So, this year's journey has come to a close. What did I learn? What did I get out of it? Is there any valid purpose to this blog?
I started to reread my earliest posts. They were surprising to me, partly due to their honesty; partly due to seeing that I have progressed somewhat in fitness and basically remembering where I was this time last year.
I had started out the year obsessing over training schedules, both handwritten ones as well as online. I was using Ontri, Runkeeper, and a log book. I started and quickly stopped the log book; I used Runkeeper fairly diligently through my Iphone until I bought my Garmin 310xt. I no longer use Runkeeper. I was quite obsessive, reading all the posts on the Ontri website; reading the race reports trying to glean any sort of information that I could. I have not been doing that these past few months - I found myself reading more than exercising...
I started training fairly early, and happily remember the races that I entered in January, February - including the cold weather half-marathons, which I biked to, unbelieveably so. This ended up helping me in this HIM because I knew to wear toe warmers (like the kind used in skiing) in order to keep my feet warm.
Another change that I noticed is that in the early months, I posted my thoughts/feelings fairly unselfconsciously, I believe that I have been a lot more self-conscious in these past months which has made it more difficult to post what is going on. I also believe that the negative comment at the NYC tri impacted me more than I would have it liked to.
omg, reading these old posts makes me feel like I am getting to know myself in a different way. sometimes, I find myself funny and wonder if anybody else does. I don't really have any feedback about this blog except for a couple of people that are closest to me; otherwise I don't really know if anybody is out there - oh of course, except for my stats. The stats show that people are reading, are there people that come back, or people that accidentally fall on this site and move on.
There are so many things that I didn't write about as well....Anyway, there has been some movement forward this year. Imperfect movement forward, AND, I did complete the Poconos Half Ironman, sans swim segment. There are so many things that have changed, I think I will focus on each area in separate posts.
Showing posts with label Poconos Half Ironman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Poconos Half Ironman. Show all posts
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Poconos HIM Race Report - Run Segment
I got into T2, planning to go to a medical tent and get the diagnosis of broken toe and then released from the need to do the run. I did not see a medical tent; got to my spot, racked my bike and took my bike shoe off expecting to see a purple, swollen toe. There was a slight swelling, a little red mark, but no broken skin. I carefully stood on my foot....no pain! It was kind of disconcerting that I had so much pain earlier, and it was no longer there. Nothing. Now I had no excuse to avoid running, but could not imagine doing so. So I changed my socks, put my sneakers on, took my jacket and t-shirt off (turns out in my nervousness before the race, I had forgotten to take off a t-shirt that I had worn just to keep warm before the race).
I put one foot in front of the other and essentially count down 13 miles to go; 12 miles to go; 11 miles to go. Around the 3 mile mark I fantasized about turning around and going back. But no, I couldn't do that. 'Let me try just one more mile'. The first half of the run was basically uphill. Everyone was in their own zone at this point, just trying to finish. Saw Scott - fellow Brooklyn Tri Group member - sweating it out on the final leg of the run.
On the return, a couple of people passed me - turns out that the woman had been helping the guy pace himself, and now he was encouraging me. So we ran together for a few miles, his name was Angel (no surprise I suppose) and I was able to finish the second half of the run a whole lot faster. After we went our separate ways, I went back to running slow / walking. I have to figure out how I can push myself to go faster on my own without someone else running with me.
Around the 12 mile mark I saw Janna, from Brooklyn, her excitement gave me the final adrenaline push to finish the last mile. Turns out she texted Theresa and Jennifer and told them where I was so when I made the approach to Main Street, there they were!
Time:
Bike: 3:50:38 avg speed: 14.6mph
T2: 6:24
Run: 2:56:28 avg pace: 13:29
Total Time:
6:53:30
I was 43 out of 49 women in my age group; 283 out of 316 women overall;
1245 out of 1331 on the bike
1282 out of 1331 on the run. So I guess, I was in the 96th percentile - 96 percent of the people were faster than me; but that only includes people that were in the race. In terms of health, fitness, fun I am way ahead of what I would have ever imagined for myself at this point in time in my life (or at any point in time for that matter). Woo hoo!
