Hurts So Good

I finally got myself to the yoga class that Tiffany teaches on Monday nights. Ever since our Wednesday yoga lessons at her house have dissolved (schedule conflicts on both sides), I have been wanting to get there. Tonight I did.....aahhhhh. How can something so painful feel so good? My gluts, hamstrings, hips and calves were screaming. But by the end I could feel a huge improvement in my flexibility and I felt so relaxed. This is definitely going into my "soon-to-start" winter workout schedule. I'm going to build into the training plan between now and January, so when the new year starts I will be ready to go full force. My plan is to increase my biking via the trainer, get back to the pool and continue my base running. I also will be adding kickboxing to my cross-training along with intensati. Sounds a bit ambitious, but I really want to see what I can build into this winter. Can I keep healthy and focused on my goals?

I guess I should set some goals then, right? Those are still a work in progress. For now, let's just say my goal is to get my mind set back to a more scheduled workout plan....add some "non-sbr" stuff in for fun and see where that takes me. I'll be sure to keep you posted!

I'm also looking forward to some workouts with our Warren friends over Thanksgiving vacation. Jim: You can count me in for maybe 5-6miles of your 13mile run. Michelle: Shall we line up some swim and spin time at the Y? Craig: Will you be in Warren over the holiday?

Gotta work off that stuffing, potatoes and pie!! ;-)

Atlantic City Trip

Last Friday night I went to the chiropractor because my lower back was really starting to give me grief. If I had to guess about the cause, it was either butterfly kicking with fins or perhaps because it had been so long since I’ve had my back adjusted. I was hoping to run a 5K race the next morning. I didn’t make it to the 5K. I slept right through it. My back wasn’t much better anyhow. So it was probably for the best.

Genine and I then took a bus down to Atlantic City with Tiffany and Jimmy. It was a fun day, not profitable for anyone but Tiffany, but fun. I’d go again. Genine would too, only she wouldn’t spend any time in the casino.

Sunday was a gorgeous day and we managed to get ourselves out the door in the afternoon to do some biking. 71 degrees! My back was fine during the bike. The trouble was getting off the bike, and putting the bikes back on top of the car. My lower back was super tight.

So I finally realized I had better start taking some NSAIDs.

I had hoped to swim Monday morning but decided to play it safe until I saw my chiropractor in the city. He got some really good crunches out of my lower back. That’s a good thing, sometimes I’m so locked up it won’t move. Then I asked him if I should be taking time off. He said only if it seems like the activity is causing a problem. Guess I’ll find out as I try some workouts.

I think I’ve come up with a bit of schedule finally. I’ll try it out and see if it works.

Monday: AM Swim / PM Yoga

Tues: AM run speed/ PM Bike

Wed: AM Yoga & Core / PM Swim

Thurs: AM Run some intervals/ PM Bike

Friday: recovery day

Saturday: AM Run / Afternoon Swim

Sunday: Bike / Swim

Lastly, I hope not to jinx myself. I think I’m making progress with my foot. I’ve been diligent with the icing and rolling it out with a tennis ball and the boot at night. Maybe it's just the pain in the back is masking the pain in my foot... It's always something.

I am a WARRIOR!

As you all know, I am a firm believer in the principles of the practice of IntenSati developed by Patricia Moreno. I started almost 2 years ago, and I can say without question that it is an integral part of the positive changes that have transpired for me these past few years. It has empowered me and enlightened me. It has shown me how to find the best in myself and others. It has allowed me to find my inner strength, not only in sport....but in life. I have become acquainted with some amazing people...most notably my friend Tiffany. She inspires me to dig deep and keep moving forward no matter what the hurdle. it was Tiffany who nominated me to be featured in the SatiLife monthly newsletter and I was chosen! I have pasted a copy of the section from the SatiLife November newsletter below. My story is found in the "A Higher Level" section. (If you click on the article, it will zoom to a bigger size which is easier to read.) It is such an honor for me, so I wanted to share it with all of you. If you want to find out more about IntenSati, just click on the link.

I told Matt what a lucky guy he is. Instead of PlayMate of the Month, he is married to the Warrior of the Month! So much cooler, right?! :-)

The Triangle

Some might not know about "The Triangle". The sides are triangle are labeled: Good, Fast, Cheap. There are many situations in which you can use this triangle. Here is the deal, you can have any two sides but not all three. I'm currently wondering where the home improvement falls on the triangle (good and cheap I hope!). I'm going to withhold judgement until the end. I'm hoping I don't miss all 3 of them!

There are times that I wish that I had time to use my camera more. Well, I've been using my camera quite a bit lately. Unfortunately, it's been to send pictures to our contractor so he can see the problems. Or because Genine is at work, I'm sending her pictures so that she can approve of things that are being done.

The one good thing I'm sure of is this. Because I've been hanging around so they can get into the house, and because the place is trashed and because there is a huge dumpster in the driveway, I decided it was an opportune time to pull the paneling out of 2 of the rooms. Those 2 rooms have left the 70s. Which is awesome. What is amazing is that there was a full length mirror hanging in one of the paneled rooms when we bought the house. Well I guess that mirror has been there for a long time. Under the paneling was 2 layers of paint. The mirror was painted around when the 2nd layer of paint went down.

Triathlon: Great bike on Sunday with Genine. We really dug in at the end of the ride and did better than we expected.

Monday night, we went to the pool. My main set was 10x50m on 1 min. Then 5x100m on 2 min. I also did some butterfly and free kicking with fins. It was a good swim.

Tuesday night, 3 mile run with Genine. Good to get out and run it was a nice night.

It's amazing how the workouts help me relax. I've been stressed out over this renovation project and after the workout I feel great... until we start talking about the project again. Ha!

Grateful for Today

After a day filled of construction frustrations, Matt & I took advantage of today's sunny 60 something degree weather and got out for a nice bike ride. We got in almost 33miles and enjoyed every minute of it! What a treat for a Sunday in November. The other fun part is that is was the most challenging ride we have done in months. (although that's not saying much considering how pooped we've been recently!) We got in a few intervals and a couple decent hills. It felt good to be able to get out there and feel well rested and have some energy. It is amazing to me how debilitating fatigue can be. I've been so used to feeling like Dawn of the Dead. Sleep is a beautiful thing! I have 1 more week of total insanity at work and then it's back to the normal holiday crazy. Give me strength...almost there!

The renovation

Here are a few pictures to give you an idea as to what's up.

Before:


New Roof New upstairs windows.


The back porch before. But the new roof is on. Old windows in the dormer.


Back porch framed out to become a dining room. New upstairs windows.


All the windows in the house will be replaced the front door too. The awnings will be gone and the entire house will have new vinyl siding. It will look like new.

swimming

I went to masters swimming last night. It's been awhile since I've done a swim workout that's actually been a workout. I feel like it's been a solid 4-6 weeks "off". Well the workout went much better than I had expected. I got into a groove and had some speed. I finished my 100m "races" on 1:37 for all 3. Way better than I expected and I didn't feel that I was going 100%.
This morning I was reminded of how swimming is a full body workout. I had some tight back and hip muscles. Fortunately I woke up with enough time to do 20 minutes of stretching. I prefer feeling like this in the morning compared to doing nothing and still having aches and pains.

I realize the pushups and pullups kind of disappeared. I keep trying pullups and my left bicep keeps telling me to take it easy. So I'll continue to do some every day but not following that plan at all.
Pushups I think I can handle again. So I'll start that plan... again.

November... time flies.

Still on track with the nutrition. Still have this lingering cold. Still wearing the boot at night for my foot.

