tunnel vision

Like the common cold, I think one of the most common ailments of a young researcher/student must be tunnel vision. One gets an idea, starts an analysis, gets caught up in a specific part of a topic and all of a sudden one plunges into a tunnel. Tunnels are a good place to look at only the thing right in front of you, but the big picture, that which is outside of the tunnel, is pretty important at the end of the day. I have been learning to avoid prolonged tunnel vision. It is easier on the eyes... as well as the brain and the body. I have been doing intense analysis for a while now... which has been great because I have gotten a lot done, but tunnel vision set in, and I started to get grumpy. Fortunately, I realized that the big picture was fading and have been able to adjust my course... and things are moving forward. Friday I completed a course on scientific writing (my compulsory courses for this degree are done!) and today an article was accepted for publication.

Tunnel vision also applies to sport... so here is a story for today:
I found my gluteus medius. Not that it has been gone... it has been with me for some 26 years or so, but apparently I have not been using it as much as I can. Through working with one of the running coaches in town (I have already gained so much perspective - for running, teaching and coaching!) I confirmed that I have a muscle imbalance of sorts in my behind (to put it politely). I have been running around for the better part of my 26 years, but apparently have been using my quads more than all those muscles on the backs of my legs. I have never seen myself run, so of course I did not know this. I have tweaked my ski technique over the years and can "feel" most of the changes or modifications as I make them/show them to those I have coached, but I have never really applied those feelings to running...or kettle bells for that matter. This week while doing kettle bells I made a concerted  effort to focus on the muscles that should do the works for each movement... realizing that it is easy to compensate if it feels like one is working out. This awakened my lazy gluteus medius  and today while running and actually thinking about what muscles should be at work and trying to feel them at work... I really felt it. Ow. (Positive ow). My running technique still needs help, but I think the "epiphany" today was a step in the right direction... now to stretch these muscles!

skiing is not an individual sport!!

It's not. Most skiers do not go it alone in all aspects of their career. Someone helps them pick out skis, someone might wax their skis, usually they have been coached by someone... or are being coached by someone. The vast majority of skiers have families and friends, many also have a ski club or team. So why do so many think of skiing as "simply" an individual sport?

I remember skiing as a team sport. Not because I have always been on a team, but because my first strides on skis happened with family, as did most of the first skis. Then I was a in a local ski school, where we worked together with a group and a coach to learn new skills and to develop technique. From this group, a club team developed. We worked on more skills, developed our strength and endurance and worked on getting even better technique. After that, most of us joined our high school teams. With those teams we chased medals and team titles. Everyone skied their own race to the best of their ability, and points were counted for the team. We trained together, we raced together. In the summer I trained alone, or with ski group/club or with a friend from one of the afore mentioned ski groups. Same deal in college... due to different class schedules we trained alone more often, but we supported each other, and worked together.

At the elite level, there are generally not as many people to train with, but still, no one goes it completely alone. So why is skiing considered an individual sport? I have been wondering this lately as, in my experience here, more people think of skiing as an individual sport... but should we think of skiing as more of a team sport? Train together more often? Challenge each other more often? Support each other more often? Would working together as a team yield better results?

In high school and college skiing (which were inarguably some of the most fun years skiing in my life) we did all sorts of crazy little things as a team. These different "things" lifted everyone up and brought us closer together. When we were racing, we were competing not only for ourselves, but for each other.

... and here I have to put a couple words in here about the US Ski Team..... especially the ladies:

This season has been, in a word, HUGE for the US Ski Team ladies. Not only have they had multiple skiers place in "points" positions on the World Cup circuit, which has not happened before, but this year the ladies have also made the podium a few times and scored a team best 5th place in the relay (while sitting out on of the best skiers). Awesome and very exciting to watch.

While the ladies have clearly put their talents to good use and worked incredibly hard, I would also venture to say that they know what teamwork is all about. The team spirit can be seen in all the pictures posted on various ski websites and can otherwise be observed in what the ladies post in various social media sites. I think that this teamwork may also have a positive influence on their performance (it certainly does not hurt). While some people might think that face paint, glitter and matching socks is "overkill" on relay day, I think it is cool, fun, and shows that while the ladies are gearing up for a hard race they are also enjoying themselves.... and isn't that what sport should be about?

