The New York City Triathlon Race Recap

There really was no better way for me to celebrate my 3^rd anniversary of living in New York City.

But before the happy end of the race came, I was a ball of nerves.

I’ve never had more mixed feelings about a race before. I was feeling the normal, equal balance of nervous and excitement. But I was also wondering, am I really ready for this? There was a part of me that had serious concerns about my ability to finish. Would I get a flat tire on the bike? Could I handle the Central Park hills? Would I look really awesome, or close to death in my race photos? (all questions will be answered in-depth later)

Meggie and I went to the Tri expo Friday afternoon and picked up some goodies before our final Team in Training dinner. We had a casual photoshoot as well.

We made our way to the dinner, only to find the entrance lined with a red carpet. As we walked in, our mentors were waiting for us, cheering us on with insane enthusiasm. I felt like a total rock star.

Cheering mentors!

The dinner was bittersweet. It was amazing to see the entire NYC chapter of TNT together, and hearing how much money we raised for LLS (over $1 million!!!!). We heard really sweet speeches from our head coach, and one TNT participant who is a Stage 4 Lymphoma survivor. It was a really great way to bring my TNT experience to a close, and got me super psyched for race day.

Megs and me carbo-loading.

My awesome mentor, Andy!

I woke up early Saturday morning to put together my race day necessities. I felt like a crazy person checking and re-checking all my stuff. Between three sports, there is a lot of random ish to remember.

I met Meggie for our long trek to the west side to drop off our bikes at transition. We were “those people” you hate on the subway because we clogged up all entry ways with our bikes AND got our bikes tangled up in each other so you REALLY couldn’t get off.

After a sweaty subway ride, we made it to transition. Huzzah!

My transition spot, with inspirational quote/pick-up line.

We took a quick tour of the transition area, and figured out where we would be entering and exiting for the swim, bike and run. After walking around most of the afternoon, we finally took our coaches’ advice and went to dinner and a movie to stay off our feet. We also lucked out and stayed at Meggie’s boyfriend’s Aunt’s house (are you still with me? ) on the Upper West Side. It was a real treat not to have to go all the way back to Brooklyn after our long afternoon. We body marked, painted nails, and settled in for the night by watching Sex and the City. We agreed that Samantha is much more outrageous and sexual in the movie than in the show.

At 3:30AM IN THE MORNING, we woke up for the big day.

Really beautiful shot of us.

We laid out our items at transition, and walked to the swim start. It was very cool watching the sun rise over the Hudson, when most of the city was just about to go to sleep. It was one of those rare New York moments.

I got to my corral with Meggie, and the race officially started. While the logistics of bike drop-off and walking to the swim were a hassle, it was exciting to watch everyone jump in and start their race. Here I am AMPED AND NERVOUS. (also, don't mind the next several shots that say "proof" across them. Stolen from marathon foto).

Nerd.

As we got closer to the dock, my hands began to shake. Meggie and I finally stepped up to the starting line, hand in hand, and jumped in to start our race.

All of the nervousness I felt that morning disappeared as soon as I got in the water. It felt really refreshing, and I kept reminding myself to enjoy every moment. Every time I turned my head to breathe, I saw the sun shining on the water. I was having a total blast.

SIDE NOTE: To answer your burning question – the Hudson was not gross (I KNOW! I was just as delightfully surprised by this fact as you). In fact, the first ¾ of the swim the current was pretty quick, and the water felt great. But as we got closer to the boat basin, where the swim exit was, the only thing I noticed was the smell of gasoline. A lot of boats + slow current = gasoline smell. Kinda gross but perhaps understandable.

By the time I neared the finish, my arms started to tire a bit. The current slowed, and each stroke took more effort. I started counting down the strokes to the finish, which helped. Then it was time to get out!

Swim time: 22:27

Best shot of the day?

I was prepared for the fact that the distance between the swim exit and transition was about a half mile run. I slowly jogged to my bike, and started the leg of the race I was most nervous about (Cue my serious, irrational fear that I was going to get a flat tire).

