GOODBYE TO OPEN WATER SWIM ANXIETY

SAYING GOODBYE TO OPEN WATER SWIM ANXIETY

So last week I completed my first 1.2 mile open water swim competition (see blog post here).  As race day got closer, my apprehension and anxiety over swimming in open water grew.  I was on the verge of pulling the plug on everything...swimming, biking, triathlon in general.  And then a friend at the YMCA talked me down.

I've spent the last year trying to understand and pinpoint specifically what caused my anxiety. But a conversation with my friend Dave revealed some very interesting truths.  Dave is a triathlete who has completed close to 100 triathlons, Ironman included.  If anyone would understand, he would! I explained that every time I got over one fear, another fear seemed to creep up to take its place.  Somehow I believed that if I could pinpoint the exact fear, I could overcome it. 

And here is where I discovered the truth of the problem...it isn't just ONE fear, its multiple fears. And that's very normal.

A fear of swimming in deep water, a fear of not having anything to hold on to if I need a break, a fear of not being able to stand up, a fear of being kicked in the face, a fear of someone swimming over me, a fear of being unable to complete the distance non-stop, a fear of not being able catch my breath.  These multiple fears overwhelmed me on race day, and yet they all related to one very specific thing; confidence in my swimming ability. I've discovered that confidence is THE key!

MY BIGGEST HURDLE AT THE MOMENT
While I was improving during my open water swim practices at the lake, one big issue remained.  Could I swim the entire distance without stopping?  And if I did need a break, how would I handle it?  Every time I swam at the pool I believed I needed to stop after a handful of laps to take a quick break.  I had never pushed myself to swim long distance without stopping.  And this terrible habit followed me to the lake as well.  What's worse is that there's a sand bar at the lake where you can stop and take a break. 
  
And this is where Dave stepped in.  He told me that I really needed to mentally push myself and swim 2,500 yards in the pool without stopping.  His exact words were "resist the urge to stop".  If I did stop, it should be for a few very brief seconds and back to swimming immediately.  The first 16 to 24 lengths would be the most challenging mentally, but once I was in a groove I shouldn't feel the need to stop and hang on the wall.

So I took Dave's advice and swam 2,500 yards without stopping.  And he was completely right; the first 16 lengths or so were the hardest.  After 8 lengths I desperately wanted to stop for a break, but I just kept pushing. "Resist the urge to stop".  Once I found a groove, my breathing became rhythmic and controlled.  Two days later I went back and ended up swimming 2 full miles non-stop. THAT was a HUGE confidence booster! The trick for me was to slow down my swim stroke every time I wanted to stop. Once the urge passed, I could pick up my pace again.

Going into the Nav-e-Sink or Swim race, I believed that if I could get over the initial shock of getting in with a mass swim start and if I started out slowly, I could swim the entire 1.2 mile distance without stopping.  And that was what I did.

I'm beginning to realize that open water swimming, and swimming in general, requires more than just physical endurance.  It's a mental game that requires self confidence in your ability so that you can handle anything that comes your way, especially in a race.  So just keep swimming, resist the urge to stop and no hanging on the pool wall. Rivers, lakes and oceans don't have walls to hang on to. MT=Mental Toughness. Get your head right.

NAV-E-SINK OR SWIM RACE REVIEW 2015

I cannot wait to share this race report with you! This was my first year doing the Nav-e-Sink or Swim 1.2 mile open water swim competition in Rumson NJ.  Last year, when I was completely new to swimming, I remember thinking that there would never be a day when I (ME) could swim 1.2 miles...in open water.  But here I was.  Getting ready for my first ever 1.2 mile swim competition.

I signed up for the race last minute. My friend Mollie and Adele were doing it, so I decided to be a follower (not a leader) and give it a try.  After hitting the submit button, I regretted my decision instantly.  What was I thinking??? I'll tell you what I was thinking..."that's some cool looking 10th anniversary medal they're giving out". Yeah, this isn't the first time I've signed up for a race because of a cool looking medal.

PACKET PICKUP
Tom and I took a ride down to Victory Park in Rumson NJ the evening before the race.  I picked up our race packets and tried not to get myself worked up over the swim.  But yeah, I admit it, I was really nervous. I even had a dream that I kept going under water and popping back up again and Adele kept telling me that everything would be ok.  As I'm sure you can guess, I didn't get the best nights sleep.

RACE DAY
The participant list looked long and once again, I was worried about parking. Eh hem, story of my life. We were out the door at 5:00 am and arrived at Victory Park at 6:15. The sun was coming up and the sky looked beautiful.  The buoys were out and the course was set.   

We laid our towels on the lawn (the smart people brought picnic blankets) and hung out together. At 7:00 am I decided to go for an easy 10 minute run.  I just needed to be alone and shake off the nervousness.  By the time I got back Mollie and Adele were in their wetsuits and ready to go.  The air temperature was in low 50's (as in cold) and the water temperature was about 61 degrees (as in cold). It was a bit windy and the conditions caused the water to be choppy.  I was having major second thoughts about this.

