Life After Grad School

- Make friends with the smell of chlorine, we can’t help it
- Pam cooking spray can be found in the triathlon bag, not the kitchen
- Food is never safe!
- Yes, we really do need multiple pairs of swim suits, running shoes, goggles, cycling shorts, bicycles etc.
- Body glide is not nearly as sexy as it sounds
- We don’t need no stinking television, except to watch the Tour de France, the Ironman Hawaii and the Swimming World Championships and contrary to the common homo sapiens we find all of the above fascinating
- We run, bike and swim, and we can talk about it non-stop
- More than one rainy day and we have a severe case of cabin fever
- Depending on disposition we collect, give away, wear or make quilts or pillow cases out of race T-shirts

To continue the theme of exercise and food, a recent study suggests that instead of downing a sports drink after workout, we’d be better off drinking our daily chocolate fix. With the right mix of carbs, protein and fat found in chocolate milk cyclists were able to perform better at their next workout.

Luckily the Taza Chocolate Lounge, which recently opened up in Cambridge, provides an inviting atmosphere and amazingly rich and satisfying chocolate drinks. The Parisian hot chocolate combines dark Colombian chocolate with a slight orange flavor while the Mexican version will tickle your tastebuds with hints of vanilla, cinnamon and chile - truly the beverage of the Gods, as the Mayans believed. Of course there are a variety of other chocolate treats to enjoy, such as chocolate fondue, ice cream and chocolate samplers. Check it out every Thursday night in Central Square, you’ll likely find me there to refuel after swim practice!

It’s happening! It looks like we, the Charles River Swimming Club, are holding the first (possibly annual) Charles River One-Mile Swim on September 9, 8am. More information, including registration information, will be available within the next few days at Charles River Swimming Club.

Boston Globe article

Charles River Swimming Club

Long Course Attention Deficit Disorder
Occurs annually during the transition from short course training to long-course training in late spring. Sprinters are known to be more susceptible to this disorder than distance swimmers.

Symptoms:
- Swimmer forgets workout mid-way through the pool, due to shortened attention span
- Swimmer gets bored out of his/her mind half-way through the 50m stretch and can’t continue to keep up the desired level of intensity
- Swimmer swims workout thinking that one length of the pool equals 25 yards.
- Swimmer is irritable and unable to focus on the workout

Treatment:
- Total immersion therapy: prescribe practice every day until swimmer has adjusted to long-course.
- If symptoms persist for longer than one month: suggest the swimmer train in the teaching pool.

Prevention:
- No preventative measures have been employed successfully. Mental preparedness training is currently being tested but has shown a very limited success rate.

Our search for a fun holiday running race led us to the Bill Rodgers Jingle Bell Run this year. Armed with Santa hats and several layers of active wear we were ready to brave the cold and run the advertised 3 miles before chowing down some good food. The costumes were great, ranging from Santa Claus and his reindeer to the ever so Christmassy Startrek outfit, the food was good and lots of money was raised for a good cause. The only thing that was missing was the run. We all lined up excited to be running around Boston and seeing the Christmas lights and decorations (as that was how the run started almost 30 years ago), proceeded to shuffle for a while down Lansdowne street, jogged a few minutes around Fenway Park and then were told that the run was over and we were to go eat and drink. Humph, okay, twist my arm. Although we did come here, you know, to RUN.

So, alternatives are being explored for next year, including the Santa Speedo run, although that comes suspiciously close to the annual naked chapel run at my college and furthermore carries with it the danger of us ending up with frostbites, hypothermia or both.