It's true...Thursday I was completely dedicated to the fact that I'd go home and run after work. By mid-afternoon I was seriously questioning my sanity, but when I got home, I got changed right away and headed out. The night before I had just run in my neighborhood and decided I liked that ten times more than my usual route of simply running straight down Frederick Douglass (my street) until I came along Central Park and then turned around. That route has been getting boring. So Thursday I set out among my neighborhood, South Harlem/Morningside. I ran down along Morningside Park and through the streets of South Harlem. One of the major motivators was the fact that it was an absolutely gorgeous night. I honestly wore a long sleeved running shirt, it felt like fall was right around the corner.
Luckily, for these runs, my phone (Droid) has an app that will map where you run and keep your pace and how far you're going, etc. This helps me so much, because while we all think 20 blocks is a mile, really...how are we supposed to know?
So as I ran I felt good. I was keeping a steady pace and was just letting the blocks go by me. The only thing that kept nagging at me was the fact that the Mr. Softee truck was honestly following me, ha. Every block I turned down I could hear the familiar jingle coming through its' P.A. system, just urging me to keep running away from it. It wasn't until the end of my second mile that my hip started hurting, which was pretty good for me for now. My goal for the night was two miles, so I was set. As I checked my phone to relay back to me the details of my run I saw that I had averaged a 10:40 mile, which is honestly unheard of for me, so that was incredibly encouraging. Now, I understand I only did two miles and it may be easy to keep that pace for 2-3 miles, but still...I was excited. For the sprint I'm figuring that three miles isn't that far and you can keep a fast pace and just push through. It's not like for the half or a full where you really do have to pace yourself. But, in the end I'm also thinking that if I can start my training with a 10:40 mile, I am well on my way to bettering my time! So, all positive things.
And now the sprint is in a week and a half and I'm still probably not as ready as I should/could be, but...I've never been one to back down from a challenge. We got our team uniforms last week and I now look like a real triathlete. What a summer this has been.
Peace, love and happy running!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Is My Bike A Death Trap?
This was the question of the evening last Tuesday when my friend Sean, who is an avid bike rider, came to give my bike a once over to make sure it won't kill me on race day. Well, he was able to do a few things to it, such as make the brakes tighter and give me a few more gears that I had lost throughout the years. Let me preface this by saying that my bike is at least twelve years old and is a mountain bike. Definitely nothing one should really be riding in a road race, but oh well. The new bike will have to wait until Christmas.
So...I was very grateful for Sean's expertise to come and help keep me safe, and I promised him I'd stop riding this bike after the race to limit my chances of getting killed, haha.
Wednesday I was excited to try out my improved bike. Having brakes that actually work right away is pretty thrilling stuff. The entire day at work I tried to keep up the momentum, knowing that I'd have to go home first before heading out to ride. Knowing myself, heading home before doing anything is pretty dangerous. The couch is just so comfy, and really...there is always some mindnumbing television just calling my name. Not today though. I was able to pull through, go get changed and get my bike out there for the world to see.
Unfortunately two blocks into my ride I think I lost one of the gears Sean had just given me the previous night. Major blow to the motivation. I also have a major problem with my route. I enter Central Park at the top right before the Great Hill, and pretty much use every last bit of energy getting up that hill. I didn't hit a good stride until the E. 70's and by that point I was almost done. The next time I do this, I am going to enter the park at 96th St. so that I am not faced with the hill right off the bat. We'll see if that makes the difference that I'm expecting it to.
So yes...I continued around the park at an okay pace. I'm definitely not going as fast as I'd like, but that's okay. I'm not dying, and I'm not falling off my bike. Those two things alone equal success. I used my gears to the best of my abilities and tried to make it easier on myself when I could. From what I have heard of the bike portion of the sprint, the course is the hardest leg of the swim, bike, run. Go figure. While I was riding around Central Park, I had it in my head to do two laps, but by the time I reached the top of the park it was starting to get dark and "mind over matter" was nowhere to be found. So I exited the park and headed home. In all I bike 7 miles (or so) and was happy with it. Again, not the time I'd like, but that's alright.
When I was done I took a walk and called my mom. After the phone conversation I had just walked a half mile, so I decided to run the second half back to the grocery store to pick up some dinner. It felt good, and I felt somewhat accomplished. Definitely more biking to be done this week though. My goal is to do two laps, it's a must.