Transition 1 Time: 7:49

Once I got on my bike, I decided to just enjoy myself. I started out slow, and then picked it up to a sustainable effort. I caught up to Meggie, and by the best coincidence, we passed a set of photographers. 

BEST FRIENDS DO TRIS TOGETHER.

The bike was my favorite part of the race. I had an ongoing passing game with a 70-year-old woman, tried with all my might to stay well-hydrated yet NOT drop my water bottles, and smiled the entire time (there is a hilarious set of photos of me trying to put my water bottle back in its cage. Is this also hard for other people? Please tell me I am not alone. Or maybe I am. Whatever).

COOL SHOT.

The toughest part was figuring out what “race pace” was. I pushed it pretty hard on the hills, and then took it a bit easier during the last quarter of the course. I wanted to make sure I had some fuel left in me for the run.

By the time we got to the last turnaround, I didn’t want the bike to end. I can honestly say I never felt that way during training. I was always ready to be done. But this was a really cool course, with lots of racers around you to keep you going fast.

Bike time: 1:34:52

I dropped my bike in transition, threw on my running hat, and headed out for the last part of my first official triathlon.

Transition 2 Time: 1:34

The beginning of the run course is on 72^nd street, lined with energetic spectators. I felt like I was going really slow, but hearing everyone yell “Go Team In Training!” made me pick it up a bit. Not to mention, I saw Keith, which always perks me up!

I turned to go into the Park, preparing for the beastly hills. My legs felt really, really heavy. I noticed before the start that my quads felt sore, I think from all the walking the day before. And I had to pee. I was off to a good start.

I reminded myself that this was my strongest part of the race. I’ve pushed through worse, and I should enjoy this as much as possible. When we got to the first hill, I noticed other people starting to walk. I decided that was not going to be me, and it fueled me to go faster.

NOT smiling because I am running up a hill.

Despite the heat and humidity, and my lead-filled legs, I felt really energized by the spectators. So many people had a connection with my purple TNT shirt, and their words of encouragement kept me going. The TNT coaches were lined throughout the park, yelling words of advice. Two coaches even ran with me, saying how strong I looked and that I was almost done. I’ve never felt such support during a race, and it made all the difference in the world.

I started my garmin later than where the run technically started, so while I had my mile times, I was mostly running on feel. I knew I was pushing myself because my mile times were faster than how incredibly fatigued I felt. I wanted to enjoy it, but I was seriously counting down the steps by the last two miles. I was tired and ready to finish.

The crowds started to get bigger, and I knew I was close to the finish. I tried to sprint it out, and work hard to the last second. I crossed that finish line, and was so happy!!!

Run Time: 53:09 (8:34 Pace)

Exhausted, but still throwing some peace signs.

As soon as I crossed the finish line, I was given a cold, wet towel for my neck, water, gatorade, and my choice of excellent post-race food. A wet towel will never mean more to me than it did at that moment.

Keith found me right away, and I was beyond happy to see him. After an immediate trip to the porta-potties, we browsed the finish line festival, and I stopped to get my official time…

WHICH WAS 2:59:49 !!!

I had a top secret goal time of beating 3 hours. I had heard from other TNTers that 3 hours was a threshold to beat. I crushed it with 11 seconds to spare.

Keith treated me to breakfast, and my exhausted body caught up with me. I was ready for a day of napping, eating, and watching Scandal. And Corona.

I have a lot more thoughts about this experience, both good and bad. But for now, I’ll let this recap stand on its own. What an amazing, fantastic day. I wish I could do it again.

With One Week to go…

I’ve been training for 19 weeks for the New York City Triathlon.

It's been a journey from being cold and sad...

To feeling strong and happy! (and warm)

When I signed up for the triathlon in January, I was hopelessly naïve and had absolutely no clue what I was getting myself into. I’ll admit I was even a little over-confident about the whole thing. I had run two marathons already – a triathlon would be easy in comparison.

I was also looking for a new adventure, something to get me out of my comfort zone. I wanted to do something that didn’t just benefit me, but other people who were in real need of help.

I definitely feel like I am about to achieve something bigger than myself this weekend, but I was 100% wrong about thinking the training would be easy. It was really hard.

