Exercise makes me smarter, and other thoughts of training-induced euphoria.

Most people have heard from one source or another the positive impact that exercise has not just on physicial fitness, but almost more importantly, on cognitive stamina.

For me, this is an absolute truth, and one of my biggest motivators to exercise daily.

Exercise keeps me saner, smarter, and more engaged with the outward world around me, and with my own inner universe.

This week marks the 6th week of my Ironman training, which I’ve completed with more consistency, dedication, energy, and knowledge than any other time in my life thanks to Crush Multisport! When I’m training, or exercising regularly (6x/week), I feel like the best human possible. Like a superhero, really. It positively impacts every other arena of my life. After this month and a half, I’m steadily learning how to balance my work, social, and training lives, and they’re beginning to co-exist with staggering beauty.

Or, perhaps, there has been a sense of balance all along but training releases such intense doses of endorphins that I’m suddenly aware and in awe of it. Because I’m in awe of everything after training. Chris calls this state my “post-training glow.” But, these days, the glow is here for good.

Training is making everything in my life better. For the past couple weeks, I’ve been spending between 7-9 hours at the X-sport gyms. I’ve been making friends with their stationary bikes, reveling in their pools/hot-tubs, and-believe it or not- bonding with their treadmills. A majority of people declare their dislike of gyms, but I’ll be honest, I love them. I love them. The gym allows me to have time all to myself. Gyms are one of the few community places strictly dedicated to self-care and I find them deeply inspiring. If I want to be social and make friends in the locker room, I’ll bond over race gear stories, fitness clothings, or daily news. However, in general, the gym provides a time for me to be quiet, which is a rarity. Perhaps it’s the fact that I was raised in a house with 4 older siblings, 3 cats, 2 dogs, and 10s of hamsters, but I find a meditative state amongst the chaos of TVs, flourecant lights, phermones, sweat, and everything else lingering in a gym. In general, I respect the people, the effort, and the purpose of being there.

As a person who prides themself on never owning a TV (nor has any interest in it whatsoever), indoor exercise provides a time for me to explore music albums, podcasts, audio books, newscasts, TED talks, and many other sources of audible education. And, it’s making me downright smarter! Whether I’m crying over a podcast about endurance racing tales, cursing politicians during a WBEZ newscast, giggling with Dan Savage, or freestyling under my breath to hip hop beats, my time at the gym is some of the most well spent. Training allows me to connect with my body and mind while developing cognitive, cultural, and emotional intelligence. Not only does the content I’m absorbing make me smarter, the very act of exercise stimulates brain activity, memory retention, and muscle development. Some of my best problem solving is completed while exercising as it allows my brain the time and space necessary to concentrate on an idea while listening to my instincts. In my life as an athlete, I’ve rarely left a problem unresolved (at least within myself) by the end of an exercise session. My productivity at work is remarkably greater following a workout versus a morning of sedentary activity. I have more confidence in my ideas, more focus on my tasks, and all-around more energy to take on the day. In fact, I KNOW my day will be far better if I train/exercise/move in the morning. Exercising is one of the easiest ways to ensure an awesome day.

In addition to the euphoric affects of training, I’ve been sleeping better than I have in YEARS. In the past, stress has always reared its nocturnal head in the form of insomnia for me, negatively impacting my work, moods, and overall quality of life. Lately, I have been sleeping soundly and fully through the night and I can only attribute it to the stress relief brought on by consistent training.

In light of sleeping better, I have put lots of thought lately in to the phenonema of people who pride themselves on NOT sleeping (I used to be that sort of individual) and will be dedicating my next post to the importance of sleep. Check back, friends.

In the meantime, a few sources of knowledge:

Article: Can exercise make kids smarter?

Article: The Unaging Triathlete

A TED Talk about how to live to be 100

Limits of the Body

Finding Emilie (Thanks, Kase!)

Savage Love

A fool for the pool

Fools for Pools!

A tale of embarrassment for my present peeps and the sake of posterity.

As a wee J.Z., I had the privilege of a pool just steps from my bedroom. One would think that such frequent exposure to water from a young age would mold me in to an impressive hydrodynamic mammal.

Au contraire mon frere.

Maybe it is my genetic chicken legs, maybe it is my absent buoyancy, or maybe it is because I’m an Aries (we’re fire signs, ok?). I really have no explanation for this phenomenon of failure. But, during the warm Illinois summers, you can be sure I regularly placed dead-last in every race that took place across our family’s chlorinated watering hole.

