Drew's New Shoes

This morning Drew and I got up and putzed around for a little bit this morning and then I pumped up our bike tires so that we could hit the road. This was Drew's first bike ride of the year and I was starting him out with a ride to New Jersey. I should mention that it's less than 9 miles from our apartment over the George Washington Bridge and into New Jersey. I mentioned to Drew's sister that we were going on this bike ride and she said that it sounded really far away. It's not.

We rode up the Westside Bike Path to 95th Street and from there rode up Riverside Drive until the turn off for the bridge. Today was a big day for me because the first time I went to New Jersey, someone had warned me that the hill going up 165th Street might be a little steep for my first time. So, today was the first time that I ever rode up that hill. I know it's not that bad (and I realize it now having done it), but it seemed like a big accomplishment just to know that I can do it.

We got onto the bridge and rode into New Jersey. Our plan was not to go too far, but instead to just go to the Palisades Park. You ride down a hill into the Park and then it's pretty much downhill from there to the Marina. Which was great for me because it meant that we'd have to climb back up if we wanted to get home! When we got to the Marina, Drew made a quick pit stop and had one of his bars that he'd brought along as a snack (I snuck a bite or two). Then we headed back up the hills!

I will admit, I am not fast uphill. But I can make it just fine. And I did it all in my middle gear. I like to think that this gives me some leeway for San Francisco. I still have my granny gear as a back-up and I also can stand up if I need to. Drew thinks I should really practice standing up, and he's probably right, but I really like digging deep and pedaling myself uphill while sitting down. Something about standing up makes me feel all wobbly on my bike, which isn't a great feeling. I will practice this before the race, though.

As we were heading home and making our way off the George Washington Bridge, Drew took a little spill on his bike. For those of you who have never ridden here, the ramp up to the bridge is maybe 4 feet wide - just barely enough clearance for two bikes to pass each other. And half-way up the ramp (or down the ramp, as the case may be here), there is a hairpin turn. I was still coming off the actual bridge, so I looked down and thought, "oh, that's weird, did Drew drop something?" because I saw him leaning down on the ramp and pick something up.

Turns out that at the turn, he wasn't going fast enough and because he was basically stopped, he just pretty much fell over. And he did in fact drop something - his Balance Bar had fallen out of his Bento Box. Luckily, since he wasn't really going fast (or at all) he only came away with some scraped up knees:

Right knee

Left knee

On our way home, we made a stop at Toga. Drew had a big purchase to make and I needed them to check out my front brake. The brakes were working fine on my bike, but the whole mechanism was a little loose so from time to time one of the brake pads would rub on my wheel. Luckily, that was like a 2 minute fix!

Drew's purchase turned out to be a bit lengthier time-wise. He got cycling shoes!


They're pretty much my same shoes, except for boys and his shoes have a lot more red than mine do. Of course, the new shoes meant that he had to get new pedals as well, so it took the bike shop a while to switch out his pedals. While we were waiting for them to switch the pedals on his bike, he used the pedals on my bike to practice clipping in and out. By the time he got on his bike, he was an old pro at the clipping in and out and was ready to head home!

I think we had gone about two blocks before we were stopped at a stop light and Drew stuck his brand new left shoe into some road tar! Luckily he noticed it right away and it was totally fine, but it was definitely good for a laugh (or maybe two!).

After we got home, he spent the rest of the afternoon saying how much he likes his new shoes, so it seems like it was a good purchase for him! He's got a lofty mileage goal for this year on the bike, so we'll see if these new shoes inspire him to get out and ride a lot. I'm hoping it does. It's really nice to have company!

Biking
Time: 1:52:41
Distance: ~20.0 miles
Pace: 10.65 MPH
Calories: 854
Maximum HR: 169
Average HR: 135

The Test Swim

This afternoon I decided that I couldn't wait any longer and I had to get in the pool and test out my new wetsuit and goggles. I put my suit on my lower half and walked out to the pool area. I wanted to see how crowded it was before I put it all on and baked myself. Luckily, I was able to get into the pool right away (normally you're supposed to make a reservation).

I was really nervous before taking my first stroke. I know that everyone says that having a sleeved wetsuit really changes your stroke and gives you a smaller range of motion. But, I didn't experience that at all. If it weren't for the fact that I was so hot in the pool, I honestly don't think I would have noticed that I had it on. Oh, except for the fact that I was super buoyant and felt a lot faster in the water.

I didn't keep track of how far I went on my test swim and I didn't wear my heart rate monitor. I really wanted this to be about testing my gear. However, I'd guess that I ended up swimming about 1000 yards in the time I was in the pool.

The other big test for the day was to test out my new goggles. They're a winner! Seriously, they're awesome. No leaking and no fogging. Granted, I stuck them on my dry face and they worked great. I was hesitant to take them off and ruin how much I loved them, but I forced myself to take them off and re-stick them to my wet face to see how they sealed up. The answer: perfectly!

Even though the wetsuit might be more important for Alcatraz, I might almost think the goggles were a better purchase as I'll be using those a lot more in the long run. It's also just nice to know that even though I bought them on the internet that they worked out just fine. Well, I guess the same could be said for the wetsuit!

