21st Century Mom

It isn't as good as you might think from that description but I find it sort of amusing. I have a TV in my bedroom at home. I almost never watch it. In fact, the only time I do is when we have some sort of family 'must watch this show' conflict and I choose to watch upstairs instead of in the family room.

When I get in a hotel room, however, I act like some backwater hillbilly that ain't never seen one a them ee-lectronic pitcher screens before - gollleee! Just about the second I get back to my room after a day of work I get horizontal on the bed, pick up the remote control and start surfing. I don't engage in my customary (if not compulsive) habit of reading in bed before I go to sleep - I just watch TV. I'm not afflicted with CNN disease the way I used to be but I still have a wicked case of Daisy-Duke-itis. So weird. Must be all of those fluffy pillows they put on the bed or something.

I had a most antagonistic morning at the Marriott Ontario today. First of all when I went to sleep I screwed up the 2 alarm clock and it went off a midnight sending me straight up to the ceiling where I quickly latched onto the fire sprinkler until I figure out what the hell was going on. Then at about 3:00AM the fan went off accompanied by a high pitched buzzing noise. I finally got up at about 5:00, pulled on my workout clothes and when I glanced at myself in the mirror discovered that my eyes looked like this:

Terrific.

I went down anyhow, ran a couple of miles on the treadmill at speed (9:40 for the first mile and 10:00 for the second) and then stopped because I have a 5K Saturday and I didn't want to burn out my legs.

Back I trudged to my room where I pulled of my sweaty, nasty clothes then turned on the hot water in the tub to get ready for a shower. No hot water. hmmm... tried the sink - no hot water. hmmmm... called "0" and it rang and rang and rang and I knew what they would tell me - no hot water. Terrific. I really needed to get to the office. I waited about 1/2 an hour and Yay! hot water. Showered, washed my hair, went to blow it dry and - no brush. I forgot my brush. Terrific.

Used my fingers and did the best job I could, packed up, headed for the office armed with directions from my boss. I got very close to where the office was but didn't see an exit sign with the name he gave. I kept going. The area got more and more sparse. I finally realized that there were lots of cars heading the other way (all backed up) and I was almost in Laguna Beach which is not the right place. Terrific.

Turned around and finally got to the office at about 9:30. Terrific.

On the plus side the plane left on time and I'm home and get to climb into my own bed where I will be not the least bit tempted to use the remote control.

=== Morning Update ===

1). When I looked in the mirror last night I discovered I had lost an earring. Not one I love that much but still... bummer
2). I didn't go swimming.

It's okay. Life goes on.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 10:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I also needed to save up a pot load of money as your average heli-skiing adventure runs about 5 grand. What a great idea for the newly single mother of 3 small children. It was the kind of inspiration that makes you stand up, pump your fist in the air and yell "HELL YEAH!" but not a particularly actionable one (not that I didn't try but it was truly insane).

Fortunatly I've found some less glitzy, more immediate sources of inspiration. When I trained for my first marathon I trained with Team in Training and if I got cranky and didn't think I could go the distance I would think about leukemia patients fighting for their lives, enduring chemotherapy and spending day after day hugging the porcelain goddess and praying for relief and for a cure. Up against that scenario my lousy 8 mile run didn't seem like such a big deal. Absent the daily reminder of those who suffer I look to those who show up and go the distance.

When I finally managed to get to the pool after I got back from Peru I found one of the lanes festooned with silver and purple helium balloons tied about every 5 feet along the lane lines. I generally refer to the lane that was decorated as Frieda's lane because every single day at 5:30 AM Frieda shows up at the pool and takes ownership of half that lane. If she isn't there and hasn't mentioned to anyone that she will be out of town we all worry. The balloons were there to recognize and celebrate Frieda's 90th birthday.

Frieda started swimming in her early 60s. A few years later she went to Israel for a visit, entered a swim competition and took 10 gold medals. She has them framed and on display in her house. Frieda doesn't just show up - she gives it her all.

She is steadfast and dedicated and as I already said, she shows up and swims at the very least every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday - without fail. When we swim short course she gets 1/2 a lane to herself and I used to try to bust a move out on to the deck so I could have the other half and swim at my own pace. Fortunately for me Frieda has invited a friend who has usurped my lane of sloth. When I swim there it tends to bring out the lazy in me because I don't have to work to keep the pace. But I digress.

