wetsuits are hot

Really, really hot.  And I don't mean just when you are out of the water.  (And I really don't mean "hot" in the sense that they are a giant, full-body Spanx.)  They are hot when you are IN the water.  But, on the other hand, they are really, really buoyant.  You can pretty much float upright without doing anything.  Neat.

Here are two pictures of my wetsuit.  And yes, that is my chest in a wetsuit. :)

run 5 swim1

or "take that, charlie horse"

Tonight was "swim .75 miles" night at swim GTS.  And after turning over a new leaf today, I decided to go straight from my temp job at BC/EFA up to Riverbank State Park and run on the cushy track before the group swim.  It took me a few minutes to convince the front desk guy to let me stash my stuff in a locker an hour early, but I prevailed and hit the track.  I don't typically like running on a track - it's boring! - but I have to admit that the soft surface makes it feel a heck of a lot easier.  

I plugged in my headphones and re-visited an old running playlist on my iPod.  I almost never run with music these days.  The coaches prohibit it at GTS.  But listening to my "running" playlist I definitely had some flashbacks to running in San Francisco more than 2 years ago.  Nothing like a little OK Go to get you moving.  

There was a track club of some sort training tonight and let's just say I was seriously lapped....several times.  Those guys were fast!  I got in a decent 5 miles before heading in for the swim.

Tonight's challenge was to swim a continuous .75 miles.  And when I finished, I kept going...until I had swum a full mile!  Woo hoo!  And I did it in under 40 minutes despite a wicked charlie horse that stopped me cold for a second and had me kicking with only one leg for a few lengths.  (And despite constant notes from the coaches that I need to keep the fingers of my right hand closed - I just can't seem to do it!)  I am happy to report that I have now exceeded all of my race distances.  I have swum more than the 1.5K swim, biked more than the 40K bike and run more than the 5k run.  Now I just have to put it all together.  Only 5 1/2 more weeks to go!

six weeks and counting

Well, my race is 6 weeks from tomorrow.  And I feel pretty good.  My workouts this week were a little erratic due to 3 gigs in the same week, but I'm not freaking about it.  I got in an unexpected advanced swim workout on Monday and learned all about the wetsuit.  Wetsuit pickup is Thursday!  I must say I'm not exactly looking forward to squeezing into a rubber suit.  And at some point they make us swim in them in the pool.  Fun, fun, fun!

Today was another bike GTS, although not nearly as long as last week.  For the second day of spring it's still pretty cold for a bike ride.  But I bundled up and headed up to meet the group at Riverside Park.  A few instructions and we headed off to Central Park.  Ultimately I did 2 lower loops, 2 upper loops and two full loops.  An hour and a half and home.  I am really, really, really going to try to get in a run tonight after I get home.  Tomorrow is the Colon Cancer Challenge but I'm only volunteering.   If you're running look for me to be your chip clipper!

i'm pretty sure i just biked more than four hours...

* photo courtesy of RoBoNC on igougo.com

Okay - things I learned today:

1. When they say the bike workout is an hour and a half, they are LYING.  The "workout" may be 1.5 hours, but by the time you add in travel time it's more like 4HOURS!!!

2. There are literally hundreds of bikers out training on a day like today. 

3. Our coaches are magicians of some sort.  They are able to re-appear at any point even if you never see them pass you.

3.  Seeing roadkill is inevitable.

4.  Your cell phone can freeze.

I left my house at 6:55 am and headed up to Riverside Park at 72nd street.  There were 2 options for GTS today - a beginner workout in Central Park or an intermediate workout across the GWB into NJ. I wasn't sure which one I was going to do - I felt better than the beginner description but a little unsure of the GWB option.  I checked with coach Jay and coach Mike and they pretty much said "go for it."  So I did.  I met up with the intermediate group at Riverside Drive and 72nd and by 7:30 we were off.  (total non-biking/wait time: 10 min)

By 8:05 or so we were at the entrance to the GWB.  A quick 2 min. instruction stop and we were off.  I had run the bridge to NJ last year and the bike was definitely easier.  Except for the hairpin turns when you pray that no one is heading at you from the other direction.  

