, it's ignorant - as all gross generalizations are.  Maybe you think that calling triathletes "elitist snobs" or CrossFitters "stupid meatheads" isn't that big of deal.  But tell me this:  how is that mentality any different from saying that pit bulls are dangerous?  Or children are brats?  Or, worse yet, any particular ethnic group is lazy or a bunch of criminals?  Mentalities that lump any group of people together under one umbrella are ignorant.

Third, if your sport really is that awesome and all the others suck so bad, why are there thousands (if not tens of thousands) of athletes engaged in the other sports?  Why isn't everyone gravitating to your sport?  The reason is that no one sport fits all and, thus, no particular sport is that awesome for everyone.

Fourth, your insistence on criticizing other sports stems solely from your insecurity, and unless and until you find the underlying source of that insecurity, you will continue to be a small person who can feel big only by belittling others...no matter how awesome you think you and your sport are.

Finally, and most importantly, you need to realize that you're not that special.  What gives you the right to criticize another athlete's chose course for physical health?  Presumably it's because you think you are that special....that you have been enlightened and everyone else is in the dark.  But you don't live in someone else's body.  You don't have someone else's schedule.  You don't have all the answers.  If you did - if you really were that special as to have "earned the right" to bash other sports - you wouldn't be an amateur athlete.  If you were that special at your chosen sport, you'd be able to quit your day job and become a professional...and even some professionals aren't that special.

If you really want to show how awesome your sport is, do it by being a humble ambassador...not by bashing other sports.  If you really want to "help" someone by convincing them to join your sport, don't push it in their face like the athlete equivalent of a Jehovah's witness espousing, ad nauseum, about the virtues of your sport (sorry to any Jehovah's witnesses out there).  In other words, don't be like the nauseating "enthusiastic guy" played by Alec Baldwin in Friends who couldn't shut up about everything wonderful little thing in life:

If you sound like Alec Baldwin as you blabber on about how awesome your sport is, you need to knock it off.  Why?  Because, again, if you and your sport really are that awesome, you shouldn't feel the need to be so "in your face."  Your sport should speak for itself, with just a little positive reinforcement from you.

Bottom line:  The negative trash talk is helping no one, including yourself and your sport.  In fact, you're doing a tremendous disservice to both.  And your overly enthusiastic, "in-your-face," self-promotion isn't helping either.  Both mentalities serve only one purpose:  to show how insecure you actually are.  So spend your time working on that, rather than working to rip apart other people who are out there working just as hard as you are to have a healthy lifestyle.

After all, isn't that what's really important?  Isn't it more important for the triathlete to support her overweight friend who has decided to try to lose a few pounds with CrossFit?  Isn't it more important for the CrossFitter to recognize how hard the triathlete has worked and the hours of training the triathlete bas devoted to becoming an Ironman?  Isn't it more important for the triathlete to realize that ultra runners want to appreciate nature and slow down the chaos of life?  And isn't it more important for the ultra runner to realize that short distances can require hard effort and training in a different way than long distances?

At the end of the day, the one generalization that can be made about all athletes is that we're all trying to find a healthier lifestyle, to find an outlet for our stress, and to become the best version of ourselves that we can be.  That noble goal shouldn't be tainted by small people who feel the need to belittle  another person's ambitions...

So knock it off....

10 Lessons from the Musselman Triathlon

It's been over a month since I did the Musselman half-iron distance triathlon in upstate New York on July 14th.  Before that, the last triathlon I did was Ironman Arizona in November 2011.  Getting back in the saddle - literally - was invigorating.

The setting was idillic, nestled in the Fingers Lakes region of New York.  The swim was in beautiful Seneca Lake; the bike took us through the rolling countryside between Seneca and Cayuga Lakes; and the run tortured us in the blistering sun along the lake and around town of Geneva.  Overall, despite getting heat exhaustion and basically shutting down during the run, I was happy with the race and the course.

As you know, I don't really do race reports.  So in an effort to make this as little like a "race report" as possible, I thought I'd pass along some nuggets of wisdom I learned from Musselman.

1. Make a road trip out of your next race:  If you haven't done this already, find a race that's not right in your backyard and plan a manageable road trip.  There's something to be said for packing up the car and hitting the road, with nothing but the scenery and your music (and coffee of course!), en route to a weekend of race adventure!