I get into my car Tuesday morning and there is frost on the windshield for the first time this year and the car stinks. It’s going to be a nice day so I leave the sun roof open a crack to let the car air out. After work it’s better. I go buy groceries, open up the hatch to load them in…. bam! There’s the stink. We forgot to get our bike shoes out of the car after riding in the rain on Saturday. Yuck!

It’s an beautiful night to run but I have too much to do. I text Todd to find out if we are running in the morning, we are. 4:45 wakeup then.

The contractor called me today and wanted to know when he can get access to the house again, that along with a million questions. I tell him I will email him all the answers tonight. So now I sit and compose an email for about 2 hours with descriptions and pictures to answer all of his questions. He will call me in the morning to discuss everything. (this call never happened)

5-6 hours of sleep and it’s Wednesday morning and I’m out the door to go running. Left foot is not getting better or worse. My plan is to ice and ibuprofen for a week to see if that makes a difference.

Our run was only 4 miles and it wasn’t speedy. Not a big deal, makes it easier to talk when you are running slowly… Did I mention it was 38 degrees? Todd shows up wearing shorts and a T-shirt. He misread his thermometer. He read the indoor temp thinking it was the outdoor. Fortunately he had a running jacket and gloves he had left in the car.

I enjoyed the run. Those of you that haven’t tried running in cold weather, you need to give it a try. After the first mile or so, it’s really very nice. (unless it’s windy).

We had hoped to go into the city to watch the marathon this past Sunday. That didn’t work out, but we did watch on TV. The winner averaged a 4:55 min/mile over 26.2 miles. I now need to get back to the track to find out if I can even go that fast for ¼ mile.

Kevin has run this 2 years in a row now. If his lottery luck continues 13 more times, he will be an automatic entry because he will have completed it 15 times. Ha ha.

I looked up the qualifying time I need to run a half marathon once I hit 40 in June. 1:30:00. That’s a 6:52 min/mile pace…. Typically, I'd say anything is possible, but that is quick!

My next option is this. After you’ve been denied 3 years in a row, you get in. I’m fairly certain I’ve applied in both 2008 and 2009. So I should be able to run in 2011. I’m going to have to dig through old email to verify that I registered both years.

If not, I will join NYRR and attempt to run 9 NYRR races in 2010. I’m already thinking I should race at least once a month, maybe twice, January-March. Just so I keep focused on adding run speed during my workouts. Most of these will be 5K or 5 milers. There is the NYC half marathon March 21^st, I’m kind of looking at that to be my long run race for the spring.

Lastly, I passed up free Knicks/Pacers tickets for tonight’s game so that I could go to masters swimming. Had they been Yankee Tickets, obviously I would be in the Bronx tonight. I’m still surprised I passed on them tho’.

Matt's nutrition, the next level

They are tearing out the windows in the house as I type this. Within the first 5 minutes of them being here I am already concerned. The guy measures the window space he just cleared. Goes to the selection of windows delivered yesterday and says “There’s no match. Closest thing is off by an inch and a half. Let me call the boss.” I already know what is going to happen next. He’s going to come back and say. “No problem, it will work.” I was close, he said “Nah, it’s alright.” Ah yes, that gives me confidence.

So nutrition. I had mentioned in an earlier post that I had read the Thrive diet written by a vegan Ironman triathlete. The book has inspired me to add more variety to my diet as well as adding supplements. So many people at this point would be thinking, you shouldn’t be taking vitamins, just eat better! Which is ideal, but not easy to do, and they aren’t vitamins. At least I don’t think so, this is where I’m curious what Craig and Tamara think about what I’ve chosen.

The first product is Gary Null’s “Red Stuff” (don’t be scared off by the technical name). This product is a fruit mix. Cranberries, apples, cherries, red raspberries, peaches, pears, papayas, mangos, watermelon, red currant, nectarines, pink grapefruit, blood orange, pomegranates, pineapples, lemons, limes, tangerines, apricots.

The second product is “Enriching Greens”. Alfalfa, barley grass, wheat grass, carrot, spirulina algae, probiotic culture, kelp cranberry, rosehips, bilberry, soy lecithin, Dandelion, Beet, Eleuthero, bromelain (from pineapple), artichoke, soybean, tomato, Milk Thistle, ginkgo biloba, grape seed.

The third I have yet to add is going to be sea vegetables of some sort. I haven’t found one I like yet. Thinking Kelp, Chlorella, seaweed stuff.

The concept here is that it’s somewhat of instant variety to your diet. I’m certain I don’t eat everything on that list on a monthly basis. Some might question why would you need to eat all that stuff regularly? Well that’s just it. Here is the concept I’m working off of as I try to take my nutrition to the next level.

If your body is missing nutrition of any sort, your brain is triggered into having cravings. It seems to me that some people are more tuned into what these cravings actually require to be satisfied. (anyone that has been pregnant might be able to tell me if that statement has any validity at all). Well, I feel that I haven’t a clue about what I need to eat when I have a craving, I just feel hungry and I eat randomly. The result can be eating many extra calories as you are searching for satisfaction. How many times do you eat a snack which is filling but you are left still not satisfied, so you eat more or find something else to eat?
Well I feel that by using fitday.com I definitely dialed in some level of cravings at the macro-nutrient level. (Carb/Fat/Protein). If I get hungry at an odd time, I can look and see if my eating has been unbalanced and make sure I eat the right thing to balance. The result of figuring that out helped me go from 205-175 pounds.

Well I’ve been stuck at the 175-180 range for at least a year now. So I’m hoping this might take it to the next level. This is an attempt to satisfy all of my micronutrient needs and other essential proteins and fats which the body cannot create. My thinking is that if I satisfy my nutrition needs at this micro level. Maybe I will be able to function at the calorie intake that will put me closer to weighing 165 pounds.
That 165 is not a goal number. I’m trying very hard not to get on a scale. I should be able to look at myself and decide if there is room to improve. That is the “scale” I’m planning on using. Once I feel that I’m there, then maybe I’ll hop on just to see what that number happens to be. Then the scale might be useful again to keep me from going back up? I guess I’ll decide on that if/when I get there.

Comments, suggestions?

Spirit of Morgantown

Got an email from them today. They are definitely responding to the problems reported.

* New swim exit next to transition area (just 30 meters from the TA entrance)
* New swim course (keeping well north of the lock)
* New bike courses on smooth roads (totally new routes and roads)
* New single lap 13.1 mile run course for the half iron
* New earlier start times with the half iron going first at 7:00am


Not that it matters for me. I believe it's scheduled to be the day after the Tango.

Home Projects

I guess our house is going to go through some changes in a big hurry. My contractor calls me today and starts asking me questions that only Genine can answer. Of course Genine is swamped at work but I really have no other choice than to pass along the call to her. Genine calls me on her way home and tells me there will probably be 10 or more people at our house on Thursday. They are going to replace all the windows. Tear apart the back porch and start framing in the new walls and do some of the siding up on the dormers. Needless to say it's been busy. Just trying to think through all the decisions and then prepare the place for having all this work done. It feels like it's happening too fast but I guess we prefer that to never hearing from the guy and nothing being done.

On the fitness side of things, my lungs still aren't clear but Genine and I managed a 3 mile run Monday night. First mile was ugly Once I warmed up I felt like I could go for awhile. Fortunately we called it at 3 miles, I can definitely say my cardio is way ahead of my muscular conditioning right now. I'm fine with that. I think that says I've successfully de-trained. (although it wasn't completely planned).

Eating plan is still very much on track. I need to write about that soon. I'm curious about what Craig and Tamara would say about my attempt to take my nutrition to the next level. It's something I think they've worked on before. More on that later tho'. It's late.

