Off the Deck

I’m anxiously awaiting the continued Pan Pac coverage today and tomorrow. I’ve even done a good job of “media black out” — successfully evaded hearing or reading event results. But until then, a post on another topic…

I’m finding the popular saying “old habits die hard” to be true lately. In fact, I’m starting to wonder if some really die at all.

Over the past two years, I’ve spent a lot of time and effort reviewing my life, identifying things that need to change, and tackling them. (Yes, I suspect it’s a midlife crisis too!)

Many items that ended up on the “vanquish” list were bad habits — behaviors that I finally realized were either a waste of time, bad for my health, annoying, not worth the expense, etc.

Some of the changes I wanted to make (i.e. drop landline, stop loading up weekdays with non-work-related appointments, buy less per week so I don’t waste food) and bad habits to break (i.e. chewing gum every day, relying on sports drinks/bars for fuel, dashing from pool to car all chlorinated) were easier to accomplish than I anticipated.

Now I find myself staring down the big ticket items on my list. Of the remaining bad habits to break? Just one: Sleeping on my stomach.

Heck yeah, I know all of the reaons why I should be sleeping on my back:
1) breathe easier
2) better for my neck, shoulder and back
3) and I guess because I should have an awareness of fossilizing, “prevent wrinkles”

Obviously, those first two items would be key swim-performance enhancers. Yet, training myself to sleep on my back has been a serious challenge.

I suspect I’ve been a stomach-sleeper from day one (I don’t think SIDs knowledge was out in my era, thus no-one knew to place new borns on their backs when they sleep. Just think of the time I could have saved if that were the case!) So, we’re taking about breaking a four-decade+ habit here.

Plus, there are other key hindering factors. 1) I have “wake up startled and spooked” weird, disturbing dreams when sleeping on my back. 2) I would have to give up my “burrowing” style of sleeping — lying flat (no pillow) with all the coverrs piled up over me. (Hey, I find it very nur-nur soothing!) 3) Even my cat would have to make an adjustment as he’s been sleeping under my chin from the first day I brought him home as a six-week kitten nearly nine years ago.

Tackling the easier habits and changes has made me bold, however. I believe I can eventually sleep all night on my back. I just think it’s going to take several months of encasing myself with pillows to do it. Must start collecting Bed, Bath & Beyond coupons…

Until next time,
Rebecca, swim evangelist

Eeeeek! After a very snowy winter and cool, rainy spring, of course we’re now experiencing a peak growth/bloom phase.

I don’t need a weather report to let me know that the pollen count is off the charts; when I swim outside I get an insta-allergy furball. Seriously. I can just smell the stuff I am allergic to blooming around the pool and can feel myself inhaling pollen.

Reaction? Beyond the normal allergy symptoms, I get this weird, sapped-out feeling. It’s not painful, but I can’t seem to function at normal levels. I feel disjointed/awkward — as if my established brain-muscle neuron pathways are not functioning.

The really weird thing is that until this week, I’ve always assumed that May was the seasonal uber-allergy month. But now that I think about it, it might be June for me. I’ve never really swam well in June. My times are always way off at the annual mid-June masters meet here. And allergies, not conditioning, may have been at fault during the annual, first-of-the-season “Out of Shape Meet” I attended each year while an age grouper.

I guess it’s good to have new awareness, but I can’t think of anything beyond my already extensive existing allergy regimen (shots, meds, nasal lavage, steaming, avoidance) to do that might help me over my June slump.

Maybe knowing I probably won’t throw down a PR in June is enough?

Until next time,
Rebecca, swim evangelist

Yay — I’ve been back in the water on an “every other” day pattern these past two weeks. As I inch my way back towards my normal routine, I’ve also been able to try all of the Ultima flavors, the new-to-me electrolyte drink mix I recently discovered. Here’s a quick flavor ranking and report:

Well, true to form, my preferences do not line up with the norm. Hands down, my fave flavor (translation: this is the flavor I chose when I just bought a canister at the store this week) is “Banaberry.” According to the company though, this is the least popular flavor.

I don’t get this. Ultima has achieved the perfect blend of berry and banana tastes in a nice light formula, one that doesn’t overwhelm your tongue as a whole. Maybe it’s the “no middle ground” factor that I’ve observed concerning bananas. Most people I know have a strong opinion about bananas — they either love them or hate them. I for one, love them, to the point of being panicky about the fate of the Cavendish, the variety we see the most in American grocery stores. (A blight is affecting this crop — since Cavendish bananas reproduce asexually, this variety isn’t able to produce blight-resistant-mutant offspring. Thus, the Cavendish could become extinct! Save the Cavedish!!!)

