5 Days of Nothing

Hi. It's Laura.  

Happy Friday! 

This week was a recovery week for me. Apparently it was in the cards for me to recover from everything. 

After building my distance, endurance and intensity for the first four weeks of training, I am able to pull back and allow my body to recover before starting the next four weeks of higher intensity training. 

I wish I could say it was an exciting week. I wish I had some stories to tell. But as of this moment, I have not much to tell. You know it’s a boring week when I am more worried about my fresh manicure in the pool than I am about whether or not I swimming fast and long enough. 

FYI: Gel manicures ROCK! Swimming as much as I have been, a regular manicure would have fallen apart in a just two swims (can you say over chlorinated). But my last one survived two weeks.  

I rode in Central Park a few times this week, nothing. 

I ran in Central Park a few times, Drama Free. 

I swam a few times at the JCC, Uneventful. I am however all caught up on those swims. 

I had dinner plans, all got cancelled. 

I had clients scheduled in the evenings, didn’t happen. 

Weekend plans? Mother Nature isn’t ready! 

I know I say I hate drama but it really does make for much better stories for my blogs.  Reality TV, Cop Shows, The News, etc. Interactive drama is definitely different than what I will call people drama. The whole “you stole my boyfriend”, “you flirted with my date”, “I am sleeping on the sofa” kind of drama has no place in my world. Fights on the subway, neighbors being nosey and I forgot to charge my GPS Watch are way more my speed [Editor’s note: Don’t forget pet biological activity issues].  

Even the weather was cooperative this week. No rain interference, no big winds to worry about. Just sunny skies and calmness (at least during my training sessions). My biggest drama this week is moving Saturday's bike ride to Friday because of a forecast of morning rain on Saturday. Boohoo. My second big drama is a text conversation between The UES Girl and The Brooklyn Girl not being to pick a date to get together. 

With so little drama, I was able to focus on Project Kick Start Alpha. Business plan is complete and "under review".  

I had so much nothing going on, I considered adding another race to my "race season".  

After much hemming and hawing on my part, I decided to do another triathlon in September. The Iron Girl Athleta.  

This race is what is considered a "Sprint" distance (my current training is for an Olympic distance). 1/2 mile swim, 10 mile bike ride and 3 mile run. I call this Monday.  

I figured why not? It will keep me in fighting shape through the summer and into the fall in which we have a trip planned where I may have to wear a bathing suit. (not the kind you swim in, the good kind)  

My biggest hesitation in adding the second race is the location and timing. It is being held in Sandy Hook, NJ. I won't be able to sleep in my own bed the night before or eat breakfast the way I would like but the course will be flat and short. It is also the weekend after Labor Day which is kind of awkward timing because I will be training through the holiday weekend. 

Here we are at the end of a quiet week. It cannot and will not last. I live and train in New York City. In a city of 8 million people, something is bound to happen. When it does, I will embrace it as much as I embraced the quiet of this week 

Enjoy the weekend! 

Play Hard!

Laura

 

 

A Somber Day

Hi. It's Laura. 

During the day yesterday, I did not have the television on nor was my time on the internet spent looking at news but more focused on Project Kick Start Alpha. 

I did receive a news alert at around 3:00PM that there was an explosion at the Boston Marathon. The only report I clicked on stated it was a controlled explosion. Obviously that was an incomplete news push. 

At first, I did not think much of it. Perhaps because of the way I received the news or perhaps because I was so focused on my task at hand. 

It was not until this morning watching “The Today Show” that I understood the full impact of what happened. I used to be a news junkie, but the news these days just makes me angry and my life isn't about being angry like that anymore (it’s bad enough I get angry and befuddled at the news that I do watch). 

This morning, watching the news and all of the video clips, I cried. I cried for the people who were injured and the people who died and for the runners that were clueless approaching the finish line. I cried for the spectators who witnessed and the spectators who were injured and the children on the sidelines who were watching and will never forget.  

I cried out of fear and what we already lived through on 9/11.  

Sporting events like marathons are supposed to bring us together through inspiration not fear. 

My thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Boston and for all the runners and spectators who were there.

