Winded

About an hour ago I returned from the pool. I met with swim coach Eric in an effort to improve my swimming. First, he asked me my goals (swim faster during triathlons and to continue swimming for general fitness/cross-training). He said that the two most important things are body position and the kick. Then he had me swim 4 lengths of the pool so he could observe and (gulp) film me. Well, here's a shocker. He said my body position is very good--nice and high, something some people spend years trying to achieve. Then he had me do some drills. They totally winded me and felt so awkward. I'm used to just swimming lap after lap after lap ... 1) "Fist drill". This was to achieve more forearm contact with the water during the pull. I had to swim lengths of the pool with my hands in fists, losing that paddle quality of the open hand and concentrate on a "fingers down" arm position. Hard work. 2) "Catch up drill". I had to have both hands/arms in front of me before taking another stroke. Again, hard work. 3) Stroke with one arm only, keeping the arm on the side that I'd breathe on, flattened to my side. Hard work, and awkward and very slow. 4) Modified Catch up Drill. Take two strokes on one side then two on the other, keeping the other arm out in front. When you do this, you kind of lurch forward with the strokes. I can't remember if he had me do any more, but it was good to get his help. I could feel the diference in the 45 minutes I was in the pool. And he said he could see the difference as well. Time well spent. He's going to do this again in 2 weeks. I think I'll go back if possible.

Eric had his arm in a sling. I asked him what that was about. He said he completely tore his biceps tendon. He was lifting and was using a different grip and it just blew. He said that the sound was like breaking uncooked spaghetti. It just sent shivers up my spine. He took his arm out of the sling and showed me the surgical scars. The lateral side of his forearm and the medial side of his elbow. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. Poor guy. He said he's going to run his first half marathon in September in Virginia. He's apprehensive. He said he's a "4 to 5 mile kinda guy". I'm sure he'll do just fine.

Judge Kevin Lund was at the pool, so I said a quick howdie to him. When I was done swimming, Dan Strain and William and Wes arrived so I chatted with Dan for a little while. His boys are little fish! He said that Wes is fearless, even in and around the water. They're 3 1/2 and 5 and doing great in the water.

Supper was a salad. Delish.

And some roasted beets and sweet potatoes.

I instigated a little surprise birthday party for tomorrow morning for a runner that many of us know and love. I just make some scones to bring along. They didn't get nice and puffy this time for some reason. But they'll probably taste OK. They're butter pecan.

This morning I ran at the Y at 5:15 with Lisa and Bruce. Mark was a no show. Again. I don't know what the deal-e-o was. Just north of 14th St/Viola Road we saw another runner and I said hi. It was still dark so didn't know who I was greeting. She caught up with us and then I had a chance to see who this zippy gal was. Mary Chestolowski!! She was hoping we were running up Viola hill. No such luck. Sorry Mary!! When Lisa and I got back to Soldier's Field, Jean and John were there so I chatted with them for a while. I ran 12.62 miles. Home by 7. Nice. Even had time to type up the LUABC meeting minutes before going to work.

After work I got my hair highlighted. I have to sit in a chair for about an hour after she pulls strands of hair through a tight cap with a crochet hook. : ) I nodded off. Just like at the dentist. Embarrasing.

When I got home, I decided I wanted to be outside but didn't think I should go biking (I'm trying to taper) so I decided to rake the yard. Boy, the grass was looking tough. Nothing green yet, and it was all matted down, much more so than usual it seems. It looks better, but it's got a ways to go. I cut back the spirea bushes too. And put a spring wreath on the front door.

Another River Runner race team gal will be running with us on Sunday at the Human Race 8K. Val!

Congrats to Running Room for having a record sales day recently! And thank you for supporting your local running store. :-)

I've now got my room at St. Scholastica for Grandma's marathon weekend. Should be a fun weekend, just as it was last year.

Get those Fetzer 20K registrations in! Price goes up $5 this weekend. If you're an RTC member and you register before Saturday, it's $18. Includes a long-sleeved T. That's a bargain these days when you can easily pay $25 to run a 5K. And I still need lots of volunteers. Please email me if you can help out with: registration, set-up, finish line, course marshals, water stops, clean-up. Thanks!

The RTC sponsors a water stop at Med-City marathon each year and we need someone to coordinate it. ASAP. Here's a note from Jean:

Urgent Request!!

We are in urgent need of someone taking on the role of RTC aid station Facilitator at MedCity Marathon this year. The Facilitator duties involve:

• seeking volunteers and working out the shifts/coverage
• arranging for the pick-up of supplies from RAFY, and possibly RTC's equipment shed (Saturday)
• setting up the station on Sunday morning
• arranging for the tear-down and return of left-over supplies & gear 

It is hard to imainge a MedCity Marathon without an RTC aid station, but that is the unfortunate position we are now in. Please consider whether you might be interested in filling this role, and/or perhaps convincing a friend or family member into participating in co-facilitating. Unfortunately-- a decision needs to be made almost immediately: RAFY has been waiting for our reply and I've committed to giving them an answer this week. 

Thank you for your consideration.

 Here are Suzanne Dinusson's photos of her cookies baked using my recipes, and her two adorable grandsons helping to bake them.

Here's a sneak peek at what'll be seen at Team R.E.D. tomorrow evening in Byron. It's going to be a hoot and a half! If you'd ever thought about joining us (The Bear's Den, 6:00), this would be good night to do so! Everyone keeps telling me to take LOTS of photos. Except Tom O' that is. : ) You won't want to miss this.

I'll close with yet another lululemon quote: "Friends are more important than money".

Until tomorrow, friends.