3 Sisters 7 Days

I’m with Terri. Hiring a running coach aside, there’s likely no way to increase our chances of qualifying for the Boston Marathon other than cross-training. Not only were we just plain burned out by “just” running during our training for the 2010 San Diego Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon, but I also suffered the onset of iliotibial (IT) band pain. Certainly, cross-training will help to develop muscles oft-neglected by running exclusively, and – hopefully – prevent (additional) injury. It will also combat boredom in what promises to be yet another long, hot summer.

Terri has taken up mountain biking and bike commuting. Although my current “recovery and training” plan include biking, my tack is a little different. I’m just going “back” to how I trained for my previous marathons: biking to work as often as possible, walking nearly as many miles as I run, practicing yoga daily, rock-climbing, and getting in the pool on most of the truly hot afternoons.

Bicycle commuting: In addition to reducing the stress on my joints, generally, riding to campus and back will require me to use overlapping sets of muscles in distinct ways to help limit my chances of injury.

Balancing walking and running: Amounts to “time on my feet.” I’d just tried doubling my workouts a couple of times before my IT band started hurting, but I like the idea of increasing my cardiovascular conditioning and running economy by getting more workout in each week than there are days. For now, one of my “runs” is a fast-paced walk.

Yoga: Without it, I’d be even less balanced. In addition to increasing the frequency and duration of my practice, I’ve incorporated asanas that stretch the IT band – Pigeon, Reclining Hand Foot Pose, Square Pose – and strengthen the core.

Rock Climbing: While climbing doesn’t have a direct impact on running, it’s a great way to improve the mental fitnessmental fitness long-distance running requires.

Swimming: Another low-impact route to cardiovascular fitness and alternative way to build upper body strength. I haven’t been able to find an adult class that suits both my budget and my schedule, so I’ve been swimming pretty sad looking laps at the community pool while  kids SPLASH and play nearby.

Two weeks into it, I’m on a roll.

Okay, Juli and I have convinced ourselves that there is NO OTHER WAY to increase our running abilities than to cross train.  We can’t imagine adding anymore running miles to our training log. Seriously, I think we are exhausted just thinking about running more to do better in our marathons. Our solution is to cross train and develop “other” muscles.

So, yesterday I had this amazing idea to go actual mountain biking.  Right now, I use my mountain bike mostly for road riding and groomed dirt trails.  I actually thought mountain biking could be fun…WRONG!  First of all, the bike I am using is one step up from a Huffy you can get at Target.  Add to that, I don’t know how to use the gears; my back brake doesn’t work; and the thing is so heavy.  I didn’t know it was so heavy until I found myself carting the bike around up and down rocks and boulders for most of the ride.  I was more exhausted from the 4 mile bike ride than running 13 miles!  We couldn’t even do the whole trail because I just couldn’t do it.  I was ready to leave the bike behind and run the trail.  It was so bad…I just wasn’t prepared.

I have a whole new outlook on people who mountain bike; they are intense and extremely fit.  I mean, I just ran 26.4 miles at a pretty decent pace but I couldn’t mountain bike 4 miles! Now I’m torn; I have tried an activity that I didn’t enjoy because I it killed me. Do I continue and prove to myself that I can do it? Or do I give up and stick to road and groomed trails? It’s a little more expensive to get better, considering I’ll have to buy a new bike. (My current bike is now retired from ALL real mountain biking.)

Maybe this summer will be road-riding and trail running. Next summer – mountain biking.  I don’t know. My mind changes daily and sometimes hourly. We’ll see what happens next.

Allow me to preface my remarks with I know it may be illegal to ride a bike on the sidewalk in California. And I realize that, according to the Riverside, CA Municipal Code Section 10.64.310, “no person shall ride on a sidewalk” unless authorized. That’s not the point.

What is? The raging lunatic of an old woman who verbally attacked me and my daughter this morning because we scared her poodle when we rode past her on the sidewalk.

On Tuesdays, I park at a shopping center near campus, and my children and I bike the rest of the way to my building. Because a center divider makes it impossible to turn left out of the parking lot, we ride the roughly 75 feet – max – between where I park in the morning and the nearest signal. We cross at that point, and ride the rest of the way into campus.

