these days

I survived midterms and chattery songbirds are serenading my walks. Spring must be near. 

It simply must.

~

Spring or no spring, we started back to our lazy evening dinner parties.

I’m pretty glad to have these ladies’ stories, opinions and company.

~

The St. Patrick’s Day parade around downtown Fayetteville::full of light and color

We drove a radio truck in the parade, spreading cheer with music

~

Richard Brautigan’s words are making my life better.

I love how the stories in Revenge of the Lawn are so compelling and thought-provoking through such few words.

~

Only 10 days left until my first duathlon, and I’m learning a lot…

credit: flickr user Dr Burtoni

~

What’s your life like these days?

my little duathlon

credit: LifeCycle campaign ad

Nearly two years ago, I purchased a roadbike from a good friend who had the bicycle fever. He bought bikes on a whim and simply enjoyed working on them, fixing them up and selling them at lower costs to his friends so that he’d have more riding buddies. His enthusiasm for it was infectious and soon we were taking 30 mile rides on our free Saturdays. Since then, I’ve gone through phases of like and hate with it. Some seasons, I commuted to work on my roadbike; other seasons I stowed it away while running, but always in the back of my mind, I wanted to do one or two big races with it, not because I think I’m fast (that is one thing I know I’m not), but because I want the satisfaction of working toward a big accomplishment.

Maybe someday I’ll be able to ride a Century, a 100-mile bike race that happens in less than a day, but for now I’m giving a duathlon a shot.

The Iron Pig Festival’s duathlon race begins with a 3 mile run, plateaus with a 19 mile bike race and finishes with a final 3 mile run. Anyone of these three sections is a pretty mild feat. I often run 3 miles after work or bike 20 miles during a lunch break. Put the three together, though? You’ve got yourself a challenge.

As for training, I’ve tried to follow a style similar to my handful of half-marathon experiences, which gradually increases your distance over time, but can be equated to a basic structure of 3 runs of about 3 or 4 miles each and 1 that is 6+ miles per week. My equivalent cycling training goes something like this: 3 rides of 8-10 miles each and 1 rid that is 25-30 miles per week. I realize this is just one way to do things (and possibly the wrong way,) so I’ve started to catch up on my reading as the race draws near. Here are some of the things I’ve found that surprised me the most.

credit: flickr user Dr Burtoni

1. Ditch the undies

I was taken off-guard to learn that underwear is sworn against in these competitions. According to Active.com, it’s completely unnecessary and just a pain because chafing is a thing. Before I started training, I’d not run into this problem. Once I got back into the longer rides, I saw their point.

2. The nuances of hill-training

This was hilarious for me to realize after reading this, but I’m actually doing something right! Often, I shift down in gears while going up hills and just remain seated, sticking it out and giving my muscles a run for the money. Active.com suggests a workout that involves going up a steady hill that’s a few miles long at least four times.

On your first ascent: use a hard gear, take it slow, stay seated.

On your second ascent: use an easier gear, take it faster & do the entirety of it standing

On your third ascent: ride seated in an easy gear and make steady, consistent strokes

On your last ascent, alternate between riding while seated and riding while standing.

3. Coconut water is unicorn tears

Food is a huge element in any fitness training.

My typical menu is largely uncreative (I’m afraid I’m not a foodie and really only branch out when I host dinner parties), but it gets the job done. I also don’t subscribe to the various trendy diets out there. Instead, I’m mindful of portions and have a routine that fits a bunch of good stuff in.

I tend to start my day with a hearty breakfast: whether that’s bagels and coffee, fruit, yogurt and juice, a smoothie or something fattier, like pancakes or French toast. Lunch is more often than not fruit  and snacks or a bowl of soup/half sandwich. Evening meals are light- usually a salad and rice with a couple of fresh-cut vegetables. By the end of the day, I tend to hit most of the items on this list.

That said, my crutches for extra energy when it comes to workouts are usually protein shakes or gatorade. Yeah, I know it’s not the healthiest, but it could be worse. I’m relying on soda less and less and cutting out the less healthy snacks. But the internetz is all abuzz with talk of coconut water. It has all the good elements of a protein shake or gatorade, without any of the harmful stuff. Amazing!

For more magical foods, see this article.

4. Seating and position makes a world of difference

I’m quickly learning how limited my cycling vocabulary is. Reading all these articles, I can’t begin to understand them because a number of terms stops me in my tracks.

A maximized aero-position is less complicated than it sounds. I first began using it a long time ago, but had no idea what it was called and quite frankly, didn’t know enough to use it to my best advantage. As this video explains, you simply want to make sure all of the energy you’re expending goes to good use.

• Sit in a way that works your glutes, not your quads.
• “Fold” your body at the navel, anchoring yourself from your bum, not your feet.
• Keep your back straight and your head down.
• Rest your arms in a way that keeps your elbows at a 90^o angle.