Swimming
Time: 25:00
Distance: 1000 yards (0.56 miles)
Pace: 43:59/mile

Scotland Run

Before we get to today's run, yesterday was a big day for me at work. Nothing work related. Triathlon related, of course! It started out with a delivery from Amazon where I got these:


I should mention that I was in need of some new goggles. I could only swim 300-400 yards before getting an eye full of water. I think the old ones were just getting old and tired. My old goggles are Speedos, but I read so many good reviews on these Aqua Sphere ones that I figured I just had to give them a shot. I decided to get the "lady" version because I have a freakishly small head and thought that these might be better for me.

So, as soon as I got them, I did what anyone would do. I opened them up and stuck them to my face. And then I IMed Laura and said, "I'm wearing goggles right now. They fit great. I bought them from the internet. They're just suctioned on my face and not popping off!!!" I should mention that I don't have an office at work, I sit where people could walk by, so after realizing that the goggles weren't popping off on their own, I decided I should take them off.

The afternoon got better in the form of another delivery - this one from Xterra:



My wetsuit with sleeves (and a fancy blue inside)! As soon as I saw that this had been delivered to the mail room, I had to go down and get it. I couldn't wait for the mail guy to deliver to my desk. All I really wanted to do was take it to the bathroom and try it on, but I decided that I should wait until I got home. I mean, I was all ready with my new goggles and all! It definitely looked like it should fit, but it's hard to tell. It smelled like new rubber and it was very exciting.

After work, I packed up all my goodies and headed uptown to pick up my number for today's 10K run. This is what I ended up getting:


Normally, we just get numbers and t-shirts for NYRR races. All this extra stuff (the bag, the hat, the flag - there were also temporary tattoos and a pen) was a bonus. Plus, I thought the t-shirt ended up being pretty cool that it looked like a map of NYC and a Scottish tartan. After getting my goodies, I finally headed home.

As soon as I walked in the door, I tried on my wetsuit. No sense in waiting around, right? Seems to fit perfectly. I need to test it in the pool, of course, but I'm really hopeful. I also was really impressed that as soon as I put it on I was hot immediately. Seems like exactly what I'll be needing for San Francisco's chilly bay!

Now, for this morning. It was 56 when I was getting ready to leave for the race. I was wearing shorts and a thin long-sleeved shirt. I actually wondered before leaving if I should wear a tank-top underneath my shirt in case I got hot, but I figured I would be okay. (Turns out you should always listen to that little voice in your head).

I was really excited about today's 10K course. We started at the bottom of the Park on the Westside, near 62nd Street and ran north up the Westside, which meant that we'd be running clockwise in the Park. Most runners and races go counter-clockwise. However, the NYC Triathlon takes basically this same route and the NYC Marathon does as well for the portion in the Park. I was excited to do this route in a race as practice for the Triathlon in July.

While I was waiting for the race to start and was standing in my corral, I was starting to feel a little bit warm. That did not seem like a very good sign. I also can't remember if I've ever felt warm at the start of a race. Most of them seem to be pretty cool and then I warm up while running. I decided at that point to push my sleeves up and just do the best I could.

It's funny because right after you start the race, you see the sign for Mile 6 and then you run through the finish only to have to run all the way around the Loop before getting back to the real finish. I felt great when the race started. I was just running a nice and easy 9:30/mile pace for the first two miles. I don't know where this new ease and love of running is coming from. Maybe part of it is bike riding avoidance? Heading to the Harlem Hill, I felt really confident that I was going to have a good race. I ran up the first part of the hill and then the downhill and felt okay.

At the bottom of the hill, there was a fire hose that was spraying people - I opted not to get soaked and just got a mist from the side. Then came the second part of the Harlem Hill. I felt really great while I was running up the hill. I was proud of myself because I was passing so many walkers and I was thinking how much my running fitness has really increased as a result of all the running I've been doing recently. And then I got to the top of the hill and realized that I was in a bit of trouble. I started feeling really light-headed and felt a headache coming on.

I decided that I would just keep on running and from then on I would stop and walk through all the remaining aid stations and drink water in order to try to stay hydrated enough. I have to say that after wishing and hoping for warmer weather, I sort-of forgot how to deal with it. I just wasn't ready for the warmer temperatures today. However, my plan of running until I got to an aid station and then walking through and sipping water seemed to work pretty well for me for the remainder of the race. I even stopped at the aid station in the last mile, which seemed ridiculous, but was definitely the right thing to do.

When I could see the sign for Mile 6, I started picking up my pace a little bit. The last bit of the race is uphill and I really pushed through and passed as many people as I could. I also managed to get a sub 10-minute-per-mile finish! I'm really happy with that. I think that if I had been more prepared for the heat, I could have probably finished with a 60 minute 10K time, but as it is, I knocked 1:01 off my last 10K time, so I'm still proud of the improvement. And the truth is that I think I actually walked more during this race than I did in the last one!

After the race, I grabbed another cup of water and the typical bagel and apple that they hand out after NYRR races. They were also handing out these Stoats bars (please note my short fingernails are for the wetsuit wearing):


I have to say that I didn't think it looked that great. I was pretty dense looking, but I looked at the ingredients and thought that they looked pretty good without any scary chemicals, so I decided to give it a try. YUM!


