Mind Over Matter - Part 2

(Notice there are now three check marks - only one more to go!)

When I last checked in regarding the Swedish Women's Classic (Svenska Tjejklassiker), it was a mere two days before I was to hop into some very cold water and swim 1 kilometer as fast as I could. Well, the water was pretty darn cold but after standing around in my wetsuit for thirty minutes the cold was not as shocking as I had anticipated and the swimming part, while challenging, was not at all as bad as I thought it would be. Looking back now, I’m pretty sure I can also say that I was mistaken in thinking that the swimming portion of this four-part endurance feat would be the most difficult. 

The very next day after the Vansbro 1 kilometer swim, I pulled out my running shoes, dusted off my Garmin, and started training for the 10 kilometer run. The race was just under three months away. It seemed like plenty of time to prepare but I figured I should get started. Ahem. 

Have you ever trained for a running event? If you are already a runner, it doesn't count. I'm talking about starting from scratch, as in from a sitting position on your couch. I'm kidding, sort of, but the minute I started my couch to 10k program, running one minute, then walking one minute, and repeating ten times, I felt that I needed to question my sanity. 

You'd think running for just one minute would be a piece of cake right? (A piece of cake sounds good right now and I miss my couch!) I peeked at my Garmin, merrily keeping time, after what seemed to be a reasonable amount of time, only to discover that I'd been running for a mere 20 seconds. 20 seconds???!!!! Holy cow. How was I ever going to be able to run 10 kilometers? 

I kept with my training however, thinking (and hoping) that it would get better. In the beginning I endured cramps in my lower legs that were so severe, I'd have to stop completely (I couldn’t even walk) and shake out my legs until the pain became bearable enough to walk my minute and start running again. Gradually I built up my time and distance and the cramping stopped but, even so, I continually questioned my ability to build up to the point of finishing the 10 kilometer race. And yet, with a discipline and determination that surprised even myself, I stuck to my training schedule and continued running 3 times a week. Some days I even got up before work to run, which was the biggest surprise to myself. Until....

.... a little under three months later, on Sunday, September 29th, I actually completed the Lidingö Tjejloppet - 10 kilometer run. I personally think it should be called, "The Up and Down and Over-the-Hills and Through the Woods" race, but that is beside the point. It was tough. And by tough I mean probably one of the hardest things I have ever done. But I can also say that it was a truly amazing experience and something I might even do again.

A couple of things I learned along the way:

• Where there’s a will, there’s a way. 

• The body truly is stronger that the mind thinks it is.

Truer words have not been spoken. I encountered a couple of minor injuries along the road in my training. Plantar faciitis in my left foot and runner's knee in my right knee both threatened to stop me. However after speaking with runner friends and other sports enthusiasts, I learned some exercises and things I could do to alleviate the symptoms, strengthen the surrounding muscles, and allow me to keep training. 

After all of this has been said and done:

If you have even an inkling of desire to train and participate in some type of sports event, be it bicycling, running, even walking, I encourage you to start training - like now! It won’t be easy but I can guarantee that if you keep it up, the pain will go away and it will get easier. Your body will get stronger ... and so will your mind! 

I have tried running many different times in my life but due to the horrible cramping I would experience in my lower legs I just thought, “running isn’t for me,” and after a short time period I would quit. No one told me that these pains were normal and that it would take time to build up my endurance in the different muscles and tendons. No one told me to keep going, or that it would get better. Well, I am telling you...

KEEP GOING... it WILL get better! 

And send me a photo of your finish when you complete your first 5k, or 10k if you are crazy like me! 

Like Nike says, JUST DO IT.

Ps. Just one tiny event left for me to do to complete the Svenska Tjejklassik - 30 kilometers on cross-country skis. Double gulp. 

Mind Over Matter

(Tjejvättern 100k bike ride, check, three to go!)

"The things our bodies could do if our minds did not stand in the way"

Last winter, when the Svensk Tjejklassiker (Swedish Women's Classic) bug was inserted into my brain, I was hardly aware that I'd been bitten. I just went along, minding my own business, planning to merely do the Tjejvättern (100 km bike ride) and then continue living my life as normal. For those of you unaware, the Swedish Women's Classic is a four-part, physical, endurance test that must be completed within a twelve month period. It includes a 100 km bike ride, a 1 km swim, a 10 km run, and a 30 km cross-country ski. The "regular" Swedish Classic includes a 300 km bike ride, a 3 km swim, a 30 km run, and a 60 or 90 km cross-country ski. 

