I stepped onto the marathon course and pain shot up my legs. The soles of my feet felt like a thousand razors were slicing them open with each step I took. This can’t be good. The crowd is cheering for me and Simon is next to me saying to keep going. But the pain. Oh the pain!! I hear a talk radio in the distance. What the heck IS that? I jolt awake - it’s just my 5am alarm going off. It was just a dream. Phew, because that sounds like a sufferfest of a marathon.
After all the long, hard training I did this weekend I was looking forward to my brick workout today. Saturday I got in my first 20 mile run and I actually felt pretty great. Well, as great as you can feel for running 20 miles. Sunday was a long ride along 9w. I also felt pretty good and my legs weren’t as tired as they were the weekend before.
So a 20 mile bike ride (with Harlem Hill repeats) and a 6 mile run didn’t sound too awful after the mileage this past weekend! Well, I was in for a surprise.... As soon as I pushed my pedal down, right in front of my apartment building, I knew I was in trouble. I had nothing. Zero. Zilch. Nada. No power at all coming from my fatigued legs. I guess the weekend finally caught up to me. I pushed through my workout with 15.5 miles at a 17.1 average - not too bad considering the hill repeats and the state my legs were in. Then came the run. Oh boy.....
My first mile running back up to Central Park actually didn’t feel so bad. I was supposed to run one mile easy and 5 miles race pace. I was definitely running “easy” back up the hill to the park but it was about the same pace I’ve been running for these brick workouts. Then came my race pace miles. um, yeah. They were slower than my warm up mile!!! wtf?!? I had to stop and walk TWICE. I wasn’t even overheating. My heart rate was low for a change. My legs just did NOT want to cooperate at all. It was so frustrating. So I decided to do a loop around the reservoir and call it day at 2.3 miles. Huge bummer.
I am not a big fan of waking up at 5am only to bail on my workout! But, what can ya do? I have some mile repeats tomorrow so hopefully I’ll feel better for them. Looking forward to loving my training again like I did this past weekend! I am lucky though, since I’ve been working with my coach there’s only been 2 workouts that I’ve had to bail on due to feeling crappy. I’m very grateful for that!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
8/25 part 2 - Inspiration
This morning I had my alarm set for 6am. But, I woke up at 515 because I had to pee. Awesome. I finally fell back asleep just in time for my 6am alarm to go off. I hit snooze. I hit snooze a second time. I got up the 3rd time just to see it’s raining out. Forget this! I’m exhausted so let me sleep in and I’ll get my workout done after work. After spending 8 1/2 hours at work typing on my computer and basically sitting in my office all I day I was pooped. This always happens. When I'm not super busy at work I have less energy for other things. I get lazy. So I was really contemplating NOT doing my workout tonight. Plus, my workout was a hard one. Hill repeats on the steepest hill in Central Park. Let’s just say I was not looking forward to them.
On my way out the door, I ran into a coworker I used to run with. We started to chat and I asked her if she’s been running and such. She was telling me about her morning run how she ran outside then ran to the gym because of the rain. I explained my situation as well and told her I really wasn’t feeling like running tonight. She said the simplest thing to me. “Ah, just go do it.” It was only 5 teensy tiny words and I was like, yeah! I’m gonna go home, change, walk the dog quickly (sorry Ollie), go to Central Park and knock out my hill repeats. That’s exactly what I did. Thank you to my coworker who by saying a small phrase got me moving and running.
The other interesting part about our conversation was that she said she saw my facebook post over the weekend about running 18 miles. I told her I was training for Chicago Marathon and that I signed up for an ironman. After we went through the “your crazy” part of the conversation she said another interesting thing. On Saturday she was dreading her 4 mile run. She really didn’t want to do it at all. But, when she saw my 18 mile post, she’s like well 4 miles is easy compared to 18! So she got out there and did her scheduled run. It’s amazing how little things can inspire you and push you.
Walking home from the park tonight I had my ipod on and I was singing out loud and smiling. A big goofy grin on my face. I must have looked a little nuts, but hey it’s NY, lots of things fly here. I just felt SO good for completing my run. And, shhhh don’t tell my coach... :) but I actually liked the hill repeats! Now, that even I think is crazy but I loved every minute of them! I loved pushing my legs and powering up a hill, the nice jog back down, then repeating it. So I wanted to write double header posts today because I had such a breakthrough, in inspiration and sweat. I can only hope my journey inspires others to go out for a run, bike , walk or swim!
On my way out the door, I ran into a coworker I used to run with. We started to chat and I asked her if she’s been running and such. She was telling me about her morning run how she ran outside then ran to the gym because of the rain. I explained my situation as well and told her I really wasn’t feeling like running tonight. She said the simplest thing to me. “Ah, just go do it.” It was only 5 teensy tiny words and I was like, yeah! I’m gonna go home, change, walk the dog quickly (sorry Ollie), go to Central Park and knock out my hill repeats. That’s exactly what I did. Thank you to my coworker who by saying a small phrase got me moving and running.
The other interesting part about our conversation was that she said she saw my facebook post over the weekend about running 18 miles. I told her I was training for Chicago Marathon and that I signed up for an ironman. After we went through the “your crazy” part of the conversation she said another interesting thing. On Saturday she was dreading her 4 mile run. She really didn’t want to do it at all. But, when she saw my 18 mile post, she’s like well 4 miles is easy compared to 18! So she got out there and did her scheduled run. It’s amazing how little things can inspire you and push you.
Walking home from the park tonight I had my ipod on and I was singing out loud and smiling. A big goofy grin on my face. I must have looked a little nuts, but hey it’s NY, lots of things fly here. I just felt SO good for completing my run. And, shhhh don’t tell my coach... :) but I actually liked the hill repeats! Now, that even I think is crazy but I loved every minute of them! I loved pushing my legs and powering up a hill, the nice jog back down, then repeating it. So I wanted to write double header posts today because I had such a breakthrough, in inspiration and sweat. I can only hope my journey inspires others to go out for a run, bike , walk or swim!