The race began with the 1.2 mile swimmers followed by the 2.4 mile swimmers at 8:00 am.  The first wave (1.2 mile Age Group Men) lined up on the shore.  The horn blew at 7:30 am sharp, and off they went into the cold, murky Navesink river.  Next it was our turn.  Nearly 200 women lined up and at 7:38 am, the horn went off.  I stayed at the very back of the pack and let them all go in.  Myself and 6 other women were the last to get in. Three minutes later, the 1.2 mile Buddy Heat would follow and at 8:00 am the 2.4 mile swimmers would get in.  That river was going to get crowded pretty soon.

THE COURSE
I got in and decided to see if I could put my head down and swim.  Nope.  It was dark and murky and I had that horrible feeling in my chest.  I took a few strokes with my head up then put my face into the water again.  Nope.  Still too dark and murky.  As I swam with my head up, I heard a woman yelling for a lifeguard.  A group of us tried to get a lifeguards attention.  She was panicked and wanted to get out of the water.  Slowly she calmed down and decided to see if she could continue.  Meanwhile, the clock was ticking.

The first buoy was located at the corner of a dock that we had to swim around.  I noticed most of the women around me were either doing a slow breaststroke, floating on their back, or bobbing and procrastinating.  It felt crowded around the dock and I felt uncomfortable with the whole scene. I decided it was time to beat it out there, so I put my face in the water and swam freestyle. I found a jolt of confidence and decided at that moment that I wasn't going to stop swimming until the end.

I turned the dock and entered into a cove-like area heading upstream.  It wasn't really difficult swimming upstream because the cove seemed to keep the current to a minimum.  I *believed* that when I made it to the turn around buoy I would be heading downstream, thus having the current at my back.  I didn't know how wrong my *belief* was.

Along with the choppy water, I felt these random waves but I wasn't sure where they were coming from.  And then I realized the waves were caused by boats going down the river.  Several times I tried to take in air and got a mouth full of water instead.  Now add waves to that and it felt a bit surreal and insane.  "Keep calm and think about technique" was what I kept telling myself.  I swam along going buoy to buoy upstream without stopping.  If a wave lifted me up, I stayed relaxed and went with it. If I got a mouth full of water, I spit it out and hoped for air on the next go around.

FINALLY I arrived at the green turn buoy.  I swam around the buoy and noticed a few women had stopped for a break.  Apparently the water was really shallow there, so you could stand up if you wanted to.  Nope, I'm not stopping now.

After turning the buoy I discovered what was in store for the rest of the swim "downstream". I didn't know it at first but the Navesink river dumps into the ocean, and the ocean was pushing the current up against us.  Essentially we were swimming downstream, against the current.  Like an oxymoron.  To boot, the sun was on the horizon directly in front of us so sighting was very limited, at best.  Luckily I wore my polarized goggles which cut the glare down a bit.  I just kept swimming but wasn't sure if I was making progress.  It felt as though I was swimming and not getting anywhere.

When I made it to the first green buoy I was relieved to know that I was actually making progress. There was a bridge up ahead and since I couldn't see much because of the sun I decided to aim for the bridge.  Oh look, another green buoy! I just kept swimming.  There were swimmers all around me but I realized everyone wanted their own space. Eventually I made it to green buoy #3, and I just kept swimming.  I saw a man taking a break for a moment and some lifeguards in a rowing boat off to the side. What I thought about during the swim? I still don't remember.

I passed green buoy #4, and just kept swimming.  "Aim for the bridge and look for the yellow buoy".  Finally, there it was in all it's glory! Shining at me like a beacon in the sunlight. The yellow turn buoy where you begin your swim back towards shore.  I was so happy at this point, that I kicked it into a higher gear (for me). I swung those arms and kicked those legs and just kept going until I reached the shore.  When the water was about calf high I stood up and began running out of the river.  As I ran towards the finish line, another woman started running as well.  We both sprinted to the finish line together.  My finish time was 46:09.

I received my beautiful finishers medal and felt elated at how well I had done considering everything I was up against.   Wind, cold weather, cold water, I'm a head case, mass swim start, choppy water, waves, flailing arms, flailing legs, people needing lifeguards, nasty current, and water that was black as ink at times.  In fact, our faces were covered with a black soot when we got out.  What did we swim in? I have NO idea, nor do I want to know.  Its too late now.

CLOSING THOUGHTS
With everything that I went through, I cannot wait to do this race again!!! Yes, it was that great! I'm still in a state of disbelief that I (ME) conquered this. Will I do the 2.4 mile swim next year? I doubt it, but hey who knows. Obviously a lot can happen between now and then. I think about all of the things that have happened between last year and this year. But you know what? I'll worry about it when the time comes...next year.  

AIRBNB BROOKLYN HALF RACE REPORT 2015

Well, another Brooklyn Half goes down in the history books.  Just like last year, I still love this race. But just like last year, the logistics of it still suck! The whole packet pickup for this race is a real downer. But anyway here goes:

Packet Pickup:
Packet Pickup was at Pier 2 in Brooklyn. Same place as last year, only this year it wasn't raining outside, so that was one positive. The traffic to get there? Just as awful as last year! Between the construction in Staten Island and the never ending bumper to bumper traffic in Brooklyn, it's enough to give you heart failure.

This year we found a parking garage about 1/2 mile away from the pier and walked over to the expo.  The expo was small and included New Balance and other small vendors. Our race shirts were really nice this year.  Black tech shirts with the Brooklyn Half logo.   Since there wasn't much happening at the expo, we got our gear and made our way back to the car.  Before leaving Brooklyn, Tom found a subway station and pre-purchased metro cards for Saturdays race.