I put one foot in front of the other and essentially count down 13 miles to go; 12 miles to go; 11 miles to go. Around the 3 mile mark I fantasized about turning around and going back. But no, I couldn't do that. 'Let me try just one more mile'. The first half of the run was basically uphill. Everyone was in their own zone at this point, just trying to finish. Saw Scott - fellow Brooklyn Tri Group member - sweating it out on the final leg of the run.
On the return, a couple of people passed me - turns out that the woman had been helping the guy pace himself, and now he was encouraging me. So we ran together for a few miles, his name was Angel (no surprise I suppose) and I was able to finish the second half of the run a whole lot faster. After we went our separate ways, I went back to running slow / walking. I have to figure out how I can push myself to go faster on my own without someone else running with me.
Around the 12 mile mark I saw Janna, from Brooklyn, her excitement gave me the final adrenaline push to finish the last mile. Turns out she texted Theresa and Jennifer and told them where I was so when I made the approach to Main Street, there they were!
Time:
Bike: 3:50:38 avg speed: 14.6mph
T2: 6:24
Run: 2:56:28 avg pace: 13:29
Total Time:
6:53:30
I was 43 out of 49 women in my age group; 283 out of 316 women overall;
1245 out of 1331 on the bike
1282 out of 1331 on the run. So I guess, I was in the 96th percentile - 96 percent of the people were faster than me; but that only includes people that were in the race. In terms of health, fitness, fun I am way ahead of what I would have ever imagined for myself at this point in time in my life (or at any point in time for that matter). Woo hoo!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Poconos HIM Race Report - Bike Segment
I have to say that I'm proud of myself. I hoped to do a 4 hour bike ride, but thought it would be highly unlikely given the extent of the hills - but I did it! Here is the race report, Pt 1.
Pre Race
I had put the alarm for 3:15am but I was up around 2:30am, fully rested. The day before I had napped in the afternoon, and the previous night I had gotten a good night's sleep. For 2-3 days prior, I drank either Gatorade or used Nuun electrolyte tablets to keep me 'topped off' in my hydration. In terms of food, I generally ate what I usually eat - oatmeal in the morning with fruit; lunch - salad or turkey sandwich; and the night before this race, my friend Jennifer made a delicious vegetable lasagna for my carbo loading.
So, I was feeling relaxed in the morning. Took my time with breakfast; had several cups of coffee; water and another Nuun tablet ( in the water ). It was raining pretty hard, and at some point there was a very loud, deep thunderclap. I wondered if the race organizers would cancel the race if there was a lightening storm. Theresa and Jennifer dropped me off at T2 where the shuttle buses would take the participants to the race start at Smithfield Beach. It was not until arriving at T2 that I started to get nervous. I was worried about missing the shuttle bus. Seeing everyone walking towards the buses made my upcoming endeavor very real and I was now nervous. The shuttle ride was uneventful, people were all chatting about their tri experiences. I met Will from Westchester who sat next to me and we shared what we knew. I saw him 6 hours later on the run and actually remembered his name which is not my forte.
My number was 129. Due to the swim being cancelled; the race was starting in a 'time trial' format. Essentially, the racers were going to start one-by-one in numerical order. First the professional triathletes and then the rest of us. Most triathlons set up their wave starts with the oldest, slowest people going first, so in this case it was women over 45. Our bicycle racks were right next to the pros. It was amazing to see them and their bikes. After they started their race, we all lined up in numerical order and started about 3 seconds apart. Due to flooding from the recent rains, the bike course was changed somewhat, so I was not sure exactly how it would be different. I had the previous bike course practically memorized. My race strategy for the bike segment was to focus on my average speed. In the Black Bear tri, which was also hilly, I averaged between 12 -13 mph. Although my ideal goal was to finish the bike leg in less than 4 hours, I felt a more realistic goal was to get above 13 mph average speed. I figured I would ultimately work that out as I saw what my average was. I knew I was not going to be able to go fast up the hills, so the only way to get a better average speed was to work the flat parts of the course as well as the downhills. This is what I did and it worked. I was so grateful to my local bike shop, Ride Brooklyn, that did a last minute chain and cog wheel change this past week. It was in perfect working order and my chain did not fall off as it had in each of my course rides these past few weeks. I shifted back and forth taking advantage of all the downhills. Pretty scary at times, but fun as well. One of the higher speeds I reached was 32mph.
