Gloria Steinem has died. I am much personally sadder than I would have thought I would be. She fought for and shaped so much for me and so many other women, and took so much shit for it with grace and courage.
If any young ‘uns want to understand why she was important, I suggest watching the excellent miniseries Mrs America, which is a brilliant portrait of the dynamics of second wave feminism and the roots of what became “women eating their own faces” family-values MAGA.
Those women were more than a generation ahead of me, but as a teenager with a lot of angst about my gender, sexuality and the shame brushed over women for violating the norms, I devoured Steinem, Friedan and other contemporaries. Their pre-intersectionality lenses (esp. Friedan’s) don’t stand up to scrutiny now, but we can’t miss how unbelievably radical they were.
I lived in a world where I was literally not given a school award because my principal thought it would be inappropriate to honour a kid being raised by a single mother because it would legitimize that situation. I lived in a world where my grandparents consistently tried to school me in how to be a “lady,” and where my mother navigated shame and castigation for my appearance six months after her wedding, and for her divorce. I lived in a world where, of course, there were no visible queer women.
Reading Gloria Steinem and discovering Ms magazine were the first lifeline into a different way to be for me as a 15 year old in 1980 windsor. Their words led me to the first wave french feminists, and to every book about women claiming their sexuality and desire and agency I could find (some better than others, lol), and to every piece of queer theory I ever read. I read Ms. fiercely for two decades, and a vintage mug from the magazine holds the pens on my desk now. That mug symbolizes the container that Steinem and her contemporaries created so I can use my voice the way I want to today.
Fieldpoppy is Cate Creede-Desmarais, who lives in Mi’kma’ki, the unceded and ancestral land of the Mi’kmaq Nation.
It’s the weirdest thing, and I’m not even sure when it happened. Lately, no matter how tired I am, I feel compelled to move.
Once I’m moving, I sometimes feel energized for a while. Other times, I keep chugging away, even as my brain is telling me it’s okay to stop (and the rest of my body emphatically supports the brain).
I know that part of this is habit after years of commuting by bike to work, plus various dance classes and swim practice each week. The 22_ workouts in 202_ challenge has reinforced my tendency to want to move every single day. I see everyone else’s joyful pictures and activity reports and I want to do things too.
There is absolutely no logic to it. Dozens, maybe hundreds, of people participate and post. Most post no more than a few times a week. I think Sam is the only one who consistently does at least one thing every day. But do I think that it’s okay to take a rest day? No! Because people (not the same people) are posting every day and therefore I must post.
So, I’m trying to take a page out of Christine’s habits: be kind to myself, and give myself a gold star when I sit back on the couch like Milo, even if I’m still playing with something (usually knitting, not a kitty toy like Milo).
Milo, a great and white cat who alternates between intense action and total chill, is flipped on his back on the couch, playing with one of his favourite toys.
How many posts? Thirty-one posts this month, through a stretch of open-water swims, cross-border cycling, and at least one summer that didn’t go the way anyone planned.
Who blogged? Sam, Christine, Diane, Nat, Catherine, Nicole, Martha, Mina, Tracy, Cate and guest blogger Winnie.
Bodies in the news: menopause and sport politics. Menopause had a real moment on the blog this month. Nicole asked what it means to be pitched as a “Menopause Ambassador”, and Catherine followed with a sharp look at the menopause “gold rush” — a telehealth boom for some, still a bust for most. On the sport-politics side, Diane asked what actually happens when we try to keep trans people out of sport, and Sam covered the Tour de France Femmes’ newest way of policing women’s bodies: “bra doping”.
I think most runners have this thought. I know I did back when I ran.
You look at the Boston qualifying times, for example, and think, wow, I’d have to be 75 to qualify. (That’s me. You might be much speedier.) But then you think of the upside. I don’t need to get faster. I just need to get older and stay the same speed.
I’m no longer a runner, but it’s finally happened.
This week, while riding my bike on the trainer, I got a notification from Garmin. Thanks to all of your hard work, your fitness age has just lowered. Your fitness age is now 62.
This week, thanks to the ticking of the clock, I actually turned 62.
Garmin suggests I aim for 56 as my fitness age. I know their metrics aren’t perfect–see the discussion of weight above–but I like the idea of getting younger fitness-wise, as I get older age-wise.
For the last few nights, I have been doing about 5 minutes of mobility exercises before bed and the practice feels really beneficial.
I didn’t start the exercises with a plan, I just did them one night while listening to the end of a podcast and I liked how I felt afterwards so I did them again the next night.