Another 2 minute instruction break and we headed onto Route 9W.  We were heading for the New Jersey/New York state line.  Hmm....that sounds far.  It was.

I managed to stay apace with a few fellow teammates.  At one point a coach road up alongside me from behind to check in.  He then sprinted on ahead to the next group.  I swear twenty minutes late he came up from behind AGAIN to let me know we were almost there.  I never saw him head back the other way after the first pass!

Now, even though I had told the gig am working on that I wasn't available until 12 today when they hired me (so I wouldn't miss this session), I had planned on getting back to midtown by 11am.  As I came upon the state line around 9:15am I thought perhaps I should turn around and head back.  But as I slowed near the coaches, who were magically waiting at the state line, they yelled out "Easy ride down the hill and stay on the saddle back up."  I felt guilty and just kept going.  Down the hill.  The very long hill.  Too late to change my mind now!

So a short water stop at the bottom of the hill and it was time to climb back up.  I swear I could have run up the hill faster.  It was endless.  Another 5 minute re-group at the state line and it was time to head home.  All the way home...

As long as it seemed to take to get from the bridge to the state line, it seemed ten times longer heading back to the bridge. Road kill seen along the way?  A poor deer and a sad looking raccoon.  And one of the coaches magically appeared at the turn off before the bridge.  Never saw her pass.  How do they do that?   I had a brief stop to pick up the water bottle I dropped while trying to drink and ride and didn't bother to stop again before heading back over the bridge.  

The scariest part was the ramp back down to the Manhattan side.  It is very narrow and there were large groups of bikers heading west as I was heading east.  I swear at one point I was holding on to the bridge railing for dear life while trying not to crash into oncoming bikers or fall over onto the ground completely.  Yikes!

At this point I'm pretty sure I'm not going to make my 11am arrival time at rehearsal but am too cold to stop and pull out my phone.  I've felt it buzz a few times but it's not worth the time waste at this point to pull it out.  I make my way over to the Hudson River path and start the fairly flat journey back downtown.

I realize it is actually 11am when I hit the short but steep hill that leads up into the esplanade at Riverside park.  I figure now is as good a time as any to try to send word that I'm not dead, just slow.  I pull out my Blackberry to see at least one message from rehearsal.  Funny, I can't seem to open it.  Okay, I'll call instead of text.  Funny, it won't let me into the address book.  Funny, it won't let me do anything!  Screw it...just get back on the bike and keep moving towards midtown. (Later at rehearsal it will require 4 battery removals/re-starts to get my phone functioning again.  I'm pretty sure it literally froze.)

I get held up for a brief moment by all the cars heading to drop people off for their cruise ships at the piers in the 50's but by 11:30 I'm finally at my final destination - 45th and 6th.  11:30.  Hmmm.  6:55.  Yowza!  That's more than 4 and a half hours!  And I figure non-saddle time was about 20-25 minutes.  Okay, I'm pretty sure I can handle the ride portion of the triathlon.  I'm going to go MapMyRide right now, but I'm quite certain that was more than 40k! Yay me!

And oh, yeah.....ouch.

my first brick

Today I did my first "brick."  "What's a brick?" you ask?  Well, it's the workout that prepares you for the actual triathlon - the part where you have to get off your bike after pedaling for quite some time and then run.  (You can also do a swim/bike brick to practice that transition.)   

"Why do they call it a brick?" you inquire further - well.....some people claim that it's because your feet feel like bricks after you get off the bike and try to run.  They might be a little right.  

It's definitely a weird feeling to switch gears after biking.  Today I biked from Riverside park over to Central Park and did one big loop (6miles) and 1 small loop (1.7 miles) and then back to Riverside and 72nd.  We had set ourselves up in a mock transition area and returned to our spots to switch to a 20-30 minute run.  I de-helmeted and grabbed some water and started off on a 10 minute out-and-back.  Of course our route was a hillier section than just along the river.  Since the Wildflower course is notoriously hilly, I better get used to it now.  Two of those and a few extra loops of the small track and we were done.  

So how did it go?  I feel good.  I'm not fast and I definitely need to get my running legs back in shape, but I feel good.  There will be many more bricks over the next 8 weeks.  Many, many more.....

