tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46513332988470894972024-03-13T12:38:55.527-05:00A Sunny Helloa quiet site of good cheer, if few ambitionsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger109125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4651333298847089497.post-91113368285370871852009-07-16T22:27:00.004-05:002009-07-16T22:41:12.415-05:00Where Did the Triathlon Stuff Go?For those of you who were digging all the recent posts about my training for triathlon and are wondering what happened: No, I didn't stop training.But I did move my writing about triathlon to a new blog. It's called In This Body and it's dedicated to encouraging readers to enjoy their physical life in the body they happen to be in, starting today. A Sunny Hello will continue to be its own grab Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4651333298847089497.post-8108703614889287342009-07-08T22:36:00.005-05:002009-07-08T23:16:59.447-05:00The Muscles Have Staged a Work SlowdownSo for the past couple of days I've felt sluggish and undermotivated. I'm not sure what's going on; is my body just not used to so much exercise all at once? Maybe. Maybe not.Don't get me wrong — I'm not unsettled by this in the least. My response is more of a "hm, that's annoying, what's that about" than an "oh no! I'm slacking off!" This little slowdown is just something to watch and Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4651333298847089497.post-18364629787959598602009-07-07T18:19:00.012-05:002009-07-09T07:30:15.707-05:00Interspecies communicationI like to hang out with people who love their sports. It's fun to hear runners talk about running; cyclists talk about cycling. The swimmers I know don't like to talk about swimming as much. Hm. I guess because you can't talk and swim at the same time.Anyway, I have noticed some breed-specific characteristics. Newbies, prepare yourselves for your new friends:SwimmersSwimmers talk in workout listsUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4651333298847089497.post-26209046573369913142009-07-05T22:21:00.018-05:002009-07-05T23:48:33.693-05:00BrickTwo and a half years of running, starting with my longest distance being 30 seconds. Two years of swimming, starting from a gasping, flailing, terrified 25 yards. Ten weeks of cycling after a break of two years (and the loss of confidence after a scary fall). Eight months of strength training, little by little, building basic balance, week in and out.And one year of accepting my body, just as it Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4651333298847089497.post-28290485503913628422009-06-30T22:48:00.002-05:002009-06-30T22:55:18.934-05:00Mm, TastyHere's a tip for summer runs that take you past a creek or standing water. If you run into a cloud of mosquitos or gnats, turn your head and exhale back over your shoulder.Mosquitos are attracted to carbon dioxide. When you exhale over your shoulder, you can clear enough space to turn your face forward and inhale without sucking in a lot of incidental insect protein.Just be sure to alternate Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4651333298847089497.post-76123959740306316132009-06-30T18:12:00.007-05:002009-06-30T18:27:56.895-05:00The scale is not my enemyWhy would I step on a scale? Here I am, in a journey launched from the idea that food compulsion and weight obsession are dangerous, yet I step on a scale every morning. Why?I like facts. The more the better. My entire professional life and all my training have bent me to the habit of gathering lots of data, analyzing it, and making decisions based on the patterns that the data reveal.The number Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4651333298847089497.post-75878072234407762102009-06-24T12:58:00.004-05:002009-06-30T22:11:45.813-05:00Rich Person's SportI don't think of myself as a wealthy person. Our household depends on wages and needs to save for the future. But there is no way to look at myself as a triathlete and not understand exactly how wealthy I am.Cue the soundtrack...Consider the time it takes to train (one to two hours a day for the shortest distances). Add up the gear it takes if you even just want to finish comfortably without Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4651333298847089497.post-26412446870429297082009-06-22T22:14:00.002-05:002009-06-30T22:11:45.814-05:00My SuperpowerMy favorite thing about building an athletic life as a middle-aged woman is that every day there's some new lesson, some new thought. Every day there's some new way for my brain to feel good. When I started running three years ago I felt an edge of regret that I hadn't understood this when I was young.Moving toward triathlon, new ideas hit so fast and so hard, there's no time for regret. I don't Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4651333298847089497.post-62212180907266108992009-06-21T21:29:00.006-05:002009-06-30T22:11:45.814-05:00Tri TrainingOK, triathlon pals: here's my training plan.The brown blocks are planned training; the red blocks are actual training. The A, B, and C indicate general times of day.