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How are you and how was your week? Sept. 14 Edition
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How are you? How was your week?

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
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Re: How are you and how was your week? Sept. 14 Edition [Dr. Tigerchik] [ In reply to ]
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I had kind of a rough week mental-health wise last week but I reached out for help, got some help, and am feeling better.
swim 3x (5400 scm)
bike 3x (131 mi)
run 5x (50.3 mi)
hip exercises a couple times, lots of quality time on the foam roller

I'll come back with goals (aside from goal 1 which is healthy coping). I am trying to sort things out in my head.

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
Last edited by: Dr. Tigerchik: Sep 14, 20 8:48
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Re: How are you and how was your week? Sept. 14 Edition [Dr. Tigerchik] [ In reply to ]
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I'm glad you were able to get the help you needed Dr TC. Take care of yourself!

Last week turned out to be just running and swimming for me. It also worked out to be my biggest run week in a while... 28ish miles. Highlight was an adventure with Mistress K!
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Re: How are you and how was your week? Sept. 14 Edition [Dr. Tigerchik] [ In reply to ]
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Hi folks,

TC- I'm so sorry you had a bad week last week, but am SO GLAD that you reached out for help. Please also count me among the people you can reach out to if it ever feels like it'd be helpful. This week is a bad week for ALL my academic friends. It's like, we all got through the beginning of the semester, and we could focus on that and all the transitions, but now that we're settling in, so many of us are facing real, terrible struggles. I've been on the phone SO MUCH lately with friends who are at their breaking point. You're not alone in this.

As for me, I had my A race on Saturday, which was self-supported (with an assist from the hubs) and it was VERY HARD. It almost broke me. But, I finished. I'm just going to copy my race-report-like object that I posted on FB below. This week I've got faffery and lounging on the schedule. No workouts! YAYYAYAYAYAY!!!!!

(sorry for the nerdy music references...)


Mahler said "a symphony is a world. It must contain everything." There's a similar saying about ultramarathons, that you experience life in a day. I was thinking about both those things yesterday at some point. This is an honest post about how hard it was.
It started beautifully. The weather was perfect, and I was feeling like my legs had it in me just fine. The finger lakes region is so stinking beautiful, and while it's hilly, it ain't hilly like Binghamton, so I was feeling on top of my game. By mile 40 I was a half hour ahead of schedule, and mostly worried that I'd get slowed down if Andru showed up late to a pit stop.
But, by mile 50, the strongest headwind I've ever experienced, bar none, kicked up and it became a sufferfest. I was pedaling harder than I should have been, going slower than I wanted to (which meant the harder-than-planned pedaling would have to be longer-than-planned), and I was leaning over to get a more "aero" position and get out of the wind. A few times the wind almost blew me over. At my pit stop at mile 60, I prayed that wind would die down. It didn't. I started to get a stomach cramp from the leaning and had to sit up into the wind. I couldn't consume the nutrition I needed to. I was reduced to just making sure I was getting water and taking electrolyte pills, but I knew the finish wasn't close enough to stop consuming calories. The wind wasn't stopping. It was like trying to get it done in a hurricane. Next, my legs started cramping. Not just one muscle in my legs. All of the muscles in my legs started to cramp, all at once.
Then things got weird. I was determined, so I just kept pedaling, but eventually it hurt so badly that I was going impossibly slow. I had to speed up, or there was no way I was going to make it. Then, I got angry, and started yelling at the wind to stop. On my bike, dressed up in fancy bike gear, going like 5 miles per hour and yelling at the wind on route 89. The pain got worse and I knew deep down in my hurting bones that I wasn't going to make it, and then I started tearing, and then I started ugly crying. Sobbing. Weeping. On my bike, dressed up in fancy bike gear, going around 5 miles per hour. It STILL took me like 20 minutes of trying-while-ugly-crying before I called Andru for a pickup. I was only 1.5 miles from a pit stop, but I wasn't going to make it. I needed him to come get me right where I was. The day was over.
But, as he started on his way to me, I started biking again. I thought of another nerd quote: Satie's "I am compelled in spite of myself." He was making fun of Wagner. I was an idiot on par with Wagner, and I knew it deep down in my hurting bones. By the time Andru found me, I had 15 miles to go, and knew I had to give it one last try. So I had a break, drank, ate, and set off one last time. By then my body was wrecked, and my hormones must have been doing something weird. I started maniacal laughing. Nothing funny happened, I wasn't, like, entertained by the contrasts of the day. I was just full-on losing it. But I got faster and made it into Ithaca to finish that damned race. Yesterday, I learned that I'm more of a badass than I thought I was.
Thanks especially to those who donated to the Southern Tier Aids Program on my behalf. It meant something in the depths of my despair yesterday. Also to the world's best coach
Laura Henry
, who was affirming when things were going well, and on her phone texting advice when things started to fall apart. And the MVP of the day, my night owl husband, who woke up at 5 am and supported me so well, right up to pizza and ice cream last night.