And then I looked at that ingredient list again and saw that the third ingredient was butter. No wonder it was so tasty! I ate about 1/3 of the bar on my way home from the race along with the apple. I carried my bagel home with me. At some corner when I was stopped for the light, a woman came up to me and said, "You've just run all that way and now you're going to eat a bagel?" I told her that my plan was to take my bagel home with me and put some fried eggs on top. She told me that she was glad I was going to be getting some protein with "all those carbs". I'm not sure why it made any difference to her, but then she made a comment something along the lines of, "well, I guess you did just run all that way so you can eat whatever you want, huh?"

Um, no. That is not how these things work. Maybe if I didn't care about my weight or general fitness then I would think that it was okay to eat whatever I wanted after working out, but my response to her question was, "No, I can't. That's how Americans get fat with that sort of mentality." Sorry, but it's true. And, actually, I'm going to steal an excerpt from Julia's Huffington Post article to show what I mean:

Let this be a lesson to you: working out daily does not cancel out eating crap. It's simple math, really. A typical workout will burn 300-500 calories. Calories in a piece of Cheesecake Factory cheesecake? 700-1,100. In a restaurant hamburger (let's say Chili's)? 800-1,100. These numbers mean little until you combine them with the, "I worked out so I can eat what I want" mentality. Basically, saying you worked out so you can allow yourself a piece of cheesecake, or splurge on a burger instead of a turkey sandwich (which has about 300 calories), is fallacious. One piece of cheesecake equals two hard workouts, and who's gonna work out twice in a day just because they want a slice of cheesecake? Certainly not me.

Normally I don't get so high-and-mighty on the blog, but sometimes people just say something that gets me so frustrated. I'm doing triathlons because I really like this sport. I'm also doing them to keep myself motivated to workout on a daily basis. Unlike a lot of people out there, I've never really struggled with my weight, but I know that I would probably like to turn some of my body fat into muscle if at all possible. But, I work out and I watch what I eat 90% of the time. And sometimes, yeah, because I ran all that way, I do splurge a little bit. But mostly I just want to eat good foods after working out. Funny how our bodies take care of those cravings for us.

And just to be accountable, I ate my bagel with two eggs, which were fried in a little bit of butter for a total of about 500 calories. And I ate a small Macintosh apple plus a small amount of that bar. I'd guess that brought my total up to about 650? Considering I burned over 750 while running, I think I did okay. And now I'll stop talking about food on my fitness blog (although I do think they're related).

Running
Time: 1:01:11 (first time my watch matched exactly with the official results!)
Distance: 6.20 miles (10K)
Pace: 9:52/mile
Calories: 759
Maximum HR: 194
Average HR: 178

Uneven Ground

This morning I actually woke up and got up to do a workout before going to work. If this was yesterday, it almost could have been an April Fool's joke. But it's the truth! I probably should have gone biking, but I just felt like running, so that's what I did. I checked out the course map for tomorrow's 10K and I'm pretty excited about it, but I decided that I didn't want to do the same run two days in a row.

So, when I got to the Park, I decided to run the bridle path instead of the regular road. What a nice change! There was mud, ruts, sand, loose dirt, hard compacted dirt, puddles, rocks, and all sorts of other things to watch out for. I was thinking that because of the uneven ground, it was probably good practice for the portion of the run at Alcatraz that is on the beach.

It was 49 when I left the apartment and I wore shorts (!), a short-sleeved shirt and a long-sleeved shirt. I decided to walk to the Park. I had just crammed a Luna Protein bar down along with a glass of water and I wasn't quite ready for running when I left the house. I needed that 10 minute walking buffer before I started running. I was a little chilly walking to the Park, but was completely fine once I started running.

I don't often take the bridle path route in the Park because it's impossible to figure out how far you've gone. I have searched the internet for answers and I try to Gmap Pedometer the route myself, but the map of Central Park is just so covered with trees that it's impossible to tell exactly where I'm running on the map. I did Gmap Pedometer today's route twice. Once I got 4.8 miles and the second time I got 5.2. I'm going to split the difference and call it 5 miles.

Today after work I'm going to pick up my race number and T-shirt for Saturday's 10K race. I'm going to see how I feel after the race and how the weekend pans out, but I'm hoping to get in at least one long bike ride to New Jersey to tackle some hills. I only have 3 weekends left with my bike before it has to be shipped off to California!

Running
Time: 48:29
Distance: 5.00 miles
Pace: 9:41/mile
Calories: 516
Maximum HR: 181
Average HR: 165

Shorts On The Bike

I could go on and on about why I didn't get up this morning and go biking, but instead I'll say I thought it was too cold and I didn't get up. End of story. Plus, I knew it'd warm up as the day went on and I was really more keen on biking in warmer weather. So, after work today, that's what I did. I donned my bike shorts (not tri shorts), a long-sleeved shirt and a short-sleeved shirt and headed off to the Park. And that's it! I didn't wear tights ... just shorts! Whoo hoo for warmer weather. (Don't worry, I'm realistic and know that this is just temporary, but I'm going to take full advantage while I can). I think it was just under 70 when I left the apartment.

When I got to the Park, it was crammed with cars and pedestrians. I continually remind myself that this is why I should get up early and go, but obviously sometimes that's just not enough. I realized pretty quickly that the idea of hanging out in the lower part of the Park just wasn't on the agenda for the day. But that's okay because I need the hill practice and doing repeats on the Harlem Hill was probably exactly what I needed.

