SweatyShe Monday (06/28/10): Five Things about RAAM

SweatyShe Monday (06/28/10): Five Things about RAAM
By Susan Farago
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We She's are game for just about anything. I recently returned from a work trip across the United States. When I say “across”, I mean Oceanside, California to Annapolis, Maryland. And when I say “work trip”, I mean FUN! I was part of this year’s Race Across America media crew which means I was one of about 15 media folks who got to follow and cover cyclists who were racing their bikes across America.

I was partnered with two other media people – Rafiel the photographer and Ryan the video journalist. My job? I was “the writer”, responsible for posting headline updates to the RAAM website. We were supposed to have a driver but there were some last minute issues which left the three of us to fend for ourselves on the driving front. Make that two of us – Ryan doesn’t drive. So Rafiel and I tag teamed it.

There were solo riders and relay teams of two, four, and eight people plus their crews in RVs, vans, and cars. We left Oceanside on a Saturday afternoon immediately after the teams went across the start line. As the teams made their way across the first set of mountains in California and down into the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico, were there taking photos, video, and writing -- all of our content then uploaded to the RAAM website to keep people who were following the race informed and up to date. This continued for eight days across 14 states and through 55 timing stations.

Five things struck me about this amazing adventure:

1. The United States is big.
I’m used to driving for 10 hours and still being in the state of Texas. But driving for eight days and never seeing the same roads twice? Yeah, that’s big. Each state was very distinct and sometimes the distinction was immediately evident at soon as we crossed the state border. Shout out to the people of Ohio – learn to use street signs to mark your roads, will ya?! Another shout out to West Virginia – in my eyes, you are no longer the “hill billy” mecca I thought you were. That honor goes to, yes that’s right, Ohio.

2. People are amazing.
As with any physical endurance event of epic proportions, we saw the FULL range of human emotion. From German crew members doing push ups and laughing while waiting for their rider to come through some small town in Indiana (they didn’t want to get fat from eating an “American diet”), to the former LAPD female officer who was paralyzed from the chest down being helped into her van by her husband after her 20 min ride segment was over. And special shout out to Team Summit who took every opportunity to invite us into their team RV and feed us lasagna, chocolate covered blueberries, and Hershey’s chocolates.

3. Van camping is a great ice breaker.
I didn’t know Ryan (from Boulder) and Rafiel (from Los Angeles) at the start of this trip. But let me tell you, sleeping with two perfect strangers in a van, in the middle of a hay field, in the middle of NOWHERE in Arizona makes for a great ice breaker. The second night we slept somewhere in Monument Valley and listened to the whizzing and whirring of cyclists passing us throughout the night. We woke up to fantastic views of towering orange, red rocks reaching up to the blue morning sky.

4. Don’t over think. Just do.
I’m all for planning and preparation, but sometimes it’s better to get out of my own way and just DO. In talking to some of the teams, I learned that some teams didn’t really train (nor were the riders really cyclists) but their goal was not to win, it was to come out and raise awareness for a certain disease (Friedrich’s Ataxia) or mission (Amy Xu and Team Strong Heart), or just to have a heck of a good time (Team Enjoy the Ride). They came, they saw, they pedaled, they raised awareness, they had a blast!

5. A picture is worth more than a thousand words.
I took a lot of pictures and video and with all the amazing things I saw and experienced, I don’t think anything quite sums up the feeling and attitude of RAAM as this does (see photo).

I plan to do RAAM in 2011 as part of a four-woman relay team. We are in the throes of planning and preparation and we plan to officially announce our beneficiary and start raising money soon. I plan to keep my list of five things (above) in mind throughout this journey. As for any type of tattoo? I don’t think so. But then again, never say never!