I don’t say this to elicit sympathy from anyone, but rather to remind myself that training for any race is supposed to be difficult. It requires a little sacrifice, a bit of discipline and a lot of sleep. While I think that having experience in endurance running helped me, it didn’t prepare me much for the swimming and biking portions of the training. I had to work really hard to build up my endurance for both.

I remember the first weekend I had my road bike – I felt like I was flying. My new baby was so shiny and fast. I ended up doing a ton of mileage at a Saturday morning practice, more than I had ever done, and realized about ¾ of the way through that I was dog tired. I slowly made my way back to my apartment after practice, and was convinced that if my couch was a foot further away from my door, I would have collapsed on my floor instead. My right knee ached, and I slept for about 2 hours afterwards. I learned that day to respect the sport, and respect your ability level.

Showing some love and respect for my bike.
I did not collapse after this practice I will have you know.

I remember the stretch of weeks when I loathed going to the pool on my own. I would mumble curse words to myself on early Thursday mornings when I had to slip into my tight swimsuit, share a lane with another crazy New Yorker, and blow dry my hair in an insanely hot gym while sweat poured down my face. This SUCKS.  I couldn’t find anything positive about my solo swim practices. I wasn’t very good, I didn’t feel myself improving, and I couldn’t shake my frustration.

Then at some point, I started to KIND OF enjoy it. I started passing people at the group swim practices that I attended religiously. I patted myself on the back when I finished a set of long sprints and didn’t feel like dying. I successfully finished an open water swim and didn’t die. I learned that not everything is supposed to come easy or be fun. Sometimes you have to really work at it, and believe that it will pay off in the end. 

I'm smiling! Even though I'm about to swim!

I remember when I was cursing my body for not cooperating when I was recovering from injury. This was especially frustrating because while I might not be very good at swimming or biking, I felt like I was kind of good at running. I couldn’t do it as much as I wanted to, which I felt would have lifted up my spirits. I was nervous I wouldn’t be able to complete the race.

Finally, my injury let up, after some aggressive physical therapy and foam rolling. As I slowly built up my endurance, I savored every step. It felt amazing to be able to do the one sport that I feel most confident about.

Last Tuesday, I finally made it to a group run, which I had avoided all season because it is inconvenient for me to get to (plus, I really enjoy running alone! Not ashamed of it one bit). We were told to do mile repeats, but I just ran at a steady pace because I didn’t want to risk hurting anything. I let people pass me, and focused on my steady breathing. I felt strong, even if I wasn’t going as fast as everyone else.

After practice, I was talking to some fellow teammates, and we were sharing how we felt about the upcoming race. I said how I felt most confident about running, since I have done several races in the past. One girl, whom I had never met before said, “Oh you’ll be fine on the run. You looked so strong out there!”  It was such a small comment, but really boosted my confidence. Even if you’re not running as fast as everyone else, if you feel strong, chances are, you’ll look strong to other people too.

SO PLEASED TO BE RUNNING.

When I first signed up for this triathlon, I was most nervous about getting to my fundraising goal. I know asking people to donate their hard-earned dollars to my race is a bit of an imposition, but I hoped I would get close enough so I didn’t have to pay for the difference myself and have to live on ramen for months.

I have said before that I am truly amazed by the generosity I’ve been shown in the past few months. And two weeks ago, I surpassed my fundraising minimum. This was a huge part of my goal for this race – to raise enough money that would make a difference for families fighting LLS. Even if I don’t have a great race, I take great pride in knowing that I did something to help others in need. If you supported me in the past few months, whether it was by donating or just listening as I worried about training, thank you. Give yourself a pat on the back because we just did something really awesome together.

So here we are, a week away from my first Olympic Triathlon. After 19 weeks of insanely early Saturday morning practices, countless uncomfortable swim workouts and many moments of questioning my own sanity, I am just days away from putting myself to the test. It has been a crazy journey, but I feel ready for it. Let's go.

The Open Water Swim...

It’s Week 15 of NYC Tri training – only 5 weeks left. I’m shaking in my booties.