My second fave flavor is Ultima’s newest — Grape. Totally yummy; very vibrant taste contained within a fun color. I plan on investing in a canister of Grape as well so I can mix up my flavors per mood per practice. I may also purchase the Lemonade flavor, especially because I suspect I will start craving lemonade once we start the outdoor summer season.

My “bottom tier” is a wash of the remaining flavors: Wild Raspberry (the current #1 flavor with consumers), Kiwi-Strawberry, and Orange. I thought the Kiwi-Strawberry would be a lock for me because I eat both fruits on almost daily basis, but honestly, I couldn’t really taste this flavor. Ditto for Wild Raspberry — I love berries, but the flavor didn’t have that wow-factor for me. Finally, poor orange. No matter the product or the flavor range, orange probably will always rank last with me simply because I don’t care much for this fruit.

Beyond the taste-factor, I have to say “so far, so good.” No stomach cramping, no sugar high/crash cycle with this product, and I’ve felt well hydrated while swimming (and even hours later.) The true test will come this summer though: how will I feel on Ultima at a race, and on 90-degree training days?

Until next time,
Rebecca, swim evangelist

Yes, I admit it. There has been a lot of negativity coursing through my brain during the past three months+ while I’ve struggled with two back-to-back viruses.

Today, I’m going to turn that ship around. Here are ten good things (in no particular order) that result from an unplanned winter “viral-layoff:”

1) Plenty of supplies: The bottles in your mesh shower bag and locker tote remain “topped off.” That drink-mix canister is waiting to be cracked open. Your holiday bonanza of new suit, googles, cap and equipment is still fresh and ready to go.

2) No over-use injuries!

3) Swim practice as social hour: Haven’t swum in a few months? All sightings and updates are fresh, entertaining and interesting.

4) Winter illness as hibernation: Sleep through those nasty, cold, dark a.m. swims until it’s almost time to swim outdoors again!

5) No dithering about state meet entry: Distance, middle-distance, sprint, stroke, I.M. — none of it matters when swimming a meet simply isn’t any option until you have a few months of conditioning and training again.

6) Chlorine break: skin and hair can recover from the ravages of constant exposure.

7) Lots to check out: Who has a new suit? Who has the newest in equipment technology? Who’s gearing up for states?

Deconditioned as time saver: feeling “worked out” (and seeing progress) now only takes 60 minutes vs 90+.

9) Mentally refreshed: Being so happy to just be in a pool means any set is fun!

10) Starting from scratch as opportunity: If you’re starting a re-build phase, why not focus on improving technique and breaking those old bad habits too?

Until next time,
Rebecca, swim evangelist

Last summer, about one month into my first “entire season break” from competiton training in many years (decades?), I realized that it also would be a great time to review and re-assess everything I was doing, from training to diet to recovery and beyond.

One area of experimentation was sports drinks. In fact, one of my goals for the summer was to find something to slurp during practice and meets for fuel/hydratation sans sugar high/crash cycle. (You can read all of my reviews via prior posts.) By August, I had switched to Gatorade. At the time, it was the lowest sugar drink that I could find with a formula that kept me hydrated and offered a slight fueling kick.

Since switching my diet around so much (check post on “Food Combining”) late last fall, I was interested in finding options that were ever lower in sugar. (The “original” Gatorade mix is 14g of sugar per serving; currently I am trying to avoid anything over 10g of sugar/serving).

Today I tried something new while swimming on my own at a rec center (still easing back into the swim of things after a dreadful virus-o-rama winter) — a packet of “Banaberry” Ultima Replenisher. I had bought a packet of every flavor offered by this company some time ago; just haven’t had a chance to try them until now. Here’s a recap of my initial impressions:

1) Tasty! It smelled and tasted like bananas and strawberries without that icky-chalk-y-chemical after-taste.

2) I liked how smooth it was — it’s not a “fizzy” formula. This made it much easier for me to ingest/digest while swimming.

3) No sugar high/crash cycle. It clearly states “Zero Sugar” on the packet front, but it does include stevia extract (natural plant-based sweetner.) At this point, I would like to do more research to understand why stevia doesn’t “count” as sugar, and to see if your body does not respond to it like sugar.

