Proud Mom Monday

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Coco

My son had a great year of wrestling last year. We were most of the way through the season when his coach pointed out that he had won every one of his dual meets.  He earned medals in many of the intra-league tournaments, and he had a stellar weekend at the state championship tournament, finishing fourth after a number of hard-earned wins (including two multiple-overtime matches). He was one of three on his team to qualify for the national championship meet, and while he was eliminated in an early round, they all enjoyed the experience of being there.

My son almost didn’t wrestle this year. A few weeks before the season started we found out that he has a lacrosse-related injury that will require surgery to repair. After the doctor assured us that it wouldn’t get any worse if he waited, he decided to live with the pain for a while longer so he wouldn’t have to miss his last year of wrestling. Then at one of the first meets of the year, he tweaked his knee. We thought that might put an early end to his season, but with ice and physical therapy he was able to keep wrestling. Still, it seemed to take a toll–his opponents always seemed to grab for his “bad” knee and he wouldn’t take his sister’s advice to wear a brace on both knees so they wouldn’t know which one was hurt.  (I thought that was a very clever idea!) He ended the season ranked fifth–good, but a drop from his fourth place finish last year.

As we headed to the state championship tournament, I was hoping for a good weekend, but I’ve seen enough heartache on the mat to know that there are no sure bets in wrestling. 

There were 24 wrestlers in his weight class. On the first day (Friday night), he won his first match but lost his second match, which bumped him down to the “consolation bracket.” Because he lost before the championship rounds, the best he could possibly do was to place third, but to do that he had to win the rest of his matches–six more!–without another loss.  (I’m glad I didn’t do that math until the tournament was over.) He won his third match, ending the first day on a high note.

The second day of the tournament (Saturday) was nerve-wracking. He won his first match solidly. His second-match started off as a nail-biter, but he won by a pin early in the second round. His third match was easier to watch and he won decisively (10-4).  With that win he would place at least eighth in the tournament, but only the top four go to the nationals and I know he wanted one more trip on the wrestling team bus. 

His fourth match went into sudden-death overtime. I screamed and jumped out of my seat when the referee raised my son’s hand to signal his win (4-2). That was his ticket to the championship round where he would compte for third place.

(That’s him in the wild lacrosse shorts)

We couldn’t see the scoreboard from where we were sitting, and the 2-minute rounds seemed to take forever. The first round was scoreless. The second round my son started “down” and earned one point for an escape. The third round . . . was scoreless! So, my son won his third place state championship medal in a 1-0 match–so fitting for the defenseman that he is!


(Head Coach, my son a co-Captain, Assistant Coach, Co-Captain
–I think they were still smiling that big when they fell asleep!)

Several of his other teammates made it to the championship rounds, and two others placed well enough to go on to the nationals. The team as a whole earned sixth place–meeting the goal the coach had set at the beginning of the season.

I am so proud of my son. He worked so hard for his medal. Wrestling eight times in a weekend, with six wins in a row (and five in one day) is quite a feat of physical and mental strength and endurance. His coaches told him that he won third place “the hard way”–the first and second place winners only had to wrestle in five matches over the whole tournament (twice Friday and three times Saturday).

But what makes me really happy is to see my son so proud of himself. The smile on his face after his win was so genuine, so hard-earned, so heart-felt. He’s a pretty quiet boy, and we don’t get to see that exuberance very often!

Did you do anything fun this weekend?

Posted in Life | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Resisting The Easy Way Out

Posted on February 19, 2012 by Coco

So often we think that taking the easy way out is a cop-out. We think it means taking short cuts, not trying our hardest, not doing our best. But our Old Testament reading last week got me thinking that maybe the “easy way” isn’t always the wrong way. Maybe we resist the “easy way” because we think we are better, stronger, or smarter. Sometimes we see a simple solution to a problem, but think we must be missing something–it can’t be that easy . . . or can it?

The reading was from 2 Kings 5: 1-14, about a great Syrian captain who suffered from leprosy, and was healed by the prophet Elisha:

Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him Jehovah had given victory unto Syria: he was also a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.
And the Syrians had gone out in bands, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maiden; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. And she said unto her mistress, Would that my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! then would he recover him of his leprosy. . . . . 
So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariots, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of Jehovah his God, and wave his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?
Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

This horribly diseased captain traveled from Syria to Israel, brought the King of Israel “ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment,” and yet was about to storm back home in a rage–still suffering from leprosy–because he was insulted by the simplicity of the cure.

Luckily, he had servants who were wise enough–and brave (or stupid) enough–to call him out and bring him to his senses.

Do you tend to look for difficult solutions to your problems?

Are you afraid of taking the easy way out?

 

Posted in My Faith | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Training Log: Rock’n’Roll USA Half Marathon (Week 6)

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Coco

I varied my training program for the Rock’n’Roll USA Half Marathon (March 17, 2012) this week due to my son’s wrestling tournament, which made a weekend long run out of the question. Hopefully two days in the bleachers won’t set back my recovery.

Monday
Elliptical: 20 min forward/reverse intervals
Weights: 45 min full-body routine

Tuesday (Treadmill E-Z Incline Program)
Running:
15 min warm-up (5 min walking, 10 min running)
30 min E-Z Inclinde Program (level 3), mostly @ 6.3 mph
5 min cool-down
Walking: 1.5 miles (afternoon dog walk)

Wednesday
Walking: 1 mile (morning dog walk)
Yoga: 30 min of my Yoga For Runner s DVD.
(I still haven’t made it through the whole program, but the first few sections are good.)