Weekend Warrior

That seems to be what I have become recently. It's Christmas at Bloomingdale's. Added to that is a store visit from our CEO, Director of Stores and President of Stores every other week until mid November. Ugh! I am trying my best to battle my insomnia and prepare myself to withstand the numerous 12-14hour days on a continuing basis. It is not easy. By the end of the week it's like night of the living dead! I swear I used to be able to keep up with this schedule....when did I get too old for this job?! Anyway...I'm counting the days until Nov. 13th, when the worst will be over and I will just have the "normal" holiday retail rush to contend with.

Until then, I am relishing my weekend workouts even though I feel slow and sluggish. I have been able to get to IntenSati the past two Saturdays....aahhh....so good. Last weekend I also got in a spinning class and a short run. Not a single workout this past week. :::sigh::: But, today Matt and I went out for a bike ride. The weather was just glorious!! The sun was shining and the leaves were in peak color. We just did our short 12.5 mile loop as it was Matt's first workout in over a week due to his lung infection/coughing. He felt good at the end of the ride, so that was good news for his recovery. I feel badly that he has been out of commission for so long. Hopefully he will be back up and running soon!

We are planning to get the bike trainers set up in the basement this week. I am hoping that by having the trainer and treadmill ready to go, I can squeeze in some short 30-45min workouts in during the week while work is still crazy. Other than that, I am focusing on maintaining healthy eating and trying to figure out how to manage my insomnia. Sleep is so critical. I am trying valerian root tonight for the first time. I really want to avoid having to take any prescription sleep meds if possible. I also have some meditation cd's that Tiffany gave me to listen to when I wake up in the night. Keep your fingers crossed! I'll let you know how it works. Any other natural sleep suggestions that anyone knows of are welcome!

Snapshots

Here is something I've been waiting to write about for awhile.

About a month ago I received an email from a pro triathlete, Laurel Wassner. She had seen the pictures I had taken of her at Uberman and when the designers of an ad campaign asked her for some action shots, my shots were among the pictures she submitted. She put me in contact with the ad agency so that I could send them the higher resolution images to try in the layout. This is when I found out that it was going to be a Nike ad.

Obviously I was very excited about all of this. This is not something that happens every day. So of course I had started to type up a post for the blog about it. Then I went to Laurel’s blog and realized she hadn’t let the cat out of the bag about the ads yet. So then I modified it to be very generic and posted it… for all of 15 minutes before I deleted it. I figured I’d just wait and see if it really happens before saying anything.

Well I’m still jumping the gun here. It’s not official but I figured now that Laurel has posted about the campaign I’ll also post, because not only is it Nike. It’s LIVESTRONG! How cool is that? It just kind of falls into place very nicely with what we are all about.

Hopefully I didn’t jinx myself by posting this early but it’s exciting. Heck, I always thought it was fun to see my pictures hijacked from my Flickr site just to show up on athlete’s facebook pictures, blogs and websites. This takes that feeling to a whole new level.

Oddly enough, not a week later, one of our friends sends us an email asking us to send a high resolution picture that Genine took of her at the Black Bear Triathlon in 2008. Turns out that Coach Don Fink is writing a new book and would like to use that image in his book. We’ve already signed the release forms for that picture but the book isn’t going to be released for another 12 months or so.

Fun right?
Once again proving that the internet is a cool place. Laurel would have never seen these pictures if not for flickr. Not to mention the fact she could just send an email to contact me from the same site. Then when the ad agency needed the pictures. I didn't have to dig through negatives or FedEx anything. I just created a set on flickr and sent them the link.

Great abs workout.

Cough for 7-10 days straight. Make sure you string enough reps together that it really hurts.

Hopefully I'm at the end of this. I haven't felt feverish for the last couple days and coughing seems to have become effective.

My left foot seems to be tracking better the last few days when I walk. Maybe that will fall into place as well.

Our new roof is finished and it's been raining quite a bit today. I haven't noticed any leaks yet. One less thing to worry about now.

Pretty boring stuff. That's all I've got.

Why?

There is a thread on Trifuel right now that asks "So what's your most irritating question people ask you about triathlon". The overwhelming response appears to be when people just ask "Why". I think people get upset when asked this question, because the person asking is basically saying to you that they think triathlon is a waste of time.

Of course as I was reading this, I couldn't help but think about the fact that my answer to "Why" is different than most people racing. The Fundraising for Dr Guinan's research is "Why" for Genine and I, and our "mission" has been brought back into focus this week.

My cousin Katie was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and has already started the chemotherapy. She's married and has 4 young children.

Those of you that have gone through this with someone close, can appreciate how you feel totally helpless. You know you aren't going to wake up one day and think up a solution to this problem. It is out of your control. Fortunately there are things you can do to help that are in your control.

1) Register to be a Bone Marrow Donor. Typically all that is required is a mouth swab. Other times the registry is held along with a blood drive. Everyone should be on the list.

2)Donate Platelets. You can do this every 3 days but no more than 24 times a year. Start by checking with your local Red Cross. Next check with your local hospital's oncology ward.

3) Give Blood. Find a blood drive near me.

My never ending chest cold suddenly doesn't seem like such a big problem. I will get over it. Then I'll get back to training. You know Why.

Running class #1

SO I started my beginners running class last Thursday w New York Road runners. It was cool, figuratively and literally. The weather stunk, dark cold and rainy. Everyone showed up (20 of us gals, no men). We met at a local public school, did a basic warm-up routine in the gym then headed out to Central park (boat basin) to do our first workout: 1 minute run, 2 minutes walk, 7X.   Easy breezy.

I swore to myself that I would run at a faster pace than my regular shuffle mode. After all the purpose of this class is to get me to the 10minute mile goal. We run as a pack with the coach at the front leading and shouting "run!" or "walk!" The people who get to the front of the pack have to loop (turn around and run to the back of the pack) to maintain the pack pace. I was always somewhere in the middle, running behind the same ladies who were having a great conversation about asking for a raise, though by the end of the class I was in the front row. I guess eavesdropping is a byproduct of running in a pack. The same gazelles kept passing the rest of us and looping back. The pace was good, not too strenuous, I felt a nice warm up feeling but then we only ran for 1 minute intervals.  Tonight we go up to 2 minute intervals.

Things that I learned:

1. you hit the ground heel first. Not toes, not mid sole, but heel. For me it's a big adjustment. I always jog leaning forward, to let gravity pull me forward and thus land on my toes. To be able to strike heel first I had to lean back, straighten my spine. I did discover that my knees thanked me later and I was not hobbling home  as I usually do after running (but then again only 1 minute intervals- the last long run I did was 1 hour long so it's a huge difference in workout and in the pounding of the knees)

2. you hold your hands as if you're grabbing butterfly wings. Arms bent 90 degrees, relaxed, middle finger and thumb touching (ohmmmm) thinking about my hands forced me to relax my arms which I never think about when I run since all I can usually think about is my aching knee (see #1).

3. Wear a hat with a visor when it rains.  I had one but noticed my classmates had to squint through the whole run. It also absorbed the sweat so I found myself not having to wipe my brow every ten seconds. Why didn'tI think of it sooner?

4. bring an extra pair of DRY socks when it rains (for the freezing subway ride home)

5. wear Gloves.  I thought I would eventually take them off but I never did. Glad I had them.

The biggest discovery was the roadrunner website http://www.runningcoach.com/
(Does it count as a discovery if your teacher tells you about it?)

It's filled with great tips AND the workouts for each class along with the homeworks. I am sure there's bound to be something of interest for everyone. Even the Ironfolks!

More later!

