Triathlon Swimmer's Dream Set

What's better than looking at one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World? Why swimming across it, of course! A group of my Master's swimmers are planning a five mile swimming odyssey from Wizard Island (that thing that looks like a wizard's hat in the middle of the lake). So, to get us ready for this Herculean aquatic task, I'm preparing a series of distance workouts that would test any swimmers' mettle. Coincidentally, these sets are all great for triathletes as well, especially those with an Ironman in their future. Here's the set of the day, my all-time favorite distance set.

WARMUP:

200 Swim
10 x 50 : 25 Drill (Superman Catch-up)/25 Swim concentrating on arm entry in front of shoulders (no crossing over midline)
300 Kick
4 x 75 Powerup (Get faster in each by 25s)

MAIN SET:

3 x    (   500
             50 EZ
          )  @ 8:30 interval . Descend the 500s (each one faster by 10 seconds)

Rest 60 seconds


3 x    (   500
             50 EZ
          )  @ 8:30 interval . Descend the 500s (each one faster by 10 seconds)
Make this second set of 500's faster than the first

100 Cool Down

4600 Yards

My lane really cranked on these, doing them in about 6:49, 6:42, and 6:33 for the 500s. In the lane next door, our resident All-American Master's swimmer Chris, who happens to be 70 years old this year, turned in a smoldering 6:23 for the fastest 500!! I hope if I keep swimming until I'm his age, I can do that.

Chickening Out

If you ask my kids what the best day of the year is, I'm not sure they'd say Christmas or their birthday. They might just say it's baby chick day. Every two to three years, we get to go and pick out some new baby chicks to add to our flock of egg layers. A few weeks before, the kids get the Chick Calendar that tells which breeds are coming in on which day. Since our flock is small, we only get a few chicks at a time, which means we need to get them all on the same day. If you got two chicks one week and two the next week, the second batch would get picked on relentlessly for being smaller. Henpecked is not just a phrase, it's a reality of chicken life, and I can tell you it's more than a little painful. Those beaks are sharp.

So the kids go back and forth on which day we should get our chicks. Should we go for the day they have Americaunas, Barred Rocks, and Speckled Sussex? Or the day they have White Leghorns, Rhode Island Reds, and Andalusians? Should we reserve our chicks? Or just go pick them out? So many decisions. I get the baby chick cage, feeder, and heat lamp out of the shed and dust them off, and away we go to baby chicken land.

This year, Mackenzie got two Barred Rocks (the little black puffballs). They're his favorite kind of chicken - they're good layers, have sweet personalities and are pretty. So now Cluck Norris and Chess A. Beak (or Chessie for short) will join Voodoo and Hera as our resident Barred Rocks.

Asa got an Americauna (they lay the green eggs that are so pretty), and a Golden Sex Link (so named because the sex of the chicks are linked to their color as babies, so you can't accidentally get a rooster, which is important for us city dwellers where roosters are banned). So Mercedes joins Lady Cluck as our Americaunas, and Sunny will be our lone Golden this year.

Of course, in my mind, the primary purpose of all of this are those absolutely delicious golden-orange yoked beautiful bits of eggy heaven that I get to scramble and bake with all year long. There is nothing in this world like a free-ranging farm-fresh egg for taste or nutrition. This photo to the left shows a store-bought "free range" chicken egg (top, paler and runnier), and one of our insect, worm, and grass-fed beauties on the bottom. And I love that I can throw raw eggs in smoothies and never worry about contamination.

Of course, around here the chickens are never just for egg production. They're well-loved members of the family!

Is It Breakfast, Or Is It Dessert? Banana Coconut Custard

Athletes love bananas with a passion unparalleled by any other fruit. Paleo lovers feel similarly about all things coconut: coconut oil, coconut milk, flaked coconut, you name it. And if you're an active person, it's nice to have something simple to make, yummy to eat, nutritious, and full of protein, good fats, some carbs, and all the wonderfulness that bananas and coconut bring when combined.

Voila! Enter the Banana-Coconut Custard. I have to admit, I just invented this for breakfast this morning, since I was tired of my usual veggie/egg scramble. Here's the basic recipe:

1 banana, smushed
2 eggs, whipped to a frenzy
4 tablespoons coconut milk
3 tablespoons flaked coconut (large flakes)

I whipped up the eggs, added the coconut milk and blended until creamy. Folded in the well-smushed banana, and the coconut flakes. Then I put it in the microwave for 90 seconds. The middle still looked a little goopy so I put it in for another 60 seconds. As you can see, it rose up in a lovely souffle-like manner and was a light and tasty start to the day. It's a testament to how few sweet things I've been eating that this tasted more like a dessert than breakfast to me.

First Ever Women's Relay, and The Best Inspiration Yet!