At the end of the day, only one person is racing, but a team builds a skier and holds him/her up through good races and bad.

A day of sport

Can I get credit for another workout today?

*Woke up - jumped out of bed, ate breakfast, washed the dishes.
*Turned on the computer, Logged on to watched the results online for the girl I co-coach from Finnish Jr Nationals.... was very excited watching the splits and final results come in. My heart rate was elevated even though I was only watching online. Yesterday was excellent for her, today was very good as well - she has worked hard and make great strides this year. I'm a proud coach!!
*Put on my running shoes for an approximately 11.5km run on ice. I'm glad I bought a pair of running shoes with studs in them last year... for these conditions, they really make a difference!
*Came home, packed bag, walked to the office for a shower ("moisture measurements" tomorrow in the flat, so taking showers and doing laundry are off limits for about 48 hours - am thankful that work has showers and is not far away).
*Ate lunch, took out the trash, went to grab some green stuff (salad and grapes) and gluten-free cookies from the grocery store. Someone may wonder why I bought gluten-free cookies... I'll get to that at a later date.
*Sprinted home again to watch the World Cup sprinting from Lahti on TV. It's not about who you are cheering for on that course. Thrills and SPILLS are the name of the game. You have got to stay on your feet to win.
*Watched the final kms of the Vasaloppet from Mora, Sweden was on TV... imagine skiing 90kms and having the finish come down to a sprint! Ow. My HR started rising watching that too! Then there were some highlights from speed skating... tight races get my HR up... I may have a small addiction to sport.....
*While watching stuff did some abdominal exercises and PT for my back.
* The bathroom needed some new silicon in the joints between the floor and wall tiles... so I squatted and stretched to get that done (and am grateful for clear silicon.. I am not skilled at spreading that stuff, but I think I get a passing grade.
*Made dinner.
*Ate dinner.
*Drank glass of red wine. (Those ones do not exactly count as exercise... heh.)
*Wrote something in blog (and it is not even 8pm yet!)

Running today was better than yesterday. It really is a challenge to run on ice. I know that I could go ski, but  getting over to the trails (i.e. running in ski boots) on this ice is not so fun, I didn't want to take a backpack with... and yes, I planned my weekend around watching WC racing on TV... since it was actually on TV! Fortunately, the snow will still be around for a while.

Now I will enjoy the red wine and some music... huh.

c.o.m.p.u.t.e.r. running

Ah the life of a PhD student.... I am in the phase now where I spend the vast majority of my time analyzing and writing. No measurements or lab work. I just click around through excel spreadsheets (where all the data is), PASW (statistical software), powerpoint (to make presentations) and word (manuscripts and grant apps). I sit A LOT. I stare into the depths of the computer screen for hours at a time... This is good in that I am making progress, but bad because... well, sitting is just bad for you. The human body was not made for this!

There seems to be a growing trend in having workstations at which you can stand these days. It is catching on in our department, among other places (and, in fact, one of my colleagues is essentially studying how much more active one is during the day if they switch to standing). I am thinking about seeing if I can arrange things so that I can stand while working sometimes... but with heavy old wooden desks, it might be difficult to make the needed adjustments and I'm not yet sure that our department currently has the resources to make the changes. (As I write this I am thinking to myself 'growing trend in having workstations at which you can stand...' seriously?! Work used to be mostly standing and physical!).  I would just lift a chair onto my table and type from there... but I'm too short for that :P 


To counteract the effects of the day job, I've switched gears in the land of coaching. This year I want to actually train for the half marathon (or marathon??), and since the local track and field club has a marathon school, I asked the head coach if I could sign up. He said I could... but would I also consider helping coach? I already know enough about training for endurance to be a resource to the other participants, but by taking part I can also learn more about running technique and different ideas about training for running (rather than skiing). This does not mean that I have left ski coaching, but currently three people coach a group of 5 kids (our group has gotten smaller since school started) which is a bit much in my opinion... so I'm switching things up, learning more and working on my own fitness a little more.

The race...

is not over until you cross the finish line.