Right after the start, we came up on one of the steeper hills, but fortunately, due to the course change, instead of heading right into it (as it was in the original course map), we went a few miles out and back in the other direction, and so had a few miles to warm up. As I headed towards it, I saw up ahead that someone had fallen. As I pushed my way up the hill, they cleared out but then I heard someone behind me fall. There were several people already walking and some others wobbling up the hill, which was disconcerting for me as I was barely hanging on myself. (I found out later that either the first or the second person that fell was my new group ride friend, Linda, who ended up breaking her wrist - I feel really bad about that and it highlights how although these races are great, there really is a risk of injury). I was basically very methodical during the uphill climbs. Ususally, my heart rate goes way up during these climbs; which is also exacerbated by my anxiety. Today, I remained calm and did not feel my heart beating faster due to the anxiety. I don't know if others feel a difference, but I can feel two distinct feelings at the same time when my heart is beating fast due to fear/anxiety versus due to exertion.
So overall the ride was very beautiful with scenic vistas, enhanced by the wetness and clouds in the sky. The whole ride was spent pushing the flats and downhills and enjoying the view, seeing the familiar spots that I had previously taken pictures of. There was one area, that was unfamiliar - I so wanted to stop and take a picture of a beautiful horse on some farm that we passed. During the ride also, a few people that I know passed me and said hello. Fellow Brooklyn Tri club member - Scott and another new group ride friend - Rob. This was very heartening and re-energizing to keep pushing.
Turkey Hill. There were lots of hills that people were walking up instead of riding. I was able to go up all the earlier ones and successfully avoid all the wobbly bicyclists in front of me. Then came Turkey Hill at around mile 40 or 45. I was hoping to be able to go up the hill as I had done the last time I had tried, but I also knew my legs were shot. My thighs had cramped up at different points as had my calf at another point when I was trying to pass someone uphill. Anyway, I approached Turkey Hill and all I saw was a road full of people walking/wobbling and it was not single file, they were all over the road. So I got into my slow, methodical, uphill push behind others that were doing the same. At some point, the guy in front of me wobbled and stopped, and so in order to avoid running into him, I veared to the right as I tried to unclip my right foot. I went to the right onto a gravel road, that unfortunately was going downhill; instead of unclipping my right shoe, I pulled out my foot from the shoe. My hands were not on the brakes, so I used my foot to brake. Mistake. I put my foot down several times as I felt myself increasingly out of control, trying to stay away from the ravine to my right, digging my foot in the gravel. Finally, I was able to adjust myself and put my hands on the brakes and I was able to stop. My foot was killing me. I looked at my sock, there was no hole and no blood which surprised me due to how it felt. I put my shoe on, and I could feel my foot swollen inside. I could barely walk, the pain was so intense. I could only figure one thing, and that was that I had broken my toe. I could not walk. I had gone so far down this gravel road, that no one would have seen me had I fallen into the ravine. Anyway, I pulled myself back onto the course and walked up the hill. I could not put hardly any pressure on my right foot, and was not sure what I was going to do. I got to the top of the hill and texted Theresa: "Hurt my foot, probably won't run, have 14 miles to go". My whole right leg was quite out of sorts so I had to walk until I had no incline at all. I passed an ambulance, but did not think this was ambulance level of injury. Then I figured that I wanted to finish the bike, and then possibly get seen in a med tent to see if I could continue or not. The rest of the ride was uneventful. I went from disappointed /scared that this happened, to relieved that I had a legitimate excuse to not do the run. My legs were totally spent. I started visualizing going to work on crutches and talking about my war story on Turkey Hill. As I rode, although I could feel my foot swollen in the shoe, but fortunately no pain.