Race Day:
Since my brother and niece were also running the Brooklyn Half, Tom and I had to leave New Jersey extra early to meet them in Staten Island.  We woke up at 2:45 am and were out of the house by 3:40.  We arrived at my brothers house by 4:30 am and were on our way to Coney Island by 4:50.  The first wave of runners was scheduled to start at 7:00 am and the second wave was scheduled to start at 7:45 am.  With over 26,000 runners, the parking lot fills up really fast so we wanted to be there as early as possible. 

We parked the car at the Coney Island Aquarium and walked across the street to catch the Q train to Prospect Park.  The subway arrived within 10 minutes and a huge group of runners got on board.  We exited at the Prospect Park platform and made our way to the corrals which were set up near the Brooklyn Museum. Tom and I were in the first start wave but we decided to drop back to the first corral (corral 20) in wave 2.  Once again NYRR had a million porta potties at the start line and I heard people commenting how great it is that they had that many toilets.  The weather was cloudy and humid with some darker clouds on the horizon.  It was difficult to tell whether or not it was going to rain on us. It felt like a 50/50 shot at that point.

We watched the first wave of runners take off and it was about 25 minutes before all of the runners cleared out.  The race officials moved wave 2 up to the starting line, but we still had to wait another 20 minutes before it was our turn to go.  At 7:45, the horn blew and we were off and running.

Running The Brooklyn Half:
We made our way down Washington Avenue to head towards Grand Army Plaza.  I didn't notice this last year but the road heading towards the plaza has a slight upward grade and my legs felt it this year.  I looked down at my watch and noticed I was running a 7:04 pace.  Needless to say, I threw the brakes on immediately.  We looped the statue at Grand Army Plaza and headed towards Prospect Park.

This year running through Prospect Park didn't feel as long or as hard as it did last year.  I don't know why, but Prospect Park felt a bit shorter and easier to me. Trust me this is all in my head because the course was exactly the same this year as it was last year.  Prospect Park is a bit hilly and you meet the longest climb at mile 5.  I remembered this hill from last year and knew that I just needed to make it over the hill before my race could really begin.  And then I felt a few rain drops. It felt really cool and refreshing at first, but the rain started picking up.  Suddenly it was pouring on us.  I noticed my body temperature cool down immediately and I decided to see if I could push myself a bit harder to take advantage of the cooling rain.

After exiting Prospect Park we headed towards Ocean Parkway.  I tried to avoid the biggest puddles, but that was impossible.  It just was what it was.  Once I was on Ocean Parkway the rain stopped and I felt as though I was in a groove with my pace.  The skies were cloudy but I'm not complaining because there's very little shade along Ocean Parkway.  And sunshine is my kryptonite.  NYRR set up water and Gatorade stations at every mile marker along Ocean Parkway.  As always the volunteers were spectacular!  Another reason why I love running this race.

There were a couple of minor grades on Ocean Parkway, but for the most part it's a straight shot to the Coney Island Boardwalk and the finish line.  "Here come all the sexy runners", "Are you walking? There's no walking on MY corner", "Hurry up, Nathans is almost out of hot dogs".  The comments and signs along the way made me laugh. 
Every time I looked down at my watch, I noticed my pace was in the 7:43 to 7:45 range.  I kept pushing myself the best that I could to hold that pace.  One woman said "that's it, just keep running that nice easy pace".  I wanted to strangle her because it did not feel like a nice easy pace! 

I got to the end of Ocean Parkway and followed the runners towards the Coney Island Cyclone where you hang a left and take the ramp onto the boardwalk.  There were tons of people cheering, but I sort of drowned them out.  I had that feeling that I just needed this race to be over with.  I ran up the ramp towards the boardwalk and noticed it was slippery from the sand and rain.  I got onto the boardwalk and saw the finish line not too far away.  I did the best that I could and hurled myself across the finish line.  I didn't feel too well.  I looked at my watch and noticed that I was a minute and half slower than my Staten Island Half time.  I know I sound like a big baby right now but I was bit annoyed with my finish time.  Somehow I really thought I would PR, so I was disappointed in myself. Hey at least I care about my time.

Tom wasn't too far behind me.  We grabbed an apple and pretzels and followed the runners into the parking lot to wait for my brother and niece.  There are SO MANY people at this event and we really should have agreed on a meeting place beforehand.  I think the gear pickup area would have been a good idea. 

After Party and Getting the Hell Out:
The stadium is set up for 2 things; a family meeting place and after party.  They put letters along the top of the stadium so that you could meet your family and/or friends in specific letter zones.  But I'll tell you what. It was absolute mayhem in there. I felt this overwhelming need to get out of there because it was too crowded and people were aimlessly wandering everywhere.  You could purchase beer, food, pretzels, popcorn and other items, as long as you were willing to wait on very long lines.  Local bands were there to entertain everyone. 

By the time we found my brother waiting for us outside of the stadium, the lot was nearly empty.  We walked back to the car, which isn't the shortest of walks (especially after running 13.1 miles with soaking wet socks and sneakers).  Our feet were cold and wet and I could feel a blister or two getting ready to take shape. 

We got back to the car and saw that the race was nearly over. There were only a handful of runners on the road.  They finally opened the parking lot and allowed us to leave but that was a nightmare because everyone was racing to get out of the parking lot.  

