Nice Tri

Happy Election Day!

2004-11-02T09:11:00.000-05:00

If you're American, VOTE!

If you're Canadian, call your American friends and tell them to vote!

It's been almost a month since my last post. There has been a lot of post-triathlon tapering, wine-drinking, baking, and sitting. But not everything has been slothful. I ran the Oktoberfest 10k in Waterloo a few weeks ago, and finished in a record (for me!) 59:33. I was pretty psyched about that, especially because the weather SUCKED! It was about 40F, windy and raining.

This past Sunday (Halloween!) I ran the Poland Springs Marathon Kickoff 5M and finished in 48:36. At this point I consistently run a sub-10 minute/mile.

David & I are signed up for the Thanksgiving Turkey Trot in Prospect Park. I'm training to run that in <45 min - that is, a sub-9 minute mile.

Life After Triathlon

2004-10-05T22:12:00.000-04:00

It has been a week and a half since Westchester. It feels like waaaay longer. In the past 10 days I've done more sitting on the couch than I did all summer. Whee! I love sitting on the couch.

Tonight, however, I broke tradition and started an indoor cycling program here in Brooklyn. The program is offered through Jack Rabbit Sports, and is led by Jonathan Cane from City Coach.

The setup is like this: In a local Pilates studio, Jonathan has set up 6 CompuTrainers. The CompuTrainer is a nifty contraption into which you set the back wheel of your bike. Pressure is applied to the back wheel to match a specific course, so that when you hit a hill on the course, it simulates the resistance you'd feel cycling up a hill.

It's really really cool.

Tonight we did a 12M time trial, just to assess our relative fitness levels and abilities. The course was pretty hilly, there were a number of climbs and no flats. (The other thing about the CompuTrainer is that you don't get to coast on downhills, you still have to pedal.) The interface looks like this. I was the little green bike, 2nd from the top. I finished the course in 51 minutes, and had an avg wattage of around 120. I don't know what that means, yet. My avg HR was 183, which is CRAZY high. I guess even after all that triathlon training I'm still out of shape. Heh.

So yeah, now I really want one of these contraptions at home, but the fancy programmable ones are wicked expensive ($1100!). I guess I better draft that letter to Santa...

2004-09-27T09:09:00.000-04:00

I did it!

3:34:03!

2004-09-27T09:08:00.000-04:00

Overall Place: 628
Bib Number: 104
Wave: 8
Swim: 0:37:18
Place: 647
T1: 2:53
Place: 362
Bike: 1:46:02
Place: 637
T2: 1:49
Place: 371
Run: 1:06:03
Place: 593
Time: 3:34:03

How the day went:

I woke up at 4:20, took a quick shower and packed my stuff (I'd laid my transition area out in the hotel room the day before). I made a couple of peanut butter sandwiches to eat before the race start. I got down to the hotel lobby around 4:45. Stacy (the most awesome coordinator from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society) had arranged bagels and fruit for us, so I ate an orange before boarding the bus to the race site.

We'd done a practice swim and set up our bikes the day before, so all that was left was to do a final bike check and set up our transitions.

At 6:30 I ate my sandwich, and at 7am I donned my wetsuit and headed down to the beach for the pre-race meeting at 7:15.

One of the race referees explained the swim course, a simple rectangle with all buoys on the right. That is excellent for me as I breath on the right and that makes it much easier to sight. David even managed to find me on the beach in the sea of wetsuits and multi-coloured swim caps, and snapped a picture of a way-too-happy me with Coach Ken.

I was number 104. I was in the Athena category (women weighing over 150lbs.), which went out in the 8th wave. Because there are so many participants, triathlons have wave starts so that 800+ people aren't running into - and vying for space in - the water at once. (Trust me, there's still plenty of vying for space among 100 people!)

My swim time was 37:18, which was about what I expected. I panicked a little at the beginning - I felt somewhat competitive, and didn't want to be passed by everyone in my wave. I calmed down about half way out to the turn point, and actually passed a few people in earlier waves at the last buoy going out.

I came out of the water with another TNTer. Coach Earl was standing at the swim exit yelling something at us but I could barely understand him. I was trying to get my wetsuit off and run to the transition area, and also wanted to get my heartrate a little lower before starting the bike. Also, I generally feel like crap when I finish a long swim, and I'm still researching ways to combat that. Yesterday was a bit better, but I still had stomach cramps 6-7 miles into the bike.

As promised, the bike course was hilly. And, I choked a little on it. Still, I made it back to T2 with under 2:30 on the clock, and at that point was hopeful that I'd be able to finish the race in under 3:30. I quickly changed my shoes, ditched my helmet and gloves, grabbed a water bottle, and headed out on the run.

The run was a pretty course - first an out and back along the boardwalk, then through Rye Town Park (which was a little uneven, and made me a little nervous) then through the well-groomed streets of Rye.

The morning until then had been mostly overcast. The sun had started to come out while I was on the bike, and halfway through the run, it was hot. Very hot. At the water stations (there were 4, I think) I would drink a cup and pour a cup on my head/face. I think that slowed me down. I was a little under hydrated after the bike, as the first time I took a drink, I dropped my water bottle, and was left only with a bottle of sports drink. So the run took me longer than I would have liked - I know I can run 10k in under an hour! But still, an 11 minute mile isn't horrible, and my time is right where I predicted it would be.

Overall it was a fabulous day. Kari & Shari both did well. If I ever questioned the value of Team in Training, it was obvious on race day. I couldn't have asked for a more supportive, energetic group of individuals. From the coaches and mentors right down to my fellow teammates, everyone cheered for everyone else. And our families were all there to celebrate at the finish line.

Thanks to everyone who supported me over the last 4 1/2 months, either through donations or words of encouragement or just patience after long training sessions.

Next up? The Florida Half-Ironman, May 2005. Yes, really.

In the meantime, I'm doing an indoor cycling program through Jack Rabbit Sports in Brooklyn. This fall I'm going to focus on nutrition, do some weight training, and try to get generally stronger and fitter for when training for the half starts in December.

2004-09-24T22:05:00.000-04:00

At the Danskin tri last weekend

Last Pre-Race Post

2004-09-24T21:54:00.000-04:00

This is it, the final countdown to Westchester!

All my stuff is laid out, ready to go.

I ate a bunch of whole wheat pasta with chicken and veggies for dinner.

I snuck in a 1/2 hour nap this afternoon, and I'm off to bed now.

We're planning to go out for breakfast in the morning, and leave around 10:30 to drive to Rye. If we get there early enough, we'll also drive the bike course. I'm preparing mentally for the hills, and I have lots of mantras ready for Sunday.

Wish me luck!

Are You Ready?

2004-09-23T14:06:00.000-04:00

That is the question of the day.

When I was little, my parents used to count down to big events (vacations, someone coming to visit, piano recitals, etc.) by counting the number of sleeps left. "Only 6 more sleeps until Grade 3!" - for example.

Well. Only 3 more sleeps until Westchester. At least 2 of those better be damn good. I expect to be a little high strung on Saturday night, so I'm not expecting to get 8 hours then. But tonight and tomorrow night, I'm in bed by 10pm.

So, am I ready? Yes. Absolutely. Kari gave me a great e-pep talk this morning, and I've received emails and cards (yes! people sent me cards!) wishing me luck (and stamina) on Sunday. I've talked to my mom (hi Mom!) every day this week. She's driving down with a friend tomorrow morning, and we'll all drive up to Rye on Saturday morning.

I'm taking tomorrow afternoon off to regroup. Also to get a haircut and squeeze in a final yoga session before the race. Tonight after I drop off my bike, I'll finish my laundry, then do some general housecleaning for the Mom Visit.

I'm ready. I'm going to kick some ass on Sunday. It's going to be great.

Countdown!

2004-09-22T18:32:00.000-04:00

Last night was our final GTS - a taper jog in Central Park. 1M warm-up from Bethesda to the reservoir, one loop of the reservoir (with a 1M pickup), and a 1M cool down jog.

Tomorrow night we drop our bikes off at a bike shop on the Upper East Side. As I have a business breakfast to attend tomorrow morning, I biked into work today. I had a yoga class from 7:30-8:30, then I met my friend and co-worker (and fellow cyclist) Doug, who lives in my neighborhood, to make the trip into the city. It was surprisingly fun! I expected to be much more scared of biking in traffic, but it turned out to be not a bad ride at all. Except for the flat I got when crossing the Manhattan Bridge. That wasn't so fun. I fixed it, and it was flat again by the time I got to work.

In a panic, I called Toga to see if they could check my wheels before the race. Will said no problem, bring them in. At lunchtime today I took the wheels up to Toga. Will took one look at the rear wheel and said, "Well, your problem is that the tire is really worn. And also, this piece of glass." Heh. Right. So I dropped another $100 on a new tire, new gloves, a CO2 inflation system, and 2 more tubes.

I'm so glad I replaced the tire! Will told me the primary cause of flats is worn or underinflated tires. (I have also been underinflating my tires.) Now I know, and am even better prepared for Sunday!

Danskin Recap

2004-09-21T14:18:00.000-04:00

Yes, the rumours are true, I'm a triathlete now!

