What's Getting in Your Way?

As I was rinsing off the salt-crusted soles of my running shoes tonight, I realized how warn down they are. A quick calculation and I realized that I've probably been wearing the shoes longer than the recommended 300 miles. I also remembered that every time I've put them on recently I've been a little bit grumpy about the way that they feel. Have they ever explicitly stopped me from going out on a run? No. But "old, warn shoes" are one thing that I could write in my list of the barriers that I feel get in my way of being as active as I could be.

What do your barriers look like?

In nutrition counseling we often talk about barriers. Part of being a successful dietitian is helping people to overcome or at least recognize whatever barriers they might have getting in the way of healthy eating. This could be a practical barrier such as lack of grocery stores with fresh produce or it could be something more internal such as feeling sad lately and feeling the need to find comfort in food.

Is there something that you're having a hard time accomplishing? Try making a list of barriers and potential solutions. Here's are a few examples - the first is one of my personal barriers and others I've drawn from patients.

Goal: run more often during the week
Barriers: cold weather, uncomfortable old shoes, darkness
Ideas to break barriers: put together a chart of outside temperatures with appropriate clothes that will keep me warm, buy new running shoes, find friend to run with consistently after work

Goal: eat more vegetables each day
Barriers: fresh produce just goes bad whenever I buy it, vegetables are hard to cook and expensive
Ideas to break barriers: stock freezer with selection of frozen vegetables that I know I like, find Pinterest boards featuring easy vegetable recipes to bookmark for trying each week, buy produce with recipe in hand on the day I know I have time to prepare it to avoid spoilage

Goal: lose weight in order to better fit into clothes
Barriers: gym membership is expensive, family doesn't like 'health' food, low motivation
Ideas to break barriers: find a friend to go for walks with outside on a consistent schedule, try making current favorite family meals using healthier ingredients, put sticky notes with inspirational quotes on car dashboard to remind myself of goal

These are just a few ideas of ways to get into the mindset of breaking through barriers. If you can think up some ideas for overcoming your own barriers, try writing them down. Even if you're not ready to take action yet, looking at your list of solutions can motivate you to take small steps in the direction of your goal! Now I'm off to buy some new running shoes...

... And We're Back! aka Why Not Walk?

I've been thinking a lot about walking recently. Last week I started a new job at a hospital that is 1.5 miles from my new apartment. Google maps told me that it would take me 10 minutes to drive, 15 minutes to talk the bus, 15 minutes to bike, and 30 minutes to walk. Parking is crazy there so driving is out, the bus is crowded at that time of day, and by the time I get my tires pumped and my bike outside it's been more than 15 minutes. So I've been electing to walk there and back, getting a nice 3 mile roundtrip walk in every day. I love it because if I'm too tired to exercise when I get home at least I know that I've been a bit active during the day - and I'm only dependent on my own two feet (plus stop lights!) not on the bus running on schedule or finding a spot for my bike on the crowded racks.

The hospital has a Parking Department where you can get a parking pass, a discounted train pass, and a reimbursement for bike parts/maintenance if you bike to work. But for some reason, they have no monetary incentive for people to walk to work. When you think of how small of a city Boston is, it's sort of silly not to incentivize walking. I'm often struck by how few miles away my destination is (when I type it into my gps and it tells me it will take 45 minutes of sitting in traffic to make it 6 miles for example!).

It's one thing for me to walk myself to my destination - I'm a grown up, I know where I'm going and know not to cross the street outside of a crosswalk. But what about kids who as a population are less active than ever before? I recently read an article that said only 1/3 of students who live within a mile of school walk or bike and less than 3% of students who live within 2 miles of school walk or bike. I also just got an e-mail today from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation about a meeting that they're having to discuss programs like Safe Routes to Schools and Fire Up Your Feet. I think it's great that there are programs out there to encourage kids to walk to school and make it safer to do so, but in a way it's also sad that these programs are necessary.