So, I think I did the Hill 5 times. Not a ton of practice, but enough. I stayed in the middle ring (in the front) the whole time and tried to keep it in the middle of the front ring instead of switching all the way to the easiest side. I wanted to convince myself to do the Hill in the big ring, but I just got back to biking and since I want to have a big biking weekend, I figured that I shouldn't blow out my legs quite yet.

In all today, I didn't get a lot of riding in since I wanted to get home before it started to get dark. I realize that it's funny that I don't mind riding in the dark in the morning, but that's because I'll see about five cars total. Riding in the dark at rush hour is a totally different story. Really not my cup of tea. Even if the weather won't be getting that much better as time goes on at least the days will be getting longer!

I'm not quite sure what my plan for tomorrow is. I do know that after work I want to go pick up my race number for Saturday's 10K that I'm running. I also would like to take advantage of the good weather this weekend and go on a bike ride to New Jersey to tackle some of the hills there. I guess I'll see how it goes! Real half-Ironman training starts next week! Then I'll be better at knowing what to do and when to do it.

Biking
Time: 51:39
Distance: 11.70 miles
Pace: 13.59 MPH
Calories: 448
Maximum HR: 169
Average HR: 146
Total Distance Biking: 13.16 miles

What Are Those Suits You're Wearing?

This morning I met Laura for a wetsuit swim at one of our least favorite pools in the city, the McBurney Y. I actually think the pool itself is pretty nice, but it's always really crowded and people are bad at seeding themselves properly into the correct lanes. We also tend to wear our wetsuits there as the pool is a little on the cooler side and I always end up getting yelled at by the woman in the locker room about having too much water dripping by my locker. The good news is that today was our last swim there for 2010!

I cut all my fingernails off in anticipation of this wetsuit swim. That always makes me a little bit sad. I was also a little bit bummed that we were doing this swim today since I did order a new wetsuit for Alcatraz (I need one with sleeves instead of the sleeveless one that I have) and it won't be here until Friday. This is what my new suit will look like (source):
However, I probably won't have my hair all done when I am actually wearing the wetsuit, unlike the model here. When we were putting our wetsuits on, a woman in the locker room started chatting us up and asked us what kind of suits we were wearing. Then she asked us all sorts of other questions. I seem to be a magnet for people chatting with me recently.

When we were all suited up, we headed out to the pool deck. I think I spent five minutes just staring at the pool trying to figure out what lane to put myself into. I got fooled because when I got there it was just before 7:00 AM and the Master's Swim Group wasn't in the pool yet, but when I got out to the pool they were swimming and taking up two lanes of the pool. That made it harder for me to find a spot.

There were two lanes circle swimming and the rest of the available lanes were being split by people, so there wasn't room for me there. I decided to get in the Medium lane that was circle swimming. I did 100 before I got super annoyed at everyone in the lane. After that, I just stood at the end of the lane trying to figure out my options. I must have had a homicidal maniac look on my face because the lifeguard yelled out to me that I could move over and split one of the slow lanes so that I'd have space to myself.

I did about 300 total in warm-up and then did the same thing that we did on Sunday at Terrier. I did 100s but did them fast/easy/easy/fast. I think I was averaging about 1:40 for the 100s. Then I'd give myself 20-25 seconds rest and do another one.

At some point, I was interrupted by a weird guy in a red swim cap and boxer shorts. He had been in the Water Walkers lane and I noticed him because he was mostly just swimming around underwater, not doing any "real" swimming. All of a sudden, he jumped into my lane and forced us to start circle swimming. I wasn't really having any of that. I just watched him swim underwater and then do some really slow breaststroke. I must have given him the stink-eye because he only did that one 50 and then moved over to Laura's lane (sorry, Laura) to cause some more trouble.

After he left, I went back to my same routine. A couple minutes after 8:00, a woman came to the edge of my lane and asked if we would start circle swimming. At that same time, Laura was at the end of her lane and said that she was ready whenever I was. I just wasn't in the mood for circle-swimming with slow people, so we got out and hit the showers.

I have to say that the pool at NYSC isn't anything great and it's really short (only 18 yards), but there is something to be said for knowing that you have 30 minutes of uninterrupted swimming while sharing a lane with someone else. You can do your own thing and not have to worry what anyone else is doing, which I like.

Today's wetsuit swim was a lot better than a couple weeks ago. Last time I felt like every time I kicked, my feet were above water and today I really concentrated on having a solid kick and trying not to be quite so buoyant!

My time today while swimming isn't so great, but that's because I time everything, including me being upset while just standing at the end of the pool and all the rest times. I never really worry about that. Somehow I never really remember to start and stop my watch all those times and the truth of the matter is that swimming pace really isn't as interesting to me as running or bike pacing is.

Swimming
Time: 36:48
Distance: 1200 yards (0.68 miles)
Pace: 54:06/mile
Calories: 318
Maximum HR: 161
Average HR: 146

Same Workout, Different Venue

Last night I set my alarm to get up and go to the Terrier run this morning. Except Drew worked really late last night (I actually don't even know when he got home, but it was definitely today). I woke up when he got home and talked to him for a bit and then he passed out in about 10 minutes flat and I was still awake. I tossed and turned for a while. And then when it was time to wake up at 5:30, it was a rainy disaster outside. So, I decided to skip the Terrier workout. Which is probably lame given the fact that most of my races seem to be in the rain, but I hate rain. Hate it.

