"It's your fitness calling."
Fitness?? Where the heck have you been all these weeks? I've been searching and searching for you.
"You kicked me out!"
What are you talking about? I did no such thing! You left!
"Let's be honest here Jill. For the past three weeks you have replaced me with beer, suckling pig, Pot Luck Lunch, Reindeer Holiday Party, a ton of pasta and countless glasses of wine... maybe even whole bottles!"
oh, um, errrrr..... *sorry*
Yes people, I have succumbed to the holiday madness. All my motivation for swimming, biking, running has been replaced with dinners, drinks, lunches, and just sheer laziness. Awesome. I thought that being scared sh*tless of doing an IM would make me work out. But when I'm not on structered training, have all these amazing temptations, and want to be able to hang with friends... I kind of slack off. Until today. (Plus, I didn't totally slack off... there were a couple of runs and one trainer ride.... geez)
This morning I slept in til about 9 and walked the dog. On my way back into the building I saw a girl coming back from running. I've seen her and her husband going out for runs during the week while I walk Ollie. So I decided to strike up a conversation with her. I asked how the park was running this morning since I was about to head out as well. She said it was really nice, not too windy and not too packed with people. Great!
Once we got in the elevator I asked the normal type-A tri person question... "so are you training for anything? " Nope, just did the Philly half-marathon so I'm just running to stay in shape. How about you? I paused... and said "I'm actually training for the Lake Placid Ironman. My structured training starts in January but I'm trying to keep up with all the holiday food & drinks." Holy cow. This is the first time that I actually told someone I'm training for it, like, right now. Since I signed up way back in July, I had other goals like the Mighty Hamptons Olympic Tri and then the Chicago Marathon, so I was technically training for those things. But now? It's all Placid baby!!!
I'm happy I struck up a conversation with the runner girl today. I wish I got her name. I got back up to my apartment changed and went out for a nice 4 mile winter run. My pace is slow, but I know it'll get back up there.
Enjoy your off season... and remember your goals. I am. I'm training for an IRONMAN!!!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
More Turkey?!?
Turkey Trotting that is!
This might be a weird post. I've been wanting to write up a little race recap on my Turkey Trot I did on Thanksgiving, but all the eating and laying on the couch watching What Not To Wear marathon and 24 kept me busy :) I also had a good run last night after work that left me with a bunch of reflections about IM training and some other stuff. So what do we start with first? Who wants seconds of turkey trotting??
My Coach put an APB out on facebook about a last-minute Turkey Trot race early Thanksgiving morning. Once I saw it, I was in! I've been wanting to check out this park for a while, Rockland Lake State Park, as my future long bike rides will pass by it. I'm also planning on a fun long training day up there in April, where I'll bike from NYC to this park, run a half marathon then bike back home. Now that's what I call a solid training day that I'm looking forward too! **does that make me crazy?
But I digress.... so I said heck yeah I'm in! And while my cool, normal friends were out boozing the night before Thanksgiving, I was cleaning out my closet, doing laundry and setting up my race outfit. Yeah, I don't know if I can handle any more wild nights like these.
I met my Coach at 7am the next morning and we drove up to the park. It was pretty chilly out but I decided to go with my 3/4 pants and my Chicago 10-10-10 long sleeve top. I was cold at first but I certainly warmed up once I got running.
While this race was another local one, they at least had timing chips! The start was the same as the last turkey trot where there were no corrals so it was a free for all. We started near the front as Coach is super speedy and I, well, I'm not super speedy but there were bunches on young kids near the front that I'd knew I'd pass right away.
I was wondering if I could pull off another 5 miler PR but I knew this course was hillier and it was much colder out. We didn't really warm up so my muscles were pretty tight.
Mile 1 - 8:26 This was too fast again for the first mile. And this mile was uphill so my heart rate skyrocketed and I was breathing hard. I focused on keeping my form and let people pass me up the hill.
Mile 2 - 8:32 Ok this felt better. There was a little downhill reprieve but then another uphill made me work harder
Mile 3 - 8:28 Not bad - the course flattened out a bit and I was psyched I was holding a good pace again
Mile 4 - 8:36 What happened here? There weren't any major uphills. I may have mentally slowed down a bit so that I would have gas at the end. I'm still happy I kept it under 840 though!
Mile 5 - 8:18 SWEET! I was able to make my last mile the fastest for the second race in a row! I think I might have fallen in love with the 5 mile race :)
Total - 42:45 the second fastest 5 miler I've run ever!
Both of the past two races have been in my off season and I seem to be getting faster! I think it's the combination of more rest (I hadn't run since Saturday but I did swim) and the no-pressure. I don't need to be fast at these races. I just like to run them for fun. Maybe I need to think more like this with my A races of the season. Ah, who I am kidding?? There's no way I'm gonna look at IMLP as a "no-pressure" race! it's my first Ironman for goodness sakes :)
After writing about all the jolly goodness of my turkey trot, I'm gonna save my "reflections" for another day. Plus, this post is getting WAY too long :)
This might be a weird post. I've been wanting to write up a little race recap on my Turkey Trot I did on Thanksgiving, but all the eating and laying on the couch watching What Not To Wear marathon and 24 kept me busy :) I also had a good run last night after work that left me with a bunch of reflections about IM training and some other stuff. So what do we start with first? Who wants seconds of turkey trotting??
My Coach put an APB out on facebook about a last-minute Turkey Trot race early Thanksgiving morning. Once I saw it, I was in! I've been wanting to check out this park for a while, Rockland Lake State Park, as my future long bike rides will pass by it. I'm also planning on a fun long training day up there in April, where I'll bike from NYC to this park, run a half marathon then bike back home. Now that's what I call a solid training day that I'm looking forward too! **does that make me crazy?
But I digress.... so I said heck yeah I'm in! And while my cool, normal friends were out boozing the night before Thanksgiving, I was cleaning out my closet, doing laundry and setting up my race outfit. Yeah, I don't know if I can handle any more wild nights like these.
I met my Coach at 7am the next morning and we drove up to the park. It was pretty chilly out but I decided to go with my 3/4 pants and my Chicago 10-10-10 long sleeve top. I was cold at first but I certainly warmed up once I got running.
While this race was another local one, they at least had timing chips! The start was the same as the last turkey trot where there were no corrals so it was a free for all. We started near the front as Coach is super speedy and I, well, I'm not super speedy but there were bunches on young kids near the front that I'd knew I'd pass right away.
I was wondering if I could pull off another 5 miler PR but I knew this course was hillier and it was much colder out. We didn't really warm up so my muscles were pretty tight.