4) I felt well-hydrated/fueled for 75 minutes, and you know how hot those rec pools can be.

5) Their formula is free of chemicals, caffeine and other junk. Of course, being uber-senastive to such stuff, I never would have bought some to try in the first place…

Back at home I checked the website to learn a little more. Now I know that its “point of distinction” is: a balanced blend of electrolytes with a lower amount of carbs to provide quicker/easier absorbtion. (The Gatorade original blend has 50g of carbs; in comparison, Ultima has 3g). After reading the nutritional labels on the rest of the packets I have in my kitchen cabinet, I see that Ultima offers some vitamin-y stuff such as the Bs, Niancin, etc. The formula blend per flavor varies a bit though, so do check each label if you sensativities like I do. Both Gatorage and Ultima are fat free.

I look forward to testing the other flavors soon, stay tuned for updates!

Until next time,
Rebecca, swim evangelist

Yes, I have taken a week or so off from blogging. Simple reason: I have been exhausted and needed a break from everything that could be placed on hold for a bit.

I thought I was about 85% over the two viruses I had back to back (yes, it’s been almost a full quarter now of feeling really, really, really off), so I was working out again; some swimming, a run, some weights. Just for a week or so. I thought I was finally edging my way back, so I wasn’t prepared for what happened this past Tuesday morning during another solo light “get back into it” swim at a rec pool.

The workout I had written for myself wasn’t crazy or extreme. On the contrary. Warm up was 5×200, with drill, back and kick mixed in. No interval; just nice and easy. My main set was 15×100, broken in groups of five, with a five second interval drop per block of five. Again, nothing crazy — all free, and my “fastest” interval was going to be a nice gentle 1:20 to offer plenty o’ rest.

Except that after the first five 100s, I hit the wall. And hard.

Of course, I’ve hit the wall before in practice many times over the years. Usually though, it’s at the end of a really tough distance/IM set or a two-hour+ swim. Yet there I was after only 1500 scy — I literally couldn’t move my body down the lane for one more lap.

Totally puzzled and edging into full-blown panic, I did the only thing that I thought might help: get my “second breakfast” from my locker (my “first” breakfast is fruit.). Dripping away with googles still on, I ate a few spoonfuls of the oatmeal/soymilk I had made and packed the night before, on deck. (One of the best things about sitting through a really rough 12 month “my life is imploding” phase is that things like “huh, I wonder what the other swimmers and guard think of my behavior” so don’t matter anymore.) I did feel a tad better once I got back in the water, but I could only manage a mini-set of 16×25 drill/swim.

Since that morning, I have been tired, tired and tired. Like, go to bed at 8 p.m. and sleep until 7 a.m. tired. Scary, no? A few days later, still trying to figure out while I was dragging away, I realized that I had broken the classic “F.I.T.” principle of training. F.I.T. is an acronym for “Frequency, “Intensity” and “Time,” the elements you manipulate to achieve various conditioning results.

After a long lay off, you should cut back on all three training principles. For example, if you normally swim five 75+ minute practices per week, you should aim for maybe 3x 60-minutes swims on softer intervals for a few weeks. When your body feels ready for more, you should choose only once principle, such as “Time” (i.e.:add another 10 minutes to each of those 3xs a week sessions), to manipulate. Once your body has adapted to the new workload, ramp up another principle (i.e. “Frequency” by adding in another practice day per week.)

Of the three principles, I was only obeying “Intensity.” While I was giving myself softer swim intervals, I was still swimming, running and lifting weights as much as I would during non-sick-recovery mode, and for the same session durations. End result? My body had to scream, or shut down in the pool that day, to get it’s “Too much!” message accross to my one-track “I just want to get back into shape” brain.

So here I go again, off to try it again but this time with a better plan — fewer, shorter workouts with lesser intensity; increase only one element at a time to allow my body to adapt. Hopefully I’e learned my lesson and won’t need a another wake-up call…

Until next time,
Rebecca, swim evangelist

For the past several months, I’ve been following the most basic of food combining tenet. When I first read about it back in November, I didn’t tell anyone I was going to give this system a whirl. Probably because it was to be yet one more trial in a long series of attempts to find “the” approach to food that meshed best with my body.