Here’s what I did this past week:

Saturday: OPEN WATER SWIM + 45 min run

Sunday: 2 hour bike ride

Monday: 1 Hour Group Swim (I'M QUEEN OF THE WORLD)

Tuesday: 6 Mile Run (I HATE YOU BODY)

Wednesday: 1 Hour Indoor Bike (NOTHING TO SEE HERE)

Thursday: 40 Minute Swim (THIS ISN'T SO BAD)

Why all the random add-ons? This past week was filled with highs and lows. Let’s start with the craziest of them all – the open water swim at Coney Island on Saturday.

I really thought I would be more nervous than I was for this swim. Given my general hatred dislike for swimming over the past few weeks, I thought it was going to be rough. But swim practice earlier in the week was actually quite fun, and I was on my first-ever high from swimming.

My fave training buddy Meggie and I got to Coney Island nice and early for instructions by our coaches and the lifeguards. The first thing I heard when we got to the boardwalk – the water is COLD. Tropical Storm Andrea passed over New York and left just a couple hours before our swim, thus making the ocean cold and choppy. I found out after the swim that the water hadn’t been that cold in the eight years that one of our coaches has been doing TNT.

MIXED EMOTIONS.

We put on our wetsuits, and were advised to do some running before the swim to get warmed up. When we finally got in the water, and my feet were not happy with me. During the first lap, I kept my head up the entire time, since ya know, I COULDN'T SEE THE BOTTOM, WHICH IS STRANGE.  

In the second lap, I told myself to trust my months of training, and try to swim “normally.” I put my face in the water, and just swam. My face felt like ice during the first few minutes, but I started to get the hang of it. I have heard that it is really common for people to freak out the first time they swim in open water, but I wanted to avoid this. I counted my strokes in my head – one, two, three, four, five, six, SIGHT. This was also really foreign to me. We practiced sighting in last week’s swim practice, but it’s sort of silly in the pool because you know exactly where you’re going… but in the ocean, you have to make sure you’re not swimming out to sea.

We did twenty minutes of continuous lap swimming, a few other exercises, and we were done. We did it!!!

It really wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be. Looking back, this swim was a huge mental barrier for me. Now that I know that I can actually swim in open water, and brave it out in less than ideal conditions, it just doesn’t seem so daunting to me anymore.

That being said, I finally decided to sign up for this puppy:

I knew I wanted to do a sprint tri before the big day, but I was a bit scared about whether I’d be prepared for the swim. During the NYC Tri you swim with the current, so you’re not actually swimming for that long (my mentor Andy said that last year his NYC swim time was 17 minutes, and in a different race with the same distance, his swim time was 33 minutes…).

The Birchwood Lakes swim is an out and back half mile swim in a lake. No current, just still, open water. But now I feel like I can do it. Plus, I realized the other night at swim practice that we swam a little over a mile in the pool (!!!!).

At least I think I did. I am REALLY bad at counting laps and meters and stuff. You can tell me if I’m totally off, but I think I read somewhere that 33 laps is a mile. (Actually, don’t tell me and shatter my confidence. K great).

So the swimming is going well (for once), and I’m pumped about this sprint tri as a practice run for race day. Yet I have been sidelined this week by a stupid tweak in my left IT Band.

I went out for 400 sprints Tuesday night after what felt like a crappy day. Everything at work was bothering me, everyone was TOUCHING me on the subway, and I just felt like a cranky troll. Normally, a good run can get me out of a funk, so I was looking forward to it. But my body felt tired, and I should have listened to that.

I felt fine during the warm-up, and even somewhat strong in the first five 400s. But during the last sprint, I felt really beat, and at the end of it my body said ENOUGH. I couldn’t slow my heart rate, and I did some run-walking to try to cool-down. I noticed some pain in my left IT Band, and by the last mile it was really hurting. I cut the run short, and harrumphed my way home.

WHY OH WHY would you do this to me IT Band? We’ve been getting along so well, you and I. Did I push you too hard? Just tell me. I’ll be good to you, I promise.

I went to see the all-powerful Dr. Levine yesterday, and he was a bit perplexed by it as well. He found two big knots in the muscle, and worked them out for me. But he advised no running for at least a week. I’m still pouting.

