3 x 6.2 +1400

Hi, it's Laura.

A tad cryptic on the title for sure.

The week began with a big ride, at least for me.  A casual ride for me is generally about 10-15 miles and I take my time.  Since I am training, any ride takes on a whole new meaning.  I worry about cadence, hills, speed and wind. I am also very focused on what my body is doing during the long rides. Is the body: hungry? thirsty? The Brain also plays a part. The "can do" mind set needs to set in instead of the "oh, I have never seen that patch of roses before" or "hey, I really dig this song".

My ride called for long hill repeats. The only hills I know, that are close by and worth climbing, are in Central Park. Regardless of whether or not I have long or short hill repeats, I head for the park. I can't think of a more challenging area to ride in.

On Monday, I was fortunate to get to the park at an odd hour. It was also slightly overcast.   People, who need to be at work at 9am or earlier, had already left the park. It seems the tourists gaggles don't really get out until after 10am as I only saw one group at the end of my ride.

I was really the only cyclist in the park other than a couple of commuter bikes. And since they are usually dressed for work, they are not trying to ride fast or for cardio. They ride transportation.

In order to get my required time in, 75 minutes, I am going to need to head around the big loop of Central Park at least three times. The big loop is 6.2 miles approximately.

Around I go.  With so few people in the park, there was no drama, no incidents, just me talking to myself into hitting that big loop just one more time.

I went back to check my Garmin database to give you the actual mileage but it seems that my history is gone.  Not happy.  Not quite sure what happened there. I will have to check with my technical team (The Husband). But I do believe to the best of my recollection that it was 19 miles total.  6.2 x 3 maybe equal 18.6 but I do still need to ride home.

Onto the afternoon! I try to keep my swimming to Monday and Thursday. This allows me to get strength training in on Tuesday and Friday.  Since I amped my training this year to a more advanced schedule, there is just no room to move things around.  Careful planning has to go into every week taking in account of the weather.

The afternoon ticked away and I procrastinated going to the pool. I did escalate my swimming from a beginner to intermediate. Still, the workouts are getting longer and more intense. Monday's are usually the longest and more difficult of my swim workouts. Mentally, I know that if I just go, it will be done. And I won't have to think about it until Thursday. But knowing what lie ahead, I sat.

Monday's swim drills include, for the very first time, a fartlek included in my 1400 meter swim. Fartlek actually means "speed play”. Generally fartlek's are done in running but can be done in any sport. The first I ever heard of them was last year when I started training for my first triathlon.  What happens during a fartlek work out is your vary your speed & intensity in order to increase your conditioning.  I had 400 meters of fartlek to cover in the pool, which was one of the reasons I was dreading heading to the pool.

I did eventually drag myself there. It seems like I am always dragging myself to the pool.  It is not in my thought process to say “hey I will go for swim today” like I would say “let's go hit the heavy bag” or “let’s go for a run”. 

I made it through the warm up and started my main set or free style. Before you knew it, I was up to the fartlek.  After all the fuss and dread, I actually found the fartlek fun.

For 25 meters (1 length of the pool), it was all out effort then back stroke or slow freestyle back. The pool was just quiet enough so that I had the lane virtually to myself.  After 400 meters of back and forth, cool down and done.

The rest week is calling for rain. Wednesday, I have another bike ride. Ride in the rain or ride indoors?  We shall see.

Play hard!

Laura

2 Pet Peeves & 1 Gripe

Hi.  It's Laura.

Happy Monday.

My brick workout on Friday was such a delight.  Saturday felt like such a treat to not have so much work to do. I did still have some work to do, I had a three mile run and strength training to get to.  

It has been a while since I have run in the park on a Saturday and what a treat it was. I got into the park before the Revlon walk/run started but the park was crowded nonetheless.  I know I was dilly dallying earlier in the morning and wound up getting there at prime running time, 8am.  I have forgotten about the characters that populate the park on Saturday morning.