Happy biking!
So...I was very grateful for Sean's expertise to come and help keep me safe, and I promised him I'd stop riding this bike after the race to limit my chances of getting killed, haha.
Wednesday I was excited to try out my improved bike. Having brakes that actually work right away is pretty thrilling stuff. The entire day at work I tried to keep up the momentum, knowing that I'd have to go home first before heading out to ride. Knowing myself, heading home before doing anything is pretty dangerous. The couch is just so comfy, and really...there is always some mindnumbing television just calling my name. Not today though. I was able to pull through, go get changed and get my bike out there for the world to see.
Unfortunately two blocks into my ride I think I lost one of the gears Sean had just given me the previous night. Major blow to the motivation. I also have a major problem with my route. I enter Central Park at the top right before the Great Hill, and pretty much use every last bit of energy getting up that hill. I didn't hit a good stride until the E. 70's and by that point I was almost done. The next time I do this, I am going to enter the park at 96th St. so that I am not faced with the hill right off the bat. We'll see if that makes the difference that I'm expecting it to.
So yes...I continued around the park at an okay pace. I'm definitely not going as fast as I'd like, but that's okay. I'm not dying, and I'm not falling off my bike. Those two things alone equal success. I used my gears to the best of my abilities and tried to make it easier on myself when I could. From what I have heard of the bike portion of the sprint, the course is the hardest leg of the swim, bike, run. Go figure. While I was riding around Central Park, I had it in my head to do two laps, but by the time I reached the top of the park it was starting to get dark and "mind over matter" was nowhere to be found. So I exited the park and headed home. In all I bike 7 miles (or so) and was happy with it. Again, not the time I'd like, but that's alright.
When I was done I took a walk and called my mom. After the phone conversation I had just walked a half mile, so I decided to run the second half back to the grocery store to pick up some dinner. It felt good, and I felt somewhat accomplished. Definitely more biking to be done this week though. My goal is to do two laps, it's a must.
Happy biking!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Don't Run Up An Escalator
Yes...that is exactly what I did on July 5th in Boston that caused me to go to the ER and get a stitch in my knee. I have not run in the past month and a half because of this injury and this morning I thought it was time. I wasn't sure what to expect, so I opted just to do 1.5miles. Nice and easy, right? I'll admit that since I knew this wouldn't take very long, I still slept a bit later than the usual workout wakeup time. I got dressed and felt ready. My new cell phone has an app on it that can track your run...super handy. So I took my phone and my water bottle and headed out to my concrete track. And...two blocks later my hair started to fall out of the ponytail, ha. So I then had to immediately stop, fix the hair (so important to have a tight ponytail while running, ha) and continue.
As I was running the pain in my knee was front and center. I knew it'd be there, just wasn't sure how bad. I definitely was able to run through it and just knew it'd be sore the rest of the day. I could feel myself correcting my gait to protect my knee, something I'm not too fond of doing. I also noticed that my endurance isn't exactly where it was a month and a half ago. While I have been swimming and biking every so often, endurance is different for every exercise. I was a little disappointed, because I was only doing 30 blocks, 1.5 miles (or 1.63 according to my phone, ha), and I was winded...ready to just stop and walk. I continued on at my pace, my average minute per mile being around 12, which is pretty good for me (I know, I'm a crap runner, you'll have to get used to it, ha), and I pulled through.
One thing I can say about me and exercise is this...my face reddens extremely fast and stays that way for quite a while. When I got home and upstairs I could feel the fire that was my face. I used to get pulled out of sports games when I was little because my coaches thought I was about to pass out, I cannot control the fact that blood loves to rush to my face, ha. Today, however, I knew it was different. I have to accept the fact that I'm just starting out running again and it'll take me a few tries to get up to where I was. My knee is sore today, but not nearly as sore as I thought it would be. I can run through the pain and keel over afterwards, at least that's what I think I can do, ha.
My training for this sprint triathlon definitely hasn't been what it could have been, and I blame some of that on Boston's South Station escalator, but I know most of the responsibility lays on me. We'll see how I do on that day, but for now I'm glad I got out and ran and still have it in me. Every little bit at a time.