Knee problems

Jerry and I are continuing on our P90X adventure. Tonight will complete one round for me. I have to say...I am enjoying it. I can certainly see how it will help. Unfortunately given the height of the basement ceilings, we aren't able to take full advantage of the workouts...pull ups are difficult, forget jumping jacks, and there's no way to jump high unless you like hitting your head on the ceiling (just ask Jerry how he cut the top of his head). Regardless, we continue on....making the most out of it. I guess we could buy a new house with higher ceiling...alas---we are too practical.

On a different note - my knees are really bothering me (the right knee more than the left). It started after the 1Tough Cookie trail run and hasn't seemed to improve. I've not been running since the Liberty Run at the end of September but it doesn't seem to be improving. There's a substantial amount of grinding when I walk up or down the stairs. Sharp pains...difficulty bending my knee when standing. There isn't any obvious swelling although there have been times when it's felt swollen/stiff. Any suggestions? Should I ice after I work out? I don't want to become an Ibuprofen addict. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated (well except that I should stop exercising...that's not an option...I'm on a mission!)

Until then....BRING IT...P90X style :)

Feeling like junk.

If I felt better, I'd be going stir crazy. I have done a whole bunch of nothing lately. We went to the pool Saturday and I got about 40 minutes in, if that. I left figuring I'd do pushups and pullups later. Nope.
Sunday, I felt worse and I did more nothing. The fever comes and goes and my lungs are a mess. Maybe I've got H1N1 or some of these other newsworthy illnesses. I may go to the doctor tomorrow although I'm not sure they can do anything.
The good news is we are still very on track with our eating. I've read the Brendan Brazier Thrive Diet Book. There isn't a chance in the world that we could manage that diet right now. Yet I did come away with a few things we could change. We've been working hard at adding more variation to our nutrition. This way hopefully we are getting more of the essential building blocks required to keep us going. I also realized there are some things I'm just not going to get in my diet. Like omega 3, 6 & 9. I eat fish once a week and buy omega eggs from time to time but that's not going to do it. So we are taking them as supplements. I'm guessing once I'm over this cold I might actually feel the effects of eating so well...

Slow week

In terms of workouts, it's been slow. In terms of recovery, I think I'm doing alright.
I ran (slowly) on Wednesday morning (34 degrees) and my left elbow and bicep didn't complain. That evening we went to masters swimming and that also didn't present a problem. So I'm feeling that I've recovered from that bit of over training.
My left foot is still not 100%. It's just not tracking as it should. So I've switched up my footwear to neutral. After 2 days of wearing my Birkenstocks to work it's starting to feel more normal. Hopefully that will continue to improve. I may try neutral running shoes as well. The right shoe seems to be very important at the moment.

The weather is cold and rainy. Which is perfectly fine with me. Keeps me from wishing I was out biking or running. Which I don't feel like doing because I've got a bit of a cold. So I guess it all works out.

I'm also driving myself a bit crazy trying to determine how to get the loan for the house projects. Too many choices and too much lingo. Remove the lingo please. Just give me the numbers. Numbers are easy to understand....

P90X "Superstar"

So Jerry and I have started to use P90X. He's further into it than me. Again I will blame my lack of commitment on football. The other evening it was YogaX night. I must say it was one of the most entertaining evenings. I never realized how inflexible Jerry was until we started this. Moves that I do with ease are virtually impossible for him. We laughed every time the instructor said "Downward facing dog" in his monotone somewhat "stoner" voice. It became all that more entertaining when in "DFD position" our dog decided to rigorously lick Jerry's head. After multiple scoldings Dudley finally took refuge ON Jerry's yoga mat (aka - the towel).

So here are my current observations of YogaX

1. The whole time I was doing the workout I was thinking...I wish I had Tiffany here to help me. I am sure I am not doing this properly (no clearing your mind when thinking the whole time....rrrr)
2. Additionally, It's impossible to clear your mind of all worries when your dog is licking and/or nibbling on you during the workout
3. It's even more disgusting when your cat (who typically shows very little interest in you) decides to lick your hands while in a yoga pose...forget about clearing your mind!!!
4. HOWEVER--the most disgusting thing....MEN who fart while doing yoga!! I am sure you can guess who I am referring to.

Jerry did Leg/Chest workout last night (P90X - he's loving it!). I intended on joining in but had an unexpected trip to the emergency room. Jordan separated his shoulder in the football game last night. We are heading to an orthopedic surgeon this afternoon. Hopefully we will hear Rest/Ice and nothing more.

KB2 Rocks on.......

No news about Kona yet but I thought you'd all be interested in knowing that Cindy Schuster from the KB2 09 team ran the 1/2 marathon this weekend. She finished 22nd overall and first her division with a time of 1:39:59. I sent her a congratulatory email.

Kona

I think Genine is more into triathlon than I am. We had my computer streaming the live feed from the championship at Kona on Saturday. It was kind of hard to hear and when someone would start mowing or power washing... I'd look over and see Genine leaning into the computer speaker trying to hear what was being said. Fortunately I have a pair of exernal speakers which we hooked up which fixed that problem.
It was pretty cool watching Andy Potts leading the swim. A straight line of about 5-10 people and then a huge pyramid of pros back behind. He was doing really well on the bike too. Watching Chrissie Wellington start her bike was awesome. She was passing people like they were standing still. These are all pros! Awesome to watch.
We decided we had better go do something ourselves instead of sitting in front of the computer for 9-10 hours straight. After we got back from some shopping and a swim, the leader board was completely changed... on the men's side. Chrissie of course was leading the women.
Genine had quite a list of numbers scratched out on a napkin beside the computer. This way she could use the athlete tracker to find out how everyone was doing. Potts, Wellington, Lovato, Wee, Gabreski, Haughton... (Here it is 2 days later and I asked if the napkin is still around, she says what do you need to know? And she starts naming the athletes and their number. Ha!)
Anyhow, it was very cool to watch and very fun to go to different people's blogs to read their race report even if they were only watching. Ironman couldn't ask for a better champion than Chrissie Wellington. She is incredibly inspiring.
Those of you in Warren, please let me know if/when there is an article about Patty Gabreski post Kona. The heat in Hawaii was incredible and she finished. I'd love to hear about her preparation and her race day. As it's unlikely any of us will ever get to race Kona.

In other news. The last 2 weeks have easily been the most lazy I've been in the last 3 years. (when not sick). Between my foot bothering me my bicep strain and tendonitis in my elbow, I figured it was time to give it a rest. Genine's schedule was crazy as well, so I went into support team mode and all is well. The 3 day weekend has included a ton of sleep so we are ready to get back into it. For the record, one thing is certain. I feel much better when I'm working out. Without the workouts, I actually have felt more stiff and sore!

The big thing both of us want/need to do is get back to eating perfectly. (Ignore the previous posts picture of the dessert). The scale is not a pretty sight right now. So we have been preparing food and planning our meals.
This whole weight loss thing kind of falls in the same basket as the twenty pullups or 100 pushups... I mean this week will mark 3 years of working out... a lot!! You would think I'd have these things figured out. Perhaps it just goes to show how difficult some things are. I'm not buying that. I think it's a matter of being consistent and smart 24/7/365.
I don't plan on weighing myself this time around. At least not for a couple/few months. The scale can make you crazy. I can weigh plus or minus 3 pounds in a day. I just plan on trying to keep my head focused on eating as "on plan" as often as possible. It's nothing I haven't done before. It's just a matter of staying focused on it.... forever. The weight loss part if much harder than the maintain part is all.

I might wait another week before doing pullups. I'm going to give pushups a try today.
Biking is back on the schedule. We had a nice 30 mile ride yesterday.
Running, I've been really slack. Of course I want to run but I also want this foot thing to get better. I have wondered about the bone spur possibility. I'm going to give it a bit longer before seeing a podiatrist.