Of course there are the regular running groups usually in groups of 10 or more that insist in running in an abstract formation instead of maybe two by two. Next to the running lanes are the cyclists. I could write an entire novel on what is wrong with the cyclists in Central Park but who has time to read a novel. I’ll blog instead.

For some reason they all think they are in the Tour De France every day they ride in the park.  As long as they stay in their lanes, I don't really care what race they think they are riding in. When they ride in the pedestrian/running lane, which is when I get super annoyed (OMG I'm 16 again).  I like order and I like when people follow the rules (not my rules nobody could keep up with those but societal rules). It makes me crazy when they don't. It’s a safety issue.

When there are rules and you break them for the sake of breaking them that peeves me.

Peeve#1 the first pic is the sign of the pedestrian walkway. Seems pretty clear to me.

 

This second picture is a cyclist riding on the path where he had to pass the above sign to get to this spot.

If you look closely you can see my dog right behind him.

There is simply no reason for this cyclist to be on the walking path.  And he gave me and The Dog a dirty look.  Go figure!

Maybe The Central Park Conservancy should make the signs (pic above) a little bigger or perhaps a little brighter. I know I sound cranky.  I am a little. I go through this almost every day.

Saturday was special though.  It started with the guy running in what I would call “an UnderArmour base layer pants of white”.  Shall I continue?  Shirtless! And he was a tad orange (from self tanner I assume). 

Then there is the woman who sings while she runs, the woman riding the granny bike riding in the pedestrian lane, the runner, running in the cycling lane (can we say hell in a hand basket?), the woman dressed in purple from head to toe, the really really fast guy, they guy talking on his cellphone while running and then there are ear buds.

Peeve #2

Did you know that earphone/headphones do not make you invisible when you where them?

They also don't make me invisible when you where them. I am pretty sure that earphones have no magical power to make anyone disappear. This, just because you can’t hear me, does not mean I am not there. 

Ear buds also do not make you any smaller of a person. You still have to move over to let people get past you.  When you place them in your ears, you actually stay the same size and, regardless of your size, you take up space.

What ear buds can do is block out all of the irritating, irrelevant conversation that people are having around you.  Ear buds allow you to enjoy your music without disturbing anyone around you and help you get through your 2, 3, 10, mile run.

That is a lot of complaining for a Monday. I say, what better day to complain.

I am headed out for the beginning of my week's workouts.  A final big week of workouts before a recovery week next week. Yay! 

Play hard!

Laura

Brick Workout #2

Hi. It's Laura.

Happy Friday!

It’s a very happy Friday for me.

By a stroke of luck I was able to get my brick workout in this morning instead of having to wait until Saturday.

When I heard yesterday that the opportunity to get it done Friday was a possibility, I got all kinds of excited.  I know it seems silly to be so excited about getting in a two hour plus workout but if you ride or run in Manhattan you would understand.

On Saturdays & Sundays in Central Park, there is always some kind of run/ride/race taking place first thing in the morning.  If it’s not a walk for breast cancer, it’s a cycling race. If it’s not a healthy kidney run, it’s the 5 Boro Bike Tour (which is this Sunday BTW). I am not against any of these things except for the fact that most of them end on the West side of Central park, which is my neighborhood.  This makes both the park and the neighborhood quite busy.

Even Riverside Park is busy on the weekend.  The spot where I do my transition for my brick workout, Team in Training does theirs as well (apparently I am not the only smart one in the hood). Riverside Park is crowded on Saturdays, Central Park is crowded on Saturdays. So again, I am very excited for a chance to get the work done on Friday.

It is a work day and I already have my workout scheduled set. But who wouldn't switch the harder workout to a work day and take the easier day on Saturday?

I was up at regular time and had breakfast. I normally do not eat breakfast until after my workout. I prefer to train in a fasted or semi fasted state (I will Gu or Gu Chomp on longer run days). But today, heading out for a two hour ride and a subsequent run, I thought it best to fuel (remember lessons learned from last week).

