Inspiration/Aspiration

A woman I know recently set three records for her age group in a masters swim meet in the 100 free, 200 free, and 100 IM (butterfly, backstroke, breasttroke, , and freestyle). Her times for the 100 and 200 were 50+ seconds faster than the previous records, and there was no existing record for the IM because no one had done it before. This woman is 95 years old! She plans to keep on swimming as long as she's able and can drive herself to the pool. She also goes to work everyday at the family business. We used to swim at the same pool, but then she moved to a different part of town and a different pool. Year for year, she's a better swimmer than I am. What inspires me most about this woman, though, is her attitude. I am similarly inspired by another 92-year-old swimmer I know, who logs one-half mile per swim several times a week. And, of course, there's a fellow triathlete who started doing triathlons in her 60s and still competes at age 82.

I aspire to age as well as these women. But it's hard when I see little progress in my training. I feel stronger, but my times are abysmal. And it's depressing when my teammates are lamenting they only managed to run a 9-minute mile, when I'd be happy to do one in 12. Last year I could occasionally manage an 11- minute mile, but these days, it would be a miracle to go that "fast." But I'm keeping at it. Maybe someday I'll set my own record and inspire someone else along the way.

Something to "tri" for

Our team psychologist recently talked about the importance of setting goals. The essence of his theory is that having too many complex, specific goals creates stress, and fighting stress wastes energy, so a person should set one main goal, with some subparts, that is doable. I see the merit in this principle, even if I do tend sometimes to get bogged down in details. My ex-husband called this tendency "making everything too complicated," but he was a procrastinator par excellence, so .... Anyway, my goal for this season is to earn an age-group award given by Setup Events. To do this, I have to compete in (read, enter and finish) four triathlons in their state series. I've signed up for the first one on 3/29. I anticipate doing one in July and one in September, so that leaves a choice between events in June and October as the fourth one. Either one of those (or both) would likely require a wet suit, which I don't have. I could rent one, or buy one. This is where over-thinking comes in, as I mull the merits of having my own suit v. the expense of buying or renting. Then I have to consider how, even if , my pear dumpling body will fit into one, and if I could get out of it in T1. It might be easier to get Setup to change the rules so that only three events would qualify. From one simple goal to many tangents -- it really is all in the details.

That certain language

A blogger I know often uses the "f-word" in her blog. I can't say I'm offended -- I hear that word frequently from other people. But I rue the growing, everyday usage of profanity as one more strike against the few remaining bastions of decency in our lives. According to my high school English teacher, Rhett Butler's famous line at the end of the movie version of Gone With The Wind ("Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.") was the first time such a word was spoken in a movie. It was 1939, and viewers were shocked. If the movie were remade today, Scarlett would likely reply, "Go f--- yourself!" and few people would even notice. Certainly, strong language is sometimes appropriate, but overuse diminishes its potency. I'm not advocating a return to the days when such language was not used in polite company, but I do think a little less vulgarity would improve us all.

Team Uni2Beat

I've officially registered for the HyVee Triathlon on June 22 in Des Moines. Since this will be my first Olympic distance tri, I'm going to do it as a relay w/ my sister JJ -- I'll do the swim and bike and she'll do the run. I'm hoping we'll finish within 4-5 hours (estimating 1 hour for the lake swim, 2 hours for the bike, and 1 and 1/2 hours for the run). Faster times would be better, of course, but I'm trying to be realistic. We'll find out in 112 days.

Choices

I've often said, given the demands of my job, I only have time for one "extra-curricular activity." That used to be my children, until they grew up and moved out. I was a volunteer at Maymont for nearly ten years, but I gave that up when I started doing triathlons. However, I've always had a yen for writing, and occasionally I've taken an adult education class. Last summer I went to great weekend seminar at the University of Iowa, and I'd love to go back again this year. But, it's the same time as the Hy-Vee triathlon, which I also really want to do. So, again, I must choose. I'm leaning toward the triathlon -- I figure (and I hope I'm right) my body will give out before my mind does, so I can still write when triathlons are only a memory.

If I Didn't Train

My house would be spotless,
My laundry neated folded.
My taxes would be filed,
The cat properly groomed.
But my bones would be frail,
My muscles puny.
I'd be a different person.

Long Time No Entry

It's been over two weeks since I posted an entry here. I think of things I might say while I'm swimming laps, running miles, or cycling indoors for hours, but then the rest of my life intrudes, and ... no time for blogging. And, I suppose, if truth be told, I'm not quite sure why I'm doing this blog thing -- I've kept various journals/diaries for years, but those entries were never met for public eyes. So who am I writing for/to now? And how much of my maybe-anonymous-self am I willing to share?