Masters Swimming Ontario Provincial Championships 2014

Last weekend John and I went to Windsor for the 2014 Masters Swimming Ontario Provincial Championship.

It was held at the Windsor International Aquatic and Training Center, a brand new facility that really knocked my socks off. The pool was beautiful and there was a nice seating area above it with a lot of natural light. But, even more amazing, they also had this indoor water park in the next room:

 

I kind of wanted to ditch the meet and go hang out in there. If I were a kid in Windsor I would want to be there 24/7.

My first event, 100m free, was on Saturday morning. My time: 1:17:11. Faster than my seed time but basically the same as I swam two weeks ago at a time trial. It's hard to make big improvements in this distance in a period of weeks. Every second means a lot in the short distances so I was pleased that I was able to maintain the same time as the time trial. Over all, I've dropped over two and a half minutes in that event over the course of the year.

In the afternoon I also swam the 50m free in 34:08. That was a drop of more than 3 and a half minutes over the course of the season, but again, the same basic time I'd achieved a couple weeks prior. It's even harder to drop seconds in the 50m free and I'm happy that I maintained the same time. That race didn't go quite as I'd hoped. I only planned on taking one breath on the first length, but I got too much water in my mouth and had to take two more before the turn. But I did as well as I could.

50m start:

50m after the turn:

The final event on Saturday was the 400m free, which I entered sort of on a whim. I wanted to do about 4 events, mostly on Saturday, and it seemed like the lesser of the other evils. In high school, I only ever swam this event once, after which my coach and I agreed that it was just not the event for me. But things change. The shorter, faster distances seem to get harder to maintain as I get older. As my current coach, Alex, pointed out, our triathlon club training is geared more toward longer distances so it's no wonder that this distance is starting to agree with me.
In the fall, at a time trial held at practice, I swam the 400m in 7:30. About 3 weeks before Provincials, I swam it in 6:35 and I was shocked and thrilled with the huge drop. Then, about 2 weeks before, I swam 6:07 at a time trial, so I was hoping to come in around the same time (especially since the two other times had basically stayed the same). Instead, I came in at 6:00:07. Third place in my age group! They organized the heats for this event by seed time (instead of by age) so my 7:30 seed time put me in a very slow heat. I lapped the other people in the heat more than once, but I knew it wouldn't effect the over all place until all the 30-34 swimmers had finished. But after I learned that I got 3rd place, I went to the lobby to collect my medal.

I'm still shocked by the 400. It was never my event. I was never a distance person (and in a lot of ways I still prefer the mental aspect of the shorter races). But this one has changed my mind. In large part, I think the improvement comes from my coach, Alex, who gave me a new strategy for the 400. It goes like this:
150 "easy speed," just maintaining something fast but holding back a bit
100 build, increasing speed
150 everything you have left.

I think I can work on this to improve my time and go below the 6 minute mark. I think I'm still sandbagging a bit too much at the beginning (all the distance stuff still seems so new). But mentally this just makes it so much easier and I had enough left to really haul ass on the last 50 meters.

This picture is from just after I finished. If you expand the pic, you can probably see my name on the black and white screen up top. Only three times are listed because only three of us were done and mine has the (1) next to it. Woohoo!

My final event was the 100m IM on Sunday morning. I swam it in 1:30:04. That was probably less than a second slower than I swam it two weeks before, but I had to just let it go. Competing in short spurts with long stretches in between was much harder mentally than I'm used to right now. It's still a drop of almost 3 minutes over the course of the year and I have to feel good about that.


This year has been tough, mentally and physically.  Since my dissertation proposal was approved in May I've been writing as fast as possible and I've felt the pressure of the clock as I try to finish my degree. I also haven't made as much progress as I would have liked in terms of healing my stress fracture. After 6 months without running I went to the doctor, who really didn't have much more to say. I've had an MRI and I'm in physical therapy, and I just have to wait until it feels better. Not running has been hard in some ways - I missed doing the fall races and running in the beautiful fall weather (although I can't say I was sorry to miss running in the horrible Winter we've had). I'd still like to be able to run with the dog. But honestly, I'm kind of over it. I kind of don't care anymore if I get to run again. I'd just like it to not hurt while I'm walking around. My PT likes to hear that because it means I won't run again until I'm absolutely ready, but it feels more like apathy than patience.