Off to an excellent start.  Contacts in with no problem and no additional equipment issues to start (or finish).

It’s still too chilly to ride in cycling clothes. So I stuck with the jacket and skull cap. I have a two hour ride ahead of me and I know I am going to New Jersey again. The only problem with Jersey is, I really have no idea where I am going. Maps don't really help because they look at roads not bike routes. I do know that I was on the right bike path. The really large signs that say "cyclists ride single file" were a bit of giveaway.  I use the term "bike path" loosely.  There is no actually bike “path” just a road. 

I know that over the GWB, you can make a left or a right. I usually choose right and I chose it again today. Using the maps made for cars; I have been able to create a route and can share it with you where I went today. 

From W75th Street to Riverside Drive along Riverside to W177th Street and over the GWB (boy was I happy that I was not in that traffic today). Turn right onto Hudson Terrace in Fort Lee. There is a downhill on Hudson Terrace that is terrifying.

Cyclists tend to ride in the shoulder. At the bottom of the hill, it is completely pot holed and scarified pavement. I hit that area this morning at about 25 miles an hour. At that point the bike shakes and you need to brace everything to hold the bike upright. 

I get to end of the road. I already know, right takes me to the Palisades Parkway, left turns onto East Palisades Ave and to the traffic light. This is really the end of the road for me. I don't know which way to go. Sitting at the traffic light I see another cyclist coming from my right, right turn it is. Right onto 9W.  There is no shoulder for me to be on and I can only think that if I were in a car I would look at me and think "stupid woman".

I made it all the way out to Sage Road (past Unilever and CNBC). I know this because I marked it on my phone when I got out there so I can see where I was and then tell you. 

By the time I got out there, I was three minutes short of the hour.  I know I am going to be back too early. The ride home is always faster with lots of downhill.

As I was heading back down Hudson terrace I decided to go past the bridge entrance and see what is on the other side.

I pass the entrance to the GWB and the name of the street changes from Hudson Terrace to Main Street.  I figured I would go out about 10 minutes more then turn around and head back.

Can you say hill?  I became a little worried when I saw the truck warning sign.

It did not give a grade on the sign but I knew no good would come from this.

I got about half way down the hill and decided to turn back (mostly because I had no idea where I was going to wind up).  Once I finally got across the road, I could not quite make it back up the hill because I was in such a low gear. I had to head to the bottom anyway so I could change gears and start the climb back up.  I checked the GPS on my watch and I went from a -17% to 8% grade.  I put my head down and just worked. There was no looking up, no watch checking for heart rate or speed checking. Just get up the hill. And what a hill.

I thought about, if I had to get off and walk it up the hill, how disappointed I would be.  But I didn't, can’t quit now. By the time I got onto the bridge, I forgot all about that hill.

The rest of the ride home was a breeze. I made it back quickly and was just shy of the two hour mark.  Thankfully I do not have another really long ride for two more weeks. phew.

Since today was a brick workout, and the run was a short one, it was better than last week’s. It was a tad faster and I had a lot less side cramping.  Things are looking up.

I wish I could brick every Friday (on weeks I have bricks). It is such a pleasure to ride with no real bike traffic (car traffic is a different story all together). I know that I have the weekend that includes a rest day and short workout. It will feel like a real weekend.

I sat down to write the other day but found myself exhausted so I opted to nap instead.

The workouts this training season are killing me. I find myself tired all the time. I took a look back at last year’s blog entries to see where I was in my training. I was very happy to find out I was tired last year too! Apparently all this fresh air and exercise is exhausting.

This week’s workouts included an hour ride & an hour swim on Monday, a 7 mile run on Tuesday, an18 mile ride on Wednesday and a 5 mile run & 1100 meter swim on Thursday. I do not wonder why I am tired anymore.  I embraced the nap instead of feeling guilty about it. I enjoyed it so much, I may do it again today!

 Enjoy the weekend!

 Laura

 

Brick Workout #1

Hi. It's Laura. 

Happy Monday. 