One of our nephews completed the "regular" Swedish Classic, or Svensk Klassiker, a couple of years ago and even then my thoughts on the whole thing were along the lines of, "Good for you!" There wasn't a bone in my body that wanted to even consider doing anything more than a long-ish bike ride. And that thought didn't really include a 100 km ride. 

So there I was at one of my naprapat visits (a naprapat is a physical therapist, chiropractor, and trainer all rolled up into one) in April, telling her my plans to do the Tjejvättern and the reason behind it. That reason being that one of my friends (K) was doing the Svensk Tjejklassiker and, upon her invitation to join her, several friends decided to do the bike ride to keep her company, have something fun and physically challenging to strive for, and essentially have "an adventure." I'm still not sure why I did not consider the fact that our training would have to commence when there was still ice on the ground. But that is beside the point.

My naprapat then, very casually, innocently even, said, "You could do the Tjejklassiker too." Me? Are you kidding? Swimming in open water? Cold, Swedish open water at that. Running 10 kilometers?! Skiing 30 km on what are essentially pieces of over-sized spaghetti strapped to my feet?! I don't think so. It was not my idea of fun. But her words stuck with me as I rode my bike home from my appointment. I mentioned it to my husband and he said, "You are going to swim in the cold, open water?" I know. It seemed crazy and impossible and even though I could barely picture myself doing this swim, something inside of me had already started planning for it. I began reasoning with myself. I could train for and run a 10 k. I could train for and ski 30 k on cross-country skis. (Wait, what?) The swimming part, maybe I was naively thinking, would be the most difficult stage. 

Up until this past week, I half-joked with myself that this was all talk and that I didn't really have to do this Tjejklassik. Up until I registered and paid the fee to enter the swim, I had given myself an out. I could just not do it. But then the words of Sonya Tayeh (dance choreographer in California) just would not release me. I don't have an exact quote but as she stood in front of the dancers who'd made it to Vegas (yes, I am referencing the TV series, So You Think You Can Dance), and they looked back at her, tired and emotional and feeling like quitting, she said: "Your body can handle a lot more than your brain thinks it can." And she continued to tell them to push themselves with everything they had, physically and emotionally. To give it their all. After listening to that from the comfort of my couch, how could I not do this measly, little, 1000-meter swim? Exactly. 

So now I am registered for this 1 kilometer swim... which takes place in just two days (Saturday, July 6th)!!! And I actually took a leap of faith that I will finish it and I registered for the Lidingö Tjejloppet 10k run as well.

It really is just a matter of taking charge of your mind. If you set your mind to it, you truly Can Do It! Just one breaststroke more, one running step more, and one ski glide further... and I am there!

Er. Mer. Gerd.

Did I really commit to this Tjejklassiker??!! 

Well, Hello There April!

My friend for the next few months.

I love the first day of the month. It always feels like a fresh start, or clean slate. Any goals that I haven't yet reached, or better yet started, can be reignited and begun again with gusto. Today's restart began with a morning run. My second of the year. And by year I mean since last spring and not January 1st. My first run of the year was just last weekend so I feel I'm off to a good start. Baby steps, right?

The real restart however was bringing my urban bike (sort of a race bike but with flat bars instead of those curly-q bars) up from the basement along with our trainer. The trainer allows me to set up my bike indoors so that I can essentially ride "in place," and thus, start my training for the 100 kilometer bike race I signed up for: the Tjejvättern. I signs up for this craziness along with four of my girlfriends, one of whom planted the idea in our heads a couple of months ago.

Am I completely crazy? Or can I, in my right mind, call it adventurous? I'm hoping for the later and especially since the farthest I've ever ridden my bike at one time was around 60 kilometers. The good part about it, as a couple of friends have wisely pointed out, is having a fitness goal to inspire and motivate me. And participating in it with friends ensures instant training partners, and lots of fun, right?

I'll get back to you on my progress. And no, unfortunately, this is not an April Fool's prank. Somehow I completely missed being an April fool, and making someone else an April fool this year. It's sort of refreshing actually.

But I have to ask, were you an April fool?