So, instead, I packed a bag so that I could hit the gym after work since it was supposed to be raining all day (and I think it actually did). When I left work today I was stuffed full from lunch and my afternoon snack. I hurried to the gym and when I was standing on the treadmill 32 minutes later, my stomach was rumbling really loudly. I figured that wasn't a good sign and I was glad that today's workout was going to be pretty quick (and speedy).

I had written down the Terrier workout today, so this was what we were supposed to do (after doing a warm-up jog):

220 yards (0.125 miles) / Recover 1:00
440 yards (0.25 miles) / Recover 1:30
660 yards (0.375 miles) / Recover 1:30
880 yards (0.50 miles) / Recover 2:00
880 yards (0.50 miles) / Recover 2:00
660 yards (0.375 miles ) / Recover 1:30
440 yards (0.25 miles) / Recover 1:30
220 yards (0.125 miles) Recover 1:00

My actual workout was modified slightly. I did 1.75 miles as a warm-up and then got into the workout. I did all the running at 7.1 speed (8:27/mile pace) and walked at 4.0 as a recovery. I didn't feel bad about walking because I knew if I was at the actual workout, I would have just stood still instead of even walking. I had to modify the actual workout slightly since the treadmills at my gym only go to the hundredths instead of thousandths, so I did 0.38 and 0.37 instead of 0.375. In all, the total distance was still 2.50 miles.

It was definitely not easy to do the 0.50 segments at the faster pace, but I tried to distract myself as much as I could and not watch the clock tick the seconds by. After I finished the running, I did a quick cool-down and then did some stretching. As I was stretching, I found myself spacing out and realized that I should get home and eat something. When I got into the elevator in my building, I realized that I was starving and was about ready to gnaw my arm off. I quickly got into my apartment and had a big glass of chocolate soy milk and then worried about the rest of dinner. Of course, as I type this now, an hour and a half later, I'm still hungry! Must be time for a snack and then bed. I'm supposed to meet Laura for a wetsuit swim tomorrow morning.

Running
Time: 49:07
Distance: 4.92 miles
Pace: 9:58/mile
Calories: 551
Maximum HR: 183
Average HR: 169

Swimming Is For The Dogs

After my run this morning, I knew that I should go to the Terrier swim, but I didn't really want to go. Drew told me that I really had to go - that he was worried about Alcatraz. I knew he was right, but it still didn't make me want to go. I have to say that I really didn't want to go when I was woken up from my nap and then went I went outside to walk to practice I discovered it was raining.

But, I went anyway. It actually ended up being a fairly small practice - I think there were only 8 of us there. I started out in the slow lane because I wanted to just work on concentrating on my form and not be too worried about speed today. However, after the warm-up, Sarah made me move over one lane to the slightly faster lane.

This was today's workout:

Warm-Up
150 Swim
150 Drill (I did one armed drills)
150 Kick (with board)
150 Swim

Main Set
10 x 50 Swim on the 1:05
Odds were fast/easy
Evens were easy/fast

5 x 100 Pull (RI 0:15)

500 Swim at Race Pace

8 x 25 For Breath Control

Cool-Down
1 x 50

The 50s that we did, I completed each one in about 45 seconds. I really concentrated on making the easy part easy and the fast part faster. The pulling was pretty boring. I just concentrated on making sure to finish my stroke each time. Then came the hard part - the 500 at race pace. Since I wouldn't even know what my race pace was and it's impossible to duplicate in a pool, I tried to pick a maintainable speed. I didn't want to be dying at the end and I also didn't want my form to go to hell while swimming too fast. I think I finished in about 8:20, which is 1:49/100 pace.

Then Sarah told us that we had all finished the workout so fast that she was going to add some additional stuff on for us (lucky us!). That was when we did the 8 x 25. We did two sets of four. The first 25 we could breathe three times, the second 25 two times, the third 25 once and the fourth zero times. I have to say that I cheated on the first set and breathed once on the zero. But, I felt like I made up for it because on the second set, I only took two breaths on the 25 where we could take three. I actually think that it took me that long to figure out how to adjust my breathing/exhaling. The last 25 I did without taking a breath at all. I asked if I could do it by swimming underwater, but Sarah said no. It's a lot easier to do it that way!

Then we did a quick 50 cool-down and showered and headed home. I am really glad I went today, as I always am. It's just such a struggle to force myself to go. I know that for the next couple of weeks I really can't slack off on this as I need to get myself in the water more and work on my swimming fitness for the race!

Swimming
Time: 58:46
Distance: 2350 yards (1.33 miles)
Pace: 44:00/mile
Calories: 529
Maximum HR: 168
Average HR: 149

Running For Colon Cancer

This morning was the New York Road Runners Colon Cancer Challenge 4 mile run (there was also a 15K run as well as 1.7 mile walk, but I decided 4 miles sounded best). I didn't have a chance last week to pick up my race number, t-shirt and D-tag, so I had to do that this morning. The weather was about 40 degrees for the race and I wore tights, a long sleeved shirt and a wind breaker.