We have NEVER had a problem.

This morning, we found ourselves following an older woman, who was walking a shaggy, golden brown poodle. Naturally, we slowed way down. In fact, I was dragging a foot on the ground as I scooted to the signal. Then the woman looked over her shoulder and side-stepped onto the grass that borders the sidewalk in the manner of many a pedestrian who has stepped aside to let a faster walker, runner, or bicyclist pass. So we did.

Wrong move, apparently. The shaggy poodle jumped, and then turned to paw on the woman’s sweat pant – clad leg. The woman exploded: “Get off the sidewalk … *%@*%! Don’t you know you’re supposed to ride in the street, idiot!” I’d passed her, so she was effectively yelling at my daughter. Under the circumstances, her reaction and language were entirely unwarranted, and unacceptable.

I stopped then, got off my bike, and attempted to apologize for startling the woman, before explaining that I didn’t appreciate her language. But this woman would not stop. “It’s illegal, you know, to ride on the sidewalk…bikes belong in the street…” Way past any interest on my part in apologizing, I tried to explain that we were not “riding on the sidewalk” and would have reached the signal and been across the street already, if not for her tirade. Tried is key here. She just kept on, and her language only deteriorated.

Unable to get a word in edge-wise, I ended my role in the conversation with “Don’t blame us because your stupid dog jumped on you.” She turned left at the corner where we went right across the street. She was still going: “It’s illegal to ride on the sidewalk, you *%@% stupid idiot…You’d be sorry if you hurt me or my dog…I’d see you in court *%@%…”

Current research on “post menopausal” women suggests that they become less bitchy with age. Maybe so, but not if they’re raving mad.

I’ve always considerd “training” to be a perfect time for daydreaming. Not anymore.

I really thought I’d mastered the whole clipless pedal system thing. Honestly, I couldn’t remember the last time I panicked as a I twisted my heel outward to release the cleat on the bottom of my riding shoe from bicycle pedal. In fact, I had become so accustomed to the traffic flows around campus that frequently found myself drifting off into my own thoughts between signals.

Yesterday, I was so completely lost in my own thoughts – about a climbing expedition I have in mind for my honors students – that I just pulled up between my son (on his bike) and the curb and stopped at a red light. For a second or two, I simply forgot to release my shoe and put my foot on the ground. By the time I realized what I’d forgotten, it was too late.

I literally just fell over. My right ankle turned inward so that the outside of my foot and ankle was crushed into the pavement under the full weight of my bike and me! The inside of my ankle slid into and along the front derailleur, tearing it up pretty badly. Although my “accident” was really painful, and it hurt to walk afterward, I thought it was “nothing.” My mistake.

My ankle is actually bruised and swollen on both sides and it was STILL painful today – so much so that I opted to walk instead of run today (in preparation for the Nike Marathon in San Francisco). I remain optimistic about tomorrow, but am seriously re-thinking daydreaming as a sure way out of the monotony of training in So. California during the summer’s peak temperatures.

“Mom, I know what we need!” Quentin, a.k.a. “the Human Torch” exclaimed as we turned off what must the THE HOTTEST third of our ride home from campus, into a shaded neighborhood along a nearby arroyo. Note: it was AT LEAST 100 degrees out and I was nowhere near inclined to chat.

“Mom?!”

“Yes.”

“Bicycle misters! That’s what we need.”  On the verge of ecstasy whenever a froghopper (you know, those insects that secrete anal fluid like rain from trees) chanced to “poop” on me, believe me, he had my attention.

“Great idea,” I said, already seeing a small fan on my handle bars spraying a light, gentle mist over my face, chest, and upper arms. “It could be pedal-powered.”

“No Mom,” Torch responded, exasperated. “Then it wouldn’t work when we stop at lights…It would have to be solar powered.”

Right. The kid’s a genius. And not far off the mark.

There actually are mist cooled bike paths in Qatar: a 35-kilometer mist cooled, covered network of cycling paths.