Especially because in one week, I will be here:

My dad, cousins and me after the bike up the Notch!
You can really see what we look like, no?

I’ll be heading up to Vermont next week for a vacay/family reunion, and have every intention of enjoying the amazing scenery by running and biking as much as I can. Give me some trails and grass, and I am one HAPPY gal. I am not going to let my stubborn leg keep me from doing the things I love. 

Week 14 NYC Triathlon Training - and Other Thoughts

It’s been a good week of training! Here’s what I’ve been up to:

Saturday: BRick (1M run, 1 ½ hour bike, 30 min run)

Sunday: 1 Hour Bike

Monday: 1 Hour Swim Practice w/ wetsuit (!!!)
Tuesday: 6M Run, 5x400 hill repeats

Wednesday: REST

Thursday: BRIck (1 Hour Bike, 20 Minute Run)

The BRick on Saturday was intense but good. A few weeks ago I was nervous about the state of my fitness, specifically for running. We started out with a slow 1 mile run, followed that with a 1 ½ hour bike, and finished with 30 minutes of hill repeats. Yeah.

The bike was fun, but I didn’t feel the need to go too fast. I try to keep in mind that I also have a 6 mile ride to and from the park, so I tack on 12 more miles than everyone else. I made the mistake a few weeks ago of doing far too many laps of Prospect Park, so I did what I thought was a good amount for me.

As a triathlon newbie, there are a lot of things I need to work on/remember for the race. Like hydrating and fueling while on my bike. I hadn’t purchase the “right” kind of water bottles for my bike yet. You’re supposed to have the kind that you can just leave open, so it’s easy to hydrate throughout the race. I’ve been continuing to use my Rubbermaid “flip open” water bottle, and I finally realized on Saturday why this will just not do for biking. At the end of what I thought was a successful grab-n-sip session on my bike, I was trying to close the lid and put it back on my water bottle holder, when I completely missed it and my bottle went flying. The bottle went one way, the lid went another, and my dignity was back some few hundred feet.

My new bottle.

So I invested in two water bottles this week via amazon that looked super cute online. But they are in fact too big for my bike. So I have to exchange them, I guess. #newbieproblems

I also got a Fuel Box for my bike, because I couldn’t figure out how people properly fuel while biking and I was STARVING mid-way through our ride. While I usually leisurely stop for water and nutrition on bike rides by myself, I was reminded that this is NOT what happens on race day. Hopefully this thing will help me get my gus and other nonsense easily. I will have to practice before the race because I am not the most skilled one-handed rider.

We got off our bikes after an hour and a half, and started the run. The reason why they call these sessions "BRick"s: B is for Bike, R is for Run, and Brick is for the way your legs feel when you get off the bike and start running. They feel like lead. But after a minute or two, I was moving and grooving.

At the end of the session, they had a How-To session on how to fix a flat tire. I wanted to just sit and watch, but at the end of the session I felt like I should at least try part of it. I asked my awesome TNT mentor, Andy, to help me. He said we should just do the whole thing. And I did!

Fixing a flat tire is not easy. I employed the help of Andy and another mentor to get me through it. I did almost every single thing wrong, twice, before I did it right. But it was something that TNT really encouraged all of us to learn, so if I get stranded on the side of the road somewhere with a flat, I will feel slightly more confident about being able to fix it.

Post BRick- Sweaty, dirty, and happy
(And it was laundry day)

We also had our first wetsuit swim on Monday night (WAAAHH). I have been reading about and hearing that everyone freaks out in wetsuits, especially when in open water. Aside from the fact that it can get really tight on your neck, and really hot by your belly and legs, it was actually super fun to swim in. Wetsuits make you more buoyant (I'll be needing that), and I felt faster. We practiced things like sighting, which is important on race day when you're in open water and you don't have lane lines guiding you to the finish.

It was probably the first swim practiced I've really enjoyed in a long time. 