Details about my experience, including van camping and photos can be found on my blog at: http://susanstarstink.blogspot.com/


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SweatyShe Monday: Five Things about RAAM

By Susan Farago

We She's are game for just about anything. I recently returned from a work trip across the United States. When I say “across”, I mean Oceanside, California to Annapolis, Maryland. And when I say “work trip”, I mean FUN! I was part of this year’s Race Across America media crew which means I was one of about 15 media folks who got to follow and cover cyclists who were racing their bikes across America.

I was partnered with two other media people – Rafiel the photographer and Ryan the video journalist. My job? I was “the writer”, responsible for posting headline updates to the RAAM website. We were supposed to have a driver but there were some last minute issues which left the three of us to fend for ourselves on the driving front. Make that two of us – Ryan doesn’t drive. So Rafiel and I tag teamed it.
There were solo riders and relay teams of two, four, and eight people plus their crews in RVs, vans, and cars. We left Oceanside on a Saturday afternoon immediately after the teams went across the start line. As the teams made their way across the first set of mountains in California and down into the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico, were there taking photos, video, and writing -- all of our content then uploaded to the RAAM website to keep people who were following the race informed and up to date. This continued for eight days across 14 states and through 55 timing stations.
Five things struck me about this amazing adventure:

1. The United States is big.
I’m used to driving for 10 hours and still being in the state of Texas. But driving for eight days and never seeing the same roads twice? Yeah, that’s big. Each state was very distinct and sometimes the distinction was immediately evident at soon as we crossed the state border. Shout out to the people of Ohio – learn to use street signs to mark your roads, will ya?! Another shout out to West Virginia – in my eyes, you are no longer the “hill billy” mecca I thought you were. That honor goes to, yes that’s right, Ohio.

2. People are amazing.
As with any physical endurance event of epic proportions, we saw the FULL range of human emotion. From German crew members doing push ups and laughing while waiting for their rider to come through some small town in Indiana (they didn’t want to get fat from eating an “American diet”), to the former LAPD female officer who was paralyzed from the chest down being helped into her van by her husband after her 20 min ride segment was over. And special shout out to Team Summit who took every opportunity to invite us into their team RV and feed us lasagna, chocolate covered blueberries, and Hershey’s chocolates.

3. Van camping is a great ice breaker.
I didn’t know Ryan (from Boulder) and Rafiel (from Los Angeles) at the start of this trip. But let me tell you, sleeping with two perfect strangers in a van, in the middle of a hay field, in the middle of NOWHERE in Arizona makes for a great ice breaker. The second night we slept somewhere in Monument Valley and listened to the whizzing and whirring of cyclists passing us throughout the night. We woke up to fantastic views of towering orange, red rocks reaching up to the blue morning sky.
4. Don’t over think. Just do.
I’m all for planning and preparation, but sometimes it’s better to get out of my own way and just DO. In talking to some of the teams, I learned that some teams didn’t really train (nor were the riders really cyclists) but their goal was not to win, it was to come out and raise awareness for a certain disease (Friedrich’s Ataxia) or mission (Amy Xu and Team Strong Heart), or just to have a heck of a good time (Team Enjoy the Ride). They came, they saw, they pedaled, they raised awareness, they had a blast!

5. A picture is worth more than a thousand words.
I took a lot of pictures and video and with all the amazing things I saw and experienced, I don’t think anything quite sums up the feeling and attitude of RAAM as this does (see photo).

I plan to do RAAM in 2011 as part of a four-woman relay team. We are in the throes of planning and preparation and we plan to officially announce our beneficiary and start raising money soon. I plan to keep my list of five things (above) in mind throughout this journey. As for any type of tattoo? I don’t think so. But then again, never say never!

Details about my experience, including van camping and photos can be found on my blog at: http://susanstarstink.blogspot.com/

SweatyShe Monday (reprint from 8/17/09): I Had Forgotten Why …

Susan is traveling these two weeks so she has posted reprints from prior SweatyShe Mondays. Enjoy!!
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SweatyShe Monday (reprint from 8/17/09): I Had Forgotten Why …
By Susan Farago
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These past couple of years have brought a lot of changes: Leary and I moved into a condo and completely downsized our lifestyle, I left IBM exactly 12 months ago after a 10 year “corporate career” to pursue a “non-corporate” career, and friends I used to see on a regular basis I now see much more infrequently.