By now, external results have kicked into a point where people are starting to ask a lot of questions (i.e. “you look so much thinner — what are you doing?”). But before my food combining primer, a disclaimer of “this is not medical or registered dietician information, follow on your own discretion, blah, blah, blah.”

Basic* Food Combining Rules
1) You may mix proteins and fats
2) You may mix carbs and veggies
3) Fruit should be eaten alone and on an empty stomach
4) Veggies can be mixed with all — proteins, fats and carbs
5) Space your meals, meaning you should wait at least two hours before switching from a carbs meal to a protein/fats one or from either one to fruit.

The easiest big no-no to keep in mind? Don’t mix fats and carbs or proteins and carbs.

Absolutely, at first I definitely had to put some thought into how/when/what to eat. But I was surprised at how quickly and easily I adapted. Maybe because I felt so much better so quickly. More on results in a minute; for now a sample menu to give you an idea of a typical day’s fare:

–first thing in the a.m.: big bowl of fruit, maybe mixed berries, a variety of citrus (orange/kiwi/grapefruit slices), etc.
–one to two hours later: bowl of whole grain cereal such as oatmeal with non-fat soy milk (I am lactose intolerant)
–two hours later: sometimes a snack such as nuts or a hard boiled egg if I know a protein/fat lunch is to follow, or I might roll into lunch
–lunch is usally some sort of protein/fat/veggie mix such as grilled chicken with roasted veggies and some organic dark chocolate with PB
–a few hours later I have another bowl of fruit
–two hours later it’s dinner time: maybe more protein/veggies or a carbs meals such as pasta with tomato sauce and veggies

The only few “problems” I have with this system are, 1) my produce bill can get pretty high per week, 2) I have developed a $12+/week organic dark chocolate habit, and 3) sometimes I “run out of time” to eat something else at the end of the day, but then I figure it’s better to go to bed on a light stomach anyway, and that there will be more food tomorrow.

In any case, the payoff is worth it. Prior to food combining I felt as if my body really wasn’t digesting or accessing nutrients well. After certain meals (which I now know are horrible combos) I felt tired, muzzy-minded or even down-right irritable. I thought I had a lot of food allergies, so I avoided a lot of yummy, healthy foods such as whole wheat products like pasta, chocolate and tomatoes.

Once I started food combining though, I noticed a spike in mental clarity and mood stability. I slept sounder. I was able to add foods back into my diet that I had avoided for decades. Within two weeks, I had lost 3″ in bloat-factor. Since about mid-November, I’ve lost 8 pounds. Best of all? I haven’t really felt deprived or ravenously hungry.

Of course, there is more to it, but I don’t want to sound too infomercial-y today. Certainly, I will post more about it if there seems to be an interest via comments.

Until next time,
Rebecca, swim evangelist

*Food combing can get very picky-detailed; there are several experts, each of whom propose their own level of rules to study/apply.

It’s fantastic to be back in the water after being out for a month due to illness. In fact, during the past two practices I swam, “Who cares! I’m in the water!” carried me through the workouts.

But knowing myself like I do, I’m sure the panick-y “I’m deconditioned!!!” thoughts are going to surface real soon.

Over the past weekend, I specifically avoided leading a lane or even looking at the clock (I just counted to five in my head before pushing off behind the swimmer ahead of me, or went when I felt ready while on my own Sunday) because I don’t want to get discouraged about intervals and repeat times yet.

Rationally, I know that since I was out for a month (and it wasn’t like I was on vacation, resting!), it’s going to take at least a month, if not more, to get back to pre-virus level.

Emotions, of course, are an entirely different thing! Honestly, I don’t do well with feeling out of shape, being super tired before I’m even half-way through the first main set of the day, and feeling exiled from my normal lanes/intervals until I am back up to snuff.

I know, I know, “suck it up.” I have bounced back well before, I can do it again.

Yes, maybe I’m a slower learner on this point. But at least I’m starting to understand that my true battle is more with my mind than body. For example, after many, many, many years of disregard, now I totally have the “listen to and obey” the body thing down pat: “Oh hey, my body is saying 3,500 LCM is enough for today, time to get out!”

Next up for sure? Figuring out how to re-program my brain to play only happy, positive messages as my body does what it needs to do while rebuilding…

Until next time,
Rebecca, swim evangelist

Funny thing: recently I reviewed the past two years of my swim log to pull ideas for “my fave sets” page of this blog. For the first time, I could clearly see the tailspin I was caught up in that ultimately led to my summer break.