In light of all that, returning to swimming and discovering the Triathlon Club have both been such blessings this year. I sacrifice much less for swimming than I did for running, in terms of injuries and time, and I get a lot more in return. It's so apparent that I'm a much better and more efficient swimmer than I ever was a runner. Swimming in meets has been fun, but I also get so much enjoyment and stress relief just by getting in the water. I'm grateful that I've been able to do that this year. Plus I've made new friends on the Triathlon Club and I've gotten to experience some multi-sport events as part of a relay team. If I can run in the fall, then I'll participate in those events as an individual, and that would be nice. But I can still enjoy masters swimming without all of the physical pain I had to endure to run long distances.

Swimming all the time has had a visible affect on my body. I'm not as lean as I was when I ran all the time and it's been hard to understand that as it's happened. In the past I had used my body weight to determine how healthy I was and I've been challenged to measure my health in other ways this year, while still trying to maintain a healthy weight. The Provincial meet was interesting on that front, too. Lots of the participants are older - I think the oldest woman was 88 and she swam the 200m free! - and you know old ladies are uninhibited in the locker room! I saw more naked old ladies than...I normally do. I also saw some women much closer to my age and even a few years younger who were clearly competitive swimmers all their lives and were built like tanks. Impressive, strong tanks built from pure muscle. They weren't thin, either. It occurred to me that they probably have trouble shopping for clothes, too. It was really encouraging to see these women who didn't fit the conventional feminine body type but who were absolutely killing it in the pool.

John and I were both way too impressed with Windsor in this way that makes me think it's time to leave London. Windsor seemed to draw more money from tourism, being a border town, and that meant more interesting restaurants and bars than we have in London (of course, if I lived there for a year I might change my mind). We ate at some fun restaurants: The Loose Goose (great happy hour specials), Carrots and Dates Cafe (perfect mid-day swim meet veg food), and Capri's Pizza. Sharing an excellent pizza and a bottle of wine while watching House Hunters was the perfect activity for Saturday night after a day of competition. John also enjoyed a trip to Salute Espresso in between the morning and afternoon events. We also had a great brunch at the Twisted Apron on Sunday before leaving town.

Just before dinner on Saturday we went to the tap room of the Walkerville Brewing Co. This picture obviously doesn't do this beer any justice, but I had the milk stout and it was pretty great. We were impressed with everything we tried. The only one I didn't get to try was the IPA, but the Kolsch, the lager, and the milk stout were all A+. The brewery is fairly new so they are still in the process of getting ready to distribute. They said they expect to have cans in the LCBO by this summer and I would definitely buy their beer.

The Provincial meet was the last big meet of the year for the masters swimming community. In the mean time, there's a more informal summer meet in London that I hope to do in July. And this weekend is the Western Triathln Club Spring Fling - 500m swim + 5K run or 750 swim +7K run, or a relay. I'm swimming in a relay and I'm thrilled that I get to participate. After I swim I'll be there to time other participants and help keep things running smoothly. I didn't know I was swimming in it until two days before and it may be hard to compete two weekends in a row. But the point is just to have fun and get more points for Western so I'm pretty excited!

Also, classes end for me on Monday which means I can finally write at home in my py-jams instead of coming into campus to teach. Hooray for "summer" break!

Pride London

Last weekend John and I participated in our first Pride festival, Pride London, starting with the interfaith service. 

The service was led by a pastor from a local United Church of Canada congregation and mostly focused on reconciliation and hope. It was moving and lovely, a great start to the day. I'd really like for my church to participate in Pride next year, and it was interesting to get a sense of what we could participate in, and what other church groups were present. 

After the service, we met up with our friends to march with General Population in the parade. We saw lots of other groups getting ready to march. For example: 

The New Democratic Party (below in the orange) and the liberals were both present. I assume both parties participate every year, but they were especially vocal as we're about to have a "by-election." From what I can tell, it's an election for some Ministers of Parliament (MP) in our area. It's sort of like an election for a representative to your local state house or senate, and it seems to be happening only in the West part of London where we live. 

Anyways, back to the parade, we saw the Regional HIV/AIDS Connection. 

And our group was right behind ARF - Animal Rescue Foundation Ontario. We saw lots of dogs who were excited for Pride! 

John and I marched with a sort of mix of people from UWO's Women's Studies department, our local Graduate Teaching Assistant Union, and Gen Pop, which I've mentioned before. 