Long time, no write
Hey, so I’ve slacked off on the blog, I mean, training journal. Things are getting busier at work and I do a lot of writing there so I find it hard to come up with fresh ideas for this. I don’t want it to be a boring training journal that just logs all my workouts This is what I’m not gonna do: “I ran 18 miles on Saturday and I enjoyed it. Then I biked 42 miles on Sunday in the rain in Central Park which means I did 7 repetitive loops. It was awesome!”
So I did do all that last weekend and I did feel that way, but if I wrote it out like that wouldn’t you think I was crazy?!? If I read that, I would think so. I mean, come on, who likes to run 18 miles??? I guess I do, especially when it’s with one of my Wayne besties who’s training for her first marathon. It was the perfect 3 hours to catch up, tell jokes, gossip, talk about our training, and just plain old spend time together! We also had a gorgeous day for a run along the Hudson. Views from the NJ side were pretty spectacular, the skyline, the river, seeing a cruise ship pull in at 730am. Then we had the opportunity to run over the George Washington Bridge. This is SO much better than biking over it. When you’re biking, you really have to pay attention to the walkers, runners, tourists that are all occupying this small space. But when you’re running, all ya gotta do is stick to the right hand side, run straight and enjoy the view! After our GWB experience we headed back down the Hudson river but on the city side. 18 miles later we were done with our first major long run!!
Now, this brings us to my 42 mile ride on Sunday. Who bikes 42 miles in a repetitive loop, in the rain?? Well, I woke up to a gloomy downpour and I had a slight headache from the beers I drank Saturday night at a friend’s going away party.... that led to a delay in my ride. You know, weather.com is supposed to be reliable, and I totally get that the weather is sometimes unpredictable, but when it says 100% chance of thunderstorms at 1pm I except some darn thunderstorms! So yeah, after checking the weather incessantly and not hearing a peep of thunder I ventured out on my bike to Central Park. I would have loved to bike over the GWB and get out of the city for a bit but I wanted to make sure I could ride home quickly if those thunderstorms decided to rear their ugly heads. The ride was pretty uneventful. The fun part was when I got back home and my legs were covered in dirt!!
So I did do all that last weekend and I did feel that way, but if I wrote it out like that wouldn’t you think I was crazy?!? If I read that, I would think so. I mean, come on, who likes to run 18 miles??? I guess I do, especially when it’s with one of my Wayne besties who’s training for her first marathon. It was the perfect 3 hours to catch up, tell jokes, gossip, talk about our training, and just plain old spend time together! We also had a gorgeous day for a run along the Hudson. Views from the NJ side were pretty spectacular, the skyline, the river, seeing a cruise ship pull in at 730am. Then we had the opportunity to run over the George Washington Bridge. This is SO much better than biking over it. When you’re biking, you really have to pay attention to the walkers, runners, tourists that are all occupying this small space. But when you’re running, all ya gotta do is stick to the right hand side, run straight and enjoy the view! After our GWB experience we headed back down the Hudson river but on the city side. 18 miles later we were done with our first major long run!!
Now, this brings us to my 42 mile ride on Sunday. Who bikes 42 miles in a repetitive loop, in the rain?? Well, I woke up to a gloomy downpour and I had a slight headache from the beers I drank Saturday night at a friend’s going away party.... that led to a delay in my ride. You know, weather.com is supposed to be reliable, and I totally get that the weather is sometimes unpredictable, but when it says 100% chance of thunderstorms at 1pm I except some darn thunderstorms! So yeah, after checking the weather incessantly and not hearing a peep of thunder I ventured out on my bike to Central Park. I would have loved to bike over the GWB and get out of the city for a bit but I wanted to make sure I could ride home quickly if those thunderstorms decided to rear their ugly heads. The ride was pretty uneventful. The fun part was when I got back home and my legs were covered in dirt!!
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| Little Olive was SO excited I was back home... check out those dirty gams! |
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| Seriously, that is NOT hair. That is all dirt from my sock line up - so nasty! |
My bike is a dirty mess as well so I gotta give my little Jamis a good clean.
So, the reason why I’m writing about this is not to show off that my tired legs could handle 42 miles on a bike after an 18 mile run, but to reveal that I’m proud of myself. Running with a friend is the “easy” part on Saturday. But biking in the rain, by yourself, confined to a 6 mile loop is pretty darn hard. You get bored, you get tired, your legs are telling you to stop, but you just gotta keep pushing through. Dedication. Perseverance. Forcing yourself to complete your workouts on a rainy Sunday when you’d rather spend it on the couch watching movies. That’s what I’m gonna need to train for this thing. I’m gonna need that and I’m gonna have to remind myself this everyday. Every morning when my alarm goes off at an ungodly hour I have to remind myself to keep working at it. It’s gonna get easier, it’s gonna feel like second nature. It actually almost does.
So, the reason why I’m writing about this is not to show off that my tired legs could handle 42 miles on a bike after an 18 mile run, but to reveal that I’m proud of myself. Running with a friend is the “easy” part on Saturday. But biking in the rain, by yourself, confined to a 6 mile loop is pretty darn hard. You get bored, you get tired, your legs are telling you to stop, but you just gotta keep pushing through. Dedication. Perseverance. Forcing yourself to complete your workouts on a rainy Sunday when you’d rather spend it on the couch watching movies. That’s what I’m gonna need to train for this thing. I’m gonna need that and I’m gonna have to remind myself this everyday. Every morning when my alarm goes off at an ungodly hour I have to remind myself to keep working at it. It’s gonna get easier, it’s gonna feel like second nature. It actually almost does.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Bronx Half Marathon Race Report
This is the first post where I don’t quite know where to begin. Let's start with the bad.... well, not really bad but definitely not the highlight I want to be talking about. My right knee started to bother me Thursday night while I was swimming. Every kick produced a sharp pain on the inside of my right knee. I figured it was just sore from the track workout the night before so I decided to ice it Thursday night, all day Friday (even while at work) and I scrapped my Friday long ride. After a full 2 days rest, it felt better and I felt a little more confident in racing this half marathon.
