Going from the plague... to Central Park!

Wow, that last post was a little intense, wasn't it?!  Yikes.  Thank goodness things have improved from that sad state of yuckiness!  Like any journey, things did go even more downhill with a 10 day illness, more snow, more freaking shoveling, and more work stress than most people could handle.  But now, my journey is starting to head back up!

After being sick for 10 days and running  total of 10 miles, I decided to still go ahead with the Central Park Half Marathon.  I was feeling close to 100% again but I was realistic.  My goal of finally going sub-1:50 would have to wait another day.  So I made up a new challenge.  Negative split the race.  Now, most people try and do this during every race, but I can't seem to.  The excitement of the start line, the crowds, the energy, and the pressure to achieve a certain time goal always influence my fast race starts.  But this time, I had no time goal.  I just wanted to pull off a 13.1 mile training run with a couple hundred buddies and get a cool medal at the end.  So my goal was to go out conservatively at an 8:45 pace and after Harlem Hill (the steepest hill of the course) around mile 8, see how I feel and go fast from there.  I have done a ton of 2 mile repeats in my training so I was crossing my fingers that I could go at a decent clip without dying.

I started off steady and focused.  My first 8 miles went like this:
8:50
8:37
8:43
8:47
8:48
8:57 (Cat Hill)
8:44
8:59 (the dreaded Harlem Hill)
I felt completely focused and strong and I was not exerting too much effort, except for the hills.  My HR was a little high for this pace, but I blame the plague I had. After HH, I was feeling really good so I went for it! Miles 9-13.1:
8:47
8:14
8:33 (Cat Hill for a second time!)
8:25
8:00

I had some nice descending miles going on minus the little (or large) blip of Cat Hill for a second time.  I just plain felt awesome.  My fastest mile was the very last and I seriously felt like I could have run a few more miles!  So I guess THAT is what it feels like to hold back the first half of the race.  It was a pretty awesome feeling to be passing so many people in those last miles.  I absolutely adore running in Central Park.  That is probably the thing I miss most since we've moved to the Jersey burbs.

It was a great feeling to be feeling great again as well as pulling off a strong race!  Now, my race schedule has changed a bit. I waited a tad too long to sign up for the Galveston 70.3 in April and it sold out. Doh!  So now my hubby is still going to Texas to visit our friends in Houston and I'm making it a solid training weekend down the shore by my parents. I'm hoping to bike on the CAC course on the Saturday and then run the AC April Fool's Half Marathon on Sunday. I'm excited to try and break my sub-1:50 goal on what's sure to be tired legs.  Bring it!!

The cold hard truth of ironman training

I gave in this morning.  The cold. The snow. The ice. The lack of sleep. The stress. The 10+ hour workdays.  The shoveling. The commute. I gave in to all of that this morning.  This was not my finest moment.  I gave in to self doubt.  I gave in to the feeling that I made a huge mistake by signing up for another 140.6.  I let really horrible, and I mean HORRIBLE, thoughts take over my brain and my body.  Most of it was about my body.  About how weak I was. Mentally. Physically.  About how I weighed too much. About how my races will suffer because I eat too much and don't train enough. If I couldn’t handle a 1:30 bike workout, how am I gonna handle 140.6 miles of racing? 

There are highs and lows during an ironman race and I need to be able to dig myself out of the lows.  I know this.  I trained for an ironman in 2011.  I know better.  But today, I lost a battle.  I lost the battle of my mind.  Could I have pushed harder on the bike today?  I just don’t know.  I’ve been pretty stressed, not sleeping well and waking up at 5am every weekday is cutting the hours I sleep way down. I’m a sleeper.  Sleep fuels me.  I need at least 7 hours.  Do I get that now? Nope.  Some people can function on less.  I’m not one of those people.  But when I get home from work at 8pm and still need to take care of the dog and cook dinner, I’m not hitting the hay until 10-11pm.  Do I fall asleep right away?  I used to.  Not anymore.  Too many things are on my mind.