Saturday morning the NY Metro Area received the remants of Hurrican Ivan. I opted out of the 4M race to get an extra hour of sleep and to avoid the torrential downpour. Kari hauled her bike and excess gear down to Brooklyn on the subway, and Andrew picked us up to drive to Jersey. We picked up our packets at a hotel near the race site. (The race packets were the best I've ever seen - full of goodies. Go corporate sponsorship!) We then drove through the race site just to check it out - the bike course was amazingly flat.

Sunday morning we woke up very early. 4:50am early. We dressed quickly and ate english muffins with peanut butter, then piled into Andrew's car and headed to Sandy Hook.

We arrived just after 6am, and unloaded/assembled our bikes. As I was pumping up my front tire, I broke the valve and ended up with a flat! Goddam. Fortunately I am well-versed in fixing a flat, and changed it fast. We walked our bikes to the transition area, racked them, and laid out our transition items. It was very cold. The energy was really high. An announcer was updating us on the water temperature (69F) and wave starts (Kari was in wave 4, I was in 6). We donned our wetsuits and headed over to the swim start.

The first wave (elite) went out just after 7:30. The other waves (by age) were each 4 minutes apart. Since I was in wave 6, I was able to see the first few elite swimmers come out of the water, which was pretty exciting! We had to swim out around 2 yellow buoys, a red buoy, then 2 blue buoys. The current definitely made it easier to swim out than back! When I finally reached the end of the swim, I was a little disoriented, but managed to get my wetsuit halfway down on the way back to the transition area.

I'd been worried before the race about T1, as it wasn't something we'd practiced. It turned out to be pretty easy - wetsuit off, dry feet, socks & shoes on, sunglasses, helmet, bike, and I was off. My gloves were in my Bento Box and for such a short ride (11M) I didn't bother putting them on.

As I mentioned before, the bike course was super flat. On the way out I couldn't believe how fast I was going - 22-23MPH! I was psyched, and thought at this rate I'll be finished the bike portion in <30 minutes. At the turnaround point I realized why I'd been going so fast - the wind was blowing in that direction. All of a sudden my pace was 11MPH. What a drag.

Finally made it back to the transition area. T2 is easy - helmet off, shoes off, shoes on, run. The run course was a sort of wiggly OAB, with a water stop about every mile. I ran the first mile in under :10, but was a little slower for the rest. I had a decent finish, and my overall time was 1:40. Kari finished in 1:35 - she is a kickass swimmer!

I'm really happy with my time.

Previously in this space, I estimated my Westchester completion time to be 3:30. I'm still very much hoping to do that, but I'm a little more cautious knowing the hills that await on the bike course in Rye. My pace this past weekend was over 15MPH, which translates to 1h40m - on a completely flat (albeit windy) course.

Shari drove the bike course last weekend and reported, "it's hilly. nothing as steep as danbury but many longer inclines. it's tough--there are enough flats and downhills to recover but we'll be working straight thru till the end. it's very pretty, there are a couple of windy passages..."

5 days to go!

Danskin Results!

2004-09-19T22:56:00.000-04:00

I'll post race details tomorrow, but for now check out the results! (Yes, I'm very happy with my times!)

Tapering!

2004-09-16T15:33:00.000-04:00

Tuesday night we had the official TNT Westchester send-off. We received our race day itinerary, TNT singlets, and lots of information about race weekend. After the preliminaries, Coach Ross took the podium. He started out by talking about cookies. "If you had a choice, would you rather have a cookie that is slightly undercooked, nice and gooey, or one that has been left in the oven too long and is crunchy and stale?"

He was speaking of tapering, a magical word we've been waiting to hear since May 15. For the next two weeks (or at this point, 9 days!) we're supposed to take it easy with training. No more long runs. The theory is that anything that's going to help you athletically takes 2 weeks, so at this point it's too late to affect much change anyway.

In the interest of not burning my cookies, I've taken it really easy this week. No training Monday or Tuesday. And then, no training Wednesday - I skipped both the run and swim GTS in favour of doing laundry and going to bed early.

This morning I did a short run in Prospect Park. I plan to swim tomorrow morning, and take the afternoon off work to laze around.

Remember kids: Don't be a burned cookie.

Anti-Rain Dance

2004-09-14T16:08:00.000-04:00

I believe I am cursed.

When I ran the 5M race in August, it poured.

Torrential rain forced the cancellation of the swim at Danbury.

I have 3 races (Fitness Magazine 4M, Danskin Sprint Tri, and Westchester) scheduled in the next 2 weeks, and rain is forecast for all of them.

Word on the street is, since Westchester is a major qualifying race, the organizers will not want to cancel the swim. I guess that's good. Biking in the rain is a little scary at best, and I can't imagine it in a race situation. Ugh.

In the good news, I am planning a trip home in October, and I'm going to run the Oktoberfest 10k while I'm there. Seems I'm hooked on these things!

NYC Century Bike Tour

2004-09-12T15:46:00.002-04:00

This morning I woke up BEFORE the crack of dawn to haul my bike, 2 gels, a Clif bar, and my own fabulous self up to the top of Central Park to partake in the NYC Century Bike Tour.

Over 5000 people participated in this morning's ride. It was a perfect day. Volunteer marshals led the packs from 110th St. down 5th Ave., over to Broadway, and across the Brooklyn Bridge. We rode through Brooklyn Heights and Carroll Gardens into my own stompin' grounds, Prospect Park. There, at the 15M mark, was a rest station with fruit, and bagels with peanut butter. I actually ran into a friend of David's there who was also doing the ride!

Action shot!

For the 55M route, we continued into Brooklyn, through many different neighborhoods, and around the greenway (which led through Coney Island!). There was another rest stop at Canarsie Pier. Kari & I both changed flats on the route - luckily we are now practically experts! At mile 42 we were back in Park Slope, and I opted to head home instead of continuing through Astoria and back to the Upper West Side.

Kari & I in Coney Island

Fixin' a flat

It was a perfect day, and a great, relaxed ride after yesterday's challenging training session.

Congratulations Nicole!

2004-09-11T23:00:00.000-04:00

Nicole's triathlon was today! I haven't heard an update yet, but I'm sure she kicked some serious ass! Watch her blog for updates...

As Nicole was doing the real thing this morning, I completed a final hard BRick before Westchester. We met this morning shortly after 7am in Central Park. It was a gorgeous day - probably around 70 degrees, and mostly sunny. I had a great sleep last night, too, so I was ready to race! We started out with a :10 OAB warmup jog, then push-ups to exhaustion to simulate the swim. Then 18M (3 loops) biking, followed by 6M (1 loop) running.

I forgot to start my watch as I headed out on the first bike leg, but the second took just over :22 and the third was around :24. That puts me at a 4min/M pace, which isn't great, but doesn't totally suck. My run this morning kicked ass, though. I completed 6.2M in 1:02! Straight off the bike, including Harlem Hill! I was thrilled about that, and I'm more convinced that I can do the run at Westchester in <1 hour if I push myself.

Tomorrow morning I'll bike to Kari's for the NYC Century Bike Tour, of which we're doing 55M. I'm doing yoga in the afternoon, and if I'm feeling particularly ambitious, I'll swim in the evening.

I feel great about my training, and my readiness for Westchester.

Anxiety

2004-09-09T09:33:00.000-04:00

I am anxious.

Last night, I barely slept. I kept having dreams - dreams about transition areas, dreams about BRicks, dreams about next weekend (in which I'm doing a 4M race on Saturday then the Danskin tri on Sunday). I woke up this morning feeling entirely unrested. It doesn't help that almost every time after I swim, I am completely congested, and spend most of the night sneezing and blowing my nose. Ugh. I also went to bed with wet hair, and that, combined with fallout from Hurricane Frances, made for a rather damp sleeping experience.

On my to-do list: Get a decent night's sleep.

I'm also anxious because the next three weekends are completely booked. This weekend I have a hard BRick workout on Saturday (15-18M bike + 6M run), then the NYC Century Bike Ride on Sunday. Next weekend are the aforementioned races, and the following weekend is Westchester.

6.8 Miles

2004-09-08T13:37:00.000-04:00

Last night's run GTS was very straightforward: warm-up to the reservoir, 2 or 3 loops, then cool down back to Bethesda. I vowed in the afternoon that I'd do 3 loops, for a grand total of 6.8 miles, and I did!

Once again I ran with Scott (of Scott and Alanna fame). We paced each other nicely. We did recovery jogs for the first .6M of the loop, then a 1M pickup for the remainder. My splits were great:

1M warm-up: 10.28
.6M recovery: 5.22
1M pickup: 9.54
.6M recovery: 6.07
1M pickup: 9.33
.6M recovery: 6.25
1M pickup: 9.19
1M cool down: 12.10

Total: 6.8M in 1:09.21! That's probably the best run I've had since I started training!

We talked about the Westchester bike route before last night's session. The elevation profile is posted on the race web site. I'm a little worried about it. It's maybe not quite as bad as Danbury was, but looks like there are some biggish hills in the first 10 miles or so.

52 Miles

2004-09-06T22:34:00.000-04:00

I can't believe I haven't updated in 5 days! Believe me, that doesn't mean I haven't been training.

Let's see. Thursday of last week, I did a BRick in Prospect Park with the Tri Association of NYC. Amanda from TNT was also there. I had a pretty lame bike (3 loops), then did a short out-and-back. It was an OK workout.

Friday was D's birthday! Happy Birthday D!