After a successful BRick and swim, I'm feeling confident and reflective. I read this awesome blog today about "10 Uncommon Truths Every Business Owner Should Know." While it sounds a bit businessy, I assure you the gal who writes on this blog is a hysterical GENIUS. She writes a lot about how to start/run your own business, but a lot of it relates to working and life in general. In her blog, she writes about 10 thing she learned from being a manager at an ice cream shop. It made me think back to some of the things I've learned in my past jobs, and more relevantly, to my past two years as a runner. 

So here's my own list of 5 Uncommon/Probably Pretty Common Truths Every Runner/Triathlete Should Know:

1. Training is Called Training for a Reason - You Have to Do it (aka It's Not Called Sleeping in/Sitting on Your Couch and Watching Game of Thrones)
This is sort of advice to anyone who is on the fence about training for something big. There are a lot of mornings when I don't feel like getting up early to get in my training, or want to finish the full length of what I have on my training schedule. At times like this, I say to myself, you just have to do it. You can come up with all of the excuses in the world for why you can't fit a training session in (and from time to time, that happens). But if you signed up for a race, it's your commitment to put in the time. Suck it up, lace up your sneakers, and get on with it. You'll be happy once you did. And don't forget to treat yourself to an iced coffee afterwards.

2. Trying Stuff that Scares You Makes You a Better Athlete
Last year, when I was trying to complete all of my 9+1 races, I had about 3 or 4 weekends in a row when I had to get to Central Park for a race. (I'm starting to realize more and more that I live in one of the most inconvenient neighborhoods to get to races in NYC, and getting to Central Park by 8AM on a Saturday is about as easy to get to as Toledo.) So instead of wasting my energies on a slow subway for an hour, I decided to run there. It was much quicker, and I'm convinced squeezing in a casual run over the Queensboro Bridge every other weekend built up my stamina for my Brooklyn Half PR. It SCARED the crap out of me to run in Brooklyn and Queens before most bodegas were even open, but now I don't think twice about getting to Central Park or trying a brand new route. My legs thanked me for that.

3. Forget Nutrition and Forget your Race
I think the editors of Runner's World say to themselves PREACH! every time they hear someone talk about how important nutrition is during a race. It comes up in every issue of their mag, and I couldn't agree more. I had a few unpleasant run-ins when I was a newbie at running, because I didn't take nutrition seriously enough. I also experienced it last Saturday at my BRick (but in a non-bathroom run sort of way). I didn't eat enough breakfast, and I realized halfway through my bike that I was starving and didn't know how to re-fuel without getting off my bike and taking a 5 minute break. It reminded me that I am a big breakfast kinda gal. I need it or I'm going to get fatigued, and I need easy access to gus during my training to keep going. Plain and simple, it's one of the easiest things to prepare for, and once of the easiest things to mess up.

4. Other Runners/Athletes aren't trying to Intimidate you (but They Probably Think They're Better Than You)
There are a group of runners in my neighborhood who think they are the bees knees of running. I tried a few runs with them awhile ago, and realized they weren't my cup of tea. I see them a lot when I do speedwork at the track, in their fancy gear, and with their six pack abs. I also see a lot of runners at the beginning of races, when we're all piled into corrals like cattle, who have fancy arm sleeves, calf sleeves, and other neon-colored accessories. I used to be intimidated by both groups. But then I realized they are not paying the least bit of attention to me. Runners are in their own heads 90% of the time. I realized it would be a shame to put in all this time into training only to be intimidated by people who wear fancier stuff than I do. The best way to prove to yourself that your training and clothing works for you? Run past them on the course or track (I mean, if you can. I usually can't).

5. Smiling is a Good Way to Get What you Want
I try to use this in most areas of my life. People like people who smile. People don't like people who are grumpy and seem mean. There have been plenty of times when I've been at a race confused about how to drop off my bag or not followed directions correctly. I smile, ask a volunteer for help, and I always get what I want. This is also true when at a running store or in a group of people who know more about the sport than you do. Smile, ask a question, and get the answer you need right away. It also doesn't hurt to smile at fellow runners while out on the dusty trail. It just makes for a better run.

So those are my thoughts about running truths! I just love reflecting and stuff.

Weird Sh*t on a Run

I’m in week 12 of Tri training, with a little over 7 weeks left before race day. Where has the time gone.