Saturday morning was my first brick workout for this season. 

A brick workout is a back-to-back workout of a bike ride followed immediately by a run or it could be a swim followed by a bike ride. Either way both simulate how you would feel in a triathlon. A brick is double entendre: 1) the workouts are layered like bricks on top of one another 2) after a long bike ride your legs feel like bricks. (Double entendre are not always sex based. Get your mind out of the gutter.) 

It has been nine months since I have done a brick workout. I was feeling a little anxious about the whole thing on Friday. First, I the ride itself needed to be 1:45. The 10 minute run to follow.  The island of Manhattan is getting a little too small for these long rides. I have to head to Jersey.  

I have heard for years how beautiful the ride is just over the GWB. Last year I made it into NJ once on a long ride. And without knowing where I was going, I figured it out (after the wrong turn that nearly got me onto the Palisades Parkway, oops). 

So, knowing that I needed distance, I was definitely headed to Jersey.  

On beautiful Saturday mornings in the City, crowds are everywhere you go. The plan is get out early and be done before all the big groups like "Team in Training" start hogging up the roads and parks.  

Friday night I got my things together. Everything I would need to move from the bike ride into the run was stuffed into my bag: A towel, sunglasses, running hat, suntan lotion, and sneakers. 

Next to the bag I laid out most of my cycling gear. For some reason, I neglected to take down the bike and helmet. We have a vertical bike rack in the apt and in my mind it was ok to leave it up instead of getting it near the door. So the bike and helmet stayed on their hooks. Which is not really a big deal unless you are trying to get out early. Based on the weather channel app, I chose my outfit. The weather is such a challenge in training.  

Saturday morning. 

Up on time. Good start. Base layer; shorts; knee socks; shoe covers; suntan lotion; skull cap; helmet. 

I generally always ride with contact lenses. I popped them in before walking out the door. My left eye felt a little scratchy. I figured it would work itself out as it usually does. Right out of the gate, I decided I was underdressed. The temperature was in the low 40's and I was already on my way. I hoped that I would warm up. At the first traffic light, I donned my skull cap (I had originally shoved in my saddle bag thinking it was a bit warmer) and zipped my jack to my chin. There was not a whole lot I could do about my fingers since I choose regular cycling gloves over winter gloves.  

I headed out onto Riverside Drive. Riverside is great rolling hills ride without a ton of traffic. It is also one of the easiest routes to the GWB. As I head north, I decide I need to fix my contact lens which has not quite adjusted itself yet. I needed a traffic light to do that. I have no problem sticking my finger in my eye usually. However, just 10 minutes in I popped my chain with some aggressive gear changing. grrrr.  

With the chain fixed and my hands covered in bike grease, I decided to try to slide my contact but can't. The clock is ticking, I have got to go. The Husband is my team. He meets me at the end of my ride to take the bike off my hands so I can go run. Back on the bike.  

Riverside is so wonderfully quiet and I know it is not going to last. I see all the cyclists looking for parking and others who are waiting on corners for the rest of their people to arrive.  

Just before I head over the GWB, I make my first pit stop. I do not ride with a bike lock. The one I have is too cumbersome (and necessarily so). I wind up always taking the bikes into the bathroom with me. I forgot about the contact lens although it’s still irritating me. Onto the Bridge! 

The climb up to the bridge is a narrow ramp with a very sharp turn in the middle. Up is not a problem. The first third of the bridge is just wide enough for two bikes to pass each other just don't wiggle or tilt. The middle is wide enough that you are not afraid of hitting handle bars and you could even pass a pedestrian if you needed to. There are two more stations on the bridge were slow is necessary because you are making some technical short turns into oncoming bike and pedestrian traffic. At this hour of the morning, it was still pretty quiet. 

Once over the bridge, I made a right and headed into Englewood cliffs. From the bridge to the end of that road is again more rolling hills that parallel 9W.  

