Highs and Lows

It’s been a busy couple of weeks at casa Kate. Cue lots of pictures of me!

Two weeks ago, I left for a work trip in Sedona, AZ. I don’t know if I’ve ever officially said what I do on this  blog (I like to keep work and play separate), but I work for La Mer and Jo Malone (part of the Estee Lauder companies). This work trip was to celebrate our sales team’s hard work, and to present the fall collections for both brands.

I prepared myself with the fact that I would have little free time and little time for sleep. I tried to fit in a few workouts when I could, which started out with a hike the morning after we arrived.

Tiny next to the red rocks.

On Monday, I fit in a “Brick” (in triathlon lingo, a bike ride followed by a run… it’s very much encouraged to do these during training so you learn how to deal with jelly legs before the race). I have been told that Arizona is dry, but I really didn’t grasp how that might affect my breathing until I got there. I was WINDED at the end of my bike workout, and ran much slower than I usually do. I am blaming it on dry air because the rest of my co-workers claimed the same thing. So there.

I also got the chance to run outside one morning, which was a highlight of the trip.

I went nice and slow, took in the scenery and the MULE DEER.

You can't exactly see them, but they have these
adorably large ears. Hence, their first names.

Aside from these workouts, my trip consisted of running around between meetings and eating lots of Mexican food. I was ready to come back and get on a regular schedule.

One more pic! I just like this one.

After eating, imbibing, and networking for a week, I felt a bit guilty about my triathlon training schedule. So the dedicated athlete in me went to the Monday night swim as soon as I returned, and the training session ended with a 30 MINUTE CONTINUOUS SWIM. Ouch. That was hard. But I did it, minus what I think was a minor asthma attack towards the end of the swim. NBD.

I also did the first run in probably 7 months that I was actually proud of.

I did speedwork! It felt so good to actually be able to run fast, and test myself. I’ve been glancing at the weekly training schedules for TNT and hiding in shame from where I should be in terms of running. I know I shouldn’t beat myself up because I’ve been diligent about going to PT and icing/foam rolling, but I can’t help but think that when I finally go to a group run, I will be at the back of the pack.

On that note, I’ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed in GENERAL about tri training. I suppose I should have anticipated that, but I really didn’t. I thought all of my worries would come from fundraising, which has been surprisingly easy.

(Pretend I’m not being a jerk in the next sentence, because I’m really not trying to be.) I really enjoy training for marathons/half marathons. I really enjoy running and spending my Saturday mornings running for hours at a time. This is NOT normal and I realize that. I thought tri training would be similar, but it’s much, much harder.

The actually workouts themselves aren’t crazy difficult. It’s important to start training early for a tri, because the endurance takes awhile to build up. For example, we did a few 6x100 sprints on Monday night’s group swim. This is 12 laps with only 10 second rests between every 2 laps.  It was hard, but I DID IT. 8 weeks ago I couldn’t do two laps without feeling like I was going to drown. As long as you’re diligent and consistent, the endurance comes.

I have been trying to get 5-6 workouts in a week, but for some reason, I am overwhelmed by the idea that I won’t be ready for race day. “Trust the training,” I keep hearing. Yes, yes. I know. But I’m still worried. My training feels disjointed, and my focus changes daily. Even when I’ve finished an awesome workout, I have to start thinking about my next one, in a completely different sport.

I know I shouldn’t be complaining. I am learning new skills, hanging out with nice people, and building endurance for two sports I’ve never spent much time on. Every week is a new challenge! But every week is also tiring. And as with most training schedules, there will be highs and lows, and I think I was experiencing a bit of a low. The key to fighting a low? Do something different!

I found an AWESOME spin class last week at NYHRC. The instructor’s legs moved faster than I’ve ever seen legs move, she played upbeat, fun music, and it was freaking hard. I also found out that her regular class is at 7AM on Wednesdays in Union Square, which I went to this week. Getting up at 6AM for an awesome class is worth it to me. I was lacking enthusiasm for my weekday bike workout, and I’ve found an exciting way to do it. I can feel myself going into a training high already! I’m getting my mojo back.