The Fingers Lakes were about six hours from me (perfect), and the drive up through Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York was stunning.  I'd never been up to this part of the country and I had no idea that my drive would be so mesmerizing, particularly when I got to the part of Pennsylvania that goes along the Susquehanna River.

Driving along the Susquehanna....

I stopped for lunch along the banks of the Susquehanna and just chilled out for a bit...

Combining a race with a mini-road trip is the perfect combination to get you out of your backyard...

2.  Stay away from the hustle and bustle of the race:  Personally, I'm not one who likes to be right in the mix of the athlete village and host hotel.  I like to be close enough to the race so that it's not  inconvenient to get there race morning, but far enough away that I don't have to be surrounded by nothing but athletes for the next couple days.  Seriously, those of you who compete know what I mean...you get a little tired of seeing people in their compression socks two days before the race, wearing their Ironman or other race t-shirt to let the competition know their accomplishments, and talking about all their races, how many times they've done this race, or their PR's ("personal records" for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about)...

Peaceful trail that went throughout the property...

So I stayed in the small town of Mecklenberg, about 30-40 minutes away from the race site, in an adorable cabin on land that used to be a lily farm.  I highly recommend this place if you're ever in that area.  It was spotless, had everything I needed including a full kitchen, a comfortable bed, and...goats!!  Here's the link to the Mecklenberg property. The owners were so friendly and accommodating.  Plus, the property had beautiful trails, a pond, blackberries, lilies, and, did I mention the goats?

Two of the three adorable goats on the Mecklenberg property...

The mama and her babies...I visited them several times...

Staying a little further away from the race site let me get away from all the buzz and hype so that I could just focus on me...

4.  Get your mind off the race and do a little touring:  One of the other reasons I like to stay a bit off-the-beaten-race course is that it allows me to explore my destination area.  It ain't all about racing folks.  Coming to the Finger Lakes area meant I could do something I've been wanting to do for several years now...tour the Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, New York.  (FYI, being a vegan will make you want to do weird things like schedule races around going to a farm sanctuary).  I was absolutely giddy.

The Farm Sanctuary was founded in 1986 and its mission is "[t]o protect farm animals from cruelty, inspire change in the way society views and treats farm animals, and promote compassionate vegan living."  It now has three locations:  Watkins Glen, NY; Orland, CA; and Los Angeles, CA.

The Farm Sanctuary tour was amazing!  Not that I needed anything to reaffirm my commitment to being a vegan, but this certainly added more fire to my passion.  The Sanctuary is situated in the peaceful hills, with acre after acre of happy farm animals.  I won't post all the pictures I took on the tour, but here are some of the highlights:

The pigs were very sleepy...but they loved to have their bellies scratched!

I LOVED the cows!  They were like big dogs! And yes, I stepped in a couple cow patties...

This is Turpentine...the MAN at Farm Sanctuary.  He came out to greet people and puffed up his feathers...Gorgeous! 

The Farm Sanctuary is definitely worth visiting, and I was so thrilled to be able to combine in one trip my love for animals and my love for triathlons!  So next time you're looking for a race, think about what other quirky, off-the-beaten-path activities you'd like to do, and combine the race with a little mini-vacation.

5.  Attend the pre-race lecture, drive the course. and do your pre-race primer:  I cannot emphasize this enough:  unless you're a professional triathlete, you are never too cool or too knowledgable to forego the pre-race informational lecture.  Every time I've gone to one, I've learned something I didn't know or couldn't have anticipated.  Valuable information is given at these talks, such as the 90-degree right turn at the bottom of a hill right on the shore of the Cayuga Lake at mile 25.  Take the time, respect the effort the race directors put into ensuring that you have a good time and remain safe, and attend the pre-race talk.

Also, even if you're not neurotic like me, you should at least drive the bike course, and maybe the run course too (although, I have to say, I've never driven a run course).  I try to drive the bike courses of my longer distance races.  For some reason I find it comforting to familiarize myself with the course over which I'll be hurling myself and my bike.  I like knowing the tricky turns, the ups and downs, landmarks that can remind me that I'm at a certain point...It takes some of the mystery out of a 56-mile or 112-mile bike course.  Run courses certainly are worth driving as well, but for me, I don't feel as unprepared for the unforeseen fork in the road when I'm running as I am when I'm going 3 to 4 times faster on my bike.