Let's try to be a good example to everyone around us by choosing to walk next time your GPS tells you that your destination is less than 2 miles away. It'll take you a little over 30 minutes to get there and I bet you'll notice things about your neighborhood along the way that you never saw from you car. Let me know how it goes!

This blog brought to you by a REGISTERED DIETITIAN

Nope, it's not a guest blog -- I took the RD exam today and I passed which officially makes me a Registered Dietitian. I am so relieved, mostly that I can stop studying! Once that initial relief wears off though I'm sure I'll be able to better contemplate the fact that passing this exam is the final step on a three year long career change. Reflecting on those three years, there were so many people that made such a big difference and while many of them may not see this blog I'd like to say a big THANK YOU (and I'll make sure to tell them individually as well).

The journey started three years ago when I was working as an editor at a publishing company. I began thinking about a career in dietetics, but I'd never been much for science classes growing up, so I wasn't sure I could do it. I looked at the list of required classes and thought 'well, I guess I'll start with Bio 101 and if I pass that I'll keep going.' I knew I could always go back to publishing if it got too hard and with that safety net I kept taking class after class after class... until I found that I had completed my Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) certification from Simmons College.

Probably the two most stressful days of my life thus far have been during this journey. The first was the night that I found out whether or not (and where) I got matched to a dietetic internship. There were several options: I could be placed in Minnesota, Boston, or New Orleans, or I might not have gotten matched. My heart was pounding as I kept hitting refresh, waiting with thousands of other hopefuls across the country to find out my fate. I was so fortunate to be matched to the Simmons Dietetic Internship and be able to stay in Boston with all of my friends and support system.

The other stressful day was today. After taking the exam I awaited my results with my heart pounding, not knowing if I had finally completed this stage of my training or if I had more studying to do. Upon finding out that I had passed I finally stopped shaking, but all of that heart pounding adrenaline definitely made me cry (which really confused my mom when I called to tell her the good news - since I hadn't even told her that I was sitting the exam today!).

I don't know where the path leads from here, but I feel confident that with this credential I will find a way to fulfill my goal of helping people lead healthier, happy lives.

-Katrina S, RD

The 117th Running of the Boston Marathon

It's Friday of marathon weekend and I approach the expo hall with the usual mixture of excitement and dread. Excitement to interact with tens of thousands of marathon runners and their families and friends, and dread at how I know, from several years of experience, my body will feel by Sunday night. Over the next several days I spend hours on my feet handing out samples of Clif Bars, talking to runners about when they should use Shot Bloks versus Shot Gel, and answering the question over and over again: are any of our products gluten-free? (The answer: wheat free but not oat free so they may contain trace amounts.)

By Sunday afternoon I'm ready to finally sit down, so I head to the other side of the hall where I finish out the weekend by volunteering at registration, which is where runners come to pick up their bib number. I have several friends who volunteer with me and we all smile while family members take our picture as we hand the number to their runner, answer questions about where the runner needs to be in the morning to catch the shuttle to the start, and help calm nerves about the race that at that point is only a little over 15 hours from starting. This is my sixth year volunteering (that's every year but one since I ran the marathon in 2006) and I absolutely love it. During one point when I don't have any runners at my station a couple of students from Suffolk University approach and ask if I would mind answering some questions for them. They set up the camera and ask me whether or not I think the marathon is a good thing for Boston. Of course! I answer. It brings in people from all over the world, it increases tourism to Boston, everyone is out and about and seeing what a great city we have here full of active people. Next question: do I think that the marathon is a good thing for people in Boston to see happening. Definitely! Anything that might encourage people to get active and inspire them is a great thing, especially since people need to move more in order to increase health.

At 6:30pm on Sunday night I leave the expo hall having just spent what feels like every waking minute of the last three days there. I fall asleep on the couch after eating dinner but wake up in the morning feeling refreshed and ready for what many consider the best day of the year in Boston: Marathon Monday. My boyfriend lives on the course, so we have friends over and we alternate between watching outside on the street and coming inside to watch the finish line on TV. We cheer for some of the fastest people in the world as they stream by, just a few feet from his front door. It happens every year and yet every year it feels so special.