I'm sure this has nothing to do with it

How could I forget...... Although we are most likely taking a small, regional trip to celebrate our anniversary this weekend, we did go out to Carrabba's for dinner this evening. Mostly so I could enjoy one of my favorite desserts EVER (from a restaurant that is)...the Sogno di Cioccolata, otherwise known as the Chocolate Dream. And boy is it ever!! It is described on the menu as a rich fudge brownie brushed with Kahlua, crowned with chocolate mousse, whipped cream and chocolate sauce. It is simply heaven...mmmmm. I wonder if this has anything to do with why my pants are feeling tighter! I really need to be back to a regular work schedule so I can back on a better workout schedule. Less training + More eating= Too many LBS. Oh boy.......

15 years ago today...

Today is our 15 year wedding anniversary. In some ways it seems like yesterday (or maybe last week). But yet when I think about it, I have a hard time remembering my life without Matt in it. We have been friends for so long...almost 25 years! We've been through a lot together. Mostly good times, some difficult times...but thankfully we have been able to lean on each other when the going got tough. As I was looking through some of our wedding photos, I was also reminded of the strong friendships we have been blessed with. When this whole "triathlon thing" started to take shape and I was telling people the story behind our motivation, most could not believe how long many of us have known each other...and that we are still such close friends. We are so grateful to have you in our lives! And so as Matt & I celebrate our 15 years together, we also raise a glass to toast to all of you.....our Venerable Companions.

October 8th, 1994

Bummer

The relay option for Mooseman is no longer an option. I'm not sure what to think yet.
It certainly makes me appreciate the last 2 years a bit more. Those were some good times.
I'll be talking with the relay people and see if we can't come up with a plan B.

If you want to read the thread check it out here. Keith Jordan is the race director FYI.

Downtime... Sort of

Genine has been working nonstop since we been back. So our workouts have been kind of... missing. Which is probably just as well. I definitely strained / sprained my left bicep last week doing pullups. (I guess you don't tough through the last of them if it doesn't feel right). It's getting better but even my pushup and pullup plan has been put on hold temporarily.
I haven't been running much either. I ran Saturday and my legs felt like lead. I may have been going faster than I thought I was but it didn't feel awesome.
Sunday Genine and I got a 14 mile easy bike ride in. She was exhausted but it was a beautiful day and it was nice to be outside.
I've had the boot for my foot for a week now. It's definitely feeling better. Massaging that part of the foot is no longer causing me to cringe. I do feel like my achillies and other tendons at the back of my leg near my heel feel a bit awkward at the start of the day. I'm guessing that's normal because they are being stretched all night. It is amazing how you unknowingly walk differently to avoid the foot pain from the plantar fasciitis. My walk is starting to feel more "correct" now.
It's a beautiful time to be out training but it's also a really good time to heal up. (or at least that's what I'm going to tell myself)

So Chris. IMLP next summer. Does that mean you won't Tango next summer? It's on Aug 7th.

2010 Mooseman/Timberman

Well I’ve signed up and paid for my three main races for 2010.
Columbia, Mooseman and Timberman. I’m sure I’ll be at the Tango as well but I don’t have to register for that one yet.
It’s a drag that other races that I’d like to do happen the same weekend or a week before / after. Jerseyman (20 minutes away), Black Bear in the Poconos (80 min away) and NJ State Triathlon (30 minutes away) are 3 of the races I’d like to race some year.
I put the travel time in there because it seems like I drive a long way to race all the time but that is somewhat deceptive. Yes, I drive a long way, but going to Warren and New Hampshire are kind of like going home. I only have to get a hotel for Columbia. Oddly enough Columbia is my co-worker Doe’s hometown. She can tell me all the great places to go eat. Wahoo!

I’m feeling kind of beat up right now. I seem to have sprained something in my left bicep or elbow or something. I’m not capable of overhand pull-ups right now. Underhand doesn’t seem to cause a problem.
Then of course I’m still dealing with my left foot’s plantar fasciitis. I’ve been using the boot Jim let me borrow. I think after 3 nights, I’ve finally started to dial in how to adjust it properly for a good fit. So hopefully I start to see some progress there.
My big toe on that foot was sore after running 4 miles with Genine tonight. No shooting pains like I had last Sunday but it’s not perfectly happy.
After our run I did 100 squats, then the pushup plan, then some planks.

In non-triathlon related news, I’ve had 2 contractors come to the house to give me quotes on a new roof and new windows. The first guy was total salesman I expected he’d have the higher quote because he wasn’t going to sell me anything but top of the line. The second guy was no nonsense. He measured everything and gave me a quote before he left. Well I finally got the quote from the first guy tonight. I figured he’d be 50% more. I was wrong. He was 145% more. I hope to have my financing figured out this weekend and get work started on the house soon.

Food Tracking Program

Dailyburn.com

Another reason to want an iPhone. :-)
I haven't tried this site yet. The UPC Scanning if it works well would be cool.

Mooseman 70.3 News

I know we have been doing the olympic distance race. This could bring in some bigger names into the area for the weekend. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Here is the story

Not so smart sometimes

So last week my brain was fuzzy. As a result I wasn't very productive. Thursday night I was going to sleep at 9PM!! Slept until 6:30AM. I was hoping that I would be well rested and could drive back to Warren Friday night. Nope, got home from work Friday night and was still in a fog. It was starting to freak me out a bit. I was well rested, eating well, drinking plenty of fluid... I was starting to think something more serious could be wrong. Then I figured it out.
The weekend of Buckman/Skylands, I somehow got some poision ivy rashes on my chest. I eventually broke down and started to put Benadryl cream onto the rash. Not only did it stop the itch, it stopped my brain from working right! So dumb! I was glad to have figured it out. I stopped using it and all is well.
We made it to Warren Saturday afternoon. Jerry, Jordan and I went to the weight room while Genine and Michelle went swimming. I still wish our Y could be as nice as the Warren's facility...
Then I went to my Dad's and we watched the PSU game. It wasn't their night.
Sunday, Genine and I go over to run with Michelle and Jerry. I started running up the hill and the big toe on my left foot was in bad shape. I've never had this problem before. It felt like that toe was broken or I had turf toe. So I tell Jerry he should go catch up with the girls and I'll just walk back to the house. After about 10-15 minutes of walking, it felt like I was going to be able to run. I didn't think I had a chance of catching up but I headed down Conewango and up 5th to see if I could see them. Nope, I just continued up to the High School, up to the elementary school, 1 lap around the lower parking lot and back to the house just in time to see Genine run around the corner. So much for the group run..
Then more football over at my dad's. This time the Steelers bummed us out.
Jim texted that he was back in town and asked if I wanted to borrow his boot for treating plantar fasciitis. Genine and I went up to pick that up from him. He thinks my toe problem is probably a side issue from the fasciitis. He's probably right.

That's the news. Hopefully I'll be less foggy this week and be more productive.

Not Worth It!

Did you know that there are 260 calories in ONE jelly filled donut? Also- 100 of those are FAT calories. That means I would have to run 2.6 miles to burn off that garsh darn thing. Not gonna happen.

Ok--I admit it. We had a vendor show up with fresh donuts and I almost gave into temptation. But alas--I stand strong. No donut for me....just black coffee...YUM

Last night I did my 5k run around Warren. I didn't feel as good as I did on Sunday's 4+ mile run. My left leg continues to hinder my overall performance. It's become apparent to me that its not just my calf but my foot that is affected by the poor circulation/inflammation. Regardless-I completed the run. Sunday's run was much better. I powered through running at a faster pace (kinda like the Carlson "meet in the middle" concept posted by GEnine). It was GREAT! Thanks to Jerry who sticks by me the whole way.