It’s weird. I mean, I was living it, yet I didn’t see how dire the situation was becoming per week. Usually I record set, interval, pool conditions etc., as well as how I felt that day. As I headed towards May, the mind-body-spirit alarms were clanging away: I was always tired, sick, disappointed/frustrated that this or that pool was closed, that a coach didn’t show up again, that the sets were repetitive and not really what I needed for solid training, and so forth.

Thankfully, enough time has passed since last spring that I was also able to review fall/early winter. It was more than heartening to see that I wasn’t really sick or tired that much, I was moving back towards consistent practices, my interval times were dropping while yardage increased, and that coaching/quality sets were tilting back to a norm.

Today though, I have to confess that I am still uncertain about what the future will bring. It’s past January 1 and I still don’t know what events I want to commit to this year, if any.

Why? Because there are still several key factors that are undecided/out of my control at the moment: pool space/time (main pool is closing for several months for repairs), a declaration for suits has not been made for masters (not sure if I would want to compete if everyone is donning a BlueSeventy and I am not) and future schedule/financial situation is unpredictible at the moment (Puerto Rico would require more time off/money to attend than some of the Nationals I have attended in past years).

Here’s hoping I can favorably sort things out in 2010…

Until next time,
Rebecca, swim evangelist

Before the holidays, Rosemary emailed about a common problem among avid swimmers: damaged skin from outdoor training.

Her specific concern was reversing premature aging via sun damage. You know, that dry, leather-y look. Luckily, there are a few things you can do if you are in the same predicament:

–Schedule an appointment with a dermatologist. Not only will they do a full body screen to check for pre-cancerous and cancerous spots (and remove/treat as needed), they can provide treatments (think: peels, abrasions, prescription-strength topical lotions, etc.) to rejuvinate the skin. Be fair warned on two points however: 1) many rejuvinating treatments are pricey (i.e. into the thousands range) and require multiple appointments, and 2) many of the same treatments require you to avoid the sun entirely.

–Speaking of avoiding the sun, many of my swimmer friends who have gone through a round or two of skin cancer simply avoid swimming outdoors entirely. Obviously, while this approach won’t reverse current damage, it is certainly a preventive strike against new incidents.

–Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize: Now that I’ve entered that “starting to see some signs of aging” phase of life, I’ve noticed that on some mornings my skin looks, well, a little “tired.” The power of a good moisturizer never ceases to amaze me though! After washing and application, my skin looks instantly better. Currently, I favor Boots Advanced Hydration Day Cream (you can get it at Target for under $15 and it has SPF 15 in the formula), for my face. I am always open to trying something new though, (especially as I am aware that I will need something heavier soon). So if you have a good recommendation, please let me know. For my body I like Cetaphil — very rich and scent free. One final thought on “moisture” before moving on: drink lots of water. Some of my “tired skin” moments can be traced back to not drinking enough water the previous day.

–In the “don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater” department: Use sunblock religiously. Yes, I have some damage that is probably irreversible. But that doesn’t mean I should stop trying to prevent additional damage. I’ve had enough “suspicious-looking” spots scraped off my back and sent to a lab to not coat myself in 50 SPF before leaving the house to swim. Slapping some on while puttering around on deck is better than nothing, but keep in mind that it takes about 20 minutes for sunblock to “sink in” and thus truly offer protection.

–Surely, as healthy swimmers, I don’t have to tell you this, but here goes just in case: Stop smoking. Smoking dramatically ages the skin prematurely. This skin damage is reversible — all you have to do is stop! And hey, smoking is really bad for your, oh say, lungs. Enough said.

Three more notes from the “prevention: department: zinc, rash guards and low-sunlight hours.

–A trick from the old days: topical zinc. Although it now comes in all kinds of cool colors (i.e. neon green) beyond the standard white, it can be messy to apply/wear. And you will get some looks while wearing it.

–Many rash guards now come in light, but tightly woven materials that offer UVA protection. So if you aren’t training for the Olympics and don’t mind a little drag, wearing one can help block the rays from your torso and arms (and neck if you wear a turtleneck style).

–Low sunlight hours: This has been so well-publicized that I am sure it’s old news to you savvy readers, but if you want to avoid as much sun exposure as possible, swim in the early a.m. hours or after it’s set at night.

Until next time,
Rebecca, swim evangelist