Amy Reinink

Steve and I jokingly refer to my fledgling freelance-writing business as “Amy Incorporated.” I serve as both the CEO and janitor of this company, and I took advantage of my CEO post today to make a new company policy: No work on powder days!

Steve and I drove up to Whitetail late this afternoon, as the third major snowstorm to hit the DC area this winter started brewing. We plan to wake up early to ski in yet another powder day tomorrow morning. I will resume my regular posting schedule when I return.

I'll be back when I'm done skiing in this.

It’s so obvious, the idea that we can get more enjoyment out of working out remembering that, as this month’s Runner’s World puts it, “Athletic movement provides pleasure. Enjoy it.”

We do things like swim and run because they feel good—obvious stuff, right? Still, I realized in the middle of my warmup for a 4,500-meter swim last Friday that it had been a long time since I actually paid attention to how good it felt to swim.

So I tuned in to how it felt to take each stroke: to catch the water with my cupped hand, to propel myself forward with the specific hydrodynamic motion that’s second-nature to me after years of practice, and to follow through until my hand practically grazes my thigh.

I’ve mostly been swimming freestyle with a pull buoy to rest my ankle, and I noticed for the first time that doing so engages your core in new and interesting ways—something I’m sure I would have realized sooner had I made a point to be mentally present during my workouts.

I also noticed something I had been doubting recently: I DO love to swim. Though running is my first love, really tuning in to the joy of motion is motivating me to jump in the pool again this week—and to be more present and aware of what I’m doing once I jump in.

Saturday, one of my happiest days in recent memory, started with 45 minutes of manual labor.

Steve and I left Silver Spring for our regular weekend shift volunteering for Whitetail’s Mountain Safety Team around noon on Friday, just as the first flakes of what turned into a record-breaking snowstorm started to fall. We skied all night Friday, when snow fell so quickly and heavily, we watched our tracks from our last run disappear on the lift ride back up to the top.

On Saturday, our opening shift required us to shovel out the lifts so they were safe for guests to actually get on. The ski patrollers said they needed a couple of safety teamers to ride over to the lift that services Whitetail’s expert terrain on a snowmobile. Steve and I practically leaped out of our seats to volunteer. After a snowmobile ride that rivaled the coolest roller coasters I’ve ever been on, the patroller and I spent about 45 minutes shoveling at the top of the lift as Steve worked on the bottom. Once it was clear, we were both dripping with sweat, exhausted from the effort.

The lift we shoveled out to earn our turns.

“Want to take a run?” the patroller said, smiling. I thought you’d never ask!

That first turn on two feet of untouched powder will go down in my mental record book as one of the most joyful moments of my life. Feeling my skis float on top of the snow felt like exhaling: a soft, sweet release I could sink into. My quads were working overtime, but not in the usual way: It felt like doing lunges on a pile of feathers, hard and soft all at once. It was the first of dozens of runs that would leave me aching by the end of the day, not to mention this morning. Every muscle in my body is literally sore to the touch.

Grinning, because the snow is STILL falling!

I’m highly motivated to keep up my workout routine by having something to train for: a marathon or an open-water swim I need to be in good shape to complete. Last weekend’s blizzard reminded me that I also want to be in shape for the unexpected. I want to be able to plan an impromptu backpacking trip, or to keep skiing until the powder is gone, not until my muscles run out of juice.

Me skiing down our favorite cruiser run on Sunday morning, when the powder magically turned into soft corduroy.

Next time I’m doing single-leg squats, or Turkish getups, I’ll be motivated by the knowledge that strength-training now helps me be ready for anything, from shoveling to powder skiing.

What’s motivating you this week?

You had me at Alberto Salazar.

By “you,” I mean Running Times, which featured a great spread about cross-training a few months ago that included this great nugget about swimming: Alberto Salazar qualified for the Olympic team in the 10,000m in 1980 after taking a two-month hiatus from running, relying on swimming as his primary activity following an IT band injury.

Since I’ve been swimming a lot to let my grumpy ankle rest, I’ve been thinking a lot about how swimming translates to running. Running Times lays out lots of great general information, but these are some of my personal impressions.

First and most importantly, it’s the best non-running cardio workout I’ve found. During sprint sets, when my heart feels like it’s about to jump out of my chest, I can’t help but think about running intervals on a track, or running hills.