Mile 1 - 8:26 This was too fast again for the first mile. And this mile was uphill so my heart rate skyrocketed and I was breathing hard. I focused on keeping my form and let people pass me up the hill.
Mile 2 - 8:32 Ok this felt better. There was a little downhill reprieve but then another uphill made me work harder
Mile 3 - 8:28 Not bad - the course flattened out a bit and I was psyched I was holding a good pace again
Mile 4 - 8:36 What happened here? There weren't any major uphills. I may have mentally slowed down a bit so that I would have gas at the end. I'm still happy I kept it under 840 though!
Mile 5 - 8:18 SWEET! I was able to make my last mile the fastest for the second race in a row! I think I might have fallen in love with the 5 mile race :)
Total - 42:45 the second fastest 5 miler I've run ever!
Both of the past two races have been in my off season and I seem to be getting faster! I think it's the combination of more rest (I hadn't run since Saturday but I did swim) and the no-pressure. I don't need to be fast at these races. I just like to run them for fun. Maybe I need to think more like this with my A races of the season. Ah, who I am kidding?? There's no way I'm gonna look at IMLP as a "no-pressure" race! it's my first Ironman for goodness sakes :)
After writing about all the jolly goodness of my turkey trot, I'm gonna save my "reflections" for another day. Plus, this post is getting WAY too long :)
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Who you calling a turkey?
Yesterday I ran in my very first Turkey Trot! It was a 5 mile race down the shore in Manasquan. What a great, great local race. One of my close friends asked myself and another longtime friend to run it and after yesterday, we have decided to make it an annual tradition!
The biggest highlight of the race (besides my surprising PR!), was the start time. A lovely 11am start in about 48 degree weather. Perfect for a race! It really was a breath of fresh air compared to the highly mass produced races I'm used to. There was no online race registration, no credit cards, no timing chips... just a spray painted start line and a rifle to kick it all off!
The three of us screamed in fright when the gun went off, laughed then got our legs moving! We decided to run our own paces. KHB wanted to see how fast she could run a stand alone 5 miler and KDR was be christened in her very first road race! I was so proud of her just to be there at the spray painted start line. I figured I would hold 9 minute miles since I've really only been running 6 mile jaunts on the weekends. The one pice of advice I gave to my newbie road race friend was to go easy the first mile. Don't let the excitement of the race get to you because it'll catch up to you in the later miles. Well, what do I do? I go out too fast in the first mile! 8:24 - whoops. But I didn't feel like my breathing was labored and my heart rate was high but I also had about 4 glasses of wine the night before.... whoops #2. The course was flat which was another plus compared to the hills in Central Park that I'm used to. Mile 2 was by the water so it got pretty windy I tried to tuck behind some of the bigger guy runners to shield myself but I did feel my pace slow a little bit. Mile 2 = 8:32. Mile 3 was along the residential section of Manasquan and there were small groups of people handing out cold beer! hah! I declined the beer but I did accept my 8:32 mile 3 split. Mile 4 was another tough one as we again ran by water and my 830 average pace was way, way faster than I thought I could ever do at this point in my 2010 season. Mile 4 = 8:34 so I only lost two seconds to wind and fatigue! I have to be honest, mile 5 was tough. I got hot, my glasses started to fog since I was warm, and I began to doubt my fast pace. I thought well, Jill, you are doing way better than you thought you would so there's no shame in slowing down. But then I said Get Real!! I love having my last mile of a race be the fastest so I pushed and pushed to get that one mile done. I sped up a bit but due to my lack of speed work I got passed by about 5 women in the last 100 yards. I just had no kick. But I crossed the finish line hard in 42:12!! Mile 5 = 8:11. So my average pace according to my garmin was 8:29! Holy smokes! I never thought I had that in me... but I did!
KHB was only 10 seconds away from breaking 40 minutes and had a huge PR! And KDR finished her first 5 mile race with a smile on her face! I was so proud of both of them!! Afterwards we went to a Jersey diner to eat burgers :) I had a great day with my friends and I can't wait to do it again next year!
p.s. I've been glued to ironman live watching Chrissie Wellington come back to racing and killing it! What an amazing woman and triathlete! Such an inspiration!
The biggest highlight of the race (besides my surprising PR!), was the start time. A lovely 11am start in about 48 degree weather. Perfect for a race! It really was a breath of fresh air compared to the highly mass produced races I'm used to. There was no online race registration, no credit cards, no timing chips... just a spray painted start line and a rifle to kick it all off!
The three of us screamed in fright when the gun went off, laughed then got our legs moving! We decided to run our own paces. KHB wanted to see how fast she could run a stand alone 5 miler and KDR was be christened in her very first road race! I was so proud of her just to be there at the spray painted start line. I figured I would hold 9 minute miles since I've really only been running 6 mile jaunts on the weekends. The one pice of advice I gave to my newbie road race friend was to go easy the first mile. Don't let the excitement of the race get to you because it'll catch up to you in the later miles. Well, what do I do? I go out too fast in the first mile! 8:24 - whoops. But I didn't feel like my breathing was labored and my heart rate was high but I also had about 4 glasses of wine the night before.... whoops #2. The course was flat which was another plus compared to the hills in Central Park that I'm used to. Mile 2 was by the water so it got pretty windy I tried to tuck behind some of the bigger guy runners to shield myself but I did feel my pace slow a little bit. Mile 2 = 8:32. Mile 3 was along the residential section of Manasquan and there were small groups of people handing out cold beer! hah! I declined the beer but I did accept my 8:32 mile 3 split. Mile 4 was another tough one as we again ran by water and my 830 average pace was way, way faster than I thought I could ever do at this point in my 2010 season. Mile 4 = 8:34 so I only lost two seconds to wind and fatigue! I have to be honest, mile 5 was tough. I got hot, my glasses started to fog since I was warm, and I began to doubt my fast pace. I thought well, Jill, you are doing way better than you thought you would so there's no shame in slowing down. But then I said Get Real!! I love having my last mile of a race be the fastest so I pushed and pushed to get that one mile done. I sped up a bit but due to my lack of speed work I got passed by about 5 women in the last 100 yards. I just had no kick. But I crossed the finish line hard in 42:12!! Mile 5 = 8:11. So my average pace according to my garmin was 8:29! Holy smokes! I never thought I had that in me... but I did!