 

Laura

Self Fulfilling Prophecy

Hi it's Laura.

 

I am not sure if you are aware but before I decided to do triathlon and before I tore my ACL & meniscus, I trained in mixed martial arts. I trained pretty much daily for over 10 years. Not only did I receive my black belt, I achieved Joshu status. Joshu is an apprentice to Sensei. Once a Joshu, you are on the path to become a Sensei. I however was not interested in becoming a Sensei and was perfectly at Joshu. I was happy teaching my Sensei's classes. Joshus get to do all the grunt work for Sensei (part of the initiation process). But you learn an awful lot along the way. My Sensei was very proud of me and was convinced I would be a good instructor (he was right). The things I learned during my years under my Sensei are absolutely invaluable and translate themselves to real life at least for me.

 

For example, self-discipline. I had none before I started martial arts training. When we taught discipline to children (yes, I taught children) we called it "non quitting spirit". One of my Senseis (I had two) even used me as an example to one of the kids classes we were teaching. I broke my toe (yeah yeah) kicking someone. My toe caught his elbow throwing a round kick. I still showed up for classes on Saturday (to teach not to train) which showed the kids no matter happens to you, you need to follow through and not give up.

 

A lot of back story I know.

 

Last Wednesday, The Husband and I watched the ultimate fighter (it’s on Tuesdays, we DVR it to get through way too many commercials). Over the years, a number of contestants on the show have been from my martial arts school. Not all of them were from the Manhattan location until this season, Uriah Hall. Uriah was not originally from the Manhattan school but transferred in a few years ago from I think Hoboken (I know those of you who know will correct me).

 

If you have not yet seen the season or last Tuesday’s episode SPOILER ALERT.

 

In last week's episode, the contestants were asked to submit to the governing body who they would like to fight for their quarter-final match, their ideal match up if you will. One contestant submitted three names of the four fighters available. Bubba McDaniel’s named everyone left except for Uriah Hall. The Husband and I just looked at each other and agreed that Bubba, just by saying he was only willing to fight three of the four left, was tipping his hand. Why wouldn't he want to fight Uriah? If you had seen other episode and seen him fight, you wouldn't want to fight him either. But these guys are supposed to be warriors, they are MMA fighters. The true winning answer is, I will fight anyone and do whatever it takes to get to my goal.

 

Bubba spent the rest of the episode setting himself up to fail through excuses of not feeling well. He went so far as to go to the hospital for blood work. Instead of focusing on the task at hand, his upcoming fight. The producers even included a substitute fighter in the episode "just in case”. Bubba quit before he even started and realized his worst fear: he lost. Not only did he lose, he was KO'd within the first 30 seconds (Hello Mike Tyson) and it looks like he eye socket was broken.

 

One more reference. The Husband and I watched a DVR'd episode of Chopped last night.

 

The chef's had to cook from a basket that was chosen by the viewers through social networking sites. Two of the four chefs bitched and complained the entire first round about how awful the basket contents were. One of the four accepted the basket and moved forward with his dish [Editor’s note: The remaining chef was too busy bragging about himself to worry about the basket]. One of those 2 chefs was Chopped.

 

Round two, viewer chosen baskets again, the remaining grumpy chef bitched and complained yet again. She went on about how awful the ingredients were and how you can't make a successful dish with what she was given. The other two once again moved forward and used the ingredients as best as they could. The b&c-ing chef was chopped. Shocker I know.

 

It is so easy to quit, to walk away when things get difficult. It is very hard to stand in front of your fear and face it. The negative conversations that you can have with yourself in your head defeat you before you even start. Although fear is natural and expected, you know yourself. Know your abilities and be confident that, if you are faced with a challenging situation, you are probably more prepared than you think.

 

Happy Friday!

 

Laura

 

Waffling

Hi it's Laura.

What a week it's been so far.

Normally you are listening to me complain about the pool. I have to say, the pool has been relatively quiet. And when there have been people, everyone has been considerate and swimming in the correct lanes. I don't know what happened there but I am definitely NOT complaining.

