My Gym, My Community: Time for a Change?

I spent my flight home from Baltimore (great trip, btw!) catching up on all the articles I clipped from Brian's Triathlete magazine reference library we recently pitched (correction: I made him pitch). As you can see in the photo on the left, we had a few set aside as permanent reading material in the master bathroom. They dated back to 2005, which makes me laugh but really did allow me to go have my choice of articles to save to read now that I'm a more serious triathlete.

Note the words "more serious," as in "more serious than I was before." Newbies and sprint distance triathletes can definitely take away a lot of good information from the magazine on everything from sample workouts to exercise physiology. But make no mistake that the core audience is die-hard triathletes, many who do 70.3s and Ironmans.

A normal sentence in Triathlete might read, "After your morning workout, make sure to eat plenty of protein to help your body recover. That way, by the time you get to your evening set, you'll still have energy left to burn." Another favorite sentiment: "After an intense hour and a half of working out, it's good to stretch before jumping into your final run."

Hah! 1) I only have one formal workout a day, thank you very much, and 2) Who has enough time to spend hours at the gym? I'm there for 1 hr. 15 min. during the week (all my sched and gym's opening time allows) and about 2 hours when I can be on the weekends. I could go longer on the weekends but usually am happy with that amount and have stuff to do!

So I glean what I can from the magazine, and it is a good one. I got through about 10 articles on my flight home, and I walked off the plane pumped to take my training to the next level. I really hate keeping tabs on sets, so "stepping it up" for me, Sara, who has a life and doesn't want triathlon to eat up all my free time, would be to increase the time I spend at the gym. And that would mean switching gyms.

Horrors! I heart my gym. I know the people there, and they know me. By name. Sometimes we smile and nod. Sometimes we chat about an exercise class, or an injury, or a race. Regardless, they're all nice people, and it's my third community (work and friends/family being the other two). I've built up a relationship over the three years with it and the thought of letting it go troubles me. And not just b/c of the people, but the facilities. The building's old -- the locker rooms are spotless but have permanent dirt marks that don't impress -- but exercise equipment is new. The spin bikes are nicer than most gyms'. The core workout equipment is awesome. And the vibe is down-to-earth; we do not have a problem with cell phones or people who wear makeup to workout. 

If you belong to my gym, you're nice, you appreciate diversity and you're there to workout. The sense of community is a major bonus.

But the truth is, it's holding me back on my training, and every time I get a surge of energy from a Triathlete article, I struggle to fit the tips into my routine: Because of the limited lap swim time in the pool, I can't swim whenever I want. Because it only opens at 5:30 a.m., I can't tack on an extra 20 min. to add something new -- I do have to make it to work on time, after all. My evening availability is limited and doesn't allow me to commit to a workout routine, so I pretty much have to keep it to mornings.

The other gym I'm considering -- Brian's gym -- is more expensive. The people tend to be a snottier. It's all well-off white people and a ton of kids. And while there def. are some nice people there, the overall vibe isn't one I like. It would however accommodate my schedule, including swim and cycle flexibilities. That's huge when you're trying to excel at three sports while incorporating others.

Is it time to give up my gym? Brian's told me to give him the word to tack me on to his plan. It's up to me to make the call.

Off to Maryland!

I'm off to Maryland today! And as of 3:15 p.m., all's a go. That's different than what I saw at 8 this morning when I went to check in for my flight. The Web site said the flight was canceled. The agent on the phone said it's not -- and I did get to check in. Crossing fingers.

I can't wait to introduce Brian to some of my closest friends in college and have him see my amazing alma mater. (Many of my college friends are guy friends; in their words, they can't wait to see him -- and "make sure he's worthy." Brian has nothing to worry about! But that said, I like the big brotherly feeling from my friends' looking out for me.)

I can't wait to walk campus and see what it looks like now that it's double in size. (This will likely cause shock.)

I can't wait for Maryland crab cakes.(And Old Bay!)

I can't wait to just get there!

I've been trying to organize how to see the most people in my short three day trip while not planning every group get together to be one of 15 people. Slight exaggeration, but not by that much; it's been years since I've seen many of the people I lived and breathed college with, and we're all pumped to see each other.

I won't get to see everyone, but I've built in some quality visits, as well as some downtime. Forecasts calls for rain all day, so let's hope it delays. A rainy homecoming is NOT fun.

Marathon Spirit

The Chicago Marathon's a beautiful thing, especially when it's not 85 degrees a la 2007. I watched my first one in 2006 near the finish line and was blown away at how uplifting it was. This year, Brian and I trekked nearby to try to get a glimpse of our neighbor Marty en route to complete his first. We never saw him, but when you're watching thousands of runners fly by -- they were still flying at mile 7.5 -- spanning a wide street (Addison), it's difficult. We didn't plan as we should have either; telling him where we'd be and finding out what he'd wear would've helped.

That said, I got psyched. I'm gonna sign up for an Olympic distance triathlon for end of season -- likely the Chicago Triathlon instead of an earlier race to give me plenty of time to get my milelage up. Congrats to the marathoners out there. I have no desire to run that far, but that doesn't mean I have the ultimate respect for the accomplishment.

Food We Eat at Home: To Drain or Not to Drain the Sausage Fat?

Here's last night's dinner: hash. We had leftover boiled potatoes from the heavenly mashed potatoes Brian made the other night and decided to throw it together with some green pepper, onions, tomatoes, cumin and salt and pepper. Oh, and chicken andouille sausage (how can I forget the sausage? I love sausage.). We had leftover roasted corn and forgot to include it, but it was mighty tasty as is.