Tonight - I am going to do another 5k run and then rest for Saturday's race. I am looking forward to it (even if it does rain!) Even better-Genine and Matt are coming home. Hopefully I can get Genine to hit the pool with me while Jerry inflicts pain on Matt in the weight room...Should be a great weekend.

following the dude

Tonight was the second time in a week that I ran WITH Matt....the whole time. Not just starting out together and then him taking off after a minute. We did 5miles last Thursday and 4miles tonight. It's been so much fun for me! Even thought I know that he has slowed his pace waayyy down for me, it's still enjoyable to be running together. The other amazing point worth mentioning is that both runs have been pretty much pain free. Go figure!! Maybe being sick for 12days and not working out much has helped from a recovery stand point!

I hope to be able to keep up this slow, but steady "running program". As I have said before, I really think I could grow to love running if I can manage my hip/leg pain. Time will tell. For now I will keep following Matt for our "meet in the middle" runs (his slow run=my "fast"run) and see where that takes me over the next few months. Thanks, Matt! You rock!!

35 pushups

Started off tonight doing some of the exercises Tiffany put together for me. Then Genine got home and we went out for a 4 mile run. Then it was test night for the pushup plan. I did 35, the last 4 were pretty ugly. When I looked to see where that put me on the schedule, I was somewhat relieved to see that I was placed in the "easiest" of the 3 columns. 36 would have put me into the next group. Whew!
Next up 100 squats. They seemed much more difficult tonight than the set I did last week. I'll be curious if I feel my quads for 2 days like I did last week. Just think I'm only 100 behind Genine!

I did the pullups last night. I still fail on the last one of the 5th set every time. I guess that means I'm on the right track with that plan. The first 4 sets last night felt great and I wasn't feeling very well, so that was encouraging.

As for my plantar fascitis, I've put my Sole orthodics into my running shoes, I ice my heel after I run and I've also been doing the foot strengthener/calf stretch Chris suggested. It's kind of early to say, but I think it's getting better.

what the "hill" was that?

So yeah, Debbie and I went this morning to Van Cortland park to check out the trail run we THOUGHT we were going to do in Oct.  I'm sad to announce that we decided to postpone the run until November when our calves hopefully will recuperate from the one hill on the trail. Holy Moley! Not only that but for the 5k, we'd have to run up that hill twice! But we are determined. Today we only did 1 loop-1.5m. Thursday, we're going to try to do it twice. Debbie was able to jog up the hill. My calves gave up on me 1/4 of the way up (and frankly I think I was able to walk it faster than I was jogging it) I was glad there was no one else on the trail because I am sure my grunts were rather bestial.  I was really working my arms and I felt they were helping, however, I also felt that my nose was almost on the ground but I am sure that was just my imagination.
Then of course there's the downhill...which is the reason I'm posting. Any tips on running downhill? I kept finding myself leaning back, running on my toes...God only knows what my knees were doing. When I tried to lean forward (to gain momentum) I felt I was going to fall forward on my face and break my neck (which would certainly prevent me from having to run up that hill again...there's a thought) and what to do with the arms? Down? Up? Any thoughts? The surface was a true trail with little rocks,  branches and the such so there wasn't much traction...How does one run downhill? Any tips from the experts will be welcome.

Have we got a window for you!

Saturday we went to a contractor’s showroom so that he could show us our roofing and window options. The salesman should be on TV or at the very least he needs a remote to cue applause and laughter. We had 3 choices. Expensive with wood trim, expensive vinyl or lastly, you wouldn’t want to buy this crap. After we left Genine said, so why is it they have the “crappy” window in the showroom??? I have a feeling I'm going to laugh at the quote he sends us this week but I wanted to make sure to shop a few different contractors.
This place was about 45 minutes away, I allowed for a GPS adventure. I didn’t bother to really look at where this place was before getting in the car. Fortunately, it turned out better than our trip to the Y the other week. We decided to take a different way home and set the unit to shortest route. As we are driving along, we pass a Bird Store. Genine says let’s check it out.
So we go in. The owner is a nice guy. There were some very nice birds there. We aren’t shopping for another bird though. We ended up finding some toys for Milo to destroy then started talking about the cages. We’ve been looking to buy a new cage for about 7 years but the prices have always been too high. I guess prices have finally come down. We ended up buying one because it was about half the price of anything we’ve ever liked before. The next trick is putting it together. I didn’t think it would be much trouble until I saw that the instructions were 4 pictures and no words. It really wasn’t difficult, it’s just with such bad instructions it takes an hour longer than it really should. Once you’ve built it once, you could probably take it apart and put it back together in 30-40 minutes. Milo is one step closer to having a new home. Now we need to buy a few more things to make it functional for her. Here’s the cage.


Back to triathlon stuff. Genine and I made it to the pool Saturday. After a warm-up, I decided to just put the hand paddles on and swim for 50 minutes. I was able to get the time in but I’m definitely off. I’m doing something that is causing troubles when I pull with my left. So much so that for the rest of the evening my elbow hurt, even my neck was tight towards the end of the set. I have yet to return to the form that I had leading up to Timberman. It was a perfect time to have a good swim. I’d just like to keep it all the time!

Sunday morning: 10.2 mile run with Todd. We did about 5 strides at the end of the run. The concept here is that it will get the muscles stretched back out and also should help work towards better overall speed. Left heel was kind of sore when I got home. I iced it a few times during the day. I think the worst thing for it is if I do nothing. If I’m on my feet all day it seems to help keep it stretched out and feeling normal.
Genine got home mid afternoon and we went out for and easy hour + ride with Maija and Adam. It was definitely good recovery for my legs. Glad I went with them because on my own, I’m sure I would have cranked up the speed for 20 minutes or so.

Monday morning. 5:30-7AM swim. Genine is there for the first 50 minutes then she had to head to work. I spent much of the first 45 minutes really focusing on getting to the catch and being aware of how I’m pulling. Trying to figure that left side thing. I’m guessing it’s my kick getting in the way of things and throwing my balance off when I breathe to the left. So I did some work with the zoomers (fins) trying to get a feel for my kick timing. I didn’t gain much from that. I think my kick timing is better at 60 strokes per minute. I’m working at 50 strokes per minute tho’ and I don’t think I’ve got it put together with my kick.
When Maija showed up I followed her workout. Otherwise, I’d probably have just done 100’s trying to figure out what to adjust. I left the pool feeling pretty good. I didn’t bring any post workout food though... I get to work at 9, very hungry and not looking so good I guess. Three different people asked if I was all right. I said that I would be once I’ve had something to eat and some coffee. I guess I felt much better than I looked. But as Fernando Lamas would say, “It’s not how you feel, it’s how you look. And you look marvelous.”

So begins the off season.

Now that I’ve got the race reports done I can go back to my normal ramblings.

I was pretty wiped out on Monday so I watched the Bills game into the 3rd quarter. Then figured I’d better stop watching before the wheels fall off.

Tuesday: we decided to go to the pool. They’d painted the pool so we wanted to check that out. Genine got a good swim in. I was having trouble with my goggles and felt like the paint fumes were going to kill me. So I didn’t get much accomplished.

Wednesday: back to the pull up plan. Then went to masters swimming. The pool seemed to have less of a paint smell to it tonight. I got some good distance in tonight. Wasn’t doing a good job at watching the clock, nor was I counting laps well. I guess as long as err by swimming extra, how bad can it be?

Thursday: Pushups… I crashed and burned on the last set. Genine beat me by 2. Then we went out for our run. I ran with Genine for 5 miles of the Ballpark loop. It was just a great night to be out running.
Then we decided to check out the 200 squat challenge. Figured we’d do the test to see where we should start. Genine did 200. I did 100 and quit. I guess we are going to add weight and try again some time next week. Lunges will also be added.