KHB was only 10 seconds away from breaking 40 minutes and had a huge PR! And KDR finished her first 5 mile race with a smile on her face! I was so proud of both of them!! Afterwards we went to a Jersey diner to eat burgers :) I had a great day with my friends and I can't wait to do it again next year!
p.s. I've been glued to ironman live watching Chrissie Wellington come back to racing and killing it! What an amazing woman and triathlete! Such an inspiration!
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
2 week recap in photos
Since I’m officially in the off season and in TV world we’re in the middle of one of the busiest months of the year, I’ve been a major blogger slacker!
So instead of writing out everything I’ve done for the past two weeks I’ll show it in some photos!
First up, the annual Greenwich Field Hockey Club Halloween Bash! And what a bash it is, especially when you’re dressed as a barbarian!
 |
| A Barbarian hiding in the bar trees |
Halloween is seriously one of my favorites – I just love, love, love getting all dressed up, transforming into something that seems way cooler than your own life! A barbarian seemed like a nice change for me, plus I got to “beat” people with a really cool club.
 |
| Barbarian sneak attack on Mr. Six |
After the Friday night Halloween bash… Saturday I was left on the couch battered and bruised myself from the late night! I watched the Rally to Restore Sanity as my boyfriend and basically loads of good friends hoofed it down to DC. So yeah, Saturday was probably my laziest day of the year. Sorry, no photos of me being lazy.
Being lazy on Saturday meant I was going to have a really awesome long solo ride on Sunday! But my bike had other plans…. First I had a flat. So I fixed it only to realize that my Kevlar reinforced tire won’t get back on the rim! 35 minutes and a ton of curse words later the sucker still wasn’t on! So I decided to change out the actual tire as I had a new one waiting for me in my apartment. I brought the bike upstairs, changed the actual tire and wallah! This freakin’ tire didn’t fit on it either!! After another 30 minutes of cursing like a sailor (sorry Mom) and getting frustrated I called the DC bound boyfriend in a huff. It’s not like I thought he could magically tell me how to pull the last 5 inches over the rim but boyfriends are there to do the “manly” stuff.
 |
| I didn't feel like taking a new photo of my bike, so here's me in the NYC Tri |
So after I battled my bike and LOST… I went for a 6 mile run in Central Park . It definitely improved my mood. The NYC marathon finish line was almost all set up and beautiful fall colors really helped my mental state. My heart rate was a little high for the pace I was going but I’m pretty sure that is due to my once a week running plan I’m on (not officially, kinda self imposed)
We can skip the weekly update between Saturday to Saturday because it only consisted of work, work, and more work… plus a one time 4.5 mile run after an early-ish work night.
WAH!
This past Saturday I trekked to Jersey to see my very talented brother coach the MSU football team to their 8th win of the season!! I was afraid I was bad luck because last season they were undefeated until the one game I came to… but this year I wasn’t bad luck as they won!! They are now 8-1 and are (hopefully) on their way tot the playoffs! I am one proud sister
Not only did I get an extra hour of sleep on Sunday but it was one of the best Sunday’s of the year… NYC Marathon!
I, of course, was jealous and wanted to run with them but I stuck to the sidelines, took some photos and cheered for my friends! And boy do I have some speedy friends! My Coach ran it and KILLED it getting a 9 minute PR! She looked great as she whizzed by us!
I was so happy to be cheering for all the athletes out there especially all the challenged ones.
And then it was Monday. Blah. The Monday blues. Wah. But then I realized something… my TYR order was being shipped to me on Monday – hooray!! What else can a girl look forweard to than a brand new training swimsuit and an awesome skull bikini?!?!
I took advantage of a great TYR deal pro Hillary Biscay posted on her blog. Check her blog out – she’s pretty unbelievable… 9 Ironmans in one year and is now training for the Ultra-Ironman in Hawaii !!
Armed with my brand new green and black TYR suit I was ready to hit the pool! But I forced myself to get in 30 minutes of strength training first. Yeah, I’m very sore today. I guess that’s what happens when you don’t do strength workouts in 6 months! After the torture fest I finally hit the pool and knocked out a solid 1600 yards. Nothing phenomenal distance wise but I felt great!
So that’s my two week recap! Let’s hope I can update a bit more frequently this week!!
Monday, October 25, 2010
2010 Triathlon/Marathon Hangover
So it’s the end of my 2010 racing season. I’m sure it’s near the end of yours too. Does anybody else feel lost? Feeling like you don’t have a life anymore? That all the things you sacrificed for training don’t even seem like an option anymore?
I have been feeling this way since I got back from the Chicago Marathon. Yes, work is still busy and takes up most of my time, but I feel... well, different. Slightly off. I have free time. I could drink wine every night if I wanted to and not feel guilty. I could go out with friends I haven’t seen. I could catch up on books, cleaning, laundry, shopping... everything I’ve been neglecting for the past 10 months. I feel free-er. But I still feel off. I am just so used to my structured lifestyle that with so many options I don’t even know what to do with myself.
My hangover is in two parts. The mental one described above and the physical one. I am so afraid that I’m gonna lose all the fitness I’ve earned in the past 10 months. But I am following strict orders to chill out and it’s ok to gain 5 pounds in the next 2 months. All that crap is gonna come off once I start “real” training again in January. So here I am... chillaxing.... and I’M BORED!!!!
On Sunday, I decided to lace up my Asics for the first time since the marathon and go for an easy 4 mile run. I was curious to see how my legs would feel after two full weeks off from running. Surprisingly to me, they felt great! My heart rate was a little high but I think that’s a combo of not eating well the day before (cheeseburger & french fries for lunch and Mexican for dinner) and not running for two weeks. I did 4 miles in the park and it was gorgeous out. The leaves are starting to turn from green to red and orange and yellow. It’s so nice and I was reminded how lucky I am.
I was also reminded of something else.... After my 4 mile run, I went biking with Simon and Paul. Back up to Central Park I went, but this time it was with laughter, conversations and some yelling at tourists. We did 3 laps and I felt awesome! My legs weren’t tired and I just enjoyed two sports that I have grown to love. That felt amazing. I was thinking that most sprint tri’s are ½ mile swim, 18 mile bike and 5k…. I almost did a sprint tri without realizing it. Now, I know for you endurance junkies out there, that kind of mileage isn’t much… but for me, in my off season, I thought it was awesome! In the past 5 years, I have never done that on a whim. So I was reminded that just knowing I have enough fitness to go out on a Sunday and do my thang without feeling crappy, or working too hard…. That’s golden. And I need to remember that.
