Head Games

BY LEANNE SALANDRO

“It’s mind over matter.”

How many times have you heard that and thought, oh phooey, it still takes some doing to get things done? Well, it’s entirely true that if everything we wanted to accomplish simply stayed in our brains, nothing would happen. I think that’s called “daydreaming”?

However, sometimes tasks present some rough going and, without fierce mental resolve, we would quit and some big challenges in life would go unanswered.

For myself, I never consideredmyself to be an athlete and I certainly didn’t consider an endurance event like triathlon or marathon within the realm of even trying. For most of my adult life, I considered myself a rather neutral sports figure, someone who was more of a hiker or walker; definitely not a runner or swimmer.

This identity probably had seeds in my childhood. Raised to be “a girl”, it was rare in my day to have female athletes in the media in anything other than a handful of sports. The world of sorts was still pretty much a man’s world.

This attitude continued into my early 20’s but things started happening. I got a little bored and curiosity got the best of me.

I received a class schedule in the mail from the local community college and, as I was flipping though it, a karate class caught my eye. Karate was something that always held a bit of mystique for me and piqued my curiosity. I had never been in any kind of physical altercation and knew I would be so pathetic if I ever had to physically protect or defend myself. It had allure, this karate class. I talked myself into signing up. I could always cancel, right? Besides, I didn’t know many people in town and it was something to get me out of the house.

I showed up the first night of class and no one was there. I was utterly confused. Where was everyone? Was I the only one who signed up? I waited around for about 5 minutes and then went home. Whew. I had been a bit nervous about taking that class, a physical class no less, all by myself amidst strangers. It was a sign. I dodged that bullet. Well, dodged it until I got home…

My phone rang and it was a very nice man, Dave Lamb, from Southeast Community College. He was the instructor and there had been a scheduling mix-up. Some people, like myself, had come at the right time but to the wrong room and he wanted to make sure I made it to class. To be polite, I talked with him and told him maybe I would come some other time, some other semester. He kindly urged me to come, heck, come any of the two nights the class was offered, that was fine with him. After some persuading, I agreed to come. That decision changed my life.

I practiced karate with Dave for 2 years and it gave me much more than I ever imagined it could. I expected to learn some deadly moves and get a workout but it gave me both body awareness and physical confidence. I got to know my body, a real feeling physicality, and this knowledge opened up a whole other world and way of thinking. This mental workout had been completely unexpected.

What else could I do? Now, any sport or activity was an option. I started to set some personal challenges for myself. Some goals were simply can-I-do-this tests. Running. I tried in earnest at the ripe old age of 30… I could to it! So, I maybe I could do a race? A 10K perhaps? At the time, I could only run 3 miles but why not? I could train. Wow, I could! I kept running. I used to swim as a kid so I wondered if I could do a triathlon? An olympic distance triathlon? I wanted to scare myself into something significant. I signed up, trained my butt off and, after fearing the ocean swim, the swim turned out to be the fastest piece of my race time. I was giddy! What next? I decided I would register for a full marathon, something I would’ve never dreamed of attempting.

The funny thing about the marathon was my fear of attempting so many miles. Up to that point in time, I had never run more than 8 miles in one stretch. I was curious as to how I would physically manage, how I would feel, if my body would do such a thing.

I talked to a friend of a friend who had run a marathon or two. He said something that helped break my mental block, “After running about 6 miles, they all feel about the same after that.” Surely he was kidding? How could running for hours feel the same as running a 10K? I mentally prepared to find out.

Training for a triathlon was an endeavor of scheduling, work outs, eating right and, of course, mental preparation but the marathon loomed larger for me. The idea of all of those much longer runs scared me. I had a binder with all my notes and training miles mapped out by week. Turns out, I both dreaded and loved my training runs. Training runs gave me hours every week of mental solitude and peace. Feet hitting pavement, alone with my thoughts for hours at a time was a wonderful thing. It was my mobile meditation. As the day grew closer, I felt like I really could be ready on race day.

At mile 23 of that marathon, it became very clear that it was a mental race from that point on. My mobile meditation became a valued asset. I was tired, I had to pee, I kind of wanted to walk but knew that would mean finishing later, prolonging my discomfort. My brain ran those last few miles. I’d invested all of that training so no way was I giving up but, when I was lagging, it was will power alone that got me through. (And yes, after mile 6, they do all pretty much feel the same.)

So, go ahead, daydream often. Exercise your brain, ponder the possibities and discover a myriad of amazing things you can accomplish. The process will give you gifts you may have never imaged. Had I not followed my heart and my head, I would’ve robbed myself of some peak life experiences.

What can you put your mind to?

(Showing) Less Is More

BY LEANNE SALANDRO

When people ask me what I do for a living, they are often surprised to hear that I design and market clothing, specifically active wear providing a wide range of coverage for women. For the most part, we are in the market to offer more coverage versus less. You could say we sort of specialize in modesty.

First of all, people are surprised that I’m an everyday kind of person who designs clothes. It’s more of a high-dollar, fashion runway, Paris, Milan, big label occupation in most imaginations. For me, it’s not quite that glamorous. Enjoyable, but not glamorous.