Here's the part that's not bad or good... Since the race started at 7am, I had to wake up literally at the crack of dawn to get Olliedog out so she could do her business and get myself ready. (** side note my Spanish speaking groomer told me they call Olive, Aceituna because that’s the actual translation of Olive from English to Spanish- too funny) Met BLT by the subway and we started our trip up to da Bronx. Got there with plenty of time to use the porta potties, drop our bags off and stretch which was really great. Didn’t feel pressured or stressed at all. I didn’t have any pre-race nerves, I just wanted to run!
BLT was planning on running a faster time so I tried to stick with her for about 2 miles then I dropped off. We don’t call her Buff Little Thang for nothing! So yeah, the first 2 miles were faster than I had planned but I didn’t feel like I was going too, too hard. I just felt like I needed to back off in order to feel strong at miles 10-13.
The Bronx course is basically all rolling hills. There’s no real steep ones but there’s long gradual climbs which I kinda like. My legs felt super strong going uphill (maybe all that biking is paying off!) and I wasn’t breathing too hard. I was trying to keep my pace around an 845 so I knew a 1:52 finish was out of the question. I was completely confident that I could run a 1:55 though.
Honestly, the race went by so fast. I was feeling good and feeling like I was pushing it but not so hard that I would blowup at the end. The last 2 miles I decided to push the pace a little more and I finished strong. But when I looked at my watch for the final time I saw 1:57!! huh?!?! So I was a little disappointed. Ok, maybe more than a little disappointed. I really, truly thought I could go 1:55. Not sure what exactly happened out there but I am glad I finished strong and I definitely felt like I could have gone at that pace for more miles. I guess that’s a good thing and a confidence booster for Chicago.
My knee held up fine so I think it just needed an extra day of rest before the race. Both my IT bands are sore especially the right one so I’m sure that has something to do with the knee pain. I’m gonna work with my torture device tonight, ahem, I mean foam roller then I might schedule an appointment with the head torturer himself, my chiropractor to have him work on them before my 18 miler this coming weekend.
The good news is that I swam my longest distance yet in the pool @ 2800 yds! I started off not feeling too great but focused on my form, lived in the “now” and I got my workout done. I checked my overall time and surprisingly it was faster than my 2700 yds I did last week. I hope I counted all those laps right! For anyone that cares, 800 yds equals 48 laps in my 50 foot pool. Yeah, I had to really concentrate on my counting as well as my form! I’m still a far cry from 4225 yards (2.4 miles) but I’m getting closer and closer!
I’m really looking forward to the Mighty Hamptons Olympic Tri in September. I really hope that I can keep my swimming anxiety down like I did in the NYC Tri and get the swim done in a speedy time :) I’m also looking forward to the bike! I never thought I would fall in love with biking but I really have. My Jamis Comet road bike has been treating my very well. Even though I like seeing all the Tri Bike Porn at races, I know my Comet is the best bike for me, especially with the the hills of Lake Placid looming in the distance!
Here's the part that's not bad or good... Since the race started at 7am, I had to wake up literally at the crack of dawn to get Olliedog out so she could do her business and get myself ready. (** side note my Spanish speaking groomer told me they call Olive, Aceituna because that’s the actual translation of Olive from English to Spanish- too funny) Met BLT by the subway and we started our trip up to da Bronx. Got there with plenty of time to use the porta potties, drop our bags off and stretch which was really great. Didn’t feel pressured or stressed at all. I didn’t have any pre-race nerves, I just wanted to run!
BLT was planning on running a faster time so I tried to stick with her for about 2 miles then I dropped off. We don’t call her Buff Little Thang for nothing! So yeah, the first 2 miles were faster than I had planned but I didn’t feel like I was going too, too hard. I just felt like I needed to back off in order to feel strong at miles 10-13.
The Bronx course is basically all rolling hills. There’s no real steep ones but there’s long gradual climbs which I kinda like. My legs felt super strong going uphill (maybe all that biking is paying off!) and I wasn’t breathing too hard. I was trying to keep my pace around an 845 so I knew a 1:52 finish was out of the question. I was completely confident that I could run a 1:55 though.
Honestly, the race went by so fast. I was feeling good and feeling like I was pushing it but not so hard that I would blowup at the end. The last 2 miles I decided to push the pace a little more and I finished strong. But when I looked at my watch for the final time I saw 1:57!! huh?!?! So I was a little disappointed. Ok, maybe more than a little disappointed. I really, truly thought I could go 1:55. Not sure what exactly happened out there but I am glad I finished strong and I definitely felt like I could have gone at that pace for more miles. I guess that’s a good thing and a confidence booster for Chicago.
My knee held up fine so I think it just needed an extra day of rest before the race. Both my IT bands are sore especially the right one so I’m sure that has something to do with the knee pain. I’m gonna work with my torture device tonight, ahem, I mean foam roller then I might schedule an appointment with the head torturer himself, my chiropractor to have him work on them before my 18 miler this coming weekend.