My next challenge? - I'm gonna switch it up and go to the Int./Adv. swim GTS this week.  Wish me luck!

warm enough to forget your hat and not freeze

That's right, it's getting warmer!  Now let's just hope it lasts.  Halfway to the gym tonight I realized that I forgot a hat.  I'm usually too lazy to dry my hair after swimming and just slap a hat on for the walk home.  Tonight, I forgot the hat.  And tonight, it didn't matter!  

And even better than that?  I swam for 45 minutes straight - 15 minutes longer than I intended. Woo hoo!

And in other news -

My pal Maggie is having to switch events.  She was going to be doing the Wildflower 1/2 Ironman but is now going to do the NYC Triathlon.  I'm bummed that we won't be traveling together, but happy that she gets to swim in the Hudson ;)

Eight weeks from today I fly to Monterey!

And my college buddy Katja in Virgina has just signed up with TNT to train for a half marathon!!! I am so excited and proud.  Go Katja!

3/4 of the way there

On the swim that is.  The official distance of my swim in the triathlon will be 1.5km which is .932056788 miles.  Tonight I swam 1000 meters (20 lengths, 10 laps) in 25 minutes at GTS.  Woo hoo!  The goal for the night was only to swim 1/2 mile (804.672 meters).  I swam .621371192 miles!  A lot of silly numbers, I know, but I just like doing the math!  Now if I could just keep the fingers on my right hand closed while swimming....

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.

the freezing point of gatorade....

...is lower than the freezing point of water.  How do I know this?  Well, this morning I ran the Manhattan Half Marathon in Central Park.  It was a little more than two full loops of the park and according to the New York Road Runner's results page, the temperature was 14 degrees.  14 degrees!   

The NYRR races always have water stations (or "fluid stations" as they call them) spread throughout the course.  Today there were 4 stations on this course that  you hit 2 times each. Some had just water, some had Gatorade and water.  At the first water station I grabbed a cup and there was a lovely film of ice on top of the water.  I didn't see it fast enough and as I squeezed the cup to take a sip, the ice flew out and all over me.  Fun!  At the next station I just took Gatorade - no ice yet but it was mighty cold.  I was definitely running slow today so I was really far back in the pack - the leaders passed me with 2.1 miles left in their course - I was at mile 5. Yes, you read that right, they were almost done and I had 8.1 miles left to go!  By the time I hit the next station with Gatorade the contents of the cup resembled a Slurpee.  Nothing solid, just a nice, slushy freeze of yellow Gatorade.

I was so far back in the pack that the second to last table had actually run out of water by the time I got there.  And the last station?  Well, the first table had a lovely grid of cups with frozen water that were actually frozen to the table.  They wouldn't budge.  As I passed the last table, a very kind man pried up a frozen cup, violently banged it on the corner of the table to break the ice in the cup and passed it to a grateful me.  I got about two sips out of it and then chewed ice chips for the next 5 minutes.  

It definitely wasn't my fastest race, but considering I hadn't run further than 6 miles at a time since the Marine Corps Marathon in October,  I was happy to just finish.  I am, however, pretty sure it was my coldest race.  Brrr!

what an amazing day

I am spent.  Today was incredible and I end it with a new resolve.

p.s. I got a "Nice.  Really good." from Coach Scott at swim GTS tonight with regard to my freestyle.  Yippee!

and the winner is....

Maria and Carlos Martinez!  Congrats guys.  As soon as the TNT folks get the shuffle to me, I'll get it to you.  Let's hope it's a really fun color!  I was at the Apple Store last night for some computer issues and took a peek at the shuffle - it's really cute!

Again, thanks to everyone who donated.  So far I've raised 40% of the TNT goal!

P.S.  I did hit the treadmill last night for an hour.  I keep forgetting that I'm registered to run the Manhattan Half Marathon next weekend.  Yikes!

shuffle and swim

The deadline for the iPod shuffle raffle is tonight at midnight - so far the odds are pretty good. Thanks to everyone who donated in the past week!  I'll announce the winner tomorrow.

