November 09, 2006

Round 1 goes to the exercise ball.

Posted by megabeth at 10:11 PM | Comments (2)

 
September 03, 2006

Just after I preached to you about simplifying things, I'm now about to write up a big ol' whine about "How in the earth am I going to get all of this done without going mad?"

I'm thankful that Monday is a holiday. I will be laboring my butt off on Labor Day.

My father came over yesterday to weed-eat the weeds and edge the lawn. The brush in the backyard was getting so thick that vagrants could have been living there; I wouldn't have been able to see them. He did this while I shirked responsibility on a four hour bike ride.

My client's website is being released this coming Friday so I'm at home for the weekend working on it. My new bike is already paid for; now I'm earning the laser eye surgery. I've been working with this particular client for six years. We have an excellent working relationship and they don't have a budget. That's good for everything except my free time. I'll be working on the content management system throughout the fall, while taking two MBA courses and working full time. I can double up my time when not busy at work by studying there.

I'd also like to ride my bike this fall and train for a half marathon in February.

I'd also like to conquer the entire world and get everyone to hold hands and sing songs about peace.

Like marathon runners, I'll probably hit The Wall around mile 20, which would be... late October to early November.

My surrogate cycling father gave me the book The Purpose Driven Life. I'll read it when the marathon's over. Perhaps I can stop overloading myself if I change my self-focused ways.

Posted by megabeth at 01:14 PM | Comments (1)

 
August 10, 2006

I have heard many times that exercise helps reduce stress, but I also think that excessive levels of stress leads to poor training performance. My ride last night was tough because I was tired from start to finish. I have a lot of irons in the fire and I'm struggling with juggling (haha, it rhymes) all of my commitments. I want to wrap some projects up before classes begin in a few weeks. Soon I'll switch gears and start running again. That should put some variety back into my exercise regimen.

Posted by megabeth at 08:46 AM | Comments (3)

 
August 04, 2006

Older folks (note I didn't say "OLD"... I only use that with my parents) usually have some good perspective about life. One of the men I ride with occasionally has a daughter my age, and I think he is cute because he acts like a father to me and other women he rides with. Sometimes he nags us a little. At 54, he is a respectable endurance triathlete. My parents are 59 and 61, and they might have a few more years left before they start using a walker.

He asked me what kind of races I have been up to lately, and I told him I had already dropped triathlons in favor of competitive cycling, but was still playing around and trying to figure out what I want to focus on. He said it doesn't matter and not to stress about it, as long as I stay active on a regular basis. A person's VO2 Max level drops around 1% every year after the age of 30, but if that person stays in excellent physical condition, the decline of VO2 Max can be slowed or even halted. If you keep a high level of fitness up for a period of years or even decades, you may be able to maintain your youthful physical condition. That explains why so many master cyclists and runners (those above the age of 40) are making some incredible accomplishments and in many cases, beating the socks off of the younger athletes they compete against.

When I was in my twenties, I assumed that my body would fall apart as I aged and I would have to give up my athleticism for hobbies such as knitting and walking. As long as I stay in the game and don't lose my fitness, I should be able to remain strong (and get even stronger) for years to come. In twenty years, I hope to be in similar physical condition as the 54 year old triathlete I train with, instead of on a rapid decline like my mostly-sedentary parents.

Posted by megabeth at 10:23 AM | Comments (0)

 
July 19, 2006

I've been burdening myself quite a bit lately with the choices I've made in my life. I'm not sure I'm going along the right path, but I'm burned out with work and thus can't see clearly enough to decide what it is I'd really like to do. I think a lot of us get caught in a routine and can't break out of it. The term 'golden handcuffs' refers to how it becomes difficult to change careers because we are accustomed to the level of salary and benefits being received and aren't willing to take on a sacrifice in exchange for a change. Ideally I would like to do something more humanitarian; but I may simply have the 'grass is greener' syndrome. It's difficult to see how my efforts in corporate compliance (thanks to Sarbanes and Oxley) are doing anything to make the world a better place.

I think this sense of discontent motivates me to ride my bike hard. Cycling is a form of escapism, at least for me. I don't have to think about work or how my house needs furniture or how I can't keep up with the latest clothing trends or keep my fingernails neatly groomed. I can make excuses to avoid attending social events, and I can physically be with other people without really talking to them that much. I can avoid the annoyance of living up to the high beauty standards that women hold up to each other. I've used athletics as a form of escapism for as long as I can remember.

