"Shoot, it even [snowed] at night."

Tourism in Maryland has had a slogan for several years that they've proudly toted: America in Miniature. While this can certainly be said about their geography (we have barrier island beaches, a bay, big cities, plateaus and mountains), it also applies to their weather.
 
Yesterday was perfect day for running: 45-50 degrees, sunny and not too windy.  Today, on the other hand, it is snowing, and I'm not talking light, dusting snow.  I'm talking 6-12 inches out there, and it's still coming. Needless to say, I did not run today, although I guess I could have this morning, but the snow started at 7:30 AM and I was not about the get up and run in this cold. Cue the return of the Polar Vortex.
 
It sounds like a swirling tornado of polar bears, but in actuality, it's much less of an entertaining thought than that. Negative temperatures do not instill in me a desire to go outside. However, going outside must happen if one is to get in and out of the house. So, my exercise for today was shoveling. Ick. A cold, wet, icy mess.

It reminded me of Forrest Gump when he explains the various types of rain in Vietnam. "We've been through every kind of rain there is. Little bitty stinging rain...and big old fat rain. Rain that flew in sideways. And sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath."
 
Shoveling in snow that is blowing sideways like some magical Harry Potter snow storm is not fun. A workout was definitely had.



Snow minutely deters one from swimming. While one cannot swim outdoors in the winter (correction, you CAN, but only for a charity event. Otherwise you're an imbecile.), you can indoors. If you can get to a pool, you can swim. I had meets on days when it snowed several inches, and school definitely would have been closed. The roads weren't great, but hey, we went. It was almost like being in Norway, or some other freezing country where they have tons of snow but hot tubs/springs everywhere; it's freezing and you can see the gorgeous snow, but you're warm and snuggled in hot water. Plus that warm toasty feeling once you leave the aquatic center and step into the cold is awesome. Perhaps I need to invest in a treadmill, so the cold/snow won't stop me from running. Or maybe I just need to move to Florida.


Or run around my basement in circles. Like a dog. Thanks for that, gem, Raych ;)

Just Keep Swimming/Run Forrest, Run

It's been so cold, but despite the weather I've still been fairly active. However, I do feel kind of Florence Welch if I run, or if I don't.

I'm either really sore and want to give up/start from scratch again, or really sorry. Sometimes I'm both sore and sorry, and I think this may have to do with a few things. Mainly, my breathing and pacing (which I think have been recently impacted by the weather, but alas, that I cannot control). Both were important as a swimmer, but old habits die hard.

Breathing
As a swimmer, you need to do two things to improve your speed: master the stroke and know how to breathe. I learned how to both at a fairly young age (well, I could always BREATHE, but for swimming, it's much different). I took swim lessons when I was young, and I perfected my strokes in high school. As for breathing, I had my voice coach to thank for that. Who can sing an Italian aria with perfect breath control? This girl, and that skill helped tremendously when I was competitively swimming.
 
 When you swim, and when you sing, taking in deep breaths and slowly releasing them is key to keeping your speed and strength or maintaining your stamina to sing and reach high notes. I can take one deep breath from my diaphragm and use an entire minute to release it. I can do this while running, but instead of this skill being an asset, it is hindering me. But I don't know any other way!

I could pace my self to swim an entire 50 without breathing. I was once advised that I should breathe every other stroke, but this only slowed me down (plus, I looked like an idiot). Has anyone seen Michael Phelps do this? No, because he, too can swim entire lengths without a breath.
 
Why does this not work when I run?
Instead of giving me more energy to run, I just feel tired. I hear I'm supposed to breathe according to my stride, but I can't pay attention to that when I run. All I can hear is music, which brings me to my next problem... pacing.

Pacing
I'll never forget the first meet where I felt I could keep pace with my competition. Usually, they were either too fast, or way too slow. I didn't feel like I was doing any good for my team. But that meet, I felt pressure. I knew the times of the girls in my heat, and they were so close to mine. If I wanted to get better, I had to beat them. I had to try. My coach came to me at the beginning of the meet and told me to listen to the fastest song in my CD collection (no iPods then, kids!) that would get stuck in my head. "Why?" I asked. "Because," she explained, "you need to go fast today. The fastest you ever have. If you don't win, we lose the meet. I did the math." That blew me. Me? I started swimming so the pressure wouldn't all rest on my shoulders! I pressed her for more information. "Why do you think that will work?" She smiled.

 At the pool where we practiced, there was also a synchronized swimming team that practiced at the same as us. They played music under water so they could hear the cues for their jumps and leaps. She had observed that I swam faster when their music was playing. I realized she was right. I found a CD that had Freebird on it and got it stuck in my head. When it was time for my heat, I was humming the chord progressions. I was ready. Needless to say, we won the meet. From then on, I got a new song stuck in my head before I swam for a meet. On the way to meet, no one bothered me; they knew I was memorizing a beat.
 
 I would swim to a beat and that was my pace, regardless of how tired I was. I could never swim after that without music, and I can't run without it. I run to the pace of the songs. I have a playlist for when I run. This seems to be problematic for me because if I'm supposed to match my breathing to my steps, then I will be panting when I shouldn't be, holding my breath when I shouldn't be, and all kinds of terrible, wrong things people say not to do when you run. And it makes me feel awful!


So, now what do I do? Just keep swimming, or run, Forrest run? 

 

Baby It's Cold Outside

My plan to run yesterday was definitely ruined. The North East has had a severe blast of arctic air, and running when it's 30 degrees outside is bad enough, let alone 10.
 

 When I was a swimmer, the cold did not deter me. Quite the opposite, it excited me.