And since I often find myself feeling a bit twitchy and restless before bed – with an odd feeling or an ache in one place or another – but I haven’t had that feeling in the last few nights so it seems worth exploring if there is a connection between the exercises and the lack of twitchiness.
This may be a coincidence of course but that’s part of the experiment.
I’m referring to it as going in circles because I made myself laugh when I referred to the exercises that way on Sunday night.
And seeing as the routine includes rolling a ball under each foot and then doing ankle circles, knee circles, hip circles, upper body circles, arm circles, shoulder circles, and neck circles, it’s not wrong it just sounds a bit funny.
So here’s my experiment:
For September, I am going to go in circles for 5 minutes each night before bed and note whether or not I feel twitchy afterward and whether I feel more or less stiff each morning.
I’ll report on my experiment on October 1.
These imperfect circles were fun to make and they are a good representation of the imperfect circles in my practice. Image description: a drawing of 8 overlapping, painted circles in fall colours (shades of green, brown, red, orange) with a different pattern in black ink on each one (spirals, circles, grids, lines, triangles, squares) and each circle is outlined in black. The drawing has been cut out of a larger sheet of white paper in an irregular shape that resembles a cloud or a puddle. The outer edge of the paper is trimmed in black and there are gold dots between the black trim and the edges of the circles. At the bottom are the words ‘hello, September!’ written in black.
Personal training, strength training, at Movati with Cody and Sarah–7-8 am
Aquafit, 530-630 pm, Movati or noon swim/skate on campus
Wednesday
Zwift training plan, 6 am, 45 minutes
Aquafit, 530-630 pm, Movati/noon swim/skate
Thursday
Personal training, strength training, at Movati with Cody and Sarah–7-8 am
Aquafit, 530-630 pm, Movati or noon swim/skate
Friday
Friday morning Herd ride, 7 am
Noon hour rec skate
Weekend
Day 1 Adventuring! Canoe camping, bike riding, dog hiking, etc.
Day 2, Rest! Or if no adventuring, then either Zwift or a third strength workout
(Also, I ride my bike to work often, and I walk Cheddar a lot but they are short walks these days as he’s getting up there in years.)
Good morning Cheddar!
Reflections
🔴 I need to ride my bike more but I can’t ride weekdays come fall. It’s starting to get dark earlier in the evenings. So riding is going to be all about bike commuting + Zwifting + a long ride on the weekend.
🔴 The university pool and the rink are both open for rec skating and lane swimming over lunch. I plan to keep gear on campus and on the days I can’t make it to aquafit because of my work schedule or I can’t register (because the classes quickly fill up with online registration)
🔴 I know this looks like a lot but I definitely won’t get to do everything every week. My work schedule starts early and often ends late. The advantage of the 530 pm aquafit class is that it’s early enough I can still attend 7 pm events on campus.
🔴 How much do you plan your week? What’s your fitness week look like? I’m curious.
Update: Last night’s antigravity yoga did not end in a very peaceful fashion. Just as we were all settled into cocoon shivasna, my favorite, the fire alarm at the gym went off. So loud, so screamy.
I think I am signing up for my very first organized 5K run in later Sept, so I guess I had better start running.
Nat
For the first time in a long time, cycling in September! Not the commuting or utility cycling but the road bike adventure and fun kind of cycling.
Sam
Like Nat, cycling into the fall! To be clear, I usually do keep riding, but I drop the distances. This year I never got to any great distance so I’m going to keep going. My birthday bike ride at 62 km will be my longest ride of the year, so why can’t I keep adding distance as we move into the fall months?
Laura
I’m looking forward to the return of cooler weather to enable me to engage in more vigorous physical activity. (I do not like summer’s heat and do not function well in it!) One goal is to commence a daily vinyasa/power yoga practice on Labour Day. September is also a great month to get back into a regular running habit. But the running may need to wait this year as I am loath to take on activities right now that require spending time away from my senior dog. Good running weather is also good walking weather, and walking is Shelby’s favourite thing to do. So walking wins out these days.
Diane
I start back to work in September. Most of my shifts will be for lane swims. My resolution is to remember that it is okay to swim when I’m not actively lifeguarding, and get in for a short swim at least twice a week.
Cate
I have to be in Toronto for half of sept for work and it’s mostly air bnbs without access to gyms. My goal is to keep moving and eat well, and to actually use my running shoes and my yoga mat even when nomadic.
Tracy
I’m not teaching this fall so I’m feeling really relieved not to be doing a mad scramble of course prep. But in my head there is always going to be a reset in September, where I settle into more work-oriented routines and more structure. I’ve been working on it all summer. My fitness resolution for the fall is process-oriented: to continue my running training, two swims a week, two resistance training sessions a week, and two yoga classes a week. If I stick to the schedule I don’t need to think too hard about specific results and I know I will feel good.