And last night was the first Manhattan swim Group Training Session (GTS) at Riverbank State Park.  It's a little bit of a hike for me to get up there but the pool was pretty great (we won't mention the locker rooms.)  Coach Scott gave us some pretty thorough instruction and I think I did pretty well.  I can't wait until it's a little bit more of a workout though - I regretted not going to the gym earlier in the day as well.

I'm skipping the outdoor run GTS tonight and hitting the treadmill instead.  I still have a bit of a lingering cough thingie and I'm going to play it safe.  I tried to run outside at Saturday's GTS and had to throw in the towel after the 20 minute warmup.  I thought I was going to hack up a lung!  Since it's about a thousand times colder today than it was Saturday, I'm not going to risk setting myself even further back.  So the gym it is.

the iPod shuffle raffle

So as an incentive to drum up some donations, I've instituted a raffle that ends on Wednesday, 1/14 at midnight.  Team in Training has generously offered an iPod shuffle as a prize to anyone who raises $1000 online between 1/7 and midnight 1/14.  As of right now, I'm only $50 away from that goal so I'm pretty certain the iPod shuffle is within reach.  Once I surpass the $1000 in a week mark, I'll put the names of everyone who has donated into a hat and pick a winner!  You could be the owner of a brand new iPod shuffle.  And for those of you who aren't able to donate before the deadline, just get someone else to donate - it doesn't matter how much - and then tell me about it.  I'll put your name in the hat as well.

I thought it might be fun to spice up the donation process just a bit.  So far it's working pretty dang well.  Now if I could just get my internet connection at home working again (thanks to Stephen for letting me pirate his connection for a bit.)

new year

It's a new year and I'm excited.  Now if I could just get this nasty bug to leave my body.  Despite feeling pretty cruddy most of the week I managed 2 spin classes, 1 swim and 2 runs.  Not as much as I had hoped for but it'll do for another holiday week.  

One of the runs was the Emerald Nuts Midnight Run in Central Park at midnight on New Year's.  

This was my second year and it's such fun!  It probably wasn't the smartest thing to run with a cold in 18 degree

weather, but I had a blast with my pals Amy and Maggie.  

Fireworks, and crazy people at midnight.  What could be better?! (And could I look more like a mummy with crazy hair?)

quick fact

You may not notice that your bum is sore from your first spin class until you take your second one.  Ow.

spin class

I just took my first spin class.  Yowza.  That was challenging and I am drenched.  Next time I'm wearing my heart rate monitor - I'm pretty sure I reached my max heart rate!  But it was an excellent guide for working with the trainer at home and I am certain I will go back.  

And no, despite the nice weather yesterday, I did not make it outside on the bike.  (Sorry Carlos.)  I slept in.   Again.  And then I worked both shows at AVENUE Q.  Which is why I took the spinning class today instead of a rest day.  Now I'm going to disassemble my bike from the trainer and take it and the pedals to the bike shop.  I need to buy a water holder and some tire tubes, investigate new tires and have them show me how to adjust the seat back and change the pedals.  

I should probably shower first.

Oh, and another important thing happened today - I reached 10% of my fundraising goal.  Thanks everyone!  Only $4405 more to go! (Or more if you guys are up to it ;)  Spread the trikimtri.com word!

Happy Holidays!

So the holidays got the better of me and I only managed to run once and swim once last week. But I made it to GTS this morning - along with only about 10 other people - and had a sluggish yet helpful run.  50 minutes total and almost 5 miles.  Definitely slow but I had a nice chat with Coach Jay who reassured me that the training schedule is plenty long and accounts for weeks like these where everyone falls a little short.  

I'm taking him at his word.  Now if I could just get outside on that bike!

another week without a bike ride

Foiled by the weather again!  No bike training session today.  They even cancelled the run session and the bike gear clinic!  So I'm struggling to get myself on the treadmill tonight so as not to waste yet another training day. Wish me luck.  Only 3 hours left in the day....

the kindness of strangers and a week without running

Okay, she's not really a stranger and I did run once, I just didn't get nike+ credit for it because I wore the wrong shoes.  I already explained the whole shoe thing, but I have gotten another generous offer of equipment and I missed running the NYRR Holiday 4 miler due to a little fever. (Not to mention also missing the injury prevention clinic Saturday morning after the race.  Foiled again.)