Friday: Taking the night off.

I’ll admit I spent more than a little bit of time considering different options of how to improve my biking for next year. I’m not alone with this. Biking is Genine’s favorite event. She wants to spend a lot more time in the passing lane next year.
So we’ve been looking at options. Power meters and Online Coaching being the money options. At the same time we’ve been trying to modify our schedule so we can make the classes that we want to attend… swimming, yoga and other stuff.

You can expect to hear a bunch more about the biking plan in the next week or so.
Suggestions are welcome!

Matt's Skylands 09 race report

Relay Day!! All I have to do is swim! Just take the wetsuit and I’m ready. Whoops, make that wetsuit and goggles. I almost oversimplified. That would have made for a much tougher swim.

Get to the race site and meet up with the rest of Team “Steve Austin” (Lee Majors, not Stone Cold). Perhaps the name dates us a bit but I’m all right with that. Steve Austin’s primary mission of the day is to beat KB2 (Genine and Maija). The 2nd goal of course is to win the Male Relay Division.

Feeling pretty good. I guess the party didn’t completely wipe me out. The weather is perfect. Relays are in the last wave but they are starting 5 minutes apart, so there shouldn’t be too much trouble moving through the water. The only challenge is the fact that the buoys aren’t in a very straight line. Hopefully that won’t be a problem.

I line up directly behind Maija and Oscar. I tell them I plan on grabbing onto their wetsuit zipper pulls so that I can water ski behind them. Plan B involves smacking Maija’s feet in an attempt to neutralize her kick. Of course neither of those things happen.

Off we go! The water is murky enough I have no chance of following feet unless I pull my head to sight constantly. I’m concerned about tracking too far to the right so I keep focused on staying close to the buoys. Turns out that wasn’t the best plan. I pass a buoy and the next one looks to be way off to my left. So I correct and make my way over to that one. Once I’m by that one, I decide to spot of the turn around buoy rather than the intermediate buoys. That seemed to work well. As I approached the turn around I notice the person beside me has red sleeves on their wetsuit… It’s Maija. Wahoo! I’m not minutes behind her… yet.
There are a few people from the wave in front of us trying to negotiate the turn. Maija takes a good line and is through them in no time. I on the other hand got too close to one of them and had to deal with being swatted a few times. As a result I lost track of Maija once again. I try to find a sighting point at the beach or at least see what the flow of traffic is so that I don’t get on a bad line back to the beach.
I realize that I’m working way too hard. I’m not feeling my 50 strokes. I try to adapt but I can’t convince myself that I’m not losing ground by easing up. So I spot some caps ahead of me and I work on reeling them in. Next thing I know, I’m running up the beach. I finished my swim in 15:12 (not awesome), 35 seconds behind Maija. They negotiate T1 20 seconds faster than us as well. Now it’s up to Bob to go catch Genine. I go grab the camera out of the car and switch to being a photographer.

Bob bikes the 17 miles 2:58 faster than Genine. KB2 Transitions 16 seconds faster than us in T2. Which gives us a 2:07 second lead starting the run.

As Todd runs out of the park, I yell to him “2 minutes”. Meaning I believe he’s got a 2 minute buffer over KB2. Todd tells me afterwards that “2 minutes” sounded generic so he didn’t believe me. So he continued to push very hard knowing that Maija would be giving it all she had to try and catch him.
He stayed strong and finished in 21:52, Maija finished in 22:34. Neither were thrilled with their run but considering we had raced yesterday, and then partied the rest of the day, it’s not too bad.

Genine and Maija won the Women’s Relay division beating the next women’s team by 34 minutes.
Another team told us that we had won the Male division. The results were not posted for us to confirm this until much later. Then we found out we were beaten by 1:37… so close. Maybe if we hadn’t raced on Saturday??

It was a fun day. I’m guessing we might see “Steve Austin” again someday. Maybe we will take it a bit more seriously next time. Maybe.

Run for Liberty - Raising Money for a Good Cause

There is a bald eagle that the Audubon Society of Jamestown takes care of (he can't be released back into the wild). Saturday September 26th there is a trail run to raise money for his care. Apparently they've had up to 500 runners in the past.

Anyway--I'm running along with Jerry.

Attached is the information. If anyone is looking for a great trail run...I'm told this is the one....

http://runforliberty.wordpress.com/

Buckman 09 Race Report

Sorry this is so late. This report really doesn't reflect how much fun I had this weekend but I don't think I'm going to be able write anything better...

I took Friday off to meet with a roofing contractor and to get the place ready for Saturday’s party. It was a long busy day. I was glad when Kevin and Lara showed up around 9ish. At that point I finally took a break and let the weekend begin.

Saturday morning the weather was still kind of miserable. Light rain but fortunately it wasn’t too cold. We get to the race site and our friend Jeff is there. He is going to do the Swim on the relay with Maija and Kevin. I haven’t seen him since 1993 I think. I have to credit Facebook for the reunion.
We were a bit late getting there so I didn’t get to stand around and chat much before the race but we definitely were not rushed. It’s a small race and everything is close. No long walks from the car to transition.
We had a good group of friends there. Todd, who I run with twice a week was there. Ed and Chaz from our Y. Kevin and Jeff from College and Maija jumped in to bike for them when Genine started to not feel so well during the week.
I had my new sleeveless top for my wetsuit today. Some thought it might be cold enough that I’d want the sleeves. I found the water to be very comfortable. The race was small enough that all the male racers started at the same time. Then the relay team started in the next wave with all the women. Jeff was the 1 lucky guy swimming with all the women.
The swim start is very shallow and it stays that way for a long time. You could dolphin dive 8-10 times in a row if you wanted to. One of the college guys did in fact do this and he got to the front of the pack with that method. The water isn’t clear enough for me to want to do this. With my luck I’d find the one and only rock in the water and knock myself out.
I started out beside Todd, he’s definitely faster than I am. I plan on getting on his feet and trying to stay even with him for the swim. Unfortunately, because of the shallow start I wasn’t able to keep from being cut off. You couldn’t see much in the water anyhow. Following someone would have been difficult. My swim on the way out was decent. I felt that I kept a decent line and seemed to be swimming fairly well. On the way back, I kept feeling like I was swimming too far from the buoys. Sighting and swimming straight are definitely 2 things I need to work on.
I didn’t ever get to the point where I felt that I was swimming well but as I exit the water. Maija yells that Todd is just ahead of me. Sure enough we get up to transition and there is Todd.

I spent a ton of time in T1. I had decided to wear gloves today. With the wind and rain, there is very likely to be obstacles on the road. I’d rather have the gloves on. I almost forget to take my swim cap off before putting my helmet on. Fortunately Genine points that out to me. Todd yells back “NO COACHING!!” ha ha! Then he heads out of transition. I probably start out 20 or so seconds behind him.
I have a very specific plan in my head as to when I should be able to start attacking the course. I know it very well. Unfortunately, I’m without my bike computer today. I figured I’d be able to go on feel and wasn’t concerned about it.
I get Todd back in my sights shortly after the sharp right turn at the bottom of the big hill. I pass Todd at the tracks and try to take it up a notch. I should have known it wasn’t going to go well when I didn’t crest the 2nd roller with power. I gave up all my speed and was back to spinning. It wasn’t too long after that, at Pickell Park, that Todd was back even with me again and passing. This next section is the other area where I plan on hammering because I know I’ll get a nice break after I power through that section. Again, I feel like I have nothing. I have Todd in my sights but I can’t close.
The next section is a short recovery. You get a section of downhill where you can get up over 30 miles an hour for a bit. Todd plays it safe here and I barrel past him on the downhill. Unfortunately, the next section is my weakest of the entire course. So I know he’s going to pass me again. He does.
Last chance is the hill climb back to the park. We basically climb that section at the same rate and we are into T2 at almost the same time. Jeff, Kevin and Lara are standing at the transition area cheering me on. I say to them that I just couldn’t manage to get ahead of Todd and that I really needed to get a minute or two ahead of him somehow. They ask if I can catch him on the run. Ummm not likely, I figure he will be 60 to 90 seconds faster than me on the run. Lara is surprised that I’m going to do the run without socks. I did remember to put bandages on my feet, so I didn’t have a problem.
Todd is out of T2 ahead of me. He slowly pulled away the entire run. I see Genine taking pictures at the mid point of the 1st lap.