I finished those last 14 miles fairly uneventfully. I was nervous about putting pressure on my foot, but as time passed, my foot hurt less and less and was starting getting excited about finishing the bike segment in less than 4 hours, which was definitely beyond my wildest expectation.
Pre Race
I had put the alarm for 3:15am but I was up around 2:30am, fully rested. The day before I had napped in the afternoon, and the previous night I had gotten a good night's sleep. For 2-3 days prior, I drank either Gatorade or used Nuun electrolyte tablets to keep me 'topped off' in my hydration. In terms of food, I generally ate what I usually eat - oatmeal in the morning with fruit; lunch - salad or turkey sandwich; and the night before this race, my friend Jennifer made a delicious vegetable lasagna for my carbo loading.
So, I was feeling relaxed in the morning. Took my time with breakfast; had several cups of coffee; water and another Nuun tablet ( in the water ). It was raining pretty hard, and at some point there was a very loud, deep thunderclap. I wondered if the race organizers would cancel the race if there was a lightening storm. Theresa and Jennifer dropped me off at T2 where the shuttle buses would take the participants to the race start at Smithfield Beach. It was not until arriving at T2 that I started to get nervous. I was worried about missing the shuttle bus. Seeing everyone walking towards the buses made my upcoming endeavor very real and I was now nervous. The shuttle ride was uneventful, people were all chatting about their tri experiences. I met Will from Westchester who sat next to me and we shared what we knew. I saw him 6 hours later on the run and actually remembered his name which is not my forte.
My number was 129. Due to the swim being cancelled; the race was starting in a 'time trial' format. Essentially, the racers were going to start one-by-one in numerical order. First the professional triathletes and then the rest of us. Most triathlons set up their wave starts with the oldest, slowest people going first, so in this case it was women over 45. Our bicycle racks were right next to the pros. It was amazing to see them and their bikes. After they started their race, we all lined up in numerical order and started about 3 seconds apart. Due to flooding from the recent rains, the bike course was changed somewhat, so I was not sure exactly how it would be different. I had the previous bike course practically memorized. My race strategy for the bike segment was to focus on my average speed. In the Black Bear tri, which was also hilly, I averaged between 12 -13 mph. Although my ideal goal was to finish the bike leg in less than 4 hours, I felt a more realistic goal was to get above 13 mph average speed. I figured I would ultimately work that out as I saw what my average was. I knew I was not going to be able to go fast up the hills, so the only way to get a better average speed was to work the flat parts of the course as well as the downhills. This is what I did and it worked. I was so grateful to my local bike shop, Ride Brooklyn, that did a last minute chain and cog wheel change this past week. It was in perfect working order and my chain did not fall off as it had in each of my course rides these past few weeks. I shifted back and forth taking advantage of all the downhills. Pretty scary at times, but fun as well. One of the higher speeds I reached was 32mph.
Right after the start, we came up on one of the steeper hills, but fortunately, due to the course change, instead of heading right into it (as it was in the original course map), we went a few miles out and back in the other direction, and so had a few miles to warm up. As I headed towards it, I saw up ahead that someone had fallen. As I pushed my way up the hill, they cleared out but then I heard someone behind me fall. There were several people already walking and some others wobbling up the hill, which was disconcerting for me as I was barely hanging on myself. (I found out later that either the first or the second person that fell was my new group ride friend, Linda, who ended up breaking her wrist - I feel really bad about that and it highlights how although these races are great, there really is a risk of injury). I was basically very methodical during the uphill climbs. Ususally, my heart rate goes way up during these climbs; which is also exacerbated by my anxiety. Today, I remained calm and did not feel my heart beating faster due to the anxiety. I don't know if others feel a difference, but I can feel two distinct feelings at the same time when my heart is beating fast due to fear/anxiety versus due to exertion.
So overall the ride was very beautiful with scenic vistas, enhanced by the wetness and clouds in the sky. The whole ride was spent pushing the flats and downhills and enjoying the view, seeing the familiar spots that I had previously taken pictures of. There was one area, that was unfamiliar - I so wanted to stop and take a picture of a beautiful horse on some farm that we passed. During the ride also, a few people that I know passed me and said hello. Fellow Brooklyn Tri club member - Scott and another new group ride friend - Rob. This was very heartening and re-energizing to keep pushing.