The good news is that I swam my longest distance yet in the pool @ 2800 yds! I started off not feeling too great but focused on my form, lived in the “now” and I got my workout done. I checked my overall time and surprisingly it was faster than my 2700 yds I did last week. I hope I counted all those laps right! For anyone that cares, 800 yds equals 48 laps in my 50 foot pool. Yeah, I had to really concentrate on my counting as well as my form! I’m still a far cry from 4225 yards (2.4 miles) but I’m getting closer and closer!
I’m really looking forward to the Mighty Hamptons Olympic Tri in September. I really hope that I can keep my swimming anxiety down like I did in the NYC Tri and get the swim done in a speedy time :) I’m also looking forward to the bike! I never thought I would fall in love with biking but I really have. My Jamis Comet road bike has been treating my very well. Even though I like seeing all the Tri Bike Porn at races, I know my Comet is the best bike for me, especially with the the hills of Lake Placid looming in the distance!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Mental Battles
As I’ve been lurking on other people’s blogs, I’ve been trying to adopt one main philosophy that I keep reading about. Live in the moment. When you’re swimming don’t think about biking. When you’re biking, don’t think about running. Just live in the moment, enjoy each stroke, pedal and step.
I’ve been trying to adopt this philosophy in my training so that when race day comes (only 346 days away) I’ll be doing this without even trying. That’s one of my goals for my Ironman. To make sure I’m enjoying every single second of it and more importantly to focus on one thing at a time.
Normally, I like being busy. I like working on different projects at once. My job requires me to be busy constantly and I always have to think ahead so this is a hard concept for me to follow. I had a bike speed workout on Wednesday and I was able to block everything out and concentrate on my cadence, how strong I was feeling and overall just enjoy myself. I had a great workout! I beat my 24 mile Central Park time by a minute (which doesn’t seem like a lot but it felt great) and I felt like I got a lot out of this workout that will make me stronger over time.
Then, last night came the track workout. I was pretty beat so I slept in and decided to run after work. The only catch is that the East River track is 2.5 miles away from work so already I know I’m doing 5 miles plus track intervals. That kind of intimidated me but I pushed it out of my head. My first few intervals were pretty decent. I was keeping my goal pace of 8 min/miles and I was definitely working but I didn’t feel like I was gonna die like normal. Then came my 2nd to last interval. It was an 800, so 2 laps around the track. I knew my very last interval was a 400 (1 lap) so while I was running the 800 I started thinking about the 400 and how hard I could push it. I’m having this whole conversation in my head about pushing it faster than 8 min miles and I wonder how fast I could go, especially at the end of the workout... blah blah blah. The next thing I know it’s the end of my 800 and I ran 8:03 - my slowest interval of the night!! argh. I know, I know, it’s only 3 seconds but this proves my point of focusing on the moment at hand and not thinking about what’s ahead. Let’s hope I remember this lesson and keep moving forward in my focusing journey!
The other mental battle I’m having has to do with running as well. (See a theme here?) I’m racing the Bronx Half Marathon on Sunday (yes, I said racing and not running). This half marathon time will be a guideline of what my goal Chicago Marathon could be. My overall goal for Chicago is to run under 4 hours but I’d love to get closer to 350/355 rather than sneak under 4. In order for that to happen I’ll need to run a 1:50-1:52 half marathon pace (8:28 min/miles). The formula is to take your half marathon time, double it and add 10 minutes. So I seem to have a mental block of 9 minute miles. I believe in my head that I could never hold a faster pace for longer distance than 9 min miles. But, here’s the thing, I think my body can do a faster pace. I just need to head to catch up with my legs. It’s so much easier said than done though. So we’ll see how Sunday goes... I’m gonna do my best to “race” and to race smart!
I’ve been trying to adopt this philosophy in my training so that when race day comes (only 346 days away) I’ll be doing this without even trying. That’s one of my goals for my Ironman. To make sure I’m enjoying every single second of it and more importantly to focus on one thing at a time.
Normally, I like being busy. I like working on different projects at once. My job requires me to be busy constantly and I always have to think ahead so this is a hard concept for me to follow. I had a bike speed workout on Wednesday and I was able to block everything out and concentrate on my cadence, how strong I was feeling and overall just enjoy myself. I had a great workout! I beat my 24 mile Central Park time by a minute (which doesn’t seem like a lot but it felt great) and I felt like I got a lot out of this workout that will make me stronger over time.
Then, last night came the track workout. I was pretty beat so I slept in and decided to run after work. The only catch is that the East River track is 2.5 miles away from work so already I know I’m doing 5 miles plus track intervals. That kind of intimidated me but I pushed it out of my head. My first few intervals were pretty decent. I was keeping my goal pace of 8 min/miles and I was definitely working but I didn’t feel like I was gonna die like normal. Then came my 2nd to last interval. It was an 800, so 2 laps around the track. I knew my very last interval was a 400 (1 lap) so while I was running the 800 I started thinking about the 400 and how hard I could push it. I’m having this whole conversation in my head about pushing it faster than 8 min miles and I wonder how fast I could go, especially at the end of the workout... blah blah blah. The next thing I know it’s the end of my 800 and I ran 8:03 - my slowest interval of the night!! argh. I know, I know, it’s only 3 seconds but this proves my point of focusing on the moment at hand and not thinking about what’s ahead. Let’s hope I remember this lesson and keep moving forward in my focusing journey!
The other mental battle I’m having has to do with running as well. (See a theme here?) I’m racing the Bronx Half Marathon on Sunday (yes, I said racing and not running). This half marathon time will be a guideline of what my goal Chicago Marathon could be. My overall goal for Chicago is to run under 4 hours but I’d love to get closer to 350/355 rather than sneak under 4. In order for that to happen I’ll need to run a 1:50-1:52 half marathon pace (8:28 min/miles). The formula is to take your half marathon time, double it and add 10 minutes. So I seem to have a mental block of 9 minute miles. I believe in my head that I could never hold a faster pace for longer distance than 9 min miles. But, here’s the thing, I think my body can do a faster pace. I just need to head to catch up with my legs. It’s so much easier said than done though. So we’ll see how Sunday goes... I’m gonna do my best to “race” and to race smart!