Here’s what this past week looked like:

Sunday: 1 hour BRick at the gym

Monday: 40 min Swim

Tuesday: Insane Spin class

Wednesday: 4.2 mile Run

Thursday: 30 min Swim

I think my body is finally getting used to 6 workouts per week. And my tummy is happy because now I’m eating extra rice crispy treats in the process.

Last week, I expressed some feelings of doubt about whether I will be ready for race day. I realize now that by continuing to fit in my workouts, I will be ready. But after reflecting on my doubt, I think I realized something.

I’m not a huge fan of swimming. (!!!)

Expectation

Reality.

I’m an optimist. I see the glass half-full. I go into most experiences believing that I will enjoy them, and come out the other side with more knowledge or passion for something. I believed wholeheartedly when I signed up for the tri that I would grow to love biking and swimming. I like to exercise, I like to learn new things… makes sense.

But I forgot about the human condition that we don’t like things we’re not good at. I forgot that I quit basketball in 8^th grade because I was terrible, and I stopped trying out for the school musicals because I didn’t want to be stuck in the chorus anymore. I am guilty of stopping things that I’m not good at. It’s just not fun. Who’s with me?

I don’t think that I’m a great runner, but at least I have seen myself improve and accomplish things over the past two years. I put in the hours and practiced and trained, and I like to think that I am at least a good runner. I also have seen my endurance improve in biking – I love going to spin classes and riding through Prospect Park with my shiny new bike. It’s fun.

Convincing myself that I have improved in my swimming is harder. I know my endurance has increased, but I kind of dread going to the pool on my own. I go to every group training session I can, because it's slightly less painful doing lap sprints with my fellow TNTers. When I go to the pool on my own, I get it done because I know I have to. And the consequence of not being prepared in swimming (ahem, drowning) is slightly scarier than being undertrained in biking or running. I get in the pool and say to myself “okay, let’s get this over with. And then you can treat yourself to a yummy breakfast or something.”

Am I being a negative Nancy? Perhaps. But I am also being honest with myself. If I’m going to finish the next 7 weeks of training, I have to come to terms with the fact that I’m not going to become an amazing swimmer overnight. It’s going to be hard and not that fun for me, but I’m going to stick with it, and know that by race day I accomplished something awesome.

On an upbeat note, I am really excited about my new Up band by Jawbone!

Compliments my gold watch, no?

I received it as a gift from my boss for putting on our sales meeting back in April. With high-tech motion sensors (or something), it can track how many steps you take, your workouts, and how well you sleep. Just wear it on your wrist day and night, plug it into your phone so it syncs up with an app, and get immediate feedback on your activity right away. So awesome.

I walked over 5 miles yesterday! One good thing
that comes from my commute.

I also wore it on my crazy a** run the other night. I will now elaborate.

Per my description of how I’m not the biggest fan of swimming, I am like a kid in a candy store when it’s a run day. It all started out great. The weather was warm, it was the first time I was wearing shorts this season, and I was ready for some speedwork at the track. But apparently the entire community of north Brooklyn also thought it was a nice night for the track.

I would very much like to give a seminar on proper track etiquette to my neighbors. I had to dodge slow people walking while talking on cell phones, little kids zigzagging, and one guy pushing a shopping cart. ON THE TRACK. The outside is for slow walkers, the park and the green space is for kids, and the grocery store is where you can take your shopping cart. Mkay? I am trying to complete some 400s here people.

Then on my way home, a girl sitting on her fire escape dumped some kind of liquid (I’m hoping it was water) over the edge, about 2 ft from me. I looked up with a nasty stare, and she said “Oops.” Then, as I was walking the last block back to my apartment for a cool down, I saw a guy, who was stopped and resting on his bike, start PEEING NEXT TO HIS BIKE. WTF. It’s not like I live in some downtrodden neighborhood where public urination is a common thing. It wasn’t even dark out. If you must pee in public, do it when it’s dark, next to an alley or a wall or something. And for the love of Lance Armstrong, don't do it while on your bike.

Needless to say, I got back to my apartment, wondering what was wrong with this world. But it was a great run otherwise, so I can’t really complain.