When I feel the intensified gravitational pull of my bed and think about how I am more tortoise than dolphin and I just don't want to swim I think about Freida and about how dedicated she is and about how hard she works. I think about her very late start in the sport and her early accomplishments. It makes it pretty hard to justify "I don't feel like it".

Sometimes I wonder why I bother swimming and running and cycling and entering organized events when I am such a no talent slow poke. I can only compete against myself because I just don't have the athletic prowess needed to be a competitive Age Grouper. It just isn't going to happen and so I often wonder why make the effort at all?

I do it so I'm not just another middle-aged Moms jean wearing, barrel shaped, matron, unable to climb a flight of stairs without getting winded. I do it so that today, tomorrow and when I'm 90 I can still be experiencing my vitality, not my decrepitude. I do it because not doing it feels like giving in. I do it to set achievable goals and then bask in self-satisfaction when I succeed. I do it to learn to appreciate my effort whether or not I meet my goals and to learn to stop trashing myself when I don't. I do it to get high on myself and so I can eat pizza once in a while without freaking out about it. I do it so I can work on getting better, not older.

How about you?

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 10:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)

We started with 6x25 3 times. The first 6 on the 35, second 6 on the 30 and third 6 on the 25. Then we did what was truly a group effort set. We had to swim/kick/pull 400 yds (our choice) followed by a 200. This was repeated 3 times but we had to descend the 200 every time and that had to be our total lane time, from when the first person left until the last person came in.

This is unique in that usually when you do a descending set it is all about you and you alone. If someone in the lane is not into descending then that is his or her prerogative as long as they don't get in the way. To make all swimmers bust a move is different. Different in a good way.

I can't really do it. I'm pretty sure I have low lung capacity so as the workout goes on I become increasingly unable to speed up. I tried like hell, though, and I don't think I was the limiting factor. There was a woman behind me and I wasn't exactly in her way. We collectively descended 6 seconds from the first 200 to the 2nd but came in even on the third.

I was going to go for a run after swimming but was beset with Thanksgiving sloth. Then we went to see Happy Feet (cute with liberal political overtones) and then had dinner with the kid's Dad's parents and 2 of his sisters. It was a great day.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 10:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

2). I lost my glasses the other day and have to buy a new pair and I wear progressive lenses that are very expensive – boo!

3). I love the Internets which is allowing me to purchase new glasses (the exact ones I lost) for $270 instead of the $478 they would cost elsewhere.

4). My arms are sore from swimming but it hurts so good

5). I joined the local Race Club today and I’m looking forward to being a part of a group of people who race even if I will be one of the slow ones.

6). I decided to sign up for Wildflower (Olympic Distance). I hope I get a slot.

Last but best is this. I love Thanksgiving. It is a holiday unburdened by any agenda other than getting together with family and friends and eating a lot of really great food and counting our blessings. I’m feeling particularly blessed this year as I do just about every year. I have 3 fantabulous children, we are all healthy, we are all well supported financially either by our own labors (Go Humbly Ann!) or by mine, and we love each other. Our family is about to grow by 1 (Go Humbly Ann!) and we all love my soon to be son in law and those of us who have met the rest of his family love them, too. I see large, fun, extended family gatherings in our future.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in blogland – may your own accounting of blessings make you smile. And that goes for you Canadians, as well.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 06:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Stay tuned - it's coming.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 10:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I have teeny writsts so the shape of the 301 is fine with me. What I need to know is if you think the signal is better and is the 305 waterproof enough that you can wear it while swimming in open water.

If you have any ideas please let me know. I've read a few reviews but it still isn't clear to me.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 10:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (15)

I don't know about you but winter is not my favorite time of year. Some of you claim that you like running in the snow. When I read that my head screams "OH SURE - SURE YOU DO!" And you might. I don't like running when it is 40 out so I have a little trouble relating.

Swimming in the winter is nice. Even when my car is wearing a crust of frost and I know I'll be high stepping across a very cold deck to grab a board and a pull buoy before I can jump in the heated water I don't mind. I love steam coming off the pool surface and the silky feel of the water.