Monday, August 9, 2010
Weekend Wackiness
What a crazy weekend! I feel like I had the best of both worlds but I sure am tired! Friday night I got together with a few of my girlfriends for a pot luck/wine dinner. I made delicious stuffed meatballs with homemade sauce and my plan was to only have a glass or two of wine. Well, that plan was not executed properly! I was having such a good time that one glass turned into about 5 and my goal time of being home by 11 was switched to midnight. How in the world was I gonna get up at 7 to run 15 miles?!?!
The alarm went off at 7am. Ugh... head’s pounding... so sleepy... I made a deal with myself that I would sleep for one more hour and run the 15 by myself instead of meeting up with the Nike Training group. Alarm goes off again at 8... changed it til 9... I finally got out of bed at 915. I definitely felt much better and was able to sleep the headache off. Now all I had to do was run 15 miles in a hotter part of the day. Joy.
This weekend was the first weekend of Summer Streets where they close Park Ave from 72nd to Chambers street. So I figured out a route where I would start in CP up by me, head across 72nd, down to Chambers, back up to 72, back into the Park, then south around the bottom of the park, up the westside, take the 102 transverse and I would have 15 miles under my belt when I hit my starting point at 96th street. Phew, I’m tired even writing that out!
I felt pretty decent for the majority of the run. I was starting to get hot so was pouring water over my head and I had to stop to buy more Gatorade. Once I got back into the park my legs were getting tired. It seems once I run for over 2 hours my lungs feel ok but my legs need to get used to it. But I finished! and promptly sat on the couch drinking chocolate milk as my recovery.
But I couldn’t rest for long.... I had a hair appointment all the way back down in Chinatown and it’s normally a marathon hair appointment. 4 hours later, all highlighted and trimmed up, I headed even further downtown to hang out with some friends on Stone Street. I thought I deserved a beer (well, actually 3) and a cheeseburger. Nice work. I went home semi early because I knew would have to be up by 7 to complete my weekend of wackiness.
7am Sunday... alarm goes off. This time I had to get up, no hitting snooze. I was planning on biking to Glen Rock NJ to visit one of my closest friends and her 9 month old. We were gonna head to their town pool with some friends and I had to be at her house by 1030am. I had a long ride scheduled for Sunday so instead of waking up even earlier to get it done and take public transportation to Jersey I decided to ride there. It’s actually only 25 miles from 168th street. I knew I could do 50 miles with a nice break in between.
I decided to take the subway up to 168th to save time and my leg energy since they were sore from the long run. The ride out to Glen Rock was super nice. It was pretty fun riding on new streets and the route was rolling hills with a couple of climbs here and there. There was one almost 2 mile decent that only had me thinking about the ride home and how I would have to climb back up!
I made it to the house in just over an hour and half. Longer than it should have been but I had to stop to navigate every once in a while and there were lots of traffic lights as I got closer to Glen Rock.
We had an awesome time with the baby at the pool. I really treasure those simple moments with close girlfriends, especially now that I get to see the little one grow up!
I was dreading the ride back... it was hot and late afternoon. I almost debated getting dropped off at the train station but I decided to suck it up and ride. I actually didn’t have to stop as often to navigate since I remembered most of the way back. Remember the long decent I wrote about earlier... yeah. It was a killer son of a xxxx to climb back up! I was in my lowest gear and couldn’t keep my cadence up very high at all. There was one part that was so steep that I could barely turn my pedals over! But phew, I made it up. Surprisingly my heart rate didn’t skyrocket. It was definitely high, but not as high as it could have been. My legs were just really, really tired.
So I made it back to NYC and took the train back down to 96th street. I was happy to be home! When I talked to my mom later on that night, she was like, “WHAT?!? you did what today??? You rode your bike to Glen Rock and back?!?!” hehe, it was pretty funny. I guess it was kind of a wacky thing to do, but I got my long bike in, saved money on transportation and I must of gotten some “green earth” points for it! Would I do it again? Sure, if the weather’s good, why not??
The alarm went off at 7am. Ugh... head’s pounding... so sleepy... I made a deal with myself that I would sleep for one more hour and run the 15 by myself instead of meeting up with the Nike Training group. Alarm goes off again at 8... changed it til 9... I finally got out of bed at 915. I definitely felt much better and was able to sleep the headache off. Now all I had to do was run 15 miles in a hotter part of the day. Joy.
This weekend was the first weekend of Summer Streets where they close Park Ave from 72nd to Chambers street. So I figured out a route where I would start in CP up by me, head across 72nd, down to Chambers, back up to 72, back into the Park, then south around the bottom of the park, up the westside, take the 102 transverse and I would have 15 miles under my belt when I hit my starting point at 96th street. Phew, I’m tired even writing that out!
I felt pretty decent for the majority of the run. I was starting to get hot so was pouring water over my head and I had to stop to buy more Gatorade. Once I got back into the park my legs were getting tired. It seems once I run for over 2 hours my lungs feel ok but my legs need to get used to it. But I finished! and promptly sat on the couch drinking chocolate milk as my recovery.
But I couldn’t rest for long.... I had a hair appointment all the way back down in Chinatown and it’s normally a marathon hair appointment. 4 hours later, all highlighted and trimmed up, I headed even further downtown to hang out with some friends on Stone Street. I thought I deserved a beer (well, actually 3) and a cheeseburger. Nice work. I went home semi early because I knew would have to be up by 7 to complete my weekend of wackiness.