My two oldest sisters managed to master the art of swimming and graced the acclaimed St. Charles swim teams with their flawless glides. In an effort to follow their wet steps and improve my aquatic inadequacies, I decided to join the diving team my freshman year of high school. Although I was by far the worst on the team, I still managed to leave MY OWN mark on St. Charles North’s swimming pool.

For all you non-Saints/Stars, my hometown of St. Charles is known for its record-breaking swim teams. So, naturally, the St. Charles North North Stars (that’s not a typo) wouldn’t be complete without a gorgeous state of the art pool. In an effort to initiate the freshly dug pool, our team took a bucket from the St. Charles East pool and, uh, baptized the North pool late one night as soon as it opened. Well, I decided to perform my own baptism, and it is now, 11 years later, I hereby declare that I was the FIRST person to urinate in the St. Charles North High School pool. It’s true.

The only other claim to swimming fame occurred when I was recruited to participate in a “diver relay” swim heat during a swim/dive meet. Unfamiliar to the standards of formal swim team, I assumed all I had to do was boogie down to the end, turn around, whack the edge or whatever, and come back. Simple enough. As soon as I dove off the small platform and hit the water, the pressure of the splash moved my goggles half-way up my face, rearranged my contacts off my eyeball and in to the not-so-vast corners of my lids, rendering me as good as blind. In a panic, I emerged out of the water, aquatic eyeware in hand and exclaimed, “MY GOGGLES!,” under the naïve impression that this kind of announcement would allow the heat to restart and somehow communicate that I couldn’t see anything. Nope. Everyone in the blurry room started yelling “KEEP GOING!!!! (YOU IDIOT),” echoing off the walls of the aquatic center, and in to the deep recesses of my humiliation vault, until I splashed down the 25yrds and back, arms flailing in to the lane lines, ultimately leading to an inevitable disqualification for the team.

YEP.

After my single-season stint on the SCN dive team, I quickly turned back to theatre and choir for the remainder 3 years of high school and never dared to join an athletic team as a teenager again.

Cut to my blossoming adult years when I “taught” myself to swim at a fancy Argentine gym pool where I pretended not to understand when the lifeguards constantly corrected my embarrassing techniques. And thus, my atrocious form was formed. I can thank my pride for the consequent shoulder tendonitis and various other swim struggles.

Somehow I managed to compete in a couple Ironman 70.3s and still finish without complete failure yet I have always been ashamed of my swimming. When I registered for Ironman, I quietly promised myself I would learn to swim. For real. After all, a 2.4 mile swim ain’t nothin’ to f*ck with.

THANKFULLY on Christmas Eve, JB did a full swim assessment with a nifty underwater camera to analyze my stroke, breathing methods, and overall form. It was probably the most helpful hour in my triathlon history. I walked away actually understanding (and listening) on exactly how to get through the water most efficiently, without injuring my body or wasting energy. All my water workouts since the assessment on JC’s pre-party have been the most FUN and FAST I’ve ever had. Hooray for having a COACH. I actually FEEL like a swimmer when I go to the gym now instead of some imposter with an Ironman 70.3 cap on 2-stepping down the lane.

I now have high hopes for myself as a swimmer. By the time Ironman comes around, my body will perfectly sculpted like Amanda Beard and my speed will match Michael Phelps. Okay, probably not, but at least I’ll have more to brag about than pissing in a pool.

The Tri Goddess: Chrissie (Give’emhell)ington

In the triathlon world and beyond, I’m not alone in my deep admiration for IronWOMAN 4-time world champion, Chrissie Wellington.  She is my biggest inspiration as an athlete, and top 10 as a human being.  Back in 2004, she was working in Nepal for the British government and started doing triathlons, 3 years later she became the world champion. And remains undefeated.

In 3 years.

This fact alone never ceases to leave me astonished when I contemplate the volume of talented, hardworking triathletes IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. She was actually quoted saying something in that interim about never doing an Ironman distance, that it was “for crazy people,” which is fitting, because her athletic accomplishments prove she is a FREAK OF NATURE. Aside from being jaw-droppingly fast, CW completes a majority of her races with a permasmile. Smiling.  For 140.6 miles, often in temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit and 50mph winds against her .  Amazing.