A few weeks ago while doing sprints with the juniors I have been coaching, I noticed that they would all let up before reaching our "finish line". I decided to ask them if they would let up before the finish line in a race. Their answer: "nooooo!"  So why do it in practice?



Ski "through" the line.

The race is not over until you cross the finish line!

Finlandia

Regardless of who you might vote for in the election in Finland (full disclosure: this particular flashmob was in support of Haavisto, though one might not be able to tell unless one waits until the veeery end...), this song and the feelings it evokes are pretty powerful. I often get goosebumps when I hear this song whether it is the orchestral version, the church hymn version or this one. A little more history on the song can be found here.





The year of running/endurance continues... I ran a test today (5x1000m with each 1000m progressively harder and the final lap at "maximal" effort - yes, I know I just skied 65km a few days ago). I hit my maximum heart rate, but my lactate levels stayed relatively low which is quite interesting for two reasons 1) I feel recovered from the weekend of skiing, but it is possible that my muscles were still "empty" 2) I have a skiing background and am used to producing lactate by using more of my muscle mass.

It will be easier to get some rest this week as temps are currently around -24C (-11F) and projected to hit -30C (-22F). It is BEAUTIFUL outside, but definitely cold. I think I will try to workout inside all week!

"ski hangover"

A friend of mine suggested taking part in a pretty crazy event this weekend.... and I said "sure!".  The end result was a satisfied, but rediculously tired skier... and a "ski hangover".

Kurun 24 Tunnin Hiihto (Kuru's 24 Hour Ski) started at noon on Saturday and ended at noon on Sunday. The team I skied with had 8 people... 5 of us skied the "whole" time while the other 3 skiers participated for a few hours each. The idea was to have one person from the team skiing on the 2.1km lighted ski trail for the entire 24 hours. The team goal was to ski 200 laps (a new record for them). In the beginning, and in the end, we skied in turns tagging off after each lap. During the night, we skied 2 laps tagging off with a partner so we could get a little more "rest" (i.e. put on something dry/warmer, crawl into sleeping bag, pass out for about 30min, wake up, get ready to ski again). The team skied a grand total of 200 laps (we reached the goal!! for a total of 420km) and I skied 30 of them (63km) plus one lap to "check the course" (grand total 65.1km).

The conditions were pretty rough for skiing. The warmest temperature was about -15C (5F) and got down to -22C (-8F) which means that the snow was cold and abrasive and the body never really got warm, but it sure got cold! The course was more or less a 1km gradual uphill followed by a 1km gradual downhill, so one can imagine how that felt! Nonetheless, we had a skier skiing for 24 hours and were all adequately tired (but still smiling and satisfied) by the end.

Apparently fueling one's body for a 24 hour event is not so easy... thus the "ski hangover". I have no idea how one is supposed to fuel and sleep/rest at the same time, so I just tried to eat complex and simple carbs in combination (and of course there was some protein too) while drinking fluids the whole time, but I am not sure I did it right since I had a headache by the end and fell asleep as soon as we hit the road for the 2 hour drive home. At home I grabbed dinner, plopped on the couch, and fell asleep for another 2 hours or so... and then I went to bed early. Huh.... what an experience! Definitely challenging and fun, but not something that I would do again right away. =)

Tonight I am content to sit on the couch, watch some TV and go to bed early again! (besides that, it is -20C (-4F)) so it is nice to be curled up on the couch under a fleece blanket anyway!

"paralysis through analysis"

Ever heard of "paralysis through analysis"? It is good to think about what you do, but thinking too much can be... paralyzing. I am guilty of it (I am a researcher... go figure) but I am also realizing the importance of "just doing it". Going out and trying without thinking too much. It's the throwing yourself into an unsuspecting snow bank or lake, jumping in puddles in the springtime. It is grabbing a new spice and throwing it into the pot.... Sometimes doing things "by the book" works, sometimes it doesn't. Creativity and spontaneity have value (and you might learn something new)!

  

I have watched coaches, teachers, professors, etc explain, analyze and tweak things practice after practice with and without success. Some of them are trying to prevent problems, some of them are trying to correct problems, some of them are just veeery analytical people. I get it. That is what we do. I am, however, reminded of some of my coaches from high school. We (athletes) used to be sent out for a workout with the words "Go ski." or "Go run." or maybe even  "See you in an hour.". 