Martha
I have always seen September as the start of the new year. I’m planning on renewing my swimming practice after Labour Day.
Nicole
I don’t really have September resolutions. More of the same. I’ve been going to a new small strength class a couple times a week with a coach I know from previous years and I’m enjoying it. September running is probably my favourite. I may be sentimental about it because I started running in the fall many years ago. I need to ensure I keep on my daily stretches (movement oriented in the morning and static in the evening, because my hips need extra love these days. I’ve added toe spreaders to wear around the house a few minutes at a time to address my worsening bunions. Hmm. Firmly in middle age fitness era.
Catherine
I’m also looking forward to cooler temps for fall cycling. Keeping it local, and cycling with friends sounds about my speed right now. I’m also happy that Friday night yoga classes are coming back, as those are a nice way to start off the weekend. In addition to my daily morning meditation, I want to add in some yoga or stretching or strength work. There are so many great short workouts– I just have to pick a couple to rotate through. Will be blogging about this.
This week, Diane posted about the newest Ottawa-Gatineau open-water swim spots. If you missed it, you can check it out here. I’ve always been attracted to the idea of swimming in an urban environment. It feels adventurous and a little subversive. You are in nature, but also adjacent to architecture, machinery, roads, cars– all the features of the modern city.
This is no news to European city dwellers, who have their choice of open-water swim spots that have been designed for ease of access and are monitored for safety. The New York Times did a splashy (forgive the pun) spread featuring several of these swimmable cities, which you can see without a paywall here. I can’t resist sharing some of their photos below.
Diving and hanging out in Copenhagen.Leaping from a dock with sauna in Oslo. Lining up to plunge into the water in Basel.
One of my fantasy vacations would be to do an open-water European swim tour. All I’d need would be my Speedo, a towel, and a public transport pass. Imagine that.
In the US, there are loads of lovely wild swimming spots in national and state parks and also more out-of-the-way but well-known-to-locals spots. I’ve enjoyed refreshing dips in Black Creek in Darlington, South Carolina and Oak Creek in Sedona, Arizona, to name a couple. Our friends at the NYT also covered cool US wild swimming holes are here.
However, if urban open swimming is what you’re looking for, the US is not the best place to find it. There are a handful of city beaches in coastal cities, and some places organize open-water urban swim events, but in general, access to urban waters is not legal or reasily accessible or safe here. Boooo…
In Boston, my hometown, there’s a yearly event called CitySplash, where people can sign up for a time slot to jump into the Charles River from a dock and paddle around with other enthusiastic urban swimmers. Some years, however, the bacteria levels are too high and the event gets canceled. I blogged about my own CitySplash experience here.
The dedicated people at the Charles River Conservancy have big plans to transform parts of the urban riverscape to allow swimming and splashing for people of all ages and swimming abilities. Here’s a rendering of what they envision, with public transport access, shallow and deep swim areas and places to hang out.
A possible future swim park in Boston, hopefully in my lifetime.
But it’s certainly not happening this week. Intermittently this summer, the Charles River has been the site of a cyanobactera alge bloom. And this week, that bloom expanded. You can see it below.
An aerial view of the Charles River in Boston, the orange area a cyanobacterial bloom.
The Cambridge public health department explains more here.
Algae and cyanobacteria (also called blue-green algae) are plant-like organisms that live in water. They can quickly grow out of control, or “bloom.” Some of these blooms produce toxins (poisons) that make people and animals sick. If you, your child, or your pet comes in contact with the water, rinse off immediately. Contact can cause skin and eye irritation, and inhalation or ingestion can cause respiratory irritation and other illness. If the blue-green algae are producing toxins, the health effects can be serious.
Practically speaking, cyanobacteria blooms mean no swimming, boating, paddleboarding, or fishing in the affected areas. Pets should be prevented from drinking the water, as it is harmful to them, too.
What causes these bacterial infections of our urban waters? A bunch of things, including pollution, runoff from hard rains, and increased temperatures. You can read more about it on the Environmental Protection Agency’s website here (which still mentions climate change, miraculously– don’t tell anyone…)
This is a pretty big problem for the planet, the environment, our water supply, and also our access to the joys of urban swimming. There are some things we can do to mitigate and respond to the causes, and I hope we can claim and reclaim some spaces in our cities for swimming and splashing.
Readers, have you done any urban swimming? Where was it? How was it? I’d love to hear from you.