7am Sunday... alarm goes off. This time I had to get up, no hitting snooze. I was planning on biking to Glen Rock NJ to visit one of my closest friends and her 9 month old. We were gonna head to their town pool with some friends and I had to be at her house by 1030am. I had a long ride scheduled for Sunday so instead of waking up even earlier to get it done and take public transportation to Jersey I decided to ride there. It’s actually only 25 miles from 168th street. I knew I could do 50 miles with a nice break in between.
I decided to take the subway up to 168th to save time and my leg energy since they were sore from the long run. The ride out to Glen Rock was super nice. It was pretty fun riding on new streets and the route was rolling hills with a couple of climbs here and there. There was one almost 2 mile decent that only had me thinking about the ride home and how I would have to climb back up!
I made it to the house in just over an hour and half. Longer than it should have been but I had to stop to navigate every once in a while and there were lots of traffic lights as I got closer to Glen Rock.
We had an awesome time with the baby at the pool. I really treasure those simple moments with close girlfriends, especially now that I get to see the little one grow up!
I was dreading the ride back... it was hot and late afternoon. I almost debated getting dropped off at the train station but I decided to suck it up and ride. I actually didn’t have to stop as often to navigate since I remembered most of the way back. Remember the long decent I wrote about earlier... yeah. It was a killer son of a xxxx to climb back up! I was in my lowest gear and couldn’t keep my cadence up very high at all. There was one part that was so steep that I could barely turn my pedals over! But phew, I made it up. Surprisingly my heart rate didn’t skyrocket. It was definitely high, but not as high as it could have been. My legs were just really, really tired.
So I made it back to NYC and took the train back down to 96th street. I was happy to be home! When I talked to my mom later on that night, she was like, “WHAT?!? you did what today??? You rode your bike to Glen Rock and back?!?!” hehe, it was pretty funny. I guess it was kind of a wacky thing to do, but I got my long bike in, saved money on transportation and I must of gotten some “green earth” points for it! Would I do it again? Sure, if the weather’s good, why not??
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Morning Demons and Dreams
The past two days I’ve slayed my morning demons! Even though it feels like complete torture when my alarm goes off at 5/6am, I feel so much better throughout the day. Yesterday I was a good little triathlete and got up at 6am for hill repeats on Cat Hill in Central Park. This is after a second night of not sleeping very well. I was super tired but forced myself out of bed and got the running party started (well, after walking and feeding the dog). It was also pretty humid out there and I was basically drenched after I completed my workout. My body felt a little off afterwards.... it was probably a combination of losing lots of salt, being dehydrated and not sleeping well. Overall, my hill repeats went well. The middle ones were tough but I ended them on a good, fast note.
This morning I gave in to my morning demons. I had a swim on my schedule and I would normally wake up at 615 to get her done. But, I was the one who was done. I decided to sleep in til 730 and planned my evening around my swim. I was hesitant to do this since the last Thursday night I went swimming I could only swim for 30 minutes because the pool was packed. I am hoping if I go right after work it won’t be too busy.
My morning splurge stemmed from a nice evening last night! Instead of my usual routine of coming home, walking Ollie, cooking dinner, watching tv and going to bed, I went to the movies with Simon. We’ve been wanting to see Inception since it came out and finally found some time to do it. I really enjoyed it and thought the cinematography and the music scoring were pretty awesome. How in the world do they do all that fancy stuff?? If you haven’t seen it, the premise is that Leonardo DiCaprio hijacks people’s dreams (I’m sure most women wouldn’t mind that at all!) and plants an idea so subtle but effective that the person will live out that idea.
So, Inception got me thinking.... Where did the idea of Ironman come from for me? When did it get planted as a tiny seed in my head? I can’t pinpoint the exact date or time but I feel like it could have well been in a dream. I used to hate, despise, absolutely loath running. I only ran to stay in shape to play field hockey in high school and college. Running caused me physical pain, so why would I enjoy something that hurt so bad? I wound up having surgery on both my legs to correct Compartment Syndrome. Basically my calf muscles were too jacked for the compartments they were in so they weren’t getting enough oxygen to breath and work properly. So they sliced open my compartments to give my huge calves more room to function. After the surgery, I basically took 2 years off of hard training and gained weight. Post college I felt gross about myself so I decided to run a bit to shed some pounds. Then came my first 5k, 10k, triathlon and the rest is history. I never thought in a million years I would be able to run a marathon or even attempt a full Ironman. I feel so lucky to have found this new spirit in myself. This whole process has changed me and I expect even more changes to happen within the next year. All it took was a tiny seed of inspiration, determination and craziness. So thank you, to whomever hijacked my dreams and planted a tiny seed called Ironman in my brain! So what’s something you never thought you’d do in a million years? Could you it be your seed? Maybe. Why not water it. Watch what happens.
This morning I gave in to my morning demons. I had a swim on my schedule and I would normally wake up at 615 to get her done. But, I was the one who was done. I decided to sleep in til 730 and planned my evening around my swim. I was hesitant to do this since the last Thursday night I went swimming I could only swim for 30 minutes because the pool was packed. I am hoping if I go right after work it won’t be too busy.
My morning splurge stemmed from a nice evening last night! Instead of my usual routine of coming home, walking Ollie, cooking dinner, watching tv and going to bed, I went to the movies with Simon. We’ve been wanting to see Inception since it came out and finally found some time to do it. I really enjoyed it and thought the cinematography and the music scoring were pretty awesome. How in the world do they do all that fancy stuff?? If you haven’t seen it, the premise is that Leonardo DiCaprio hijacks people’s dreams (I’m sure most women wouldn’t mind that at all!) and plants an idea so subtle but effective that the person will live out that idea.