Do you want to know how badly I gave in?  I’m normally a happy-go-lucky gal that looks for the positives in situations.  Today? I cried. Twice.  I got so worked up I started to have a panic attack and couldn’t breathe.  What the heck is wrong with me???  That’s not me.  That’s not a trait of my personality. Then I cut my workout in half, soft pedaled til I hit 45 minutes, yelled at myself (out loud) and went upstairs.  Woke my husband up by telling him what a shitty morning I was having and changed into cold weather gear.  I had shoveling to do.  I told him not to help and that I needed to be alone. I opened up the door to a swirl of ice & rain on top of 7 inches of snow. Not so nice things came out of my mouth. I shoveled.  I almost cried again.  It was hard work.  My back hurt.  I cursed my house.  I cursed the burbs.  I cursed mother nature.  Finally I gave in to needing help.  I yelled back in the house that I need my husband to help because it was all just too much for me to shovel (or take.)  Then I bitched and moaned some more once he came out. I picked a fight. I apologized.  I tried to keep my mouth shut. Tried to keep my mind shut. It didn’t work.  Finally we were done.  I took a shower and just hoped that all my negative energy would be washed down the drain with my sweat and tears.  I’m not sure they were….

I know I signed up for this lifestyle.  I am grateful that I have an able body that can swim, bike, run and shovel. It could be worse.  I get it.  But sometimes… I have shitty mornings. Sometimes I give in to the negative, downright nasty, thoughts.  My only hope is that I can pull myself out of this funk.  It’s been building up for a while.  It burst this morning. I burst this morning.  Hopefully I can put the pieces of my positive mindset back together.  And soon. 

At least my snowy suburban house looks pretty.  That's something right?!

I know I've only posted 3 times and this one is a major doom & gloom post.  I wanted to get these thoughts down while they were fresh. Before this morning's meltdown happened, I was going to write a January month in review post praising my consistency and dedication.  It's crazy how things can change in a blink of an eye. Training for a long distance event is not easy and I'm sure I'll go back to being happy and positive very soon!

I've got the wintertime, wintertime sadness

I've been obsessed with Lana Del Ray's "Summertime Sadness" for months now - the Jersey version of course.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akhmS1D2Ce4

So I tend to replace "summer" with whatever I'm feeling at the moment.  Like.... I've got the working-time sadness.  I've got the home renovation-time sadness. I've got the Ollie-time sadness.  Does she not look sad here in her slightly "snug" sweater?!

I can relate, Olive.  I can relate.  Anyway... winter is officially here and it has dumped some snow on us North Jersey folk.  That combined with the ridiculous dark roads, the inconsiderate drivers that force me to wear THIS...

...leaves this JPow kinda cranky.  It's so hard to get up when my alarm goes off and it feels like 2am.  It's hard to bundle up to run in 10 degree weather.  It's hard to wake up an extra 15 minutes early to clean off the car and drive to the gym. It's just plain hard to find motivation when all you want to do is eat holiday cookies, drinks lots of wine and sleep.  Sleep a lot.

My official training plan starts in January so right now I'm in maintenance mode.  It's ok if I miss a few sessions, but once the new year rolls around, I gotta be all about the 140.6 business.  I think the hardest part for me is just getting out at bed when the alarm goes off before 6am.  For some reason, my little brain does not like it when I have to wake up before 6.  But, when it does go off a 5 or 530am, I need, NEED, to get up straight away.  There is no snooze hitting... there is no, "let me lay back down for a couple of seconds...." The moment my sleepy ears hear the sounds of Z100 burst into the silent air, I need to pop up and go, go, GO.  That is the key to turning my wintertime sadness into wintertime success.  I know myself and you should figure out what works for you, especially when it's not a perfect weather day.

I've read this quote before and it is totally true.  "You'll never regret the workouts you complete.  You'll only regret the ones you don't."

Happy Winter Training Folks!

Here we go again....

Why HELLO!  Long time... no write!

So much has happened since my last post.  Where shall I begin?  Maybe a bullet point list will help everyone follow along!

• June/July 2012 - Simon and I traveled to South Africa and we got engaged on top of Table Mountain in Cape Town!

• August 2012 - I raced Timberman and finally broke 6 hours!

• March 2013 - We moved out of NYC, and bought a house in the Jersey burbs!

• July 2013 - We got hitched!!

• July/August 2013 - We honeymooned in Moorea and Bora Bora

What a year+ it's been!  There have been other races in 2013, including one solid age group win at the MightyMan Montauk Olympic Tri in September.  That officially qualifies me for Age Groups Nationals! Awesome!  The other results are on the sidebar, in case anyone cares. :)

The other MAJOR development is my new 2014 Challenge... a 140.6 mile Challenge to be exact... CHALLENGE ATLANTIC CITY!

I'm excited and more than a little nervous to train for another beast of a triathlon, but I just couldn't resist signing up.  My parents live about 30 minutes away from AC, so I'll have a solid training base to go to. 

