Commitment is Liberating

Happy New Year (I'm back!)

2012-01-03T13:36:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year! It's been a crazy busy six months and I completely fell off the blog. Grad school = 6 month blogging sabbatical. The last six month shave been a crazy whirlwind of class, tests, and 12 hour clinical shifts. Even though I don't comment often, I promise I'm still reading and enjoying your blogs!

Studying red bloods cells make me crave donuts

In my last post I left you hanging about Vineman 70.3. Here's a very short race report for you: It was hard, awesome, and very fun. The weather was perfect and the course was great.

My training in the month leading up to the race could be described as a very long taper but I'm happy to say that I still finished in my goal of under 6 hours. More specifically:

Swim: 30:44
Bike 3:08
Run: 2:06
Overall: 5:58:47 (age group 21/81)

After Vineman I didn't get on my bike again until my break in September. I rode twice and then not again until mid-December. I also went hiking in Muir Woods, visited my best friend in Seattle and witnessed by brother get married in Northern Minnesota.

Space Needle, Seattle

Muir Woods

Minnesota Woods

I read a poem at the wedding (and cried with happiness)

Palisade Head, Lake Superior

I have managed to swim and run regularly and did the US Half Marathon in November and the North Face Endurance Challenge Marathon Relay in December. I spent many weekend mornings running the trails in the Marin Headlands. I love trail running. It is hard and I am slow, but I an run for 2 hours and never once get bored. How could you with views like this?

I went to Connecticut and NYC for Thanksgiving. The weather was unseasonably warm and I enjoyed a long run in my old stomping grounds, Central Park.

I've had most of the month of December off from school so I've been enjoying the California "winter."

Running near the bridge, December 9th

Cycling in Napa, December 10th

Then I went to Minnesota for a real winter vacation.

We celebrated the New Year back in California with a 40 mile ride on December 31st and a long run and Aquatic Park swim on January 1st. The water was a frigid 50.9*. I was smart enough to wear a wetsuit, but 4 of my fellow club members skinned it. BRR!

Now I'm getting geared up for the start of another quarter. This promises to be the hardest one yet with back to back 12.5 hour clinical shifts. Hopefully I'll be back again before summer :)

Ready or Not... Vineman 70.3

2011-07-16T19:12:00.001-04:00

We are in Sonoma County this weekend for Vineman 70.3. We went to Windsor today to pick up our registration packet and drop off our run gear for the race tomorrow.

My training took quite a hit with school, especially the bike, but I think I will be ok tomorrow. It won't be the race of my lifetime, but it's my first half IM so I shouldn't expect too much anyhow. I've done the bike course 3 times in the past 6 weeks and I've done some strong bricks and my long runs every weekend have been 10-11 miles.

There is an abundance of spandex and calf compression sleeves...

We are staying at Le Mars Hotel in Healdsburg tonight due to an amazing screw up by Hotels.com. It is by far the nicest and most expensive hotel room I have ever stayed at and thanks to Hotels.com it was only $100 for the night! Too bad we have to leave before 5am!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Photo Tour: Presidio Trail Run (aka The Most Beautiful Run in San Francisco)

2011-06-15T23:39:00.002-04:00

Today is my last day of “vacation.” I’ve been between work and school for the past 8 weeks, but tomorrow my official school duties start with two full days of orientation. On Monday classes will begin and I anticipate my life will become more busy than it has been in many, many years. I have 36 hours of class and clinical per week (including 8am to 8pm class on Tuesdays), plus I have to manage to fit in training, eating and sleeping. Oy veh!

To celebrate my last vacation day I did my favorite run. It is a trail run through the Presidio and it also happens to be the Escape from Alcatraz run course. I have only been running for a few years, but I will say without a doubt that this is the most beautiful run I’ve ever done. Plus, the weather today was just perfect. Bright sun, slight breeze, mid-60’s. Perfect.

I parked and started my run at Marina Green, right next to Fort Mason. Amazing views of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge.

The first mile or so is along Marina Green and the Embarcadaro. Then you pass the Palace of Fin Arts (the round dome) and make your way onto the gravel path through Crissy Field, also known as the Golden Gate Promenade or the Bay Trail.

Every time I see palm trees I smile. I still can’t believe I live in California!

Mile 2 brings you past the Warming Hut Park Store and Café. I’ve never been inside but I think they sell snacks and souvenirs. There are also nice public restrooms and drinking fountains here.

Just past the Warming Hut you make a left and head up your first set of (many) stairs.

Once you are at the top of your first set of stairs and switch backs you are rewarded with more amazing views.

The trail flattens for a bit and runs along the Historic Batteries.

Through a tunnel. The exit is very low so don’t forget to duck!

The views never end. Continue up a steep grade and then under the Golden Gate Bridge.

After passing under the bridge just follow all the signs towards Baker Beach.

Baker Beach is beautiful and mostly empty. Just watch out because it also happens to be a nude beach. I had the pleasure of seeing not one, but two, very old naked men today. Don’t worry, I didn’t take a picture.

Once you are on the beach make a right and head towards the Golden Gate Bridge. In the race we actually had to go left for awhile and then loop around, but I generally skip the extra beach running.

Keep an eye along the shore for the infamous Sand Ladder.

The first 200 steps or so are very steep. My strategy here is always to “walk with purpose.” I find it is impossible (and probably a little dangerous) to try to run.

I took this photo looking back down when I was about half way up.

Finally the ladder ends and you meet up with the road. Now you hang a left and head back along the same path.

This is another set of stairs of an abandoned military building that you run through.

Back through the tunnel.

Down the stairs.

Pass the Warming Hut and run back towards the city on the Golden Gate Promenade.

The total run from Marina Green is 7.5 miles. About 4 miles is a flat run along the Golden Gate Promenade and the other 3.5 miles is a crazy fun twist of stairs, single track trails, the beach and the tunnel. If you are ever in the city you must make time for this run. Let me know and I will happily be your tour guide!

Race Report: Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon 2011

2011-06-09T13:20:00.000-04:00

This is a long report... The short version: It was fun, Swim was odd, Bike was hilly, Run was awesome! I escaped! I won't blame you if you decide to just scroll through and look at pics instead. Don't miss the swim video. It's awesome!

Thank you all for your sunshine dances! It worked and the rain stayed away on race morning!

Pre-Race
On Friday night we joined up with a bunch of members from our new club, Golden Gate Tri Club, for a pot luck. It was nice to meet more people and get some last minute race tips. The view was pretty spectacular too!

On Saturday we headed down to the expo for packet pick-up and attend a 'mandatory race meeting.' Part of packet pick-up included signing 3 different waivers!

We walked around the expo and then attended the 1pm 'mandatory athlete meeting.' I have to say that the meeting was a complete waste of time. First, there was no check-in so it wasn't really mandatory. Second, they covered a lot of basic stuff like reminders about eating on the bike, being careful on downhills, etc. But, they didn't cover much of the details specific to this event. There are many things I learned on race day that would have been helpful for the meeting.