Cycling is another matter, though. Just about wherever you are, winter means riding in the trainer and I hate the trainer. It always feels like my groin is in a vice grip and it's really hard to watch a movie or listen to a book and really focus on form and cadence. No scenery, no real hills, no entertainment at all - just hard work and for someone as lazy as me that means really, really hard work.

This guy seems to have cracked this problem by coming up with something new and different. He isn't using a trainer - he is on rollers. Check it out and tell me how soon you intend to try this little training trick (requires Windows Media Player. Click on image to show video).

Alrighty then - get ready, get set - GO!

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 05:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Anyhow, I was sent a complimentary jar of Accelerade and 2 packs of Accelgel - right about when I stopped running regularly. I did use the Accelerade for some bike rides and as a recovery drink from a couple of runs and I liked it. It tastes good, it didn't make me sick and I think it really helped. In fact, it's too bad I forgot about it these last 2 weeks because I am very sore from swimming so much and I believe that if I had consumed Accelerade regularly on returning from the pool I would feel better.

I did use the Accelgel during the Nike Half Marathon and I love it. It tastes good, goes down easy (no gagging and that is HUGE for me), gave me energy and did not make me sick.

I give the Accel products 2 thumbs up. If they don't carry them at your local running/bike/swim/tri store you can get them here or here.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 06:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

1). My arms are killing me! This rapid increase in swimming time has me oh so sore but it's a good thing I'm doing it because:

2). Sharkfest! Our intrepid friend and 90+ something triathlon finisher Fe-Lady somehow got me to sign up for Sharkfest! What that means is that next June 10 I will ride a ferry out to Alcatraz Island, pull on a wet suit, jump into the 58 degree, murky waters of the San Francisco Bay and swim back to Bakers Beach. Have I ever told you the one about how I am terrified of fish? This should be interesting. I'd say I did it so I could meet Fe-Lady but I live here so I could have done that, anyhow. If I drown or get eaten by a shark you know who to blame :-)

3). 5K - I need to run a 5K to get a current 5K time. The only one I ever I ran was in 1997 and it took me 38:23. I could beat that time tomorrow by quite a bit. Imagine what I can do with a little speed work training. I love getting better instead of older.

4). Lance! I'd like to thank Lance Armstrong for saying that running the NY Marathon was the hardest thing he had ever done as an athlete. When asked if he would do it again he quipped "Now's not the time to ask that question. The answer now is no, I'll never be back. But I reserve the right to change my mind," he said. "I don't know how these guys do it."

Anyone taking bets on how long it will take him to get over the pain of NY and decide to actually train properly and run another one? His original goal was 2:30. I give him 2 months, max. Or maybe he'll decide to do an IM. That is also a possibility and one I rather like.

5). A thank you to the BlogFather of the RBF and now CRN - Mark. Mark did a post on his training in which he said he would do his long runs at 70% of his max heart rate and short runs at 80%. I wrote him and said that was daft - too hard! He wrote back and explained that it was actually taking it easy. I looked at my own history with the HRM and realized that according to the (inaccurate) age - 220 rule my max is about 169. I usually run at about 150. That would be a little over 90% effort. No wonder I get burned out early and can't negative split. I'm going to try actually slowing down to speed up. I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

6). Wedding Plans - Humbly Ann and I are working on floor plans for the wedding. She submitted this one with a little note:

"The fourth one is you and me at the end of the party on the ground because we are tired and drunk. It's a little blurry - but we will be too."

If you need any child rearing advice you know who to call.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 06:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

I think I've mentioned before that one of my volunteer endeavors (the only one these days) is with an organization called CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates). A CASA (as we are known) acts as an advocate for a child in the foster care system. It's sort of a Big Sister/Big Brother on steroids deal where you spend time with the child and make sure he or she is getting all appropriate services. It's a great thing to do.

The child I advocate for lives about 20 miles from me and the best way to get there is by traveling a road that has a lot of watershed land on one side and a couple of reservoirs on the other. It is very dark and windy - as in it has a lot of curves although it can be windy, too.

As I was driving home tonight I thought to myself, "I should really watch for deer" and I did. I scanned the land to the left and to the right searching for the glint of eyeballs. I watched my speed but it is a fairly fast road and the limit is 50 so I was doing 50. I had an SUV somewhat on my tail (do they ever drive any other way?). And then, just like that, as I am scanning for deer, a large, dark body pops out on my left and tears across the road as though all of my good thoughts and precautions conjured it out of the woods. I slammed on the breaks and heard the screech of rubber sticking to the asphalt. I knew enough not to crank the wheel to the left although I really wanted to. I thought everything was okay and the deer was moving fast enough to clear the car and then BAM! Ugh. But the deer kept right on moving.