There's nothing like entering a steaming (and I do literally mean steaming) aquatic center in the dead of winter, knowing that you are going to soon jump into comfortably warm water. There's even the possibly that you could sit in uncomfortably warm water for a few minutes if the pool has a jacuzzi! Then, walking outside after a good long swim was nothing. The warmth from the pool and the steam still clinging to my wet, chlorinated self was enough to warm me up either while I waited for my ride home when I was in high school, or on my walk back to my dorm while I was in college. But alas, I no longer have that luxury.

I knew the cold of January would soon attempt to derail my path. But, I refuse to be hindered. Instead, I decided to focus on cardio and weights yesterday and today so I could work the same muscles (if not more) and build up some strength.

I hate running because it makes me sweat, and for this reason, I hate all "land" cardio ... except for dancing. I've done a lot of musical theater, and I choreograph a musical every spring. If you show me cute, fun choreography and break it down for me, I'm game. I've watched old MJ videos and attempted to follow along, but I also know far too much Jerome Robbins (and Fosse, and Gene Kelly, and Fred Astaire... you get the point) choreography that I bust out shamelessly. When you're a Jet, you're a Jet all the way, so why not? It gets me moving, no matter how stupid I look.


Weights and I are old friends. As a swimmer, I frequently used weights to improve my upper body strength so I could swim Butterfly and IM relays. I don't love them, but I've seen results with them. I will use them on days like yesterday and today when it's too damn cold to go outside.

I hope the burning in my legs and arms subsides from these workouts, because going up and down stairs is becoming slightly hazardous. I'm clinging to the railings for dear life, terrified my shaking legs are going to give out. It's only been a few days, so I can assume this will get better, right? Goodness I hope so. I hope it gets warmer soon, or else I may be dancing the Mambo tomorrow. 

Before Run

Let me be quite clear: I have been a swimmer for many, many years. I swam competitively in high school, and as my exercise in college (a shoulder injury prevented me from continuing to compete). I was never afraid of the water, regardless of whether it was a pool, ocean or lake; I could be in it all day. That being said, I do not enjoy running. One might say I even hate it.

Why? You might ask (or maybe not. Maybe you don’t care).

Several reasons justify my hatred.

1. I do not like to sweat. Really, who does? But some find it somewhat satisfying, as if to say to themselves, “Yes, I’m sweating, but that means I did something!” I am not one of those people.

2. While I’m not a large girl by any means, I was unluckily (according to me, not to the male species) endowed with a large chestal region. I’m talking two sports bras to prevent extra bounce-age. This makes running ever so uncomfortable. 

3. Two years ago, I fell down a flight of stairs and broke my ankle. I went to Physical Therapy but there have been a few things I have not been able to do with the same proficiency since. Running is one of them.

4. I look like a basset hound when I run.  It was a long standing joke when I was younger that I looked like an absolute imbecile when I run. Head and chin (which is pointy enough) jutting out forward, arms awkwardly flopping about. It’s enough to make me embarrassed just thinking about it.

So, why am I?

It’s far easier to just put on a pair of shoes, grab your MP3 and run around the neighborhood than it is to get into my lap suits, prepare a pool bag and drive in the car to some YMCA or indoor aquatic location. I also have a least an hour commute to and from work, so the less travel time, the better.

 If I had a 25 meter pool in my backyard that was deep enough for me to do flip turns, then I wouldn’t be writing this. But, alas, I don’t. I need to get the husband on that. I could liken it to that of a kid who wants a puppy: “Please, I promise I’ll take care of it! I’ll vacuum it, and check the chemicals every hour, and backwash it and cover in the winter and drain it in the spring! I prooooomiiiiiise!” Not going to happen anytime soon.

It’s not that I haven’t tried. Friends of mine in college started going running together, and I decided to join them. I stupidly said, “Well, I was a long distance swimmer, so I bet running will be easy for me.” FAT CHANCE.  They must have laughed when I was bent over, heaving after 500 yards (if that). Fortunately, being my friends, they didn’t say anything, but they didn’t wait for me either. It did get easier for me as the weeks went on, but I didn’t enjoy it. 

 I need a way to exercise that will actually improve my body. I am 5’4, and if I drink a glass of water, I look bloated. So, I am going to start. My husband and I plan on this year embarking on starting a family, and if I gain 30+ pounds from the weight I am now, I can only imagine how hard it will be for me to lose that weight once the baby comes. My ultimate goal would be to run in a half marathon, potentially, the Disney Princess Half Marathon. If Disney isn’t a good motivator, what is? I’ll be thinking of that as I run.

 

After Run

People that say they love to run should be slapped. My chest is ON FIRE. Is this what a heart attack feels like? 

Granted, it is only 40 degrees outside (a relatively warm day for western Maryland in January), so I expected it to be a bit bracing.

All I could think of, aside from wondering how far into the street I could run without the risk of potentially getting run over, was Gimli from Lord of the Rings in the Two Towers: “Just keep breathing. That’s the key. Breathe.” That little fat dwarf has a point. 

 

I only ran for about 15 minutes, but I’m a beginner right? That’s perfectly acceptable, right?

Maybe I should’ve stretched. Maybe then my legs wouldn’t feel like they’re on fire. I stretch every time I swim, why not every time I run? Hmm. Didn’t think of that.

I could swim for an hour, stopping every 15-20 minutes to take a real breath, then go right back at it. Why isn’t running the same? Ughhh.

My music keeps me in a good rhythm, but I do think I look like an idiot swaying back and forth.

I’ll try again tomorrow...