Saturday we had an open water swim at Coney Island. Bright and early, and I do mean early. We met on the beach at 7:15, donned our wetsuits, and jumped in with the jellyfish for a :45 swim. After that we ran an hour along the boardwalk. Unfortunately my knee hurt again, so I took it easy on the run.

Yesterday, Kari, Melissa and I biked to Nyack! 52 miles and 1 flat tire (Kari's) later, we were back in the city. I don't remember ever having been so tired and so hungry! It was a great ride, and I'm looking forward to doing it again this fall.

One last bit of news: I signed up for the Danskin Women's Triathlon on Sept. 19. It's a sprint-distance tri, good for newbies, and even though it's close to Westchester, I'm eager to fit in another race this fall.

On the docket this week: 5.2M run tomorrow night, a technique swim on Wednesday, and an actual prescribed rest day on Thursday (which happily coincides with the start of football season!).

Wetsuits!

2004-09-01T23:27:00.000-04:00

That's right folks, tonight I slipped into what Coach Scott referred to in his last email as a "neoprene bondage suit" and swam a half mile. At the 1/2 mile point, we exited the pool, took off the wetsuits, and swam another half mile. It was pretty fun! The wetsuit felt tight at first, and hot, but I think my time with it was better than without. Unfortunately I forgot to time my 1/4 mile splits, but my time for the whole mile was 40:30, including taking off the wetsuit. So I'm pretty happy about that.

Last night we ran a full loop of Central Park (6M). I ran most of it with Scott, significant other of Alanna (see: Danbury). We pushed each other to make it up Harlem Hill, and really really really wanted to finish in under an hour. We were close, at just under 1:02.

After last night's run, my knee (the surgery one) was really bothering me. I iced it last night, and again this afternoon. Hopefully it'll be OK!

Lots of Biking

2004-08-29T21:56:00.000-04:00

Happy Sunday! 4 weeks to Westchester (gulp!), and counting!

Yesterday morning we had our longest BRick GTS yet. We all met in Central Park, and rode 2 full loops (6M each), then lower loops to make up 1:30. I lost count of the lower loops, and my bike computer isn't working, so I don't know exactly how far I rode - but I did at least 23M. We then ran a :30 OAB. Yikes! I did not sleep well on Friday night (damn that Memphis!) and felt it on the run. I really dig biking now, though, especially once I get started.

Things learned Saturday:
- A bowl of cereal 1:30 before a big workout is not enough food
- Don't carry a PowerBar in a side pocket while running
- Gu rocks (OK, I already knew that)
- I can drink a LOT of water/Gatorade

After the workout we had a mentor fashion show, where we discussed our options in tri clothing - brands, styles, etc. I think I'm pretty set for the race - I have Zoot tri shorts and a tri sports bra that I'll wear for the swim, and I'll put the TNT singlet over top for the bike and run. In fact, as I was putting clothes away tonight, I realized that the drawer I have dedicated to training clothes is too full!

This afternoon, Kari & I embarked on a ride up 9W (a route just across the George Washington Bridge, that eventually leads to Nyack and Bear Mountain). Getting to GWB is somewhat complicated (and smelly!), but once across the bridge and through the scary traffic on the other side, we had a lovely ride! We plan to go next weekend for a longer ride.

Overall I feel strong. This week's training schedule is even tougher than last's, and I'm looking forward to it!

Proof I was there

2004-08-26T20:45:00.000-04:00

Leaving the transition area to start the bike

Alanna, Larry & I bringing up the rear

Training training and more training

2004-08-26T10:27:00.000-04:00

Tuesday I Ferris Buellered. David stayed home, too. I mostly lazed around, did some sitting on the roof. In the afternoon I went for a bike ride (4xPP) then David came out for a run, and we did 1 loop of the park. So even though there wasn't a BRick on this week's calendar, I squeezed one in.

Last night we had a real swim workout. I learned that it is easier to swim 100m in a 25m pool than in a 50m pool. We did pool lengths: 4x50m, 3x100m, and 1x400m. I was pretty beat by the end, and I'm a little sore this morning.

Probably going to take today as a recovery day and swim again tomorrow. On Saturday we have a long BRick scheduled - 1h30m bike, followed by 30min run. Oh and the whole thing will be preceded by push ups to exhaustion, to simulate the swim. Whee!

I wasn't last on Saturday...

2004-08-23T17:25:00.000-04:00

But I was close. The chip results showed:

Run 1: 30:29
TRAN1: 1:44
Bike: 1:23:54
TRAN2: 2:07
Run 2: 36:53

Total Time: 2:35:06

I raced as Athena (150+ lbs) and learned later that the 3rd place Athena had a time of 2:35:05. Huh.

Back in the Saddle

2004-08-23T15:21:00.000-04:00

On Sunday, for the first time in weeks, I didn't set my alarm. I woke up just before 10, in time for David & I to go to yoga. The session was really nice (have I mentioned how great Jill is?). We went for post-yoga brunch and on being informed by our waitress that they didn't have wheat toast, I burst into tears. Uh, yeah. Exhaustion rears its ugly head. David was totally cool with my hysterics - he cancelled our order and let me cry it out.

I did some work from home in the afternoon, and David in all his awesomeness persuaded me to go for a bike ride, however brief. I did a few loops of the park and felt pretty good about it. We went to a friend's for dinner, and made it to bed by 11.

This morning I got up at 6:30 and went for a run in the park. It was perfect. I was smart this time and ate a Gu before I left, and was able to run 2 loops (!) of the park for a total of about 6.7M, in about 1h8min. I felt great, and I'm less discouraged than I was on Saturday.

I also have really great support. I wrote to Meredith on Saturday to get her advice, and she was great. Also, my fellow TNTers have been just awesome. There were some great emails going around today about how everyone found the race difficult. There's another local sprint on September 12, but I'm signed up that day to do the NYC Century Bike Tour (no, not 100 miles, I'll probably do 35 or 55). I may try to find another one on Labour Day weekend.

What I Learned

2004-08-21T16:51:00.000-04:00

Holy cranky Batman! I was in a really bad mood after the duathlon this morning. But I did learn a few things.

1. Have an extra pair of water-friendly shoes. I only had my running and bike shoes with me today, which forced me to stand around in my wet sneaks before the race. If I'd brought a pair of flipflops, I would have been able to keep my other shoes dry until I needed them.

2. Bring extra water bottles. Lots of them. I drank all my water and Cytomax on the bike, and that got me through, but I could probably have used another liter or more after the race.

3. Eat well in the days leading up to the race. Duh.

4. Sleep well in the days leading up to the race. Also duh.

5. Bring pump on race. I know, I know. My excuse for this one is that my frame pump that fits below my crossbar always falls off when I pick up my bike. Solution? A velcro strap. Need to get one of those.

6. Bring the right food to eat before the race. Eat something high fiber before leaving the hotel room, for obvious reasons.

7. Bring a change of clothes. Also obvious, but I only had one long-sleeve shirt (my jacket) and it was soaked before I even picked up my race packet.

8. Tighten the lids on my water bottles. One of them leaked all over my backpack, which would not have been a problem except that I threw my cell phone in there. (The cell phone is drying now, and hopefully will still work!)

I'm a little discouraged, but looking forward to Westchester. I have a better idea now of what I need to accomplish in the next 5(!) weeks.

Dansbury Schmansbury

2004-08-21T16:15:00.000-04:00

The Danbury Try the Tri was this morning. From the title of this post, you can approximate how it went. For those readers who are into that sort of thing, I'll give you some details as well.

Background: I have had the craziest week at work. The earliest I left was 7pm, and even then I worked after 10 for two hours. Most nights I've been here until between 10-midnight. I've been eating horribly all week. My only workouts were a pathetic bike ride on Sunday, a decent 5M run on Tuesday, and a short (~500m) swim on Thursday.

Yesterday I left work at 5pm. I grabbed a cab to Ultimate Triathlon in midtown, thinking I should get a real top for my first triathlon. I found a nice one by Zoot, and also bought a race number belt and speed laces. Whee! I was home by 6:30pm. I relaced my shoes, and assembled all my race stuff into a couple of bags (I know, there's a lot of stuff!). I loaded everything into Shiny (my friend Andrew's shiny Camry, which I borrowed just for the occassion - it was named by his 9-yr old daughter), and drove off to the Upper West Side to fetch Kari.

We were on the road just before 9pm. The drive to Danbury was uneventful, except for a brief moment of panic when we thought we were on the wrong highway. We arrived at our hotel just after 10. Our roomies, Nan & Eppie from TNT, hadn't checked in yet. Kari & I set our alarms for 5:30am, and went to bed.

We woke up this morning, got our stuff together, and went down to the car. A bunch of other TNTers were loading up in the parking lot, and it was raining - but gently. We drove to Dunkin Donuts and bought bagels and coffee, then drove to the tri site.

By this point it was pouring. Torrentially, you might even say. We stood in line in the rain to pick up our race packets and numbers, then ran back to the car to try to stay dry. Ha. It poured until about 7:15 (start time was 7:30). We took our bikes out and set them up in the transition area (which was soaked!), then learned that because of lightning the swim would be cancelled, and replaced with an additional 5k run.

At 7:45, off we went. I started a little too fast (as I am apt to do), but paced and finished the run in just over 30 min. My transition to the bike was pretty quick, and I headed out up the killer first hill.