So, Inception got me thinking.... Where did the idea of Ironman come from for me? When did it get planted as a tiny seed in my head? I can’t pinpoint the exact date or time but I feel like it could have well been in a dream. I used to hate, despise, absolutely loath running. I only ran to stay in shape to play field hockey in high school and college. Running caused me physical pain, so why would I enjoy something that hurt so bad? I wound up having surgery on both my legs to correct Compartment Syndrome. Basically my calf muscles were too jacked for the compartments they were in so they weren’t getting enough oxygen to breath and work properly. So they sliced open my compartments to give my huge calves more room to function. After the surgery, I basically took 2 years off of hard training and gained weight. Post college I felt gross about myself so I decided to run a bit to shed some pounds. Then came my first 5k, 10k, triathlon and the rest is history. I never thought in a million years I would be able to run a marathon or even attempt a full Ironman. I feel so lucky to have found this new spirit in myself. This whole process has changed me and I expect even more changes to happen within the next year. All it took was a tiny seed of inspiration, determination and craziness. So thank you, to whomever hijacked my dreams and planted a tiny seed called Ironman in my brain! So what’s something you never thought you’d do in a million years? Could you it be your seed? Maybe. Why not water it. Watch what happens.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
5am
Feels like there’s no one else in the world awake right now. Except Simon’s friends on skype. But they live either in exotic places like Europe or Africa so technically they should be up. Me? I shouldn’t be!
Barely got any sleep. Stomach hurts. Dog is following me around, wagging her tail all happy like it’s 9 in the morning. but it’s only 5. 5 am! Who gave her the happy pill?!? argh. This is what it is going to take. It’s going to take sleepless nights (hopefully not too many, or I’ll be in trouble). It’s going to take dark, 5am wake up calls. Feeling guilty for not walking your dog at 5am and letting her pee on the wee wee pad (yes, there is such a thing....) Tip toeing around so I don’t wake up Simon. Trying to eat one slice of toast so I don’t bonk after my brick workout. Just eat it. My stomach is saying no thanks... still sleeping. Just EAT IT! ok, got it boss.
I don’t think I should watch Ironman Kona before I go to bed. Had too many weird dreams. Yes, I dvr’d about 3 Kona Ironmans while we were on vacation and I’ve been watching them. Studying them to be exact. Just add that to my “stalker” category. Well, watching something as emotional as an Ironman should NOT be done before bed. Repeat after me: No Ironman watching before sleepy time, k? And.....I got up to pee TWICE last night! Twice in a span of 5 hours.... wtf?? So no more watching triathlons before bed and no more drinking as if I’m competing in the Kona lava fields. Now, off to do my workout!!
**I actually had a really, really great workout. Felt strong on my bike, maybe a little too strong during one 6 mile loop, but come on... who doesn’t love a little friendly competition in Central park?!? I totally passed and kept up my pace to beat a dude on a fancy Cervelo tri bike. Take that Cervelo! love, Jamis. My 4 mile run afterward felt good too. Well, the first mile is always the hardest but overall I think I executed my plan pretty well. The plan was to do 2 easy and 2 hard. I wound up running negative splits for all 4! 9:19, 9:15, 8:52 and 8:44. Bam! See, I told you waking up at 5am isn’t SO bad :)
Barely got any sleep. Stomach hurts. Dog is following me around, wagging her tail all happy like it’s 9 in the morning. but it’s only 5. 5 am! Who gave her the happy pill?!? argh. This is what it is going to take. It’s going to take sleepless nights (hopefully not too many, or I’ll be in trouble). It’s going to take dark, 5am wake up calls. Feeling guilty for not walking your dog at 5am and letting her pee on the wee wee pad (yes, there is such a thing....) Tip toeing around so I don’t wake up Simon. Trying to eat one slice of toast so I don’t bonk after my brick workout. Just eat it. My stomach is saying no thanks... still sleeping. Just EAT IT! ok, got it boss.
I don’t think I should watch Ironman Kona before I go to bed. Had too many weird dreams. Yes, I dvr’d about 3 Kona Ironmans while we were on vacation and I’ve been watching them. Studying them to be exact. Just add that to my “stalker” category. Well, watching something as emotional as an Ironman should NOT be done before bed. Repeat after me: No Ironman watching before sleepy time, k? And.....I got up to pee TWICE last night! Twice in a span of 5 hours.... wtf?? So no more watching triathlons before bed and no more drinking as if I’m competing in the Kona lava fields. Now, off to do my workout!!
**I actually had a really, really great workout. Felt strong on my bike, maybe a little too strong during one 6 mile loop, but come on... who doesn’t love a little friendly competition in Central park?!? I totally passed and kept up my pace to beat a dude on a fancy Cervelo tri bike. Take that Cervelo! love, Jamis. My 4 mile run afterward felt good too. Well, the first mile is always the hardest but overall I think I executed my plan pretty well. The plan was to do 2 easy and 2 hard. I wound up running negative splits for all 4! 9:19, 9:15, 8:52 and 8:44. Bam! See, I told you waking up at 5am isn’t SO bad :)
It all started with a red bathing suit....
Standing on the shore of Rye NY looking out into the Long Island Sound and asking myself why the heck was I doing a triathlon?!? Every single person around me had a black wetsuit on and to say I stuck out like a sore thumb wouldn’t do it justice. When the gun went off, I just dove in and just swam…. Didn’t care about time, didn’t know how to pace, didn’t understand I wasn’t as buoyant as everyone else in the race…. Then I got on my bike. No fancy clipless pedals, no aerobars, just a cheap road bike and my running shoes. I did put on shorts but not the comfortable padded ones. One flat tire (which I didn’t know how to change, didn’t have a pump or even knew what a CO2 cartridge was) and 25 miles later I was back to transition. Then I ran. It was my first 10k (6.2 miles). Somehow I sprinted to the end and crossed that finish line. It was that day, way back in the fall of 2005 that I became hooked on triathlon.