When I first started swimming with the Masters at our pool, I was the only woman there. Day after day, year after year, it was just me and the guys. Now don't get me wrong, I swim with a really fun group of guys. The best, really. But something was missing.

As a coach, one of the things I most hoped for was to increase the number of women in our program. And in the past few years, our women's participation has picked up steadily until now our lanes are a good mixed bag of guys and gals. But still, many women don't come to the meets - some are triathletes, many have young children, some may be intimidated by competing when they're just starting in Masters swimming. So this year, we finally had enough women at the meet to field a women's relay team, and I can't tell you how exciting that was!

Here we are, ready to swim the Medley Relay and the next day the 200 Freestyle Relay (we went under 2:00!), we had such a good time. What an awesome and strong group of ladies to swim with.

Luckily, the last day of the meet went much more smoothly overall. I avoided chocolate milkshakes altogether, and I turned in some times that I was much happier with. A 6:33 for the 500 was 11 seconds faster than last year's time. That's more like it!

But although the fun of the weekend meet was drawing to an end, the inspiration was far from over. To anyone out there sitting on your couch and thinking you can't do something like this, let me introduce you to the 89 year old lady who swam the 100 IM (that's butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and crawl stroke). Check this out!

In order to not DQ (disqualify) yourself, you have to swim these strokes according to a strict set of guidelines, and this lady can do it. Wow, if that doesn't  inspire you to do your very best at everything, I don't know what will. All I can say, is I hope I'm doing this when I'm 89.

A Bad Waitress, An Ill-Timed Milkshake, and the Worst Race I've Ever Had

The Ignisecond: The moment you know you're doing something really really stupid, but it's too late to stop it.

You can tell I wasn't much of a partier in college when I tell you that Saturday's 1000 yard event was the worst thing I've ever done to my body. Unlike other swim teamers in college, I never showed up for a meet (or even a practice) hung over. So I've never really felt like puking in the middle of a lane before. Now I know better.

It all started off at Saturday's meet, when the team decided to go out for lunch. We had been swimming events all morning and were starving. Only three of us were swimming the 1000, and we were in heat five. Since the early heats tend to take 20 - 30 minutes, we would have at least an hour and a half for lunch, right? We went to a place close by and advised the waitress that we were in a hurry, and would need to get some quick food. I ordered a baked potato and a chocolate shake. The baked potatoes are already made up, they just pop them in a warmer. This should take five minutes. One would think.

Half an hour later, still no food had arrived. I had to go and badger the waitress. Still nothing. Finally at 47 minutes into our break, we get some food. Did I mention we were starving? At this point, I'm wondering should I eat or not. But I was so darned hungry and the food was right in front of me, and.... I hate half a small baked potato and drank the shake, figuring at least that would digest quickly. We high-tailed it back to the meet....

....only to arrive as they were ringing the bell for the last lap of the heat before ours. We literally skivved out of our warmups, hurried over to the starting blocks and they blew the whistle for us to get on the blocks. I had an internal debate on the way to the lanes as to whether I should stop and make myself throw up into the garbage can. But I didn't. So there was my Ignisecond. Standing there on the blocks, I knew I should just get down and scratch the whole event. But my team was in a close race for 3rd place, and I knew if I swam well I'd probably get second place, which is worth a lot of points. So I took the blocks and waited for the buzzer. Beeep, and we're in the water and swimming.

Stroke...don't throw up...stroke....don't visualize a chocolate milkshake...stroke....don't throw up...turn. One lap down. Stroke...don't throw up....stroke.... oh God, how many more laps to go?....stroke...don't throw up... turn. That was what it was like for 1,000 yards.  I tried to go as fast as I could, yet knowing that if I really pressed close to the anaerobic edge, I'd lose it.

You will be happy to hear I did not hurl in the pool, thus making the entire swim meet have to vacate the lanes for chunk skimming. And I did complete the race. That's something, I guess. 2 seconds slower than last year. Should've been way faster, based on my 1650 time from Friday night. Still, good enough for second place. The woman who took 3rd place was hot on my heels, only 10 seconds behind me. That's a quarter of a second per length of the pool, or 1 second per 100. I couldn't have swum any slower and held onto 2nd. So I did my job after all. But I never ever ever want to do that again. And I don't think I'll ever look at a chocolate milkshake for the rest of my life.

The Ultimate Motivation

Why do I go to Master's Swim Meets? Is it to swim? Well, heck yeah. And hang out with my buddies from the Aquaducks? Yeah to that too. But really, a Master's Swim Meet is the ultimate motivation. I mean, if you have even the teensiest tiniest doubt in your mind that being an athlete makes a lifelong difference, you just show up at one of these meets and see some octogenarian swimmer belting out a 400 IM (that's butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle for those of you playing at home), and how can you help but be motivated by that?