I am unprepared to ride up big hills. It was incredibly difficult. I could see the crest, though, and knew I was close to the top, when I heard from behind me, "Fuck! I have a flat. Fuck!" It was Larry, a fellow TNT teammate. He pulled over, and I stopped to ask if he needed help. He waved me on. I asked if he knew how to fix it. He said he'd never done it before. So, in the interest of good karma (and in the spirit of the Special Olympics that is TNT) I stopped to help him. We fixed the flat, and I set off to continue the race.

Admittedly at this point, I was 10-15 minutes behind, and I had lost some momentum. Going up another rather steep hill, my chain fell off. I stopped, put it back on, and noticed at that point that my tires were both low. And my pump? In the car. At that point, Larry rode by and asked if I was OK. I told him my tires needed air, and he stopped to help. Go TNT! Moments later, Alanna (my swim drafting buddy) walked back to us. She had stopped a few meters ahead because her brake was rubbing against her tire. We fixed that, and set off again.

I felt terrible. I was way behind, the hills were hard, I wasn't mentally prepared, and I definitely wasn't physically prepared. I had treated the race casually, and I did not expect to have to bike AFTER running. Also, see above re: the week prior to the tri.

Larry, Alanna and I entered the transition area together. Someone yelled, "Great race, guys!" and we replied, "We're not finished yet!" She looked at first disbelieving, then surprised, then said, "Oh! Go! Good luck!" It was pretty funny.

The second run took 36min (we slacked a little).

Race times of course aren't up yet, but my own timing showed:
Run 1, 1st half: 15.43
Run 1, 2nd half: 14.47
T1: 2.36
Bike, 1st half: 47.54
Bile, 2nd half: 35.36
T2: 2.12
Run 2: 36.14

Total time: 2:35

Now for the math: Assume the tire change took 12 minutes. Subtracting that, the whole race would have taken 2:23. Not too terrible. And if I'd picked it up on the second run, I could have done that in 30min as well. Total: 2:17. Even that is pretty slow, I would have liked to finish closer to 2:05.

Happy Birthday Candace!

2004-08-17T13:18:00.000-04:00

It's a day late... But Happy Birthday to 50% of my readership!

Another Saturday, another GTS

2004-08-15T11:54:00.001-04:00

Hard to believe, but Westchester is only 6 weeks away. By this time on September 26, I will officially be a triathlete!

Not counting next Saturday's sprint, of course.

Yesterday we had a group BRick in Prospect Park. Coach ken was onhand to explain the workout - very straightforward, 1 warmup loop of the park, followed by 4 loops (13.4M) for beginners, or 6 (20.1M) for advanced. Then a quick transition, and 1 loop running.

I opted for the shorter distance, and had pretty even splits. During my last loop Ken rode with me for a few minutes, and instructed me to drop my heels, pick up my cadence (keep it at or above 90) and to increase my gear. On Friday night I had oiled my seat post, and I think I repositioned it slightly lower than Scott's adjustment, which is probably why my heels were still elevated. Anyway, I finished the bike with good splits, transitioned, and set off running.

At the start of the run I ate (drank?) a Gu, and gulped down a small bottle of water (that I then tossed, as I still don't like running while holding a water bottle). After about a mile, my right foot really hurt. I was wearing new running shoes that I'd purchased the day before, and they seemed to be pressing down too much on the top of my foot. I stopped and loosened the laces, but it didn't help much - I ultimately ended up alternating between running and walking for the remainder of the loop. (Despite that I finished the run portion in <35min, which works out to <10:30min/mile!)

I bought the shoes at Super Runners, which has a great reputation for returns, so I'll take them back tomorrow.

This morning I had planned to do a short ride in the park before yoga, but instead slept in. It's been rainy here (thanks to Charley), but is clear now, and if it stays like this I'll probably ride this afternoon.

For the record, here are yesterday's split times:

Lap 1: 12.53
Lap 2: 13.18
Lap 3: 13.26
Lap 4: 12.56

2004-08-15T11:54:00.000-04:00

It's finally feeling like a real routine - hard to believe Westchester is exactly 6 weeks away, and then it'll be all over!

Yesterday I met my Brooklyn teammates in Prospect Park for a BRick. Coach Ken was there to greet us and explain the workout, which consisted of a single loop warmup, then 4 loops (13.4M - beginner) or 6 (20.1 - advanced) at steady state. Then a quick transition, and a loop running.

I had fairly even splits on the bike - about halfway through my 4th loop, Ken rode up beside me and gave me a few instructions (drop your heels, increase your cadence, switch to a higher gear). When I completed the loop I nearly fell off my bike entering the "transition" area (note to self: If you unclip your right foot, lean to the right!). I quickly slipped off my helmet, gloves, and bike shoes, pulled on my new running shoes, grabbed a small bottle of water, and headed out.

As I started the run, I ate (drank?) a packet of Gu, and downed the water so I could throw the bottle away (still haven't figured out exactly how to run holding water - the splashing really throws me off). I noticed my right toes were numb, and the top of my foot hurt. I stopped to loosen the laces, then started running again. It was disheartening. The new shoes - not so good. I ended up alternating between walking and running for the majority of the loop - somehow, despite this, I finished in under 35min (<10.30min/M). I'll take the shoes back on Monday - I bought them at Super Runners, who have a good reputation for returns.

After practice we ate bagels, peanut butter, and M&M's (thanks to Amy, the sole Brooklyn mentor).

By next week at this time, I will have completed my first (albeit sprint) triathlon! Yikes!

For the record, my bike splits were:

Lap 1: 12.53
Lap 2: 13.18
Lap 3: 13.26
Lap 4: 12.56

Training Updates

2004-08-12T07:42:00.000-04:00

Last night's 3/4M swim was cancelled - the pool closed because of a thunderstorm. I decided to go to Eastern Athletic (the gym to which I pay exhorbitant membership fees and don't use) to do the workout anyway. I was very curious to see how long it would take me to swim that far.

I started with a 100m warmup, then began my timer. I swam 1 mile (!) in 39 minutes. I'm thrilled with that time. I'm also realistic - that was in a 25m pool, which means pushing off the wall every 25m. As opposed to Riverbank, which is 50m, or, say, the Long Island Sound, which has no walls. The best thing though, was that my breathing was calm, I stopped and rested a couple of times when I needed to, and when I left the water, I wasn't winded or tired. Good stuff.

Friday after work I plan to swim at Riverbank, then meet with Walter to do a max HR test on the track there.

This morning, I even managed to get up and do a loop of Prospect Park! I definitely need to work on nutrition/hydration in my morning runs - I was pretty tired about 2/3 of the way through, and I think a shot of Gu would have helped significantly.

Speaking of Gu, I'm fully convinced that stuff is magic. I was exhausted last night before I even started my swim, and debated not even going, then I remembered I still had a Gu in my bag that I hadn't needed at Tuesday night's run. I ate that just before my swim, and it worked wonders for my energy level!

Sad News

2004-08-11T10:03:00.000-04:00

My friend and coworker Stephanie emailed me recently to tell me that Len lost his battle with Leukemia. He died on Tuesday July 27 at 2:30pm.

She wrote, "I just got back from Knoxville. I told his family that you will be running (and biking and swimming) for him this fall, and they wanted me to extend their appreciation to you.

"...Len asked that donations be made to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and to the Pete Gross House at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (it's like a Ronald McDonald House for adults being treated for cancer at the hospital there, many of whom suffer from blood cancers)."

I know how important Len was to Stephanie, and my heartfelt condolences go to her, and his family. My Westchester Tri will be dedicated to Len. Please donate now to help people like Len in the fight against cancer!

HR Training

2004-08-11T07:58:00.000-04:00

I don't know my maximum heart rate.

According to the chart (you know, the one on the wall at the gym with ages and a target zone), my max is 186, and I should be training between 109 and 154. Well, Sunday when I biked, my avg. HR was 162 - maybe a little high. I'm going to meet up with Walter the Nutritionist later in the week to do a max HR test. Then I can focus on training in zones based on percentage of maximum. This is how "real" endurance athletes train, and it makes a lot of sense - I expect we haven't talked about it much in TNT simply because there are so many people in the group.

The intensity of training has picked up, and will continue until we taper before race day. We're counting down - only 6 weeks to go! Eek! Lately my life has revolved around training and working. This also happens to be the most intense time at work, so I'm not sleeping as much as I should be, nor am I socializing as much as I'd like to be. The upside of all this is, I love my job, and I love training.

Tonight's swim GTS is a .75M TT. I'm going to eat well today, and during the swim I'm going to take it slow, and focus on regular breathing. I'm expecting to take 35-37min.

Open Water Redux

2004-08-11T07:56:00.000-04:00

Last night after our running GTS (Central Park, 3 x Lower Loop (1.7M), 53min - for those of you keeping rack) Kari & I met up with David to see "Open Water."

Which, yeah. It kind of made me want to stick with triathlons that have lake swims.

Bike Workouts

2004-08-10T14:52:00.000-04:00

According to the Westchester August training schedule, every Sunday is bike day! This past weekend, we were prescribed a 1:30 ride, with TT intervals. I headed back to Prospect Park (I'm getting dizzy from riding around in circles there!) for my workout.

I started at the 9th St. park entrance, and warmed up to the Parthenon (this big Italian-looking construct near the Coney Island Ave. exit out of the park). I used that as my TT starting point, and rode 3 loops. After the 3rd loop I recovered back to 9th St., then did 2 more TT loops.