This past month, I've been working hard on a freelance project outside of work which has been occupying my free time away from my full time job and cycling. The work is more fulfilling than my full time job because it is free from the hindrance of corporate bureaucracy and management politics. When it is complete, I can say that I actually accomplished something from start to finish. One thing that's nice about earning money in this manner is that it keeps me from going out and about and spending money. Thus, I earn and save at the same time. However, my discontent and increased stress level encourages me to go out and buy things to attempt to make myself happier. In my opinion, this is one good reason why those who make more money also spend more money. After I buy something for myself, I have a brief period of happiness because I justified the suffering and boredom I went through to make the money that bought the new item(s).

I wonder what it would be like to be satisfied. I'd take an earnings reduction for that, but when I was making half of what I'm earning now, I wasn't satisfied then, either. I was still working and studying all the time and generally feeling overworked. What I would really like is more free time. Those citizens in the lower income brackets are often equally as exhausted, disillusioned and burned out from too much work and too little time off to relax. I think the greater problem is the attitude of American society towards work; that we must work our butts off for hours on end without time off in order to get ahead. In general, I feel stuck, with no way out of this situation.

So I ride my bike and try to forget about it.

Posted by megabeth at 09:37 AM | Comments (4)

 
June 30, 2006

Yesterday, the women's group ride decided we should ride for ice cream. A new ice cream store called Clumpies opened up recently and it is on our route home. Visions of creamy, cold scoops of frozen dessert floated above our heads as we practiced sprinting and hill climbing. At the end of the summer, we may very well be the Clumpies racing team, finishing in last place with our new XXL jerseys and shorts.

One of the women on my ride was nearly attacked by a dog last night. We have problems with one particular house where they allow a Chow to run free and unfenced. The dog chases us every time we pass by, and doesn't look too friendly. Fast runner, too, since it is difficult to outsprint him. The residents of the house said, "Oh, he ain't gonna bite anybody" and went about their business. I yelled back, "It's a CHOW for God's sake!!!" The owners' attitude of ignorance is exactly the reason why dogs bite people. The owner thinks, "Aw, my precious little pit bull Boo-Boo would never hurt a flea!!!" Idiots. Anyhow, the situation needs to be rectified before someone gets hurt. I suppose that means one of us will be purchasing some pepper spray in the near future.

UPDATE: I called the Irondale PD and they sent the complaint to animal control. The animal control guy just called me asking for details regarding the dog and location of its home. He said he'd stop by there in the evening to see if the dog is running loose. I don't feel optimistic about this, since animal control would have to be there at exactly the right time and would have to be outside of his vehicle in order to provoke an attack.

Posted by megabeth at 10:00 AM | Comments (3)

 
June 20, 2006

While I am on the topic of metamorphoses, I'd like to mention the MAWP, pronounced just as it appears, is a ritual I began to practice over the last year or two. It involves doing little to nothing on weekend evenings other than eating out, and often going to bed between 11 PM and midnight, or even earlier if planning to wake at the crack of down for a morning athletic event.

The MAWP is quite a change from the rituals of my twenties. My early to mid twenties involved the habit of staying out until 2 or 3 am, imbibing large quantities of drink, frequenting the less finer watering holes across town, coming home with clothes reeking of smoke (not from my own habit, but from the low-quality atmosphere surrounding me). Then sleeping late and waking up feeling absolutely like crap. That I blamed on drinking, but later found out during a few evenings of not-drinking-but-breathing-smoke-secondhand, that the smoke is the main contributor to the Saturday morning suicides of non-smoking bar-hoppers.

My mid-to-late twenties involved less frequent visits to bars and more frequent attendance at parties held at the private homes of young adults, who most likely had acquired professional jobs paying enough to secure a mortgage for a first home. There would be cookouts and coolers of bottled beers, and crawfish boils and impromptu, sucky jam sessions with guitars and tambourines. And morning life was much improved, since the raspy-voice, leather faced smokers would partake of their nastiness outside on the porch. (Can you tell that I REALLY don't like smoking?) Nevertheless, life was still a continual series of time-wastage hanging out with professional wastrels. What was particularly disconcerting to me was that many of these people were in their thirties and forties, still drinking to excess until 3 am on weekends, not having much to say for themselves in terms of personal growth or progress. Was I to spend the next two decades of my life in a vicious cycle of drunken nothingness?

So, I changed my weekend ritual. I started doing more exercise activities and found a very large local community of athletes who do the same thing. By the time Friday rolls around, I'm usually too tired to throw down. I've learned that sleep is important for my mental and emotional well-being, so I like to stay well-rested on the weekends. Many times, I go to bed early and get up early so that I can ride my bike in the morning. I still hate getting up early and probably will never like it. I like to sleep later on Sundays (9 am-ish) before church at 11 to give myself a little gift of relaxation before the work week begins again.