Anyway, I know I sound a bit negative about the Brooklyn Half and I don't mean to.  I'm just giving you fair warning.  If you take public transportation you'll more than likely avoid a lot of traffic issues.  But if you drive and park your car at the aquarium, forget about getting out of there quickly. The smart people probably take the train.

My closing thought is this: if you can avoid get stressed over the logistics of packet pickup and if you can enjoy the race and not get worked up over the endless slow moving traffic afterwards, the Brooklyn Half is one of THE BEST half marathons out there.  I promise you that! So rock on Brooklyn. I'll probably be an idiot and see you again next year ;)

OVERCOMING MY OPEN WATER SWIM ANXIETY

Yesterday I had my first open water swim of the 2015 triathlon season.  I went back to Lake Ockanickon in Medford NJ.  From my home it takes me approximately 1 hr and 15 minutes to get there and I wanted to go by myself because I wasn't sure if I was going to go into panic attack mode again this year.

Well I did go into panic attack mode...sort of.  It started in the car as I drove to the lake.  I tried pinpointing what my fear was and I realized something stupid.  I was having a panic attack over the mere thought of having a panic attack.  It's like a dream within a dream (one of my favorite Edgar Allen Poe poems btw).  I didn't want to go through that horrible feeling again this year.

A PEP TALK FROM COACH JASON:
ETA coach Jason was there on the dock when I arrived.  I told him about my panic attacks every time I swim in open water and that I couldn't do one open water swim last year without having to flip onto my back.  His advice? If I had a panic attack today, just accept it and flip onto my back.  Since the course was set up as a big triangle this year (last year it was a straight shot out and back), he told me not to swim the entire course. Just go to the first buoy and back again until I got comfortable.  I threw a bit of a protest because I knew I could swim the course, I just didn't understand why this happened to me.  "Because we're land creatures and this feels foreign and weird to us".  I told him I hated people who learned to swim as kids because they had no understanding of what it felt like.  He told me he didn't learn to swim until adulthood and he could relate to my frustration. AKA, quit your bitching and swim.

A MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT CAUSES MY PANIC ATTACKS:
I got my wetsuit on and headed towards the water.  I knew it was going to be double the suck because the water was very cold (58-59 degrees).  I swam towards the sand bank (which is where the swim course begins) and tried putting my face into the water. Holy mama it was REALLY COLD AND REALLY DARK.  No, no, no, I am not going there. The fact that I was wearing brand new, heavily tinted goggles didn't help at all. Way to go rocket scientist! The water depth at the sand bank is shallow so I stood up and looked out at the first buoy.  "It's even colder out there" a young guy said.  I wanted to bail on the entire swim and go home, but I didn't drive that far to give up.

And then I went for it! I put my face into the water and began swimming towards the first buoy. That's when I discovered one of my biggest issues!  I couldn't blow any air out of my lungs and this immediately threw me into complete panic attack.

SO WHY IS BLOWING AIR OUT OF YOU LUNGS THAT IMPORTANT?
Here is a summary of what would happen to me:  My heart rate would spike significantly before I even entered the water and a high heart rate instantly causes breathing issues, even if you're standing still.  Then I would get into the water and my heart rate would spike again from sensory overload of everything happening at once around me. I truly believe these quick and constant heart rate spikes are what causes people to have a heart attack during the swim portion of a triathlon.  They probably have an underlying heart condition that they are unaware of and the constant spiking of the heart rate triggers the heart attack.

So there I am in the water with a super high heart rate and I haven't even started swimming yet.  I put my face down to swim and I do THE WORST THING POSSIBLE...I hold my breath!!! A super high heart rate AND holding your breath is a really bad combination! But I don't hold my breath on purpose. It happens because my heart rate and sensory issues are in complete overload and that overload causes me to hold my breath. But now I've identified the problem.

HOW I OVERCAME AND SWAM WITHOUT HAVING A PANICK ATTACK...FINALLY!
I decided to head towards the first buoy to see if I could overcome panic mode.  I put my face in the water and barely blew any air out.   I turned to take air in, but I couldn't breathe because my lungs were still filled.  Instead of stopping and flipping on to my back as I would do the past, I immediately put my face back in the water and continued swimming.  On my second attempt, I blew a little bit of air out and got a little bit of air in.  I immediately put my face back in for round three.  Round three I blew a bit more air out and was able to get a bit more air in, but not enough.  I went for the fourth round.  On the fourth attempt I finally blew a lot of air out and was able to get a decent amount of fresh air back into my lungs.  When I was able to blow a lot of air out, I felt my body instantly relax.  So there it was...4 attempts to blow air out and get fresh air in. I didn't worry about technique at that moment. In fact I thought "swim shitty, swim slowly". I just wanted to swim slowly and get my heart rate down and my breathing under control.  I learned that the first several strokes (probably the first 25 yards) are the hardest but you have to stick with it.  If you bail out too soon and flip on to your back after one or two attempts to get air, you start the process all over again. 

And that was my biggest problem last year.  I would only give myself 2 attempts to get air before I flipped onto my back. This year I decided I would give myself 6 attempts in a row.  If I didn't get air by the 6th attempt, then would I allow myself to flip onto my back. But that never happened.  It took me 4 attempts to get everything to click into place.