I biked a total of about 20.5M, in about 1:25. Not terrible, not great. My splits were good, though:

Lap 1 12.59
Lap 2 13.27
Lap 3 13.30
--recovery--
Lap 4 13.12
Lap 5 13.06

Open Water

2004-08-09T14:41:00.000-04:00

Saturday morning our GTS took place in Coney Island. I know Krusty says it's Tijuana, but my vote for happiest place on Earth goes to Coney Island. I love it there, and was very happy to have our open water swim clinic there.

We met on the boardwalk near the NY Aquarium at 9am. Coaches Scott, Earl and Ken were all present with many words of advice. We paired up (Anna was my buddy), passed around magic markers to write our names on our swim caps, and hauled our stuff down to the beach. The advanced group went with Scott and Ken, and the beginners stayed with Earl to practice open water skills, like treading water. The water was surprisingly warm. We warmed up with a short OAB around Earl, then went in a little deeper to practice treading water and removing/replacing our goggles, in case the need to do so arises during a race. We swam a few more short OABs, and talked more about remembering to stay calm.

After the swim, both groups met back on the beach to do an easy run along the boardwalk. Kari and I ran together - an easy 5M along the boardwalk.

It was a great workout!

Before Westchester...

2004-08-05T16:59:00.000-04:00

There will be Danbury!

That's right folks, I signed up for my first triathlon, the Danbury Try the Tri! I'm excited. Nervous, but excited. It's a short race, 500 yard swim, 12M bike, 5k run. Let's see, that should take me... :15 + 1:00 + :30 = 1:45. Plus transitions, of course.

Shari did this race in June, and says the bike course is hilly. It is. Hopefully all that training in Prospect Park will serve me well!

Speaking of which, this morning I did a BRick in PP. 4 loops biking (~14M) and a loop run (3.35M). It took about 1:40, including the transition of biking home and lugging my bike into the lobby of my building. My bike splits are still pretty uneven - over the 3 I timed this morning I had a 45 second differential between the fastest and slowest. Still need to work on that.

The results are in!

2004-08-03T17:32:00.000-04:00

The results from Saturday's race are posted on the New York Road Runners website. My official (net) time was 48:59!

Central Park Run

2004-08-02T18:21:00.000-04:00

Kari, Shari and I on a recent Tuesday evening (photo taken by Connie, the Official Photographer of Team in Training!)

Look! We Won!

2004-08-01T18:10:00.000-04:00

Shari & I post-race. Dig those medals.

My First Race!

2004-08-01T10:48:00.000-04:00

I did it!

I ran my first race!

This morning did not get off to a great start. First of all, I was at work until almost 2am. I decided to treat the <4 hours of sleep I was going to get as a nap, and set my watch alarm for 5:45am so I could be out the door by 6:15 to meet Shari. I slept through my alarm. I woke up, at 6:20 and couldn't figure out how much time I had, exactly. I called Shari and told her I'd be about 15 minutes late. I showered quickly, dressed, packed a Harvest Bar and a packet of Gu and hurried out the door. David got up long enough to find me some safety pins and take a pre-race picture of me with my number (4401).

Shari and I didn't meet in the designated spot (a subway platform in Brooklyn) but found each other on the Upper East Side, a few blocks from the starting line. We used the facilites (yuck), stowed our bags in the baggage area, then headed for the starting line. We saw a few other Team in Training-ers. Around 8:45, we were off!

Running in a race is definitely different. I felt a bit claustrophobic at the starting line - there were a couple thousand people, and it was at first difficult to establish pace. The crowd thinned out, and I got off to a strong start. When I checked my time at the first mile, I couldn't believe it: 9:22! Before the race my goal was to finish in under 52:00, so I was off to a great start. Mile 2 was mostly downhill, and I was again surprised when I checked my time: 9:09. Yes, really. At around the halfway point I started to feel really crappy, so I walked for about 45 seconds. I admit that I figured I could still beat my goal given the pace I went for the first 2 miles. The 3rd mile took me 10:04. The 4th mile was the worst. I ran some and walked more. I attribute this part to lack of sleep - I just felt icky. My time for that mile was 10:52. Ugh.

However. When I saw that marker for the end of mile 4, I got really excited, and kicked it up a little. I even sprinted at the end.

My final time: 49:19. (It may actually be a few seconds faster, as I forgot to stop my watch as I crossed the finish line!)

I'm super super happy with this time. I did not expect to run it in under 50 minutes! And even more amazing was that David was waiting for me at the finish line, absolutely drenched (did I mention it poured for most of the race?)! I was thrilled to see him. Thanks for coming, babe!

Oh, and we all got semi-dorky medals at the finish line. Aw. I haven't won a medal since I won a high school math competition. I wore it proudly, along with my race number, on the subway after the race.

Adjusting

2004-07-31T17:11:00.000-04:00

This morning, bright and early, we had a cycling GTS in Prospect Park. Coach Scott was on hand, along with about half a dozen of my fellow teammates. The low turnout was a definite advantage for those of us there. The workout was 5 or 6 loops at time trial pace (i.e., sustainably fast). Scott rode with us, and pulled many of us over for bike adjustments.

I had a so-so ride - my splits weren't even (12:28, 13:23, 13:06) during the first TT. Scott pulled up to me at the top of the hill at the beginning of my recovery spin, and asked if I always rode with my heels so high. I told him I wasn't really sure, and is that bad? He said it isn't necessarily bad, but asked me to pull over so he could raise my seat. I only had two more loops after that (and Scott raised my seat twice more). I'm anxious to bike in the park again to see if I can go any faster (or at least more efficiently!) now.

What I learned: My seat was at least an inch too low. Also: I have a good seat post (all carbon), and it needs oiling.

This afternoon I swung by Jack Rabbit to buy a new pair of goggles. I bought a pair by Tyr that fit really well, and a Speedo pair (to have as a backup). Also stocked up on Gu (chocolate Gu tastes like pudding!), and bought bike grease for my seat shaft.

Will post an update tomorrow following the race!

My First Race Packet!

2004-07-30T16:53:00.000-04:00

I'm running my first ever road race on Sunday, with Shari from TNT. It's the Achilles Track Club Hope & Possibility 5M, in Central Park. I picked up my first ever race packet today. My number is 4401. I'm super psyched!

Nutrition

2004-07-30T16:38:00.000-04:00

First, training update - I did yesterday's training this morning in the form of a run around the PP loop (5k). It was very humid, and I had to walk a couple of times. Despite the walking, I still finished in 36:28. Not bad. Tonight I'm meeting Kari at Riverbank for an after-work swim.

Now, nutrition. I recently noticed that even though I'm putting lots of time and energy (and money, for that matter) into training, I haven't really changed my diet to support it. So I decided to find a nutritionist. I searched craigslist, and found Walter. Walter is a nutritionist and triathlete (in fact, he trains triathletes). We met Tuesday morning. We discussed my goals (including weight loss, and eating to support my training) and what I need to change in my diet. Before we met he had me journal what I'm eating every day for about 5 days. It was eye-opening. I'm not eating nearly enough vegetables, and I usually skip dinner and have various snacks (ranging in their degress of healthy-ness) from about 4pm onward.

Walter suggested that to lose weight, I should be eating a high-protein breakfast. I told him I stopped drinking coffee, and he asked why, because apparently coffee is a good stimulant and most athletes drink it. Woo hoo! Thank god, because I was really starting to miss the bean.

Since we met, I've been getting up earlier and eating egg whites and a latte at home for breakfast. A couple of days I also had one of those Total Greek yogurts (which taste awesome, have no fat, and 15g of protein) with blueberries. Lunch has changed to spinach salads with avocado, grilled chicken breast, green beans, tomatoes, and goat cheese. And instead of the afternoon Luna bar, I'm eating Balance bars, which are higher in protein. I'm tracking everything using FitDay.com, which is really handy.

I haven't weighed myself in about 3 weeks, so it'll be interesting to see if anything changes.

Awesome Swim

2004-07-29T14:31:00.000-04:00

Last night's swim practice almost didn't happen.

Not because of the weather, or illness, or subway mishaps, or anything like that.

Because I forgot my swim suit.

I had my pull buoy, my swim cap, googles, towel... but no suit. And guess what? Kari had an extra one!

I was about to leave, and said to her, "Well, this sucks, I can't believe I forgot my suit!"

To which she replied, "I have an extra one!"

I thought she was shitting me, because really, who has an extra suit? Turned out she'd ordered a new one (this one, to be exact) and it arrived yesterday. Crazy. I decided I liked it and would just order her another one.

The practice was all drills, with a partner pull at the end. It was great. My breathing was relaxed and happy. I timed my free swim at one point - it took me 2:30 to swim 100m, which translates to 37:30 on race day (1.5k). Which really, wouldn't be so bad.

I'm starting to think more about times, so let's just get it out there.

Current estimates:

Swim: 0:45 (I know, that isn't what I said before, but I also haven't actually swum a mile yet, let alone in open water)

Bike: 1:30 (based on my current 3.88m/M pace in PP - which, yeah, big nasty hill every 3M)

Run: sub-1:00 (I'm going to push. Hard.)

Add 0:10 (or something) for the transitions, and my total race time is around 3:30.

I want to be faster. And I have 2 months to get there... Wish me luck.