Today in the shower after swimming the 1650, I was talking with a lady who had just finished her heat of the same race. I asked her how it went and she said she was very happy that she swam it faster than last year. Not bad, considering she's in her late seventies. But then here's the kicker. This year she had cancer, and a mastectomy, radiation, reconstructive surgery, physical therapy. You get the picture. And then she comes back and swims a 1650 faster than last year. That's pretty impressive in my book. Move over, Lance Armstrong. Do I want to be like that at 77 years old? You bet I do!

A great start to a fun weekend of swimming. And my 1650 (or the "swimmer's mile")? 22:45. That's 18 seconds faster than last year. Oh yeah.

Off To The State Swim Meet

I'll be in Portland for the weekend with our Master's team for the State Association Championships. If you're swimming Masters here, come find me (in my Aquaduck Sweatshirt and cap) and say hi!

My times from last year that I want to beat (all short course yards - 25 yard pool):

1650 Free: 23:03
1000 Free: 13:47
500 Free: 6:44
50 Free: 30:81
100 Free: 1:10

I'll swim the 1650 tonight, then a mix of events tomorrow and Sunday. I'm also swimming the 50 Fly, and a bunch of relays. I wanted to do the 100 Fly, but just haven't been swimming enough at all. Due to all the karate in the last couple of months, I've been lucky to get in the pool once a week, sometimes twice. So I hope that I can even meet my times from last year, especially in the long events. The short events should be better since I think my strength is good right now.

Tonight's Conditioning Workout

Here's the workout for tonight's Karate Conditioning class. It's a circuit with six stations, this is something very easy to set up at home in your garage or living room with a minimum of necessary equipment.

Each station is sixty seconds on, thirty off :60/:30
Two rounds through gives you an 18 minute workout, three gives you a 27 minute workout.

Station #1: Lumberjack Press - Using a 15 lb weight bar or a 45 lb weight bar (you could also use a handweight or Dumbell)

Station #2: Spider Cross - Couldn't find a video for this one. You do a plank, then slowly touch your left hand and right foot together under your body, stabilizing with your other hand and foot. Return to starting position and repeat with right hand and left foot.

Station #3: Jumping Lunges

Station #4: Dumbell Row

Station #5: Garhammer Raise (Lying)

Station #6: Pushups

Jumping For Toe Shoe Joy: Five Fingers Bikila Shoe Review

When my daughter was about a year old, we got her her first little pair of toddler shoes. They were white leather, and she loved them. No, she ADORED them. She refused to take them off. Ever. Not only during the day when her little self was toddling around, but if she woke up in the middle of the night and found that her beloved shoes were not on her feet, she screamed and cried. Now I know how she feels. I've never loved a pair of shoes like I love my new Five Fingers Bikilas.

When I got my first pair of Vibram Five Fingers toe shoes in 2007, I thought I'd found heaven. They were the "Sprint" version and I wore them everywhere. Then I started running in them. They were great, the next best thing to barefoot running. Except for one tiny little problem: the splinters from the bark trail, plus sand, dirt, and gravel got in them all the time. Stopping to pick stuff out of your shoes can put a damper on a good run.

Then Vibram came out with the "KSO" version of the shoes (stands for Keeps Stuff Out) and my hubby got me a pair for Valentine's Day (what a romantic!) . I really thought I was in heaven. I could run on our wonderful bark trails splinter-free, and I upped my mileage in them until I almost never ran in regular shoes anymore. Again, I thought I'd found shoe nirvana. But then I started trail running in earnest, like steep rocky muddy trails. The slick soles on the KSOs weren't so great at that. The occasional rock strike to the instep made for some painful bruising, and the slippery bottoms weren't great in the clay-slip mud that our trails are famous for in the wintertime.

Now Vibram has these wonderful things called the Five Fingers Bikila LS. I have no idea how they took something so completely perfect and improved on it this much but now I'm REALLY in heaven. Really. Mere words cannot describe how much I love these shoes. I never want to take them off, even when I sleep. I actually want another pair, so I can keep one set nice and clean to wear absolutely everywhere, and have one pair to get muddy on the trails. As you can see, they're already doing that.

REVIEW:

The Top:  The quick-lace system on the Bikila LS is a very nice feature. It makes them much easier to take on and off, and almost makes me think maybe I could use them in triathlons. They also have a liner which makes them a true running shoe. The old Sprints and KSOs were not lined, leaving a lot of barefoot runners with blisters. I didn't really have that problem, but I have to admit that the liner makes for a far more comfortable shoe. Have I said how comfortable they are? How much I never want to take them off? One more nice feature is some good bits of reflective striping, a nice added touch for visibility (which you can never have too much of).