What has been me going this week are my bike rides. Last week the rides were cold and I was wishing for a little bit of warmth (60 would have been lovely 80 is a bit too much). Moving along at 15 miles an hour or so at 40 or even 50 degrees is chilly. I double up my shirts and wear long pants. I even put a skull cap on my head under my helmet to help. What I cannot do is keep my toes warm. My cycling shoes are ventilated for warmer temperatures. I have thought about buying the covers for my shoes but I can’t bring myself to spend the money on something I am only going to use maybe twice a year so I suffer through the cold toes knowing I only have a few rides to get through.

As happy as I as to see the temperature rise in the beginning of the week, 80 degrees was just too much too soon. (It's not global warms according to a billboard that I saw on my way to New Jersey Thursday morning. Apparently there are more polar bears now than 15 years ago.)

Anyway I have stepped up my training this year from running and riding twice a week to running and riding three days a week. So as of this writing, I still have one more long ride for the week. Due to scheduling issues on Tuesday morning, I wound up taking my ride in Central Park. I had abandoned Central Park for riding last year. For the life of me could not remember why. The park is filled with hills and it’s safe. I used to ride the park every Friday morning years ago with The Blondish friend and enjoyed it. So Tuesday afternoon I headed to the park.

The ride started relatively calm. There were lots of people milling about (it was 80 degrees) with very few "bike gangs". However, there were plenty of tourists on Bike n' Roll rented bikes. As I rounded the bottom of the park, I was debating with myself whether or not I was going to climb the Big Hill. According to my GPS at the steepest part of the hill its and 8% grade. Trucks are warned on the highway when the downhill is 5%. Double Diamonds ski trails are about a 28% grade.

The internal conversation was short: If not now, when? What are you waiting for? So I climbed.

Overall the ride was not bad, just warm. Central Park road crews drew new lines on the roads to make the lanes wider for both runner and cyclists and more narrow for cars. I say YAY!

Thursday morning's ride was not nearly as uneventful.

It started the night before. If you recall, we had pretty severe thunder storms Wednesday night. So as I lay out my clothes Wednesday night, I had made the decision to ride indoors. (Spin bike to my own play list.) Upon waking Thursday morning, I changed my mind and decided to ride outside. still waffling if I should ride inside? I picked through my closet to find riding pants or shorts for an outdoor ride. There were none to be found. Oh boy is my butt going to hurt. Deciding to ride inside, I peeked out the window. The rain had stopped and I saw some dry patches on the sidewalk. Ok, outside. Back to the closet. Dressed! I know, seriously? But wait, it gets worse.

I almost made my own head explode with the internal conversation about where to ride.

MY ride was supposed to be hill repeats. Climb a hill for 1-2 minutes then spin in out for a 1-2 minute recovery. Do I go to Riverside or Central Park? It’s just before 6:00 am I don't have a lot of time to make up my mind.

Riverside: flat, long, quiet, safe. Central Park: hilly, bike gangs, not quiet, safe-ish. I want to ride the park but I do not want to deal with the bike gangs (Thursdays seems to be a big bike riding day). I hate that they are faster than me both on the flats and on the hills. I hate that they surround you to pass you instead of picking a side to pass on.

If I ride Riverside, I will have to find a hill and just go up and down it. It will not be the same if I ride Riverside. I am feeling a little intimidated by the riders in Central Park right now and I don't want to go. SCREEEEECCHHHHH!!!!! What?! Intimidated! Don’t be silly.

Here comes the lecture: “What is wrong with you? You have as much right to ride in Central Park as anyone else. You are going to be intimidated by people you have never met and don't know their story? You are a 44 year old woman who had recovered from ACL/meniscus surgery! You are awesome! Go ride in the park and don't be stupid.”

I was still waffling while I waited for a GPS signal in front our building. As I headed north on Broadway, my iShuffle played a song for me whose lyrics at that moments could not have been more apropos, "Never Let You Fear Decide Your Fate" Awolnation. I am not normally called to action by song lyrics but upon hearing that, I made a right and headed to Central Park.

Play hard!

Laura

 

Out of Sync

Hi. It's Laura. 

Playing catch up is tiring. 