It's Raining, It's Pouring

2004-07-28T08:39:00.000-04:00

Last night's GTS run started in a torrential downpour. I'm not exaggerating. My feet were soaked before I even made it to Bethesda. More people showed up than I thought might - there were probably 20 of us in total, along with a soggy Coach Ross. The workout was to run up the trails (hill repeats!) to the reservoir, do a couple of loops there, then back down. There was also an option to just run the lower loop (1.7M) of the park. A few of us decided not to risk the slippery hills and small lakes that had accumulated around the reservoir, and we headed out on the loop.

It was a good run - Kari and I did 3 loops (5.1M total) in about 57min.

Oh, and yesterday morning I met with a nutritionist! Will post more on that later.

Nicole is also training for a triathlon with Team in Training! Read her blog, then donate!

Sick

2004-07-26T20:18:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I woke up feeling like shit. Sore throat, sinus headache, general malaise. I decided to skip my ride and stay in bed until yoga. After yoga, D & I went out for breakfast, then I came home and went back to bed. I slept for 4 hours (after a 3 hour nap on Saturday!). Fortunately I felt much better last night. And as luck would have it, I'm stuck at work late tonight, so I'll miss my planned swim. However. Better that than to feel worse tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, in the morning I'm meeting with a nutritionist who has also coached triathletes. I decided that my diet sucks and with exactly 2 months (!!!) until race day, I need to clean it up.

Off home soon to do some core work - can't take the whole day off!

Meredith is an Ironwoman!

2004-07-26T20:14:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, my friend Meredith completed Ironman Lake Placid in 13:55.

I am proud of and inspired by her accomplishment. She's really the reason I'm training for this triathlon - she told me about Team in Training and her great experiences with the organization. She even sold me her bike before she moved to Denmark this year!

Way to go, Mere - you kick some serious ass.

Weekend Update

2004-07-24T20:19:00.000-04:00

This morning's scheduled GTS was a 4M run in Central Park. I opted out of the 6:15am hour-long subway ride, and instead did a BRick in Prospect Park. At around 7:45 I started out - rode 3 loops of the park (just over 10M), then dropped my bike off and jogged up to Grand Army Plaza to meet Amanda (our honoured teammate) to run a loop of the park. It started raining a little on my last loop riding, and continued while we ran. I'm a big fan of training in the rain, and really enjoyed the run.

This afternoon I took a much-needed 3 hour nap, baked cookies, and made an awesome dinner of pasta with grilled chicken and homemade pesto (my basil plant was out of control). I feel so relaxed tonight! Plan to do a longer ride in the morning (20M) before yoga.

Humidity: 88%

2004-07-23T08:14:00.000-04:00

Post-morning-run Gillian

1/2 Mile Swim!

2004-07-21T23:37:00.000-04:00

Yep, you read that title correctly... Two short hours ago, I finished a 1/2 mile swim! It went much better than I expected. We started practice with sculling and finger-drag drills, and at 9pm Coach Scott split us into waves for a 1/2 mile swim.

We swam the entire distance through the whole pool - that is, we swam up lane 1, down lane 2, up lane 3, etc. After swimming down lane 8, we swam up lane 7, and back to lane 1, then a final length down lane 2 for a total of 16x50m lengths.

I started out leading my wave - at least, for the first couple of lengths. I dropped back a little when I realized my form just sucked, and Scott yelled at me for not putting my face in the water to watch my hands. Right. After about 4 lengths, another girl said to me, "Hey, I've been drafting you, do you want to switch?" Rock on. Drafting is when you swim 6-12" behind the person in front of you. I'm not sure of the physics of it, but you can go the same speed with much less effort. She and I alternated for the rest of the swim, and it was great.

My time was 21.50. Which, not great, but not bad either. I'm hoping to get my total swim time to sub-40min.

Endurance

2004-07-20T22:42:00.000-04:00

Tonight's GTS was very straightforward: 1M run to the reservoir, then 2 or 3 loops (1.7M each), and another mile back to Bethesda.

I opted for the shorter workout and ran 5.4M in 56 minutes. Just over 10 min/mile.

Remember when I was all excited about an 11.20 min/mile? Yeah, it kind of makes me giggle to think about that!

9 Weeks Down...

2004-07-19T17:12:00.000-04:00

10 to go. We're at the halfway point.

Last weekend I took my bike to Dixon's for a tuneup. I picked it up on Thursday night after work. As I started walking out of the shop, I noticed the front brake was rubbing against the tire. I wheeled it back in and asked the bike shop guy to adjust it. Which, he did. Take two. This time, I made it almost to the corner of 7th Ave., before I noticed that the front tire was low. I turned around and went back in, slightly irritated. The guy filled the tire and I was on my way. Again.

Saturday morning we had a BRick in Prospect Park. I did not sleep well on Friday night. It was hot, and the cat was annoying. I kept waking up to check my watch, afraid I'd oversleep. I also had bad dreams about something being wrong with my bike.

My alarm finally went off and I dressed, mixed up some Cytomax, ate a Clif bar, and carried my bike downstairs. As soon as I started pedalling I could feel the rub of the brake on the wheel, and I tried to adjust it again. I tried several times on the way to our meeting point, and finally had the brake to a spot where I thought it wouldn't rub. Unfortunately, I was wrong. We started the bike just after 7:30am, with a one-loop warmup then 3-4 loops time trial. I had to stop during the warmup to adjust the brake again. Finally I gave up and pedalled with the brake rubbing, even though it was much more effort. My TT splits were even, and faster than when I rode last Sunday, which is kind of surprising. I opted for the shorter workout, and was the first person back in the transition area. As I dismounted I called to Coach Scott, "Something's wrong with my bike." He came over and spun the back wheel, and it stopped immediately. So I'd basically been riding as though I was constantly braking. Urf.

I changed quickly into my running shoes and headed out for a :40 OAB. It wasn't too bad. I estimate I ran about 3.5M total - will clock it with my bike on Thursday night (when I have another BRick scheduled). The clockwise uphill (around the SW corner of the park) is *hard* - I've only ever run it downhill, and I underestimated how long it is. Overall it was a great workout.

We went to Boston Saturday night and our hotel had a 12.2m pool - short compared to the 50m pool we train in, but sufficient for lap swimming. I took advantage of that on Sunday morning, and noticed that I feel a lot more comfortable in the water now that I have actual technique!

A Midsummer Night's Run

2004-07-15T22:53:00.000-04:00

It's hot, my skin feels sticky with sweat as I don my running shorts.

The warmup jog to the park is awkward. I'm still sore from Tuesday night's hills.

Then the music kicks in, and my pace picks up.

It's 8:15pm. The park is comfortably busy. Dusk, then twilight. Fireflies sparkle, dance, in the brush. As I see one light up I follow its dark form to see it light up again before I pass.

Occassionally I see a bat flap between trees, silhoutted against the slate blue sky.

Other runners pass me, and I pass other runners. There are cyclists, rollerbladers, walkers, kids on bikes and scooters. I notice some, and others I pass without seeing, concentrating on my music, my legs, my breathing. My breathing is relaxed. On the uphill I gasp slightly, at the same time increasing my speed because I can. Because it feels great.

Because I like running now.

And because I like how it feels when I get home, breathless after the 5 flights of stairs, and only when I stop does my skin start to sweat and I tell David, "34 minutes."

I am proud of myself: Part 1

2004-07-13T21:06:00.000-04:00

Just got home from a run GTS. Tonight's fun-filled workout: Hills! We did a warmup jog (0.2M to Daniel Webster statue), then hill repeats (0.8M to the SW corner of the reservoir and back, x2). That was followed by equally fun 0.5M up-and-overs around Strawberry Fields (sprint up, recover over, rinse and repeat). The beginner workout ended there, and the advanced Westchester team had an optional 1.7M lower loop.

Guess what?

I did the extra loop.

I know, I couldn't quite believe it either. In total I ran about 5.7M, in 1.02. Just under an 11 minute mile, on average. I felt great, even did a last little sprint at the end. That's only half a mile short of race distance. Not only that, but there are still 10 weeks of training to go!

Now I'm going to sit on the couch, watch a "Buffy," and wait for my thai delivery.

Yosh

2004-07-13T13:39:00.000-04:00

My good friend Vicki sent me this email today, about her friend Yosh, who lives in Tokyo. It's relevant to what I'm doing here. Please think of Yosh in whatever kind of prayers you say. And please consider registering to be a bone marrow donor. (One of the blood cancer survivors who spoke at our breakfast on Saturday received his bone marrow transfusion from a German donor. These things really do work.)

I am emailing you all because either you know Yosh, or you at least know of him. And many of you know he was diagonsed with Leukemia this winter and has been treating it with mild chemotherapy.

Well, he just emailed to say the leukemia has relapsed. The only way he can survive is to have a bone marrow transplant. His doctor is trying to find a donor for him through the bone marrow bank. In the meantime I he has to start a stronger chemotherapy.

If you could just think of him when you say your prayers, and keep him in your thoughts and wish him peace and healing. I don't know much about this all,
but bone marrow sounds pretty serious. Much more serious than it seemed in December.

Bike Split Times

2004-07-13T09:52:00.000-04:00

I forgot to mention this about Sunday's ride - I had very even split times. That means my pacing is good. For a 3.35M loop:

Loop 1: 14.04.40
Loop 2: 13.45.16
Loop 3: 13.58.47
Loop 4: 13.59.01
Loop 5: 14.45.84 (this was the loop when I ran into Sarah)
Loop 6: 14.03.75

Total time: 1:24.36 for 20.6M, or 14.7M/h.