Like I said above, I’ve struggled the past two weeks without structured training. I like structure. I like planning. I already have 2011 race plan ready to go. I’m ready to go! Or I should say my mind is ready to go! But my body needs a break. It did enjoy sweating yesterday. It did enjoy pushing down on the pedals and slipping on my Asics. But it also knows, that I’m not gonna workout today! I’m gonna do some laundry, go food shopping, cook dinner, and have a glass of wine while watching the Giant game! Cheers to the off season!!
I have been feeling this way since I got back from the Chicago Marathon. Yes, work is still busy and takes up most of my time, but I feel... well, different. Slightly off. I have free time. I could drink wine every night if I wanted to and not feel guilty. I could go out with friends I haven’t seen. I could catch up on books, cleaning, laundry, shopping... everything I’ve been neglecting for the past 10 months. I feel free-er. But I still feel off. I am just so used to my structured lifestyle that with so many options I don’t even know what to do with myself.
My hangover is in two parts. The mental one described above and the physical one. I am so afraid that I’m gonna lose all the fitness I’ve earned in the past 10 months. But I am following strict orders to chill out and it’s ok to gain 5 pounds in the next 2 months. All that crap is gonna come off once I start “real” training again in January. So here I am... chillaxing.... and I’M BORED!!!!
On Sunday, I decided to lace up my Asics for the first time since the marathon and go for an easy 4 mile run. I was curious to see how my legs would feel after two full weeks off from running. Surprisingly to me, they felt great! My heart rate was a little high but I think that’s a combo of not eating well the day before (cheeseburger & french fries for lunch and Mexican for dinner) and not running for two weeks. I did 4 miles in the park and it was gorgeous out. The leaves are starting to turn from green to red and orange and yellow. It’s so nice and I was reminded how lucky I am.
I was also reminded of something else.... After my 4 mile run, I went biking with Simon and Paul. Back up to Central Park I went, but this time it was with laughter, conversations and some yelling at tourists. We did 3 laps and I felt awesome! My legs weren’t tired and I just enjoyed two sports that I have grown to love. That felt amazing. I was thinking that most sprint tri’s are ½ mile swim, 18 mile bike and 5k…. I almost did a sprint tri without realizing it. Now, I know for you endurance junkies out there, that kind of mileage isn’t much… but for me, in my off season, I thought it was awesome! In the past 5 years, I have never done that on a whim. So I was reminded that just knowing I have enough fitness to go out on a Sunday and do my thang without feeling crappy, or working too hard…. That’s golden. And I need to remember that.
Like I said above, I’ve struggled the past two weeks without structured training. I like structure. I like planning. I already have 2011 race plan ready to go. I’m ready to go! Or I should say my mind is ready to go! But my body needs a break. It did enjoy sweating yesterday. It did enjoy pushing down on the pedals and slipping on my Asics. But it also knows, that I’m not gonna workout today! I’m gonna do some laundry, go food shopping, cook dinner, and have a glass of wine while watching the Giant game! Cheers to the off season!!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Chicago marathon = Hot
Two words for you people…. Heat Wave! Oh yes, the windy city stayed true to it’s unpredictable nature and threw out 80+ degrees on race day. How fun. NOT! Anyway, there’s nothing you can do about the weather except change your attitude about it…. And trade in the cute matching bright yellow and purple T-shirts you were gonna wear with your friends, for individual tank tops. But hey, we tried our best to stay cool.
 |
| Sears Tower aka Willis Tower |
 |
| 10-10-10 Baby! |
So this was my third marathon, the two previous being in the Big Apple. I have to say it was a really well run race. I didn’t have to wake up crazy early (well, to some of you 530 is crazy early),I didn’t’ have to smush myself on a packed subway just to take a ferry all the way out to Staten Island, and I didn’t have to sit in the cold for hours pre-marathon. This was quite the opposite. The race started at 730 so we strolled from our hotels to Grant Park. Checked in our bags pretty painlessly, went to the porta johns and then bam, we were at the start line by 7. Simplicity at it’s best. The porta johns actually did take a bit longer than normal since 2 of the johns were locked with no one inside (yours truly figured that out and unlocked them) and 1 literally had poo on the seat. I mean, come on people! Who would want to go in there after seeing that?!? So nasty. Anyway, that drama aside it was a very relaxed morning.
The start of the race is pretty cool. Once you cross the start line (which we happened to cross just has Springsteen’s Born to Run came on – go jersey!), you run down under an overpass and there are tons of people lined up along the sides yelling and cheering. It was pretty darn cool. I didn’t preview this course in any way, shape or form. I knew it was going to be flat with occasional hill here and there and I was psyched! The first 10k went by in a blur. I was feeling great, no leg soreness, no coughing (I had a slight cold the week prior) and I was clocking between 850-9 min miles which was below my goal pace! Even though I didn’t plan on going under 9 minute miles, I didn’t feel like I was overexerting myself too early so I kept it up.
The start of the race is pretty cool. Once you cross the start line (which we happened to cross just has Springsteen’s Born to Run came on – go jersey!), you run down under an overpass and there are tons of people lined up along the sides yelling and cheering. It was pretty darn cool. I didn’t preview this course in any way, shape or form. I knew it was going to be flat with occasional hill here and there and I was psyched! The first 10k went by in a blur. I was feeling great, no leg soreness, no coughing (I had a slight cold the week prior) and I was clocking between 850-9 min miles which was below my goal pace! Even though I didn’t plan on going under 9 minute miles, I didn’t feel like I was overexerting myself too early so I kept it up.
 |
| Seeing our fans for the first time felt great! |
There were two neighborhoods of the 22 that really stood out in my race. The first one was around miles 7&8. This neighborhood would fall under the “Chelsea” neighborhood of NYC. It was fantastic! 10 men dressed up as majorettes throwing the rifle around to Madonna’s Vogue!! So amazing! Then the next group of fine young men were dressed as Wonder Woman and cheering like crazy for all the runners. I could have run by that 30 times that day and it would have never gotten old! The next hood that stood out in my mind was the Spanish section. The men and ladies yelling “Vamos! Vamos!” was pretty cool too! I can’t remember what mile that was… I think it was after mile 14…
Darn that mile 14! That’s where my race, as well as everyone else’s around me, started to fall apart. I felt fantastic the first half. I had the 3:55 pace group within sight and the miles were just ticking away. I was enjoying every minute, running with one of my best friends, enjoying the day, then came mile 14. The sun came out in full force – no shade, no relief – and the temperature literally rose up to 80 degrees. I started to slow a bit. My legs were just starting to feel heavier and heavier and it was taking more effort to run that it should have at this point in a marathon. I let Kelly go ahead of me. I fell back a bit but kept the 3:55 pace group within sight for another 4 miles.