The Bottom: Better yet, the sole provides a lot more traction and protection against bruises from sharp rocks on the trail. When I ran on gravelly trails in my KSOs, I had to be constantly scanning the trail ahead of me for any sharp stones. With the Bikilas, I'm able to run more naturally and enjoy the view of the woods around me. In a one-hour trail run over roots, rocks, gravel, and mud, I didn't get one bruising encounter with anything on the ground. That's good news in my book.

Since we've had non-stop rain for the last, oh, forty days and forty nights, I feel comfortable in saying that these soles provide great traction on extremely slippery muddy trails. You think I'm joking about the "extremely muddy" bit? Try running up this trail. It's like a filthy version of a Slip-n-Slide. Yet between the improved grippiness of the soles, and the natural advantage of having your toes available for traction, I can run up this with zero slippage.

The Barefoot Feel: Honestly, this is what most worried me about buying the Bikilas. I thought that new sole would reduce the barefoot feeling of the shoe and leave me with less of a natural stride and less feeling for the ground. But it doesn't feel that way at all. This was a very pleasant surprise. They've managed to keep the flexibility of the shoe completely intact by segmenting the grippy bits of the sole. It honestly feels little different than the KSO or Sprint soles when I'm running. 

All in all, I can't think of one bad thing to say about this shoe. Except maybe that it should come in purple. Congratulations Vibram, you've done it again.

Why You Should Stand On Shaky Ground (and Walk On It and Run On It)

What do you think of when you hear that someone is "level-headed", or they're "on the level", or they're doing their "level best"? If you're like most of us, these words probably bring the most positive attributes to mind.

But on the other hand, what if they're "a bit uneven", or even "unbalanced", "unstable", their opinions are "slanted", or they present a "lopsided" argument? Not so good, is it?

Clearly, we like the concept of flat, stable, even, and easy in our culture. It should be no surprise that when it comes to running and walking, we do the same, preferring to stick to sidewalks and nicely tended bike paths or walkways. Much of this is based on convenience. Thankfully, we no longer need to slog through the mud when running errands downtown, and the rubber galoshes that were once commonly needed to cover a nice pair of shoes have largely been relegated to the gardening shed.

But all this cleanliness and convenience comes at a price: the strength and stability of the supporting muscles in our feet, ankles, legs, hips, core, and spine. It takes far fewer muscles to stride along on a flat and level surface than to keep an entire body upright and stable on shaky ground. So as often as I can, I like to run, walk, or hike on uneven surfaces and trails.

On Tuesdays, when my daughter is in a horseback riding class, I like to take our dogs on a long walk through the back pastures. The ground is lopsided, lumpy, filled with grassy tussocks, and slanted and sloped in all kinds of directions. I started to notice that after walks there, I could definitely feel that my muscles were getting a way better workout than on a normal walk. At times, I practically feel like I'm marching, I have to pick my feet up so high above the tall grass.

Some areas are wooded, with only deer trails where I have to duck under various branches and vines, jump over downed branches and logs, and squeeze my way past brambles. All that bending, twisting, jumping, and scraping are excellent for your body's natural stability muscles in the core. Is it a P-90x Ab Blaster video? No, of course not. But it's a real, natural workout for your entire body in the ways that it's meant to be moving.

At times, I even have to jump across small streams, or leap from grassy lump to grassy lump across marshy ground. There's nothing like a running or standing long jump to get all of your muscles small and large firing. And there's nothing like missing your mark to get your shoes soaking wet!

Later in the week, I'll include a couple of rocky, rooty trail runs in my Vibram toe shoes to round out my stability-building routine. I've found that it makes a big difference in how stable my body is on a daily basis. Not too long ago, I slipped going down our stairs carrying a full laundry basket. Not only was I able to keep my entire body upright (using those core muscles), I didn't even have to put a hand down to stabilize myself, and I didn't turn any ankles. Our bodies are meant to be this strong and secure, all it takes is a little shaky ground to keep them that way.

Weather Roulette

Need to be indoors for a meeting? It's sunny outside

Head out to take the dogs for a walk? Pouring rain

At the indoor pool coaching swimmers? Look out the window at the blue skies

Go for a run? Hail and sleet

Making dinner for the kids? Balmy and pleasant

Bike to work? Windstorm with tree limbs raining down around me

I'm tired of the weather roulette. This is supposed to be springtime now, and I want my sunshine!

Sunday Snap: Paint It Black

Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words. Can you guess why my daughter made me this card?

When my partner and I started preparing in earnest for our black belt test several months ago, I guess I thought it would be all work and no play. In reality, this is the most fun I've had in martial arts. No small bit of that is due to my partner Toni, who made it an exceptional experience. We laughed as much as we sweated, and that's saying something.