Now, almost 5 years, 3 half ironmans, 2 marathons, 6 olympics, 2 sprints, 1 memorable relay race across NJ and countless road races later… I’m officially registered for the 2011 Lake Placid Ironman! Now is my time.
For those that don’t speak “tri” the Ironman is the mecca of all triathlons. It’s intense, long and extremely gratifying (well at least for crazies like me). In numbers it breaks down to:
2.4 miles of swimming
112 miles of biking
26.2 miles of running
For a grand total of 140.6 miles…. and I have to complete it in 17 hours.
I had the honor of watching my friend, James Gray, finish his first Ironman up in Placid last weekend and it was the most amazing day. Not only did we get to watch and support our friend do something extraordinary (and in a speedy time) but we witnessed all kinds of people put their body to the test. 70 year old men, overweight women, average age groupers and of course the pro’s pushing their bodies faster and harder with each stroke, pedal and step. We also witnessed people giving it their all on the course just to finish by the midnight cutoff. Words are hard to describe being at the finish line from 1130 to midnight, it’s one spectacular sight.
Now, most people get caught up in the day spectating and decide the next morning they want to sign up and achieve this sense of glory. Not me. I’ve been researching ironmans for almost a year now. Some might call me a blog stalker, or an OCT (obsessive compulsive triathlete) but this distance scares me. You can’t mess with 140.6 miles. I wanted to be 100% prepared to make a decision the morning after without letting all the emotions affect me. So I researched, read people’s race reports, thought about what kind of course I’d want my first experience on, re-read more race reports and I got a chance to experience the course first hand last weekend. I swam, biked and ran the course (not the full thing obviously) and yes, it’s hard. It’s in the freakin’ mountains… but I know I can do it. I know I can train for it. And I feel truly blessed and lucky that I will have a chance to be called an Ironman on July 24th 2011!
I know this is a super long email but I wanted to share this news with my family and friends so you understand how big this is for me. It might seem selfish, since the next year of my life will be based on this race and you must be asking why? Why? Why? Why? All I can say is now is my time. I just know it. I feel it. I knew I made the right decision once I signed that registration form Monday morning.
Let the games begin! I might not be around as often to hang, drink beers or go away for fun weekend trips but please remember that each one of you is very special in my life and I couldn’t even attempt to do this without you.
So with only 360 days to go… I’m actually going to book a house this week! If you would like to come up and join me for the week or weekend (you won’t regret the long drive or experience, I promise), I will be renting a house big enough to accommodate a fan club. Of course, I totally understand if you can’t make it for any reason at all! So mark your calendars for July 24th 2011!!
Xoxo
** this is the emotional email I wrote to my family and great friends after I officially registered for IMLP... I figured this should be the very first post of my journey. It explains a lot, and I can't wait to get this puppy started!!
Now, almost 5 years, 3 half ironmans, 2 marathons, 6 olympics, 2 sprints, 1 memorable relay race across NJ and countless road races later… I’m officially registered for the 2011 Lake Placid Ironman! Now is my time.
For those that don’t speak “tri” the Ironman is the mecca of all triathlons. It’s intense, long and extremely gratifying (well at least for crazies like me). In numbers it breaks down to:
2.4 miles of swimming
112 miles of biking
26.2 miles of running
For a grand total of 140.6 miles…. and I have to complete it in 17 hours.
I had the honor of watching my friend, James Gray, finish his first Ironman up in Placid last weekend and it was the most amazing day. Not only did we get to watch and support our friend do something extraordinary (and in a speedy time) but we witnessed all kinds of people put their body to the test. 70 year old men, overweight women, average age groupers and of course the pro’s pushing their bodies faster and harder with each stroke, pedal and step. We also witnessed people giving it their all on the course just to finish by the midnight cutoff. Words are hard to describe being at the finish line from 1130 to midnight, it’s one spectacular sight.
Now, most people get caught up in the day spectating and decide the next morning they want to sign up and achieve this sense of glory. Not me. I’ve been researching ironmans for almost a year now. Some might call me a blog stalker, or an OCT (obsessive compulsive triathlete) but this distance scares me. You can’t mess with 140.6 miles. I wanted to be 100% prepared to make a decision the morning after without letting all the emotions affect me. So I researched, read people’s race reports, thought about what kind of course I’d want my first experience on, re-read more race reports and I got a chance to experience the course first hand last weekend. I swam, biked and ran the course (not the full thing obviously) and yes, it’s hard. It’s in the freakin’ mountains… but I know I can do it. I know I can train for it. And I feel truly blessed and lucky that I will have a chance to be called an Ironman on July 24th 2011!
I know this is a super long email but I wanted to share this news with my family and friends so you understand how big this is for me. It might seem selfish, since the next year of my life will be based on this race and you must be asking why? Why? Why? Why? All I can say is now is my time. I just know it. I feel it. I knew I made the right decision once I signed that registration form Monday morning.
Let the games begin! I might not be around as often to hang, drink beers or go away for fun weekend trips but please remember that each one of you is very special in my life and I couldn’t even attempt to do this without you.
So with only 360 days to go… I’m actually going to book a house this week! If you would like to come up and join me for the week or weekend (you won’t regret the long drive or experience, I promise), I will be renting a house big enough to accommodate a fan club. Of course, I totally understand if you can’t make it for any reason at all! So mark your calendars for July 24th 2011!!
Xoxo
** this is the emotional email I wrote to my family and great friends after I officially registered for IMLP... I figured this should be the very first post of my journey. It explains a lot, and I can't wait to get this puppy started!!
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