Several people present overlapped with all three categories - students, TAs, and fans of Gen Pop.

John and I walked with bookmarks with info about UWO Women's Studies degrees and handed them out along the route.

The "Keep London Queer" banner didn't fare so well in the breeze, but it looked great. In this photo you can see the roller derby girls, the Violent Femmes, waiting to move behind us. 

The dogs from ARF made their way out, bedecked with floral collars. I can't wait to dress our greyhound in a rainbow bandana next year!

I took a picture and cheered for the church groups I saw, including Metropolitan United Church. All but one church group were from the United Church of Canada, the other being Unitarian. It would be great if my Anglican church could participate next year!

We marched behind a pick up truck that played a special Pride playlist to keep us energized for the parade. Anders and Matthew held the Gen Pop banner.

Several people commented on how buried the parade mostly was inside the neighborhood along Queens Ave. Not surprising in conservative London, really. I was pretty impressed with how many people were out to watch the parade, as well as the size of the parade itself. 

We only encountered a handful of conservative Christian protestors. Counter-protestors tried to cover up their signs with rainbow flags.

They quietly held their signs. And this man was peaceful enough to take a photo with some of our group. 

As we exited the park we saw a car painted to celebrate Druids for Pride. It takes all kinds to celebrate Pride. 

Preparing for the Royal Arrival

Yeah, yeah, Wills and Kate had a baby last week, whatever. I'm sure it's great. 

John and I are anticipating an arrival of our own. The week after we returned to London from our wedding trip, we went out to Greyhound Relocation and Adoption of Canada to adopt a greyhound. We can't pick her up until August 4th, but we wanted to pick her out anyways and have everything ready for her arrival. 

Get ready for what is likely the first of a few hundred posts about our new dog. 

The retired racer we chose is a 3-year-old brindle named was CTW's Royal Gait. Sine that's not easily shortened into a nickname, we've decided to change it (more on that another time). Before her year of racing in Alabama, Royal was born in Texas - just like me! And now she lives in Canada, also like me.  Greyhounds are registered with their own breed association, rather than the AKC, and all of their racing and breeding information is stored online. Using Royal's racing name we were able to look up her pedigree going back five generations and look at pictures of her parents and ancestors. I love the names they give these dogs - her grandfather's name was Molotov, and further back she had a relative named Thunder Cheeks. 

Once I created an account with the site I was able to look up her racing history. Royal raced 51 times during 2012 and won seven times; she took second place nine times. Obviously I know she can run a lot faster than me or John, but it was crazy to see how fast she runs. They run either 300 or 500 meter races: her time for the 300m was 17 seconds and change, and her time for the 500m was 31seconds. Crazy fast! 

GRA Canada is run by a really nice man named Bill who started placing greyhounds with families as a sort of side gig and then turned it into his full time job. When we met with him he suggested Royal because he thought she'd do well in an apartment, as she's pretty calm and smaller than the male dogs they had at the time. Bill has an agreement with the race track in Birmingham, AL where she raced - they don't put any dogs down, and he sends someone to get a big load (20-40 dogs) every 4-6 weeks. Then they spay/neuter, give medical attention where needed, update the shots, and place them with families all over the place, especially in our area and Toronto. I'm also grateful that the GRA has a great forum where other greyhound owners can ask and answer questions about anything health related or other general topics. From the forum we've learned of a couple other greyhound owners in our neighborhood with whom we can get together for walks. This page of the forum lists adoptable dogs (you can see Royal at the top of the list, with "adopted" next to her name!) 

While it was super sad to leave her at the kennel after signing the adoption papers, John and I had a lot to do before bringing Royal home. We bought a crate at Tractor Supply Co. on Bill's advice (since we got a greyhound adoption discount!) and we filled it with mostly old blankets. 

Side note: above the crate we hung the framed poster from our 2012 Fort 4 Fitness half marathon we did in Fort Wayne with Kira. Because, you know, we're racers, too. And we wanted her to know that. 

We had to move some furniture around to create a logical space for the crate. Since the crate is open, rather than solid plastic, it actually makes the room feel bigger.