Apparently I was riding pretty aggressively Saturday morning. With four minutes left before I need turn around, my chain fell off again. grrr. I climbed off the road and into the dirt on the side. I quickly needed to climb out because I was sinking into the dirt. It was almost like quicksand. I was struggling this time to get the chain back on. Every time I got it on and run the pedal, it would slip. I also could not lean the bike against anything because of the quicksand like dirt. On the verge of tears, somebody stopped to help me. YAY! He got my chain on lickety-split and off we went. I was so frustrated I once again missed the opportunity to yank out my contact lens which was so irritating but now my hands were filthy dirty. Now, I don't want to stick my dirty, greasy, sweaty finger in my eye.  

Chain fixed, I hit my mark and head back.  

At his point in the morning, cyclists are everywhere. It’s almost like, as they pass each other, they are reproducing. The ride back over the bridge in the narrow parts was pretty scary. No one wanted to slow down and as I mentioned the bridge in some parts is quite narrow. I flew back once I made it over the GWB. 

South on Riverside you don't really have to worry about the traffic light because no cars come from the right and the cars that do enter only enter from the left. It also is more of a downhill ride home.

I met The Husband and The Dog in riverside just a few minutes before our designated time. I was quite surprised to see the amount of people in the park. I headed out extra early to avoid this kind of chaos, the big groups usually meet up around 9am so to see so many was quite surprising. 

Transition was quick and loud. I pulled in and immediately started complaining about all of my equipment while simultaneously changing into my running gear. My contact lens is still giving me a hard time. The iShuffle ear bud clip broke and the iShuffle itself would not stay in place and wound up in my pocket .My hands were cold and I was very hungry. We are at the end so let's just get this done because I get breakfast after this.

We meet near the actual transition spot for the triathlon (very nice to have the race in your own backyard). Out of T2, for race day, is the hill out of Riverside park onto 72nd street. I had such a hard time last year with the hill, I decided that all the bricks this training season would include that hill.  

The run thank goodness was only 10 minutes. I had such a wicked cramp in my right side and my legs actually feel like bricks. I had a hard time picking my legs up and getting my feet off the ground. We should probably call it more of a shuffle than a run. These bricks did not at all feel the way they felt at the end of last season (go figure). Being the first brick of the season, I forgot to stand up on the bike and stretch out a little before I got to transition which caused the cramping.  

I know they get better from here but this one was probably the most difficult brick in training that I have had.  

Once home, immediately run to the mirror to take out the offending contact lens. It turns out it was actually crumpled up and underneath my upper eyelid. Oh, the relief. 

I will spare you the details of my beastly behavior afterwards. I neglected to eat on the bike until it was too late. My blood sugar was way too low. Food could not enter my mouth fast enough at this point. Happily for those around me, the effects of calories ingestion on my disposition were rapid. phew.

We get to do it all again next weekend but lessons learned. 

Play hard! 

Laura

 

 

4 Sports Not 3

Hi. It's Laura. 

I certainly can't complain about the weather anymore. How glorious the last few days have been.  

Where to start? I always have difficulty getting started writing on Fridays, always for various reasons. 

Wednesday seems to have been the turnaround day. I had a beautiful ride along the East River, although I was convinced all morning long that I had a park ride. I had to keep reminding myself that no hills were needed for Wednesday's ride, just a nice long flat.  

Mission accomplished. 

Thursday was a completely different story. I am guessing you are aware that triathlon is swim, bike and run. Traditionally these events are in immediate succession. So what happened yesterday, I will have to call Laur (for Laura) athlon (Greek: contest) Laurathlon. It doesn't roll smoothly off the tongue but it works well enough. 

Thursday morning started with a 5 mile run with hill repeats. Can I curse enough about the wind? Egad. 

The wind was so fierce I  considered going home half way to the park. I checked the temperature and it was 46 degrees. If you add 20 degrees, as my formula states, then capri running pants and a long sleeve should do the trick. Nope! 25-33 MPH wind gusts certainly added a nasty little chill to the air. I was convinced that I was under dressed until I got going. By the end of my first mile, my hands warmed up and the rest of me followed shortly after. The wind gust did nothing for my eyesight the rest of the day. I really need to do a better job of checking the weather. 