Turkey Hill. There were lots of hills that people were walking up instead of riding. I was able to go up all the earlier ones and successfully avoid all the wobbly bicyclists in front of me. Then came Turkey Hill at around mile 40 or 45. I was hoping to be able to go up the hill as I had done the last time I had tried, but I also knew my legs were shot. My thighs had cramped up at different points as had my calf at another point when I was trying to pass someone uphill. Anyway, I approached Turkey Hill and all I saw was a road full of people walking/wobbling and it was not single file, they were all over the road. So I got into my slow, methodical, uphill push behind others that were doing the same. At some point, the guy in front of me wobbled and stopped, and so in order to avoid running into him, I veared to the right as I tried to unclip my right foot. I went to the right onto a gravel road, that unfortunately was going downhill; instead of unclipping my right shoe, I pulled out my foot from the shoe. My hands were not on the brakes, so I used my foot to brake. Mistake. I put my foot down several times as I felt myself increasingly out of control, trying to stay away from the ravine to my right, digging my foot in the gravel. Finally, I was able to adjust myself and put my hands on the brakes and I was able to stop. My foot was killing me. I looked at my sock, there was no hole and no blood which surprised me due to how it felt. I put my shoe on, and I could feel my foot swollen inside. I could barely walk, the pain was so intense. I could only figure one thing, and that was that I had broken my toe. I could not walk. I had gone so far down this gravel road, that no one would have seen me had I fallen into the ravine. Anyway, I pulled myself back onto the course and walked up the hill. I could not put hardly any pressure on my right foot, and was not sure what I was going to do. I got to the top of the hill and texted Theresa: "Hurt my foot, probably won't run, have 14 miles to go". My whole right leg was quite out of sorts so I had to walk until I had no incline at all. I passed an ambulance, but did not think this was ambulance level of injury. Then I figured that I wanted to finish the bike, and then possibly get seen in a med tent to see if I could continue or not. The rest of the ride was uneventful. I went from disappointed /scared that this happened, to relieved that I had a legitimate excuse to not do the run. My legs were totally spent. I started visualizing going to work on crutches and talking about my war story on Turkey Hill. As I rode, although I could feel my foot swollen in the shoe, but fortunately no pain.
I finished those last 14 miles fairly uneventfully. I was nervous about putting pressure on my foot, but as time passed, my foot hurt less and less and was starting getting excited about finishing the bike segment in less than 4 hours, which was definitely beyond my wildest expectation.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
2 weeks left
Training is like gardening. You decide on what you want to grow; most likely, you think about being as organic as possible; you pick the spot; buy the tools you need. If you are looking into gardening past one season, you also have to look at the cycles of growth of your plants of choice. At some point, you have to cut back, prune, rest, rotate your crops.
Now that I am heading into the last 2 weeks before the triathlon I set out to do, I am pretty tired of the long hours I have been putting into training. It's hard to do a long ride or run, and then be wasted for the rest of the day. I have been thinking lately that I am not going to do another half ironman for that same reason. But... the jury is out until after this race; and even then, there is always next spring.
If I think of my training as needing to get better and faster, without taking any steps backwards - it is a recipe for quick burnout, and/or being a one season wonder. We all want to be better, 'badder', faster and see lack of continuous improvement as failure. I can fall very quickly into these emotional traps. I went out for an informal group ride yesterday, where within the first 3 miles, I lost the group due to going too slow. The emotional trap comes with my answer as to why was I going too slow. While riding, I thought about Lance Armstrong's book title, and I thought to myself 'it IS about the bike', 'I need to buy a new bike', 'can I buy a$5000 bike in the next 2 weeks?'. I dismissed that idea for purely financial reasons. If I had $5000, I would have bought it a long time ago.
The other reasons I am slower, aside from my 10 year old bicycle, is the fact that I am 49; or that I am female; or that this is my first triathlon season. All of these are valid reasons as to why I may be slower. The emotional trap comes if I start my stinkin' thinkin' such as 'if I'm this slow, I shouldn't be doing this'; 'I'll never finish' 'I don't know why I even started' 'people will look down at me', and the list goes on and on.