Honestly, from mile 18 to 26, it was one hot messy blur. I was doing everything in my power not to walk. I knew how hard it was going to be to get started running again if I walked. Once I lost sight of the 3:55 pace group, it became “just finish” mode. The 4 hour pace group hadn’t passed me and I banked up some time from the 1st half so I still had hope I would break 4 hours. Every aid station I would drink a Gatorade, wash it down with a sip of water, then pour 3 cups of water over my head. Gosh that felt good. I was living for the aid stations. I would not have survived with out them. I also want to give a shout out to the volunteers. It’s a long day for them too and I made sure to thank each one that passed me a drink. The race could not go on without them.
Mile 22 provided a little bit of a mental boost. There was great music playing, an announcer encouraging all of us and that helped me a lot. The other thing I noticed from Mile 22 on was all the people walking. I’ve never seen so many people walk in a marathon before! There were also the folks who were with medical personnel on the sides of the roads. It was serious business out there – you really can’t mess around in that kind of heat.
My memory gets really blurry after mile 22. I remember walking through an aid station just to give my legs some relief. They just felt like I was running with two tree trunks as legs. I got to see out fan club of spectators 3 times during the race. I would have been a fourth around mile 25 but I tuned out everything. There’s a ton of photos of me from Simon and I did not see or hear him at all. All I was focused on was finishing my run. The other notable thing that happened was that the 4 hour pace group leader passed me at mile 22 as well… and it looked like she was sprinting on by! I’m sure it was just my slow pace at that point compared to her 9:08… oh well.
Darn that mile 14! That’s where my race, as well as everyone else’s around me, started to fall apart. I felt fantastic the first half. I had the 3:55 pace group within sight and the miles were just ticking away. I was enjoying every minute, running with one of my best friends, enjoying the day, then came mile 14. The sun came out in full force – no shade, no relief – and the temperature literally rose up to 80 degrees. I started to slow a bit. My legs were just starting to feel heavier and heavier and it was taking more effort to run that it should have at this point in a marathon. I let Kelly go ahead of me. I fell back a bit but kept the 3:55 pace group within sight for another 4 miles.
Honestly, from mile 18 to 26, it was one hot messy blur. I was doing everything in my power not to walk. I knew how hard it was going to be to get started running again if I walked. Once I lost sight of the 3:55 pace group, it became “just finish” mode. The 4 hour pace group hadn’t passed me and I banked up some time from the 1st half so I still had hope I would break 4 hours. Every aid station I would drink a Gatorade, wash it down with a sip of water, then pour 3 cups of water over my head. Gosh that felt good. I was living for the aid stations. I would not have survived with out them. I also want to give a shout out to the volunteers. It’s a long day for them too and I made sure to thank each one that passed me a drink. The race could not go on without them.
Mile 22 provided a little bit of a mental boost. There was great music playing, an announcer encouraging all of us and that helped me a lot. The other thing I noticed from Mile 22 on was all the people walking. I’ve never seen so many people walk in a marathon before! There were also the folks who were with medical personnel on the sides of the roads. It was serious business out there – you really can’t mess around in that kind of heat.
My memory gets really blurry after mile 22. I remember walking through an aid station just to give my legs some relief. They just felt like I was running with two tree trunks as legs. I got to see out fan club of spectators 3 times during the race. I would have been a fourth around mile 25 but I tuned out everything. There’s a ton of photos of me from Simon and I did not see or hear him at all. All I was focused on was finishing my run. The other notable thing that happened was that the 4 hour pace group leader passed me at mile 22 as well… and it looked like she was sprinting on by! I’m sure it was just my slow pace at that point compared to her 9:08… oh well.
 |
| In the hurt locker around mile 25 |
There was one major thought that was running through my mind during those tough miles. Actually it was more of a conversation with myself. You could call it an argument even. It went like this… “Jill…. This pain is nothing. Do you know how much worse this marathon is gonna hurt AFTER swimming 2.4 miles and biking 112?!? Yeah, that’s right. It’s gonna hurt way worse than this. So suck it up and get your @ss to the finish line!!” I think about Ironman Lake Placid daily, and on Sunday, it was my motivation to keep moving, keep one foot in front of the other. That’s one of the lessons I learned in Chicago, to embrace the pain. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it! But it’s not easy to run a marathon and it’s not going to be easy to run a marathon after biking 112 miles!
The one cruel, cruel part about the course is that there is a very evil hill that looks like a mountain literally at mile 26. I slowed down so much and just focused on a quick turnover. It was the punishment for running 25.9 miles of hill-free terrain. Once you get up that hill though, and make a left hand turn… the finish line is in sight! Woohoo! Finally! After 4 hours and 4 minutes I was done!
I gave it my best shot to break 4 hours… I did think the 3rd time would be the charm, but what can you do about abnormally warm weather? Nothing really, so I’m accepting my 4:04 finish time and keeping my head held high.
A special congrats to Kelly who ran her very first marathon and for finishing with a smile! Congrats to BQ as well for toughing out the hot race!!
The one cruel, cruel part about the course is that there is a very evil hill that looks like a mountain literally at mile 26. I slowed down so much and just focused on a quick turnover. It was the punishment for running 25.9 miles of hill-free terrain. Once you get up that hill though, and make a left hand turn… the finish line is in sight! Woohoo! Finally! After 4 hours and 4 minutes I was done!
I gave it my best shot to break 4 hours… I did think the 3rd time would be the charm, but what can you do about abnormally warm weather? Nothing really, so I’m accepting my 4:04 finish time and keeping my head held high.
A special congrats to Kelly who ran her very first marathon and for finishing with a smile! Congrats to BQ as well for toughing out the hot race!!
 |
| Finished! |
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Lucky
Do you remember the first time you ran a mile? That first 5k race? 10k race? Half marathon? Marathon? Your first triathlon? As I was running my last 10 miles before Chicago, I witnessed quite a few people that were most likely running their very first half marathon. I am lucky enough to call Central Park my training grounds and today was the NYRR Grete's Half Marathon. Two loops of hilly Central Park. I ran the opposite way of the runners so I wouldn't get in their way and I started out much later in the morning than I planned. So the people I saw were the back of the packers, just starting their second loop. Man, this run was filled with inspiration today. There were so many runners that, even though they were finishing way over 2 hours, they had huge smiles on their faces! I saw one woman twice, who must have been over 55 run/walking with 2 arm braces. Each time I saw her she just smiled and smiled some more. I saw blind athletes with their guides, I saw a guy with one leg cruising down cat hill. They were just so happy to be running, racing and completing something that most people wouldn't do. I needed to witness this. In one week and a day, I'll be running my own marathon and recently my attitude hasn't been great. I've been tired, scared, nervous and just not thinking clearly. This run got me to focus.