One of the major concerns I have, besides the training time suck, is not knowing anyone who is doing the race.  When I did Lake Placid, there was a solid community of folks in NYC that I could tag along for long bike rides.  But now, I'm out in the burbs where biking is downright dangerous in my town!  Who knew cycling in NYC would be easier?!  So I need to make it a point to reach out and find other crazy folk like myself that are willing to ride for a loooooong time.  Shouldn't be hard, right?!

I hope to update this blog on a weekly basis, as I really like to look back and see how far I've come in training, both physically and mentally.  I also hope these words inspire others to work out or try new things that scare them.  'Cause believe me, this 140.6 mile business is no joke and scares the pants off me!!

Have a great day!

Crabbing & CrossFitting Weekend

CrossFitter vs. Ironman Triathlete

Over the weekend my brother, Simon and I treked down the shore to visit my parents and to celebrate Father's Day.  On the drive down my older brother challenged my to a Cross Fit workout.  He's been doing it for a year and loves the high intensity workout.  Me?  I'd rather run 10 miles than do pull ups. I can't even do one pull up if you asked me to right now. Sit ups? Sure, I can do them... but I haven't... in a very, very long time. Push ups? They go in the category if sit ups... except I have to do the "girly" ones. 

So Saturday morning we woke up and even though it was a "rest" day for me, I eagerly awaited my Cross Fit fate.  Our workout was: 200 meter sprint, 20 sit ups, 200 meter sprint, 20 push ups and repeat 3 times.  Let's be honest.  I was nervous.  The sprinting I could do in my sleep, but the sit ups and push ups? Eek.  I knew I was gonna be sore after this.

We hit our watches and off we went!

First run. Bring it BRO!

The only time I had a lead was in the first run. 

1st run = 52 seconds 5:55 pace.  Whoops.  I went a little too hard here but I wanted to beat my brother
1st sit ups = 49 seconds.  Not too shabby but my brother did them in about 30 seconds or less
2nd run = 1:00 7:20 pace.  A bit slower here but I was trying to conserve some energy
1st push ups = 36 seconds.  Full on girly mode

Is it over yet?

3rd run = 1:00 7:16 pace
2nd sit ups = 53 seconds.  Shoot, slower than the first!

Seriously? Did he miscount his sit ups??

4th run = 1:02 7:25 pace. Yikes... getting a bit slower
2nd push ups = 37 seconds
5th run = 1:02 7:29.  I was hurting here.
3rd sit ups = 51 seconds
6th run = 59 seconds 7:15 pace.  OK pick it up, not much longer
3rd push ups = 35 seconds.  Arms. Are. Hurting.
7th run = 1:01 7:16
4th sit ups = 51 - glad those are over with
8th run = 58 seconds 7:02 - last one, sprinted it out!
Last and final push ups = 31 seconds - my fastest of the day!

My terrible push up form on the last set, while my brother is finished.

I completed the entire workout in 13 minutes and 45 seconds.  My brother finished at 13 minutes.  I think I had him on the runs but he smoked me on the strength part.  So yes, my brother is number 1 at CrossFitting!

Sweaty, tired and my bro is #1

Overall, it was a fun challenge and the almost 14 minutes went by super quick.  I definitely should add more sit ups and push ups to my weekly routine, but, being time-strapped, that is always the first to go.  I was really sore Sunday and Monday.  My abs and minuscule pecs were on fire.  Even my quads were tight during my Monday morning run.  I guess that's what happens when yous print all out 8 times in a row!

After our workout, we ate, showered up and went to the bay to do some crabbing.  I haven't been crabbing since I was a little kid so I was excited.  It's kind of early in the crabbing season so you could only keep the crabs if they were 4 1/2 inches long.  We weren't planning on keeping and eating them, we just wanted to have some fun. 

What a beautiful day for crabbing!

Of course, Simon, who has never crabbed before in his life caught the most crabs!  I caught one and my brother got nada.  Ha Ha *a la Nelson from the Simpsons

Simon's first crab catch!

So of course, my Dad got Simon a prize for his catches. 

My Pops holding a crab - eek!

Please meet the "Crab King!" 



Crab King!

It was a really special weekend with my family and we definitely made some really nice memories.  There's a couple of other things happening in my world at the moment... In 3 days I will be flying 2 South Africa for a 2 week vacation!!  I'm super psyched! 

