Hairy

Even though it's a beautiful sunny day with temperatures approaching the 90's, signs are beginning to appear that indicate summer is beginning to wane. I offer here three examples:

First, honeychrisp apples have stolen the show from peaches in the display in the grocery store.

Second, it is the day before Allston Christmas. With all the new people moving in traffic is terrible, stores are crowded, the rhythm of the city is disrupted and it is, well, getting a bit hairy.

Finally, I give to you, dear reader, the impending harvest of the hairy squash crop from the local city garden plots:

If you look closely you will glimpse an enormous hairy squash dangling from the garden's trellis. All year long I had wondered why the Asian gardeners built trellis-like roofs over their gardens - so much less pretty than the English style plots. Silly me - now I know - because it doubles the area and allows for squash vines to cover the plot, the bounteous squashes and melons hanging like grapes from a grape vine.


p.s. that bike ride - well, it didn't go so well. I did finish despite a hill-induced asthma attack. I confirmed my suspicions that I'm not fast enough to ride with the group by a long shot. But it was very pretty and I met some nice folks. I'll have to think about whether I'll want to join another ride.

No Blog Posts All Summer?!?

Hmm, not very good. There are so many ideas in my head for blog posts, but it appears, after checking out my posting list, that these ideas are not coming to fruition. It's already the end of August, and yet there have been no blog posts since April! Harrumph!

Let's see what we can do about that . . .

Summer Triathlon Update 

After a number of disappointing delays and an auspicious bout of salmonella, I was finally able to get it together to train for a sprint triathlon. I haven't competed in any events yet this season, but have just signed up for the TDD Triathlon in mid-September. It's a bit late in the season, so it might require a wetsuit. Also the bike route is probably a bit hilly - hopefully I'll have a chance to check it out next weekend.

This year's main challenge has been to become a better open water swimmer. And by better, I mean, someone who is willing and able to get in a lake and swim without a panic attack. Luckily, only a short drive away from here is Walden Pond. A totally not-gross body of fresh water frequented by possibly zillions of open water swimmers and triathletes. Also cute toddlers with sand shovels and pails.

I've been meeting up there with folks from eventhorizon.tv and they have all been lovely people, including Tony who is the founder and organizer of the group. I cannot say enough about how transformative and wonderful it has been to train with him and the people I've met through the group's meetups. When I began meeting there in June, it took everything I had to get in the water, put my face in, and try to swim a couple of hundred meters. Today, I still have trepidation about open water swimming (don't even mention a swim in the ocean).  Nevertheless, another swimmer from the group and I struck out across the lake and swam half a mile at a reasonable pace. This is an accomplishment beyond my wildest dreams. If someone had asked me in June - will you be able to swim half a mile by the end of August? - my unequivocal answer would have been no. But, because of the encouragement of the people I've met there, I was able to start to overcome my terrible panic and fear of being in the lake. I'm learning to appreciate the beauty of the color of the water when looking down into it. The confidence that comes from realizing that even if you need a swim break, or took a badly timed breath, it's merely time to tread or float, to splash or even play. It's not a failure, it's just a moment to relax and enjoy your surroundings.

Besides the weekly swims at Walden, there have been meetups at a local track. The group there is cheekily named "The Most Informal Running Club Ever" (TMIRCE) and I can't believe what a great group of motivated and accomplished but supportive people they are. The track workouts are a lot of fun.  As soon as I arrived at my first meet, just after a massive thunderstorm, I slipped on a metal pipe at the edge of the track and fell flat on my butt right in front of the whole group. Way to go, self! Instead of the snickers I expected, everyone very kindly overlooked my unique way of joining in. We sorted into runners of similar speeds and began the workout.

When I was a younger, I competed in a lot of competitive sports. I would not describe the social atmosphere of team training to have been supportive, inclusive or friendly. Later on, I became interested in bike riding, and most of the other riders I met talked only about suffering and crushing other people on rides.  So it's a bit of a shock to have discovered such clearly successful athletes training in a quite encouraging and inclusive social atmosphere. This is actually fun! The workouts are challenging and there are a lot of far more experienced runners to learn from. I will definitely be making an effort to get to these workouts.

Tomorrow is my first group ride with the Charles River Wheelman.  It's twenty-one miles - let hope I can keep up.