I think I sometimes miss that feeling. I do feel very, very lucky I am able to swim, bike and especially run. And I always try to remind myself that. But, as I go deeper and deeper into a more permanent triathlon lifestyle, I forget what it's like to just be happy that I'm out running or biking. Or racing a distance for the first time. I get so focused on myself and how I am doing compared to other athletes.
Chicago will be my third marathon. I've been hitting 95% of my workouts and I had a super final long run today. My goal is to break 4 hours. Will I be disappointed if I don't break my barrier? sure... but that disappointment won't last long. I know I will finish the marathon and not many people can say that. Even though I am surrounded by people who swim, bike, run, I know we are in the minority.
So far, today is a good day. Beautiful New York City weather, an inspiring run and I look forward to what else the day will bring!
I think I sometimes miss that feeling. I do feel very, very lucky I am able to swim, bike and especially run. And I always try to remind myself that. But, as I go deeper and deeper into a more permanent triathlon lifestyle, I forget what it's like to just be happy that I'm out running or biking. Or racing a distance for the first time. I get so focused on myself and how I am doing compared to other athletes.
Chicago will be my third marathon. I've been hitting 95% of my workouts and I had a super final long run today. My goal is to break 4 hours. Will I be disappointed if I don't break my barrier? sure... but that disappointment won't last long. I know I will finish the marathon and not many people can say that. Even though I am surrounded by people who swim, bike, run, I know we are in the minority.
So far, today is a good day. Beautiful New York City weather, an inspiring run and I look forward to what else the day will bring!
Monday, September 27, 2010
Countdown to CHI-town!
The countdown to 10-10-10 is on! Yesterday was my last long run and I felt pretty great. I did 14 miles, 10 at my long run pace then sped up the last 4. My very last mile was the fastest and I loved ending on that! It also helped that my friend and I forced ourselves to “beat” a random guy runner before we hit our finish. I love, love, love “competing" against other runners... especially when they don’t know about it! (come on, you’ve done it too!)
So while my swimming and biking has been lacking I’m enjoying focusing on the run. In a previous post I wrote about focusing on the now and living in the moment. Well, I can’t help but think ahead to July 24th, 2011.... What’s my off season plan gonna be like? How is the next year of my life gonna go? Am I gonna feel burnt out? Am I gonna lose my social life entirely? Am I gonna get faster?? Will I want to lose weight in the off season? Focus on swimming? or biking? Or keep running?? ah - too many questions are going on in my head!
So for right NOW.... Chicago should be the ONLY thing on my brain for the next 13 days!! CHI CHI CHI CHI
FOCUS.... on my goal of beating 4 hours
FOCUS... on running strong, head up, shoulders back, quick steps
FOCUS... on enjoying every mile
FOCUS... on being humbled that I can run at all
FOCUS... on sharing my best friends first marathon experience with her
FOCUS... on the crowds and feeling like a rock star
FOCUS!!
“The first rule of focus is this: "Wherever you are, be there.”
Unknown Author
ME - “Live in the now!!”
“The greatest thing in the world is not so much where we are, but in what direction we are moving.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes
ME - “Get your @ss to the finish line!!!”
So while my swimming and biking has been lacking I’m enjoying focusing on the run. In a previous post I wrote about focusing on the now and living in the moment. Well, I can’t help but think ahead to July 24th, 2011.... What’s my off season plan gonna be like? How is the next year of my life gonna go? Am I gonna feel burnt out? Am I gonna lose my social life entirely? Am I gonna get faster?? Will I want to lose weight in the off season? Focus on swimming? or biking? Or keep running?? ah - too many questions are going on in my head!
So for right NOW.... Chicago should be the ONLY thing on my brain for the next 13 days!! CHI CHI CHI CHI
FOCUS.... on my goal of beating 4 hours
FOCUS... on running strong, head up, shoulders back, quick steps
FOCUS... on enjoying every mile
FOCUS... on being humbled that I can run at all
FOCUS... on sharing my best friends first marathon experience with her
FOCUS... on the crowds and feeling like a rock star
FOCUS!!
“The first rule of focus is this: "Wherever you are, be there.”
Unknown Author
ME - “Live in the now!!”
“The greatest thing in the world is not so much where we are, but in what direction we are moving.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes
ME - “Get your @ss to the finish line!!!”
Monday, September 13, 2010
Mighty Hamptons Race Report
What a great race! I felt great, the race course was fun, and I enjoyed the less than three hours of racing!
Day Before Race
We drove out to the Hamptons mid-day on Saturday. I had to pick up my race packet in Southampton and I was looking forward to going there as this Jersey girl has never been to the Hamptons! yeah, I think I’ll be vacationing back in Jersey from now on ‘cause everyone, and I mean everyone, was dressed to the nines on Main Street in Southampton. We rolled up in our Mazda Zipcar and parked next to this beautiful (and really, really expensive) Bentley convertible! hah - seriously, every car was a Bentley, Porsche, Ferrari or Lamborghini... it was ridiculous!
Anyway, after our lunch break in the fancy pants part of town we continued on to Montauk where we’d be staying for the night. The hotel was nice and we had an oceanfront room with a little grill and full kitchen. We grilled up chicken, corn on the cob, asparagus and made some pasta for dinner. It was delish!
Day Before Race
We drove out to the Hamptons mid-day on Saturday. I had to pick up my race packet in Southampton and I was looking forward to going there as this Jersey girl has never been to the Hamptons! yeah, I think I’ll be vacationing back in Jersey from now on ‘cause everyone, and I mean everyone, was dressed to the nines on Main Street in Southampton. We rolled up in our Mazda Zipcar and parked next to this beautiful (and really, really expensive) Bentley convertible! hah - seriously, every car was a Bentley, Porsche, Ferrari or Lamborghini... it was ridiculous!