Thursday
Walking: 1 mile (morning dog walk)
Weights: 45 min full-body routine

Friday (Long Run)
Walking: 1.5 mile (morning dog walk)
Running: 8.23 mile Hilly Neighborhood Route (Avg 9:31 min/mile pace)
After I walked the dog I was hungry, so I fixed some PB toast before heading out again for my run. By then it was almost 7:00 and fully light out. I chose my longest neighborhood route, which I have not done in ages–I’ve been avoiding the hills during my recovery. My split times varied between 9:20 and 9:40 depending on the hills. My right glute/piriformis/ ITB was tight but not too bad, and doesn’t seem to be holding a grudge. 🙂

Saturday (Hotel Gym)
Elliptical: 30 min
There were several people in the gym when I got there at 6:45, but there was still an open elliptical. I climbed on, but it wasn’t on. I found a power switch at the base and that did the trick–phew. I picked the random program, but level 1-2 were tough enough to work up a sweat!

It seems like a pretty ho-hum week, but “uneventful” is a good thing in a training program!

Posted in Fitness, Training Log | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Training Log: Rock’n’Roll USA Half Marathon (Week 6)

Three Things Thursday (The In-Convenience Food Edition)

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Coco

My grocery list has evolved over the years, from junk-laden to calorie-obsessed to balanced. You will find some convenience foods in my cart, but this Three Things Thursday post highlights three items that I just can’t take short cuts with anymore.

For years, bagged salads were a staple. They certainly got me into the salad habit and made it very easy to pack a salad for lunch at work or round out dinner with a big bowl of leafy greens. But now, I can hardly stand them. There is a chemical taste to the lettuce that I can’t ignore, and they always seem to wilt and go bad very quickly. I discovered that I can make my own bagged salad by buying a package of romaine hearts, chopping and washing one or two at a time, and keeping the washed, chopped lettuce in a storage bag. It stays fresh for a few days, and tastes so much better!

Baby carrots were another diet staple. I probably ate more carrots than Bugs Bunny ever did to fight off afternoon snack attacks. I laughed at myself when I learned that the only thing “baby” about baby carrots is their size–did you know that they are made by paring down full-size carrots? Recently I noticed that when I am parties or restaurants that serve carrot sticks made fresh from regular carrots, they seem to have more flavor. I started buying bags of carrots and peeling one or two at a time to munch on. It feels so retro!

I grew up eating instant oatmeal almost every winter day–Maple & Brown Sugar or Apple Cinnamon flavors were my favorites. I still keep a box of plain oatmeal in the pantry to take along on road trips, but I do not fix instant oatmeal at home. The old fashioned oats taste so much better (and seem more satisfying), and cook just as quickly in the microwave–but I have to watch it carefully so it doesn’t bubble over into a gooey mess!

Are there convenience foods that you have given up on?

What fresh/whole foods are worth the hassle to you?

Posted in Fitness, Food | 8 Comments

Wednesday Workout: Incline Intervals And Pushing Pace

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Coco

Now that my mystery injury seems to be resolving, I am ready to kick my training up a notch, but I still need to be careful. The Rock’n’Roll USA Half Marathon course will have a challenging elevation profile, so I know I need to focus on my hill work. On the other hand, I’m pretty happy with the pace of my recent long runs, so I don’t really *need* to do too much speed work. But, I really love doing speed intervals, while hill intervals don’t seem to give me the same endorphin rush.

Treadmill

 

Today I decided to compromise and do both!

Warm-Up
0-5 min: walking @ 3.7 mph at 1.5 inlcine
5-7 min: running @ 5.7 mph at 0.5 incline
7-10 min: running @ 6.0 mph at 0.5 incline
10-15 min:  running @ 6.3 mph at 0.5 incline

Intervals
15-16 min (incline): 6.2 mph at 3.0 incline
11-17 min (recovery) 6.2 mph at 0.5 incline
17-18 min (pace): 6.7 mph at 3.0 incline
18-19 min (recovery) 6.2 mph at 0.5 incline

The 60 second intervals seemed too easy, so I switched to 90 second intervals for the rest of my workout. I won’t spell it out, but I repeated this cycle until I reached 50 minutes (including my warm-up):

90 sec (incline): 6.2 mph at 3.0 incline
60 sec (recovery) 6.2 mph at 0.5 incline
90 sec (pace): 6.7 mph at 3.0 incline
60 sec (recovery) 6.2 mph at 0.5 incline

Cool-Down
60 sec running @ 6.0 mph at 0.5 incline
2 min running @ 5.7 mph at 0.5 incline
3 min (walking) @ 3.7 mph at 1.5 incline

(Do you see that running cool-down? I’m keeping my runners’ resolutions in mind!)

I think it was a good workout for where I am in my recovery/training. It was challenging but not too hard and best of all, no complaints from my ITB/glute/piriformis!

 I have several other posts about different speed workouts that I have come up with for the treadmill–they are great for beating treadmill boredom and always generous with the endorphins.

Do you like hill workouts? Speed workouts? Neither?

Posted in Fitness, Treadmill Workouts | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments