Happy Memorial Day!
Much to my surprise, at least some of my fundraising letters were received on Saturday! I've said it before and I'll say it again: the USPS rocks.
So. Now what?
I was talking today with a friend who thinks $3000 is a heck of a lot of money to raise. I don't know. I believe you guys will come through. Come on now, you could win a pie! It's going to be a damn good pie too, let me tell you.
If this is the first time you're reading the site, welcome! I have no idea if anyone is reading, actually, except probably my mom and Candace (the same audience I had for my
knee blog in the winter). Hi guys!
This morning I biked a couple of loops of the park, then went to the pool. My solo swim practices are very discouraging. I went through the sculling drills we practiced last Wednesday, but didn't feel like I was as strong. I'm really looking forward to the breathing work.
11.20
Just back from a run around the Prospect Park loop... Best time ever: 37.58. That's ~11.20/mile, which for me? Rocks. And, I ran the whole loop, without any walks.
I guess huevos rancheros agrees with me.
I am lazy.
I did yoga on Friday, so technically that could count as my recovery day. Yesterday I got a facial and a massage, so technically... oh, wait, we only get one recovery day per week. It's now noon on Sunday and I ate Dizzy's huevos rancheros for breakfast, so running isn't on the agenda for the next few hours.
I did, however, get a solid 9 hours of much-needed sleep last night, and I plan to go for a jog around the park later this afternoon. Tomorrow I'll bike and swim before attending a Memorial Day BBQ.
I'm a godmother!
My friend
Candace gave birth Tuesday to my godson, Griffin! I can't wait to meet him!
And they're off!
Yesterday I dropped off 40 fundraising letters at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's office to be mailed by them (they offered to pay postage for up to 100 letters - but to the US only, and I have about another 40 that I'm sending to Canadian friends). And this morning, I paper-spammed my coworkers with a happy green fundraising letter in everyone's mail slot.
So far I've received $75 in donations. Woo! I'm 0.25% of my way to $3000!
Training Schedule
Tuesday night was our second GTS run. We met at Bethesda Terrace in Central Park. The practice consisted of a 10-minute out-and-back (OAB) warm-up run, a 30-min OAB run, then a 5 minute cool-down. Yeah, 45 minutes of running seems like a lot to me too, especially for an "early" session. I ran pretty slowly, and I did walk a little, but I finished the workout. Afterwards we did a 45-minute core training session. Ouch.
Last night we had our second GTS swim. I now own a
pull buoy. More drills, including sculling and kicking. The good news is, I no longer think I'm going to drown! Mostly I'm worried about breathing, and coach Earl mentioned that we'll be covering that in the next couple of sessions.
Training with a group is awesome. There are people at all different levels and ability, so it's pretty easy to find someone else to swim/bike/run with. Also, I can't believe how nice everyone is! There are a few other Brooklynites in the group, so we're going to organize some runs or bikes in Prospect Park. (It kills me to ride the subway for an hour each way on Saturday morning, when Prospect Park is ACROSS THE STREET from my apartment!)
For those who are interested, the weekly training schedule (cribbed from our coaches' email) goes like this:
Mondays are rest days. This is the day that your body recovers from the weekends physical activities. For some it will involve doing NOTHING and loving it. For others, it will be a solo or class stretch and core strength session at your gym (pilates, yoga etc).
Tuesday evening is usually a group Run.
Wednesdays are your coached Swims.
Thursdays are your optional solo workout and for the first months we ask you focus on cycling or running – choose your weaker link.
Fridays are a solo Swim day when you practice the drills that were covered at the Wednesday Swim GTS.
Saturday is a group Bike, Run or BRick.
Sundays are solo rides or runs.
Happy Victoria Day
Just back from my first post-GTS solo swim. I'm convinced that I'm going to drown in the Long Island Sound on September 26.
Sunday Morning Run
This morning I woke up around 7am and felt particularly energetic. I ran the park loop in 39 minutes (11.6 minute/mile). I might swim later today (as I missed Friday) but it's a gorgeous, hot day, and we're going to a movie this afternoon, so I might put it off until Monday evening.
Ouch.
Friday is our solo swim day. I was hungover yesterday, and did nothing.