This past Friday was The Husband's birthday. It’s not that we had one big celebration but a bunch of little ones all weekend long. So yes, I blame him [Editor’s note: I’ll take it]. 

It all started Thursday night with The Snow Bunny. She dubbed our evening out (which was dinner in) a pre-birthday celebration. Let the champagne flow! 

Too much vino and staying up too late does not make for a great workout on Friday. It was bad enough in fact, that there was no workout on Friday. Before you start jumping all over me by saying “See you do it too”, I actually don't do it too. 

Saturday found me doubling up my workout in order to get every workout in that I needed to get in. So Saturday started with a 3 mile run, followed by lunch, followed by a 75 minute bike ride and then, yes, a nap. So I made up for Friday on Saturday.

There was no rest on Sunday, There was golf. I like golf, not nearly as much as the husband, (which is why I don't compete in it) but I do enjoy a good round. We traveled south for our first round of the season [Editor’s note: It was a birthday request so blame me here too]. To top off the birthday festivities with a bonus, my brother joined us. It was a beautiful day minus the wind. Normally on Sundays, there is no workout of any kind. In the true nature of rest, rest is not necessarily nothing. It is something different than your ordinary workout and less taxing. For sure, things like yoga (the restorative kind) and golf qualify as rest from the trials of triathlon training.  

A late Thursday night, a late Saturday night combined with a double workout and a golf infused Sunday will equal a very unhappy Monday morning, especially with tree allergies swirling about. 

For the second day in a row I awoke looking like a monster with swollen puffy eyes and cheeks from the little bit of pollen that is already out. I can't wait to see what it’s going to be like in another couple of days after the warm weather and the trees really start to bloom. Ugh. 

So all of this adds up to Monday morning. Mondays are not typically all that bad in my world but, when you sleep through your alarm first thing Monday, it’s generally not a good start. 

So my 6 mile run for today turned itself into a 4.5 mile run. Allergies kicking my a**! Being tired from a long weekend, there was no way I was going to be able to pull off a long run. 

I tried. I really did. I left the house with the full intention of getting it done. I got outside turned on my GPS and of course it’s dead. I have no idea how this happened. The battery is rechargeable and every day after my workout I download the workout into the software and leave it plugged in until it reads: battery charge complete. I put it away on Saturday completely charged. Ugh. How on earth am I going to be able to run without knowing what I have done or are doing?  

I had some hope as I walked towards central park because it was trying to find a GPS satellite and just steps from the park, it had one.  

I headed in and just one minute and 45 seconds in, it died. NOOOOO! 

How many calories will I burn? How fast am I going? Can I even complete my run with no technology?  

Since I don't actually need technology to make my legs move. I continued on resolving to run my Wednesday run (45 minute run) instead on my Monday run (60 minutes) justifying it through, I’m tired, my allergies suck and I can do it on Wednesday instead.  

Running without my GPS was strange. I felt more like a casual jogger instead of an athlete training for an event. Things I am highly unlikely to do with GPS on: stop and fix my keys that are rattling around in my shoe, stop to pee along the running route, look at the sky and watch the dogs run. All of which I did today. I think I even smiled at someone mid run.  

I may consider taking off the watch after the triathlon is over and see what it’s like to be a casual runner.  

In the end I think I may have run just a little faster without the GPS watch on. 

Off to the pool! I am still catching up there as well from the pool being closed my first week of training.  

So far the best part of Monday morning has been the pool (wait, did I say that?). Two people were in my lane when I walked in. I made three and three we stayed. Everyone was in the proper lane, swimming at a great pace. The two other women were super cooperative when it came to passing and being passed. A good pool day. YAY! 

If all goes well this week by Monday of next I should be all caught up and back on a good schedule. 

Play hard! 

Laura

Everyone In!

Hi. It's Laura

Tri-training is really not the same when you are only training in two disciplines.

It is no secret that I swim at the JCC on the Upper West Side.  It is part of their annual custom to close the pool during Passover for a thorough cleaning.  They were schedule to open yesterday and open they did.

