Heidi on Vashon

La Jolla Shores from the water, 3.23.23. Not the nicest conditions, but great training!  This winter I'd blocked time to zip down to San Diego and complete an English Channel relay qualifier with Dan Simonelli (Open Water Swim Academy). Initially I was on a 2023 relay but excused myself after this qualifier had been arranged, but I decided to keep the CA date. I figured if nothing else this is always a nice way to set the tone for early-season training ahead. Then, swim buddy Mary S. checked in on 2024 dates and secured an early-season relay on SUVA--16 months out from now. She is swimming a solo in 2025, and a relay is always a nice appetizer to the main course. For EC, I'm only interested as an appetizer! The hope is now we can build a Vashon team, but it's a tough sell. Mary R. was intrigued at the notion and decided she and Mary S. would come down with me and knock out a qualifier this year (They are good for 18 months, so why not?). Initially, Becky my fall tandem b...

Look up from the stump at the white spot high in the Madrona tree: bald eagle! I write this as I hum from endorphins, fresh from weight training. At no time do my neurological deficits show more than when I fatigue! Today was: Rowing warmup 1k meters Plank shoulder touches (20), trx for traps (10), and then trx shoulders (10) - 3 sets of all Bench press builds of increased weight swapped with less reps 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and a 2 encore for better form - did to 77.5 pounds.  Next was core. And then things really fell apart on my right side!  3 sets of 10 Ab rollouts, side plank each side :30 - left side, no problem; right side....DISASTER I was like a little kid trying to climb a tree like a big kid and FAILING. Like, I failed so so so badly only on my right side. This is when I really recognize the neurological struggle between what my brain is asking and what my body can deliver under fatigue. UGH. It gives me some direction on needed tune-ups, although there isn't a ton to be do...

There are these feelings that happen in March: ambition, hope, optimism, excitement, hunger? It's something about the days getting brighter and longer in the Pacific NW, and the dawning of the coldest salt water of the year, that an awakening takes place. Essentially, it's pre-spring. Swim event emails go out with all your favorite event lineups. Friends start encouraging each other to swim outside, or to swim longer, or with no wetsuit. More meetups occur. I personally get the swimsuit-shopping bug (although I must also PURGE the suits that have worn out, or never properly fit in the first place...looking at YOU, Jolyn one-piece!).  This month I'll be looking carefully at West Coast open water events--to hold myself to goals and as a forced way to keep working out in a vigorous way! The Monday 1:1 crossfit is an indelible part of this routine. It's an appointment I do not miss, and I feel the hurt for about two days after, but good protein eases the lactic acid punis...

  Jersey UK, Summer 2022 MV Lionheart, our pilot boat It has begun: Another year of training this middle-aged bod to be athletic for a long San Diego swim.   I say that in relative terms. “Long” isn’t doing the entire English Channel, but it’s not a 5k goal either. In 2013, I had yet to swim a straight 5k! In 2021 I finally edged up to 18.6 to swim around Coronado. I thought I was sated on marathon swimming until I signed up for another route in San Diego that intrigued me: Pt Loma to Ocean Beach, aka The 15k PLOB. October will bring this adventure, with swim pal Becky tandem-ing the entire route alongside. I’m thrilled (awed!) to swim this very cliff-lined coastal route and see a part of San Diego from an angle I’ve yet to see. Since mid-December I’ve been grunting it out at weekly CrossFit p/t, sprinkling in swims and additional gym workouts, and focusing in on nutrition. The ravages of perimenopause are sucky! It takes all the interventions to feel normal, let alone athle...