So last week I ran once, swam twice and hit the stairmaster once.  Not my ideal training week.  But I've moved on and did a run in the balmy weather yesterday and hit the pool today.

And as for the kindness of strangers, at the AEA Holiday Party Friday night, a biker and very generous staff member offered to loan me a trainer so I can ride my actual bike inside my apartment!  That is huge and I am incredibly grateful.  She's going to bring it over on Sunday and has promised not to judge me based on the state of my apartment. 

I'm missing tomorrow's GTS due to theatre tickets (Dividing the Estate) but am super excited at the possibility of a bike session on Saturday.  Let's hope the weather holds out!

wrong shoes

Tonight's GTS was a little wet and a lot hot.  What happened to winter?  But really, the most frustrating thing was that I wore the wrong shoes.  I accidentally wore an old pair.  A pair without insoles.  A pair without a lot of cushioning.  And most devastating - a pair without a nike+ sensor!!!  If you don't know, I'm obsessed with logging my miles using the nike+ system.  I have logged over 2000 miles since I first started using it (and no, there are not too many zeros :)

So when I started my sportband and it kept saying "walk" and never getting to the all important "0.00" I was cursing my inability to work the sportband in the dark.  What the heck was I doing wrong?!!!  And then I looked down at my feet.  There was no emergency tag - a tag supplied by TNT with all of your emergency information.  I had on old shoes.  There was no sensor for the sportband to sync with. Duh.

So I lost about 4 miles.  I still ran them, I just don't get credit for them.  I the cherish credit for all of my miles.  It keeps me going.  Oh, well.  Just add it to the infamous "9 miles of spring '08."  Long story....

2nd group training session

Tonight was the first weekday run GTS (Group Training Session).  It was appropriately cold for December and I was happy to only have to go to Columbus Circle (marathon training takes place on the upper east side.)  There are tons of coaches, whose names I am still learning, and there was a pretty big turnout.  We did a quick warmup to Bethesda Terrace and then Coach Scott went over more strength training exercises and split us into three groups - basic, intermediate and advanced.  I stuck with the intermediate group since the "8 minute miles for 5 miles" qualification for the advanced group is a little out of my speed bracket.  

And I'm pretty happy with how I did - I stuck close to Coach Scott at the front of the pack since he seems to talk and run at the same time - lots of tips and advice.  We did 3-10 minute out and backs (squats and the like in between) and cadence checks with a goal of over 45 strides per 30 seconds.  My three checks were 43, 45 and 44.  I thought, "Terrific, I'm pretty darn close!" but Coach Scott didn't seem entirely satisfied.  Something about keeping our feet on the ground too long.  I guess there is work to be done!  

Maggie has promised me a bike ride on Friday.  It would be my first.  Uh, yeah, I know....

swimming

I have a membership at the Manhattan Plaza Health Club and am happy that I do - because there's a pool!  Last night my training pal Maggie joined me for a solo swim workout laid out by the coaches.  Lesson number one - 6pm is crowded at the MPHC pool!  There are 4 lap lanes - one of them was taken up by a private lesson and the other 3 had 2 or more people already swimming.  I'll admit to not being able to figure out the speed labels for the lanes: Slow, Fast, Intermediate Slow, Intermediate Fast.  They aren't in that or any other obvious order so I can't quite decide if Intermediate Slow is faster than slow or vice versa.  Let's just say I usually pick the lane with the least people.  So we swam, dodging the super fast and carefully passing the super slow.  Over the course of 35 minutes in the water I'm pretty sure there were at least 5 different people rotating out of the lane I chose.  

The good news is I can already swim.  I was a lifeguard for several summers in my youth - indoors and out - and also taught swim lessons for little kids and adults.  And Maggie very kindly assured me that I am already ahead of many of the TNT tri participants in terms of my skill level in the water.  That made me feel good.  She also challenged me to choose the Advanced training sessions.  It's under consideration :)

It was a good workout and I can't wait for January when the Group Training Sessions at the pool start!