Of course, it wouldn't be a ROBIN moment if something didn't go wrong (remember in 2010 when I was getting ready to test and I broke my arm? And I broke my hand in 2009? ) This time it was nothing near that traumatic, but a big splinter that embedded itself in my foot a couple weeks ago provided just enough pain to make the test just that much more "special". I spent a couple of hours after Friday night's test waiting around an ER on a full moon night (not recommended) so they could dig it out, but eventually gave up and went home. Today I finally got it removed.

Other than that, our test went off without a hitch. Our extra brain cells cheered from the sidelines as us black-belt wannabes went through our paces. After it was all over, the black belts clumped together to deliberate our fate, while they had us occupied with sets of pushups, squats, situps, etc. until they were done talking. Luckily, we got to hear our results on Friday night so we could actually sleep!

Saturday morning was the test for the rest of the belt levels, and the presentation of black belts. You think I could smile any bigger? I can't really describe how it feels, but if you've ever done something that required 100% of your effort, dedication, perseverance, and courage to accomplish, you'll know what it was like to put on that  black belt for the first time.

Then, ceremony is over and you're put to work. The black belts get to grade all the other belt levels in their test, so I was handed a clipboard and assigned a couple of green belts to evaluate and it was all business. I watched my own two kids (brown belt Mackenzie and green belt Asa) out of the corner of my eye here and there, and my mom took photos.

I am SO proud of them and all they've accomplished in karate. They are each on the same journey and it's exciting to see them getting stronger in their art. What's not to be proud of when I look at these photos? Mackenzie's stance is so strong, his fist straight and true, his focus is absolute. Asa has a great "cat stance" here and her double-knife hand block is spot on, mouth opened in a "courage breath". Every day we train at the dojo, I am thankful for the first day we walked through the doors.

When I talked with my dad on the phone yesterday, I asked him to say a big thank you to my first Sensei, who he still sees from time to time. At age 15, I got a love for the martial arts, and today I have reached the first of many big milestones. I hope to continue my practice for years to come.

D-Day

After years and years of training, it all comes down to this. Thirty pairs of black belt eyes will be upon us. The moment of truth. Will I crumble under the pressure, or shine like gold? D-day has arrived. Or should I call it "BB-Day"?? Black Belt final testing day is here, though my partner and I have been through several pre-tests in the last two weeks. So we are somewhat inoculated against the stress, I hope.

One thing that surprised me about this whole process is just how much fun it's been. I think most of that is due to my partner. Training with Toni has been such a blessing, I think we bring out the best in each other. Your partner for the black belt test has to be someone you can trust. After all, they are going to do things like grab your arm and throw an elbow towards the center of your nose, choke off your carotid artery, or wrist-lock you in a move that would snap tendons and bones if done at full force. Just a few millimeters wrong or a few too many pounds of pressure and you're in serious trouble. Choosing a good partner and training with them for months ensures that you each know each other well enough to fully trust them. But Toni and I have laughed together and just had a great time, as well as getting serious when we need to.

As extra insurance, I got us each a stuffed brain cell, made by the GIANT Microbes company, just in case our original 44 year old grey matter isn't quite up to the task. We've propped them on the benches in the dojo while we're practicing, though here you can see them tucked into our belts.

I've used every tool in my mental toolbox to get myself ready. The physical training is not something I've worried too much about. I know what my body is capable of. I know I can push it very hard. I know pain doesn't bother me much. I know it will do what I demand of it. But my brain, oh my poor brain. That's what I worry will desert me in my hour of need.

There's not much more we can do at this moment to prepare. Everything that's stored in our brain cells and bodies is there. Anything that isn't won't get there in the next few hours. We'll meet in the morning to just go over stuff, and by 8:30 tonight it will all be over. If you hear me Hooraying over there on the East coast, you'll know I got my black belt.

Killer Workout: Deck of Cards

There's nothing worse than a boring workout, right? Sometimes it's even nice not to know what's coming. That's where the Deck of Cards workout comes in handy (some call it the Deck of Death). Essentially, you get to deal your own workout, and it's different every time. You can use this workout at the track, at the pool, at the gym, choose different exercises for the cards and your workout possibilities are endless.

I did this workout last night with my Karate Conditioning class. Here's the way it goes:

Hearts are Flutter Kicks (ala the Navy Seals)
Spades are Squats (Crossfit-style, thighs below parallel)
Diamonds are Situps, Standard style with hands crossed on chest, knees bent, feet on floor
Clubs are Pushups, Chest to ground

Jokers are a 400m Run

Basically, you deal a card, do the exercise according to the suit, and the number of reps on the card. Aces are worth 11, face cards are 10. When I did this with my class, I set the timer for 20 minutes (since we only have a 30 minute class) and we got through as many cards as possible, but you can do the whole deck if you want.  We did the workout together, and everyone who finished before the last person had to hold until the last person was done (hold in plank position for pushups, hold at the bottom of the squat, hold in a V-sit for situps or flutters). For the run, everyone who got back inside before the last person had to sit against the wall in the Isometric Chair position.