Formerly GiantNewb, but not such a newb anymore.
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Re: How are you and how was your week? Sept. 14 Edition [BingTri] [ In reply to ]
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You are amazingly badass! Well done! Hope you are refuelling and resting up today.

Also, that tarmac looks unreal.
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Re: How are you and how was your week? Sept. 14 Edition [BingTri] [ In reply to ]
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I loved your RR and the photos! Congrats!

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
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Re: How are you and how was your week? Sept. 14 Edition [Dr. Tigerchik] [ In reply to ]
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Dr. Tigerchik, I'm sorry you had a tough week and I'm glad you reached out for help. Good job!


BingTri, way to go -- thanks for sharing your RR, congratulations!


I'm fine, btw -- easy running, biking, and regular yoga.


Hi and happy training y'all!

(Formerly SoCalTricurious, now in the PNW).
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Re: How are you and how was your week? Sept. 14 Edition [BingTri] [ In reply to ]
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Thank you for posting this, and for pushing through! It made me feel better this morning!

I have been alone since March lockdown, am in a covid hotzone, and am teaching “part time” this term (expensive elite college), which is online and certainly more than part time given everything we have to do to reach every student who has paid crazy tuition for some combination of Zoom and independent asynchronous work. The last few years have been hard for me with some physical and emotional challenges, so I have not been in the best mental state and was just beginning to venture out.

But because this is 2020 after all, that is not enough of a challenge ... i am in California in the fire zone, and by “in the fire zone” I mean there are fire trucks in my driveway and lining my street and helicopters dropping water on and behind the roof nonstop because I live in the forest and the fire is close. It is much too noisy and stressful for zoom class, obviously, or really much of anything other than panic and doomscrolling, so i am staying with friends near the beach where it is calmer. I am trying not to freak out every time I get an email or text update from the city FD/PD and also feeling kind of bad I didn’t stay to help my neighbors (we are not under mandatory evacuation yet). Please keep all of us, especially the firefighters, in your thoughts today!
Last edited by: Gee: Sep 15, 20 6:35
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Re: How are you and how was your week? Sept. 14 Edition [Gee] [ In reply to ]
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Quote:
Please keep all of us, especially the firefighters, in your thoughts today!

I'd say "sending warm thoughts" your way but "warm" seems inappropriate. Thinking of you. Thanks for checking in.

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
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Re: How are you and how was your week? Sept. 14 Edition [Gee] [ In reply to ]
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Gee,
Have been thinking about you since you first asked about evacuation opportunities , I was going to offer, but we have no room, but a pretty nice tent we could pitch in the backyard, we are a cat friendly household, but one of the guest cats (we host 5 feral cats & 1 neighbor cat-overnight only) doesn't like other cats. Online teaching is overwhelming, been subbing for a 6th grade Math/AVID Exploratory teacher since the beginning of the school year, semester long assignment. I like that it is steady work, but it is a lot of work. And cat tells when it is time to stop working (she likes to sit in front of my computer.

As for the week - haven't exercised really at all, bad air quality and I don't get along very well. I might try to pop in my backyard pool tomorrow. Maybe a ride or run or 2 this weekend. Must type fast as cat is now sitting on arm of chair waiting for me to stop so she can sit in her favorite spot.

check out my blog http://theswimmingtriathlete.com
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Re: How are you and how was your week? Sept. 14 Edition [SDCali] [ In reply to ]
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Thank you! Right now I am safe at home as the fire travels north and west.

Being part of Slowtwitch is being part of a family, to be sure! Both Slowman and Monty offered their homes, too. They should be safe given how far they are from the mountain edge, although the evac warning is now extended to the intersection of Valyermo and Bob's Gap! (for those of you who have never been to Xantusia, you may notice the address next to the Slowtwitch symbol at the bottom of the page) This fire really really sucks.
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Re: How are you and how was your week? Sept. 14 Edition [BingTri] [ In reply to ]
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Just going thru this and i told my wife to read what you wrote,cos it seems like some badass adventure you had and she has been struggling with riding of her bike during this past weekend cos she lost her best friend who she rode a bike with ..Cos they both would go on a long bike race while i drive the car lol...She will be joining the forum too so she can do the story telling ,it is great here..
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Re: How are you and how was your week? Sept. 14 Edition [GOAT12] [ In reply to ]
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GOAT12 wrote:
Just going thru this and i told my wife to read what you wrote,cos it seems like some badass adventure you had and she has been struggling with riding of her bike during this past weekend cos she lost her best friend who she rode a bike with ..Cos they both would go on a long bike race while i drive the car lol...She will be joining the forum too so she can do the story telling ,it is great here..

Tell your wife to jump in and introduce herself. And welcome to you too.

clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com
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