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.

I swam... and it wasn’t scary

I had a great, productive, fun weekend. The nice weather didn’t hurt either.

Friday night, I saw this guy riding the subway.

As my dad pointed out, no one could be bothered that a guy
with a panda head was riding the NYC subway. 

I got dinner and beers with Keith and the gang, but headed home early to chug water in preparation for an early Saturday morning. I went to the gym early Friday morning, so once 10:30PM rolled around, I was ready to drift off to sleep. I love how training excuses my toddler-like sleep habits.

At 7AM my alarm went off, and I got ready to go to the gym. There was a TNT running session in Central Park, followed by an event called “Connection 2 the Cause” on the Upper West Side. Since I haven’t been cleared by my PT to run just yet, I did the gazelle-like elliptical and the stairmaster at the gym instead.

On that note, I really like my new PT. Dr. Levine, who has a lot of patients who are marathoners and triathletes, came highly recommended on my insurance website. Beyond that, I found out that he has an office literally across the street from my office. I wanted to get a second opinion on my IT band, and he says that about 80% of his athlete-patients have the same injury. I am not alone in my frustration.

Please get rid of the knots in my leg.

I left the gym (where scary-skinny older women intimidated me with their six-pack abs), and was excited for the C2C event. The goal of the event is to inspire and remember the reason why we are training with TNT. A few people talked about their experience with LLS, and then they opened the floor up for anyone who wanted to share their story about why they’re training. I was blown away not only by everyone’s bravery to stand in front of a group of 200 strangers and speak, but by all of the experiences that my fellow teammates have been through. We cheered on the participants who are now cancer-free, and applauded those who are participating in a friend’s memory. I left with a lump in my throat, and feeling even more excited about training for the triathlon.

After a morning of TNT, I went home to tackle my closet. My shelves and bureau have been a hot mess the last few weeks.

I have a lot of socks.

I sorted through all my clothes, and anything I haven't worn in the last six months went in a donation pile. I ended up getting rid of two big bags of clothes (including mostly Forever 21 clothes I bought in college. Their clothes look so much better at time of purchase). I refolded everything into neat little piles back in my closet, that will likely stay that way for less than a week. 

After all my clothes sorting, I was inspired by my friend Meggie’s recent success at a thrift shop called Beacon’s Closet in Brooklyn. She said that they bought $320 worth of her clothes. While Meggie’s clothes have a lot more whimsy and artsy-ness to them, I figured I could bring the highlights of my garbage bags and give it a go (I took the DVF pants, but left the Hanes t-shirts at home).

While I waited for "buyers" to get to my bag o’ fun, I shopped around a bit. I looked around for some funky stuff that I might be able to wear to work… but I found absolutely nothing. It was a little disappointing, and I think I gave myself a headache from searching through all the racks of clothes. My shopping stamina just isn’t what it used to be.

As much as I would like to, I can't wear these to work.

I checked back at the sell station, and they went through my clothes in front of me. It was humbling to watch someone judge my clothes. While they passed on most of my items, they did buy two pieces from me; a green dress with pink buttons from Urban Outfitters, and a pair of DVF pants I got at a sample sale.

I wore the green dress to a sorority formal with Keith.
Goodbye dress. Go make new memories with hipsters.

I tried to tell myself that the reason Beacon's Closet only took two items was because they were really looking for spring items, and most of my clothes were wintry. But I guess I’m also okay with the fact my clothes aren’t thrift shop-worthy. I’ll leave that up to Macklemore.

Last night, we had our second TNT swim practice. I was really, really anxious before getting in the water. Last Monday’s practice went well, but I felt really tired afterwards and swallowed about a half gallon of water. Mostly I was nervous I would feel completely uncoordinated like I did last week.

But as soon as I jumped in the water and started swimming, I felt GREAT. I was shocked at how much easier it felt to swim compared to last week. 

We did a lot of the same drills we did last week, and I took my time with each to practice form as best I could. I felt really good about it, and while I still swallowed copious amounts of water, I can already feel myself improving.

You're up! What are your thoughts on thrift shopping? Was selling two items worth the $12.22 I got back?