Race Swag: Issue of Inside Triathlon Magazine, tech t-shirt, bag, towel, etc.

We headed home, prepped all our race gear, ate a yummy pasta dinner and then went to bed, at 7:55pm. Oh the exciting life of a triathlete.

Race Morning
It was a good thing we went to bed early since the alarm was set for 3am, but we were both awake at 2:30am so we just got up then. I had an english muffin with PB&J and a cup of coffee. It was still 5 hours before the start of the race so I planned to have a CLIF bar around 5 and then some sport beans before the swim start.

We only live about 3 miles from the race site, but because we had to park, set up our gear in transition, take a bus to the ferry and then board the ferry we wanted to make sure we had enough time. We arrived at Marina Green at about 3:45 and had no problem parking. We set up our gear and then at about 4:45 we loaded a bus to go to the ferry.

The ride to the ferry at Pier 3 was about 10 minutes. At the ferry dock we picked up our timing chips, got our body marking and pulled on our wetsuits. They had a table with water set up and a whole bank of porta potties. Around 5:30 they let the athletes board the ferry. We waited around outside a bit because I expected the boat would be cold and wet, but we decided to finally just board. When we got on the boat I was surprised to find it was very nice and much warmer than being outside. They had signs up for different age groups, so we found the line that divided our two age groups and hung out there. After a long wait we finally departed for Alcatraz around 7am. It was finally starting!

The Swim: 1.5 Mile Alcatraz Crossing
32:02 / 10 of 40 Age Group

While I am usually super comfortable with the swim, I was nervous for this event. Jumping off the ferry, 52 degree water, no buoys (only sighting on shore landmarks), currents, sharks... The website said that we would go in waives by age group, but when we started it was just a mad rush to the door. There was no enforcement of age group starts at all. Had I known this I would have started with Sam, but I left him to move to my age group area.

{Source: SF Gate 2007}

In no time at all it was my turn to jump. I held my goggles on my face and watched for the swimmer in front of me to surface. As soon as I had a clear spot I jumped it and prayed that my goggles would stay on and nobody would jump on me. I am happy to report success in both areas :) The water was 52 degrees but it really didn't feel that cold at all! I would have guessed it was in the high 50's. It must have been all the adrenaline...

{Source: SF Gate}

I tried to stopped and did breaststroke on three occasions in an attempt to a) take in the amazing views and b) pee. I saw the views but I was unsuccessful at peeing... EverymanTri posted this awesome video! This dude filmed his time on the boat and his entire swim! It is only 6 minutes and a very fun video to watch!

*Sighting*
Someone told me the currents were very strong on race morning and that because I was a good swimmer it would be good to sight on the Palace of Fine Arts (the big round dome). I decided to go with that and luckily it was very easy to see. Unfortunately I did not realize that the beach was right in front of the Palace of Fine Arts so I picked the most aggressive swim sighting. I'm a decent swimmer, but I'm no Andy Potts... As I got closer to shore and figured out where the beach was I realized my mistake and attempted to correct by veering straight across. My swim route probably looked something like the orange line on the map. The last little segment was me fighting the current to swim across to the beach. Luckily I didn't over shoot the beach and have to swim completely against the current (or get out and run back to the beach).

At the time I felt pretty good about my swim. In hindsight my times were not that great. I've been slacking on my swim since it is my strongest sport, but I'm refocused now and hitting the pool big time (by Friday I'll have 13,500 yards for the week - not counting the race)! I'm looking forward to doing another crossing to see if I can improve, although it really is all relative to the currents so it's impossible to compare races.

T1
9:26 / 16 of 40 Age Group

T1 included running off the beach, finding your transition bag, taking off the wetsuit, putting on shoes and running a half mile to transition. The run actually felt good and was a nice chance to warm up after the swim. We were highly encouraged to take the time to remove our wetsuits at the swim exit and to bring extra shoes for the run. I did both and I'm glad I did. The pros don't wear shoes but they pay for it the next day when their feet are all messed up.

The Bike: 18 Miles
1:08:39 / 15.6 mph average / 11 of 40 Age Group

The bike is an 18 mile course that goes along the shore and through Golden Gate Park. It is both hilly and full of turns. While we were on the boat getting ready for the swim I remembered that I forgot to engage my front breaks when I put my front tire on at the race site. I hoped I would remember to do it in transition, but I wasn't even a mile in and realized I had forgotten to do it. I managed to reach down while riding and engage the break. Phew. I would not want to do that course without all of my breaks in working order!

{source}

It is a beautiful course, although I must admit I spent most of my time watching the road and other cyclist and I didn't have much time to take in the views. I am a scardy-cat on the downhills so I was ride the breaks and stay very conservative. I did a lot of bunny hopping with people - I would pass on the uphills and then those same people would pass me on the downhills. My max speed was 30.8mph and I know that was actually during a false (down) flat in Golden Gate Park and not on one of the downhills.

I ate a pack of PowerBar Energy Blasts during the ride and that worked perfectly. I took them out of the package and put them in my bento box before the race. They are easy to eat and not sticky like GU Chomps or CLIF shots.

The best part of the bike was when I was at about mile 15 and the bike course goes along the run course. It is along an uphill and at this moment Andy Potts was running up the same hill. Because we were all slowly climbing the hill we were able to watch him on the run. He was running uphill nearly as fast as we were riding. The views of the bay behind him were incredible. It was surreal. Definitely my favorite and most memorable part of this race.

2:38 / 16 of 40 Age Group

I was happy to have the bike over with and get started on the run! My rack was right next to the the bike in/out so I was happy I didn't have to run much in my bike shoes. Rack bike, switch shoes, grab Garmin and watch strap, hat and sports beans...

The Run: 8 Miles
1:10:21 / 9 of 40 Age Group
Run Splits: 8:07, 9:12, 9:52,9:24, 11:25 (beach and sand ladder), 8:50, 8:01, ?? (best 5:57 min/mile)

I love this run. I think it is the most beautiful and exciting run I have done in my life. If you ever come to San Francisco you must do this run! The views are breath taking, the run is challenging and interesting, I really can't tell you how much I love it!

With that said, as much as I love this run it isn't exactly race friendly. It is full of stairs, twists and turns and single track trails. Since it is an out and back you have people flying by you go downhill while you are going uphill. There are many points where it is impossible to pass because the trail is just too narrow. Plus, when you are racing you really can't take in the amazing views because you are focused on the run, watching out for other racers, etc.

If you do this race I think it is a huge advantage to do the run course ahead of time because it is so technical. You don't want to be surprised by the all the stairs, the steep hills, the sandladder, etc.