This morning I lugged my bike on the subway to Central Park for our 8am GTS. I joined the introductory group to learn more about my bike, the components and gears, and correct cycling technique. This was only my second time in clipless pedals (those are the ones that your feet clip to via cleats on the bottom of cycling shoes). I have been warned that I would fall when I first started riding with this system. The prophecy came true during a small intro ride. The good thing about the bike is, when you're going really fast, it's hard to make it fall over (centrifugal force, dontcha know). But when you stop, and your feet are clipped to the pedals, it's actually quite easy!
There wasn't much actual biking involved in the session. Fortunately, I had already planned to bike to Coney Island with some co-workers. We headed out around 1:30pm along Coney Island Avenue. The route is about 6 miles, and very industrial. It took us about 40 minutes to get there from Prospect Park. I fell once on the way there. Those damn pedals! Still, my injuries sustained to that point were minimal. On the way home we took Ocean Avenue. It's much prettier than Coney Island Ave. It does, however, still have cross-traffic. At one point I jumped the gun on a red light and narrowly missed hitting a big white van. That resulted in a good wipeout, which in turn resulted in an eggplant-coloured bruise the size of a pool ball on my ass.
I feel a little beat-up tonight, but pretty proud of myself as well!
Happy Birthday Sunny!
When I went to bed on Wednesday night after swimming, I told David that I was supposed to either run or cycle on Thursday, but that I wasn't planning to do either. However. I woke up early on Thursday morning (at about 6:15) and felt great! So I went for a run. The weather was perfect, and I completed a park loop (run/walk) in 44 min (about 13min/mile).
Swim Fishy Fishy
We had our first GTS swim tonight. It mostly consisted of drills focusing on kicking and streamlining. We divided ourselves into four groups (2 lanes each) based on our swimming speed (I put myself in the slowest group). I felt awesome after the swim. My commute home wasn't bad, either - I was in the door by 11pm.
Information Overload
Last night we had yet another information meeting. The first half was about fundraising, and for the second half, two of the coaches spoke to us about what to bring to trainings, what to expect, etc.
Our group trainings are Tuesday (run), Wednesday (swim) and Saturday (bike, run, or BRick). That means tonight is our first swim! The pool we're using is at Riverside State Park, waaaay up at 145th St. in Manhattan. Practice starts at 8:30 and lasts for 1 hour, so I won't get home on Wednesday nights until 11pm or later.
So far I'm really impressed with how organized TNT is. We have a ton of information available for fundraising, and the coaching staff seems awesome.
First GTS
Our first group training session (GTS) was this morning! I woke up at 6:15, took a quick shower, and was out the door by 6:45. (Ah, for the days I lived on W 89th St.!) We met at the 72nd St. entrance to Central Park at 7:45. On this morning's schedule: A 30-minute out-and-back run. We were to run out for 15 minutes, then turn around and run back - which means pacing is important. I did pretty well, I think - I ran the first mile in just over 11 minutes, and covered about 2.5 miles total. I know, that's really slow, but it's pretty great for me! Note that it's *hot* today - the high is going to be in the mid-80s, and by the time we finished at around 8:50am, it was already very warm.
After the run we talked more about running technique, then did a set of core exercises.
After training I had breakfast with my mentor Sara and a few other members of the team. It's a really great group of people, and I'm very excited about the training season!
Team in Training
I'm participating in Team in Training, which is run by the Leukemia & Lymphoma society. TnT provides coaching, mentoring, and general training help in exchange for fundraising for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. So not only am I going to do a tri, I'm going to raise $3000. Want to sponsor me?
Last weekend I bought a friend's road bike. Then she took me to her
bike store to spend way too much money on shoes, a helmet, and shorts. The guys there were extremely friendly, and really helpful in fitting the bike and helping me find the right equipment. (There's a lot to choose from, it can be pretty intimidating!)
Wednesday night was the Fall season Team In Training kickoff meeting. I met a few of my teammates, including our honored teammate Amanda. More about her in a future entry, I promise. Tomorrow morning is the first training. We meet at 7:45am in Central Park, for a half-hour "out-and-back" easy run. I need to wake up early for that, so I'm off to bed!
I can't believe it either.
Last weekend I signed up for a triathlon.
On September 26, 2004, I'm going to swim 1.5km, then bike 40km, then run 10km (!). Really, all on the same day.
Which might be considered funny, because the farthest I can swim right now is about 0.25 mi, I can run about 2 mi, and I don't own a bike.
