Thursday I was an Elephant

There are moments while you're swimming where you feel as graceful as a dolphin, skimming just above the water in fluid movements. Then, there are the rest of the moments: where you feel like a clumsy and slow moving elephant, plunking through the water. Plunk. Plunk. Plunk.  As I approached the 1 & 1/2 mile mark in the pool the other day, I was definitely elephant.  My back had tightened up so much it was hard to relax my muscles. I felt as heavy and dense as a boulder. I was glad it was over. Big sigh. 

I enjoy swimming, I do. It's the one form of exercise Dean can do without much pain to his knees, and it typically is a "lengthening" exercise easy on the joints and good for recovery training days.  I had just never swam that far before, so, it really wasn't a recovery day.  The day AFTER, however, was recovery day.  :-)

Yesterday I met with the program coordinator for Reach the Summit to talk about fundraising. I had a lot of mixed feelings and anxiety about the idea of raising so much money by a certain deadline, but after talking to her about it, I felt better.  Yeah, I still have to do the work, and it won't necessarily be easy, but she's been there before.  She's helped others like me.  She had some good ideas, and she seemed like she would have answers to the questions that are bound to come up later on.  

So, if there's less anxiety about the fundraising, why am I still procrastinating over writing my fundraising letter?

  

I resembled a smoker today

It was cold enough to see my breath. The first thought that crossed my mind while running alongside traffic was how I probably resembled a smoker.  OK, maybe that thought was third to "ouch my lungs burn" and " i can feel my nose start to drip".  I was actually tempted to try and blow smoker's rings into the dark night above me. But I was afraid I'd lose my focus or trip, so I just kept running.  

It really wasn't that cold once my body warmed up (about a half mile into the run). I'd say it was in the upper 30s to low 40s, somewhere in there.  By the time winter bleeds into spring, I'll probably be acclimated to the cold of the Pacific Northwest.LOL. 

I really enjoy being out in the element, be it cold or rain, sunshine or snow.  Maybe it's cause I'm cooped up all day behind a desk breathing in recycled air. Or maybe it's just the way I'm wired.  Whatever the reason is, the enjoyment of being outside has always been clear to me.  To what extent, now therein lies the question.

Will that enjoyment still be present when I climb the 11,000 + ft. mountain peak that has a year-round glacier?  Will it be present when I'm huffing-and-puffing my ass to the top?  Will it be there when my toes feel like they are no longer my own? Will it be there when climbing the snow-packed mountain face puts you in a vertical position?

I will have to get back to you on that.  :-) 

www.reachthesummit.us/samricca

So it appears that this blog entry won't be about training, as today was a rest day. 

This is actually quite neat, sharing my journey with others, both those close to me and the curious anonymous beings of the internet .  

There are many reasons why I want to take part in this endeavor.  There is the obvious reason of helping a non-profit raise money to fund research for Lung Disease.  But then there are the many other reasons, some small some big, that when added up, become a mountain all on their own:

There's Guss, who was recently diagnosed with cancer.  There's my grandpa who died of unconfirmed lung disease (he was 98 so they didn't feel it was safe nor worthwhile to figure it out).  There's the thought of less-fortunate countries relying on foundations such as this one to bring forth the medical answers to their nations. There's my leg accident when I was 10 and the doctors saying I'd never walk again. There's my husbands knees that are perpetually achey due to all the crazy things he did as a "younger" man such as being a paratrooper in the military.  There's the desire to do something you never imagined you'd be capable of doing. And then there's that curiosity about the view from the top! I could go on, but it would get very long and eventually uninteresting.  

So I've got the motivation to train for the climb, and the reasons why my mind and heart will propel me through the tough times. Now, all I need to do is start thinking of how to raise the money I will need to be part of the team.

Suggestions are welcome!!! :-) 

Day One

There is something ominous about "day 1". 

Day 1 is always full of hope, but it's also full of blind corners. You're at the point where you're not really sure what you're made of, but you're naive enough to believe that no challenge is one too great.    

Anytime you start a blog about an endeavor that is worthy of tracking the days you've been preparing for it, you know it will be something noteworthy.  And painful. It holds the promise of being something greater than anything you've ever stood before, something that is going to push your buttons and force you to dig deep. 

Today I ran 4 miles, outside in the cold.  The first mile I really felt the cold--in my lungs and on my fingertips.  Thoughts of hiking Mt. Hood in the cold kept me going though, and soon enough my body warmed up.  After that it was all mind games. Well, up until the very end of my run when my achilles started tightening up and bothering me.  Then it was about body aches and mind games.  But I was set on running 4, and run 4 I did.  After that was a little ab work and weight training.  I was pooped. 

Stay tuned for day 2.  (Hmmm....is day 2 "training day 2" or the day after I've started day 1? Hmmm...I will have to think about this one a bit). 

Ok, erase day 2.  Stay tuned for my next blog entry.  :-)