What I ended up doing was enjoying my ride alone. My stinkin' thinkin' rode along with me like an annoying companion, but I chose to ignore the conversation they were trying to engage me in. Instead, I stopped to take pictures, something that I had not been able to do during the last group ride I did as I rushed to keep up. During this ride, I also missed turns but I was armed with my home made cue sheet and my iphone GPS, so I could correct myself. I felt good about this as well, knowing that I was learning about the course itself, not just following the people in front of me.
So as I head into these next tapering 2 weeks, I am looking forward to scaling back my training. Doing more of my creative work, which has been at a standstill; skiing, hiking and who knows what else awaits!
Is your stinkin' thinkin' interfering in the pursuit of your goals? Post a comment and tell me!
Now that I am heading into the last 2 weeks before the triathlon I set out to do, I am pretty tired of the long hours I have been putting into training. It's hard to do a long ride or run, and then be wasted for the rest of the day. I have been thinking lately that I am not going to do another half ironman for that same reason. But... the jury is out until after this race; and even then, there is always next spring.
If I think of my training as needing to get better and faster, without taking any steps backwards - it is a recipe for quick burnout, and/or being a one season wonder. We all want to be better, 'badder', faster and see lack of continuous improvement as failure. I can fall very quickly into these emotional traps. I went out for an informal group ride yesterday, where within the first 3 miles, I lost the group due to going too slow. The emotional trap comes with my answer as to why was I going too slow. While riding, I thought about Lance Armstrong's book title, and I thought to myself 'it IS about the bike', 'I need to buy a new bike', 'can I buy a$5000 bike in the next 2 weeks?'. I dismissed that idea for purely financial reasons. If I had $5000, I would have bought it a long time ago.
The other reasons I am slower, aside from my 10 year old bicycle, is the fact that I am 49; or that I am female; or that this is my first triathlon season. All of these are valid reasons as to why I may be slower. The emotional trap comes if I start my stinkin' thinkin' such as 'if I'm this slow, I shouldn't be doing this'; 'I'll never finish' 'I don't know why I even started' 'people will look down at me', and the list goes on and on.
What I ended up doing was enjoying my ride alone. My stinkin' thinkin' rode along with me like an annoying companion, but I chose to ignore the conversation they were trying to engage me in. Instead, I stopped to take pictures, something that I had not been able to do during the last group ride I did as I rushed to keep up. During this ride, I also missed turns but I was armed with my home made cue sheet and my iphone GPS, so I could correct myself. I felt good about this as well, knowing that I was learning about the course itself, not just following the people in front of me.
So as I head into these next tapering 2 weeks, I am looking forward to scaling back my training. Doing more of my creative work, which has been at a standstill; skiing, hiking and who knows what else awaits!
Is your stinkin' thinkin' interfering in the pursuit of your goals? Post a comment and tell me!
Friday, August 12, 2011
Group Ride
Tomorrow is my first official group ride training for the Poconos Half Ironman. I cannot believe that I am going to race that distance. Mountain Valley Bicycles, in the area of Stroudsburg, PA is sponsoring this ride. Apparently, we will be riding the whole 56 mile route plus an extra 14 to and from the start from the bicycle store...Some people have been contemplating running afterwards! I know that I have run after a long bike ride, but not 70 miles! But the only way to go is onwards and upwards as they say...someone, I'm not quite sure who.
I googled the phrase and this is what I got:
Fail not for sorrow, falter not for sin,
But onward, upward, till the goal ye win.
- Francis Anne Kemble (1809-1893)
Pretty cool, and the little bio that I found about this woman was interesting as well. A little side trip away from triathlonlandia.
I googled the phrase and this is what I got:
Fail not for sorrow, falter not for sin,
But onward, upward, till the goal ye win.