For the record, Lance averages 24M/h.

Breathe Brooklyn

2004-07-13T09:44:00.000-04:00

I mentioned yoga in the last entry, and now want to give a shout-out to my most excellent yoga teacher (whose name, coincidentally, is Jillian!). She rocks. If you're looking for a private teacher in Brooklyn with very reasonable rates and a great budding practice, check out her website, and give her a call!

Good Training Weekend

2004-07-12T10:26:00.000-04:00

Saturday morning's GTS was a repeat of the X-Factor workout, with a bonus lower loop (1.7M). It was a workout with all the TNT teams - marathoners, triathletes, and cyclists - followed by a Connection to the Cause breakfast, at which we heard from a blood cancer doctor, as well as many survivors, some who are training with us. It was inspiring.

I had dubbed this the Weekend of Loving My Bike. When I got home on Saturday I tried to fill up the low-ish front tire. Well. I was as successful as last time I tried to do that, that is to say, I deflated it completely. When David got home I told him we had to go on a mission to Dixon's Bike Shop in the neighborhood, in search of air and instruction on using my pump. He didn't want to go, and opted to try pumping it himself. And? He did it. Yay!

On Sunday morning I woke up at 7:30am to go for a spin. I resolved to complete 5 loops of the park (16.75 miles) no matter how boring it was, or how hard the hill was. On the 5th loop, someone called out my name - it was Sarah, a girl I train with in TNT (and a fellow Brooklynite!). Great timing. We rode about the same pace, and I even did an extra loop with her (she was just starting her ride). In total I rode over 20 miles, then did an hour of yoga.

It being the WoLMB, I dropped my bike off at Dixon's for a tune-up. The guy at the shop said the bike was in really good shape, and that the previous owner had obviously taken care of it (thanks Meredith!). They'll clean it and oil it up a little, and I'll pick it up on Thursday - just in time for the BRick on Saturday.

Needless to say, when I woke up on Monday morning, I was very sore.

Is this thing on?

2004-07-08T07:28:00.000-04:00

As far as I know, Candace and Chad are the only two people reading this blog. Hi, guys! Until a couple of days ago David didn't even know the address. Hee. Anyway, I'd be happy to taylor the content to my audience, within reason of course, so if you have any suggestions on what you'd like to see here, please post a comment!

Another Swim GTS, Another BRick

2004-07-08T07:24:00.000-04:00

Last night's swim GTS was all about technique. We practiced front sculling, and the 2-beat kick. I'm actually getting excited about the swim, I think it's going to be great.

Biking, on the other hand: Not my strong sport. This morning I hauled my ass out of bed at 6:30 and went for a spin. Once around the park, and someone pointed out that my front tire was low. Hm, there seems to be a trend here. Anyway, I finished the loop I was on, then brought my bike back and went for a short run (:10). It's pretty humid here and I clearly need to be experimenting with hydration while I'm training, because when I overheat my body shuts down and I can't finish my workout.

Vacation, All I Ever Wanted

2004-07-07T13:30:00.000-04:00

Hi!

Happy Canada Day, and July 4th.

I just returned from 5 days in the midwest, starting in Chicago (at David's friends Alex & Olivia's wedding) and ending in Madison, Wisconsin, where we visited my new godson Griffin (and his parents, Candace & Julian).

Training was, well, limited. There was one suburban run in Chicago, around 40 minutes of strip malls and highways. There was also a lot of red wine, and fried cheese curds & custard - not exactly conducive to any sort of athletics.

And, we're back to swimming tonight! At last week's GTS swim, we swam a .25M time trial. I did it in 10:42 - not fantastic, but definitely not horrible. My form, however, was another story, so tonight I'm going to focus on that a lot.

This week's goals:

1. Swim 2 x :10 continuous swims
2. Complete all scheduled training, including
3. 5x biking the Prospect Park loop (6 if I get really ambitious - Sunday's ride is supposed to be 1h30m!)

Weekly Goals

2004-06-30T17:44:00.000-04:00

In addition to the much-loved iPod, David gave me a triathlon journal for my birthday. I've been filling it in daily, and really like it. This week I've set 3 goals:

1. Swim: 2 x :10 continuous
2. Bike: 5 x Prospect Park loop (16.75M)
3. Keep track of what I eat

I'll let you know how all of that goes!

Monday, I swam after work, then did a Pilates class. Both went well. I still seem to have some difficulty swimming alone - I lose motivation. But I did swim a continuous 10 minutes, so check one of those off!

Last night we had a 5.5M GTS run. The route took us in various directions around Central Park, including two short-ish uphills (FAST!) and once around the lower loop (1.7M). I never thought I'd say it, but I actually like running! I felt strong throughout the run, which is great, because that's almost race distance!

Of course, it's hard to measure pace - at least, it was hard to measure pace, until my fabulous new GTS arrived! It's a birthday present from my brother, Garth, which will work well with the performance monitor watch & heartrate monitor he bought me for Christmas. Such a clever fellow. Speaking of heart rate, that's another thing I'm going to start tracking more regularly - both resting and during activity.

My First Flat, and the Magical iPod

2004-06-27T22:29:00.000-04:00

Update from the last few days...

Last Wednesday at our swim GTS I had a major technique breakthrough. I think I might actually *get* the 2-beat kick. I'm psyched to practice on my own - will go to the pool at Eastern Athletic after work tomorrow.

Saturday morning our GTS time changed to 7:30. Yes. AM. In Central Park. I woke up at 5:40 and lugged my bike on the subway into Manhattan. The workout was to be 2 loops around the park (~6 miles each), then a 30 minute time trial (TT) of the lower loop (1.7 miles). Coach Scott explained that a time trial meant we were to repeat the loop at our fastest sustainable pace for the allotted time.

Off we went. I biked with Kari and Melissa. At one point, a man riding near me pointed out that my back tire needed air. When I had an opportunity, I asked Kari if she had a pump (I hadn't brought mine). She did, and happily pulled over to help. Well. We had no idea how to use her pump with the valve on my tire, and within seconds we had succeeded in completely flattening the tire. I told Kari to continue her workout, and I walked back to the TNT fountain to find a coach. Fortunately Assistant Coach George was there and happy to help. We changed the tire as though it were a flat - effectively, I had my own private flat tire clinic! I still had time to complete the 30 minute TT (I did 4x around the lower loop in about 26 minutes).

Our scheduled solo workout for today (Sunday) was a 50-minute run. After a 2-hour nap this afternoon, I strapped on my brand new pink iPod mini (a birthday present from David) and set off to run around the park. I completed the whole 3.35 mile loop in (drum roll, please!) 34 minutes. I know! I was shocked. It was all about the music. Since I finished in such record time, I continued running and did part of the inner loop, to add on 11 minutes. I *booked* on that run. I'm really psyched about it.

Len

2004-06-24T11:39:00.000-04:00

Len is my friend Stephanie's best friend's husband. Here is his story.

Len was a third-year law student, about to take his 1st semester exams, when all of a sudden he developed a pain in his side (which he thought was from lifting a bag of heavy kitty litter!) and some blurring in one of his eyes. He thought that the problem with his eye was that his glasses prescription was too weak, so he went to LensCrafters to see the optometrist. She was concerned and advised him to go see his doctor, who in turn, did some tests and discovered that Len had CML (chronic myelogenous leukemia).

Luckily for Len, his father is a prominent doctor in Knoxville, so he immediately had access to great care. He was started on Gleevec, which is a relatively new drug that has shown good short-term results; however, given it's recent introduction to the market, there is little evidence as to whether it provides any long-term benefit. Anyway, his doctors advised that a bone marrow transplant was the best course of action, so he got on the list to get matched with a donor. Eventually, one was found, and he and Janna went out to Seattle, which is home to one of the best bone marrow transplant facilities in the country. (They have a 75% success rate, versus other hospitals, which average around 30%.)

He got the bone marrow transplant and spent about six months in Seattle getting additional treatment. Finally, in September 2002, he came back to Knoxville. He was declared officially in remission and was able to restart law school in Spring 2003. However, in May, he went in for a routine blood test, and the doctors discovered that the cancer was back, this time in the form of AML (acute myelogenous leukemia). He restarted chemo, was doing okay and was about to be released from the hospital, but then developed this awful fungal infection that left him in a wheelchair and covered with horrible sores.

In May, he went out to Seattle again to see his transplant doctors, to see if a second bone marrow transplant could be done. However, given the state of his immune system, the doctors there said that there was nothing more to be done, and told him that he only had one to two months to live. He is now back in Knoxville, in the hospital. He got one more round of chemo, and everyone is waiting to see if his blast cells can be kept at bay long enough to give him a retransfusion of donor bone marrow cells at Vanderbilt Hospital.

All through this, he and Janna have been so amazingly upbeat and positive. Of course, there have been really low times for both of them, but in general, they are an incredible testament to the power of optimism and hope in these sort of devastating situations.

Connection to the Cause

2004-06-24T11:31:00.000-04:00

Every Saturday, before we start our GTS, we have a "Connection to the Cause" moment. One of the mentors, or honored teammates, says a few words or tells a story about his or her own experiences with blood cancers.