Today's Boston Marathon, the 117th running, will forever be remembered for the senseless loss that occurred when two bombs exploded at the finish line and to be honest I'm not sure that I'll ever have another weekend like the one I just described. I think that today's events will have a lot of people asking the same question that I was asked by the students yesterday: is the marathon good for the city? But now more questions will be added to that one: can we ever have another Boston Marathon? Will other running and sporting events everywhere be affected by today's violence?

My heart goes out to the people hurt today and their families. It also goes out to every runner and every spectator, both today and in the future, for what today's events might mean for us and our healthy, active, supportive lifestyles that were threatened today in an unimaginable way.

The Various Roles of an RD: Sports Dietitian

When I started working with two sports dietitians for the counseling portion of my dietetic internship, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. As I learned over the four weeks, there is not a clearly defined role for someone with that specialty. A sports dietitian can wear many different hats and work in a variety of different settings. For example, many college-level and professional sports teams have an RD on staff to help their athletes eat better to perform better. Then there are those who have a private practice and take anyone interested in meeting with an RD but specialize in sports-related issues. Here is a brief snapshot of what two of those roles look like:

Sports Dietitian in a Gym Setting

At this particular facility, the RD was an employee of the gym (rather than just renting out office space within the gym). She had the same responsibilities of other managers there, attending budget meetings, spending one weekend a month as the manager on duty, discussing goals, etc. Her coworkers were personal trainers and group fitness directors.

The clients that she saw consisted primarily of members of the gym who were interested in losing weight. Many of them also meet with a personal trainer to help reach that goal. There were also some clients who needed help managing diabetes, lowering cholesterol, or dealing with a food allergy. Clients can pay out of pocket or if their insurance will cover the visit, the RD bills them and keeps track of which companies have sent her the payments and when (much more time consuming than you might think!). At this gym the RD also does all of her own marketing as well as scheduling. She writes blogs and facebook postings in attempts to educate members of the gym as well as encourage them to come see her. Many of her clients track what they eat using the application MyFitnessPal and she can log into their account between sessions to encourage them or provide suggestions.

The most spots-focused activity that she did during my time with her was to give a talk to the parents of members of the gym’s swim team. She discussed the importance for student athletes of snacking, hydrating, and of course the essential post-race chocolate milk.

Sports Dietitian in a Hospital Setting

In the setting of a hospital, an RD has a much different role as well as different responsibilities. As a staff member at the hospital, her co-workers were doctors and physical therapists who also specialize in sports. She did not do any of her own scheduling or billing since that was done through the hospital system.

This particular RD saw a lot of patients who have eating disorders. Many of these patients were also athletes such as runners or dancers. A number of other patients were dealing with being overweight or had slow-growth or delayed puberty. 

The most sports-focused activity that she did during my time with her was to participate in a clinic for runners where they could come to have their running (and eating)  analyzed by a physical therapist, a podiatrist, an RD, and a gait analysis.

Regardless of the setting or the fact that they both specialize in sports nutrition, my experience with one-on-one counseling was that often the session does not involve a lot of talk about food. Yes it’s covered, but much of the time issues with food and eating extend so much beyond just knowing what you should and should not eat that there is a lot of general therapy happening.

The Various Roles of an RD: Clincial Dietitian

As many of you know, I am currently in the middle of my Dietetic Internship (DI) which is the last step before I'll be certified to take the exam to become a Registered Dietitian (RD). Every DI across the country, whether based out of a college like the one that I got matched to or based out of hospital, has three elements to the rotations: clinical, community, and food service. Some DIs focus more on one particular element, but each program must incorporate each of those elements at some point. It's a great way not only to learn from many different preceptors and prepare us for the big exam that comes at the end, but also to see the varied roles that are out there for an RD once we pass the big exam! So I've decided that as I go through my internship and work with RDs in different settings I'll highlight that career path here. Hopefully this will give you a better picture of what an RD does and the various options available to someone in this field. Keep in mind that these descriptions are based on my experiences with people in these roles but the responsibilities are certainly different in different places.

