Cross Training My Brain

It's back to school week for the kids!  Yeah - kids are back into routine.  Boo-hoo - it is a big warning bell signaling the end of summer which means an an end to our interesting cross training summer activities.  Soon it will be back to the old elliptical machines, dreadmills, weights, and exercise classes at the gym.   This time of year signals a close end to my favorite cross training exercise  -- my garden.   A garden?  How can that be counted as cross training, you wonder?  For me its an exercise to build one of my most undeveloped muscles...patience.

Many years ago after my first triathlon, I made a promise to myself to do an ironman distance when I was in my 40's.   I believe I can physically do the distance - albeit it is a stretch goal for me.  So I made my plan.  Sprints and olympic distances for the first few years, a half ironman planned for a few years after that and a full ironman somewhere around age 40-45.  But the physical side isn't my biggest concern.  I am pretty shaky on whether or not I have the mental stamina and patience to sit through an hour of swimming, 100+ miles on a bike and another 26 miles of a run.  I have completed one marathon and I found the mental patience part the most difficult.

To build my patience muscle, I started a 10 year garden project.  The project is to take a large ugly space and turn it into a "cottage garden" of sorts for our family to hang out.   I am in year 3 of 10 and it's not been easy project.  But I have learned some valuable lessons from the hours upon hours of cross training.  They are remarkably similar to lessons from running and triathlons:

• You can't cram - it takes time to develop. 
• You need to have the right tools.
• Nutrition and hydration are important.  Can't have too much or too little.
• You have to be thoughtful in your planning and execution for the short and long term or you won't grow to your potential. 
• You have to find the right mix that works for you and what you want to accomplish. 
• Core body strength is critical (especially when shoveling 11 tons of rock)
• Just when your attention is waining and you are ready to give up, that's when you need to work the hardest. 
• It's not without its challenges, whether it's bugs or injuries or weather.
• You gotta' make time - no one is going to do it for you.
• There are lots of good gardeners who can give you good advice.
• Don't disregard the weather - adjust to the sun, rain, and wind.
• If you don't know what you are doing, it can be costly (in money, time, patience).
• There are so many choices, at times it is very confusing.
• There hasn't been a week when I didn't learn a valuble lesson I can use next time.
• When it all comes together, it is a thing of beauty.

The pictures in this post show you my journey of ugly space to family space.  As I reach the end of year three I think I am starting to get a good idea of what this spot might look like next year and at the end of my 10 year plan.   

And my patience muscle?  Getting stronger.  It is still grossly underdeveloped, but I have seen small improvements each year. I know I still have alot of work yet to do on the muscle (and my garden).   Lucky for me, I still have 7 years to work on it - and enjoy the lessons and the rewards along the way.

Comments

[pat monahan]

You've done a great job on that space. It looks wonderful. Maybe I should work on my backyard, it's looking a tad bit old.

Nah. I think I'll just go for a run instead.

[Bella]

Fantastic work there! I love gardening too but when the training intensifies, the garden starts to take the backseat. Can't wait to see it when it's all completed.

[Iron G in 2015]

Ahh, a patience garden. I think my training might go the opposite direction: an Ironman and then the garden.

My thumb is so brown that plants actually wilt and play dead when I walk in a room. But I have to admit that training has helped me with my patience.

So, I guess we all come to patience from different points. Just think of everything you'll have when you're Iron-clad: an unbreakable sense of pride and accomplishment, a fantastic story tell and a beautiful place to celebrate!

[Bob Gentile]

Way to build that patience muscle....

I heard a long time ago that "Patience is LEARNED
not Granted".

SO when I use to sit in traffic and say "Lord give me patience and he never did!!" why? then I was told I needed to learn it :-)

Way to Learn it and build a spectacular Garden for your beautiful family. COngrats!

[Art Dinkin]

All these hidden talents! What a remarkable job you are doing! It looks like you already have a family space which will evolve into a wonderful oasis and retreat.

How is it that you knew I blew off running this weekend to weed and mulch? A couple of hours each day (and 28 cubic yards of mulch later) and I was sweating as if I had done my long run in the heat. I agree, gardening IS cross training. I will have to work on that patience muscle though...

[Colleen]

You are doing a very nice job on the garden, it looks great! Prior to moving to the city I had my husband and his family handle all the landscaping of our house because his family has a landscaping business, and I didn't have the PATIENCE to do it myself :)

But I love how you tie together the similarities between gardening and running. I could definitely relate and couldn't agree more with the points you made.

[mike]

Hi Amy!
Thanks for stopping by...love the triathlon / garden analogy although based on how great your garden is turning out, it looks like you put in more effort there then you would in a silly ironman race! ;-)

[what shall i say]

I love your conversations!

Just stumbled upon your blog and have been scrolling down back over as many entries as I can possibly cram!

I look forward to reading more in the future. And oh, yeah, good luck with the garden. and the triathlon!

[Bill Carter]

Wow, that was a really awesome post. I think for myself as a runner, patience is a very difficult thing. Sometimes I am in the middle of one of those 18 to 22 mile long runs and just want to get through it or impatient about an upcoming race. My wife does most of the gardening (wildflowers, perrenials, etc.) and she is certainly more patient than I am. Hmm....maybe you gardeners are on to something.