Anyway, after our lunch break in the fancy pants part of town we continued on to Montauk where we’d be staying for the night. The hotel was nice and we had an oceanfront room with a little grill and full kitchen. We grilled up chicken, corn on the cob, asparagus and made some pasta for dinner. It was delish!
 |
| our superfans and BLT |
 |
| It was really chilly out in Montauk! |
 |
| Top Grillers |
Pre-Race
The alarm went off at 430 am on Sunday morning - ouch! But I slept well, I was super tired so I was out like a light around 10pm the night before. BLT and I packed up our stuff and drove over to the Sag Harbor race site while the boys slept in a little more and would meet us there later. We got to the race at 530am as planned and sat in traffic for a half hour!! I was freaking out! You guys all know I’m pretty anal about being on time and never want to be late etc... well this was just plain nuts and it was driving me crazy! Finally we parked, pumped our tires, then booked it to transition. yeah, we had about 10 minutes to set up our gear. The saving grace was that we were the last wave to go, so after we quickly set up our gear, we went to the mandatory porta potty line and took our time there as the earlier waves went off.
Swim - 37:09
This swim was a bit interesting. You had to swim about 100 yards out, then it was a deep water start. As we were getting in the water I overheard the race organizers say tha the bouys were moving!! So that meant i would most likely have a longer swim. I didn’t think much of it at the time and when the gun went off I started swimming.
I am happy to say that I didn’t panic or have to stop or get hammered by other people. Finally, after 5 years of doing triathlons, I think I’m finally getting used to open water swimming! So I swam, sighted, and swam some more. I think I held a pretty straight line but it was hard to site as there were only 2 buoys to sight off of. I finally reached the swim exit and looked down at my watch.... 37 minutes?!?! wtf?? there’s no way that was only a .9 mile swim! I really do think the buoys moved further out. I stalked the swim times in my age group, compared them to the beginning wave swim times and there’s a significant difference between the two. Anyway, I felt great the entire swim and felt like I could have gone on longer.
T1 - 3:13
Nothing major to talk about here. Ran barefoot on a really grainy asphalt surface and took an extra few seconds to wipe the sand from my feet and legs
The alarm went off at 430 am on Sunday morning - ouch! But I slept well, I was super tired so I was out like a light around 10pm the night before. BLT and I packed up our stuff and drove over to the Sag Harbor race site while the boys slept in a little more and would meet us there later. We got to the race at 530am as planned and sat in traffic for a half hour!! I was freaking out! You guys all know I’m pretty anal about being on time and never want to be late etc... well this was just plain nuts and it was driving me crazy! Finally we parked, pumped our tires, then booked it to transition. yeah, we had about 10 minutes to set up our gear. The saving grace was that we were the last wave to go, so after we quickly set up our gear, we went to the mandatory porta potty line and took our time there as the earlier waves went off.
Swim - 37:09
This swim was a bit interesting. You had to swim about 100 yards out, then it was a deep water start. As we were getting in the water I overheard the race organizers say tha the bouys were moving!! So that meant i would most likely have a longer swim. I didn’t think much of it at the time and when the gun went off I started swimming.
I am happy to say that I didn’t panic or have to stop or get hammered by other people. Finally, after 5 years of doing triathlons, I think I’m finally getting used to open water swimming! So I swam, sighted, and swam some more. I think I held a pretty straight line but it was hard to site as there were only 2 buoys to sight off of. I finally reached the swim exit and looked down at my watch.... 37 minutes?!?! wtf?? there’s no way that was only a .9 mile swim! I really do think the buoys moved further out. I stalked the swim times in my age group, compared them to the beginning wave swim times and there’s a significant difference between the two. Anyway, I felt great the entire swim and felt like I could have gone on longer.
T1 - 3:13
Nothing major to talk about here. Ran barefoot on a really grainy asphalt surface and took an extra few seconds to wipe the sand from my feet and legs
 |
| Me, in the pink, in the far left leaving transition with my bike |
Bike - 1:19:11
This was the fun part of the race! The course was rolling hills, nothing too steep, and had some really fun descents. I wanted to see how fast I could go so I started to hammer right from the get go. My feet were cold with the wind so they eventually went numb through the ride. This little fact would come back to haunt me on the run. For most of the ride I was passing lots of people and doing a little leap frogging with some dudes on tri bikes. I felt really great until my stomach started to bother me. I think it was from swallowing too much salt water during the swim and mixing that with a gu and my powerade drink. There was one low point on the bike where there was a bad head wind and my stomach was revolting and all I could think about was how I was gonna throw up as soon as I got off the bike! Luckily, that didn’t happen. When I headed back into transition I saw our supporters and they were surprised to see me so soon! As I got to my rack I saw there was only one bike back on the rack - sweet! I’m really proud of how far my biking has come. I used to hate biking and only did it to get through a tri and now I’m completely in love with my Jamis! I just know there’s so much more room for improvement and I’m excited to see that in the coming year.
T2 - 2:20
This took a little bit longer than normal because my hands were really cold so it was hard to get my shoes off and on.
Run - 54:55
As I set out on my run I realized how cold my feet really were. They went numb on the bike so when I started running and putting all my body weight on them they started to tingle... and then hurt because they were getting the feeling back in them. Yuck. My plan was to run the first 2 miles conservatively at a 9 min/mile pace. I did that almost to a T. First 2 miles were 858 & 859. From the third mile on I was gonna pick up the pace to an 845 or faster, Well, mile 3 was slower because I decided to walk through a water station to ease my aching feet. It worked and the rest of the run felt really good! I finished strong and was trying to count how many girls in my age group I was passing or if they were passing me. My last mile was 8:33 and I ran in strong!
This was the fun part of the race! The course was rolling hills, nothing too steep, and had some really fun descents. I wanted to see how fast I could go so I started to hammer right from the get go. My feet were cold with the wind so they eventually went numb through the ride. This little fact would come back to haunt me on the run. For most of the ride I was passing lots of people and doing a little leap frogging with some dudes on tri bikes. I felt really great until my stomach started to bother me. I think it was from swallowing too much salt water during the swim and mixing that with a gu and my powerade drink. There was one low point on the bike where there was a bad head wind and my stomach was revolting and all I could think about was how I was gonna throw up as soon as I got off the bike! Luckily, that didn’t happen. When I headed back into transition I saw our supporters and they were surprised to see me so soon! As I got to my rack I saw there was only one bike back on the rack - sweet! I’m really proud of how far my biking has come. I used to hate biking and only did it to get through a tri and now I’m completely in love with my Jamis! I just know there’s so much more room for improvement and I’m excited to see that in the coming year.
T2 - 2:20
This took a little bit longer than normal because my hands were really cold so it was hard to get my shoes off and on.