Clinical Dietitian
A Clinical Dietitian works in a hospital with patients who are admitted as "in-patient" - this is different from someone who might work in a hospital with patients who schedule appointments to see him or her (that would be "out-patient").

At my clinical rotation a typical day for a clinical dietitian would look something like this:

First thing in the morning, print the sheets that tell us everyone who is currently admitted to the hospital including what date they were admitted and what their admitting diagnosis is. Based on their diagnosis, we then figure out when we need to see them. Basically if they are admitted for something nutrition related, we see them sooner. This prioritization is necessary because there isn't enough time to see everyone while they're in the hospital and it would not make sense for us to go see someone who has had hip surgery but has a normal appetite when someone who has stopped eating gets discharged before we have a chance to see them!

Based on their diagnosis, or if a nurse or doctor has requested that we see a patient, we now know who we need to see that day (each day's notes get carried over to the next day so that we can keep track of how many days a person has been here and when we need to see them based on the prioritization). Once you know who you'll be seeing that day you can start to do some research into their past: what is their medical history, have they had weight change recently, have the nurses been recording their appetite, etc. After the background has been researched we head to the floors where the patients' rooms are. We hope that the ones that we need to see are in their rooms and available though often they're off the floor for a test or busy with another medical professional. Once we do get in to see the patient we do our interview to gather information from the patient. Depending on their admitting diagnosis we ask questions such as: What is your normal weight? How is your appetite currently? Have you noticed your pants are feeling looser? Do you typically follow a diabetic/low salt/fat free diet at home? Would you be open to trying a supplement such as Ensure?

Once the interview is over we go off to type our note into their medical file. The note includes information from the interview as well as our nutrition diagnosis. The nutrition diagnosis is written as a PES statement: Problem, Etiology, Signs and Symptoms. Here is an example of a PES statement: Inadequate oral intake related to nausea and vomiting as evidenced by patient report of not eating for 5 days prior to admission. We then address what we're going to do about the nutrition diagnosis such as suggest supplements, educate them on the diabetic diet, etc and how we will monitor their progress (track lab values, weights, how much they're eating).

In addition to repeating that process for all of the patients on the list for that day there are also meetings such as interdisciplinary rounds to attend and patients on nutrition support to follow-up with (tube feeds or total parenteral nutrition).

There is even more that a clinical dietitian does in their day-to-day role in a hospital but hopefully this sheds some light on one very important role that an RD can play!

Talking Nutrition with Triathletes

Healthy food for hungry triathletes!

Last night I gave my first of (hopefully) many talks about nutrition to athletes. It helped that the athletes in question were members of my triathlon team and helped even more that I had the support of Nicole Cormier, RD of Delicious Living Nutrition in case there were any questions that I couldn't answer! Back in my former life as an editor, I hired Nicole to work on several nutrition books, which she's still doing. It's great to be working with her in a different capacity now.

The talk was at the bike shop that sponsors my team, Wheelworks in Belmont and about 17 teammates came out for the "Everyday Nutrition for Triathletes" talk. I brought lots of fresh fruit and veggies along with hummus, greek yogurt mixed with dill, and two healthy dishes, recipes below. We talked through daily calorie needs based on the Harris Benedict Equation, daily protein and carbohydrate needs, and talked a bit about pre- and post-race nutrition and hydration. I think it went really well and people were really receptive. It's always great to get little reminders of why you've made life changes like this - I love talking to people (especially athletes) about healthy eating, and look forward to continuing to do it for a long time!

Southwestern Protein Fiesta

1 bag Trader Joe’s frozen Fire-Roasted Corn, defrosted

1 bag frozen edamame, defrosted

1 can black beans (no-salt added), rinsed

1 bunch cilantro, rinsed and chopped

1 container fresh salsa

 

Mix all ingredients together and bring cold to a potluck or BBQ, serve warm over rice or quinoa for dinner, roll it in a whole-wheat tortilla for lunch, throw it over salad, or put in your morning eggs!