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4651333298847089497.post-85582795845854315832009-06-19T17:29:00.006-05:002009-06-30T22:11:45.814-05:00Open WaterI swam in open water for the first time this week. I joke with people that the 120-acre lake in Shawnee Mission Park is more like water left slightly ajar. In the slight breeze, the only chop was generated by the swimmers; the 200-meter triangle buoy course never takes you more than 10 or so long strokes from chest-deep water.I was nervous anyway, with the kind of nerves generated when you want Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4651333298847089497.post-3094095690753917042009-06-18T23:45:00.005-05:002009-06-30T22:11:45.815-05:00Why triathlon?Forty-two. Graying. 185 pounds and slope-shouldered. Runs an 11:00 mile and has had to work 2 years to get to that point. Double-chinned. Soft. Round. Was forty before getting past anxiety with her face in the water. Has never in her life been athletic.An everyday woman, an everyday-looking woman, who would have laughed you off a year ago if you'd told her what she'd be doing now. Who is in the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4651333298847089497.post-34943744606352863812009-06-15T22:13:00.005-05:002009-07-09T13:43:23.550-05:00The Unlikely TriathleteToo old. Too fat. Waaaaay too slow. Too weak. Too uncoordinated. But just determined enough not to believe any of that. That's me, the unlikely triathlete. I hope these posts make you want to try something you don't think you can do. It might be the most fun you ever had!Triathlon PostsWhy Triathlon?Open Water : My first open water swim.My SuperpowerRich Person's SportMM, Tasty : How to avoid Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4651333298847089497.post-32459569358725614762009-03-25T05:00:00.005-05:002009-03-25T13:50:25.330-05:00You are not a monster and you are not aloneIf you live with an eating disorder now or in your past, be aware that material at these links is not friendly to your disorder.After I read this excellent post by Erica at Shakesville yesterday, then this one by Rachel Hills, about a truly vile Cosmo article, I walked around all afternoon with my memories of triggered binge episodes alternately roiling and going icy numb. I left the following inUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4651333298847089497.post-33835140229363283592009-03-04T12:20:00.004-06:002009-03-04T12:55:16.883-06:00Toilet logicAbout two years ago, my housemate (who is also my husband) staged a domestic revolution. He no longer lowered the toilet seat.He clarified for me that hinting, straightforward statements of preference, and sullen looks (the last after butt-first plunges into an open bowl) were not only of no use but were logically unfounded. This is how the conversation went over a few weeks.Me: Please put the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4651333298847089497.post-614893553778145582008-10-17T19:15:00.007-05:002009-06-30T18:04:48.378-05:00Splurdle: a new wordI have invented a word. And yes, it belongs here under "Happy Body Day."The word is "splurdle."Splurdle, v.t., (splurdling, splurdled). To masturbate as a female. Curiously, she often thought of gingerbread men when she began to splurdle. Also n., the act or sensation of masturbation as a female. I could use a good splurdle right now. Oh, how we've needed this word! "Masturbate" is a seriously Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4651333298847089497.post-14395308226401737602008-10-14T06:00:00.001-05:002009-06-30T18:02:20.256-05:00NovemberlandPeaceful moments I have known: The obliterated space after sex when trust has displaced breathing. The half-second of propulsion underwater before my body lifts toward the surface. The pass of my hand on my sister's fresh grave in grief more pure and isolating than anything I have felt before or since. These are my basis for comparison.I'm greedy for peace in reading. It's inexcusable. Isn't it Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4651333298847089497.post-15996282065716864992008-08-26T15:54:00.007-05:002009-06-30T18:02:20.256-05:00Guest book reviewNot sure why you love this book so much. Lacks cooking instructions.