Andy Potts passed me on his way back, about a mile from the finish line. A minute or so behind him were runners 2 & 3 and they were fighting for the number 2 spot. I think it was an exciting finish! The lead woman passed me about 2 miles from the finish. As you can tell, this course is a great place to rub shoulders with the pros!
During mile 2 I was passed by one woman from Stanford in my age group. She was being paced by a dude on a bike. That really pissed me off... I think that is cheating, however I don't know if is actually against the rules - do you know? I tried to stay with her but I lost her. She finished about 3 minutes ahead of me. I'm happy she didn't place in her age group.

I was wearing my Asphalt Green tri top and I got a ton of shout outs for "Go AG" or "Go Asphalt Green!" I couldn't believe the amount of support there was for a club from the other side of the country. It was really fun and definitely gave me an extra push!
At mile 4 you hit the beach where you have a mile run on the beach and then the 400 step sand ladder.

{Source: SF Gate}

The sandladder has it's own timing within the run. I ranked 5 of 40 in my age group for the sand ladder with a time of 3:15. I didn't run, but I walked with purpose and passed several people. Most tips recommend using the ropes along the side but I stayed in the middle and focused on stepping on the wood rungs (instead of in the sand). It was hard to start running again after walking up the ladder.

My face is this picture says it all... I look like I want to kill someone or throw up...

After the sandladder there is one more long uphill and then it's mostly downhill and flat. I tried to let go a bit on the downhills and fave fun. My Garmin says my "best speed" during every mile was sub 7 minutes. I don't know how accurate that is, but it wouldn't surprise me that I was going that fast on some downhills.

I had not seen anyone else in my age group since the Stanford chic, but after the sandladder I passed two more women in my AG.

With a mile left to go a girl in my AG passed me. I was hurting but I wanted to stay with her so I picked it up a notch. She heard me latch on and kept looking over her shoulder at me. I looked at my Garmin and I was running around a 7:40/mile. Oh shit. In the pic below we are both running hard! (Much thanks to the Golden Gate Tri Club for their awesome cheer station! They loved us even though we were wearing AG gear).

I held onto her for another 100 yards or so but I just couldn't keep with it. Finally I let her go. After the finish we shook hands and thanked each other for that extra push.

Final3:03:05

9 of 40 Age Group

Final race thoughts...
This was a fun race and I'm glad I can check it off my bucket list. I've talked to a lot of people and many will say it is their favorite race ever. It was challenging, fun and the views are great, but I wouldn't say it's "the best race ever." I don't think I will do this race again. I don't want to be a debbie-downer, but here are some of the reasons:

1. The race fee is $400. That is a crazy amount to spend on an olympic-ish distance race.
2. Even though we lived 3 miles from the race we had to be up 5 hours before the start. Insane. Additionally, most of the time was spent just standing around.
3. The views are amazing, but you really can't appreciate much when you are racing. The bike course was closed to traffic and there were many volunteers and police officers, but with that many cyclists on a technical course you really had to watch where you were going. Ditto for the run.
4. There was a lot of misinformation or lack of information on the website. The website said that the buses left transition by age group (the reason we got there so early), but that was not the case. The website said the swim waives were dictated by age group but was also not true. The athlete meeting was 'mandatory' but nobody checked your name off a list (and it wasn't helpful).
5. Not a big deal, but there were no bathrooms near the finish. Remember how I couldn't pee during the swim, while I held it for the entire race. In order to get to a bathroom after the race I had to walk out of the finisher's area and through crowds of people.

Again, despite those quirks, it was still a fun race and I'm glad to have done it and checked it off my list.

I Need a Sunshine Dance

2011-06-03T03:18:00.000-04:00

I need a big ~~miracle~~ sunshine dance! In fact, I think about 2,000 racers need a sunshine dance for this weekend. The forecast for the Bay area is calling for rain this weekend. It is not supposed to rain here in June, but unfortunately the Weather Goddess missed the memo. The forecast for this weekend is calling for rain and thunderstorms:

I was a little worried about the idea of doing the hilly and curvy bike course in the rain, but I figured I would just be careful and make the best of it. But then I read this post on Facebook from the Escape from Alcatraz organizers:

"Well, it sure is sunny and beautiful in San Francisco right now... Any decisions regarding the race and weather will be made early Sunday morning. Adjustments to the race could come in the form of shortening the swim and/or bike up to eliminating the swim and/or bike. Our primary concern will be safety. Everyone should do a "sunshine" dance in preparation for Sunday."

I'm really excited about this race and after all the training and a $400 entry fee I really, really want to do it. I understand the need for safety so my hope is that the sun will peek out for a couple of hours on Sunday morning. If you have a few moments please do a little Sunshine Dance for us!

Overall I feel like I'm in good shape going into the race this weekend. I've done the complete run course three times and the bike course once, including a brick last weekend with the full bike and run courses. I've also had a chance to swim in the Aquatic Park in the bay twice (it is awesome to have safe and free open water swimming right in the city, even though it is COLD and salty).

As for logistics, we are riding our road bikes instead of the tri bikes due to the technical nature of the course. We had them tuned up and the break pads replaced (very important). Tomorrow night we are meeting a few other racers from the Golden Gate Tri Club for a potluck and a viewing of The Rock.

For the potluck I'm trying out a new desert: No-Bake Black Bottom Pudding Pie. Doesn't it look amazing?!

No-Bake Black Bottom Pudding Pie from Eat, Live, Run

Don't forget about the Sunshine Dance! Keep that rain away and I will love you forever. Maybe I will even find a way to make you all your own No-Bake Black Bottom Pudding Pie :)

2011 Race Season

2011-05-31T12:39:00.000-04:00

Even though it's almost June I still haven't nailed down my race schedule for the year. But, I just received notification that I've made it off the Vineman 70.3 waitlist (I started at #395) and I'm officially registered! Vineman 70.3 will be my first half ironman and I'm very excited to try this new distance!

2011 Race Schedule

April 3: MORE Women's Half Marathon (New York, NY, race report)

June 5: Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon (San Francisco, CA)

July 17: Vineman 70.3 (Sonoma County, CA)

Sept 4: 9th Annual Alcatraz Classic: "Swim with the Centurions" (San Francisco, CA)

So far my schedule includes a half marathon, an Olympic-ish tri, a half ironman (my first!), and an open water swim. I would like to do another triathlon in the fall, but I'm not sure if it will be an Olympic or a half. School starts in a few weeks and the first year is super, super intense and I'm not sure how much time I will have to train... I've also been contemplating trying to do a marathon again this fall. Marathon training is hard work, but I think running is the easiest to do because it requires less time than cycling and less hassle than swimming. I think I will either do another Olympic tri and a late fall marathon or another HIM and wait to try the marathon until next year.

