Toenails

When my kids were little, they learned a song when they were in the first grade. The song was just a short list of some body parts they were learning about so they would point to the body part as they sang the song out loud. They would sing at the dinner table and point to the part of the body that the song was about, they would sing in the shower and point, they would sing while they played with the dog and point out the dogs parts: They sang it constantly, over and over and pretty soon, I was singing it at the dinner table, in the shower, in the car, on the way to work, pointing at my body parts while I drove.  I guess I am easily influenced by others.

The song goes like this (for some extra fun, point at your own body parts while you read the words)

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

Head, Shoulders. Knees, and Toe o o o o oes.

To sing it right, you need to make each of the 'o's it's own syllable, like Oh Oh Oh Oh and so on. So I was thinking about that while I drove to work today and of course I was singing out loud, touching my head, my shoulders, my knees and my toes like thirty times as fast as I could. On I-90. At seventy five miles an hour. I was just singing and touching and scaring the other drivers.

Then I got to work, got out of the car and limped into the office because my knees were super sore from my run yesterday. It occurred to me that the song is not only good for kids, but it's good for commuters and for triathletes too. Sing the song now and touch your body part while you read along. Try it - its fun. It's superfun.

Head - if you want to be a triathlete, get your head right. Some triathletes don't deal well with pain. It's a head thing. Fix that. Or, some triathletes don't believe in pace. They go out extra strong on the bike, then they wonder what happened when they blow up on the run. Fix that. Or, some triathletes don't like to swim in a crowd. Fix that. Whatever you need to do to get your head right, fix it. It's different for everybody.

Shoulders – Swimming is great, but your shoulders might revolt if you don't take care of them. Build your distance slow and lift some weights. That is what I do anyway. My shoulders ache if I swim more than three times a week. Maybe a little ache is ok, but I think my shoulders are getting old and I need to keep them safe.

Knees - My knees hurt when I run. They hurt more than they did last year, and they hurt twice as bad as they did two years ago. Use the I and A treatment to keep them happy. Ice your knees and down a bunch of Advil until the pain goes away. And don't run on pavement early in your training cycle. In short, do whatever it is that keeps your knees happy. Here's a thought; how many runners or triathletes over the age of forty do you know that don't have knee problems? I don't know any.

Toes - My toes don't hurt but they are mentioned in the song, so I guess I should say something wise about your toes. Hmmm. I got nuthin'. Maybe clip your toenails.

I ran four miles today, it was raining as hard as it can possibly rain in the jungles of Southeast Asia and like an idiot I ran in it.  Swim tomorrow, maybe ride this weekend if the monsoon lets up.