I'm still very new at finding a good balance in my life. Still making mistakes and then (over)correcting for them. I hope I eventually figure it out. Currently, though, I enjoy lazing around on the sofa on weekend nights, falling asleep at some obscenely early hour for a twenty-something. Removing the extra non-essentials, like dressing to the nines and spending a bunch of money on drinks and talking about blah-blah-blah with random acquaintances, makes it much easier to go back to the basics and do what makes me happy. Being in my thirties so far has been EONS better than being in my twenties. It's when I stopped caring about what other people think and started doing whatever it is that I want to do. That is, being an enthusiastic participant of the MAWP.

Posted by megabeth at 03:05 PM | Comments (2)

 
May 02, 2006

Not much motivation here. I'm still not feeling well. Still tired and dazed. Other symptoms are present that appear to point to hypothyroidism, but the blood test from my doctor came out normal. I *know* that something is wrong, but I don't know how to find out what that would be. Very frustrating.

I ran 3.5 miles yesterday at about a 9 min pace just to see how it felt. I was kind of tired and dazed throughout the run. Nevertheless, I had to give myself a talking-to every time someone passed me. I kept thinking, "OH, SO YOU THINK YOU ARE BADASS, HUH?!?!?" And then I would think, "Hey, now, you are in recovery mode right now, and you're supposed to be running SLOWLY."

Today, I feel worse than I did during the weekend, so I guess even mild exercise isn't such a good idea.

Damn it all.

What point is there to this blog if I can't do anything?

Posted by megabeth at 05:03 PM | Comments (5)

 
April 27, 2006

I'm not sure what is going on with me. I probably overdid it. I was very sore after the S2S race on Saturday, but something wasn't quite right. My soreness wasn't going away at a normal rate. The last two days I left work early, then went home and slept all afternoon. I have no energy.

I suspect an iron deficiency, but I could be entirely wrong. I'm going to the doctor today to request some blood tests.

Update 4/30: Blood test results will be back on Monday. I am feeling better, but still tired. Sleeping a lot.

Posted by megabeth at 01:07 PM | Comments (6)

 
February 16, 2006

Ah, crap. My plan is to step up training for cycling for a duathlon the first week of April. But this weekend isn't a great start; the weather doesn't look dry/warm enough for me to venture out on the roads. After all, I am holder of the Big Cold Weather Weenie Award.

I'm getting some swim instruction from the local triathlete swim coach this weekend, so I should consider it a huge accomplishment that I actually dragged myself (kicking and screaming) into the pool. If you look at the topic menu on the right hand side, take note that there are NO swimming related posts yet. That's because I hate swimming. Why? Because I find it to be boring.

There are ways to fix that. Like running, I could make it a social sport by meeting the a.m. swim group. That would require getting up very early, an activity that most certainly earns me the Early Morning Wake-up Weenie Award. Also, I could focus more on interval training instead of simply getting in the pool and swimming X number of laps. Hopefully the swim coach will give me some pointers on that this weekend.

Posted by megabeth at 11:00 AM | Comments (1)

 
February 10, 2006

Once upon a time, during the era of horse and carriage, I was a college student. (OK, so it wasn't that long ago, but it definitely feels like it.) I had chosen to take a significant leap of faith at the young age of twenty. My boyfriend and I hopped on a plane to Moscow with the intent of backpacking across Europe on an unrealistically low budget. My life savings, a wad of travelers' cheques, was securely tucked into my waist wallet, which would not leave my body except for those times in which we could afford to bathe.

The two-month journey was trying; we grew tired of each other, tired of being dirty, tired of not being able to communicate, tired of being hungry, and tired of being tired.

But at the end of the trip, after I had gone home and done snow angels in the carpet for few hours (I had sorely missed the ability to touch the floor without contamination), I had no regrets about going, despite the inconveniences.

It is that attitude I wish to bring forth to the half marathon on Sunday. At the end of the race, I know I will be thrilled to have completed an unforgettable journey.

Posted by megabeth at 09:27 AM | Comments (1)

 
February 05, 2006

Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win.

Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one.

Thus I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing.

No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.

