Following my Channel swim I made a decision.  It was time to lean down.  I needed to get rid of the accumulated insulation that I acquired when working and not working out.  After 7 years those fat cells have had their fun and it was time to go.  Now I know that cold water swimmers need their insulation and I fully agree with this.  However, what I wanted was more control over those fat cells.  I wanted to lean down and then add bulk when I really needed it.  This way I was in control and I could add the weight in a healthy manner.

So I signed up for some critical tests to get a baseline of where I was.  I did a VO2Max test to determine how in shape I really was and how effective I was at using oxygen. (Note: this is the number that they always give out for the cyclists of the Tour de France to tell who is expending the most energy.  And yes I realize that I may be the only one that watches the Tour de France every day.)  I also did a Hydrostatic weighing and Resting Energy Expenditure (REE) test.  Hydrostatic weighing is where you get into a tub of water, drown yourself and then see how much you float.  Yes you practically drown yourself as you have to release all your air and then submerge underwater for a few seconds.  The REE is how many calories your body burns at rest in a state of wakefulness (to be precise).

The first baseline tests were conducted in October and drumroll please….here are the results:

REE – 2077 calories

VO2Max/Fitness test:

• Resting Heartrate = Excellent
• Direct VO2/Gas Exchange = Above Average (Amazing since the test makes you run on a treadmill with this space age contraption strapped onto your head to measure the results.  Think mouth guard with hoses attached and a nose plug)
• Sit-ups = Excellent (I crushed this test!)
• Push-ups = Excellent
• Flexibility = Average (Can’t believe I hit average with this as I’m very unflexible)

Hydrostatic Weighing – 27.6% bodyfat

Every 3 months we do a reassessment of the REE and Hydrostatic Weighing, so here are the results for January.

REE – 1971 calories

Hydrostatic Weighing – 26.7%  Which means that I’m winning the battle against the fat.  Overall my weight remained the same so I put on more muscle while losing fat weight within the 3 months. 

FYI – for a woman my age (sometimes I really hate that phrase) the typical bodyfat is between 18-23%.  Lynn Cox the famous fabulous fantastic cold water swimmer had a bodyfat composition of 35%.  (Charlie – Quite right I used the wrong word to describe the wonderful Lynne Cox.  My sincerest apologies.)

So overall a very good result.  I’m not adding to much muscle bulk, as that would put too much strain on my shoulders over long distances and I’m slowly saying good-bye to the fat weight.  Next results are scheduled for March.

By now most of you know that I have an extensive list of people helping me keep my body up and functioning through all the swimming.  Granted I’m still in the gearing up process of training, but I decided to add another team member.  Newest addition is an acupuncturist, Tiffany.  I was skeptical at first that being poked with needles was going to actually improve my shoulders, but after 3 sessions I’m now a believer.  My shoulders are becoming looser and don’t hurt nearly as much when training.  Plus Tiffany is trained in ART (Active Release Technique).  This is a new form of torture for me.  Basically Tiffany digs into the really sore muscles and I then have to move my arm.  It forces my shoulder muscles to do their own job and not rely on Mr. Lats and Mrs. Pecks to get the job done.  This too while painful is getting better every time.  Therefore I will be keeping Tiffany on the team.

Full Torture team roster:

• Cathy – my athletic trainer who has now added her own new forms of exercise torture.  I now have stregthening work on top of the physical therapy.
• Dr. Greenleaf – orthopedic surgeon.  Hopefully I don’t have to see him again for shots or x-rays.
• Dr Kort – chiropractor.  He keeps everything in alignment and feeling like my joints have just been greased.
• Dr. MacNeal – primary care physician.  Surprisingly she keeps signing and approving all my medical forms for my swims even if she thinks I’m completely nuts.  Gotta love her! 
• Michelle – massage therapist.  This tiny woman can inflict some serious pain.  I believe that my muscles now have a permanent memory of her thumb.  I bet I even have a thumbprint or two permanently etched in those shoulder muscles.  She better keep that in mind.
• Tiffany – acupuncturist.  I get to spend time every two weeks looking like a human pin cushion.  Very happy with the newest addition.  She did mention that about the only thing I’m missing is a naturopath.  Hmmm….

I have been anxiously waiting to apply and then ultimately receive approval or rejection for the race.  The Manhattan Island Marathon Swim (MIMS) allows 26 solo swimmers into the race around Manhattan.  It is 28.5 miles around the island.  Registration includes being one of the first 25 swimmers registered and then you need to pass the review of the application committee.  The application includes essays about why you would like to swim, training history for the past 2 weeks, training plan for becoming acclimated to cold water, etc.   I was very stressed out over the whole process.  To make matters worse, the registration kept being delayed due to some technical issues on the website.  Finally I was able to register. Then I had to endure the equally stressful time of waiting for approval/rejection.

This last week I received my official acceptance email from the Manhattan Island Foundation.  Jane Barry has signed on to be head crew again.  She must be a glutton for punishment as well.  I’ve also convinced Cathy McElevey, my athletic trainer,  to sign on as well.  She has been immensely helpful in strengthening my shoulders.

Now I have a new goal and I hope that I can do well on the swim, but the field of swimmers is immensely talented. 

Whew it has been a whirlwind month. Here I thought I would get to updating my blog sooner and it is the end of January and I haven’t completed it at all! Man, I’m so behind.

I made good on the promise to my friends. I ran a race. I decided to start the New Year off right by running the First Run in Portland Oregon. The race starts at midnight on New Year’s Eve. Yep, midnight on New Year’s Eve. This would probably be the first time in 5 years that I actually saw midnight on New Year’s Eve. And I decided that I would be running at this time, I must be crazy. Actually I think crazy amounted to agreeing to this in the first place.

The evening started with a dinner at Randy’s place and plenty of time for me to think about backing out. However, my sister was in town and I had roped her into this run as well so it didn’t seem like I had a choice. The clock continued to tick closer to 10:30pm which was when we were planning to head downtown. We arrived on time…dang it and we got into our gear. Did I mention that we were running it in costume. Oh yes, my friends managed to get us all dresses from a thrift shop in Hawaii. My dress was kimono style down to my ankles with a fun Hawaiian print.

The run went off without a hitch. I made it through, but I didn’t feel very good. I had some stitch in my side, so I wanted in the worst way to stop. The race results state that there were 934 finishers and I was 564th. WOOO HOOO. Time = 32.46 which is a 10:33 mile pace. Yep there are a lot of things that I couldn’t outrun, so why even try. Needless to say I did have fun with my friends and I’m still running as it is good cross training for my swim events.

So here are the pictures.