Many Random Updates

2011-05-25T13:34:00.000-04:00

In case you were worried, I didn't die in the first San Francisco area earthquake (in fact, I didn't even know it happened until a NYC friend sent me an email). I have no excuse for my delinquent blogging other than the fact that I've been traveling, training, and avoiding my computer :)

But, I have been reading your blogs (mostly on my phone, thus hard to comment), and I'm so impressed with everyone's training and races so far! Keep up the great work!

This post will be full of random things that I've been meaning to write about...

Today marks 4 weeks since we arrived in San Francisco. I took advantage of my time off and headed back to Minnesota for about two weeks to hang with my family. It was wonderful to spend so much time there, my longest visit since I last lived there in 2003, but it also made me miss my family even more... I spent oodles of time with my nieces and we had a blast. I can't wait for my next visit (or for them to come to San Francisco, hint hint).
Last weekend we went up to Sanoma with a few other members of the Golden Gate Tri Club (GGTC) and did the Vineman 70.3 bike course. It was a great course and a very beautiful ride (and the weather was perfect). Much of the ride looked like this:

{source}

I think this is the longest continuous ride that I have done. I felt good, although I will need to work on my nutrition for longer rides. I was starving by the time I got back to the truck. I ate a pack of Sport Beans and then went out for a 40 minute run. After the beans I felt better and the run felt pretty good.

On Sunday we went for our first open water swim in Aquatic Park. It was beautiful and cold. Very cold. It is going to take awhile to get used to that water... Also, I get a little queasy swimming in salt water. Has anybody else had that problem? Any suggestions? I think I'm going to have to eat a peanut butter sandwich or something between the swim and bike for Escape from Alcatraz.

Monday night was the monthly GGTC meeting. We had a presentation by the Night Trainer Swimmers. According to their website: Night Train is a group of open-water swimmers dedicated to raising money for charity through ultra-distance swimming events around the world. Founded in 2008 to raise money for a local San Francisco Bay Area Charity, the team is now 12 members strong and completing multiple events each year.

Image: Peter Sorcher, Sorcher Films
{Source}

Several Night Train team members joined us to share their experience of just completing a swim from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Farallon Islands, about 30 miles. This is the first time that this swim has ever been completed. This was their fourth attempt (the first success after three failed attempts) and it took their six person relay team 14 hours, 45 minutes and 8 seconds to complete. The water was 50-54 degrees and they do the swim without wetsuits. The relay is done in 1 hour shifts, where each swimmer goes for an hour and then they tag off and repeat for as long as necessary. If you have 10 minutes, I would highly recommend watching this video about their 4th attempt! It is amazing, inspiring and uplifting. Some of these guys have been swimming for many years, but I know that the blond girl, Kim (a computer programmer from New Zealand) told us that she just started doing open water swimming 18 months ago. Now, she is breaking world records. Unbelievable.

That's all for now folks. I hope to post again sooner rather than later :) Happy Training!

Welcome to California: Tri Training

2011-05-09T12:12:00.000-04:00

We are getting settled here in the bay area. Most of the boxes are unpacked and we are getting into a routine. I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am here. It is hard to express, because I still miss my friends from the East coast... But the weather, the views, and the culture are so wonderful. I'm blessed right now that I have some time to relax because school does not start until mid-June. I'm trying to enjoy this time because it will be a very long time before I have a break like this again (maybe retirement?).

We had a great weekend and finally settling into training again. We joined a new tri club, Golden Gate Triathlon Club, and we did a few of the group workouts. So far it seems much more casual than what we are used to with Asphalt Green in NYC. The workouts are just posted by members and it seems only one or two of the workouts are actually coached. It is still a great way to meet people and learn the area.

On Saturday we joined a member for a 45 mile ride in from Lucas Valley to Point Reyes. It was a beautiful ride! I need to master the art of taking photos while riding, but I did find these photos from the ride on another blog. It was a great ride with a little bit of everything. Some climbing, some flats, open fields, redwood forests, and a delicious bakery right at the half way point!

On Sunday we joined up with a few other members of the group for the Escape from Alcatraz (EFA) run course. It is an 8 mile run. This is a beautiful and intense trail run along the shores of the bay, up and down a few sets of stairs, under the Golden Gate Bridge, across the beach and up a 400 step sand ladder. Much of the run is single track and because it is an out and back course runners are rubbing shoulders with the pros on their way back to the finish!

We started a bit of a way into the course and cut out a little beach so our run was closer to 6 miles. It was a beautiful and challenging run and I'm definitely going to do it a few more times before the race!

{source}

Overall it was a great weekend! Soon we will be swimming in the bay too, but I've got to wait for that long sleeve wetsuit to arrive because the water temp is 53 degrees!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Day 7: The End

2011-05-03T21:59:00.001-04:00

Orange, CA to San Francisco, CA

Total Miles: 418

Tanks of Gas: 1ish

Marital Spats: 2ish

States: 1

Time Spent in LA Traffic: one hour, less than anticipated, but still too much in my opinion
I'm sorry to leave you all hanging for so long. I hope you didn't think we were lost somewhere between LA and San Fran! I'm happy to report that we arrived successfully! The last day was uneventful. We woke up to a beautiful California morning. I love palm trees :)

We were on a deadline to arrive at our new place before 5pm so we could get the keys. We spent about an hour sitting in LA traffic, but eventually we were past downtown and making good progress.

We then payed for our last and most expensive tank of gas on the trip. $4.50/ gallon! Welcome to California. On the bright side, this was the first gas station we had hit in awhile and we really needed gas. The price in SF is closer to $4.25/gallon.

Central California is a pretty dull place. Lots of open space and quite a bit of agriculture. On the plus side, we had many radio stations to choose from for the entire ride :) No more religious radio or right wing talk shows!

After about six hours of driving we arrived in San Francisco with time to spare. We drove over another bridge, this time the Bay Bridge, and our journey was nearly complete.

We arrived at the building, grabbed our keys from the manager and went to search for our apartment. First, we parked in the assigned parking garage. After fighting for parking spaces in NYC for more than 3 years, I cannot tell you how great it is to have our own parking spot, let alone in a covered garage attached to our apartment complex!

As you might recall, we rented this apartment sight unseen. My father-in-law checked it out for us and we saw pictures so were pretty sure it was okay, but it's still a little nerve wracking to agree to live somewhere for a year when you haven't seen it. Lucky for us, it is great! Father-in-law did a wonderful job and we love our new place. It is taking some time to get settled, but I think we are going to be very happy here. In addition to a parking spot, we are lucky enough to have a dishwasher (other than me) and a washer and dryer in the unit! Hallelujah! The only downside? There is a lot of street noise, especially in the early morning. I know we will get used to it and since our regular schedules typically have us up at between 5:00 and 5:30 I don't think it will be a problem.

So, that concludes the daily recap of our trip. Thanks for reading! I'm going to try to do another post with some of the best photos (taken with my actual camera and not my cell phone) and some interesting totals.

I will also return to posting about triathlon soon. I must share with you the AMAZING pool we joined! Here's a hint, I swam for an hour and a half at lunch today and I'm a little sun burnt...