I decided just to walk to the packet pick-up so that I wouldn't get myself too hot and then be freezing while waiting for the race to start. I was definitely chilly walking to the race. I picked up my number and t-shirt without any problems. I pinned my number to my shirt and went over to wait in the corrals. While I was waiting, the girl next to me started chatting with me. Apparently, I seem to be a magnet recently for talking in the race corral!

We talked about the weather and our running experience. We were both in the 10:00/mile corral and she told me that she had really been working on speed recently and was more of a 9:00 miler. Then we talked about how we never seem to have good times at these New York Road Runner races. I haven't had good luck recently, but I did notice that this morning there seemed to be fewer people out than in the past races.

I definitely wasn't going into this race with any expectations. I know from past experience that's just a bad idea. I figured I would just run my race as best I could given the race conditions. I also knew that I couldn't do much worse than my last attempt at a 4 mile race in Central Park.

Since it was a Colon Cancer fund-raiser run, there were several groups there wearing t-shirts in honor or in memory of someone, but there was one group with funny "Don't be a chump. Check your rump" t-shirts. I thought those were much better than our plain and boring race t-shirts. But, a free t-shirt is a free t-shirt and I won't complain too much.

I started out the race pretty well. I ran the first mile in about 9:30, I think. That seemed like a pretty decent pace and I should just try to keep going. I was thinking while running that it's both good and bad to know the Park so well now. It's frustrating to know every single hill and to anticipate (and slightly dread) all the uphills, but it's good to know that you can just run to X spot (sign, lamp post, tree, etc.) and then it will be downhill from there.

I didn't stop at any of the water stations, I just ran the whole race (also different from last time). As a result of all of this, I ran 0:59 per mile faster than last time! I can't believe I shaved almost 4:00 off my time. It's funny because now that the half-marathon is done and over with, I've actually been liking running more. I think part of that has to do with the fact that the pressure is off a little bit now and I can focus on something other than only running and get back to triathlon training.

No matter what, I'm really proud of myself for today's effort at the run. I can't believe how much better today was than a month ago!

Running
Time: 37:11
Distance: 4.00 miles
Pace: 9:17/mile
Calories: 447
Maximum HR: 192
Average HR: 175

Where's Your Sweat?

I was really hoping the weather forecasters were just going to be wrong with today's forecast. When we woke up this morning, it was 29 degrees. I know that I'm supposed to be training for this triathlon in San Francisco regardless of the weather, but below freezing sounded too cold for a bike ride. So, instead I went to the gym and spun my little heart out on the spin bike.

I used the computerized spin bike so I could have a program to do and not just fumble around on my own. For my first ride (I wanted to ride more than an hour and to do that, I'd have to do two separate rides), I chose the "Interval" program, Level 8.


I think that I spent about 80% of the time out of the saddle. The hardest part was actually when we switched from all the time out of the saddle to a seated climb on hard resistance. I took a photo of the fellow who gives you your instructions - he actually looks like someone I know, which is a little bit weird:


The screen is all red in this shot because as a result of my picture taking, I let my cadence slip a little bit. It's pretty good at telling you what cadence you should have and yelling at you (okay, there isn't really any yelling, but there is a lot of flashing red) when you don't keep up with what they expect.

These were the stats for my first ride:

After I was done with my first ride, I stared up the bike again, but this time chose Endurance, Level 10. Drew had just hopped on the bike next to me when I was finishing up the first ride and starting the second one. I had been dripping sweat like crazy during the first ride, but there is a cool-down and a warm-up on each ride, so I had cooled off and wasn't sweating as much when he was there.

He was pretty sweaty and was dripping sweat all over the floor. Apparently I wasn't sweaty enough for him and he asked me where all my sweat was. The truth was that I did work up a sweat again on the Endurance ride, but not as much as on the Interval ride. I'm okay with that. Since part of this is learning how to get my rear end reacquainted with the bike saddle, I needed to spend some time sitting down.

Here are my stats for the second ride:


The computer spin bikes at our gym are located next to a machine called a "Cardio Wave". This is what it looks like:


I have no idea what this machine does or if it's any good or not, but apparently it only requires you to work out for about 15 minutes (or less) and not get sweaty at all, because several people came over and worked out on it for a very short period of time while I was biking away.

When I was done with the bike and was stretching, Drew came over and said that he was going to run a mile really quickly on the treadmill. I said I would do that too. Well, technically, I said I didn't know about all that running fast business, but I'd go ahead and do some running. We both started off doing some walking (I did 0.25 miles and he did 0.20). He told me that he was going to run 1.50 miles, but I knew that I should just stick with the initial plan of one mile.

I started at 6.0 and just kept bumping up the speed little by little, until at the end I was running at 9.5 speed. It wasn't easy, but knowing that it was only one mile definitely helped! Drew actually only ended up doing one mile too. He was faster than I was. We finished up with some stretching and then headed home. I had been thinking about not renewing my gym membership, but the past two days have pretty much shown that even though I might not go there all the time, it's definitely a good investment to have it available when I want/need it!

I don't have any fancy heart rate stats today since I let Drew wear my heart rate monitor and watch since he accidentally left his watch at work on Friday!