Back in ’09 when I completed my first Ironman 70.3 in Lawrence, KS, and knew next to NOTHING about endurance racing (in all honesty, I had no idea exactly who Chrissie Wellington was at the time, I just knew she had won that specific race), I crossed the finish line in complete delirium, only to see what I thought was a mirage of CW putting a medal around my neck.  Luckily, this photograph was taken to prove the moment was, in fact, a reality. Shortly after the race as I re-hydrated with a beer in hand, I sauntered over the post-race party grounds to score Chrissie’s autograph.   Ordinarily,  I could give a rat’s patotooty about celebs, but this lady most certainly warrants my awe .   I’m fairly positive she never stopped smiling that entire day.  As a huge proponent of optimism and positive thinking, I look up to her with tremendous respect.

Perched under a tiny tent upon a tabletop, CW was signing posters of herself at Kona and giving kind words to all the athletes, like me, that had (obviously) come in hours behind her. I nervously asked for her Hancock and acknowledged how much I appreciated her constant smile.

Her response, “what’s not to smile about in this sport?”

This attitude towards athletics, and life, is one I deeply appreciate, and I am fairly positive her secret weapon to winning EVERY race in which she participates. At the risk of sounding hokey, I don’t think one can lose if they maintain a grateful, positive, and optimistic mental environment.

These days, that autographed poster is matted, framed, and hung within view of my bathtub, where I spend lots of time recovering my muscles and recollecting my spirit.  It serves as a beautiful reminder of the happiness, spiritual connection, and overall fulfillment participating in triathlons brings to me.

And…GO!

Sunday afternoon I met with my coach, Jeremy Brizzi, from Crush Multisport, to go over my 40 week training program.

Before I dive in, I should provide back story on how I met JB. When I first returned to Chicago from Bali in 2009, I was lost in reverse culture shock, trying not to forget the beautiful gamelan music I was used to hearing everyday, but delighted to ride a bike again and complete my first Ironman 70.3. See, since I was a late teen, I have dreamed of completing an Ironman race.   While studying in Argentina Jan-June of 2008, I had a significant amount of time to spare and decided it was time to TAKE ON MY DREAMS (insert wide-eyed dreamy smile gazing in to the distance).  So, in July 2008, I completed my first triathlon, a sprint distance in Naperville, IL, biking on a garage sale steel frame road bike I borrowed from my friend that was a liiiiittle too big for my 5’4″ frame. Being the overzealous and impulsive person I am, I immediately decided it was time to register for a half Ironman (1.2mi swim, 56mi bike, 13.1mi run) taking place in June 2009.  So, I saved over the Winter for a legitimate bike I could race on and flew off to Bali to be a governess.  Living in the jungle during the months of January and February proved to be exceptionally helpful in training for an early season race, not to mention I got to train in some gorgeous villa pools I enjoyed completely to myself!  In April ’09, I bought a bike I could both explore the Chicago streets on AND race Irons- a Jamis Satellite (sadly, this bike was stolen from me last year). Anywho, I returned to American soil and was in need of some friends and I thought, “who better to pal around with than triathloners?”, so I joined the Element Triathlon Club where I met JB at the first meeting.  Shortly after, he organized a loop ride from Harvard, IL to Lake Geneva with the club, and we’ve been friends ever since.  Jeremy has been an unbelievable friend over the years, from running partner to confidant to drinking buddy, I couldn’t have chosen anyone better to be my coach.

I am also certain Jeremy was born to be a coach. Not only is he impeccably organized, supportive, motivating, and a tremendous listener, he loves triathlons and endurance sports more than anyone I know. He established CRUSH Multisport last year and I am honored to be one of his athletes.

Ok, back to Sunday, JB & I hit up Intelligentsia in the loop (holy shit their coffee rocks), and discussed my Ironman program. It’s going to be a rockin’ 2012, folks!  Yesterday morning, my alarm went off at 6ish and I hightailed it to the Logan Xsport to get in the pool for the first time in OVER A YEAR (violin-screeching teeth clench), I put on my new suit, goggles, and an old cap, and got in!  Although it was a low-impact drills workout, I am pleasantly sore today! Afterwards, on my run, I got to break-in my new Garmin watch, that makes me squeal in delight just thinking about it!  It is orange and huge and awesome. Anyway, I did a slow run and, man, it feels SO GREAT to be on a training program again, especially training for a race I’ve been waiting my whole life to complete.

This weekend The Christo & I will head to Cali to see some close friends, but most importantly, to celebrate my mama’s 60th year of life!  JB tailored my workout to accomodate my travel which I REALLLY appreciate (since I love to travel A LOT).

I see beautiful beach runs with my ridiculously fast boyfriend in my weekend future.

Type at y’ll later!