Great workout, fun workout, beats that wintertime indoor boredom!

No Flinching Allowed

Once you've been punched in the face repeatedly, it leaves you with the desire to avoid ever doing that again. Ever. Sadly, as a woman, I'm far from alone in my experiences. A brutal assault when I was in college by a man in my apartment building left me in the hospital with a broken nose and multiple stitches in my face. So when it comes to karate and sparring, I'm about the worst flincher around. Something comes anywhere near my face and I squeeze my eyes shut and turn my head. In normal karate practice, it's taken years to train myself out of that reaction.

I have to admit, I've tried to avoid sparring as much as possible. That was easier to do at the lower belt levels, but now it's just not possible. Yet at the same time, my experience with being assaulted is part of my motivation for training in the martial arts. Clearly, this is something I have to overcome. So when it comes to me and sparring, it's been the mountain I've had to force myself to climb. I mean, there's no point to training in martial arts if you freak out every time someone throws a punch at you, right?

That's why I'm so proud of myself that yesterday morning I set my alarm at 6:00 am to go to a sparring seminar with my son. Taught by Tim Tolliver, a sparring champion and really excellent instructor, we had an hour and a half of focusing on sparring techniques.

That gave me enough of a boost that I managed to buckle up and register to compete in sparring as well as kata. Since breaking my arm last year, I haven't even done much sparring in class, so I wasn't only concerned about my flinching and basically panicking, I was just plain worried that I would suck! And I sort of did. I mean I know I have pretty good reaction times, can block well, and have fairly fast hands and feet. If I could just stop closing my eyes, I might be okay.

It turns out, the worst of my problems was not with hitting or getting hit. Fortunately, neither of those seemed to bother me too much. It was with hitting too hard. This tournament was "light contact" and you can even score points for no contact if it looks like you would hit the person. That was hard to get used to. Clearly, if I'm going to compete in this division, I need to focus on control and targeting more than anything. Especially in my division (women over 35, which annoyingly are called "Senior Women". Senior??? I'm not ready for that 'til I'm 65, thank you very much.), the judges were watching the contact very closely. I watched other divisions fight and let's just say that the contact was neither light not non-existent.

Strangely, I felt myself wishing I could compete more like the other divisions, which is funny. Here I thought I'd be afraid to get hit and instead the adrenaline of the fight was a rush.  In other words, I actually liked sparring. As soon as I started facing off with an opponent, it was like "Game on". I won my first round, which gave me a little boost. Second round was with the woman who eventually took 1st place. I got a few penalties, and ended up with negative points. Had to climb out of a points hole. Unfortunately, time ran out and she was still ahead of me at the end of the round. I ended up in a round that decided 3rd or 4th place. Third place was a trophy and 4th was a medal. Okay, I know that's really really silly but damn it I wanted that hardware. So I concentrated on pulling my punches and eked out a 3-2 win for third.

Overall, I surprised myself by liking it. We have plenty of black belts in our dojo who like sparring, so I know I can learn a lot if I just do it more and ask them to show me some good techniques. The black belts in our dojo are all very helpful. Next time, I'll be even better. And I won't flinch.

Stretching My Wings

Mackenzie and I are taking off today, along with 30 black belts from our dojo to go to a Karate tournament in Yakima. This will be our first tournament ever, and, well yeah I'm just a little bit intimidated. Especially since we're the only colored belts (non black belts) going. I'm just going to compete in kata (forms) and not sparring, since my official black belt test is next week. The last thing I need is to get all beat up and stiff and sore.

One thing I love about karate for me is that it's constantly pushing me out of my comfort zone. Yes, a karate tournament is still a sporting event, so in that sense you might think it's not a lot different than a triathlon. And I've done plenty of those, right? But a triathlon is largely a test of whatever endurance you've stored in your body, you either have it or you don't. Whereas competing in kata is more like a piano recital or dance competition. It's as much about your mind as about your body. I know I'm going to be really nervous when I enter that ring that I don't forget a big chunk of it and blow it!

Either way, it's a good prep for next week, when I have to get up in front of all the dojo's black belts and show my stuff. Wish us luck!

Guest Post: Triathlon Saved My Life

This is the first time I've had a guest post on my blog. I think you'll understand, once you read Karen's story, why I thought it was so important to share. I have always felt that triathlon was life-changing , and in racing with and sharing my love of triathlon with other women I've seen the powerful effect it can have on women's lives.


Many of us are mothers, and we sometimes struggle with the changes that come with new motherhood. One of the biggest and potential life-threatening of these is post-partum depression, something that's only now starting to get the attention that it deserves. Karen's story is a testament to her own strength, something she discovered through triathlon. Here it is:
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My name is Karen Meigs.  I am a mom, wife, and a triathlete.  Triathlons helped save my life.  Okay, I saw your eyes roll, but let me explain.  

