Week 17 – NYC Triathlon Training

2 and a half weeks ‘til race day! Eep!

Here’s how this past week has shaped up:

Monday: 1 Hour Swim at Group Training

Tuesday: 5.7 Miles of Running

Wednesday: 1 Hour Bike

Thursday: 2.7 Miles of Running

I feel pretty good overall today about where my training is at. Could be because I got some solid outdoorsy training in Vermont last week…

I DID IT.

My dad has a tradition of bike riding “the notch” when we’re up in Vermont. It’s essentially a 3-mile STEEP uphill that I did last year, and swore to myself and anyone who would listen that I would never do again. It was one of the hardest endurance workouts I had done to date.  But since I discovered a new love for biking in the past few months, I thought I would give it another chance.

My dad is one tough cookie.

This year’s trip was loads better. I rented a fancy road bike, and I REALLY enjoyed the change in scenery. My typical bike rides are either inside a hot gym or circling around Prospect Park again and again and again. There was just no comparing this ride to anything else.

I rode with my cousins and dad, and then my cousin Pat and I did an hour run once we got to the other side of the notch (the dreaded BRick of the week). I was nervous about the run because of my IT band, especially since my physical therapist told me to take it easy. I respectfully ignored his advice because I was more concerned about getting this key workout in before the triathlon.

The first 4 miles I felt GREAT. My cousin Pat is one of my absolute favorite running buddies. He makes the time fly by with good stories and advice. But by mile 5, I could feel my IT band beginning to throb again. We took some walk breaks, and then with only a few minutes left til the end, I told him I needed to walk the rest of the way.

I wondered whether I had pushed it too much, but I did some good stretching right after and felt okay. PLUS, I did some really healthy post-BRick fueling.

My awesome family!

My time in Vermont was so needed. I got lots of fresh air, quality time with my family, and even managed to squeeze in a few photo shoots.

Crazy face with Molly.

Wacky face with Molly and Pat.

Smiles with the cutest kid ever.

Separate photoshoot with my cute sis!

I got home on Sunday with a killer case of the blues, and a full-blown head cold. I immediately laid down on my couch, and watched a DVRed version of Big with Tom Hanks. That movie is not as good as I remember. It’s actually kind of bad. When did that happen?

After Big put me to sleep for a few minutes, I woke up went into an unpacking/cleaning frenzy in my apartment. Cleaning somehow energized me, and I decided to go for a short 2-mile shake-out run to see how my IT band was feeling…. And miraculously, it felt just fine.

I went for a run again on Tuesday morning… and still felt fine. And again this morning… no issues. I don’t want to celebrate yet, but I’m feeling pretty good.

Plus, I have this crazy thing to look forward to this weekend:

This is perhaps one of the tiniest races I’ve ever participated in. There were about 140 people who participated last year, and it’s projected to be about 200 this year. When I emailed the race director, asking whether there would be a “general” note sent out about parking, start times, etc, he wrote back: “Maybe, good idea. All the info is on the website.” He was also quoted in a local newspaper article about the triathlon saying that the race would be canceled only if there was “snow or zombies.” I gotta meet this guy.

I’m feeling oddly confident about the swim, good about the bike, and so-so about the run. I know it’s going to be low key, and there’s a beer-b-que following the race, so the odds of having a good race are pretty high. Check back next week for a race recap for my first triathlon! Eep!

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. 

Country Mouse

I just started listening to an interesting podcast called “Phedippidations” – which is put on by a self-proclaimed slow runner named Steve (nerdy running fact: Pheidippides is said to have been the first figure to complete the modern-day marathon when he ran from Marathon, Greece to Sparta and back announcing the Greek Victory over Persia – and then collapsed and died… Don’t worry Mom- this is Greek Mythology that has likely been exaggerated over the years). Steve records most of his podcasts while he’s actually running, and discusses inspirational topics to help you keep going as you're likely listening to his podcast while you run.