And lastly, do a pre-race primer the day (or two) before the race.  This means, go to the site and do a short swim (if they'll allow it), and ride and run a small part of the course.  Nothing long at all - I think my entire pre-race primer triathlon was 30 minutes.  Do it just to shake your legs out, go over your transition set-up, get your mind focused, and work out some of your jitters..

Me on my pre-race primer bike ride....

6.  Get to the race site earlier than you think you should:  However early you think you need to get to the race site, plan to get there at least 30 minutes earlier than that.  Why?  Because you're getting up basically in the middle of the night anyway and you probably didn't sleep well the night before, so just get up 30 minutes earlier and make the morning easier on yourself.  Personally, I like to get to the race site 1.5 to 2 hours before the start.  This gives me plenty of time to use the porta-johns two or three times without having to wait in a huge line or run the risk of not having any toilet paper!  I literally was one of the first 50 people into the Musselman race site, and I didn't even have to use the porta-johns...I got to use the park's regular indoor bathroom, where there was no line, a clean toilet, and plenty of toilet paper.  It's so nice to get that over with in peace and comfort!

Also, getting there extra early allows you the freedom to take your time to set up your transition area correctly, make sure you didn't forget anything, get air in your tires or have the bike techs repair any issues, survey the race site for any last minute changes, and take the all-important pre-race pictures to post to Facebook right before you start...For me, it also allows me time to sneak off by myself, get my head on right, and pray for a safe race.

Getting there early gave me time to also to do a swim warmup once I got my transition area set up.  I recommend doing this about 20-30 minutes before the race start, if you're allowed.  It gives you a chance to see how the water is going to be, work off some of your nervousness, and get your blood flowing.  

Sunrise over Seneca Lake as the race coordinators set out the buoys for the swim course...

7.  Embrace your race:  As my wave of age-grouper women entered the water to wade out to the starting buoy, a woman next to me asked me if I was nervous (apparently she was).  I paused for a second and said "You know what?  I'm actually not.  I'm really excited."  In four years of triathlons, I don't ever remember being so excited.  Sure, my nerves were firing, but it was different from other races.  Usually I'm worrying about the swim, hoping I don't crash on the bike, and wondering whether I'm going to blow up on the run.  But this time, I was ready.  Granted, I know that you can't control everything on race day.  But for once, the uncontrollable "what if's" didn't bother me.  I knew that up to that point, I'd controlled all I could.  I'd done my training, I'd worked hard, and there was nothing else I could do now except rely on that hard work to put it all together.

So when our wave went off, I attacked the swim for the first time ever.  I'm usually very hesitant, almost apologetically moving out of the way anytime someone comes remotely close to bumping into me.  Not this time.  I just put my head down and swam.  Someone bumped into me, I kept going.  And if they tried to swim over me, I had no problem pushing them off.  (Yes, I think if you run directly into someone on the swim it's incumbent on you to stop trying to swim over the top of them.  Move the hell around them!)  My buoy siting was dead on.  And there was no panic.  No fear that I could drown.  No wishing the swim would hurry up and get over.  For the first time ever I embraced the swim...and I enjoyed it!

On the bike, I did about as I expected and was happy about that.  But half-way through the 56-mile rolling hill course (which included dodging horse poo from Mennonites in their wagons on their way home from church), my neck and shoulders cramped up so bad that I couldn't turn my head to the right without my neck having a spasm.  I've battled neck and shoulder cramps/knots ever since I first started riding my triathlon bike.  And even though I'd just had another bike fit (my fourth one), I knew the problem wasn't totally fixed.  So as painful as it was, I just embraced it.  It hurt, it sucked, oh well.  It wasn't keeping my legs from pedaling, and that's all that mattered.