She says I’m going to have to run hard to catch Todd… I get to the 2nd lap, there’s Maija, Jeff and Lara. Maija is yelling for me dig in. I realize that I really am not going all out and I turn it up. I definitely felt that my 2nd lap was faster than my first. Can’t say for sure because I didn’t wear my watch today. This was a no technology race for me. I finish feeling like I put in a good race. I’m sure it’s not my best but it’s something to work from.
Next to cross the finish is Kevin. His first 5K I believe. When we looked at the results, his 5K time was one second faster than mine. Nice.
Now the funny part is this. Here it is Thursday and I’m just now realizing that their relay team probably beat my total time. Not surprising, it’s just that I haven’t thought to look. The only thing I really even cared about was making improvements in each event compared to my results from last year.
Let’s see, Jeff had a good swim, only a couple minutes slower than me. Maija I think finished 4 minutes ahead and Kevin added another second to that lead. Now I’m going to have to look at the results again. (I beat Jeff by 1:59, Maija beat me by 2:44 on the bike, Kevin beat me by 1 second. The rest of their lead is transition time. Beating me by 2:51 total)
I realize that this was a “fun” race. I didn’t really have myself on a training schedule that would allow me to put out my best effort. I’m l glad I raced rather than relay. I have a couple things to think about now because of it. Mainly I’m frustrated with my bike result. Was it because I didn’t have my cadence computer and I ended up over-spinning? Was it lack of calories/nutrition? Or was that truly the best I could possibly have raced that course. It’s hard to say because I don’t know my biking abilities well enough to have an answer.
After the race we headed back home for some lunch and to finish the party preparation. It’s been a very busy summer. It was nice to finally kick back and visit with everyone. Of course we still have a ton of food left over. Anyone hungry for a meatball sandwich with a side of cookies?

and so it goes...

As the triathlon season comes to an end and my work "season" is shifting into high gear, I recently find that I have been giving myself little pep talks to avoid going down the dark path of "poor me"...work is overwhelming...I'm tired...I have to work Sunday so I can't go on a long bike ride...and the list can go on from there. Sometimes the pep talks work, sometimes they are short lived. I guess that's the way it goes sometimes. A few days ago I got one of those chain emails from a friend. I didn't pay much attention to it at first, but then I read the quote at the end. It is a rather simple message, but it really struck a chord with me. I don't intend this to be "preachy" and I apologize to the guys as this may be more of a "girl thing", but I couldn't resist sharing it with you. Hope you like it, too.

'May today there be peace within. May you trust that you are
exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the
infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and
others. May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content withyourself just the way you are. Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us.'

First completed 5k report!

I did it! After three very long months of training, I did it! I ran (jogged, really) my first 5K.
It was an interesting experience. The crowd was pumped (25,000+ strong) and in the beginning I got so carried away with adrenaline and the bodies running around me that I started too fast, half way before the first mile marker I was already out of breath. I knew if I didn't slow down I would not be able to continue. It took much concentration to focus, to ignore everyone around me and go into my own familar pace. I looked down to the ground, to my feet, (though all books tell you not to do that) but it helped. I was able to slow myself down and find my pace. My ipod helped but I know that in future races I will not be able to use it. This was considered a fun race so the ipod wasn't an issue. I realize I need to start training without it.

The friend I have been training with got ahead of me in the first few minutes and I lost sight of her.  She was off and running! Good for her!

As I was passed by what seemed thousands of people, I passed one of the wheelchair participants who was also a survivor as her pink hat indicated. I felt a bitter-sweet pang in my chest, inpired by her determination. Counting my blessings, I picked up the pace (ever so slightly) and kept doing my thing.

A little after mile 1 marker I saw a co-worker in the crowd who was there cheering her power-walking mom and it was great to see a familiar face! I waved, she waved and I kept moving. Note to self- time each mile!

The mile 2 marker never seemed to come. But finally I saw the beautiful sign the organization had posted along with the water station and I knew I was almost there. I'm always hesitant to drink as I run so I didn't stop. I feared I would not be able to continue jogging. My breathing was labored, more so than usual but not bad enough to force me to stop. I ate Spanish tortilla the night before made with onions, which I think aggravated my acid reflux. Note to self-- be aware of meals day prior to race. Simple and obvious advice, right? I don't think the nerves helped either.  However, my feet and legs were feeling good. I took two Aleve before the race to help my bad knee out and they did the trick. No complaints in that dept. Also, my new way of tying my shoes allows the blood to flow freely to my instep so my feet did not fall asleep!

Got to the bottom of the CP loop and I knew I was close. A horse drawn carriage with some trigger happy tourists passed me by as well as a power walker, she was fast! I tried to keep up with her, even my stride was at the same pace but I could not reach her. How is that possible? And damn she was shorter than me! She was awesome,  and I lost sight of her quickly.

Next thing I knew I saw the mile 3 marker. Almost there. I knew I had to go around the bend, pass two traffic lights and then the final turn on 72 st. I'm glad I was able to do the course several times before the race. Mentally it helped me to know I could finish it and  how much left to the course there was to go.  Man, I saw the timer at the finish line above me: 49+ . Everyone was cheering everyone else. I looked at my watch and it read 44:16-- I had just beat my 45 minute goal (the timer hopefully was for the elite runners that started 5 minutes before us) I texted my running partner with a simple word "IN" and proceeded to find water because I started to cough and then to gag.  The PBJ sandwitch that I had for breakfast was coming back to haunt me. The water line was long and I hoped my stomach would wait.  It did, I drank and drank and made it to the Key foods booth to grab some food for later (banana!)

Met up with my friend, we did the rounds and collected some nice stuff (Ford scarf, Bank of America water bottle) and more food and sat down on a grassy knoll to stuff our faces with healthy free treats like yogurt, pirate's booty, apple sauce (MOTT's granny smith apple- possibly the best apple sauce EVER) and to take in the sounds and sights.

Overall it was a great day. Personal record for me 15 minute mile pace! My average has been 16, with my slowest run at 18 minute miles. I hope I can keep that 15 mile pace and get faster.

My next 5K is coming up in a month-- OCT 11. It's a cross country one so I hope the field is not too muddy. Hopefully we'll have the opportunity to check it out before hand since it's in the Bronx. I hear it's hilly! GASP. They will have timing chips so this one is for real!

Now I really would like to do some speed work. I don't know if my knee will allow it, since she demands warm up time...but we'll see! Need to read up more on it.

GOAL: next year I want to do the same race in 30 minutes (10 minute miles!!!) Is it possible? Only time will tell. Man, that would be simply, awesome. I start a running class in mid october which will force me to keep running and hopefully will help with that goal.

I want to thank all of you who have inspired me tremendously with all your races (your incredible finish times!) and all the good training tips. Never in a million years did I think I could run a 5k. Maybe what they say it's true, anything is possible.

Pictures from this weekend

Pictures from Buckman Triathlon
Pictures from Skylands Triathlon

I have a bunch of good pictures of other racers we don't know I'll get them posted later on this week.