Whole-Grain Mediterranean Toss

½ cucumber, diced

½ container cherry tomatoes, halved

1 can garbanzo beans (no-salt added), rinsed

1 package low-fat feta cheese

3-4 cups cooked whole grain (quinoa, brown rice, whole-wheat orzo, or barley)

¼ cup fresh basil, chopped

Balsamic vinegar, pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and serve hot inside steamed halved peppers, cold at a picnic, or as a side with grilled chicken!

Eating = Love?

There are very few websites that I check regularly, but Hungry For Change is one of them. A recent post got me thinking. The article, called The Recipe for Love? Similar Eating Habits, is about vegetarian (or vegan, or "veg-curious") speed dating in Berkeley, California.

Ok, so obviously if you have the same eating habits it can make things easier in a relationship - not having to cook two different things each night or make concessions for one person or the other when meal planning. And, presumably, if you're both vegetarian or vegan you both care a lot about either your health or the environment or animal cruelty (you get the picture).

But I think the recipe for love may go even beyond that, to eating preferences. I've been on a slew of dates recently where the topic of food has come up in the getting-to-know-you conversation. One guy said he can't handle spicy food. Which makes me think of all of the amazing heat-fueled dishes we'll never share. Another greatly dislikes cilantro. Which makes me imagine eating salsa and gazpacho and pesto - alone. The real kicker though, came when someone told me that he doesn't like Thai food (or other Asian cuisines). Is it wrong that Thai food is so much a part of my life that I decided right then and there that we had no future together?

In introductory nutrition classes you learn that a person's eating habits are based on social, religious, cultural, environmental, economic, and political factors. So really it's no surprise that, if what you like to eat stems from all of those factors, you'd be drawn to someone who likes to eat what you like to eat. Which is why I think maybe the next advent of speed dating should be based on food preferences instead of eating habits. I'd definitely go to a speed dating event at my local favorite Thai restaurant. Heck, I'd probably be there anyway, digging into a steaming bowl of spicy, cilantro-laden deliciousness.

Schroeder Sibling Swim Off: RESULTS!

Wow, what an incredibly active Memorial Day weekend! I'm sure you've all been sitting at the edge of your seat, waiting for me to unveil the results of the Schroeder Sibling Swim Off. There were some technical difficulties, but all of the glitches seem to have been worked out so that I can now present to you SCHROEDER SIBLING SWIM OFF: THE MOVIE!

As you undoubtedly just sat through and saw, I was the winner, although I only won by about 10 seconds (or approximately 1/2 pool length). It occurred to me as we got towards the end that there was a good chance that we might tie which hadn't even crossed my mind previously, and I'm glad I was able to pull it off in the end - partly because it would've been pretty anti-climactic to have a tie (and partly because winning feels soooo good!). Of course, the original goal of the swim off was to get both of us into the pool and training on a regular basis. Bragging rights are just an added bonus of fitness!

The focus of the weekend was on the swim off to such a degree that I hadn't put much thought into the half marathon that we'd signed up for the next day. In the car on the way there, Erik asked if we should be betting on the run like we did the swim off. I've never in my life ran faster than him so I declined... and then came across the finish line 7 minutes ahead of him, with a PR time of 2:00:34. It just goes to show, a little motivation can carry you a long way!

Back in the Saddle Again

I've been having a tough time convincing myself to get out on my bike recently. It's been pretty chilly and wet and I've had odd pockets of time where other potential riding buddies were not available. I struck out on my own for a quick 12 mile ride and then waited for my triathlon team's annual training weekend in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

If you think it's a good idea to start the season with one short ride and then a long, extremely hilly ride, think again! While it did show a fair amount of optimism on my part, Saturday's 66 mile ride reminded me of several things which all boil down to the same lesson: the best way to get something done without feeling ill affects is to ease into it. That lesson manifested itself in two places. The first, as you might expect, was that my legs and my sit bones were super sore the next day and I biked slower than I would have liked during the ride. The second was with my nutrition. As you might imagine, I tend to think of myself as a person who listens to her body and has a pretty good idea of what to put into it and when. However, it had been longer than I'd like to admit since I had gone on a ride of that distance and length and elevation gain. So after eating a breakfast of oatmeal and fruit, during the entire six hours that we were out on our bikes, I ate a Clif bar and a Luna protein bar. Some people, in the same circumstances, would have been fine. But I was out of practice with what my body needs under those circumstances and ended up not feeling as good as I might have if I'd brought along some whole foods (banana, nuts, crackers) or had stopped for a small meal in addition to the bars that I ate. I just didn't put the right amount of the right things into my body.