I also need to add eye protection on windy days. My eyes, because they tear in the wind, were swollen like I had been crying. Not a good look for anyone. 

Run complete and home I head for breakfast. Or shall we call this T1 (transition 1)? 

On to the gym. I have been neglecting my strength training for the last few weeks. Wait! Before you start in on me, I have been nursing a little shoulder injury and continued my other training.  

I did miss strength training. A few weeks ago I started to experience pain in my shoulder which I self diagnosed as overuse at the rotator cuff. Everything I did with the arm hurt. I couldn't put lotion on, dry my hair or even walk the dog without pain. Not so painful that I couldn't swim but pain nonetheless.  

It seemed that after about 100 meters of warm up, it was ok. I know I was shorting my strokes but I was already behind on my training plan and the work needed to get done. It's amazing how quickly you start to lose strength, cardio conditioning is lost faster, but strength starts to go at about two weeks. I am happy to report that I have no severe muscle soreness from my time strength training. I can certainly tell that I have not been in two weeks. I was very careful with the shoulder and dropped all my weights down slightly just to be on the safe side. I finished off with a solid 10 minutes on the foam roller. Aaaah. 

Strength training complete or T2 

To the pool! When you swim 1200 meters on Monday, 900 meters on Thursday feels like a break. I will happily admit, I had no desire to swim after running and lifting. I was tired and hungry.  

Thursday mornings at the JCC is a bit of S**t show. There is an aqua class that seems to be very popular with the older ladies of the community. It’s set to music and it’s very full. Of the 5 lanes in the pool, they take up two of them. This does not bode well for the rest of us who are just swimming. We are condensed down to fast, medium and slow and it never fails that the lifeguards forget to adjust the signs so it’s actually fast, medium slow and slow. I of course am in the medium slow and people who would not normally be in this lane are in this lane because they are oblivious to everyone and thing around them. I can't move to the fast lane because I am not that fast. There were some serious swimmers in fast lane at the time. Plus its women only, so modest & noncompetitive women tend to show up in this time slot. It was a long painful swim. Long because I had to keep waiting and painful because I hit someone's hand twice as I stroked over (a common occurrence). Also, a woman was swimming some odd stroke that I have never seen before. It is a combo of side stroke and butterfly that aided her in taking up the entire lane. As we passed, our legs smashed.  

On Thursdays, I also need to keep an eye on the clock and get out of the pool before the class ends. There are only so many showers and once the class let's out there is a waiting line. I have been lucky in my timing so far.  

Swim complete onto T3 because this is Laurathlon not triathlon. 

Food! At the end of it all, I could feel the energy drain and really only wanted to curl up somewhere and sleep but I needed serious calories. I headed to my favorite lunch spot only to find out that their credit card machine was down. I rarely have cash on me. My heart was so set on a turkey burger for lunch that I was actually paralyzed at the counter and could not figure out what to do next. I got this incredible idea to look in my wallet. AH HAH. Cash, go figure. I ordered and devoured my turkey burger (I think it’s was gone in only two bites, so lady like). Once I left and was on my way elsewhere I realized I had not had enough food. I headed to juice generation and the place was PACKED, line out the door packed.  

Not going there. I finally remembered that the GNC on Columbus has a smoothie bar. Oh, the peanut butter goodness. I could immediately feel the difference. I was getting the right thing into me.  

Recovery? A little afternoon shopping therapy. 

Saturday is my first brick workout. If you recall a brick is a bike ride followed immediately by a run to simulate how it would feel in the actual race. I have done the actual race and although these bricks are necessary, you don't feel anything like it on race day. On tap is a two hour bike ride and a 10 minute run followed by breakfast and a nap, a long one. 

Happy Friday! 

Laura

 

 

90!

Hi. It’s Laura.

It was not really a happy Monday.