I’ve also noticed the pool is a safe place to test stomach-friendly pre-workout foods, one of my major goals over the past few months. Swimming seems far more forgiving than running, stomach-wise, so I get to see which foods work without fearing a serious penalty if a food doesn’t work so well. Two successes: I swam a potentially vomit-inducing workout just an hour after a lunch of quinoa and various kinds of summer squash (I know. It’s not summer. Don’t tell Michael Pollan and Barbara Kingsolver.), and it worked out just fine.

Also, inspired by Mark Bittman’s awesome-looking breakfast couscous recipe, I relied on a banana-couscous combo to fuel what turned out to be a mid-morning mega swim of 4,500 meters. I combined whole-wheat couscous, flaxseed, a mashed banana, a little skim milk and a few slivered almonds, then added a touch of Truvia and vanilla:

The delicious and stomach-friendly result.

The workout (all freestyle with a pull buoy):

• 2,000, increasing intensity each 500
• Pyramid set, on :15 rest: 1×50 > 1×100 > 1×150 > 1×200 > 1×250 > 1×300 > 1×250 > 1×200 > 1×150 > 1×100 > 1×50 (1,800 total)
• 4×25 sprint freestyle, on :10 rest, followed immediately by 4×25 no-breath freestyle
• 300 cool-down

I actually thought a lot about running while I swam, especially during the short, fast intervals. I imagined myself pushing it through the last, painful mile of a 5K, or up the last steep hill during one of my group runs with Pacers Silver Spring. I was so inspired and motivated, I added another one of these to the end: 4×25 sprint freestyle, on :10 rest, followed immediately by 4×25 no-breath freestyle. I can confirm, in case you were wondering, that the “no breath” part is considerably harder swimming meters than yards.

Next up: Ski weekend at Whitetail! Let it snow!

Even now that I’m back in the routine of swimming regularly, having spent some time getting my head in the right place about tackling the workouts, there’s one excuse I can’t seem to beat: It’s cold, and my usual remedy for cold is not jumping in a lukewarm pool.

My first swim back was especially rough—it took me a full 100 meters to shake the chill, and maybe a 500 before I forgot about being cold altogether.

I realize this is a silly thing to get hung up on. But I’m not the only one. Dara Torres even has a chapter in her book about how, at every level of swimming, you’re likely to find swimmers procrastinating on the pool deck before practice, looking for ways to postpone actually jumping in.

Since it’s not going to warm up anytime soon, and since I’m unlikely to get a good swimming workout without actually jumping in, I figured it was time to find a fix I could control (I’m still working on the weather).

1. Last winter, I always lifted for about 30 minutes before my swim workouts. That ensured I’d be hot, sweaty and in need of a cool-down by the time I had to jump in the pool, no matter how cold it was outside. I’m thinking the extra 30 minutes would be worth the added comfort this winter, too.

2. An even quicker and easier pre-swim warm-up: a cup of tea in a to-go mug for the drive to the pool.

3. I can visualize how good I’ll feel in a hot, post-swim shower. I’ve used this kind of mental imagery during races, imagining how good I’ll feel once I’m relaxing in an ice bath post-run. Consider this a warm, fuzzy twist on the visualization exercise.

4. I can up the ante for my post-swim reward, as I did yesterday: with what was quite possibly the most delicious pot of white chicken chili ever made.

I promised myself a hot bowl of chicken chili post-swim.

Here’s the recipe, which is based on an old Cooking Light recipe, but has since morphed into my own creation:

• Cut two chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces (the smaller, the better).
• Saute in a large pot with cooking spray and about two cloves of minced garlic.
• Add two (small) cans of diced green chili peppers (I actually use four, but not everyone likes it so hot!); two cans of chicken broth; coriander, onion powder, cumin and oregano to taste; and two cans of cannellini beans.
• For a thicker, heartier broth, puree another half a can of cannellini beans, then mix the pureed beans into the chili. Delicious.
• Simmer for as long as you can stand it. Garnish with cilantro, cheddar cheese, hot sauce and/or sour cream (I like all of the above).

We plan to bring the leftovers with us skiing this weekend. That’s right – I got the OK to ski at physical therapy yesterday! Let it snow, D.C.!