I don't have a personal story to share. I had a good friend in high school who was diagnosed with leukemia - she's in remission now, and we've lost touch. I signed up with Team in Training because I wanted to train (with coaches) for a triathlon, and I figured I could raise the money because my friends are a generous group (it's true, you are!). Since I've been fundraising, though, I've learned a lot about how blood cancers have touched the lives of people around me. I'm going to start sharing those stories with you, because they are what inspires me to get up at 6am and haul my bike to Central Park for a time trial. Really.

The X-Factor

2004-06-22T21:10:00.000-04:00

Tonight's run involved a :10 OAB warmup, then 4 x :10 OABs with a set of squats and lunges between each. Each of the workout OABs started at Bethesda Terrace and went in a different direction, loosely forming an X.

I am happy to report that running doesn't suck for me anymore! I felt great after the workout, and even during the following set of core exercises.

Now, with all this exercise, can someone please explain why I've gained about 7 pounds since I started this whole training thing?

I'm going to have a slice of pizza and think about that.

Happy Birthday To Me!

2004-06-21T15:50:00.000-04:00

It's my 30th birthday! I'm blowing off all training activites, and consuming many baked goods. There'll probably be some wine later, too. Whee!

Fundraising Update: 57%

2004-06-20T13:25:00.000-04:00

That's right, I'm already 57% of the way to my fundraising goal! I'm thrilled about it, and I can't believe how generous my friends & family have been. Thanks everyone, you guys rock!

2nd BRick

2004-06-20T13:21:00.000-04:00

A woman I work with gave me a 1-week pass to New York Health & Racquetball Club, so on Friday after work I went to the pool there. It's a pretty small pool (55'), but nice, and wasn't at all busy. I did about 3/4 of the prescribed workout so that I could fit it into the 30 minutes I had.

Yesterday morning we had our first GTS BRick. And, our first GTS in Prospect Park! I almost felt guilty sleeping until 7am, and I arrived at the meeting point 1/2 hour early. We biked 10 miles (3x around the park), then ran a 20 minute OAB. The goal, as always, was pacing - turn around after 10 minutes of running and make it back to the starting point in another 10 minutes. I did it! Running after biking is *hard*, but I enjoyed the practice, and I'm looking forward to more BRick sessions. Coach Ken led us in a core session afterwards, and I was home by 9:30, sweaty and happy.

One Month In

2004-06-17T21:10:00.000-04:00

Hi! I know, sporadic updates. But I'm back!

Tuesday night was my first GTS after the Canada hiatus. Lucky me, we did hill training! Whee! We were instructed to jog from Bethesda Terrace down to the start of the Bridle Path near Tavern on the Green, then continue on the Bridle Path to the 3rd underpass. That underpass is the bottom of a hill. We then had to run to the top of the hill and continue to the SW corner of the resevoir, turn around, and run back to the underpass. Lather, rinse, repeat - 3 times. After the 4th uphill, we continued around the resevoir (1.6 miles), then back to the starting line. Total: 4.4 miles.

It was tough, but we did it! Kari & I ran together, and kept each other company at a pretty steady 11 minute mile pace. As I'm sure I've mentioned before, it's much easier to run with someone than alone. After the run we had about a 45 minute core session.

Last night, I missed ANOTHER swim practice for a work thing. I later dreamed that I was in the pool, and Coach Ross was watching my lane, and laughing at me. I clearly need to spend more time in the pool!

Tonight's agenda was my first BRick (Bike/Run). I followed the training schedule faithfully, despite a massive downpour/thunderstorm. I biked 2x around Prospect Park (30 minutes), then ran just under a mile (10 minutes). The coaches were right: It's a lot harder to run when you get off your bike!

ONLINE DONATIONS!

2004-06-08T23:37:00.000-04:00

Click on this link to donate!

O Canada

2004-06-08T23:31:00.000-04:00

I'm in Waterloo, Ontario - about 100km SW of Toronto. I've been here since Saturday afternoon. On Monday, my godmother Sunny had surgery to remove a nodule in her lung. We didn't know when she went into surgery whether the nodule was benign or malignant.

And now we know: It's benign! Read: Not cancer! We're all thrilled. And tired.

On the training front: I ran for about 25 minutes on Sunday (it was pretty hilly). Yesterday I waited nervously in the hospital. Today I ran 5.4km (to the hospital) in really muggy heat. It was fantastic. I actually like running now! Tomorrow morning I'm going to swim, as I haven't done that since last Wednesday, and I will try to go at least once more this week.

Unfortunately being in Canada means I'm missing the GTSs this week, but I've left instructions with my mentor group to take notes for me at the swim session tomorrow night.

Cycling

2004-06-05T11:08:00.000-04:00

This morning I biked more than I have in years - 17 miles! It felt great. It was a timed practice. We met in Central Park at 8am, and were told to cycle for 1:15. I made it twice around the full park loop (6.02 miles) and once cutting across at 102nd St. (about 5 miles, without all those big hills at the top of the park!). It was great. I rode more or less with Kari, a girl in my mentor group. I love clipless pedals! It's amazing how much more power you can get from your legs when you have full range of motion - i.e., the upward, forward, and backward pulls actually help, not just downward motion. I also love hills, I think they're going to be a strength for me once I've built up my quads.

Morning Run

2004-06-04T07:36:00.000-04:00

Just back from a morning run around Prospect Park. It's gorgeous out there.

GTS Swim #3

2004-06-03T10:02:00.000-04:00

Last night was our 3rd GTS swim practice. It was awesome. We practiced some breathing, and there's more scheduled for next week's session (which unfortunately I'll miss). Last night I had dreams of swimming these really perfect long, powerful strokes, so I'm much more optimistic (and less convinced I'm going to drown!).

This morning I meant to get up and go running - really I did - but when that alarm beeped at 6:15 I couldn't even think of dragging myself out of bed. Plus it was pouring rain, although, after Tuesday night I really can't use that as an excuse.

Anyway. No run this morning. Tomorrow I'll probably run in the morning. We have a cycling GTS on Saturday morning, and I have a flight to Toronto on Saturday afternoon at 4:30.

Running

2004-06-02T09:52:00.000-04:00

Last night, we had a GTS run in Central Park. We met around 6:15, just in time to see the sky darken ominously. We stowed our bags under Bethesda Terrace, and as Ross was instructing us to run along the bridle path (20 minutes out, 20 minutes back), it started to rain. And thunder. As we jogged to the Tavern on the Green to start the OAB, we had the first bolt of lightning.

Practice went on, and we ran anyway. It was awesome.

The bridle path is noticeably easier on the joints for running. I settled into a good groove and knew from the beginning of the run that I'd be able to run the whole thing - no walking. I set my watch timer for 20 minutes, and enjoyed the rain. The park was beautiful last night - really green and lush, and the colours were super-saturated thanks to the overcast skies.

When my watch beeped at 20 minutes, I turned around and reset the timer. I was still in the groove, and knowing that I can run around Prospect Park without any walk breaks really helped keep me going. I checked the timer periodically and kicked it up a little when I was about 4 minutes from finishing.

Then, 4 minutes went by, and I wasn't back at Tavern on the Green. In fact, I had no idea where I was. That's right - I got lost, on the bridle path in Central Park, in the middle of a thunderstorm. And, I kept right on running.

I think I ran for another 15-20 minutes before I realized I was on the East side, at the South gate of the reservoir. That's about 15-18 blocks north of where I should have been, and on the wrong side of the park (we'd run up the West side). I still don't know where I ran. From this map, it looks like on my way back I continued running beside the reservoir at the W 86th St. Reservoir Bridge, instead of going straight. I eventually ended up at the E 86th St. Reservoir Bridge, where a nice woman gave me directions back to Bethesda Terrace (on the left side of this map).

I think I probably ran for about an hour, although I stopped timing after the first 40 minutes. I knew the bag watch would go until just after 7:30, and I had nothing with me - no money, no Metrocard, and no way to get home. I had already decided that if I got back and everyone had left, I would call David (collect) and ask him to have money ready to pay for my cab. But that would have sucked, and that was good motivation to keep running to get back!

Lessons learned:
- Pay attention to landmarks on the way out (or leave a trail of PowerBar crumbs)
- ALWAYS carry $20 on any training excursion

I arrived back at Bethesda at around 7:40, over an hour after we'd started. Lots of people were still around (I heard another girl got lost, too). At that point I mostly tried to sneak in unnoticed, as I was coming from exactly the wrong direction. I got home around 8:30, cold and wet and tired, and feeling completely awesome.

Happy Memorial Day!

2004-05-31T20:40:00.000-04:00

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

2004-05-30T20:05:00.000-04:00

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.

2004-05-30T12:13:00.000-04:00

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!

2004-05-28T11:07:00.000-04:00

My friend Candace gave birth Tuesday to my godson, Griffin! I can't wait to meet him!

And they're off!

2004-05-28T09:46:00.000-04:00

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

2004-05-27T14:36:00.000-04:00

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

2004-05-25T00:04:00.000-04:00

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

2004-05-23T12:00:00.000-04:00

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.

2004-05-22T23:00:00.000-04:00

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!

2004-05-20T23:00:00.000-04:00

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

2004-05-20T02:30:00.000-04:00

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

2004-05-19T09:34:00.000-04:00

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

2004-05-15T11:27:00.000-04:00

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

2004-05-11T12:48:00.000-04:00

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.

2004-05-01T11:40:00.000-04:00

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.