Looking good despite not feeling great after biking 66 miles in the White Mountains of New Hampshire (my Co-Membership Director Bernadette is pictured here with me on the right)

I should add that I still had a ridiculously fun time on that ride - I got to know five of my teammates really well (while the other 35 teammates were off climbing other mountains at other distances) and saw some beautiful scenery. But if I had put in a couple more rides ahead of time, I would've had a better idea what to expect from my body that day. I think this lesson applies to a lot of aspects of eating and working out; want to stop being a vegetarian? If you start by one day eating a bacon cheeseburger, you'll probably make yourself sick. Want to run a 10K? If you start by running that distance you'll probably do yourself more harm than good in your training process (and could injure yourself early on). So, try new things, but give yourself time to adapt and let your body learn to love eating healthy and being active.

Running is in the Air

Earlier this week was the 2011 Boston Marathon. This is an exciting time for me and hopefully for others in the area - so many visitors, all of them here for one reason: fitness (aka being ACTIVE!). You can almost feel healthiness in the air, especially if you spend the three days leading up to the marathon at the Sports and Fitness Expo which is full of - you guessed it, active people. Over 80,000 people attend the expo over three days before the race. That's a lot more than the 27,000 people who are there to pick up their race number, so clearly there are some others that are interested in sports and fitness (or at least want free stuff and good deals of things relating to sports and fitness).

The first two days I was working in the Clif Bar booth, chatting with runners and their friends and families about the awesome Clif products that we were sampling. One of the things I overheard the most was "oh wow, these actually taste good!" indicating that they'd tried some less than stellar samples that day. The last day before the race I volunteer at registration, giving runners their number and trying to answer any questions they might have. The Sunday night shift is always interesting because a lot of people come directly from the airport and are somewhat distressed, whether their flight was delayed or they got lost taking the train in.

Runners watch a video of the race course during the Expo

This all leads up to the big day... MARATHON MONDAY (otherwise known in Massachusetts as Patriot's Day). This was the first year in a long time that I had the day off and was able to watch the runners. It was a gorgeous day for it and everyone looked great! I've always said that I'll never run another marathon, but watching the runners with the big smiles (even at mile 22) was super inspiring. It made me think that maybe one of these days I could tackle it again - and since I wasn't much of a runner when I took it on the first time there's enormous room for improvement. Later that night I had dinner with my inspiring friend Rebecca who had just ran a 3:22 race and didn't look tired in the least. After a long and delicious dinner, I went home and did two things: started reading Born to Run and registered for the Madison Half Marathon.

Did the marathon inspire you to take any steps to be more active? Leave it in the comments!

Motivation Station: SIBLING CHALLENGE!

I've talked in the past about what motivates each of us to eat healthy and be active. One of those things is signing up for a race of some sort, whether it's walking a 5K, jogging a half marathon, or attempting to live through an ultramarathon. No matter what the race is, it's a great way to challenge yourself and have an end goal to work towards! On that note...

My brother recently mentioned that he'd like us to sign up for a race so that he has something to work towards. Probably what he meant was that he'd like to do a race together where we get to support each other and race against other people in our respective age groups, like when we raced the Lobsterman Olypmic Triathlon last summer in Maine (see photo). However, I think it might be more motivational for both of us if we were racing against each other, which is why I challenge him to the first ever

SCHROEDER

SIBLING

SWIM OFF

MADISON. MEMORIAL DAY.