We also got rid of the old coffee table that John and his friends scribbled all over during undergrad. I had wanted to paint it to make it more attractive anyways, but getting rid of it altogether was a better idea, as it was heavy and awkward to move. With the coffee table gone, we had room for the dog bed. Bill suggested waiting until Royal is completely potty trained before investing in a real dog bed. We took his advice and got several blankets at Goodwill (for a total of $6) that could be disposed of later, if necessary. For now this fleecy pink one will do well as a dog bed. Of course we'll remove The Stick and John's GQ once she gets her, since neither are good dog toys. 

Besides the bed and the crate, we had to get her city tags, a tag collar, a toothbrush and peanut butter flavored tooth paste (why don't they make that for humans?), some rawhide, as well as a stuffed mole that makes a growly noise when you squeeze it, and a nylon bone she can chew that's good for her teeth. She'll come with a leash and a Martingale collar, made for dogs like greyhounds whose heads are smaller than their necks. I've read on the forums that it's dangerous to leave that collar on them because of the "D" ring that attaches it to a leash. Martingales work sort of like a noose, for lack of a better analogy. They tighten when pulled, rather than having a buckle or other fastener. If she's unattended with that collar on, it's possible for her to get the D ring caught on something and then get choked by her collar. I also read a rather funny story of a greyhound getting the D ring stuck on a peg inside the bottom rack of a dishwasher; the panicked dog yanked out the whole rack, dishes/pots and all, then ran with it through the house until it could be calmed down. So we want to avoid all of that and put her everyday name tag on a separate collar that she'll wear in addition to her Martingale, and keep the Martingale attached to her leash for when she's outside.

At some point before winter arrives, we're going to have to acquire a coat, since greyhounds have very thin skin and little body fat. Things we will not be getting her include: this dog sweater from The Bay. I'm holding the one for a small, Molly-sized dog, and guess how much it costs? Go on, guess. 

$55! No thanks. As John said, I rarely spend $55 for a full priced sweater for myself.

Every day we get more excited to bring her home and we talk more and more about all the things we want to do with her. But it will be a period of adjustment, since she's never lived in a house before, and she may never have walked up or down stairs. Until then we're looking forward to welcoming her into our home.

Victoria Day

Fun fact: Canada doesn't do Memorial Day like we do in the U. S. Instead, they celebrate Queen Victoria's Birthday with Victoria Day, aka, "The May Two-Four," as in, May 24. It's a long weekend that signifies the start of summer, not unlike Memorial Day. John and I observed the queen's b-day with a trip to Ipperwash Beach. We waited until late in the day, since John fries like an egg in direct sunlight.  And I've wanted to watch the sunset over Lake Huron since we moved here. It didn't disappoint!

Ipperwash Beach was perfect. By 6 or so when we arrived it was practically deserted. The water was WAY too cold to swim, but I did wade into the shallow part to take some photos. The water is always so clear in Lake Huron and the shallow part extends quite a ways out, so you can wade about 30-40 feet out with water below your knees.

We packed a picnic and read books on the beach while waiting for the sunset to begin.

Once it started, I took about 500 pictures and I was too in awe to read my book. 

The water was very still as evening set in. I love the texture of the water in all these photos.

The water looks like leather. Or oil. The weather was perfect for a beautiful sunset.

Ipperwash is dog-friendly and the parking is free. We'll definitely be back again soon.

The First Week of "Spring."

Happy Spring! Break out the light jackets! Open the windows! Breath in that fresh, spring air! 

J/k, lol, it's still winter in Canada. Until, like, May. 

We've come up with a couple of coping mechanisms. New recipes, such as....

Blueberry Banana Whole Wheat Muffins from Daily Garnish

These were kind of an impulse baking decision. After I got home from singing for Palm Sunday, I decided a mini-brunch would be nice, so I made these muffins and some scrambled eggs. We had all the ingredients on hand, and muffins are usually simple to put together. These have a really nice texture:  a bit crispy on the outside, but soft inside. They'll be great for breakfast tomorrow, too. 

Forty Clove Chickpeas and Broccoli, from Appetite for Reduction, part of our on-going attempt to cook through this cookbook. 

Just like Isa Chandra says, this recipe ain't pretty. It's not worthy to serve to guests. But it's ridiculously easy (put broccoli, garlic, and chickpeas on a pan and roast), and remarkably flavorful. We'll definitely return to it for weeknights. 

Our friend Katie celebrated a birthday last week while we were in Toronto, so we had her over belatedly for some birthday beer and a little snack assortment on this lovely new (bridal shower present) tray! Everything looks delicious and classy on this tray. 