The pool is an endless plethora of training stories.  When the clientele is as arrogant and entitled as they are, drama ensues.  Don’t get me wrong. I am very grateful to have a pool to swim in but I could do without the drama.  The quiet swims are few and far between. When they come my way I embrace them. 

Truth-be-told, I have not been swimming for the last two months. Even before the pool closed for the annual cleaning, I was kind of avoiding it.  I am not a fantastic swimmer and I do not particularly enjoy being wet. I do like bragging about my triathlon accomplishments, so to the pool I go.  Now that it is open I have some work to make up.  I am scheduled in my training to only swim twice a week. Making up the swims should not be too difficult. I just need to swim one extra per week and in two weeks I will be caught up.

The pool reopened Wednesday morning at 5:30 am.  I figured that everyone who has been sitting on the sidelines for the last 8 days is going to be raring to get back in. The plan is to avoid the early morning pre-work hours, late morning & lunch hour rush and head over at a time that has proved to be a tad quiet 2:00PM.  I was wrong.  Seems a lot of people had the same idea.

On the pool deck I saw at least 4 people in every lane. At least one or two more swimmers were standing on the sidelines either getting out or performing the swimmer’s version of Hamlet: “To swim or not to swim? How many people are there?”

I have a race to train for so I had no choice. Regardless of how busy it was, I had to swim.

I did decide that, because it has been two months, I would start off in the medium slow lane. 

The pool is five lanes. Two slow lanes on the outside. In these two lanes people are allowed to do additional things besides swim such as water exercises, jog or walk.

The next two lanes are medium slow and medium fast (this is usually me).  The problem is that people do not like to admit that they are slow. Slow people wind up swimming in the medium fast lanes. They cannot however wind up in the fast lanes because those fast swimmers are really fast and you would be removed immediately.  Medium slow and medium fast is a gray area. 

This is why I am always getting into fights at the pool.  There is nothing worse than building momentum and having a great swim only to be shut down by someone doing the breast stroke or being in the wrong lane. The breast stroke is much slower than freestyle. You almost need to drop down a category to swim the breast stroke in the pool.

Yesterday I wound up swimming in the proper lane, but I watched as someone else's swim was destroyed. 

There were four of us in the lane with potential for one more to enter (who was sitting on the edge of the pool vacillating between swimming in the medium slow or slow lanes.  When I got to the wall to reset between sets, a lady in a gold cap, who had swimming in my lane slowly, decided that, since there was nobody in the fast lane, she was going to swim there.  However, there was someone in the fast lane and she just did not see them or chose not to.  She announced her lane choice allow to everyone that was listening of her decision (which was probably only me).

I was almost shocked at her blatant disregard for anyone else in the pool (then I remembered what my subway rides are like).  Clearly this is not a quiet pool so why do you think it is ok to inconvenience somebody else? Even if it were empty, a fast swimming person could be in that lane at any moment (AND THERE WAS ALREADY A FAST SWIMMER IN THE LANE SHE IGNORED!).

I am very aware of my swimming abilities, both good and bad, and would not dare "cross the line" into the fast lane when I have not been swimming for two months.

As it turns out, the lifeguard who was off duty and swimming herself mentioned that, that particular person, donated somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 million dollars to the JCC. In my opinion, if you have that money to donate, you should build your own pool somewhere else and then you can swim anywhere you want. 

I am not complaining, I am just observing.  I wish I could be that blind sometimes to my environment and the people in it. However, I was raised properly with manners and morals. I am sure there is someone out there at I have offended they just are not blogging about it.

Play hard!

 

Laura

Left

Hi. It's Laura 

Happy Monday! 

Now that Monday morning has arrived, I am much calmer than I was on Saturday morning so I think I can write this without getting all worked up again.  

I took my time getting out of bed Saturday. And why not? It was Saturday with no real plans (we considered going skiing but since I crashed the car that was not really an option [Editor’s note: Scratched the car and it is getting fixed]).

 

I was waiting for the temperature to rise just a little. I had a 75 minute bike ride scheduled and knew I was going to be cold. During the week we had already discussed not making the drive up to VT. Had we made a different decision I would have doubled up my work outs and did my ride one day during the week, most likely on a day that I was running. There is no swimming just yet as the pool is closed until Wednesday (a blessing I say). 