Day 6: Somewhere Outside Barstow...

2011-04-27T14:56:00.001-04:00

Update: A friend in NC told me he heard about the grand canyon crash on the radio this morning and sent me a link to the story: http://www.azfamily.com/news/Driver-survives-crash-into-Grand-Canyon-120791379.html. Thankfully the guy is okay, although it's still not clear what caused him to drive over the edge...

Grand Canyon, AZ to Orange, CA

Total Miles: 493

Tanks of Gas: 2ish

Marital Spats: 0ish

States: 2

Number of Tumbleweeds we hit: 3

On Tuesday we got very, very early for a final trip up to the Grand Canyon to go for a short run and watch the sunrise.

We drove into the park just after 5am. It was a cold and windy morning, but the sunrise was beautiful and the park was nearly empty. We ran a mile along the rim path to a look out point, waited for the sunrise, and then jogged back. On a side note, the altitude made it a real challenge to run and ride (at least we hope it's the altitude and not our terrible diet and lack of activity for the past week).

Our meal options were limited at 7am in the tourist trap so we opted for the McDonalds. This was my first visit to a Micky D's for at least 8 years. I was prepared to order an egg sandwich, but I was pleasantly supposed to find that they had oatmeal available. For only 290 calories it was a good option in a pinch.

I think this day of driving was the most "middle-of-nowhere" yet. I think we went at least 100 miles with zero gas stations, bathrooms, and just one radio station: God vs Satan...

The wind remained intense and while we climbed over the mountains we actually had to hold the wheel to keep from blowing around on the road!

We also saw many tumbleweeds and I hit a giant one with the truck and it disintegrated. I saw bits and pieces flying up for miles. When we crossed into California we had to stop at the agriculture inspection station. The inspector pulled the remains of the tumbleweed from out front grate to ensure we didn't bring any foreign plants into the state :)

As we got closer to Los Angeles the traffic started to get heavy and the highways got wider. It felt like we were returning to civilization after days in the desert.

We arrived at Sam's brother house in Orange and relaxed for awhile until he and his wife were done with work. We all headed down the street to watch the Angeles game. It was a great night and a fun game. Plus, the Angels handily beat Oakland - a nice bonus.

Today is the last day of our trip! I have mixed feelings. Sad that our vacation is coming to an end, but excited to get settled. We've essentially been living out of boxes and duffle bags for 3 weeks and it will be nice to get back into a routine.

We hope to arrive in San Francisco around 4pm this afternoon. We haven't actually seen the apartment we rented (Sam's dad checked it out for us) so let's all cross our fingers that it's acceptable ;)

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Day 5: A Grand Adventure

2011-04-26T16:30:00.001-04:00

Albuquerque, OK to Tusayan, AZ

Total Miles: 442

States: 2

Marital Spats: 3ish

Disappointing Meals: 2

Caravan Companions Since Oklahoma: At least eight...

We got a jump on the day and we were on the road by 6:30. We had places to be and canyons to see!

The day started out like the last 2 days. More driving and more wind. Our radio options remained limited to country music and Christian radio. The landscape was relatively unchanged.

At one point we passed a dude riding his Tri-bike on the shoulder of I-40. The winds are brutal, the speed limit is 75, and every other vehicle is a semi truck. No thank you!!

As we crossed over the NM-AZ boarder we made a quick pit stop at the largest teepee in the Southwest.

We perused the gift shop inside and escaped only $2.13 poorer.

Soon we were back on I-40 and focused on our mission to get to the Grand Canyon. I have never been before and I have been looking forward to this part of the trip for weeks.

We arrived in the little town/tourist rip-off of Tusaya, AZ around noon. It was too early to check into the hotel so we had lunch at a local Mexican joint first. The food was ok but nothing to blog about.

After lunch we checked into the hotel. After days of moving our bikes in and out of the truck We were finally going to have the chance to ride!

We biked the 7 miles from town into the GC and we were rewarded with amazing views. There really are no words to describe it.

We biked along one of the shuttle only roads for awhile and we were rewarded with more amazing views!

The winds were really picking up so we headed back to town. It was a short ride, only about 20 miles, but I won't be forgetting it anytime soon.

After our ride we showered, changed and headed back ip to the canyon in the truck so we cod watch the sunset. We walked about a mile along the rim trail. Again, unbelievably beautiful.

After the sunset we headed back to the truck. We were hoping to go for a sunrise run in the morning so we took a detour to scope out a different parking area. It was dark now and the roads were pretty empty.

While we were driving we saw a young guy walking along the side of the road. He was weaving a bit and appeared to be hitching for a ride. We passed slowly but did not stop. After a few more miles we realized we had missed the parking lot. We turned around and headed back to the main lot. When we passed a scenic pull off and it looked like someone was beating up the kid we had passed earlier because he was sitting on the ground. We made another u-turn and went back to the lot. A young woman flagged us down and told us that the guy we had seen had fallen into the canyon and climbed out. He wasn't hitching, he was trying to get help! I was really wishing I was already a nurse so I could offer some help... We were amazed that 4 young college girls had stopped to help a guy on a dark and deserted road.

They had just called 911 so we waited with them until the police came. The guy was disoriented and cold but amazingly he seemed ok. It turns out that he actually crashed his CAR into the canyon and then climbed out. We gave him the blanket we had in the truck and he waited in the girl's car until help arrived. First the ranger was going to bring him in his truck but they decided to wait for the ambulance instead. After the ambulance arrived we headed back to our hotel.

I checked the news today but couldn't find any news about the crash. Hopefully the kid is okay!

Today we heading to the City of Angeles, Los Angeles, CA.

**Also, I promise to write a more detailed post about our GC visit once I have access to a real computer and better photos!

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Day 4: Stuck in the Desert

2011-04-25T12:46:00.001-04:00

Oklahoma City, OK to Albuquerque, NM

Miles: 555

Tanks of Gas: 2ish

States: 3

Marital Spats: 0 (I know, I can't believe it either)

Cars Stuck in the Ground: 15

Our day started out with more rain, but after a few hours we finally had blue skies.

The drive from MO to OK was about 100 times more exciting than the drive from OKC to ABQ. Google maps directions went like this:

1. Drive .5 miles and merge onto I-40 west.
2. Go straight for 554 miles.
3. Exit, drive .5 miles, arrive at hotel.

We broke up the day with a few important stops.

First, the VW Bug Ranch in Conway, Texas. Five VW Bugs stuck nose deep in the ground and covered with graffiti. We stopped to take a few pictures and even added a little graffiti of our own.

We also passed a leaning water tower and the second largest cross in the northern hemisphere...

Then it was time to stop for lunch in Amarillo, TX. Our options were limited since it was Easter Sunday so we stopped at an American classic, Cracker Barrel. We enjoyed exploring the gift shop while we waited for our table...