Posted by megabeth at 02:38 PM | Comments (2)

 
February 01, 2006

I'm feeling pretty inspired right now. After two weeks of throbbing head pain, I feel a thousand times better and am ready to start kicking some a$$! The half marathon is in 11 days. After that it's time for me to get back on the bike for some targeting training, because I have committed to the Whistlestop Duathlon on April 9. After the half marathon, I will meet with the wonderful coach of the couch to 10K program for some direction on speedwork. The splits in the duathlon are 2.8 miles each, so it's time to get tuned for some short distance sprinting.

A break this winter has restored my motivation. However, I am concerned that I may experience some burnout this summer if I keep up a hard training pace. I need to map out a schedule for some break time.

Posted by megabeth at 10:13 AM | Comments (0)

 
January 27, 2006

Well, the only training I've done this week other than one puny hour on the bike trainer is a lesson in pain tolerance. The infected tooth? Still infected. Two visits to endodontist to have it drained. Yesterday after he lanced the roof of my mouth again, I went back to work because I was still numb. Then the numbness wore off and I experienced the worst head-throbbing pain I've ever known.

My coworkers told me to go home. That would have been nice, except for the fact that I was in too much pain to drive a car. I took some Advil and waited about half an hour until I could stand dragging myself home. Took a Darvocet, laid down on the sofa with dear Ruby, and cried until I passed out.

I hope I can put in at least an 8 mile run if not the whole 12 this weekend.

I'm keeping things in perspective; certainly there are worse things that could happen to me. But this has been just plain awful. Oh, and daytime TV will make anyone want to go back to work, even if suffering.

Posted by megabeth at 10:37 AM | Comments (0)

 
January 21, 2006

The side of my mouth is throbbing from a root canal, I'm taking 1500 mg of amoxicillin per day, and I took 800 mg of ibuprofen before my run this morning. I felt like crap. But I kept up with the front pace group for the 8-mile run because of my competitive nature. I want to put 110% into the training runs so I'll get more out of myself during a race.

I like this quote: "A lot of people have gone further than they thought they could because someone else thought they could." This is definitely true for me.

I realized this week that I am competitive to the point of social ineptitude. Does everything have to be a game of winners and losers? No. I need to learn that.

When training I would rather participate in group runs and rides simply because if I am working out alone, I have difficulty seeing the point of it. What drives me is the desire to be faster than someone or catch up to the person who is ahead of me. I'm like a greyhound chasing a rabbit. No rabbit, no motivation. I do set personal goals and try to beat my times in previous races. Fortunately there are always people who are faster than me. In all sports there are people who move so fast they make me appear as if I am sitting still. What I have discovered is that I work harder on group runs than I do alone because I want to keep up with the front pack of runners.

I suppose that competition motivates quite a few people, but I wonder if that type of motivation will help me to maintain a long term commitment to tri sports. Or will I need to find truer reasons to keep improving? Wanting to win and wanting to participate are entirely different rationales.

Posted by megabeth at 12:26 PM | Comments (0)

 
January 09, 2006

I waited until yesterday for my weekly long run because the high was 68 degrees and sunny. Ran ten miles and was in pain for half of it; the inside of my kneecap feels bruised. I'm breaking in a new pair of shoes, so I ran 5 miles in the new pair and 5 in the old pair.

My appetite has not been normal over the past couple of weeks and I have no idea why. I'm high maintenance when it comes to eating out; I could eat out twice a day seven days a week and be happy as a lark. However, lately I have been force feeding myself on food other people have cooked because I don't feel like eating anything at all. Started drinking a lot more Gatorade and Endurox because at least I haven't lost my thirst for beverages.

The cold bath treatment is a great idea, for people with balls. I ran a cold bath after my run yesterday, hopped in, and squealed like a tortured dog. I am a wimpy little baby when it comes to cold temperatures. So I drained the water, then ran a hot bath with epsom salts. I am a tad bit sore today, but I think the bath and stretching (as well as ice on my left knee) helped out quite a bit.

Coming up on Saturday: 11 mile run with track club group. Running goes much faster with other people.

Posted by megabeth at 09:30 AM | Comments (3)

 
January 05, 2006

Some of my coworkers have informed me that voluntarily choosing to suffer is not a normal human response. I think a lot of athletes have "The Sufferer" personality type. My tolerance for pain is high particularly when I know that the pain is temporary. When my dentist (the Queen of Pain) gives me a shot, the pain only lasts a few seconds. When the salon employee rips hot wax off my skin (the pain women go through to look beautiful!), the pain only lasts a minute or so. And during a sprint triathlon, I look at my watch and calculate how many more minutes the pain will last until I cross the finish line.