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4651333298847089497.post-25559831788196112008-08-23T16:27:00.008-05:002009-06-30T18:04:48.378-05:00Fat bias in medicine - interview recapThis week I was interviewed for a television news segment about fat bias in medicine and how it affects patient care. I was solicited for this interview because of my experience watching my sister, a 550-pound patient, die after a 6-week hospital stay in 2001.Before the interview, I thought long and hard about what I was and wasn't willing to say.For instance, I'm not willing to make broad, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4651333298847089497.post-66709813089730271462008-08-21T21:26:00.008-05:002009-06-30T18:04:05.741-05:00On CameraLast Friday, the amazing DebraSY was contacted by the local Fox news medical reporter as a source for a long-form story on fat bias in medicine and how it affects patient care. Debra referred Ms. McKean to me.That's how my book and I came to be sitting, in my sunroom, in front of a camera yesterday. I had about 48 hours to prepare, so I thought I'd share with you what I'd do again and what I wishUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4651333298847089497.post-62336962394439900012008-08-12T22:03:00.007-05:002009-06-30T18:02:20.257-05:00FidelityAlthough I've had a volume of Grace Paley's Begin Again on my shelf for some time, her posthumous collection Fidelity is the first of her collections I've read.It's one of a handful of books of poetry I've read all the way through, late into the night, slowly, hearing the words out loud in my head, with someone half-sleeping beside me and wishing I would turn off the light.I read Grace Paley and Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4651333298847089497.post-4102461535972755322008-08-08T14:28:00.004-05:002009-06-30T18:04:48.378-05:00Now playing: Verb!This week I was standing in a convenience store watching people come and go for a couple of minutes and listening to myself describe them in my mind.And I realized something wrong about how I was doing it. I was using adjectives.We're taught to do this early. "Blonde woman. Black teenager. Fat man. Poor family." We're taught that adjectives are how we describe people.But adjectives are not the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4651333298847089497.post-43955265893220199472008-08-07T22:02:00.003-05:002009-06-30T18:04:05.741-05:00Hello Sunburst!The marketing pieces I've been working on through the year are finally coming together. The first issue of The Sunburst newsletter is out to the test audience (read: my close friends who I trust not to flag it as spam).And the Sunspot Press web site is expanded and now includes an essays and poems section, with more essays to come on weight, size, fat, and eating.A couple of things about all thisUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4651333298847089497.post-84955458093569384772008-08-05T22:38:00.004-05:002009-06-30T18:02:20.257-05:00Same song, second verseWhen last I wrote on books and poems day, we had started a bit of conversation about the merits of translations of Dante's Inferno.Because of this, I re-read the Pinsky translation that had originally weighed so heavy on me and did some thinking about translations. I loved what Burning Prairie noted in the comments:"When it comes to translations of any kind, Italian poets, drearyRussians, Bibles,Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4651333298847089497.post-83858644733697010792008-08-04T21:41:00.009-05:002009-06-30T17:58:53.172-05:00Dear Katherine:I don't know your last name or whether you spell your first name with a K or a C. I don't know your address or your phone number.I can't give you a proper thank you for your kindness. So I'll tell the fine folks out there about it and ask them to pass a thanks to someone in their own lives in your honor.Three weeks ago, you stopped your run to help me where I sat stunned and bleeding on the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4651333298847089497.post-66108347753855742282008-06-30T21:55:00.002-05:002009-06-30T17:58:53.173-05:00Dear Mark Friend:Two things amaze me about your artisan bread: how good it is and how much of it you make. It's everywhere around the city! That's some operation.I like knowing that you're a family-run company. It's not an insignificant thing to build the knowledge of a business and a craft into the raising of children who then want to contribute to the business in their adulthood.I like knowing that Farm To Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1