- Francis Anne Kemble (1809-1893)
Pretty cool, and the little bio that I found about this woman was interesting as well. A little side trip away from triathlonlandia.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
NYC Tri Bike/Run leg
I've been trying to write about the b/r part of the triathlon but did not feel very inspired about it. I couldn't think of much besides commenting on all the fallen water bottles in the road and numerous people with flats and possibly, I could have pushed myself more than I did. Then this morning I remembered.
Just as I was starting the bike leg, biking up the hill from the river to the West Side Highway there were many people lining the road cheering us on. Throughout the bike/run portion I must have heard 'Go Brooklyn at least 100 times, probably 1000 times. . But in that one spot, winding up the hill, someone said ' lose weight!'. That one comment tainted the rest of my experience with self-consciousness and a variety of mixed emotions. It is not without irony that there were two former contestants from 'The Biggest Loser' in the triathlon. I saw one of them while waiting for the swim to start. She walked by with a film crew following her. I didn't recognize who she was at the time but she looked at me and smiled. After she passed, the woman I had been chatting with told me who she was.
Am I branded? She looked at me and smiled. I felt good about it at the time, but after the 'lose weight' comment, I spent the rest of the race alternately judging myself and trying to push off any negative thinking or negative feeling. 'Since it's true, then how can I feel bad about the truth?' 'He's on the sidelines, and I'm in a triathlon, so who cares?!'. 'Maybe I look worse than I had thought in this tri suit'. ' He's an ass, I wish I could go back and spit in his face'. 'I'm the one that would get into trouble if I tried to get revenge'. 'I must look pretty bad'. 'he was a jerk'. 'why do I ignore 1000 good cheers and get so impacted by one?
I completed the triathlon. But this is definitely an emotional relapse. There is no worse time than being open to joy and hearing a stupid comment. I have spent too many years remaining shut tight as a drum in order to avoid this kind of thing but only I experience the negative consequences of that.
I will somehow let this pass.
-- lemmefineout - Brooklyn
Just as I was starting the bike leg, biking up the hill from the river to the West Side Highway there were many people lining the road cheering us on. Throughout the bike/run portion I must have heard 'Go Brooklyn at least 100 times, probably 1000 times. . But in that one spot, winding up the hill, someone said ' lose weight!'. That one comment tainted the rest of my experience with self-consciousness and a variety of mixed emotions. It is not without irony that there were two former contestants from 'The Biggest Loser' in the triathlon. I saw one of them while waiting for the swim to start. She walked by with a film crew following her. I didn't recognize who she was at the time but she looked at me and smiled. After she passed, the woman I had been chatting with told me who she was.
Am I branded? She looked at me and smiled. I felt good about it at the time, but after the 'lose weight' comment, I spent the rest of the race alternately judging myself and trying to push off any negative thinking or negative feeling. 'Since it's true, then how can I feel bad about the truth?' 'He's on the sidelines, and I'm in a triathlon, so who cares?!'. 'Maybe I look worse than I had thought in this tri suit'. ' He's an ass, I wish I could go back and spit in his face'. 'I'm the one that would get into trouble if I tried to get revenge'. 'I must look pretty bad'. 'he was a jerk'. 'why do I ignore 1000 good cheers and get so impacted by one?
I completed the triathlon. But this is definitely an emotional relapse. There is no worse time than being open to joy and hearing a stupid comment. I have spent too many years remaining shut tight as a drum in order to avoid this kind of thing but only I experience the negative consequences of that.
I will somehow let this pass.
-- lemmefineout - Brooklyn
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Queens Half Marathon
Today I completed the Queens Half Marathon in Flushing Meadows Park. It was a great day, and although I ran slower than I would have liked to, I ran better than I did in the Black Bear. It's all relative.
I planned to walk during each water station for this race. In the past, I have worn my water bottles so as not to lose precious seconds slowing down to drink water. I thought about how ultimately, as in life, I have to slow down/rest/take care of myself, in order to be able to go faster.
