Social distancing in America

When I first decided that I was going to stay at home and practice social distancing, it was a decision I made with complete clarity, and one that felt almost patriotic. I had been reading about the alarming aspects of the spread of the novel coronavirus and of course its high mortality rates. But, it was the news out of Italy that was most sobering. The news that the current medical infrastructure in any country would be, as it was in China’s and Northern Italy’s cases, unable to keep up with the number of infected people needing care at the height of the outbreak. That was eye opening and mindset changing for me. It meant that the most important thing that I could do and must do was to stay at home and reduce my exposure to people.

My first act as a social distancer was to inform my husband that I would not be going to the Lyric for the Beatles tribute band concert, but he was free to go if he wanted to go. He was very supportive. A little surprised, but supportive. He ended up giving the tickets away to someone in his office, who had a great time. My next efforts were not so clear cut or successful. I am a U.S. Masters Swimmer and belong to the Columbia Masters group. We swim mostly at the Swim Center. I knew that given the schedules of my “lane mates,” I would be swimming in a lane by myself at the next practice I would normally attend. Swimming is my sanity. So, how could I stay home when I figured I’d be social distanced enough…

Indoor Pool

Well, I was so conflicted it hurt. I did end up swimming. In a lane by myself. Social distance seemed to be achieved. But I did not feel great about being out. Next up, another opportunity to social distance. I attend a weekly meeting that is also not overcrowded and opportunities to space myself away from others are available. I ended up going there too. But, by now, I am racked with guilt. And shame. I was not being very good at sticking to my decision to stay at home. Then, just to put the icing on the cake, well-meaning folks were all over social media talking about still going to restaurants and making sure they lend a hand of support to small business. My husband came home from work and said, “Let’s grab something to eat out somewhere.” I knew that was not what I wanted to do, because that was not social distancing. It was  going into a group of people, who had been going about their business and not staying at home. So, the final test failure of the day was going to dinner at Chipotle. In my mind I was thinking that, “OK, this means that my 10-14 day isolation to make sure I’m not carrying the virus has now been set back the whole day, and I’m not being a very good citizen.”

Meanwhile, I am still reading reports of the spread of the virus and efforts being made overseas to stem that spread. It is very clear that the best way to do that is to keep people from being around other people. When I woke up the following morning I was in an uncluttered mental place with the staying at home decision. And, thankfully, it was one that was unencumbered by opportunities to undertake the bartering and justifying I had done the previous day. In fact, I was almost giddy at the opportunity to do my part, which still seems woefully small and insignificant in the face of the trials facing many Europeans and a small number of Americans now. However, I know from all the reading I’m doing it is not insignificant. It’s lifesaving and hopefully catastrophe-saving.

Gooooooallllll Achieved!

The Swim For Life Swim, Chester River July 2014

 

Several Summers ago, at the urging of a U.S. Masters Swimming teammate of mine, I entered my first Open Water (OW) competition. It was a one mile U.S. Masters sanctioned swim in a lake, called Centennial Lake. It is a very pretty lake, on the small side, but surrounded by woods with paths and picnic areas. It contains wildlife. I did not want to swim in any body of water containing wildlife. My friend was insistent that this was indeed something I would love to do and should be doing. It had my name on it, according to Maureen. Several other teammates of mine were also planning to compete in this local event. So, I signed up. I immediately felt a wave a nausea and fear ripple through me. I tried to counter the nausea and fear by reminding myself that I had been swimming with my Masters group for a long time and could easily swim a mile. Heck, I was swimming close to two miles at practice at least three days a week as it was. But, my nausea and fear were not rooted in concern about the distance. No, my nausea and fear were all about what was living or slithering over and through the lake in which I'd be swimming. I was, at this point in my swimming life, practically surrounded by triathletes and other swimmers who spent more time competing in strange bodies of water than in pools. I silently prided myself on being “a true (Masters) swimmer,” – the dying breed of pool-only swimmers, thank you very much. But, I was curious as to why Maureen thought I would love OW swimming. What did she know that I did not?