And finally, we made the roasted tomatoes and cipollini onions from the Smitten Kitchen cookbook. Like the broccoli recipe above, this was very simple. Tomatoes and onions roast in the oven for an hour or so. You pour them with their juices over some toasted bread, rubbed with a garlic clove, with some white beans, and then garnish with some slivered basil. Also, bonus, this is vegan! Definitely one of the richest vegan meals I've made.

Y'all, this is crazy good. The onions break down into something like butter, and the tomatoes brown and then just sort of burst. It felt really rich, and it was incredibly filling. Like a lot of the recipes in her book, in my opinion, this is great for a weekend evening. Some of them are fairly indulgent, some (though not all) take slightly more time than I would allow on the average weeknight to make dinner. But they're usually great with some wine, and a nice alternative to eating out.


Second, I coped with the extension of winter by going where few Canadians have gone before: 

Not just a Target (since most people in London, especially, have been to Target in Michigan). 

But a Target in Canada. 

Canadian Target! Finally. 

It seems like a regular Target in a lot of ways, but with one new feature I've never seen in Target: the cart escalator. You put your cart on it, and it takes it upstairs! Maybe this is common in Targets in metropolitan areas? 

                                     

Seeing all the familiar Target brands and layout in Canada was sort of surreal, since it's a place that I so strongly associate with America. It was also crazier than the mall on Christmas Eve. I could barely walk through it. Canadian Target will be more fun to peruse after the novelty wears off and everyone in town isn't inside it.

I snapped a couple of photos of these items in the underwear section. Two things every bride needs. 

I purchased neither, though that tank top would probably work well for our pre-wedding 5K fun run. 

Toronto in March

Last weekend, John and I traveled to Toronto for the graduate student conference at the University of Toronto: Sounding Bodies. Our friend Emily (below) was one of the conference chairs. She and John know each other through ethno and they go way back. In this photo she's standing next to Chris, our friend at U. Buffalo. The two of them each presented at our student conference last summer, and it was fun to get to see them again.

Also, at some point during the day on Saturday, they realized that they were dressed alike.

As someone who has endured many a grad conference, I have to say, the U of T did a class job. They provided breakfast, lunch, and then apps and beer at the bar afterward. And they had a great keynote: Tomie Hahn. Her presentation was partly what drew us to the conference. Tomie is an ethnomusicologist who studies Japanese dance and the bodily transmission of knowledge. And, you know, monster truck rallies. Apparently she is also quite the performance artist. The videos she showed us of herself dressed as a robot made me and John think of Björk. Tomie embodied (!) everything I love about a great keynote for a grad conference. She was friendly and enthusiastic about each student's work, she participated in every Q&A, and spent a lot of time socializing with the students. Her keynote itself was, understandably, more physical than most. At one point, she brought out a bunch of industrial sized rubber bands and showed us an exercise that involved banding about 20 of us together. 

Here she is demonstrating this on one conference participant.

I was on the other side of the room, banded to about 4 other people (including the dean, lol), so you can't see me in this picture. But here's my friend Matthew with his back to us. The exercise involved slowly moving and understanding what the people around you were doing by sensing their movement. 

Besides the conference, we got a chance to explore a bit of Toronto. I took a picture of this TD Canada Trust sign in China Town, like the country mouse I am. 

We had great soup in Korea Town. 

John and I stopped for a short breakfast at the By the Way Cafe on Bloor just before heading to the bus station. I'm sure he wouldn't want me to post this photo, but he doesn't read this blog, so it's ok.

Delicious fruit, yogurt, and granola bowl.

We took a long walk from the cafe to the bus station, through the U of T campus. Sunday was St. Patrick's Day and we stumbled upon several groups getting ready for some kind of parade. We saw the old timey fire trucks. 

And the Philippine Heritage Band. 

Somehow this marching band in a St. Patrick's Day parade seemed very Canadian to me - in a good way. Canadians have told us often that while America is a melting pot, Canada is a "cultural mosaic" (or tossed salad, depending on who you ask). Immigrants who move here aren't expected to give up their cultural traditions in the same way immigrants in America are expected to conform, or so the narrative goes. For me, this parade exemplified that idea, in that, a parade celebrating Irish heritage featured multiple marching bands from local Asian communities. The attitude seemed to be, "Let's have an Irish party! Everyone's invited!"