Run - 54:55
As I set out on my run I realized how cold my feet really were. They went numb on the bike so when I started running and putting all my body weight on them they started to tingle... and then hurt because they were getting the feeling back in them. Yuck. My plan was to run the first 2 miles conservatively at a 9 min/mile pace. I did that almost to a T. First 2 miles were 858 & 859. From the third mile on I was gonna pick up the pace to an 845 or faster, Well, mile 3 was slower because I decided to walk through a water station to ease my aching feet. It worked and the rest of the run felt really good! I finished strong and was trying to count how many girls in my age group I was passing or if they were passing me. My last mile was 8:33 and I ran in strong!
 |
| Home stretch |
Total - 2:56:47 ** 9th place in my age group!!!
 |
| Happt Finishers |
Say what?!?! When we got back to the city I practically ran to my laptop to check out the results. I got my official overall time and was happy but thought it was kinda slow compared to how I raced. Then when I looked at the times in my age group and saw I got 9th place - holy cow!! I’ve never even gotten close to finishing in the top ten of my age group, like ever! This was a smaller sized race but I am still proud of it. My tri buddy also placed very well, coming in 12th place in our age group! So overall it was a great late season race and I am very happy with how I raced. All this training is working and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the in the next year!
So what’s next? Well, this is an “easy” week for me so my body can recover from racing then I’m back on my Chicago marathon plan starting with a nice 20 mile run on Saturday. I’ll be heading down to the Jersey Shore to see my parents and there’s a sprint tri out on LBI. A 1/4 miles swim, 10 mile bike and 5k run... hmmmmmmm.... I had so much fun racing on Sunday that I might just be entering this race very last minute!
So what’s next? Well, this is an “easy” week for me so my body can recover from racing then I’m back on my Chicago marathon plan starting with a nice 20 mile run on Saturday. I’ll be heading down to the Jersey Shore to see my parents and there’s a sprint tri out on LBI. A 1/4 miles swim, 10 mile bike and 5k run... hmmmmmmm.... I had so much fun racing on Sunday that I might just be entering this race very last minute!
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Epic Long Weekend
So it’s been way too long since I’ve written down what’s been happening in my tri training. Work has been super busy, and I’ve been doing much more writing there so it’s been hard to get motivated to write more when I get home. Anyway, here’s a recap of my Labor Day weekend and the days leading up to this weekend’s race, Mighty Hamptons Olympic Tri.
Labor Day weekend means one thing, and one thing only... Annual Lake George Camping Trip!! This year we had a group of 12 heading upstate and we were all psyched for all the activities we had planned. Friday night we got up there late after work, set up camp then told past camping stories with some beers. It was pretty chilly out and the sky was clear so we had plenty of stars to do some “space class”. heh - long story about space class so I’ll spare you here, but trust me, it’s funny!
Labor Day weekend means one thing, and one thing only... Annual Lake George Camping Trip!! This year we had a group of 12 heading upstate and we were all psyched for all the activities we had planned. Friday night we got up there late after work, set up camp then told past camping stories with some beers. It was pretty chilly out and the sky was clear so we had plenty of stars to do some “space class”. heh - long story about space class so I’ll spare you here, but trust me, it’s funny!
Saturday BQ and I woke up early to do our long run of the week. We originally had to do 18-20 miles but with Saturday’s activities planned out it didn’t leave us much running time. SO we opted to do 10 miles at a slighter faster pace than our training pace. The run was great, despite the first mile feeling extremely tough and slow. We ended on a high fast note and when we got back to camp, the rest of the troops were up and had coffee waiting!
Our adventure didn’t end with a run. Half of us went to Garnett Hill Lodge, which is where we go mountain biking. Unfortunately, most of the bikes were out already so we had to wait. Our bad luck turned into some really good fortune because we decided to go on a hike. We hiked up to an old quarry and wound up climbing up these really steep rocks to get an amazing view of the Hudson River and surrounding mountains. We felt like kings of the world up there! It was a little scary climbing up and down but it was definitely one of the highlights of the weekend.
Our adventure didn’t end with a run. Half of us went to Garnett Hill Lodge, which is where we go mountain biking. Unfortunately, most of the bikes were out already so we had to wait. Our bad luck turned into some really good fortune because we decided to go on a hike. We hiked up to an old quarry and wound up climbing up these really steep rocks to get an amazing view of the Hudson River and surrounding mountains. We felt like kings of the world up there! It was a little scary climbing up and down but it was definitely one of the highlights of the weekend.
After we hiked back to the lodge our bikes were ready! So we geared up and went racing down one of the easy tracks called Old Faithful. After that 20 minute warmup we decided to tackle a trickier trail. Yeah, tricky it was when the hard trail turned into a full blown swampy mess! SO we had to carry our bikes through the mud until it was safe to ride again. After that trail, we were happy to spot one of our favorite lakes, the 13th Lake. It was way too cold to go swimming so we just took a break then headed back up the mountain to the lodge.
After a protein filled cookout Saturday night we were all fueled up and ready to tackle white water rafting on Sunday! Our guide was a really funny guy named Heath. He was our guide 2 years ago and he was a blast so we all were super excited we got to hang with him again.
 |
| Heath our guide |
Miraculously we fit 12 people into a raft (plus Heath) and we were paddling down the rapids of the Indian and Hudson Rivers. It was so much fun!! So when you go rafting there’s some special calls Heath will yell out, like back left, paddle right! or hit the deck! (that happens when we’re about to hit a big rapid and we just have to hold on and make sure we don’t fall out). One of our favorite calls of his, is Moon Left and Moon Right. I’m sure you can guess what those mean! Every single raft out on the river on Sunday saw our scarily white butts!! It was hilarious! We definitely were the most entertaining bunch and I am sure we had the most fun out there on that river!
Once we got back to the store, changed and got warm, we needed a team picture. Instead of a normal group picture, we climbed on top of the bus that chartered us back and forth, then climbed even higher on top of the rafts on the roof!! It was kinda scary but it was hilarious!
After the 10 mile run I considered every other weekend activity “active recovery”. I was sore from paddling that was for sure!
On Tuesday, I had a 10 mile tempo run on the schedule. I was pretty nervous about it. I woke up at 5am to get it done but I realized that it’s pitch black dark out and the sun’s not rising til 625.... yeah my run in Central Park is NOT happening by myself. (Aren’t you proud mom??) So I did the workout after work on the east river.
The first 2 miles were “easy” then I was to do 4 miles at a hard pace. Those 4 miles weren’t so bad, it actually felt good to stretch the legs and make them work a bit harder. But the last 4 miles?? yeah, those were tough! But I did the workout and I ran my fastest 10 miles ever!
So now It’s the day before the Mighty Hamptons tri and I’m gearing up to race! Hopefully I stay calm during the swim, pedal fast and run faster!! Have a great weekend!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)