And to end this post, a fun fact for the day: The Camp Rock 2 premiere is across the street from my office at the moment and the red carpet hoopla is happening right now. Let me tell you, there is nothing like hundreds of teenage girls screaming every five seconds. It really warms the heart.
As I was running the pain in my knee was front and center. I knew it'd be there, just wasn't sure how bad. I definitely was able to run through it and just knew it'd be sore the rest of the day. I could feel myself correcting my gait to protect my knee, something I'm not too fond of doing. I also noticed that my endurance isn't exactly where it was a month and a half ago. While I have been swimming and biking every so often, endurance is different for every exercise. I was a little disappointed, because I was only doing 30 blocks, 1.5 miles (or 1.63 according to my phone, ha), and I was winded...ready to just stop and walk. I continued on at my pace, my average minute per mile being around 12, which is pretty good for me (I know, I'm a crap runner, you'll have to get used to it, ha), and I pulled through.
One thing I can say about me and exercise is this...my face reddens extremely fast and stays that way for quite a while. When I got home and upstairs I could feel the fire that was my face. I used to get pulled out of sports games when I was little because my coaches thought I was about to pass out, I cannot control the fact that blood loves to rush to my face, ha. Today, however, I knew it was different. I have to accept the fact that I'm just starting out running again and it'll take me a few tries to get up to where I was. My knee is sore today, but not nearly as sore as I thought it would be. I can run through the pain and keel over afterwards, at least that's what I think I can do, ha.
My training for this sprint triathlon definitely hasn't been what it could have been, and I blame some of that on Boston's South Station escalator, but I know most of the responsibility lays on me. We'll see how I do on that day, but for now I'm glad I got out and ran and still have it in me. Every little bit at a time.
And to end this post, a fun fact for the day: The Camp Rock 2 premiere is across the street from my office at the moment and the red carpet hoopla is happening right now. Let me tell you, there is nothing like hundreds of teenage girls screaming every five seconds. It really warms the heart.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Rainy Days Are Not Good Motivation
Going to bed last Wednesday night I had it in my mind that I'd wake up early the next morning, go to the Y and do both some swimming and biking. This sounded like an amazing idea and I was ready to be so proud of myself as I envisioned my morning taking place.
Thursday morning I woke up at 7, I was ready to go...and then somehow I hit the snooze button (again, and again, and again). All of a sudden it was 9a.m. and I had no motivation to go anywhere. The pretty picture of me feeling refreshed and energized leaving the Y had gone, making way for the even better picture of laying in bed on a wonderful rainy day. Needless to say, mind over matter did not take over on this fateful morning and there I was, laying in bed, not moving...at all.
So yes...Thursday was disappointing. I realize I haven't pushed myself nearly as much as I should have been for this sprint triathlon and who knows how I shall fare. This week I'm not feeling the best, but hoping to get some biking in, and possibly...just possibly, start running! Scary, I know. First, a trip to CVS/Duane Reade/Rite Aid (whichever of the big three is closest at the time) to get a knee brace that isn't from 7th grade. Not that I've really grown, but I figure I should update the darn thing, ha.
Hopefully the motivation will return tomorrow and I shall have more inspiring words...definitely something better than "I stayed in bed."
Until then...peace and happy swimming/biking/running!
Thursday morning I woke up at 7, I was ready to go...and then somehow I hit the snooze button (again, and again, and again). All of a sudden it was 9a.m. and I had no motivation to go anywhere. The pretty picture of me feeling refreshed and energized leaving the Y had gone, making way for the even better picture of laying in bed on a wonderful rainy day. Needless to say, mind over matter did not take over on this fateful morning and there I was, laying in bed, not moving...at all.
So yes...Thursday was disappointing. I realize I haven't pushed myself nearly as much as I should have been for this sprint triathlon and who knows how I shall fare. This week I'm not feeling the best, but hoping to get some biking in, and possibly...just possibly, start running! Scary, I know. First, a trip to CVS/Duane Reade/Rite Aid (whichever of the big three is closest at the time) to get a knee brace that isn't from 7th grade. Not that I've really grown, but I figure I should update the darn thing, ha.
Hopefully the motivation will return tomorrow and I shall have more inspiring words...definitely something better than "I stayed in bed."
Until then...peace and happy swimming/biking/running!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
What's the Best Way to Start Training for a Half Marathon???