It was my day for the morning dog walk. Don't get me wrong, I love the dog. I spend a lot of time with him and most of the time he is great. Our morning walks are generally always the same, to Central Park, up to & around the great lawn and then home. All told it’s about 3miles.

I would prefer the morning to have been warmer. As a matter of fact, I would prefer every day to be warmer for that matter. Please don't misunderstand, I like cold. I am skier; I need the cold for snow to happen. But ski season is over and it is nearly May. It’s time to be outdoors without freezing

It should be at least 10 degrees warmer (yes, I am going to whine for the entire time today).

Once again I have shifted around my run and my ride to avoid rain. The original forecast for Tuesday rain apparently is now not happening. So Monday's workouts included a 1200 meter swim and a 65 minutes bike ride with hill repeats.

The temperature Monday morning was 42 degrees. 42 degrees is an incorrigible child for cyclists. I am also not a fan of wind and riding or running [Editor’s note: It sucks for golf too].

Ok, back to the day. I walked the dog, came home for breakfast and somehow it turned into that day. I sat and the dining room table shivering, tired and unable to get myself out to ride. I knew I was going to be cold. Postponing to later in the day was not really going to be much better as the high for the day was only going to be 50 with 13 MPH winds. Ugh. To make matters worse, I found my wind chill calculator that I use for skiing. The winds were 13 MPH, my average speed is 15 MPH which equals a total of 28 MPH. Add the temperature, and that takes my ride down to 27 degrees. I decided to swim first but the idea of getting into the pool for my swim and being wet was also not thrilling me.

I finally got motivated to swim. At 8:15, in the morning the pool should not be that crowded. The pool water was cold so it didn't help my start. Being tired, I decided to spend my time in the medium slow lane. I should not have been there. I was moving pretty quickly for being so tired. I stayed because I thought that, as my swim went on, and it was a long one, I would slow down. Apparently not. I am sure I upset a few people by swimming on top of them. It would not have been that bad had the woman, that the lifeguards moved to the slow lane, actually stayed there. She was very insulted that they called her slow, "I’m slow? Am I really that slow?” Some days I'm the jackass. I should have moved but by the time I knew I wasn't going to slow down, I was done. Even my cool down was fast.

I don't know if it happens to everyone, but I shake after I swim (not from cold but from exertion). So it’s always important for me to eat afterwards (it’s important to eat within 30 minutes of the end of your workout but that is a different entry). I put together my cottage cheese and strawberries when I accidently knocked the French press onto the pantry floor. Glass meets tile. Ugh. The last thing I needed right now was to clean up glass. I am shaky, needing to eat, and now have to clean up a small, harrowing mess. Not happy Monday.

Mess cleaned, food eaten. Onto the ride, almost. The dog and I headed over to EMS. Yes, it’s time. I finally broke down and bought shoe covers for my cycling shoes. My cycling shoes are meant for warmer weather. Almost the entire top is mesh, so when you are moving at 15 MPH they get very cold.

With the morning almost gone, I knew I have got to go and get this done. I have too much work to do daily to move the bike ride to another day. Believe me, I thought about it. But a 15 mile ride on top of a 7 mile run is just not going to work for a Tuesday.

I dress in: skull cap, UnderArmour base layer, Fila slightly insulted windbreaker, slightly insulted running pants, bike shorts on top, gloves, gator and shoe covers. All Black to absorb as much sun as possible. I may as well have put on a ski outfit.

Off I went. But not before I dropped my keys down the hall way stairs. 5 flight of stairs. Did I really need this? I am already cranky, cold and tired.

Thankfully the park was quiet. I knew I had 65 minutes to ride and had to do hill repeats. Two big loops (6.2 mi each) and one little loop (1.7 mi) to round out the day. I was not cold in any parts that were covered. My face and finger tips tell a different story.

And so did my ride. Are you familiar with cadence?

In cycling, cadence is the number of revolutions of the crank per minute. Roughly speaking, this is the rate at which a cyclist is pedaling or “turning the pedals”. Cadence is related to wheel speed, but it is a distinct measurement.