By the time I made it to the first buoy my heart rate was close to being normal and I felt as though I had a good breathing pattern. The longer I swam, the better everything got.  I was able to complete 3 laps of the entire course without ever having to flip on to my back.  And let me tell you that was a great confidence booster! I was freezing cold by the time I got out of the lake and my fingers and toes were numb, but I was elated at my progress.

Did I still feel a bit freaked out with my face in the dark water? Yes, but only for the first 50 yards or so.  Am I saying that I'm 100% over my fear? Absolutely no.  But I do feel better having some understanding of what's happening to me physically when I swim in open water.  I know I have to focus on 3 key things: blowing air out to get fresh air in, establishing a good breathing pattern and swimming slowly early on to get my heart rate down.  Plus I can't bail out if I'm unable to get air on the first or second attempt, I have to give it several attempts in a row. I also found that early on in the swim, I purposely over-rotated, just to give myself an extra second or two of having my face out of the water. Once I was comfortable, I tried not to over-rotate because it only slows you down.

So there you have it.  Try focusing on those 3 critical components and don't bail out too soon.  If it helps, have a friend swim next to you just so know someone is close by and watching.  Hopefully you too will slay the open water swim dragon. Once you understand how mental fear affects you physically, it gets easier. I swear it does.

DEEP TUFTED UPHOLSTERED HEADBOARD

My deep tufted upholstered headboard project

So I'm completely going off triathlon topic to talk about a project that I recently completed. You know, because sometimes you need to get stuff done around the house. I made this tufted upholstered headboard with crystal buttons for my guest bedroom...or for Tom when he snores.  See, I can swim, bike, run and upholster {wink}. This was my first ever attempt at upholstering and I'm pretty happy with the end result. Like any other project it had it's annoying x-factors but I learned a lot. And yes, I would do it again.  In case you're curious, this post is a summary of the process.  I also found great how-to upholster videos on YouTube by ALOWORLD.

It all started here at the Fabric Warehouse in Rahway NJ.  I chose an off white linen fabric with a slight sheen to it.  I purchased 3 yards of

fabric, 9 feet of decorator foam (it was cheaper than upholstery foam), 3 yards of batting and 2 yards of black fabric (for the back of the board).  Do NOT cheap out on the batting because the batting makes a big difference!

Next stop was at my local lumber yard where I purchased a 4'x8' piece of plywood that was a 1/2 inch thick.  I measured the bed frame from side to side (queen size frame) and it measured 60 inches across.  Using a circular saw, I cut the plywood down to 60 inches wide by 38 inches high. I own a lot of power tools, I know how to use them and I'm not afraid to use them. In fact, I love my power tools.

 

Figuring out the measurement for the button holes was the challenging part. I decided that the button holes would be 7" apart from side to side and 7.5 inches apart up and down.  I found center of the board and drew a grid.  After the grid was drawn in, I marked the holes where the buttons would go. I used a 3/8 inch drill bit and drilled my button holes.

Next it was time to put the foam on.  I used a spray adhesive and sprayed both the board and foam. I laid the foam over the board and pressed down until it stuck.  Since I didn't have a reciprocating saw, I used an electric knife (you know the one that you use to cut your Thanksgiving turkey) and cut the excess foam off around the edges.  It worked like a charm, but don't tell anyone that I used a turkey knife.  It'll be our secret.

 

After cutting and gluing the foam down, I marked the holes for the buttons.  Using my 10" upholstery
needle, I came up from the bottom of the board and poked the needle straight through the foam and marked the spot using a sharpie.

Once I had all of the holes marked, it was time to cut the holes out using a 1 1/4 inch hole cutter.  Be very careful here that you put the center of the drill-bit directly on the dot and drill straight down...do not slant the drill bit.  You want straight and even foam holes.  This part can be tricky so take your time.

After you cut all of the holes out, your board will look similar to the picture below.  You can already see the diamond pattern taking shape.  At this point, I moved everything out the basement and upstairs because I didn't want to get my fabric dirty.  I'm not going to lie, my basement is in need of a good cleaning.  I laid the batting over the foam (don't glue the batting) and made sure I had excess batting hanging off all of the edges.  I snipped the batting over each hole so that the button would go in a bit easier.

And here is where things get tricky, tricky.  You have to cut the fabric down to proper size for your board.  If you don't know the professional way to line up and cut fabric, find an online tutorial.  Fabric should always be folded in half from selvage to selvage and cut as straight as possible. Since my board was 38" high (top to bottom) and the decorator fabric was 60" wide, I didn't need to cut the width of the fabric.  I did need to cut the length of the fabric because it was much too long from side to side. So my board was 60 inches from side to side, plus I added an extra 16 inches of fabric on each side.  So the math went like this: My board was 60 inches (from side to side) plus I wanted to add 16" to each side. I cut the fabric length to 92 inches (60"+16"+16"=92" cut length). Do you follow me?

With the fabric folded from selvage to selvage, I folded the fabric again from top to bottom.  This method found center of the fabric.  I made a very faint pencil mark in the center of the fabric so that I would know exactly where the center was. Make sure you mark the WRONG side of your fabric, not the good side! Next I drew a very faint straight line going from side to side on the back side of the fabric.  This line would be my guide for my center row of buttons.  Now I had to find the center of the board (faintly mark it) and match the center of the fabric to the center of the board.  I made sure my pencil line went straight across the middle row of button holes (see photo above). I also kept the center of my fabric lined up with the center of my board.  Carefully open the fabric up and make sure your pencil line is correctly lined up with the middle row of buttons. This is important stuff here.  Next, I threaded all of my buttons using Roman Shade cording
instead of upholstery thread. It worked out great!

