A Head Cold, an Adventure Story, Some Envy and Yoga #365Yoga

Freya Hoffmeister (Photo credit: eriksjos)

I tried to ignore my second head cold in less than a month, but couldn't really deny the heaviness in my head and finally slid back under the covers for an afternoon of napping and reading. My bedside book pile consists of books about yoga and books about adventure, most of the latter being monthly reads of the Women's Adventure Magazine Book Club group on Facebook, in which I lurk for the reading suggestions. I passed up the heavy-thinking-required yoga reading and picked up Fearless by Joe Glickman, the story of Freya Hoffmeister's record-setting circumnavigation of Australia in a sea kayak.

Freya's year-long paddle included encounters with sharks, crocodiles and stinging jellyfish, crazy currents and surf, fatigue, seasickness and unpleasant rashes. It was an impressive journey by a woman who never doubted she would be able to complete it. While I admired her tenacity, I had trouble, and I believe the author did too, with Freya's lack of humility. But, when it comes to people who have both the physical strength to accomplish amazing feats and the organizational skills to make them happen, I tend towards a bit of un-yogini-like envy.

My adventurous heart tends to reach further than my body wants to go. When I announced my latest battle with germs on Facebook, one of my friends was quick to comment, "Why are you always sick?!? Between your diet and physical exercise, you should be the healthiest person on Charley Hill!!" That, unfortunately, has been my life-long question and one that, despite years of work towards wellness, remains unanswered. What makes me so susceptible to upper-respiratory-system-attacking viruses is a mystery. So is the extreme fatigue and depression that comes every time I ramp up my physical activity beyond "easy," which, while allowing me to build endurance, means I will never run as fast as I'd like to, or faster than a turtle.

During her year of extreme kayaking, Freya Hoffmeister never had to spend a few days in her tent on the beach nursing a head cold. It's possible that the author decided not to mention it, but I find it hard to believe he would leave out an illness when he was so careful to mention every time she puked from seasickness and how she managed bowel movements without leaving her boat. While my heart longs for an adventure as amazing as Freya's (although I'd be happy without the crocodiles), I have to resign myself to knowing my body my may never be up for it.

So what do I do? I get back on my yoga mat. It was yoga that taught me to accept my body as it is. It was my asana practice that got me to the place where I could start running and not stop for 13.1 miles, which is pretty darn good even if I never break out of the back of the pack. It is yoga that reminds me to rest when I need to, that it's okay to drop into Balasana or take a nap. And it's yoga that pulls the rug out from under my ego and shows me the way to be humble and grateful.

Perhaps I will have to experience the grandest of adventures in the pages of a book, and perhaps my practice includes sitting with the envy I feel on the way to self-acceptance. Perhaps that inner exploration is the greatest adventure of all.

Why Not Dream?

I was wondering...After a long Christmas night in the fog and cold, did Rudolph's nose crack and peel? Or is there a reindeer moisturizing secret? Because after three days of nearly continuous nose-blowing, I look like Rudolph and I can't find a remedy that doesn't burn when I put it on. And I've suffered enough.

Just when I was feeling better after a month of yuckiness, I got "the cold" that seems to be going around the entire Northeast. It's nasty and sneaky. I, like others who've had it, got a "little touch of something" that started to go away after a week, then, "bang," the real germs attack. The ensuing running nose was so bad that I took a day off from teaching yoga.

Image via Wikipedia

Needless to say, the training drought continues. I am doing some strength training in preparation for and while teaching a new yoga and weights class I added to the yoga studio's schedule (The class is called Yoga Body Shop and for those in the area you can find it on the schedule if you're interested in trying it.), but the treadmill and bike trainer are gathering dust while I spend time in bed, snuggled under the covers with my humidifier and a jar of VapoRub.

Since I'm in bed anyway, why not dream? I've been dreaming of the upcoming race season. It's going to look like this:

Saturday, April 7th:  Glens Falls Rotary 5K at SUNY Adirondack in Queensbury, NY. Just to shake out my legs and give me an incentive to get back to training. (There's a good article at Beginner Triathlete about getting out of training droughts here.) This race, coincidentally, marks the end of the winter training plan that I have been neglecting to follow and, after an unstructured easy week, the start of my half-ironman training plan.

Sunday, May 20th:  The New York/Vermont Champlain Bridge 5K in Crown Point, NY. This is the coolest 5K I've ever seen. As part of a weekend celebrating the opening of the new Champlain Bridge, we get to run 5K over the bridge, from New York to Vermont. How many 5Ks take you from one state to another? Plus we get to run on a brand-new bridge that was designed by an engineer who grew up in Schroon Lake.

Saturday, June 30th:  North Country Triathlon in Hague, NY. I'm returning to the scene of my very first triathlon for a third go at the sprint-distance race. I considered the olympic-distance race, but I don't think I can get enough swim time after the lake melts (and warms up to a reasonable temperature) to be ready for the longer swim. Besides, there is a hill in the sprint bike course that needs to be taught a lesson.

Wednesday, July 4th:  Montcalm Mile in Ticonderoga, NY. Just for some Independence Day fun during the summer when I normally can't take time off from teaching yoga to race.

Sunday, September 2nd:  BIG George Triathlon in Lake George, NY. My first half-ironman distance triathlon! 70.3 miles! Enough said.

Sunday, September 23rd:  Adirondack Distance Festival Half-Marathon in Schroon Lake, NY. Third year in a row for my hometown race, this time on my 45th birthday. Finishing under 2:10 would be a nice birthday present, and a nice end to my race season.

I've also been dreaming about the new road bike I'm going to buy when our tax refund arrives. My 1970's Schwinn 10-speed is retiring from triathlon. I haven't made the final decision on a bike yet, but I'm close. Pictures will be posted.

During rare moments when I'm not spending my bed rest dreaming of riding 56 miles on my new bike, I'm thinking about my ongoing battle with nutrition. I've decided to follow the plant-based nutrition plan in Brendan Brazier's book Thrive, almost. (I get very spacey without any animal protein and I'm not sure I can live for long without cheese, so I'm going to have some occasionally.) While I know what foods I should be eating, like training I eat better when I'm following a specific plan so I don't have to think too much. What Brendan suggests is close to the diet I followed when I did a week-long cleanse with Leslie Hadley of EveryBODY Wellness last fall, only geared towards supporting endurance sport training. After that week I felt great, so I'm excited to see how it works long-term.

The biggest dream? An entire season of feeling good and staying healthy. I plan to start on that dream right after I stop coughing.