But since 1998 when I ran my first half-marathon, no matter the amount of chaos or change in my life, I could rely on my training schedule to keep me anchored. The schedule provided some semblance of daily direction. It gave me an excuse to figure out new and creative ways to prioritize the rest of my life around “the workout”. Then last year something changed. After countless triathlons and running races, for the first time since 1998 I was no longer enjoying my training. Fun had been replaced with competition. Inner challenges had been replaced with outward pressures to “do better”. Quite frankly, I was no longer in the mood to continuously push, push, push based on what I “should” be doing or because of someone else’s performance expectations. The schedule had literally been relegated to the bottom of my pile of “things to do”. What happened to the fun? Where did my “self” go? What was I doing? I had forgotten why.

I had forgotten why I started running in the first place.
It was my senior year of college and I was studying abroad in France. I didn’t want to go to a health club to exercise (and deal with the French men) so I started walking, then walk running, then running.

I had forgotten why I did my first triathlon.
It was a combination of turning 30 and my pants no longer fitting AND receiving a jury duty form in the mail and under “hobbies” I had to leave it blank because I was too focused on climbing the corporate ladder and had no life (which is why my pants no longer fit).

I had forgotten why it was so fun to plan my first long run.
I had my husband drop me off at the Arboretum and I ran all the way home to Lakeway – 22 miles in total. I knew I needed protein and carbs but it had to be small enough for me to carry – so I fueled with almonds and candy conversation hearts (I know…I know…what was I thinking). What amazing memories of that long run and Leary driving along RR620 to make sure I wasn’t laying in the ditch somewhere (thankfully he also brought REAL food!)

I had forgotten why long runs and bike rides were so fun with friends.
It was because they were “chat” based, not “performance” based. And how wonderful were the honest, funny, deep (and not so deep) conversations where any topic was open for discussion.

I had forgotten why self-discovery was so important to me.
That there were so many new, exciting, and different activities to try. Activities that would make me uncomfortable (but in a good way) and that would push me (but on my own terms – me versus me, or me versus the clock). And that I didn’t have to rely on others for self-discovery. I could make up things I wanted to try or do and then just go do them!

This past weekend I was reunited with my “why”. I raced the Sweet and Twisted sprint distance triathlon at Pace Bend Park – the same place I raced when I did my first ever triathlon in 2000 - The Danskin. The familiar roads, terrain, and water - it all came flooding back to me – the fun, the laughter, the feeling of how great it was just to be out there in an all women’s race again, just doing my own thing. My goal for the race was to enjoy myself. And as two other women from my age group passed me on the run, for the first time in a long time, it didn’t matter. I just let them go rather than chase them down. On this day, I wasn’t racing…I was enjoying.

Surprisingly enough, I ended up coming in 3rd in my age group at that race. And as I received my trophy, I started scheming how I could do better next time. There’s always a next time. But it wasn’t so I could beat those ahead of me, it was because I knew I wanted to push myself harder – me versus me, me versus the clock, me on my own terms and no one else’s.

Everyone has different motivators for what they do and why they do it. For some it’s personal challenge and for other’s, like my Mom, their response to the “why” is, “Because it’s there!” And yet for others, competition is what fuels their why.*

We all have reasons for what we do whether they are externally imposed or internally driven. So Go.Do.Be. - but don’t forget the why.

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*For an interesting look at the nature of competition and the negative effects check out, “No Contest: The Case Against Competition by Alfie Kohn (1986).

SweatyShe Monday (reprint from 8/31/09): Stressed Out? Drop the F-Bomb!