I am so ready for that

I have been meaning to start cross training as opposed to just running. I have been envious of Juliann for quite some time as she now commutes to campus via two wheels and three tag along kids. Wow, just amazing…bike and watch kids at the same time.

Anyway, I have already convinced myself that I need a new hybrid bicycle for all the commuting that will take place in the coming months. It just makes sense; by getting a new bike, I can save on gas, improve air quality, and do some cross training! I have been pondering this perfect idea for at least six weeks and I have taken my bike for a ride twice, including yesterday since this brilliant idea.  Yesterday was the day for my cross training to begin…or should I say cross dressing.

Since my brain functions best when thinking about clothes and figuring out what is the best outfit to wear in every activity, my mind started wondering… I was a stop light (a very long one) and I started to dissect my choice of outerwear. First of all, I was wearing a running skort with no padded butt, so not good for biking; I was wearing a champion tank that is great for any sport, a light blue snowboarding helmet, running shoes, and a camelbak designed for hiking (you know for the essentials)! And I was riding a mountain bike for my commute through urban Colorado Springs. I couldn’t help wondering if any of the people in the cars were thinking, What is she doing in such a hodgepodge outfit?  Just pick a sport and stick with it!”

I think I just proved to myself that I do need the hybrid bicycle with the matching helmet and a padded skort…we can’t have me biking around looking like I don’t know what I am doing, can we?

I’m off for my second day of commuting; we will see how the outfit fares today.

I used to just get on my bike and ride – to school, to work, to the movies (bike dates in college were the best!). Not anymore. Bicycle commuting today is an adventure.

Three weeks into it, here’s what I’ve learned:

• Bike shorts save your ass! Completlely worth the hassle of changing once I get to campus. I’m the only one of us willing to wear technical clothing, and the only one who doesn’t routinely complain about a sore backside.
• “Ponytail holder” is a must. The ONE day I forgot mine, I was miserable – hair in my face, hot neck, and the feeling of sweat trickling down my back the whole way home in 90+ degrees. Yuck!
• Cleats do make riding more efficient, but you HAVE TO release your foot from the pedal BEFORE trying to put it on the ground. Failure to do so got me a skinned right knee.
• It’s the followers, not the leaders, you have to worry about. I bring up the rear in our bike “train” and count on my younger children to follow their big brother. Unfortunately, they haven’t mastered “follow the leader” yet. They STOPPED right in front of me at a GREEN light. No, I couldn’t release my foot in time and…just fell over. (That’s where I got my “matching” skinned left knee.)
• “Slower commute” buys time. Although it actually takes longer to get to campus by bike than by car, I have become PUNCTUAL. I never allowed enough time for traffic, but beating the 7:15 AM train has provided sufficient motivation to get us out the door by 6:30 AM.
• It can be really difficult to out pace an angry “guard” dog. Poor Parker. I thought he was going to wet himself when a shepherd mix practically jumped onto his back when he rode up into HIS (the dog’s) driveway to avoid falling. He (again, that dog) ran beside us nearly a full city block!
• A single water cage is not enough. I’ve learned why you might want cages on handle bars AND cup holders on trunk bags.
• Don’t skimp on the sunscreen. If I miss a spot, it’s bright red in under half and hour. But you know it’s bad when an eight-year-old BOY voluntarily douses himself in Bullfrog Marathon before going out.
• (Heat) exhaustion is an antidote for insomnia…er, late night television. 12+ miles biking in the heat here in Riverside, CA, and even I am out by 11 PM. The kids are asleep by 9 PM and I don’t know when I’m going to watch everything I’ve tivo’d.

Maybe it’s the heat, the hills (one BIG one each way!), the distance, or just adding kids to the mix…but commuting NOW seems so much more complicated than I remember. I can’t help agreeing with Parker when he tells – as we pass “our” $1.13 million home about a mile or so from campus – “If we lived here, we’d be home already” .

Although more of the world’s workers ride their bikes to work than drive themselves there, most bicycle commuters in the United States are male and do not have children at home. I suppose that makes me an oddity of sorts.