I planned to walk during each water station for this race. In the past, I have worn my water bottles so as not to lose precious seconds slowing down to drink water. I thought about how ultimately, as in life, I have to slow down/rest/take care of myself, in order to be able to go faster.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
First 60 mile ride
Today I went on my first 60 mile ride in years. I went from home in Park Slope /Windsor Terrace, over the Brooklyn Bridge, up the West side bike path; over the George Washington Bridge, up 9W and stopped just about 3 miles short of Piermont, at a market/cafe that was right there on 9W. Right before getting to this market, I had started going down these seriously steep hills, and thought with much trepidation that I was going to have to come up them very shortly. I was not looking forward to it after seeing someone walking up the hill. Fortunately though, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, coming back up the hill. This is a good thing.
Here is a link to my Garmin map, showing the route:
60 mile ride
I can't imagine running 13.1 miles after a ride of this distance, yet this is what I will be doing on October 2nd, at the Pocono Half Ironman. I'm just taking it a day at a time, if I am diligent, I will get there. I suppose.
I have been working my training schedule differently these last few weeks. Originally, I had made a very detailed, 6 month long training schedule that I agonized for a long while, looked at it for 1 week and then never looked at it again after that. These past few weeks I have been making a weekly plan. On Sundays, I make my plan for the following week, based on any particular events going on that week and also influenced by my experience of the week(s) before. This process helps, because then I can remember why I didn't do a particular workout - the weather; a work event that I have to attend, whatever. Otherwise, if I look at it weeks later, I just see that I didn't follow through and get down on myself.
Here is a link to my Garmin map, showing the route:
60 mile ride
I can't imagine running 13.1 miles after a ride of this distance, yet this is what I will be doing on October 2nd, at the Pocono Half Ironman. I'm just taking it a day at a time, if I am diligent, I will get there. I suppose.
I have been working my training schedule differently these last few weeks. Originally, I had made a very detailed, 6 month long training schedule that I agonized for a long while, looked at it for 1 week and then never looked at it again after that. These past few weeks I have been making a weekly plan. On Sundays, I make my plan for the following week, based on any particular events going on that week and also influenced by my experience of the week(s) before. This process helps, because then I can remember why I didn't do a particular workout - the weather; a work event that I have to attend, whatever. Otherwise, if I look at it weeks later, I just see that I didn't follow through and get down on myself.
Monday, May 9, 2011
DNF Swim
The first thing I learned about this DNF swim is that there is nothing funny to write in the race report. It is really, not a race report when you Did Not Finish. There is nothing funny to write about because after whatever struggle I went through, I ended by wimping out, giving up, throwing in the towel. There's nothing funny in that, unless of course you're a mean person and laugh at my expense...Monday, January 3, 2011
My first half mile swim
It's been a while since I've posted here. To be honest, I even forgot that I had started this blog, although I did not forget the HIM! I have been running and biking; the bitter winter cold winter started earlier this year and so December was pretty tough. I signed up for a weekly Computrainer class - Computrainer is like a treadmill for bicycling - you use your own bike and are connected to a computer that then controls the steepness of the hills, and monitors your speed. I've gone every week except for 2 times. It's a killer class and the screen shows each class participant and shows who's in the 'lead'. I always come in last; and I was only able to finish the whole course once in a little over an hour. The class is from 6am - 7am. Despite my being last, and it being very difficult, I figure it can only help me get better.
So today, I swam 1/2 a mile. I became a member of the Bedford Street/ Metropolitan pool in October or November, but only swam once after that. Now that we hit the new year, I am committed to including swimming into my training mix. My swim lasted approximately 33 minutes. I did keep on losing count of the laps, so I may have swam more, but it was at least 1/2 mile. Looking at the 'swim pace chart' that I got from Tri-newbies online, I am 'off the charts' in terms of speed - in other words - very slow. My plan is to swim 3 times a week - Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. Let's see....
So today, I swam 1/2 a mile. I became a member of the Bedford Street/ Metropolitan pool in October or November, but only swam once after that. Now that we hit the new year, I am committed to including swimming into my training mix. My swim lasted approximately 33 minutes. I did keep on losing count of the laps, so I may have swam more, but it was at least 1/2 mile. Looking at the 'swim pace chart' that I got from Tri-newbies online, I am 'off the charts' in terms of speed - in other words - very slow. My plan is to swim 3 times a week - Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. Let's see....
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