Now you come to the place where you get to put your upholstering skills to the ultimate test: If you have a button hole at the center of your board, start there. If you don't have a button hole in the center (which I did not), choose a button hole next to the center. I started with the button hole to the left of center. Using your index finger, push the fabric straight down and into the hole until you feel your fingertip touch the board underneath. The first button is the most crucial.  Now double check that your center line is still going straight through the middle row. Adjust the fabric if you need to. If for any reason your fabric got wonky, take it out, re-center it and try again. It is super important that your pencil line remains straight through the middle row of buttons. After you have the fabric in the hole and your line is still going straight from side to side, use your upholstery needle to pull your first button through. Make sure you push the button as deep as possible, pull the cord really tight from underneath and staple the cord to hold the button in place.  A pneumatic stapler is the way to go here because a manual stapler does not hold the cord down as tightly.

Recheck that your pencil line is still straight. If it is, go to the next button hole located at the right of center.  Pull the fabric from the stapled button hole towards the right button hole and get the fabric taut, but not ridiculously taut.  LOOK AT THE GRAIN OF YOUR FABRIC AND MAKE SURE THE GRAIN IS GOING STRAIGHT FROM ONE BUTTON HOLE TO THE NEXT. This is THE big trick to keeping your upholstery project looking beautiful.  No matter what direction you're working in, you must always keep the fabric grain straight!!!  If you don't keep the grain straight, your pleats will get wonky looking. Pull the fabric tight from button hole to button hole, BUT NOT RIDICULOUSLY TIGHT.  If I could change one thing, I would not pull the fabric as tight as I did from hole to hole.  I think I went a bit overboard here with the tightness.  When everything looks good, put the next button in and staple it.  Continue doing this for the entire middle row of buttons (fabric grain straight, pull fabric tight but not ridiculously tight, push the button all the way down and staple).

Once you get the entire middle row done, you can work on the next row down. On all of the other row you will not staple the buttons one by one as you put them in.  At this point, you're going to get the entire row of buttons in first, then go back and staple them.  Fix your pleats as you work, making sure all of your pleats fold downwards.  Do every row of buttons this way and neatly wrap the fabric around the back.  Staple, staple, staple. Don't be cheap with the staples. The above photo shows what the back of my board looked like when all of the buttons were in.  After I finished stapling everything in the back, I covered the board with black fabric.  I zig zagged the edges of the black fabric so that it didn't fray.

Next I cut 1 inch thick pine boards down so that I could make legs for my headboard.  I used left over fabric from my headboard and made sleeves to cover the legs. I attached a long and short piece together using metal plates and screws. Below I've added some photos of what the board looked like from the back and which screws I used to attach the legs to the board. I pre-drilled the holes for the screws because pine is tough to get through.  Finally, I attached the headboard to the bedframe using machine bolt
screws.

If you're a handy DIY'er you'll have fun with this project.  I estimated that the total cost came to $167.  Yes, I kept tabs.  Cost breakdown: plywood $20, decorator foam and batting $65, fabric $18, spray adhesive $12, upholstery needle and cording $10, 1 inch crystal buttons $20 (bought on Amazon), nuts bolts and screws $16, black fabric for backing $6. If I can find more of this fabric at the warehouse I'd like to make a matching storage trunk. But that will be for a future project because this triathlete is missing her swim, bike, run days.

Wood screws were used to attach the legs to the board and the machine bolts and washers were used to secure the headboard to the bedframe

 

A close up of one of the legs

 

What the back of my headboard looks like

 

NYC Half Marathon Race Review 2015

On Sunday, Tom and I ran the NYC Half Marathon sponsored by United Airlines and Tata Consultancy Services.  I must have tried at least 25 times to write this post, but I'm having a bit of conflict over this race. It was good...not magical, but good.

Sometimes its a race and sometimes its a journey.  I decided early on that the NYC Half would be a journey.  Perhaps that was my first mistake.  I convinced myself that I wanted to live in the moment and take photos along the way.  Note to self: the next time I want to "live in the moment", I'm doing it at a pace that makes me happy.

Anyway, we got into the city at 5:30 am and many of the parking garages were closed.  Surprise!  Instantly I could feel Tom switch into panic mode.  We finally found a garage under Lincoln Center that was open.  Parking was a mere $36, but that's NYC for you.

It was still dark and cold outside. Not brutally cold, but early-morning-in-mid-March cold. We decided not to use gear check because there's always a million people clamoring for their stuff, and we wanted to avoid that. Perhaps mistake number 2.

We arrived at the start line with a little over an hour to spare. So now we stood there, in the cold corral for over an hour before the race even began.  Mistake 3.  My toes were frozen solid.

Finally, the race started and Tom and I stayed together.  The first 6 miles were a loop of Central Park.  After doing the 9+1 program last year with NYRR's, I came to realize that I'm sick of running around Central Park.  It's very hilly and slightly boring IMO.  Tom saw a friend of his from Goruck at mile 4 and stopped for a quick photo. "Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up" is a Goruck mantra.