Although I biked in Los Angeles as well as in very bike-friendly Davis, California while I was going to college, it’s taken me a while to resume commuting after moving to the COLD northeastern United States and becoming a mother. Once I returned to California, weather was much less of an issue. But the “kid problem” multiplied from two toddlers I couldn’t imagine hauling all the way to preschool, before continuing on to campus, to four children between four and 14, who nearly always have something going on in the afternoon.

A month ago, summer school (I’m teaching; the kids ARE NOT attending) presented an opportunity for family commuting that I couldn’t pass up. It seemed so perfect…the “big kids” and I could drop Olivia at her summer program and ride the remaining 6.5 miles on to campus, reversing our route in the afternoon. We did have to purchase a couple of road-worthy bikes so that we could “take” the hills here in Western Riverside county, and Parker, who’s been riding a one-speed BMX bike, could keep up. But otherwise, we had everything we needed.

Our first day was rough. We left late, didn’t know exactly where we were going, and carried way too much – though we didn’t have enough water or a band aid for Parker’s knee. He fell off a curb and crashed, blood “gushing” down his shin…yeah, right. (If YOU want to avoid our folly, check out this Quick Primer on How to Ride Your Bike to Work at Lighter Footstep. Paul Dorn provides more extensive advice on his Commuting Tips page.)

It’s now the end of the week and I think we just about have it. I’d like to improve our time, but just getting back and forth without the WHINING I endured on Monday is fantastic. I actually had to demand that the kids NOT say, “Mommy, stoooooop!” another time. Honestly, I passed them going uphill; I didn’t “desert” them. “I’ll wait at the top of the hill,” I explained over and over.

I knew that commuting would help us all stay fit, reduce auto-related costs, and – eventually – increase and improve family time. What I didn’t realize was how much the kids would appreciate their INDEPENDENCE. While I’m teaching, they can go just about anywhere on campus, see a movie or get lunch at University Village (yeah, just about every college has one), or go rock-climbing at a nearby gym. Going to campus with mom has gained a whole new cache.

Maybe there’s hope. I can see it: “New Trend in Mommy Groups: Family Commuting.” There are already KidzTandem bikes inspired by the SUV’s much-coveted seating and cargo space available for commuting with children. Check out these and other commuter bikes. You too CAN “Bike Your Ride.”

A week ago, I was helping my two “biggest” kids prepare for weekend trips – my son was packing for a  Boy Scout backpacking trip in preparation for Philmont this summer, and my daughter was leaving for a Girl Scout camping trip – awaiting a dear friend and colleague’s arrival, and looking forward to a more or less quiet weekend with just the two “littler” kids. Today, I slept in, in part because it was already too HOT to run when I first woke up at 6:21 AM, which prompted me to pull the covers over my head and go back to sleep. I’m sitting here sunburned and STILL sleepy, with my head spinning.

Why? Well, the sunburn is easy. I’ve spent 10+ hours biking, running, and climbing since Sunday.

The sleepiness is a little more complicated. In addition to the high level of physical activity this week, and co-managing (with my spouse) the daily activities of four busy children – the most dramatic of whom has been hobbling around on crutches since spraining an ankle rock-climbing on Monday – I’ve been working again for the first time since our brother, Craig, died at the end of March. While the normalcy of the work day – for me, that consists of mentoring students, writing grants and managing research, and writing – IS distracting, even soothing, it’s also maddening.

It hit me Sunday, just as I was purchasing my new bike – a much longed-for Marin Terra Linda street bike that I’ll be able to use for commuting a couple of times a week. “We buried Craig a month ago today.” Nothing will ever be “normal” again. I think I’ve been “running” ever since.

In contrast to my last bout with this adrenaline enhanced exhaustion during the week just after Craig died, now I KNOW that he’s “here.” (In fact, I swear I felt him grinning when a friend admired HIS gear, which we used climbing yesterday at the Riverside Quarry.) Yet knowing that still makes me cry, rather than smile, and I can’t imagine EVER getting used to ache in the pit of my stomach.

I never knew that loss could be so physically, as opposed to emotionally, painful. No wonder I’m running.