A side of mac an cheese and a small salad was as healthy as I could get. Being a vegetarian in middle America is quite the challenge!

After lunch we stopped at another Route 66 classic just outside Amarillo, Cadillac Ranch. This is 10 old Cadillacs nose deep in the desert.

Visitors are encouraged to add their own art here too. Anything to break up the drive.

We attempted to make a pit stop in Cuervo, NM (for the obvious reason), but Cuervo was all dried up. We added a little moisture of our own (i.e. peed under a bridge) and got back on the highway.

The headwinds in Texas and New Mexico were insane. With 20-30 mph sustained winds we chewed through gas like crazy, but we think we maintained our speed because our bikes have aero bars :) We also had some serious gear work for all the hill climbing.

As we got close to Albuquerque we could see rain clouds but the rain was not hitting the ground. It was really incredible.

We arrived in Albuquerque, unpacked the car, and headed out to dinner. We found Sadie's, an excellent Mexican restaurant.

They even had a food challenge, the worlds largest sopapilla. A 7lb stuffed sopapilla and if you eat it all you get it free. Sam passed on the food challenge and opted for the "regular" sized sopapilla. It was still pretty big!

Today we got an early start to maximize our time at the grand canyon. We are hoping to get in a bike ride when we arrive!

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Day 3: Road Side Attraction

2011-04-24T13:52:00.001-04:00

Total miles: 589

Tanks of Gas: 2

Marital Spats: 1ish

States: 2

Road Side Attractions: 4

Cow Sightings: more than people

We had another great night of sleep at the Sheraton on Friday night. After a visit to the hotel gym we started the long process of packing the car (moving four bikes between the hotel room and the truck is no small task).

The trip between St. Louis and Oklahoma City is rather... simple. To mix it up a bit we upped our intake of road side attractions. First stop was the worlds largest rocking chair in Cuba, Missouri. While there we also picked up some excellent peanut brittle made by the Ladies of the Evangelical Holiness Church.

Next up was a stop for the worlds largest fork. Unfortunately I got a little distracted and we missed the exit... BUT, we made up for it later with a few excellent finds on Route 66.

First, a visit to the Blue Whale in Catoosa, Oklahoma. The Blue Whale is a Route 66 icon. It was built between 1970 and 1972. It used to be a swimming area but was closed because of the liability (however they were clear that nobody ever died here).

*a note to fellow travelers, the blue whale also offers some rustic, but clean bathrooms.

Next up we had two-for-one on Route 66 in Arcadia, Oklahoma. First, the Arcadia Round Red Barn. It was round and it was red. Shocker. It was closed already so we didn't get a chance to go inside.

Then, just a half mile down the road, was our second worlds largest attraction of the day, the worlds largest pop bottle.

I know you're jealous.

Finally we arrived in the livestock capital of America, Oklahoma City.

We unloaded our bikes in record time and headed over to our dinner destination, the Cattlemen's Steakhouse (as seen on Man vs Food AND Diners Drive-Ins and Dives).

We had some of the best onion rings ever. Sam enjoyed the presidential special, a T-bone steak, named after George H. W. Bush because he ordered it when he stopped in for dinner once. I had the fried catfish, also delicious but not as good as those onion rings!

After a piece of pecan pie a la mode ("that means with ice cream"), we were ready to hit the hay.

Today we are back on the road and bound for Albuquerque.

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Day 2: Dodging Tornados

2011-04-23T14:06:00.001-04:00

After a long, long drive on Thursday we spent two nights in St. Louis. When we woke up we checked out the weather and found we made the right decision about driving through the night.

After a good night of sleep and an hour on the treadmill and we were back in business. We headed downtown and checked out the Anheuser-Busch Factory Tour and enjoyed a few free beers.

Next stop was a visit to the Arch. It was big. Not much else to say about that...

We decided to skip the cardinals game because the weather was expected to get worse. Instead we went to dinner at Iron Barley, featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. It was excellent! I made an exception to my vegetatianism and tried a Monte Cristo hot dog. A really f*ing good hot dog with cheese and jelly. I was skeptical but OMG it was unbelievably delicious!

On the way back to the hotel we started hearing tornado warnings on the radio, but we didn't know where the warnings were because they list counties and not cities... A few miles later we realized that the tornado had crossed the highway about 5 miles north of where we were. When we got to the area we saw semi trucks tipped over on the side of the road and trees and signs flattened. We exited the highway and weaved our way back to the hotel through side roads without electricity or stop lights. We were very lucky to have missed everything!

Today St. Louis is cleaning up the mess. If you've turned on the news today I'm sure you've seen pictures of flattened homes and the airport is closed due to damage in the terminals. Thankfully nobody was killed or seriously injured!

Today we are on the road again and headed for Oklahoma City. Any dinner recommendations?

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Day 1: Road Warriors

2011-04-22T03:36:00.001-04:00

Miles: 1,018

Start: Queens, New York
End: St. Louis, Missouri

Time: 18+ hours (includes 2 gas stops, 2 pee/coffee stops, lunch and dinner)

Gas: ~2.75 tanks ($200+)

Marital Spats: 2ish

Highlights: We saw the aftermath of a semi accident which resulted in a bunch of flat screen TVs strewn across I-80. A trucker waved at me and I waved back. Sam ate a giant burger in Columbus with impressive speed.

We drove like crazy today so we can stay put tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be craptastc with major storms and hail which is why we hauled ass to St. Louis today. Not the kind of weather anybody wants to drive in, especially with your four babies/bikes in the bed of the truck!

On tap tomorrow is sleeping in, the arch, tour the annheiser bush brewery and hopefully a cardinals game if the weather allows. On Saturday we head for Oklahoma City.

More soon!
Krista

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Location:St. Louis, MO

Goodbye NYC

2011-04-21T09:13:00.001-04:00

We are officially on the road! Four bikes, 8 bottles of wine, a couple bags of clothes, and lots of snacks.

Traffic is conspiring against us (do you want to see my shocked face?). We are currently moving at a rapid speed of 5mph...

The goal today is Cincinnati, OH.

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A Test of the Travel Blogging System

2011-04-19T19:54:00.001-04:00

This is a test of the travel blogging system. Many friends and family members have requested updates as we embark on our cross country road trip from NYC to San Fran. If you are here for triathlon stuff please check back after May 1st. Until then, all travel all the time.

Departure: 36 hours...

Enjoying a hard earned pitcher of beer after a day of packing and cleaning.

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Location:31st St,,United States

Weekend Wrap-Up

2011-04-11T11:26:00.002-04:00

If you've tried to leave a comment recently you probably noticed that my comment box was broken. I just discovered this myself - the horror! But don't despair, it's fixed now :)

I had a excellent-productive-crazy-busy weekend! On Friday night I met up with Regina from Chiu on This. We had an excellent dinner at a Cuban restaurant on the upper west side. The meal was great and the company was even better!