After 6 miles, we exited Central Park and headed down Broadway towards Times Square.  This is where the race took on an epic feeling for a few minutes.  We slowed down and took in the lights and sounds of Times Square.  It felt amazing to be there.  We saw ourselves on the big screen and the crowd support was great.  When we reached 42nd Street we headed for the West Side Highway.

There were DJ's set up along the route to entertain us and I thought it was funny that two different DJ's were spinning Run DMC tunes.  One played Walk this Way and the other played It's Tricky.  Talk about a 1980's flashback! All of us older folks were singing along.

So now we turn onto the West Side Highway and boom, we're hit with a cold, damp wind.  I'm tempted to fumble around to see if I can find my gloves (which are in my jacket pocket which is tied around my waist) but it was too complicated.  I decided to deal with being cold.  We ran past Chelsea Piers and head toward the Freedom Tower, which looks so far away at this point.

There are decent amount of spectators along West Side Highway as well as drummers, CHEER NY and more DJ's (this time it was Fireball by Pitbull).  They really did help to keep us all moving along and they made the race a lot more fun. I even forgot that I was cold.  Best of all, Tom wore a shirt that said "Running Sucks".  That received A LOT of funny comments along the way.

Once we made it downtown, we passed the Freedom Tower and headed into the Battery Park City Tunnel.  Tom and I have driven through this tunnel in the past, but it suddenly felt a lot longer running through it.  Our last incline was when we exited the tunnel and made our way towards the finish line on Wall Street.

We crossed the finish line in 1:58:49 (me) and 1:58:50 (Tom). It was not a PR for us, but what we started together, we finished together and I believe we can tolerate running together at the NYC Marathon in November.  I only lost Tom once in the crowd and that was because I stopped to take a picture and he didn't realize I had pulled over.


We grab our medals and headed out of the finish line chute.  Everyone was provided with a grab bag which included water, Gatorade, an apple and pretzels.  There was no after party like other races.  Since we didn't check any gear we didn't have warm, dry clothes to put on.  That was our own fault.  I noticed however that the gear check line, at both the start and finish were empty. There was no chaos to drop off or pick up your stuff. We should have taken advantage of gear check. Just sayin. 

We made our way to the subway, got back to our car and headed home.  Tom decided to take the GWB since the West Side Highway was a nightmare of traffic because of the race.  We made it home by noon and had the rest of the day to relax and enjoy a nice late lunch.

CLOSING THOUGHTS:

If I ever get a chance to run the NYC Half Marathon in the future, I will.  I think my expectations may have been a bit overboard.  I mean lets face it...of course it's fun running down Broadway into Times Square, but keep in mind that this is a very tiny portion of the overall race.  Most of the race is around hilly Central Park and the West Side Highway.  I guess I should have kept that in perspective.

It was fun running with Tom around Central Park and through Times Square, but next time I'm running West Side Highway by myself.  I started feeling funky (not in a happy dancy sort of way) and at that point I just wanted to get to the finish line.  Plus I tend to get a bit on the bitchy side whenever I'm racing.  Its that feeling of 'I need this race to be done'.

If you ever have a chance to run the NYC Half, do it!  Just don't build it up into something more than it should be. In the end, 13.1 miles is a far way to go.

Next up: Rutgers Unite Half Marathon

QUALIFYING FOR THE BOSTON MARATHON AND THE RACE OF MY LIFE

IN THE END, THE MARATHON BECOMES A TEST OF MENTAL WILL

If you commit yourself to a training schedule and you learn how to fuel and pace yourself properly for the distance, the marathon becomes a mental race.

As I reflect back on it now, I truly believe that I qualified for the 2016 Boston Marathon because of 4 key strategies which came together for me on race day.  

My December Workout Schedule

A PRE-DETERMINED WORKOUT SCHEDULE:
After reading the book Mastering the Marathon by Don Fink, I decided having a calendar and workout schedule would be extremely important and helpful.  In the book, the author outlines 3 key workouts that must be incorporated into a 16 week training plan; long run day, marathon pacing day and speed intervals.

Unfortunately, I didn't discover the book until I was 8 weeks away from my marathon so I missed the first 8 weeks of his 16 week program. The only option I had (if I wanted to follow his training plan) was to use the last 8 weeks of his program.

I downloaded an online calendar and filled in a weekly plan that included time, distance and pace.  Having everything clearly written down made life so much easier.  I never had to waste time looking through the book trying to figure out which workout I should be doing on any given day.  So, take a couple of hours out of your day and put together a realistic workout plan for yourself...on paper!

A FUELING STRATEGY THAT WORKS FOR YOU:
In the 3 years since I've been running, I had never put much thought or emphasis on a fueling strategy.  Truth be told, I didn't have any fueling strategy. That changed last summer when I entered into the sport of triathlon.

Suddenly, I was hanging out with people who completed Ironman distance races and heard their war stories of how a fueling strategy made or destroyed their race.  I decided it was time I learn something about fueling during an endurance sport.

A good fueling strategy MUST be good for YOU personally! I cannot emphasize this enough!  For me, fueling isn't a one-size-fits-all option and having Crohn's disease makes it a bit more challenging for me.

Once I was able to run 16 mile practice runs, this was when I began incorporating a fueling strategy into the plan.  I discovered that while I didn't mind the taste of sports beans, I was having a hard time chewing them as I ran (not to mention that I would constantly drop beans along the way).  I wasn't crazy about the texture of sports gels either, and both beans and gels made me extremely thirsty for water.