After that, the surprise lingers around the fact that I would work hard on something involving the word “modesty” especially where the word “fashion” is concerned. People are often operating under the usually false misconception that confident women who are proud of their bodies want to show it off and wear revealing “sexy” outfits.

That may be true for some but, when you are engaged in a truly active endeavor like triathlon, surfing, windsurfing, kiteboarding, kayaking, etc. the last thing on your mind in the heat of the moment is, “do these shorts make my butt look too big”?

Sure, most of us like to look our best as much as possible but most female athletes are primarily concerned about actively enjoying or competing in their chosen sport comfortably. Performance is the priority, not the “hey, check me out” factor. Let’s face it, a little extra coverage actually keeps things nicely covered during rigorous activity and prevents impromptu peep shows of any, um, feminine assets. Furthermore, even the most gorgeously toned back and shoulders will suffer a scorching burn if unprotected all day in the sun kitesurfing. Not fun. Not pretty. Sun protection is serious stuff and even more so for female athletes who spend a lot of time outdoors. Extra coverage also gives the welcome bonus of skin protection.

The caveat here is we really do still want to look good and all this talk of modesty, serious sun protection and coverage engineered to fight physics starts conjuring up images of boring, utilitarian, “un-fun” fashion. Luckily, being too exposed was the “a-ha” moment for a fashion-loving person like myself.

After a particularly chilly surf session with my business partner Kim, we were changing out of our wetsuits and trying to preserve some modesty as we simultaneously wrangled neoprene and large towels with our stiff, cold fingers. We noticed some perv’ on a bicycle who kept riding back and forth past our vehicle… we’re talking five, maybe six, times obviously trying to catch a glimpse of something should a towel slip. I felt an emotional combo of anger and great amusement. How desperate do you have to be to catch a glimpse of the female form so that you’re compelled to ride your bike repeatedly past two, drenched, rumpled, middle-aged chicks struggling out of wetsuits? I can assure you that we were no visions of sexual loveliness as we were trying to get out of neoprene and into some warm, dry clothes. But I digress…

I decided that bottoms designed to coordinate with rashguards would be so great. That way, I could strip off my wetsuit and be covered. No need to fuss with towels! Just unzip and go about my business. Let’s go one step further and make such an ensemble fun and interesting.

In a nutshell, showing a little less really is more and it’s what we aim to deliver at Girls4Sport. Less revealing garments that provide more for the women wearing them. You get the benefits of sun protection and coverage, and (much to the chagrin of peep-tom cyclists everywhere) you also get the added allure of leaving a little something to the imagination.

When is it OK Not to Finish a Race?

BY BROOKE TVERMOES

Girls4Sport triathlete Brooke Tvermoes

When is it OK not to finish a race? This question is a lot harder to answer than you would think. A few weeks ago I had my first DNF (did not finish) and it was probably one of the hardest decisions I have had to make in a long time. Quitting is not a commonly used word in my vocabulary. In my first Iron Man (IM) race, I was hit by a truck at mile 4 of a 112 mile bike; determined to finish my first IM, I got back on my bike and finished the race. I ended up finishing 6^th in my age group! So, quitting a race is not something I ever wanted to do.

Unfortunately, a few weeks ago at the South Carolina Half, when I hopped off my bike in T2 I immediately felt this sharp pain around my left hip flexor. I stopped, walked a few steps with my bike, and tried running to run my bike to the rack. The pain was still there and it wasn’t getting better. I stood there for a while just staring at my running shoes – what to do? Should I put on my running shoes and start the run and see if the pain goes away, or should I just call it a day? After I stood there for what seemed like eternity, weighing the pros and cons of each option, I finally decided to call it a day. I had bigger races on the horizon and there was no need to end my season just so I could slug through what was suppose to be a fun training race.

In the end, I made the right decision. It still took me a few days and several doctors’ appointments before I actually felt comfortable with my decision to stop that race, but I understand it now. I think when we are faced with those types of scenarios it’s hard to always think rationally and make the best choice. You don’t want to be a wimp and we have trained ourselves to be able to push through so much discomfort, so it’s hard to tell when the pain or discomfort is actually enough that we should stop and not push through it anymore. It’s difficult to draw that line and I think we continually push that limit.

The biggest lesson I have learned from this is, is that you should trust your body and if it hurts – stop! There is no need to ruin your season or your career for any one race. Trust your self and trust what your body is telling you. That’s only the first part though.

The second part, which is also very important, is allowing yourself ample time to fully recover. The first few days of recovery are the easiest – it still hurts, you know you shouldn’t push it, so that’s that. But when your injury starts to feel better and training feels good again, it’s so hard not to just get back out there and train hard. However, we need to remind ourselves that it takes time to heal and you need to be kind to your body. A few extra days of rest or light workouts versus an entire season of nursing an injury is time well spent. It can be hard to find that balance though. My advice is, if it hurts stop, and then take the time to fully allow your body to recover. Otherwise you will be nursing an injury all season and what was a little injury may turn into a very serious injury. I still have to remind myself of this and often times I’ll have to ask myself, “If someone came to me and told me how I am feeling right now, what would you tell them to do?” The answer is usually, “Stop.” Pushing through an injury is never the smart thing to do but it’s not an easy decision to make either.

Brooke Tvermoes is a professional triathlete sponsored by Girls4Sport and a post doc at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in North Carolina.