I turned on my signal and pulled over to the right and the SUV sped past. Could the driver really have missed that? Or did the person just not care? After turning on the emergency flashers and pulling on the brake I got out of the car and looked behind me and saw nothing. I checked out the car and it is okay except for some broken lights. You might think all was well but the car is a tank and has honest to goodness bumpers made of rubber and steel. That poor animal must surely have suffered a broken leg.

I had no idea what to do so I drove off. I feel small and mean and horrible and somewhat filled with dread because I will be driving this road every week for the foreseeable future. Is hitting a deer like being hit by lightening? Does it only happen once? If I did conjure the thing up out of the woods can I protect myself by refusing to think about deer when I drive? If you hit a deer do they reserve a special chair for you in hell? I hope not.

=====
Morning update -
I was thinking about this after swimming today and I realized that if I hadn't been on deer alert I would probably have nailed that animal broadside and been rear ended and it would have been very, very ugly. So I will always think about deer on that road and I may just slow down a bit at night. If that makes SUV drivers unhappy then so be it.

And on another note - It's a great day to be a Democrat. And we finally have a woman as Speaker of the House. Yes!!!

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 09:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

We fly out of Lima after learning that you don't get to leave Lima without paying a tax. They have a sort of exit tax/usage fee for leaving the city. I think it's kind of brilliant. The flight is uneventful and short and we are soon in a completely different city.

Cuzco is at about 11,000 feet so it is important to take it easy when you first arrive. Our hotel was on the main square and we were thrilled to find that there was a parade going on. The occasion was a celebration of the Rosary Virgin. I was so happy to have a 1G chip in my digital because there were so many great shots! (click on the thumbnail to see a bigger image)

That is but a few. I'll open up the whole album if I ever when I get through these travels.

We watched the parade for a long time then went exploring and discovered that you can't swing a dead cat in Cuzco without someone trying to sell you something. Stuff to buy abounds. People walk along the street selling artwork (Senora - I painted this myself), all of which looks alike. Kids sell postcards. Little girls in native dress carry around baby alpacas and let you take their picture for a sole (about 35 cents).

That evening we look in the Lonely Planet guide for somewhere to eat and discover The Fallen Angel which is a very cool restaurant. You have to knock to get in the door and when you do you find that they have created tables using claw foot tubs filled with rocks and water and goldfish and covered with heavy glass. There are bed like couches covered in pillows for seating. Out in the courtyard is a spectacular sculpture of a fallen angel. The food was fabulous. I had pumpkin ravioli that was to die for.

We really wanted to wander the city and trip the light fantastic but alas we were acclimating to altitude and needed our beauty sleep. It was a blessedly quiet and car alarm free night.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 08:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

That is in stark contrast to this morning's run which I took after swimming 2000 yards. Went out there wearing my HRM, my Garmin and my iPod. I really should have had an antennae sticking out of the top of my head to complete the outfit.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 08:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

After we finished looking at the art in the museum we caught another one of Lima's amazing cabs and headed back to our hotel and then out for dinner. We had read about a restaurant somewhere near Kennedy Square so we headed that way. We couldn't find it but I did spot this cool sculpture inside of a fenced in yard

We ended up in some touristy restaurant but the food was okay and we were seated outside so we were happy. What was better was that there was an art festival going on . After we finished eating we walked around looking at the artwork and the stuff for sale and then we noticed a crowd of people and heard music.

I wish stuff like this happened in the States. I haven't seen anything like it since I was kid growing up in Ohio and we had the whole town out square dancing on Wednesday nights.

We walked toward the music and found a small amphitheater. There was a band playing and it was open mike for the audience as far as I could tell. A man came up to the mic and started speaking and a woman came down from the audience. She was very short and in 4 inch heels which she removed. There was a lot of shuffling around and finally another man handed her a hanky. The band struck up a tune, a woman took the mic and started singing and this lone woman started doing a dance with the hanky. Then a man joined her and the did the hanky dance which they clearly both knew, together. I didn't get the impression that they had a prior relationship - the relationship was formed on the spot because they both wanted to dance. They were having the time of their lives and so was the audience.