Do a sprint triathlon of course! Seriously, what was I thinking? In one month exactly I will be in Danbury, CT participating in the Housatanic Valley Sprint Triathlon. That equals a quarter mile swim in a lake, a 12 mile bike ride over some rolling hills, and a 3 mile run ending on a beach. Wow.
Yes, I've been training...if you can call it that, ha. I did start swimming again and realized that I actually like it more than I remember. I can do the quarter mile in about 12 minutes, which I don't think is too bad. I mean, at least I'm not sinking and I do take small breather breaks (or else I would be sinking).
I have not been doing nearly as much biking as I should be. I've gone around Central Park once, thankfully didn't have to get off the bike and I didn't fall over going up the Great Hill. And for those of you that don't know or are non-believers, Central Park is one large hill, both ways. There are some nice down hill moments, but not many flat areas, so I figure that's good training. I've done some biking on the stationary at the Y, but no matter how much television I watch, that is incredibly boring.
Running...the running hasn't really been there this summer. I successfully managed to hurt my knee while I was in Boston over Fourth of July (one tip: never run up an escalator. trust me, it won't turn out well). So...two hours in the ER and one stitch in the knee later I realized I wouldn't be running much this summer. Thankfully this was the one leg of the race I was the least worried about. I figure I'll try to get at least one good run in before the race and I should be fine.
I've done a few transitions (swim to bike, bike to run) and the bike to run is an interesting one. Your legs feel as if there are no bones in them, complete jelly. Kind of like the scene in Harry Potter when Harry is playing Quidditch and hurts his arm and the daft teacher (who in real life is a famous British Shakespearean actor) does a spell and takes the bones out of his harm so it's just left to flop around! Thankfully in the transition from bike to run, while that may be how my legs feel, I do not have to drink that unsavory potion to regrow my bones...poor Harry.
So yes...this is what I am doing in a month. And then Half Marathon training starts! I am doing this Sprint Triathlon with a group from work, which makes it a lot easier with training. It's always nice when you have a group, so you can commiserate about training and joke about how bad we all feel we're going to do. Thankfully I'm still alive and I'm pretty confident. I just have to make sure my bike is up to snuff (it'd probably be a good thing if the tire held air longer than a few rounds of pedaling). But I think I'll be alright. In all reality, ask me September 12th and I'll let you know if I'm walking yet.
Yes, I've been training...if you can call it that, ha. I did start swimming again and realized that I actually like it more than I remember. I can do the quarter mile in about 12 minutes, which I don't think is too bad. I mean, at least I'm not sinking and I do take small breather breaks (or else I would be sinking).
I have not been doing nearly as much biking as I should be. I've gone around Central Park once, thankfully didn't have to get off the bike and I didn't fall over going up the Great Hill. And for those of you that don't know or are non-believers, Central Park is one large hill, both ways. There are some nice down hill moments, but not many flat areas, so I figure that's good training. I've done some biking on the stationary at the Y, but no matter how much television I watch, that is incredibly boring.
Running...the running hasn't really been there this summer. I successfully managed to hurt my knee while I was in Boston over Fourth of July (one tip: never run up an escalator. trust me, it won't turn out well). So...two hours in the ER and one stitch in the knee later I realized I wouldn't be running much this summer. Thankfully this was the one leg of the race I was the least worried about. I figure I'll try to get at least one good run in before the race and I should be fine.
I've done a few transitions (swim to bike, bike to run) and the bike to run is an interesting one. Your legs feel as if there are no bones in them, complete jelly. Kind of like the scene in Harry Potter when Harry is playing Quidditch and hurts his arm and the daft teacher (who in real life is a famous British Shakespearean actor) does a spell and takes the bones out of his harm so it's just left to flop around! Thankfully in the transition from bike to run, while that may be how my legs feel, I do not have to drink that unsavory potion to regrow my bones...poor Harry.
So yes...this is what I am doing in a month. And then Half Marathon training starts! I am doing this Sprint Triathlon with a group from work, which makes it a lot easier with training. It's always nice when you have a group, so you can commiserate about training and joke about how bad we all feel we're going to do. Thankfully I'm still alive and I'm pretty confident. I just have to make sure my bike is up to snuff (it'd probably be a good thing if the tire held air longer than a few rounds of pedaling). But I think I'll be alright. In all reality, ask me September 12th and I'll let you know if I'm walking yet.
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