The idea for the meal was mine, but Brian ended up doing most of the chopping and sauteeing. Cumin was his idea. Here's where the disagreement came in: to drain or not to drain the sausage fat? He heated the sausage up first and was geared up to dump the rest of the ingredients in the pan. I make a panicky gross face. The sight of all that grease -- even if they are relatively lean links at 4 grams! -- was nasty. Why add weight to your food?

I knew why. Because it would be amazing. I acquiesced, but he drained it anyway. And you know what? It was awesome.

I knew the fattier version would taste great, too, but sometimes you're in the mood for a lot of grease, and other times you're not. When we cook at home, I'm usually not.

Some couples argue about things like the toilet seat or cleaning. Us? We'll debate sausage fat. I love it.

The Song Title "Help, I'm Alive" Kinda Makes Sense!

I'm exhausted. I worked until 6 today but immediately switched over to homework for class. It's 7, and I'm not done with that but need to get home to eat and have a change of scenery. Last night I couldn't do as much homework as I needed because I was judging digital awards for the American Society of Business Publication Editors and totally underestimated how much time it would take; I spent 8 hours yesterday alone, and that was my working efficiently. The day before I was at my parents' place from 8 to 6:30 helping them with a garage sale of our family friend Lorraine's belongings (she passed away late July).

I have so much to do (homework, work for work, working out) and so much I want to do (hang out with Brian, watch Gossip Girl for the past two weeks, , blog, upload photos) and so much I need to do (write overdue thank yous for my birthday presents, get my car title changed to my name, shop for presents for my mom's b-day and friend's baby shower, write friends I've been meaning to for ages) that I don't even know where to start. Good thing I have most of the logistics of my trip to Maryland this weekend sorted out! (I'm not even close to worrying about packing.)

Some people would immediately give up training or working out, but I can't do it. I need exercise to keep me sane. But I also need to get shit done to stay sane, and I really want to see Brian more than I do.

I'm amazed at how much one class -- that really isn't that time-consuming, btw! -- can affect my schedule. Or is it just tempting fate so that everything happens all at once?

Food We Eat at Home

We made these dinners at home recently:

Almost-homemade pizzas: Ricotta, garlic, onion and spinach with olive oil on the left, and veggies (green pepper, tomato, zucchini and onion) with crumbled turkey sausage and mozzarella on the right

I was psyched about making the pizzas -- I'd been craving the ricotta one since I had it at Piece in Wicker Park a year ago -- but when I made it, it just didn't cut it. I'd never worked with ricotta before, and that might have been part of it; I used way too much, and I didn't invest in the good stuff. I really liked the deluxe pizza though, and the Italian-style turkey sausage was great! But for the time investment and the mediocre taste (my doing, but still ...), I can assure you I will not be making pizzas again soon.

 

Baked Amish chicken w/ paprika, thyme and salt n pepper; spinach with garlic and olive oil; and his own recipe mashed potatoes. Not pictured: corn chipotle chowder.

Brian made the above comfort dinner after I had a long, hard day. The Amish chicken was tasty, but nothing topped it off like his own-recipe mashed potatoes. He uses New potatoes and doesn't mash them entirely; he also leaves some skin on. Then he adds butter, a touch of cream and lots of garlic. Amazing.

Swimming As It Should Be

Good news! I had to tear myself away from the pool this morning. This is huge, because although I enjoy swimming, I ended the season tired of it. Tired of the sore muscles, tired of trying to go faster, tired of my inefficienty stroke.

I mentioned how when I jumped back into my routine I first swam super slow so I could concentrate on my stroke. Today I got in the pool (perfect temperature for me!) and began slow, making sure I could feel efficient in the water. Then, when I got the rhythm going, I picked up a little speed. The result: a perfectly elevated heart rate (about 80 percent), more calories than I'm used to burning (453 in 40 min.) and swimming as fast or faster than the "fast swimmers" in the pool (I'm sure I'll detail character sketches at some point). It was awesome.

I know I'm swimming efficiently when I can actually feel the glide of the water, as opposed to just feeling the slap of the water and burn in my chest. When my stroke is solid, I can tell the water's slipping past quite strongly; I'm rotating my hip in line with my stroke (but not overreaching) and finishing the stroke underwater, as opposed to pulling my arm out too quick. I can feel myself being propelled by a kick that's in sync with my hip and arm; usually, even though it's fun, I tire more easily without elevating my heart rate and am uncomfortable.

That's it: I was comfortable in the water today, even while I got a solid cardio workout in. I'm a strong swimmer when I race, performing slightly above average to better than most, depending on the race. But I'm not always enjoying it, and I'm sure as hell not always efficient. I hope I can keep this up!

Btw, I also mixed in some backstroke and found that to be a lot more efficient -- while providing a good cardio workout -- too. I've been keen on working the backstroke in after reading an article in Triathlete magazine about how swimmers who incorporate backstroke balance out their muscle development and stand taller.Sounds like a plan to me.

***

I just got off the phone with Cynthia, my good friend. She's in the UP of Michigan right now, but she's mentally in Chicago, here hometown. We were on the phone for almost 3 hours! Hey, it's what you gotta do when you can't meet in person.

Work was kinda crappy today, but the day started on a good note and ended on a good note. What more could I want?