On Summer Vacation, Teacher Becomes a Student of the New
After my first year of full-time teaching, I was overjoyed at the prospect of having my summer free. It was a concept I could barely grasp. Having worked every summer for the past 10 years, being able to relax for 2 1/2 months seemed criminal. But who was I to argue? Early-morning strolls for coffee, midafternoon matinee-going, late-night surfing on the Web. What a life! What a profession!
My moment of clarity came, however, after consuming an entire bag of baked potato chips while reading Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway.” I realized I needed to see my own version of the “trees!” that inspired her character, Septimus Warren Smith. His renewed appreciation for life inspired me to experience something new in my life, so I enrolled in scuba lessons and earned my certification. But 40-foot kelp and garibaldi fish just weren’t enough.
During one late-night Internet expedition, I researched local triathlons. I found a reputable Web site that told of an upcoming mini-triathlon in Huntington Beach. I called the organization and asked for an entry form. A few days later, hoping the form had been lost in the mail, I received the information and anxiously sent in my check for the nonrefundable admission. The clock was tolling--I had just four weeks to train!
The race course consisted of a quarter-mile ocean swim, a nine-mile bike ride and a three-mile run. I recruited a close friend to swim with me each morning; her enthusiasm kept me from whining too long on the shore before I dived into the cold, salty water. Initially I was unable to swim an eighth of a mile and was ready to give up. However, with perseverance and Lisa’s support, I increased my confidence and my distance. We even had fun, if you can call swimming in the early-morning choppy waters off Marina del Rey fun.
Running replaced my morning coffee ritual, biking replaced driving to matinees and swimming replaced surfing--the Web. A typical day would consist of a quarter-mile ocean swim, a 15-mile bike ride and a three-mile run. Once or twice I blew off the swim and the bike ride and went for a hard six-mile run. Little did I know that this would pay off.
After my carbo-loading dinner of fettuccine and gnocchi the night before the race, I watched the news: Miles of shoreline in Huntington Beach had been closed down because of a sewage spill. I was informed that the triathlon would now be a duathlon of a three-mile run, a nine-mile bike ride and a three-mile run. After the initial disappointment and tears, I pulled myself together and focused on completing the race.
It was exciting. I finished fourth in my division (mountain bike division) with my best times (20 minutes for each three-mile run, and 35 minutes for the nine-mile bike portion). In fact, I finished so much earlier than expected that my husband and friends didn’t have their cameras ready when I came speeding across the finish line! I felt alive, just like Woolf’s Smith. Trees! Sweat! Victory! Now, where are those potato chips?
How Did You Do It?
Do you have a story about how you lost weight and kept the pounds off? Or a story about how you learned to mountain climb or in-line skate, trained for a half-marathon or discovered a unique way of keeping fit, dealt with a nagging ailment or persevered with a fitness regimen despite some obstacles?
If so, we’d like to hear from you. Tell us your story in a 500-word essay listing what worked in terms of diet, exercise and encouragement, as well as any emotional and physical changes.
For weight-loss stories, send us full-body color photos of yourself, before and after. For other types of stories, send a color photo of yourself doing the activity you’re writing about.
Send essay and photos to How I Did It, Health, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053. Include daytime and evening phone numbers. Submissions cannot be returned. And, please, no phone calls.
In addition to publication, winners will receive a Los Angeles Times Health section gym bag, a Sparkletts hot-cold travel mug, T-shirt and coupons for free water products, courtesy of McKesson Water Products Co.