After the birth of our first child I had a very hard time recovering.  I went through 17 hours of labor, 2 hours of that pushing, and I made little to no progress and opted for a c-section.  I was exhausted, overwhelmed, excited, sore, and I could not sleep.  Any new mom can appreciate the exhaustion which sets in after a baby is born, but sleeping for just a few hours a day was a recipe for disaster.  I knew of the baby blues, but this couldn’t possibly happen to me.  We planned for this.  

During a post-partum check-up I failed to mention that I had been crying at least once a day, that wanted to leave my husband and baby, and that I never wanted to get out of my sweats and leave the house.  I was ashamed and embarrassed that I was struggling with being a new mom.  Shoot, women have been doing this for centuries so why is this so challenging?   Our little girl was three months old and I was still crying every day.  My mother-in-law (love her) told me to call my doctor and get some help.  I was immediately put on an anti-depressant and directed to a post-partum group that I attended on a weekly basis.  

Three years later my sister-in-law asked me if I would be interested in doing a triathlon.  For sure I thought she was pulling my leg.  I was overweight, self-conscious, and still in a funk.  I just laughed it off.  

But then I got to thinking about it and started asking her a few questions here and there.  Doing a triathlon sounded like such a huge daunting thing.  For Christmas a few months later my husband bought me a book written by Sally Edwards called “Triathlon for Women”.  I devoured it.  For the first time in a very long time I was excited.  I decided to sign up for my first race.  This race wasn’t for our daughter, it wasn’t for my husband, it was for me.  

I had no clue where to start.  I took each event apart and since swimming was the first leg of the race I worked on that first.   I took a basic swim lesson to learn how to swim, as weird as that sounds.  I didn’t know what would be the most efficient way to swim for a race so I learned how.  I also started to bike and run.  I mostly walked at first to avoid injury, but slowly worked my way up to running.  I committed to doing one of these activities once a week and then I followed the training scheduled outlined in Sally Edwards’ book, as the race date drew near.

Before I knew it I was feeling better.  I started to lose a few pounds and felt better about myself.  That was six years ago and I have signed up for my fourth triathlon this summer.  I will never be the best athlete by any stretch of the imagination nor will I have the best equipment.   But as I said, this race isn’t for my children, or my husband:  I do it for me and I tri.  

Orange Cranberry Paleo Muffins: Recipe Makeover

So much of Paleo food is simply not very portable. It makes you realize why people thought sandwiches were the most amazing thing ever. All of a sudden you've got this messy meat stuff all wrapped up nice and neat and easy to eat with one hand. So with a family on the go, it's sometimes hard to find foods you can take on, say, a family hike.

I got this recipe from a friend last year and liked it pretty well for a tasty snack or meal that's portable. But they were pretty dry and crumbly, so I decided to fix it up a little. The original recipe called for almond meal, eggs, and a bit of honey, vanilla, etc. I spruced it up by adding one more egg and some really thick and creamy coconut milk, as well as some lemon extract. I also switched out the almond meal for a combination of almond meal, hazelnut meal, coconut flour, and flax seed meal. What I ended up with is a muffin with a texture that's closer to actual muffins, but packed with flavor, protein, good fats, and a bit of tasty fruit. Perfect for breakfast, or any time you need a snack out of the house.

Orange Cranberry Paleo Muffins

1 C Coconut flour
1/2 C. Almond Meal
3/4 C. Hazelnut Meal
1/4 C. Flax Seed meal
4 Eggs
1/2 C. Full Fat Coconut Milk (not Lite Coconut Milk)
1/4 C. Honey
1/2 t. Baking Powder
1/2 t. salt
1 T. Vanilla
1/2 t. Lemon Extract
2 T. Grated Orange Peel
1 C. Cranberries

Doggie Endless Pool? Sunday Snap

If you've ever owned a Lab, you know one thing about them: they love water beyond all reason and sensibility. We've made a semi-regular Sunday tradition of hiking with some friends and their kids (and our dogs), which gets us all out of the house and into the forest, even on rainy winter days. Their dog is this wonderful big chocolate Lab/Cheapeake Bay Retriever named Sawyer. And of course he LOVES water. Beyond all reason and sensibility.

So today, when we started hiking along Shotgun Creek, he made a beeline straight for the overflowing-with-snowmelt creek. One of the kids threw a stick in and he was beside himself with stick-chasing and swimming joy. The problem was this: the stick got stuck on the bottom, sticking straight up out of the water in the swiftest part of the current. And that dog was going to get that stick, no question about it in his mind.

