two out of three

Today I hit two out of the three.  I went to bike GTS (now at 7:30am!) and did 4 lower loops and 2 full loops of Central Park.  The coldest part was waiting for the start of practice over at 72nd and the river.  Once we got going, however, it wasn't so bad.  I'm feeling more confident every time I hit the road.  I had a nice chat with coach Jay and went over some shifting issues.  I just have to keep practicing!

And then, because I got called in to sub unexpectedly last night and missed my Friday night solo swim, I went to the gym and swam....for 40 minutes straight!!!!  And I wasn't busted afterwards!  I am feeling pretty great about the swim bit.

Now, if I can just get back my running legs.  Let's hope the Coogan's Salsa Blues and Shamrocks 5K goes better tomorrow than it did last year.  http://kimrunsparis.blogspot.com/2008/03/oh-my.html

harlem hill with sandwich bags on my feet

I've been embroiled in AEA negotiations all this week and am exhausted, but I promised myself I would not miss bike GTS this morning.  So, with 5 hours of sleep I got up, put on 5 upper layers, 2 pairs of gloves, 2 lower layers, 2 pairs of socks and some sandwich bags over my socks and got on my bike and headed up to Central Park.  

I must say I loooove my new tires.  That suction cup feeling is totally gone and except for going uphill I actually felt like I was moving quickly and not trudging along.  And after releasing the urge to stay with the basic, basic group, I headed off with the main group for some gear work.  After 2 lower loops we did 6 runs up Strawberry Hill as I like to call it.  I have no idea what it's actually called, but it's really steep.  I was very excited to get an "excellent" from Coach Scott.  Small things :)

Then we headed back down around the bottom of the park and up to the north end.  Harlem Hill.  Eeek.  I thought running up it was hard.....

But I did it 3 times before braving 9th Avenue to get home to shower and get ready to go back to AEA.  

I don't anticipate resurfacing from 46th street until some time tomorrow.  It's going to be a fun night!!!  And I promise to get in a run as soon as it's over.

toga

I'm a little in love with the guys at Toga bikes on 64th and West End.  They were very nice and didn't charge me for the adjustments my bike needed or the labor for changing my tires.  They didn't make me feel like an idiot and answered all of my questions. 

And just for the record - I biked for an hour and a half this morning.  It was cold.

A Thursday morning adventure and battle wounds

I had a plan this morning.  I accidentally left a binder uptown last night and I definitely need saddle time so....   The plan was to ride up the west side, retrieve the binder and ride back.  The ride uptown was pretty good.  I'm still having trouble with the whole shifting thing, but the ride along the Hudson is pretty flat so it wasn't too painful.

The first thing I realized is that I need to get some eye protection - sunglasses or something. The wind makes my eyes water and there is so much crud flying around in the air that eye protection is definitely my next purchase.

The next thing I realized is that the simple things, like locking up the bike, are really not that simple for me.  It took me a good ten minutes to remove my chain, get it around the bike without the bike falling over and safely lock the bike.  It's all still so awkward.

And here's where the plan derails: City College -where I left the binder - was closed.  Lincoln's birthday.  Apparently they take advantage of President's Day AND Lincoln's birthday.  Seems a little redundant to me, but oh, well.  So much for my plan.

So I make my way back downtown.  Only now I'm riding directly into the wind.  Wow, what a difference that makes.  I was bad about checking the time, but I think it took me twice as long to get home as it did to get there.  I also managed to lose my chain once.  I am very proud to say that it only took me a few minutes to get it back on.  I did not panic.  Yay.

On the way back I decided to see if the Toga bike shop at 64th and West End was open yet.  I think my bike might need some gear tweaks and the guys there were really helpful at our group info session a few weeks back.  I head out of Riverside Park at 59th street and then back  up West End Ave to 64th St. to find that they are not open yet.  Foiled again.  And here's where I get brave....I decide to ride the rest of the way down 12th Avenue.  The traffic was fairly light and I did quite well if I may say so myself.

That is until the last half block.  I stupidly decide to ride on the sidewalk on 45th St. past 9th on the way to my building mid-block.    20 yards from my door I lose my balance and topple over onto the tree guard between the parking lots.  I now have a very sore thumb and a nice gouge on my right inner thigh.  My first battle wounds.  

The entire trip was a little over 10 miles.  25 miles still seems quite daunting!

I'm slackin' on my running...

... but really loving my swimming.   Sunday night I swam for thirty minutes straight at the gym.  At tonight's GTS, I got some nice feedback from coach Jay and felt pretty good about the 20 minute snake swim at the end.  It's great practice to have to swim with lots of other people in the lane with you.  I'm mildly frustrated by my speed - not fast enough to pass anyone, but fast enough to have to slow down to avoid crashing into the person in front of me.  I'm pretty sure I did one of three things to everyone in the pool tonight - blocked them from getting ahead, crashed into them from behind or cut in front of them at the turnaround.  Sorry everyone!

crazy

I'm doing a reading this week and trying to fit in rehearsals and meetings and classes and listening to tapes for meetings I've missed so I'm a little behind on my posting.  I had to miss this morning's bike GTS because of rehearsal and I'm sad about that.  Hopefully I'll hit the road tomorrow afternoon with my pal Maggie for a catch up workout!

swim gts

I really like swim GTS on Tuesday nights.  And I feel like my swim stroke is improving.  I'm not fast, but I swam the 15 minute "snake" swim without killing myself and I felt like I could have kept going.  I watched lots of people stop at every turn and take a breather...I just kept going.  Yay me!  I do not, however, enjoy smelling like chlorine all the way home.

and oh yeah....

Super Bowl Sunday is the anniversary of my first running race ever.  Superbowl Sunday 2007  I ran a 5K in San Francisco.  2008 I ran a 4 miler in at my fastest pace to date.  Today I ran a 4 miler.  I did not break any records.

the bike

Today I rode the bike outside.  Today I rode the bike on Eighth Avenue.  Today I rode the bike in Central Park.  Today I rode the bike on Ninth Avenue.

I did not die.

Whew.