One Saturday last summer, when I was first starting out as a cyclist, my mentor took me on a 72 mile ride, just myself and him. He wouldn't allow me to draft off him for the entire ride. As I became stronger throughout the season, 72 miles became easier to conquer. But that first time, I crawled back into the house after the ride and passed out on the sofa. During the races following that ride, I thought back to how badly I was suffering that day and realized that the race was nowhere near as difficult. The suffering provided a frame of reference for me.

Lance Armstrong notes that he thinks of conquering cancer when he is on his bike. No suffering could compare to that experience, and it has made him a much stronger cyclist after his recovery.

Suffer away!

Posted by megabeth at 10:12 AM | Comments (2)

 
November 27, 2005

Grad school is killing my exercise regimen. I am uncomfortably busy and will remain so until mid-December. Then school starts back up again in January.

Apparently I need races to keep me motivated. I will plan to train for the Statue to Statue 15K run in April 2006. This will help me to build my endurance level up for spring duathlons.

We had the coldest October I can ever remember. It literally went from 90 degrees to 50 degrees (daily highs) in less than two days. What I learned is that I dislike cycling in temperatures below 60 degrees. Even when I am wearing extra clothing, the wind chill is brutal. It reminds me a lot of snow skiing, which is a sport I tried hard to like, but never enjoyed due to the cold.

I am able to run outdoors in the cold because at 6 or 7 mph, the wind chill is minimal. I'll use the bike trainer and spin class to get my cycling fitness indoors this winter.

Posted by megabeth at 03:14 PM | Comments (0)

 

I reviewed my year-to-date expenses in Quicken for the category "Recreation", and it is not a pretty picture. So far, I've logged in approximately $6,000 for this year. That includes the purchase of my bike, clothing, shoes, race entry fees, club dues, dietary supplements and hotel stays (but not the gasoline for travel). This sport seems to best fit those who can afford to spend quite a bit of money on the unnecessaries in life. I suppose my justification is that daily training seems to make me happier (all those endorphins and stress release from exercise), and I have avoided repetitive stress injuries and the subsequent and expensive physical therapy by cross-training. Plus I have gotten to know some great people who share my interests in being healthy and active for a very long time to come.

Posted by megabeth at 03:13 PM | Comments (0)

 

Last month was hell because I am in the midst of an application delivery at work (I'm managing the project) and because I started Hell MBA Course #2. As far as I know, there are only two weed-out MBA courses and I have already completed one of them. Gotta pay my dues.

After a frantic day at work, my shoulders were tensed up and there was a tightness in my chest that made it more difficult to breathe. I grumpily went to the BBC and only a few people showed up for a five o'clock ride. Everyone there was way faster than I am, so I figured that I would be riding alone. However my coach stayed back with me and we put in about 1:15. The stress melted away and I drove home feeling relaxed and refreshed.

I'm bummed about the fact that I don't have enough time for a 2 hour daily workout due to school, but I have to make myself get out there when I can so that I don't explode from too much stress.

Posted by megabeth at 03:12 PM | Comments (0)

 

I ask myself this question often. What is it that I want to accomplish with my hobby? I am indecisive about most things in life.

The most important thing is that I am having fun. I tend to burn out if I push too hard and don't see results.

In my career, I am definitely a generalist as opposed to a specialist. That's why I decided to work on triathlons instead of cycling races. I bought my first bike in March 2005. My coach was elemental in helping me to get strong enough to go on group rides. I decided to do some triathlons this summer and I did one bike race in July, to get a feel for what it is that I really want to focus on.

I feel very intimidated by the thought of being a very, VERY good athlete at one particular sport. I don't like that I shy away from having an intense focus on one thing. I tend to get bored with a hobby or professional skill after a while and find some excuse to try something new. Perhaps I am merely commitment-phobic. Whatever the explanation, this personality trait (or bad habit) is a pain in the ass.

With the sport of triathlon, I can become moderately good at three sports and still do well, without being an expert at any given one of them. I don't mind not being the first overall female in triathlons. What would make me happy is merely seeing the results of the effort I put into training.

When asked what my "dream job" would be, I usually reply with "pro athlete". The life of a pro tennis player sounds particularly fun. But let's be realistic. I'll think of athletics as my favorite hobby instead of as a potential career.

Thus, my goal for next year is to improve my weaknesses in running and swimming and maintain or slightly improve my strength in cycling.

If I can improve my swimming, then I will be able to try a longer distance race such as an Olympic distance triathlon.

I'll post my 2005 race results and interpret the times in the next post.

Posted by megabeth at 02:55 PM | Comments (0)