On Saturday morning I woke up early and drove over to New Jersey for a bike ride up to Nyack. I was a bit nervous about doing the ride with my new bike. Traffic, other cyclists, up hills, down hills... But, I sucked it up, put a smile on my face and said I was going to have a great ride. And you know what? I did! We did an out and back to Nyack with a quick pit stop at a the Runcible Spoon for some Gatorade and a giant zucchini muffin (lunch of champions!). It ended up being a 35 mile ride in about 2 hours. There was nothing impressive about the numbers, but the ride itself was a great boost in confidence. I felt good, I was able to shift well, I rode in aero, and I successfully navigated traffic, cyclists and hills. I think that I somehow managed to build up this big ball of fear about riding outside after being stuck inside all winter and then going out on a brand new bike. Luckily, that won't happen anymore since we'll be in California where we can ride outside all year :)

The rest of Saturday was spent running around and having multiple lunches and dinners in attempt to say goodbye to all our NYC friends. On Sunday we woke up early for our last Sunday morning swim at Asphalt Green and then came up to pack, pack, and pack. Five hours, 22 boxes and 5 suitcases later and we are done with almost everything. It is a very interesting feeling to see nearly all of your belongings boxed up and piled in the kitchen corner. Now, my only hope is that we can fit all these belongings into a 6'3" x 7' x 8'4" box. If that fails we could try this for 3,112 miles...

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Only 10 more days to go...

Race Report: MORE Women's Half Marthon 2011

2011-04-08T15:03:00.000-04:00

First, super big thanks for all your well wishes about the big announcement that we are moving to California! Our departure date is rapidly approaching and even though I have so much I want to tell you about my days are consumed with wrapping up lose ends at work and my nights are spent training, packing and/or hanging out with all our NYC buddies.

Our official move date is April 21st - less than 2 weeks away! I am very excited about our cross country drive and I am really hoping I can keep up the motivation to blog about it. I've never driven across the US but it's something I've always wanted to do. Right now the agenda includes a visit to the Grand Canyon and a Los Angeles Angeles game :)

Anyhoo, on to the official purpose of this post - my race report!

The Short Story
The short story is that I SMASHED my half marathon PR by 26+ minutes and my met my goal for a sub 1:55 race.

Swag Bag/T-Shirt Review
I picked up my registration and swag bag on Friday. The swag bag was okay, but I was bummed that it was a cotton t-shirt. The race fee was $75 which I think is very high for a road race in Central Park. The costs are minimal and most other NYRR races in the park cost less than half the price. I don't get it... I guess the plus side is the t-shirt is women's specific (as it should be since it is a women's only race) so maybe I will get some use out of it.

The Back Story

My first and only half marathon was in October 2009. I finished that race in 2:20:48 with a pace of 10:44/mile. I ran the entire race, but walked some through the aid stations. At the time I was super proud of that accomplishment.

Now, 18 months later I was set to do my second half marathon. I knew that I could finish under 2 hours, but my true goal was under 1:55. This would require holding at most an 8:47/mile average.

The Clothing

The race was last Sunday morning. The weather was absolutely perfect. Clear and cool (but not cold). I had an extra sweatshirt, hat and gloves to wear before the start. About five minutes before go time I tossed the sweatshirt, hat and gloves to the side for the Goodwill pick-up. I really struggled with what to wear for this race. It was in the high 30's for the 8am start but expected to warm up quickly and be near 50 degrees by 10am.

I opted for my long sleeve Smart Wool running shirt and my new CW-X capris. I skipped gloves and stuck with a regular cap instead of my winter running hat. I also taped my shins with KT Tape which worked great.

Miles 1-9I won't bore you with a mile by mile recap. To be brief(-ish), my plan was to start with a slow pace and work my way into the 8:45 range in the 2nd or 3rd mile. The start was very congested (to be honest the whole course felt congested) so I'm glad I wasn't trying to keep 8:45 for mile 1. Mile 2 was down to 8:29 and I managed to hold a steady pace ranging from 8:26 to 8:48 for miles 2 through 9.

Miles 10-13.25
I felt like I hit a bit of a wall at mile 10 and I when I saw an 8:56 split I wondered if I would make my goal. Thinking back that was totally acceptable since a majority of mile 10 was uphill. I regained my strength with a speedy down hill and hit 8:42 for mile 11. At this point I was catching up to all the walkers (it's a two, 6 mile loop course so the walkers were at mile 5 on their first loop). The walkers were spread across the road, even though they should have been staying to the inside of the road. I kindly asked a few people to move over as I ran through and around groups of people (but I tried not to get too aggressive and I didn't throw any elbows).

With the end approaching I gave it everything I had and wrapped up with 8:12 for mile 12 and 8:09 for mile 13. The last .25 (the course was .15 long according to my Garmin) was an average pace of 7:31. This is insane to me because I don't think I've ever done a 400 at the track with a pace under 8 minutes. I don't know how the heck I managed this after 13 miles!

Looking a little shell shocked... And this was 20 minutes after I finished...

Overall, I am extremely happy with this race. I far surpassed my goal and I felt strong and fast. I'm already scouting out some courses in California for my next half marathon!

TIME: 1:53:16

AVERAGE: 8:33/mile

Recovery
I was tired and sore after the race. My feet and ankles were tender and I was a bit worried that I might have pushed too hard. I'm happy to report that after taking off Monday and Tuesday I felt 100% better. I did short and easy runs on Wednesday and Thursday. I could feel that my body and my running joints/muscles were tired on Wednesday but by Thursday I was feeling almost back to normal!

Big News!

2011-03-31T11:43:00.000-04:00

It’s officially official.

We are moving to California in 3 weeks! I have been accepted into a nurse practitioner master program in San Francisco. The program starts in early June so we will be packing up a U-Haul and doing a cross country drive.

This is a going to be a crazy and exciting adventure!

Cheap or Frugal?

2011-03-29T16:09:00.000-04:00

Some people might characterize me as cheap. I prefer to think of myself as frugal. Whatever you want to call it, I don’t part easily with my hard earned cash. I don’t make many impulse purchases. I think, plan and research. I will often wait months before buying something in order to avoid buying something I don’t really need or might regret later. Sometimes I forget about the item and other times I think about it for a long time.

One bad habit I’ve had is buying a less expensive substitute for an item that I really want. I do this to try to save money, but then I am often disappointed with the purchase because it is of less quality or it isn’t what I really wanted.

I’ve posted about this before. Do you remember those ugly pink tri shorts? In that same post I mentioned the capri pants I bought from Target. I posted about those pants on 2/23/10. In short, I bought some subpar workout pants at Target because they were cheaper than the quality pants that I really wanted.