The other thing you might know about Labs is that they're very single-minded. Once they're fixed on a target (ball, stick, duck), you better not be standing in their way. You will be flattened, logs will be jumped, and raging rivers will be forged in order for them to get to their target. So once Sawyer started swimming for this stick, he was stuck in the current in a kind of doggie version of an Endless Pool. And he was not going to give up. A couple of times the family managed to call him away, even divert him by throwing in another stick. But just as it looked like they might entice him out of the river, back he went for that one lone stick.

Even after we finally got him out and were hiking along the trail, he ran ahead and then cleverly looped back around behind us and went straight back to the creek and that stick. So today's Sunday Snap is the adventures of Sawyer, the dog who puts the "dog" in "dogged determination".

On My Nightstand (In Honor of Dr. Seuss' 107th Birthday)

I literally can't remember a day in my life when I didn't have a book in front of my nose. Oh I'm sure there were some, there must have been. I mean, I wasn't born reading or anything. I remember the "Aha!" moment when I knew I could read though, as crystal clear as if it was yesterday.

I was sitting on my mom's lap and she had Hop on Pop open in front of us. She'd probably read it to me a thousand times. I looked down at the page, and all of a sudden I knew that the words on the page were the words she was saying. I knew what each word meant. I think I was about four years old and from then on I could read. It was just a matter of accumulating more words. By first grade, they didn't know what to do with me, so they put me in a fourth grade class for reading. I loved it. By 6th grade I had consumed everything on my parents' bookshelves from pop psychology's  I'm Ok You're Ok to my dad's hefty historical tomes like Miracle at Midway. Yes, I've even read War and Peace. Books have been my friends as long as I can remember.

So today we honor that wonderful man known affectionately as Dr. Seuss. When I was in college on this day, my friends and I used to stand on the "free speech mound" in front of the student center and have an all-day read-aloud Seuss-a-thon. We would bring bubbles to blow and take turns reading our favorites. Mine are The Lorax (but you knew my tree-hugging self would love that) and The Sneetches and Other Stories (but you knew my non-conformist self would love that).

I still read nearly constantly. Being a very fast reader sometimes is a disadvantage. A good fiction book doesn't take me very long to devour. But it also means that I can usually make it through several books a week, just reading during my morning tea and at bedtime.

This week's picks are:

NON FICTION:

Bruce Lee: Fighting Spirit This is honestly one of the best biographies I've read in a long time. Instead of just sensationalizing on the whole Bruce Lee memory, the author Bruce Thomas captures the essence of Lee himself. In addition to an extremely thorough bio of Lee's life through all its stages, Thomas delves into Lee's philosophies, both of training and of life, and the evolution of his approach to training, fighting, and the mental aspect of his arts. He doesn't just report on them either, he interprets and indeed expands on them. For anyone interested in the martial arts, I'd say this book is a must read. It's impossible to underestimate the impact that Bruce Lee has had on modern martial arts.

Be Iron Fit - Okay, this is a re-read for me. But I found this book invaluable in preparing for my Ironman, and since I'm coaching triathletes (including half-Iron and Iron distance athletes), I thought it would be worth checking out again. Though I've checked it out from the library multiple times, this one has gone on my Amazon "to buy" list. The simple straight-forward advice in this book, and the three training plans for Ironman make it worth a purchase for any athlete looking at going this distance.

Winning With American Kata - Okay, this is an esoteric little book that only a martial artist interested in improving their kata (or forms) would read. But it fit what I was looking for precisely. The first part of the book is dedicated to creating your own new kata, which at this point I'm not interested in at all. But the second half contains lots of great tips on improving your kata for tournaments or tests.  And the pictures are priceless. This guy has the ultimate fierce look DOWN.

FICTION:

Tricks by Ellen Hopkins This book is aimed at young adults, but it looked intriguing and I picked it up. Although it's a fictional story of the lives of several young people, written in first person, it's written in poetry not prose. At first that was hard to get used to, but eventually the book's format started growing on me. As a parent of a teenager, the theme of the book was both intriguing and horrifying. Without giving too much away, it's partly about the many ways that young people can get themselves into bad situations. It's good to go into parenting teens with your eyes wide open. This book is a fast read that sucks you into the lives of the characters.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest I probably don't need to recap this one. You either love this series of books (a trilogy, along with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire) or not. Translated from their original Swedish, they're a hard-hitting series with a kick-ass female protagonist. I like that. However, they're also chock full of nitty gritty details (what each character ate, what underwear they put on before putting on their charcoal grey worsted wool slacks, that kind of detail). And the plot, with its unfamiliar place names (to those of us who have not lived in Sweden) and Swedish surnames takes a bit of brain power to keep straight. Still, I've really enjoyed this series, and was on the wait list at the library a long time before this copy got into my hands. I didn't like it as much as #2, but better than #1.