I used to ride for speed and now I ride for cadence. An average cadence for a pro cyclist is about 90. Lance Armstrong's cadence was never higher than 110. A recreational cyclist’s is somewhere between 60-80. it take a little time to get accustomed to having your legs move that quickly when you start cycling for cadence. You adapt quickly. Once you see results you will happily stick to it. A nice high cadence in a big gear and you are going far and going fast.

I have been averaging 84/85 on my rides this year where as last year I was in the 70's

Today, I get to brag a little here, I was able to maintain 90 in the park. WOOHOO. If you are familiar with the hills in Central Park, you will WOOHOO too.

Once I left the park, I slowed down considerably and it brought my average to 89. But still!

For all of the hemming and hawing and carrying on that I went through Monday morning, I guess it was necessary for me today to get me out the door and perform.  I can’t say that the day didn’t kick my butt, it did.  I was exhausted at the end of the day and suffering from a little bit of wind burn in the face.  It was  early to bed for me.

You are stronger than you think you are.

 

 

Play hard!

Laura

 

1 day 6 Outfits

Hi. It’s Laura. 

Happy Monday. 

I love when a plan comes together. 

At the end of last week, I moved things around in my training schedule in order to avoid bike riding in the rain. 

Let me explain. The triathlon will happen rain or shine. Since nothing should be new on race day, at some point I will need to ride in the rain. The ride I moved called for Hill Repeats (climb a hill for 1-2 minutes and recover for two minutes). Central Park is perfect for hill repeats because I don't have to go find a hill. The whole park is a series of hills. The biggest hill in Central Park (mentioned here numerous times) is located in the northern part of the park. However, before the climb there is a huge downhill. I am nervous coming down the hill when the weather is good let alone when the roads are slick with rain.  

I was able to avoid this dangerous condition on by switching my scheduled Saturday ride to a run. When I woke up in the middle of the night on Friday and heard the pouring rain, I was very happy I had made the right choice. To finish out my training week all I had left was a 30 minute run in drizzle.  

Preparing to leave I see the temperature is 52. Using the 20 degree rule, shorts and a long sleeve technical shirt should be perfect. It was.  

I decided to take advantage of The Husband's golf outing [Editor’s note: The rain kept the course quiet too] and was prepared to head to the gym for strength training. 

Anyway, so I headed home for breakfast before heading back out to lift. 

Did you know there is an unwritten law that you cannot wear "running" clothes to lift in? Did you know that there is an unwritten law that you can't wear your cycling clothes to run in? Apparently I have these crazy rules for myself which delayed me actually getting out the door. I was absolutely convinced that I could not wear my running clothes to the gym. They are for running right? I have to change into more appropriate strength training clothes, right?

It got me thinking: “How many wardrobe changes do I go through in a day?” 

Depending on the day, as many as 6. SIX! 

If it is a day that I have morning dog duty: dog walking clothes, cycling outfit, bathing suit & whatever I wear over the bathing suit (we can count that as one ensemble), back into dog walking clothes for an afternoon walk, street clothes for when I finally get clean and then a new set a workout clothes to meet a client followed by PJ's. 

That is a lot of wardrobe changes in one day. And a lot of laundry.

 

Days I don't have morning dog duty: running clothes, back into dry clothes for breakfast or into dry gym clothes to go the gym, dog walking clothes, street clothes, client clothes and finally PJ's. 

I resolved to stay in my running clothes Saturday morning and headed over the gym. Other than the fact that I was completely underdressed for walking outside in a non-running capacity, I was shocked that the sky did not fall nor was I so smelly that people were moving away from in the gym either.  

The Husband has a rule that he cannot work out after lunch nor can he work out in the morning if he has already had coffee. Yet he will play golf and other competitive activities in the afternoon. Find your “Rules”, identify them and don’t let them stop you from doing what you need to do. 

Play Hard

Laura