PS - If anyone finds a pair of purple flip flops - somebody stole Maggie's from the edge of the pool. Nothing is safe!

just to clarify....

No, I have not actually ridden the ACTUAL bike - but I got in my bike sessions on the stationary bike at the gym (the upright, not the reclining!).  It's coach sanctioned and completely allowed.  So there.

week one of training - done!

Week one of training is over and, according to the little calendar our TNT coaches gave us, that means there are 20 weeks left until the Wildflower Triathlon.  Now I know that sounds like a lot of time but consider this - I have not ridden the bike yet.  I would blame it on the weather but that is not really the case.  I have the helmet, I got the bike tuned up, I even got a great little bag for under the seat  and oh yeah, some padded tri shorts (thanks super sale at Jackrabbit!).  I've got the stuff and now I'm just waiting for the right time.  Soon.

As for my first Group Training Session (GTS) - those tri coaches kick butt!  We ran for about 40 minutes in a hilly section section of Riverside Park and did core and strength exercises on the wet grass between 10 minute sets.  Ramon only made us do planks and lunges on the asphalt once.  I fear these exercise breaks are a regular part of the tri training.  I'll let you know after Wednesday's run GTS.  

And I am proud to report that I followed the training calendar to a T!  2 run sessions, 2 swim sessions and 2 bike sessions.  Now if I could just start eating properly.....

I have a bike

Thanks to my friend Jason I now have a bike.  A beautiful Trek 800 bike that I took to the bike shop today.  They tuned it, cleaned it, and even added a kickstand!  I also am the proud owner of a helmet.  Now to get on the bike and ride it.... (I walked it to the bike shop.)  Baby steps.

The title has changed....

...and the goal is mostly the same - just a little bit expanded!  I'm doing it again.  I have signed up with TEAM IN TRAINING to train for an endurance event and raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  Not another marathon, but a TRIATHLON!!! I can't quite believe it myself.  I don't even own a bike! 

This time the fundraising goal is $4900 and I'll be traveling to Monterey, California to compete in the Wildflower Olympic Triathlon.  (And by "compete" I mean "attempt to finish without hurting myself.")  My pal Maggie will be competing in the Half Ironman distance of the same event.  She's one of many who inspired me to take this next step.  So visit my fundraising page if you get a chance (link on the right) and wish me luck.  I'll be posting more soon about the event, my training and why the heck I think I can do this!

And some more...

The whole paris team!Coach Ramon at the after party.  I'm still standing!
My roomie and training coach Eissa, my mentor Peter, and my running partner Teresa.
Peter and I.  I'm looking a little tired. :)
Coach Steve - he leads the best stretching sessions! 
Coach Christine.  
Christine, Paula, Teresa and I.  We did it!

I know, I know...

I'm just the worst (or is it best) procrastinator in the whole world.  Here are some official pics from the Paris Marathon folks.  I sucked it up and paid for the package.

before i forget...

I know - it's been a month since my last post.  Things have been crazy and I've definitely been having trouble getting back into a routine.  So, before I forget the race entirely let's try to finish up some thoughts.  

We hung out in the starting corral for quite some time.  The crowds were crazy and the ground was quickly littered with plastic ponchos, extra shirts, water bottles and energy packets (in France they look like little decorative frosting tubes!).  They played the Chariots of Fire theme a few times after the start gun and it took us a full 15 minutes to cross the start line.  It was quite a challenge to move forward in the crowd without stumbling over the debris.   Unlike the races I've done in NYC, once we crossed the starting line the crowd actually seemed to thin out and it was quite easy to move forward - no stumbling over walkers or slow-paced wide runners!

Once we got going, Paula and Christina branched off and Teresa and I decided to stick together as long as possible.  Teresa had never been to Paris before so I decided to keep our minds occupied by acting as tour guide.  I did pretty well pointing out the sights until we passed the Bastille and the Paris Opera (not the Phantom one, the other one).  Except for the elevated park, I hadn't actually ventured into those neighborhoods or the forest Vincennes.