The other thing is, if you check out my 2012 race calendar you might have noticed I added a little 70.3 into the mix.  Bring on the hills of Timberman 70.3 in August!  After Quassy, I knew that with consistent training I will be able to break 6 hours so I'm giving myself another chance to do it in August.  When I get back from South Africa, I will have 5 1/2 weeks to consistently train hard.  Work is pretty slow during the summer so that takes away added stress.  I've been wanting to check out Timberman for a while and it winds up that my Coach is signed up too, so that's an added bonus.  I could have waited til late September to do another half in Montauk, but I'm one impatient person so Timberman it is!  I'll be out of the blogging world for a while so good luck to those who are racing Syracuse 70.3, Mont Tremb 70.3 and Coeur 'd Alene Ironman!!

Quassy Race Non-Report

I am building a fire, and every day I train, I add more fuel. At just the right moment, I light the match.
~Mia Hamm

It's been a week since I crossed the finish line of my 5th Half Ironman.  Rather than giving you numbers, reasons excuses and a long-winded race report, I'd like to think that the photos and the smile on my face will say it all.  I had a strong race despite a 6 month training period that wasn't ideal.  External factors lead to inconsistency and my fuel was low.  I finished in 6 hours and 11 minutes, only 4 minutes slower than last year.  But more importantly, I appreciated every single second of those 6 hours and 11 minutes.  I smiled, I talked to the other athletes, I thanked every volunteer and police officer I could and I thought about how blessed I was to have a body and the will to put myself through this grueling test. I may not have broken 6 hours like I would have wanted.  But on that day, in those moments, I was a truly happy girl... swimming, biking and running my way to the finish line.

um, I totally need this helmet.  Pink camo Roo, pink Sidi shoes and this??
Hot stuff, I'll at least be 5 mph faster, right?

Pre-race silliness

Pro stalker: with Quintana Roo Pro Kelly Williamson

Pre-race meal with Fifth Gear Teammates and Friends

I think every race should have the option of getting a glitter skull tattoo 

Beautiful swim venue

Maybe the only time I didn't smile... when I saw my less than stellar swim time!!

Smiling and waving after a super strong ride

Cooling down on the start of the run

I'll crush you run course!

ahhhhh... cooler

Feeling great around mile 8.5

"hey fans"

Smiling down the finish chute

Almost there

Woop Woop!

BLT & Jason rocked Rev3!

Fifth Gear Teammates!

Chrissie, Quassy & a Race Report

I have now upped my World Champ Meet & Greet count to THREE! First there was Rinny…

Speedy Rinsta!

 ...then Macca…

Just like old pals

...and now, the one and only CHRISSIE WELLINGTON!

Not the most flattering photo of Jpow, but I'll take it!

She’s currently on a massive book tour promoting “Life Without Limits.” I signed up for not one, not two, but three book signings, therefore fulfilling my creepy stalker status. But, low and behold, I only went to one. Chrissie spoke at the New York Blood Center and John Korff (the man behind NYC & NYCIM) did a fun little Q&A with her.

Q&A

Afterwards the whole audience lined up to get their brief moment with Chrissie. Of course, we were near the end of the line so Team Fifth Gear chatted about everything triathlon and hung out.

BLT, Jason and Coach Jenn

When it was my turn to speak to the Queen of Kona, I was nervous and my hands were shaking. I’ve always been a huge fan of her work ethic and, of course, that contagious smile. Now, here she was right in front of me. What do I say? I don’t want to sound like a dummy, creeper, stalker… so I asked, “I read somewhere that last year after IM South Africa, you demolished like 3 burgers, fries and whole pizza, is that true??” She laughed saying, “oh yes, why not indulge after an Ironman?” I think she said something like that. I was kind of in shock. Chrissie Wellington (!!) was talking to me… me!!

Creeping it out

After we got up close and personal… team Fifth gear got our photo together with her! I’m in the middle of her book and I’m astounded at what a colorful life she’s led and she’s only 35!

Chrisse and Team Fifth Gear

Now, let’s jump to my first Olympic distance Triathlon at Harriman. I knew going into this that this course is pretty darn tough and I was coming off a big week of training without much rest. But, I was excited to race again and to see where my fitness was leading up to my A race of Rev3 Quassy. Let’s just cut to the chase: it did not go so well. This is the first time ever, since 2005, that I did not have fun at a race. It had nothing to do with the organization, the course, the early season heat, even though I want to use all of them as excuses (except the organization – they were great). It was me, more specifically my head that did not show up to race.