Bike #1
Time: 51:53
Distance: 18.70 miles
Pace: 21.63 MPH
Calories: 719 (from machine)

Bike #2
Time: 41:54
Distance: 15.60 miles
Pace: 22.34 MPH
Calories: 504 (from machine)

Running
Time: 8:46
Distance: 1.00 mile
Pace: 8:46/mile

iPhone v. Treadmill

I stayed up late again last night - mainly because I didn't get home until 9:30 and still had to eat dinner and just wasn't quite ready for bed early. All my own fault, I know. That meant that I didn't feel like getting up early this morning to workout. So, instead, I had the gym looming over my head all day long. Not the most fun thing to look forward to on a Friday night.

I had made a really fun playlist a while ago, but somehow my iPhone decided to eat that playlist. So, I made another (very similar) one today before going to the gym. Even though some of the songs are pretty embarrassing, I thought I'd post it here (just in case my phone decides to eat the list again!)


There were 21 songs on the list and I figured I'd run today until the treadmill gave out (after 60 minutes) or I ran out of songs to listen to. Whichever came first. I was definitely "that girl" on the treadmill today since I was mouthing along (not singing!) to my songs.

I was running along (quite happily -- which almost never ever happens at the gym) at 6.0 when I decided that maybe I should try to do a 5K in under 30:00. Except I didn't think about this plan until a bit too late. I think that if I had decided about 30 seconds earlier that was going to be my plan, I would have been perfect. So, instead I finished in 30:07. Still super awesomely happy with that time.

Then because I was running at 9.5 to try to finish in time, I took a bit of a walking break for 0.25 miles. I still had plenty of time left on the treadmill, so I figured I should keep on running. I ended up being able to do 2.5 more miles running. I also picked up the speed at the end of that run too. I figure that's fairly race-like.

Then I went for a swim. I had brought along a swimplan.com workout to do, but I kind-of knew I wouldn't do it. For one thing, the pool there is only 18 feet long and I'm really bad at math so trying to convert in my head is a disaster. I had figured out before I went to the pool that 1800 yards (so 100 lengths of the pool) is 1.02 miles.

I ended up doing 50 lengths (0.51 miles) and after seeing my time, which I thought was fine, I decided to see if I could negative split the next 0.51 miles. The first half-mile was so nice and easy, I really never felt like I was working. The second half-mile was also pretty easy, although I will admit that for the last 4 lengths (72 yards), I did pick it up a tiny bit, but I never was pushing it to the max or anywhere close to that. Definitely have to say that knowing I can swim a mile (it's in the pool, I know) nice and easy in about 32 minutes really makes me more confident about Alcatraz. You have an hour to swim 1.5 miles and I know the current is crazy, but I think I can do it.

After the running, I did some stretching and I even did some quite neglected core work. I did two sets of 25 crunches and also did plank for 1:00. I don't even know if that's good or not, but I figure that it wasn't going to hurt me and every little bit helps. Had some Gatorade while running and a mini Lara bar (thanks Atlanta expo!) after. I also had some Muscle Milk before and most after the swim.

I almost never like going to the gym, but somehow everything was really nice and easy today. Oh, and by the way, the iPhone totally won. I listened to 18.5 songs (out of the 21).

Run #1
Time: 30:07
Distance: 3.10 miles
Pace: 9:42/mile
Calories: 366
Maximum HR: 191
Average HR: 171

Run #2
Time: 24:07
Distance: 2.50 miles
Pace: 9:38/mile
Calories: 298
Maximum HR: 182
Average HR: 172

Swim #1
Time: 16:23
Distance: 0.51 miles (900 yards)
Pace: 32:07/mile
Calories: 161
Maximum HR: 158
Average HR: 151

Swim #2
Time: 15:52
Distance: 0.51 miles (900 yards)
Pace: 31:06/mile
Calories: 173
Maximum HR: 169
Average HR: 161

First Brick of 2010!

And I was excited about it? Crazy as it sounds, yes, I was. I got everything all laid out last night so that all I'd have to do this morning was eat and put on my clothes. I wore the same thing that I wore yesterday evening bike riding - tights, tri shorts, two long-sleeved shirts. I brought along my gloves, just in case, but ended up not needing them. We have to be there at 5:30 in the morning, so I tried to get to bed early last night!

When I got to the Park, I was tiny bit surprised to see how many people were there today. I guess lots of people were looking for the practice. Before he gave us the workout, Robert asked how many people were on their first ride of the year and a couple people raised their hands. I felt like I didn't have to since I went last night, even though that's technically probably cheating.

Of course, my rear end definitely noticed the fact that I went riding last night and this morning! Oof. I noticed it the second I sat down on my bike this morning. So, um, yeah. It wasn't my most comfortable ride ever. But, I managed to get through it. I definitely got up out of the saddle a couple times, just to coast, which didn't help my times any.

The workout for today was to ride for about an hour and then run for about 20 minutes. I ended up doing two loops of the Park, plus a little bit before heading back to put on my running shoes. The biking today was fine - other than my rear - but I will say that I did notice my legs were a tiny bit tired from yesterday. I knew I wasn't going as fast today as I did yesterday, but I'm okay with that.