The rules: whoever swims the most laps in 25:00 minutes wins. No flip turns, flippers, or flotation devices. Loser buys breakfast at Mickey's Dairy Bar, including but not limited to a scramble and a malted milk shake. The exact date, time, and location are TBD but if you'll be in Madison around that time feel free to come support your favorite Schroeder sibling!

A Valentine for Ramen Noodles

Sometimes the people/things/foods that we love the most treat us the worst. Or maybe they don't necessarily treat us badly, but they don't give us anything in return for our love. I have such a relationship with ramen noodles.

When I was little I remember telling my mom that when I was a grown up I was going to eat ramen ALL the time. I don't think I had any idea that it was one of the cheapest possible foods to want to live off of, I just knew that I wanted to eat it as much as possible. She pointed out that it had no nutritional value and thus would only let me have it on special occasions (and only if I didn't use the entire seasoning packet). At that age, something not having nutritional value was of very little consequence to me and, admittedly, it would be awhile before I would actually care whether or not foods that I loved had this particular trait.

Since I've grown up and started caring more and more about what I put into my body, I admit that I still love ramen. However, I now view ramen sort of like a fixer-upper man/house/piece of furniture. I look at it in all its fried-carbohydrate, sodium-packed glory and think to myself: How I can make this relationship more beneficial to me? One by one, I add ingredients that are good for me: spinach, tofu, mushrooms... until it's almost hard to tell that the main ingredient has no redeeming qualities (besides being delicious of course!).

So this Valentine's Day if you find yourself infatuated with something that doesn't give back, love yourself enough to change it into something with nutritional value. You'll still be able to enjoy the original object of your affection, and your mom will surely approve!

Just Keep Swimming, Just Keep Swimming

Growing up I never considered myself a swimmer. I'd go with my babysitter and her kids to their pool in the summer and would splash around a bit (wearing 50+ SPF and sometimes even a t-shirt if she thought I was looking paler than usual that day) but her kids were actually swimmers, not just splashers. I took lessons at the YMCA when I was little but never managed to get past the part where your head had to be under the water without your hand plugging your nose. After that I saw no reason to further my swimming education; I could float, I could swim to safety, I could tread water. That was enough for me.

Flash forward several years when I saw a sign advertising a women-only triathlon at my gym. Though I hate to admit it now, one of the main reasons that I went for it is because I'd recently been through a break-up and needed something to focus on. And somehow running, biking, and swimming seemed like the perfect thing! I'd grown up going on long-distance bike trips with my dad and had run the Boston Marathon the year before, so I figured that I had both of those aspects more or less down (though obviously they could be improved upon). It was the swimming that made me nervous.

When I got a summer membership to a local pool and started "swimming" laps, I realized that I really couldn't do it. I would swim one length of the pool and be out of breath. I looked around at the other people gliding effortlessly through the water and knew that there must be some trick to it. So I put a posting on craigslist that I was looking for someone who belonged to that pool and had experience teaching adults. Amazingly, the person who responded was my age, had taught swimming classes to adults in college, and lived right near by. Perfect! I've talked to a number of triathletes who did not start out swimmers and many have had "Ah ha" moments in their swimming where all of a sudden it seems... not easy, but manageable - and something to be improved upon rather than something so frustrating that giving up seemed the only option. Jami helped me get to my ah ha moment and for that I am forever grateful. Of course being comfortable in a pool and being comfortable in a big scary lake or ocean are very different, but that's another story for another time.

Now that I'm comfortable swimming laps in a pool I get so much out of it - not only do I train for races and tone my muscles and get a good workout - I do other things like analyze my dreams, make plans, contemplate life goals. All those things that you could do while running or biking but are somehow much easier when you're in your own underwater world and you don't have to worry about clipping out of your pedals at a stoplight or tripping over a small dog on the street.

 My brother Erik, me, and my Dad before the swim start of my very first triathlon

My wave ready to jump into the lake in Webster, MA during the 2007 Danskin Women's Tri (you can't see me in this picture because I had heard that if you don't want to get kicked in the head you should stay towards the back of your swim wave!)