There were water and fuel stations every 5K Orange sections, bananas, sugar cubes and dried apricots were on the menu.  Alright, who thought banana peels on the wet cobblestones were a good idea!  And we never did see PowerAde as promised.  I think we were too far back in the pack.  Luckily I had brought some Cliff Energy Powder so the water was all I needed.  My plan was to have a PowerGel every 4 miles and I stuck with it.   

Teresa's boyfriend Corey managed the Metro and caught up with us several times. There were coaches at the 5K mark as well cheering us on. It was surprising how many purple singlets there were out there - and lots of NYC fans!  And since our names were on our bibs, we got personal shout outs throughout the race.

photos

Still working on race day updates.  In the meantime, check out some more pics of my Ireland trip.

Ireland - The West

So race day started with a 4:30am wake up call - from the gang back at LEGALLY BLONDE!  They had just finished the show and didn't think I'd answer, but I'd been sleeping fitfully the whole night so the ring of the phone made me jump a little and I groggily answered.  I had set the alarm to get up at 5:30am to eat a Power Bar and a banana anyway so it wasn't a big deal.  I knew I needed to eat, but wanted to make sure there was time to digest before leaving the hotel.  So I ate and reset the alarm to get up with just enough tome to dress before heading down to the lobby to meet everyone.  Luckily my roommate Eissa (our lovely training captain) was there to wake me as I did that silly thing where you change the time instead of the alarm time!

I had painstakingly set everything out the night before:  jersey, sneakers with Nike + sensor and race chip attached, race number with safely pins, my sport watch, gloves, long sleeved base layer, sports bra, long sleeved throwaway shirt, light jacket, pants, socks, and fuel belt with all of the following: 7 power Gels (raspberry creme) camera, ID, metro card, a few Euros, a pack of electrolyte powder, a pre made bottle of said powder, my iPod nano with the Nike+ receiver, and a small bag of pretzels.  It takes a lot of stuff to run 26. 2 miles!

So we all met in the lobby of our hotel and spent a bit second guessing our wardrobe choices and making trips to the lobby bathroom and adjust our bibs, and pacing.  It seemed like forever before we hit the streets en masse.  And as we walked the block to the Champs Elysee it all became real.  There they were - thousands of runners!  It wasn't easy keeping up with Coach Ramon as he weaved through the crowd, heading for the end of the start corral.

We all had bibs with colors indicating our start corral based on our expected finish time.  We're not exactly sure how those times got determined because, for the most part, they were waaaaay off.  My color was green which was the 4 hour finish time group.  Now I'm optimistic, but not that optimistic.  Ramon wisely headed for the last corral and we headed in.  Man was it crowded!  And they were mostly male!  And there were crazy people.  I especially enjoyed the man in the tiger suit.  No tiger head, just the tiger body suit.  A stocky, hairy man in a tiger suit.

More to come....

The race

Ireland

Still composing race day thoughts.  In the meantime...

Finis!

So it's over.  It's Monday morning in Paris, I'm sore and I just woke from a 10 hour sleep.  I really can't believe it's over.  The run was incredible, and despite a nasty bit somewhere between mile 23 and mile 25 where my left knee decided it didn't want to play anymore, I finished in just under 5 hours.  4:59:02 to be exact.  Coach Ramon led us to the start line at 8am (that's his back in the pic).  And you can see the legs of the Arc de Triomphe behind my pals Theresa, Christine, Paula and me as we waited for the start gun (okay, you're going to have to wait for that one - the pic is not uploading!).  There were lots of cool things along the way.  Fun bands and cheerleaders (the gang in pink showed up twice) and two creepy tunnels.  I'll definitely write more later.  Off to enjoy my last day in Paris!  Thanks again to everyone for all the support!!!

Paris!

After a 2 hour delay at the airport, we're finally in Paris!  Yesterday was a blur as we checked into our hotel, went to the expo to pick up our race bibs, and tried desperately to get some much needed sleep.  The expo was lovely, as was the kindly gentleman who gave me my bib.  He kept speaking to me in French as if I understood.  I just kept nodding!

Trying hard to stay off my feet today after a fun group run to the base of the Eiffel Tower.  This time tomorrow I should be crossing the finish line!