Fast forward to the morning of the event. I was sure I was going to be sick. I wasn't. I turned off my brain and willed myself through an out of body experience, in which I just followed my friends into the brownish-green water of Centennial Lake to warm up. It was my turn to swim and I got in and swam. My legs and feet cramped up as the adrenaline shot through me like a brush fire on a dry day. I kicked and squirmed and tried to relieve the charley horses that riddled my lower body. I fought to calm my breathing, but I had lost sight of Maureen and was struggling. I finally managed to collect myself. I strained to see big orange buoys at far away-seeming intervals. I swam yards off course by sighting what I thought was the correct next buoy, only to have to get myself back on track when I noticed the pack of yellow-capped heads moving in a mob off to my right. Not too far away, but far enough. I tried sprinting to catch up to them. It seemed to take forever to get to the buoy marking the return trip. I kept swimming, and soon I got to the final buoy. I was swimming in to the finish with another gal. I had her beat. I was going to beat someone no matter what else happened. I saw the edge and tried to stand up. But, I was not close enough and there was no bottom to stand on. I came to a full stop. I urgently began to swim again only to find my self getting to the actual edge seconds after the other gal. It was a rookie mistake. My first time in open water and I blew the finish. It was a painful lesson made more so when I placed second in my age group. I don't l know for sure that the gal who finished just before me was first, but it didn't matter. This experience left me with unfinished business. I had succeeded beyond my wildest dreams to just get in this lake and finish the race. In fact, I wasn't “racing.” I was “participating in an event.” That is, until I finished second. Maureen and I were planning another OW swim, but a hurricane left us fulfilling our charity swim in the famed 50 meter outdoor pool at the Meadowbrook Swim Club. I was very happy to swim there, but obviously unable to put into practice my lessons learned from my first OW experience.

Sometime leading up to this Summer, I decided that I wanted and needed to swim a 2 mile OW event. I had to do it. I'm not sure why, but I felt compelled. There were many things interfering with my short list of possible 2 mile swim opportunities. I began to feel discouraged and depressed that it might not happen after all. But, my husband offered to drive me to a charity race called Swim For Life being held on the Chester River, about an hour and a half away. So, I signed up. My goals were to put all of my lessons learned from my previous OW swim into action, and to swim the best race I could. And, yesterday I did just that. Armed with prescription goggles so I could see which buoys to swim to and all the other tidbits I learned from my first effort, I swam my best. I felt strong the whole time, despite swimming against a current the mile out and some choppiness in the water on the return leg. I paced out and from the final buoy tried to sprint to the finish. I was tired at the end of the race and felt I achieved my goals. Will I have another OW swim in me? It's possible. But, for now, I'm going to enjoy the post-race sense of accomplishment. Maureen has moved to Florida, but I know she would very happy for me and thrilled to know I'm still dabbling in open water swimming.

The 2 Mile Swim Wave

And we're off!

 

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Another Potential Loss Stemming From TriColumbia Collapse

Hard Work at the Pool

#HoCoBlogs

There are many unfortunate and some downright sad repercussions resulting from the folding of the Columbia, MD-based Columbia Triathlon Association or TriColumbia, as it was known. One of the lesser known casualties of the demise of TriColumbia, formerly the Mid-Atlantic's premier endurance event production company for the past 30 years, is the potential loss of a program called Learn2Tri, a youth triathlon education program.

This program began in 2011 with a partnership between TriColumbia and the Howard County Public School System, with financial backing from CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield and McDonald's Family Restaurants of Greater Baltimore, according to the CareFirst website. Other partners included, the Columbia Association, Trek Bicycles, the Howard County Police Department, Pinnacle Health & Wellness, and Lock Laces. The goal of Learn2Tri was to expose Howard County Public Elementary, Middle, and High School students to the life long health benefits of swimming, biking and running, as well as introduce them to the multi-sport event. I have been working on the swim portion of this effort from the beginning. That is, I have been teaching everything from water acclimation to triathlon techniques to students in the program. Probably the most expensive part of the three-part training is the swim training. There are some costs associated with the bike training, but I don't think it is nearly as costly as the swim. In order to teach the swim portion, students take what amounts to a field trip to the pool. The costs of the busses for the students, instructor pay and pool rental was paid for by TriColumbia through presumably donations, grants and partnership seed money. Unfortunately, that funding stream is gone with the collapse of TriColumbia.

So, while many running and triathlon enthusiasts are at least partly mollified by the news that many if not all of TriColumbia's planned races for this season will be picked up and run by another event production outfit (probably World Triathlon Corporation), Learn2Tri is not being picked up by that group.