My first open water swim thankfully went off without a hitch. I didn’t panic, didn’t think about lake zombies and just swam. I went a little off course on the way out of the first buoy but other than that I felt strong and was actually happy to be in the water. This was the most enjoyable part. There was a longish run up the beach to transition and my heart rate was sky high. I had a pretty swift transition and booked it out onto the bike.

The bike was two loops of pure evil. It was 28 miles total and you were either going up or down on very bumpy roads filled with pot holes. When you come out of transition you fly down a steep 2 mile hill only to do a hairpin turn and climb back up. My heart rate was 170 climbing at 6 mph. I felt like utter crap. My legs hurt, my lungs were burning and I was being passed by everyone and their mom. Even an older woman who started in the wave behind me thought I was part of the half ironman participants. Ouch – that one bruised my already sensitive ego. An hour and 51 minutes later the torture was over. I was relieved and looking forward to getting my run on.

I had another swift transition and booked it out onto the run course. Like the bike, it was up & down with not too many flats. It was also around 76 degrees, sunny with zero cloud cover. The first mile was slightly uphill and my watch beeped at 8:26. I was breathing harder than I should have been but that should have been a good pace to keep throughout. Well, my body & my mind had other plans for me. The next incline I had to stop and walk. I was basically gasping for air and my heart rate was way higher than it should have been. From that point on it was a training run for me. I gave up any hope of placing in my age group and well… just gave up. I walked up a couple of other hills and tried to get my legs moving on the downhill’s and flats, but it just wasn’t working. I finally crossed the finish line at 3 hours 17 minutes – my second slowest ever Olympic distance triathlon. The bike course did make this a longer course than a traditional Olympic but I did not think I would be that slow.

At least I'm smiling post-race with BLT & Jerome

So what did I take away from that race? Immediately I said there was no way I was ready for Quassy. No stinkin’ way. If I can’t handle 28 miles of hills how can I handle 56 of them?? My run is where I was most pissed off. Ever since my half marathon PR in April, my legs just haven’t felt that great again. It was my slowest 10K in years… YEARS. As you can see, I was extremely negative about the whole thing.


And the kicker was that the very next day, BLT and I were driving up to Quassy to ride the full 56 miles of the course! I felt defeated already, but we committed to the ride and I just tried to tell myself that this will only make me stronger for Quassy.


Sunday morning started with a 430am wake up – yikes. We drove up in a speedy time and got ready to ride. We started off in the back of the “B” group but eventually rode most of it on our own. Surprisingly my legs did not feel like crap. I was just overall tired but my legs weren’t burning too much on those hills. So while the day before I was miserable and a negative nancy, on this day, I felt like the luckiest person alive to be riding in beautiful weather with a good friend. My mental state did a complete 180. I actually enjoyed the beautiful CT scenery and I especially enjoyed the fun downhill’s.

While overall the ride was a success there were two snafu’s. We only took 2 bottles with us with the notion that there would at least be one on course support van or we’d stop and refill ourselves. Well the only place to stop in refill was only about 20 miles in and we didn’t need to stop then. By the time we go to mile 40 we were dying of thirst! There’s an out and back section so we stopped to take a quick break and debated what to do. We figured if we did the out & back, we may not make it back to Quassy!! So we skipped it and headed back to the park. On the way back a NYC pal rode by and told us there had been water at the end of the out and back… DOH!

BLT and I kept trucking, up and down all those hills and slowly started to bonk. We were literally less than 3 miles from the park when snafu number 2 happened. Or should I say snake snafu? Brie was ahead of me and all of a sudden I saw her swerve right and scream. I then saw my worst nightmare… a SNAKE!! I started screaming and swerved to the left while, and I kid you not, the freakin’ snake propelled its slimy body into the air!! All I could think was that I was gonna have to ride back with a snake attached to my right ankle. Luckily it did not bite me and we screamed for about 2 more minutes. I mean, seriously?? A freakin snake at the end of our dehydrated ride?? Only us.

We made it back to Quassy a little loopy but unharmed. I pounded a Pepsi and a bottle of water and felt instantly better. Brie and I decided to cap off our big training weekend with hot dogs and milkshakes!! Yum, yum!
Up next…. Dun dun dunnnnn… Rev3 Quassy!

You can't see, but I'm grinning ear to ear last year.  Hey body & mind, let's remember to smile this time ok? THX!