Someone may think that is the sign of a lazy coach, but sometimes "just doing" yields the most productive of workouts. When you "go ski" with your buddies, you end up playing with technique balance, speed... you learn from skiing behind them, in front of them, beside them... If you are skiing alone using the "go ski" idea, you go out and feel the gliding over the snow and cold air on your face, hear your breath and the crunching from your poles, see the woods/trail and maybe even smell the wood smoke (if we get real poetic). If you "go run", you are given the freedom of picking your own trail. Flat, hilly, hard surface, soft surface...we used to play follow the leader and find ourselves climbing fences, hopping across train tracks, running obstacle courses through playgrounds. There were times we would run through streams and mud, across corn fields, through downtown, by the zoo, up stairs, along the river, over bridges, under bridges.... It was excellent training. We were learning the whole time while developing neruomuscular and cardiovscular systems... and the "bizarre" thing is that we were not actually "being coached". We were feeling where to put our feet , feeling how to breathe.... magic.

As much as I like analyzing technique and coaching... sometimes it is just better to throw yourself into a ski or run and simply listen to the way your body "feels". Don't think about forward, backward, toes, heels, hips.... Just let yourself ski. Just let yourself run. Think "primal", natural, free. Technique is valuable to learn and can help with preventing overuse injuries and making an individual more economical, but even the best don't JUST do drills analyze every step of a workout. I am all about learning technique and periodically going back to the basics, but I believe that the finesse and beauty of endurance sport may be achieved and understood better through sometimes just going out and doing it.

hit the ground running

I am beginning to think that 2012 is going to be the year of running or the year of endurance... or some variation on those themes. I am back at work.. which maybe should be written: I am BACK at work. I have previously written that motivation ebs and flows, about stress being high or low, about how staring at excel and PASW (or sitting at a computer all day) might not really be "my thing".... all of which is true, but something about 2012 feels different....

Last week was solid:
* I re-submitted an article that was rejected (unfairly in my opinion, but I will not get into that....let's just say that politics are part of science too). My boss and I did some minor editing of the article and it is even better than before, so maybe the rejection was a blessing in disguise.
* With that article going off into the wide world of peer-review, I'm on to the next set of articles. I have lots of data that I am analyzing and looking at from a number of angles and I hope to be back to the writing (rather than pondering excel and PASW) within a few weeks.
* The beginning of the year means it is time to write more applications for funding. I got a handful of applications prepared for a quick review and signatures. Here's hoping that at least one of them will yield something... I've been fishing a lot and would like to see some fish!
* I am starting something new. It is not entirely new in that it comes from a hobby/hobbies that I have previously had, but it will bring me in a new direction and I am excited.
*Skied on Wednesday and Saturday, have gotten in some strength and light running... I hope my body can tolerate more activity this year!

* I voted! Today was another example of how every vote counts, so whether you are in Finland or in the USA, be informed and vote if you can!!!

jet-lag...

Ufff. The jet-lag from this trip goes into the books as some of the weirdest ever. Typically I arrive pretty late (10pm- 1am) home after traveling eastward over the Atlantic, I take a shower, eat something and crash for the next 10-12 hours, get up and go, go, GO! This time, I got home at around 4pm, took a shower, ate something, curled up on the couch to watch some TV (good plan for staying awake..? No, not really...) and promptly fell asleep. I even had the Finnish presidential debate on (which should be interesting)! I woke up around 10pm, and decided it was time to go to bed. Then I woke up a 4am... 6am... 8am... and finally was conscious enough to DO something at about 9. My Friday was relatively productive considering the brain-body-time disconnect. Had a good chat with my boss and got the ball rolling on 2012. This weekend includes unpacking and re-arranging, reading 3 student reports (2 of which are re-dos and 1 of which is just ridiculously late...), editing an article for a northern colleague AND revising an article of my own for submission. I thought a Thursday night arrival was a strategic move! I planned to check in on Friday, adjust over the weekend and hit the ground running on Monday. I should have known...

Here's to coffee!

Oh, and did I mention we have SNOOOOOOW here? =)