I don't have the exact numbers of how many students would be impacted by the loss of this program, but there are 12 high schools in the county. We usually have between five and eight schools (and lately almost exclusively high schools) in each the Fall and Spring. Each school brings between 20 to 50 kids (in one group or two) for one day or two depending on their schedules. In my mind, this opportunity is priceless and worth continuing. Swimming, as I've said before, is a life saving, as well as life long skill/sport. It is: a hobby, a sport, a leisurely activity, a form of therapy, or a life saving skill.

We would love to find a new “home sponsor” for this program. Despite TriColumbia's unfortunate situation, they did a lot of wonderful things in and for our community. Their presence will be missed, but hopefully there is another group that would love to help us train the triathletes, or the casual swimmers, bikers and runners, of the future. If you are interested in sponsoring Learn2Tri, donating to Learn2Tri, or just finding out more, please contact me.

 

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How Cold is Too Cold for Pool Water?

 

The word came via Twitter and Facebook. It said, basically that the water temp of PP (Program Pool) is a brisk 76 degrees. You can bring your wetsuit if you think you'll need it. I wasn't sure if I would need one, but I was sure that 76 was about what the projected temperature of Mirror Lake (in Lake Placid) is in August. I am hoping to do a two mile cable swim there at that time. So my first thought was, “Yay! I can find out if I'm going to need to rent a wet suit or not for that swim!” My second thought was, I wonder if it will be too cold for me to swim.

There is an aqua aerobics class before our Masters practice that I thought certainly would be cancelled. But, it was not. Quite a few of the older ladies stuck it out and did the class. Afterwards, in the locker room, several of them were warming their bodies with hair dryers, and saying that it was very, very cold. They think the water is too cold at 79-81 degrees. I was now reasonably sure I could do it, heck, they did.

As everyone started amassing on the pool deck, I noticed that no one had a wet suit. It was a promising sign, I thought. I told ML that I may need to do a couple laps of running through the water to warm up, if it is that cold. She looked at me like I was nuts. I decided to be the first one in – complete with a primal scream as I dove in. It felt exhilarating at first. I popped up and said, “It's not too bad.” Well, Rob, who has no hair and was not wearing a swim cap, labeled me a liar once he got in… Whoopsie. So, I asked Sue to grab him a cap and that helped him a lot. It took me a lot longer than usual to warm up, but I guess I sort of eventually did. We had two people leave to swim in the other (hot) pool, which was an awful 86 degrees. I could not practice in water that warm. My skin felt cool the whole practice, but I liked it. It was so much better than swimming in warm water. When we got out of the pool, the walk to the locker was so much more pleasant. We are usually freezing, but today we were fine. The same was true in the locker room. I could get used to that temperature, I think… At the very least, now I know that I can swim for 75 minutes in 76 degree water. Good to know.

We Were as Cold as Penguins Today!

 

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On a Fitness Mission This Week

Yes, This.

 

Logging all those miles sitting in the car as “The Passenger,” this past weekend did not have a positive impact on my fitness. Nor did some of my food choices, which included a very late dinner with Alex (and John) at the popular Zaxby's restaurant. I got the salad again and it was delicious. But it had fried chicken fingers, a bit of some type of fried onion ring pieces and too much cheese for my taste. I took a lot of the cheese off, but I'm sure I there were still a lot of calories left in that meal.

 

Love This Sign at Zaxby's, High Point, NC

 

So, despite the great trail bike ride John and I took on Saturday, I did have two days with very little exercise. In order to get back to business, I have a four-swim week planned, in addition to taking two weight lifting classes. Monday I did a swim only day. It was a good, hard workout with lots of yards (Thank you, Sue!). Today, I ended up getting into the noon Body Pump class, so I swam for an hour of practice, then left for Body Pump. It was quite exhausting, but hopefully worth it. I told John I was trying to scare my body into a slimmer, more fit version of itself. We shall see how this plan works out.

 

We had a beautiful snowfall all morning that covered the grass and trees. It was over by mid afternoon. Then the sun came out and melted it all. Now, they are calling for a Winter Weather Advisory for tomorrow morning that hopefully won't cancel swim practice! I'm on a fitness mission this week!

 

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