When they got done the MC said something in the mic (sorry, I don't speak Spanish so I had no idea what he was saying), another man took the mic, talked for a few minutes and then the band started playing what must have been a traditional and well known song and the man started singing. Members from the audience got up, found a partner and start dancing. Everyone knew the songs and the dances. This process was repeated over and over, with a different person taking the mic each time and people switching partners.

It was fantastic. People did this unabashedly and without agenda beyond having fun. I didn't see anyone who looked uncomfortable or like they felt threatened or anything. It was just sheer joy. One lady in a raincoat unbuttoned it and holding the edges of her coat demurely like it was a poofy ball gown swung left to right as though she were at the Queen's Ball at the Ritz. I enjoyed it so much I took a movie of it on my camera but it came out too dark to see. I'm going to see if I can get someone to lighten it up and then I'll post it. Those Peruvians really know how to move their hips!

We watched for quite a while and then headed back to the hotel to try to sleep. The car alarms and horns were even worse than the night before but we managed.

On Saturday we went to the Museo National which has a comprehensive history of the country. Very few of the plaques describing what we were seeing were in English but some were and it was most informative. What I liked most is that there were many groups of school children on field trips. I guess in Peru you do your basics Monday through Friday and have field trip day on Saturday. The kids were adorable and very attentive.

The afternoon was spent just sort of wandering around. We went back to the art festival and each bought a small watercolor. I think we turned in early and spent yet another night fighting to sleep through the noise. We were ready to head to the next place - Cusco.

To be continued (sorry to drag this out but I'm off to the beach for the weekend!)

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 04:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I had to take my son over to where he wisely left his car last night because he had a couple of beers at a party. He got a ride home (good boy!). After I dropped him off and was on my way back I stopped at a stop sign and saw a woman coming up to my car looking sort of frantic. She was in a suit, holding a cup of Starbucks coffee (which was odd because I was in a residential neighborhood) and a tote bag. I rolled the window down and she said, "Excuse me - could you give me a ride to BART if it isn't out of your way? You can drop me at the corner. I came out to catch a bus but I missed it and I'm already late."

Whoa! I thought that was just so odd. Who asks strangers for a ride these days? On the other hand I am a small woman in an older Volvo Wagon so I guess I don't exactly present as the trailside strangler. I said, "sure" and she got in. In that moment I remembered Wednesday in the Aadams family all "dressed up" for Halloween but wearing her regular clothes. When someone at school asked her what she was gong as she said, "I'm a serial killer. They look like everyone else."

My passenger was very flustered and had a lot of stuff to deal with but I asked her to please put her seatbelt on and she did. She told me again about how late she was and then proceeded to give me step by step directions as though I had no idea where I was. Little Wednesday's face kept floating through my head but as long as she didn't pull a gun out of her purse we were okay.

The whole experience was very weird but I guess she really was just late and frantic and figured I was a safe bet. I dropped her off at the station and went on my way.

2). I have a new ambition for March.
I was reading the forums over at RaceAthlete and coach Mike Ricci told IronPol to improve his swimming by swimming every day in November. That reminded me of how important it is to spend a lot of time in the water if you want to get faster so I decided I'd adopt that plan, too. I won't quite make it every day but I am going to try to swim no fewer than 5 days a week. My masters group has 5 workouts a day M - Th, 4 on Friday and 1 on Saturday. I'm not going to even attempt to swim Sunday because whereas IronPol must answer to God on Sunday, I must answer to my riding group, the New York Times and the San Francisco Chronicle. No time to swim. I will report my time improvement early in December. I know there will be one because swimming is entirely unnatural and there is no way to get faster other than to swim a lot. Working on technique makes a big difference but if you don't swim a lot the big difference isn't nearly as big.

3). I'm going to get back to my tales of Peru.
I didn't even get us to my second day yet. Stay tuned.

4). Go IMFL racers.

Special Go, go, go to Nancy Toby and to Bold. We're with you, people!!

ps - if you haven't read Bold's 'Final Thoughts' post go read it right now. The man has more grace and humility than Ghandi. Sersly. What an inspiration.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 07:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)