Another quick thing you can do to make cycling more comfortable is to make sure that your bike is fitted for your height. In roadbike terms, that means having the handlebars 1-4″ below your seat, allowing you to rest your upper body while focusing the load of work on your legs.

perfecting my duathlon (tough) face

these days

I went through a box or two of old letters this week, feeling a little nostalgic for friends back home, so I got busy writin’. With paper and stamps and addresses that don’t have @ in them.

Don’t be intimidated.

Also, don’t be surprised if you get a postcard, note or something in your [analog] inbox.

~

This week I attended my first media day. It was overwhelming having so many reporters in the same room, but it turned out to be a great learning experience for me as I watched more seasoned journalists make their editorial choices: who to talk to, what to look at, what to record by audio and when to simply listen.

 We were all getting a first glance at the traveling exhibit of Norman Rockwell’s art. More on that to come in the next issue of AY Magazine.

~

In my quest to not totally be swamped with research and keep my mind stimulated and creative, I’ve read some entertaining books as of late, such as The Sense of an Ending and the book below.

credit: weheartit.com

Where’d you go, Bernadette was interesting in its structure as a collection of emails, official documents, letters from teachers. It’s a great way to tell a story: from all sides.

My first duathlon is going down in 20 days, so I’ve been commuting to work, riding on my lunch break and generally staying nothing short of exhausted.

~

Had brunch with this awesome lady after her six-month foray in New Hampshire. So glad to have her back.

~

What have your days been filled with lately?

The Sense of an Ending

credit: Jakeshaker Review

This Julian Barnes’ book seems to have quite the reputation. It is a Man Booker award winner and when I picked it up at Barnes & Noble, one of the reviews said it begged to be read in one sitting. Both sentiments are deserved. Given all the obligations in my schedule lately, I thought I could be strong. I thought I could put it down, and I did so…bitterly, and rushed home after work to finish it the next day.

In it, a recently retired man reflects on his first love and the suicidal death of a friend he went to college with. It may seem a little to cerebral to have much of a plot, but it’s driven by the arrival of a small sum of money, an inheritance he didn’t expect and the unwinding of the web of relationships that led to such an odd place in his life.

He acknowledges the imperfections of memory.

He recalls his mistakes and tries to remember things as they are, not as he wishes them to be.

He speaks to his old friends, sends emails, visits places he’d since wedged in the back of his mind.

And then he deals with the retribution of who he  once was.

Although I think many writers would be tempted to turn this sort of story into a pity-party that comes with a neatly wrapped up in an everything-is-better-now ending, Barnes doesn’t fall into that trap. It’s beautifully written and made me pause to reflect on my own life in an urgent way. I wouldn’t say it’s “religious” in any sense, but it drove me to the crossroads of my mind where I had held grudges and asked people to please leave. I looked at my life as if from the end of it and since I’ve started to change some things. I’ve reconnected with old friends. I’ve given up the ghost of unnecessary grudges. It’s been a while since a single book has gotten through to me in such a personal way.

Here are a few passages that made me fall in love with it.

“I didn’t for a moment doubt that she had read them all, or that they were the right books to own… they seemed to be an organic continuation of her mind and personality, whereas mine struck me as functionally separate, straining to describe a character I hoped to grow into.”

~

“Mental states can be inferred from actions. That’s inferred in history…whereas in the private life, I think the converse is true: that you can infer past actions from current mental states.”

~

“For most of us, the first experience of love, even if it doesn’t work out–perhaps especially when it doesn’t work out–promises that here is the thing that validates, that vindicates life. And though subsequent years might alter this view, until some of us give up on it altogether, when love first strikes, there’s nothing like it, is there?”

~

“I’ve been turning over in my mind the question of nostalgia and whether I suffer from it. I certainly don’t get soggy at the memory…nor do I want to deceive myself…but if nostalgia means the powerful recollection of strong emotions–and a regret that such feelings are no longer present in our lives– then I plead guilty.”

~

“When you’re young you want your emotions to be like the ones you read about in books. You want them to overturn your life, create and define a new reality. Later, I think, you want them to do something milder, something more practical: you want them to support your life as it is and has become. You want them to tell you that things are OK.”

these days

A couple of recent snowfalls made the walk to work a little bit chiller, but yielded spectacular views like this.

~

After much ado, I’m finally getting some much needed Mitsi time, which generally means a trip to a Randall Shreeve concert.

~

A surprise note from a stranger in a coffeehouse made my day.

~

Spring is coming, so I jumped the gun and got my lovely roadbike tuned up and ready to roll. I should probably get a bike rack, but it’s fun to drive around town like this.

~

The first cycling trip of the season: 12 miles one way for this quiet view was totally worth it.

~

What’s going on in your world, friend?