After putting on my running shoes, I decided to just run the Lower Loop of the Park. I didn't think it would take me 20 minutes, but I knew it'd be pretty close. I didn't have that jelly-leg feeling, instead my legs felt like lead. I really felt like I was running with a ball and chain. Even though it doesn't sound that great, it actually wasn't too bad. I even passed some people while I was running, which doesn't happen very often. Probably because even though my legs were leaden, I was running faster than usual!

When I got back to my bike, I noticed that everyone else was grabbing their bikes and doing a half-mile loop running with the bike. I was hoping I could sneak out of that part, but as soon as I got back, Robert spotted me and said "Grab your bike!". Hard to argue with that. So, I didn't start my watch, but it was about 5 minutes more running.

I actually really liked today's workout. I always liked the bricks last year and I'm hoping that this year isn't any different. Robert said that once it starts getting lighter earlier in the day we'll do more transition practice during the bricks, but for now we'll do longer rides and runs. After reading some of the detailed information on Alcatraz, I'm now realizing that there are lots of transitions, so the extra practice could be helpful!

Biking
Time: 57:33
Distance: 12.99 miles
Pace: 13.54 MPH
Calories: 616
Maximum HR: 175
Average HR: 158
Total Bike Mileage: 16.54 miles

Running #1
Time: 16:18
Distance: 1.82 miles
Pace: 8:57/mile
Calories: 202
Maximum HR: 184
Average HR: 173

Running #2
Time: 5:00
Distance: 0.49 miles
Pace: 10:12/mile

The Test Drive

I ended up taking yesterday off. I figured that was my free pass at a day off and I should cash in on it. I think it ended up being the right decision. My legs were still pretty tired yesterday after the half-marathon and they feel back to normal today. I was supposed to get up early this morning and go for a test drive on my bike.

However, I just couldn't do it. Drew often leaves for the gym and says, "Don't forget to wake up!" It's not that I forget exactly, it's usually that once it gets later in the morning, I don't see the point of getting up since I then won't be able to squeeze in the workout that I want to do. The truth is that I love to press snooze and I do it really well. It's my #1 talent. I'm going to have to put my alarm on the other side of the room, I think, so that I can ensure I am ready for Alcatraz!

Since I didn't get up this morning, I hurried home after work in order to sneak a bike ride in before the sun went down. I wasn't sure if I should ride in the Park or the Westside Bike Path, but I figured that I should get in every single hill that I can, so I opted for the Park. The weather was about 58 degrees when I left the apartment. I had no idea what to wear, but I guessed and wore tights, tri shorts, and two long-sleeved shirts. It ended up being just about perfect! I'm guessing that I could have worn less, but it was pretty windy out there and I was never hot.

The biking was fairly uneventful, which seems like a fantastic thing to report! My biggest accomplishment was the fact that both times I went up the Harlem Hill I stayed in the middle ring instead of switching to my granny gear. That seems like a good indication that I haven't lost too much bike fitness over the past few months. The other thing that seemed like a good indicator is that it pretty much took me the exact same amount of time that it was taking last fall to get around the loop. I wonder if all that running kept my legs strong?

Pretty much the only thing that wasn't perfect was that even though my legs felt fine, my rear end was another story. I think it'll only take a little while to get used to sitting in the saddle again, but I have to say that today wasn't 100% comfortable, which I definitely expected. Maybe I should have worn my bike shorts instead of tri shorts. Except that I like to keep my bike shorts for those horrid bikes at the gym and I think I'll just wear tri shorts to get myself used to it. I'll be spending a lot of time in the saddle from now on, so I might have to invest in another pair of shorts!

Biking
Total Time: 1:06:23
Total Distance: 13.53 miles
Total Pace: 12.23 MPH (average)

Park Biking Time: 50:00
Park Biking Distance: 12.10 miles
Park Biking Pace: 14.52 MPH (average)

Calories: 493
Maximum HR: 171
Average HR: 154
Maximum Speed: 22.5

More Race Photos From The Atlanta Half-Marathon

Here are some more photos from the Atlanta Half-Marathon!

Running through Piedmont Park:

Pretty sure I look like a deer in the headlights here:

Nearing the Finish Line:


At the finish (it's much more crowded looking that I remembered):

Showing off my finisher's medal:

A Big Announcement

Well, I've been waiting to announce this until I had officially registered, but I've signed up for the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon in San Francisco on May 2! It's probably crazy that I signed up for this race since I haven't ridden my actual bicycle in months, but the registration fee has been paid and now I've got to get my butt on my bike and start riding. And start riding mostly uphill!

This is the bike course elevation map (source). I have to say that it looks a little bit scary, especially the hill starting around Mile 12! I have no idea what I'm getting myself into, but I think that this will be a really great experience for me and I intend to have fun no matter what.

I had been feeling like I needed something else to round out my triathlon season and while this might be a bit sooner than I anticipated, I think it's just what I was looking for. We've already booked our hotel and flights, so now I just have to worry about the training, how to get my bike there (or if I should/can rent one), and I probably have to get/rent a full-sleeved wetsuit. But, of course, I'm really excited about it!

Since I've already planned out my half-Ironman training, I think I'll just stick with that plan for the time being. It should be more than enough training for Alcatraz. I'll just try to stick in a few extra hills on the bike. And maybe even try to sneak in at least one open-water swim before the race? Should be an interesting experience!