Excite & Fright

There has been some crazy weather up in the NYC.

Biggest snowflakes EVER.

Not that I’m complaining – I love snow. I love early dismissals from work, and I love having an excuse to wear my Bean Boots. And it has been keeping me from running outside, which is probably a good thing.

Me and my beer at 4PM on Friday.

The last time I ran was last Sunday before the Superbowl, and I did just about 3 miles. I did some walk/running that my physical therapist recommends when I’m coming back from an injury, but I knew that I was going to be hurting when I got back to my apartment. I did some icing, but I could feel my knee pain coming through again. SO ANNOYING.

I think I’ve been a good patient, and very good to my knee. I’ve been doing a lot of strength training and cross-training, and not going very fast when I occasionally run. But my IT band is being as stubborn as a mule. So I am taking yet another hiatus from running. I’m not happy about it.

Plus, it doesn’t help that I got a semi-scary email from one of my future coaches in Team in Training (EEP!!!). He had some general beginner’s tips about what we should be doing before actual training starts in March. One of them being “DO NOT SHOW UP INJURED TO THE FIRST PRACTICE OR ELSE WE WILL MOCK YOU.” Not quite that scary, but that’s how I read it. It makes sense – now is the time that we should just be preparing our bodies for the next five months of training, which includes both work and rest.

The header to one of my training emails! EXCITING!

So I’m taking a full two weeks off from running, and trying to get in as much cross-training as I can. I also went to see my favorite Physical Therapist today (Dr. Ngo is back from maternity leave! Please don’t have any more babies, I missed you too much).

The other semi-scary part of the training e-mail told us to get in some biking and swimming before the kick-off. I’m not all that concerned about the biking part. I usually get to one spin class per week, and do some biking on another day as well. The swimming part, however, has been interesting.

I checked out the Greenpoint YMCA Pool last weekend, ready to doggy paddle with my swimcap, goggles, and newly purchased one-piece swimsuit from Jack Rabbit Sports. I don’t know what I was expecting. The building of the YMCA isn’t exactly huge, but in my mind I thought they had an Olympic-sized clean, beautiful pool hidden inside. Reality: It was about 40 feet long, with three lanes.

I’m also accustomed to relatively-nice locker rooms at NYSC. Sure, I can barely wrap the towels they provide around one leg, but at least they have towels. Plus, the single bottle in YMCA showers labeled “Hair and Body Wash” scares me a little. Call me a snob, but I wash my hair and body with different suds. 

So I don’t think I’m going to join that pool. I’ve been doing some extensive research on other pools in the city, and I’m thinking of switching gyms and joining NY Health & Racquet. Several of their locations have pools, and maybe I’ll even dabble in some racquetball one day. I’m going to try a one-week membership, and if I like it, it will be a sad goodbye to NYSC.

Sads.

On the bike front, I brought my “mountain bike” from home back to Brooklyn yesterday. It definitely needs a tune-up, but I think it will do O.K. for a little while. I’m preparing myself now for the looks I am sure to get at the hipster bike shop when I bring it in.

On a more fun note, I had an awesome weekend. Keith and I went out with our friends on Friday night and did the only thing you can do when there's a snowstorm: Play drinking games. We played Kings for two rounds, and I was supremely impressed with my ability to remember all of the rules. Highlight of the night was during the "Categories" round - Subject: Movies that the Rock wishes he were in. Endless possibilities!

Keith and I also went home to my parents’ house for an amazing showing of Casablanca at the New Jersey State Theater in New Brunswick. Casablanca is my 2^nd favorite movie, so when my dad told me he bought tickets to a viewing of the movie, where an orchestra would be playing along to the music, I was stoked. I’m pretty sure I was the youngest person there, and Keith the 2^nd youngest. But even though I didn’t have a wheelchair or a walker, I enjoyed my favorite scenes and lines more than I ever have.

I’m looking forward to doing some more biking, swimming, and watching of old movies this week. Here’s looking at you kid.