Anyway, I took off for my bike ride. During my preparation, I realized there is just so much more that goes into riding than running. First, I need the bike (super helpful) helmet, long pants that will not catch in the gears, at least two shirts one for wicking and one for breaking wind, special shoes, gloves, contact lenses and sunglasses. I would have used a balaclava but I left them all in VT to ski. So I wore a cap under my helmet. Also, let's not forget all the gear for just in case I get a flat tire, water and oh yes, sunblock.  

When I left the apartment, it was 50ish degrees with a little wind. I cannot find the wind chill calculator that I use to figure out the skiing temperature but I knew I would be moving about 15-18 mph. This takes my temp down to like 35 degree, chilly! In the shade it was much colder and I cursed all the way to Riverside Park. I couldn't wait to be in the sun.

 

I mentioned that I got a later start to my day and that changes everything. The West Side was quite busy. It was a beautiful morning for a walk or a run, so I understand all the people. 

If you have never been to the West Side or have not been in a while, it is really quite lovely.

 The city has built areas for eating, benches for sitting, grassy areas and sculptures. Of course the Intrepid Museum is still there, generating tourist traffic, and the cruise ships come in and out along the west side as well. I was lucky enough to have run into one the ones just deboating (I know when you leave a plane the call it deplaning so… Editor’s Note: We watched Fantasy Island this weekend and I think the airlines got the expression from Tatoo… Think about it!]). Let's us also not forget Chelsea piers, Basketball city and a few new features that have cropped up over the last year or so like the boardwalk.

 

There are also still some pretty nasty areas like the two sanitation depots but overall a very nice ride to the tip of Manhattan.

 

The west side used to be one lane for both cyclists and runners. Part of the improvement has been the separation of the two. The signs say runners should be closer to the water in their own lane and cyclist and rollerbladers should be closer to the highway in their own lane. Of course people just don't follow the rules which is where "left” comes in. Road rules dictate stay right, pass left. Ideally everyone would walk single file at worst two across (I have seen as many as four across, EGADS). The lanes are just wide enough on the cycling side for two people to run side by side and a bike to pass them safely on the left. When you call out "left" that means I am coning up on your left, NOT move left. How many times have I corrected people with "no your other left" or "I AM ON YOUR LEFT SIDE" they still move left (not all, but a lot). I am fully aware that people do not have eyes on the back of their heads so I do like to give them a heads up that I am coming up on them and not to move.

If you are not aware, cyclist generally wear special shoes that attach to the bike pedals. When you are riding, you are literally connected to the bike. You may have noticed that cyclists try not to stop at red lights or stop signs so they do not have to unclip from the bike. It’s also why I tip over from time to time.

 

So as I said, Saturday morning was quite busy and this was my first outdoor ride this season. Knowing the pathway was busy, I made sure I had only one ear bud in and that I was paying attention. I got down to about Laight Street when out of nowhere a runner came careening into the cycling lane. I saw him shoot straight across the path and as I saw him I moved my bike away from the right side to avoid hitting him. Instead he moved out further and nailed me. The guy was about 6'2' and solid. I swear he dropped his shoulder but whatever he did to me, I was flying across both lanes of bike traffic and was headed for the West Side Highway. I finally came to a stop with my front tire in the highway. It all happened so fast and I was shaking so hard I wasn't quite sure what to do for a moment. When I got my bearings and turned around to look, the guy was gone.  

I am guessing from the reactions of people or at least the lack of reaction of people that it was not all that bad of an accident. After all, I did not get hit by a car, just a person and apparently did no damage to him.  

This is my second accident on the West Side path, first time I was running and got hit by a bike.

I sat there for a few minutes. When my heart finally crept back into my chest, I got back on the bike and finished my ride. I had considered not finishing and I also considered calling The Husband but what good would that do? It would worry him and then I would be behind on my training plan. I was not hurt just scared.  

I shook for the second half of my ride and rode slower home but at least I finished.  

Bring on week two!

 

Play hard! 

Laura