Eventually I settled on salted caramel flavored GU.  It took a few tries for me to be able to consume a packet quickly but once I was used to it, I was good to go.  I suggest you try various fueling products and find the ones that work for you personally.  Again, one size does not fit all.

I also tried various strategies for fueling until I found one that worked for me.  I consumed a packet of GU 30 minutes before the race, then another GU 45 minutes into the race, followed by water.  Every 30 minutes thereafter I consumed a packet of GU followed by water.  In between the packets of GU, I would drink a sports drink (PowerAde was provided on the Louisiana Marathon course).  The combination of GU always followed by water and a sports drink in between, worked perfectly for me during the race.

PACE YOURSELF PROPERLY FOR THE BEST RESULTS:
I cannot stress the importance of learning how to pace! Going into the marathon my goal was to average 8:45 per mile during the marathon.  I determined my marathon pace by using my most recent half marathon pace of 8:01 per mile.  I decided that if I could run 8:01 per mile for a half marathon, than an 8:45-8:50 per mile pace should be reasonable and doable for a marathon.

I based all of my training runs on an 8:45 per mile pace.  Long slow run days were done at 60 to 90 seconds slower than this pace (9:45-10:15 per mile).  Speed intervals were based on the fastest pace that I could hold which was usually 6:50 to 7:20 per mile.

But I still had one question; how should I pace myself on race day? Should I start at race pace or should I run slower than my race pace? Should I try "banking" a few seconds during the first 6 miles?  No one could give me a straight answer on this.

I turned to a triathlete friend and asked him for a pacing strategy that made sense.  Since I had never ran a marathon for pace, he wasn't sure what I was capable of. He gave me a simple plan that worked!  Run the first 15 miles at or 5 seconds slower than my race pace (this meant that I was supposed to run 8:45 to 8:50 per mile for the first 15 miles).  At mile 15 I was to mentally assess how I felt.  IF I felt good and I believed I had enough energy to pick up the pace, I was to pick up the pace at mile 15 and hold as long as I could (hopefully to the finish line).

This was EXACTLY what I did and I was one of very few people who ran the second half of the marathon faster than the first half.  But why was this strategy so important?  After much thought I discovered why this worked:

By waiting until mile 15 to pick up the pace, my body was better able to determine a pace that it was realistically capable of.  You see when run a marathon, the first 13.1 miles feels easy because you are now used to running a distance that is much longer than 13.1 miles (hopefully you've done several 16 and 20 mile practice runs).  By mile 15 however, the body has become fatigued and it now has a better sense or idea of what it can and cannot do.  You may think it's a risky strategy, but its a lot less risky than using up all of your energy in the first half of the marathon.  If you wait until mile 15 to run at a faster pace, you still have 11.2 miles to make up for "lost time".  And that's a decent amount of distance to cover.  So mile 15 was where my race really began.

NOTE:  My goal going into the Louisiana Marathon was to average 8:45 per mile.  I ended up averaging 8:41 per mile and exceeded my goal. And I didn't feel as though I was dying during the race either.

PREPARE YOUR BRAIN AND LEARN TO SUCK IT UP BUTTERCUP!
As silly as this may sound, I put a lot of work and emphasis on preparing myself mentally for this race.

There were practice runs where I purposely didn't fuel properly because I wanted to see how I would handle running while feeling fatigued and out of energy.  I took spin classes with tough instructors who knew my goal and purposely tortured me all little extra during class. They would test me to see if I could mentally push myself through their abuse and I thank each and every one of them for the flogging they gave me.  All free of charge mind you!  They made my workouts a bit more difficult and would yell at me to "pick up the pace" or "stay true to myself".  One would say "you have 2 more minutes on this hill.  What are you going to do with it? Are you going to quit or are you going to push harder and give more"? They taught me how to mentally "zone out" the pain and focus on the goal.

During the marathon I didn't have too many pain issues to contend with.  I don't know if it was because I was physically prepared, mentally prepared or a bit of both.  When pain crept up during mile 15, I was able to forget it very quickly.  When my foot and calves started to cramp at mile 22, I was able to stop the cramp before it ever took hold.  When I wanted to stop and walk at mile 23, I put that thought out of my head immediately and focused on breathing and coming across the finish line strong. I told myself "it's only a 5k. You've run plenty of 5k's. You know what to do and you know if you stop your muscles are going to stiffen up. Are you ready to give up on qualify for Boston during the last 5k of this marathon"???  I talked to myself and focused on the finish line and my goal.

Where you are mentally at any time during the race is of absolute importance.  Enjoy the journey, enjoy your surroundings, enjoy what you are capable of doing.  Talk to yourself in a positive way. Envision yourself coming through the finish line strong and confident.  Know that all of your training has helped you get to this very moment.  When the doubt demons come...and they will...SLAM the door on them immediately! Tom told me "whatever bad may happen, don't let it into your head". And that's what you have to do.  Don't let anything negative get into your head! Negativity is a very powerful creature.

It really takes a lot of focus to run 26.2 miles non-stop.  But if you train yourself physically, if you learn how to pace and fuel properly, and if you learn how to block out the doubt demons, you CAN do it!  I know you can! I know you will!