The run was a little more difficult to embrace.  I don't know that I "embraced" as much as I said "fuck it."  The minute I started the run, I knew I was in trouble because the sun was so intense and there was virtually no shade along the mostly asphalt course.  Heat + sweat + me = heat exhaustion.  Again, something I've battled for years.  So my run basically fell apart and I did a lot of walking.  I was pouring ice down my shirt and shorts, putting wet sponges on my head, going through every hose that the town residents were spraying on us (bless each and every one of them), drinking all the water/electrolytes I could get my hands on...but my body just wasn't having it.  At first I was pissed because I'd really hoped to nail this race and especially the run.  But after a couple miles, when I saw that everyone was suffering - badly - I just embraced it and started commiserating with the other runners.  Misery loves company, and everyone out there in the heat that day became best friends for 13.1 miles.  As my Uncle Bud would say, "It is what it is."

8.  Get your nutrition RIGHT:  Turns out, one of the reasons that my heat exhaustion was so bad during Musselman (aside from the blistering sun and lack of shade) was the fact that I was taking in half of the calories and carbs that I was supposed to.  Apparently there was a miscommunication between my nutritionist and me.  After discussing a series of numbers with her, I asked her what my bottom-line calorie/carb intake should be.  She thought I was asking her how many calories and carbs were in the sports drink I'd been using and gave me that number.  So while I needed to be taking in about 235 calories and 65 carbs per hour, I actually ended up taking in about 120 calories and 35 carbs an hour.  Big difference!

Lesson learned - if you're working with a nutritionist, get a specific breakdown - in writing - of your nutrition intake requirements and make sure they are hourly, race-specific numbers.

9.  Relax and refuel post-race:  Whether you're doing a destination race or not, take the rest of that day and the next day to relax, refuel, and recuperate.  Sleep in.  Take the day off work.  Spin your legs out on your bike or go for a short swim if it will help shed some of the built-up lactic acid, but take it easy.  Treat yourself to a massage (which I did).  Go to a nice restaurant for breakfast or lunch (and wear your finisher shirt if you want, but don't wear your medal around all the next day...)  Allow yourself to bask in the glow of your accomplishment...

I enjoyed a leisurely post-race morning the next day, just relaxing at the cabin and watching the butterflies...

10. Be thankful that you finished, no matter what the clock said:  Although I finished Musselman about 30 minutes slower than I'd hoped, I finished.  To some people, that's not enough.  But for me, no matter how much I complain about the race (and I do complain) or how I wished I'd been faster (I'm never satisfied), I am always very much aware of how fortunate I am just to have finished.

Always a welcome site...

Two people died as a result of injuries they sustained during the Musselman races this year.  One man died during the sprint race the day before when he apparently was coming down a hill and hit a car that was parked along the side of the road.  A woman also died - the week after the race - as a result of injuries she sustained in a bike crash during the half-iron event.  I'd actually seen the aftermath of this accident as the ambulance arrived, but didn't know at the time how serious it was.

We all know that we can die or become seriously injured during any portion of the triathlon.  But that knowledge means about as much to triathletes as the knowledge we all have that we could die any time we get behind the wheel of a car.  You know it's a possibility...you just never really appreciate that it could happen to you.

These two competitors were young, healthy, vibrant people who, in the stroke of a pedal, had their lives ripped away and their families' lives shattered.  In that context, the race clock and my age group rank really are meaningless.  I finished.  Some weren't so fortunate.

When I signed up for Musselman, the registration form asked me why I do triathlons.  I'd completely forgotten about this.  But when I got into transition the morning of the race and found my designated spot on the bike rack, the amazing folks at Musselman had this reminder:

I loved that Musselman did this...

I started running 16 years ago because I wanted to be healthier.  Well, mission accomplished.  I'm healthier than I've ever been and I continue to grow stronger every year.  That one little reminder kept repeating in my head during the race and, honestly, was probably part of why I just embraced the entire experience.  (Although, I have to admit that it did cross my mind during the sweltering run that collapsing from heat exhaustion isn't exactly a healthy thing...)

Every time you start training for a race, think about what made you want to take this journey.  Whenever you toe up at a start line, remember the blood, sweat, and sacrifices that it took to get you there.  And every single time you step or crawl across the finish line, be thankful, above all else, that you made it.

Musselman was a fun, difficult, rewarding, and educational race.  And in reality, it was just a training race to see how I'm doing in preparation for Ironman Lake Tahoe this year on September 22...So my journey to be as healthy as I can be and to cross another finish line continues...But next time, it will end (hopefully) in the heart of Squaw Valley after 140.6 miles...

The road to the end of another Ironman marathon continues...