Susan is traveling these two weeks so she has posted reprints from prior SweatyShe Mondays. Enjoy!!
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SweatyShe Monday (reprint from 8/31/09): Stressed Out? Drop the F-Bomb!
By Susan Farago
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I have never been a big curse word user until I started doing triathlons and running. Growing up, my Dad would curse every now and then but it was the “minor” curse words like the “D” or “H” or “S” word. And only ONE TIME did my brother and I EVER hear my Mom curse. She said the “D” word. Hey, we deserved it. We were acting like royal pains! But what an impact it had on us! Even now we still remember, “The day Mom said the ‘D’ word.”

But somewhere in my 30’s, when I rediscovered sports and being active, I also discovered the power of cursing. I don’t curse at people (unless it’s some guy I don’t know drafting me on the bike) but I curse at situations. For example, it is customary that before I jump into Barton Springs’ 68 degree water, even though I’m wearing a wetsuit, I still can’t help but blurt out the “F-bomb”. I try to disguise it but it still slips out as I dive in and I feel the cold water seeping through the zipper of my wetsuit and giving me the willies up my back. This is why it is good to have to go to the bathroom when you dive into any cold body of water while wearing a wetsuit. Hot and cold help counteract one another – if you know what I mean – and it’s known as “turning on your heater”.

A more recent incident caused a series of rapid fire “F-bombs” to fly from my mouth. I felt justified - it involved a snake. My friend Laura and I were trail running and we were on a fairly remote section of trail - a narrow single track that was grown over with brushy, tall weeds and it had a steep rocky ledge to the left and a dirt/rock wall to the right. Laura was ahead of me and we were chit chatting when all of a sudden she let out a blood curdling scream, shot about 5 feet straight up, and literally flew over the 2 big rocks that were in the middle of the trail. I stopped short (because you never know what the person in front of you sees on the trail so better to stop and find out what the heck it is than take your chances). There we were – her on one side and me on the other…and a big, fat snake between us.

I looked at her, then the snake, and then her again. “Oh crap” I said, “You’re going to make me run past that dang thing aren’t you!” At this point she was already digging around for a big branch so she could poke it to see if it was a “John Snake”. Our friend John came across a hognose snake and after doing some research, he came to find out that if you poke it, the snake will literally play dead. He actually had an opportunity to test this theory on a live hognose snake and it did indeed work – good thing he correctly identified the snake!

As Laura emerged from the bush carrying the equivalent of a tree limb, I said, “Hold on! Don’t poke it until I run past!” Nothing like getting a snake good and riled up before deciding to hurdle over it. This is when I started dropping all the F-bombs. I was trying to psych myself up to get past this dang thing. I literally would have to jump over it since the trail was so narrow and we were sandwiched between a drop off and a rock wall. My imagination went wild. Would the snake lunge at me and grab hold of my leg as I ran past? Would it sink its fangs deep into my flesh, causing me a slow, venomous death? What if it shot up my shorts leg when I straddled over it? Maybe it would wait until I was just past it and then it would spring up and get me into a boa constrictor-like death grip!!!

I just stood there saying over and over again…F-bomb, F-bomb, F-bomb, F-bomb, F-bomb…

I finally said to myself, “OK, don’t think about it, just RUN!” and with that I let out one more F-bomb and flew past the snake. As I landed on the other side of Laura, I spun around just in time to see the snake...do absolutely nothing. Really? Nothing? Maybe it was dead? Laura came swooping in with the big branch and scooped the snake up under its belly and plopped it back down on the ground again. Standing on our tippie toes, we peered over the end of the tree limb. Still nothing. Hmmm. Then just as we started to relax, it moved its head. We both let out a shriek and took off running. F-BOMB!!!!

From that point on everything looked like a snake. And as we ran away, still giggling and completely freaked out, Laura said, “Wow - that was messed up!”

For a more scientific approach to studying the effects of cursing and stress relief which DOESN’T require a snake or cold water, check out this article recently published in Time Magazine:
“Why Swearing Helps Ease Pain: Benefits of Curse Words”
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1910691,00.html?artId=1910691?contType=article?chn=sciHealth