He said something in his podcast that really stuck with me – how runners develop a deep connection to their surroundings. When you leave your iPod and phone at home on a run, you end up focusing a lot on the sights, sounds, and yes - even the smells around you. Steve talked about how races and memorable long runs stick with you more than other memories because you are completely aware of every sense (he went on further to make a statement about how he believes the hippocampus, the area of our brain that stores long-term memories, is actually stimulated when you're running, which in turn helps us remember races. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here).

It might seem like common sense, but I found it to be rather profound. I know every crack and crevice of Kent Street, which has been my frenemy on so many runs; I know not to be alarmed by the chugging of the JMZ train on the Williamsburg Bridge, even though it sounds like it’s inches away; and I know to cross the street between South 2^nd and South 5^th Streets because of the foul stench that wafts from the Domino Sugar Factory.

I would never know these things if I were in a car or always listening to my iPod (not criticizing the use of an iPod on a run at all - I like listening to my music just as much as the next person). Even though I sometimes wish that I lived in a more rural area so I didn't have to pass by the same smelly buildings, I do feel a strong connection to my neighborhood.


In the same podcast, Steve talks about how during a recent run, he came across a horse who was running free. I realized I had a similar experience just two weeks ago.

I was taking one of my usual routes, perhaps on one of the only dirt paths in Greenpoint. I was sans-iPod and in tune with my surroundings. I saw a squirrel about 15 feet in front of me, who was hanging out in the middle of the path. He started to do that thing you do on a crowded sidewalk - when you're unsure whether to go right or left, so you do a little floaty dance back and forth with the person in front of you. Except instead of picking a set direction, he ran right into my shoe.


I screamed as loud as a person who has just run into a squirrel might scream, becoming suddenly aware of all the diseases that might now be on my Mizuno. Then I heard someone shout "That girl just kicked a squirrel!" I didn't think it was appropriate to correct her that he ran into me.


I took my inner country mouse up to Vermont last weekend for a family reunion - it felt so good to get some fresh air and quiet.

View from our condo...

It was a big Magrath-Wyman affair in Smuggler's Notch, Vermont, where I used to spend my summers as a kid. 20 of my cousins from as far as Indiana and Colorado all came together for some laughs and beers. 


We all met up at Harpoon Brewery on the way up, of course misbehaving and talking amongst ourselves during the required boring tour about beer-making. By some random coincidence, we were at the very front by the end of the tour, first in line for trying beer.

I will try.... everything.

Aside from carousing, there was a lot of extreme exercising. My dad convinced a few of us to bike ride up to the top of the "Notch" with him on Sunday morning - a ride he's done many times over the years. I have been going to spin class about once a week for the past several weeks, in addition to my normal running and strength training routine. I knew it was going to be hilly, but I figured I was in good enough shape to do it. 

We made it!

Well, we did it, but it was really, really hard. After about 10 minutes, I wheezed to Keith that I wasn't sure if I could do it. He told me I am not a quitter, and encouraged me to keep going. And slowly but surely, I did. Turns out, biking straight up a mountain is not supposed to be easy.

The reward for making it to the top-
We climbed up a big rock. Yay!

Two of my cousins, Sean and Pat, are also big runners. We almost always squeeze in a run when we're all together, and we had the bright idea of running up the mountain the next day to a swimming hole. 


Keith and I went to the information desk with our trusty trail map trying to figure out the best way to get up the mountain. We figured we could take a trail called Meadowlark all the way up - but information told us that the trail was "closed for the bears." Yes. They close the trails off a few times a week so that the bears can roam freely. 


It was the most direct way to the top - so we took a risk of becoming some teddy bear's dinner and went up Meadowlark. 

We climbed about 800 ft in just 1.5 miles. There was a lot of huffing and puffing - but it was awesome. And we jumped in the freezing swimming hole afterwards to cool off and play.

Beautiful Smuggs!

My legs welcomed the break from the usual pavement and sidewalk, and I have a new found jealousy for anyone who lives close to a trail like the ones we were on. But while I still live in the concrete jungle, I will embrace it's every quirk (and smell).