Even though I don't really like them I’ve been wearing them for more than a year now (while also keeping a look out for a replacement, preferably on sale). Last week I stopped by the local running store and decided to get a new pair to use for my half marathon this weekend. Ever since I bought a pair of compression tights for recovery I’ve considered buying a pair of running capris with compression. I run faster in the winter than I do in the summer and I think part of that is because I wear long running tights in the winter as opposed to shorts in the summer.

Specifically I’ve been checking out the CW-X Women's Stabilyx 3/4 Tights. According to the CW-X website:

The Stabilyx tights provide optimum targeted support to the core and knees. They're ideal for activities with lateral motion such as skiing and snowboarding and for athletes seeking our best form of knee support. The patented CW-X Support Web™ bands together the muscles and ligaments of the lower leg to stabilize the knee and reduce vibration for increased efficiency. The CW-X Support Web™ also harnesses the midsection, supporting the lower abdominals, hips and back to channel power through the core. Variable compression facilitates circulation during and after activity, minimizing lactic acid build-up so that you can be active longer and recover faster.

On a side note, I know there has been a lot of debate about whether or not compression helps during activity or in recovery. The literature is all over the place – some studies show it helps while others show it doesn’t make a bit of difference. Ultimately I think it is a personal preference. And if you think they make you run faster or recover better than they might (even if it is just a placebo effect) and that is good enough for me.

So back to the issue at hand. The problem with the CW-X tights? They are really expensive. The regular running capris are around $60 but these are $90! Ouch! I tried on both pairs, multiple times. I compared prices. I may or may not have searched for better deals online while standing the dressing room…

But then I remember that post I wrote last year. And I remember how disappointed I was with those cheap Target pants. So this time I did something a little strange. I bought the item I wanted. Even though it was more expensive. Even though I really didn’t need it. I opened my squeaky wallet and laid down my card and walked out with my fancy new pants.

The result? I love them. They make me happy every time I put them on. I’ve run in them a few times and I like the way they feel. I’m not sure if they make me that much faster though… We will have to wait and see if I can break 1:55 at the MORE half marathon on Sunday :)
Do you make these compromise purchases like me or do you go straight for the ~~high price~~ high quality items?

A Cruising Altitude of 32,000 Feet

2011-03-25T09:39:00.001-04:00

I’m currently blogging from an altitude of 32,000 feet somewhere over Tennessee. I’m on my way to Austin, TX for a very short trip for work. It’s a high of 86 degrees today in Austin. I’ll only be there for about 18 hours, most of which will be spent at an expo and an airport hotel. But, I’m a ‘half-is-glass-full’ kind of gal so I’ll take any opportunity for some warm weather! As an added bonus, I’ll get to hear Lance Armstrong speak. I’m not a huge Lance-fan, but I still think it’s exciting to be around such an amazing athlete (this is will be my third encounter with him).

When I was in Austin last month they were in the middle of a deep freeze. I went for a morning run. The temps were in the 20’s and the wind was intense. It actually felt colder than running in NY. It even snowed! Unfortunately I leave early tomorrow morning so I’ll have to wait until I get back to NYC to do my long run. Tomorrow’s high in Austin is 94 which is probably a little too warm for March running anyways… Yes, I’d much rather run in the freezing cold… I think… Right?

I am happy to get out of NYC even if it’s just for the day. The first official day of spring was last Sunday but you would never guess it. In fact,on Wednesday night/Thursday morning it snowed. I waited for the subway and cursed the white stuff. When will winter end?!

Training is going along well. I went to the AG tristrength weight training class last Monday night and my legs were still sore on Thursday. I must commit to doing squats and lunges a few times a week so that this soreness doesn’t kill me every time. To top it off, on Wednesday night we had a crazy hill repeat workout in the spin class. My coach is on the cycling team and because he missed the cycling team workout the day before he decided we would all do it together. Essentially we did an extended warm up and then the equivalent of eight Harlem Hill repeats. They were two minutes of explosive sprint climbing each with two minutes of recovery. It was incredibly hard but awesome too. Visualizing the hill profile for Escape from Alcatraz motivated me to push extra hard.

I was also happy to see that I was recovering well between hills. With each hill my heart rate would climb to 180 bpm, I’d hold that for the second minute, and then managed to get under 110 bpm during each recovery. Coach Mike said we earned a cookie with that workout. I love any excuse to eat a cookie so on the way home I stopped at the deli and indulged in a pack of Chips Ahoy.

Happy Friday and Happy Training!

Tri Bike Redo & an Expensive Run

2011-03-21T14:12:00.000-04:00

Thank you everyone for your support after my first ride on the Slice. My first "ride" could be described as short and interesting. In summary, I was sick, it was mega windy, I fell down and then I quit after one mile. On Saturday I made a second attempt at riding the bike.

After my crappy first ride I spent the next week knocked out by a nasty cold. After spending 4 days delirious on cold medicine with no endorphins I was going back and forth between thinking I should sell my beautiful new tri bike because I'm too much of a wimp to ride it and being determined not to let the bike beat me.

By Saturday I was feeling significantly better so we ventured out to Long Island to give it another go. We went to Heckscher State Park because it is a beautiful and, more importantly, empty park with a flat three mile loop. It was the perfect place to ride because I didn't have to worry about traffic or other cyclists while I figured out what the hell I was doing.

Sam was awesome and rode the first two loops with me. He gave me tons of tips and talked me through shifting and transitioning in and out of the aero position. I was nervous about the stability and moving back and forth between the breaks and the shifters, but Sam ~~forced~~ convinced me and I was glad he did. After about six miles he went off on his own and I continued to ride and practiced my shifting and transition in and out of aero.

It was very, very windy at the park and the longer we rode the more the wind picked up. At the worst part I was going 9 mph and felt like I was climbing a very steep hill. After 9 loops and 32 miles we called it quits.

I'm happy to report that this ride was much, much better. I actually love the feeling when I'm down in areo because I feel like I've got So.Much.Power. Plus, it's going to make for some great race photos ;) I'm still a little unsteady but I have confidence that with time and practice everything will be great!

I wrapped up the weekend on Sunday morning with a swim at Asphalt Green and then a long run in Central Park. The swim was great and we did a killer ladder session with a tempo swim of 100, 150, 200, 250, 250, 200, 150, 100 in the 50 meter pool.

My original plan was to do a 12 mile run but I cut a bit short because I didn't want to push myself too much since I'm still recovering from the cold. I ended up doing about 10 miles. Overall it was a pretty good, but expensive run. I was running the 'correct' way through the park (clockwise) but most runners run in the opposite direction. At mile 7 I was getting tired of dodging runners who refused to stay to their right and leave room for runners going the other way. At one point I decided not to surrender my lane for the millionth time and I strongly 'brushed' shoulders with another runner. Unfortunately, about a minute later I looked down to check my pace and found that my Garmin 305 had popped out of my wrist band. I ran back to find it but it was already gone. Either someone picked it up for it fell into a grate, never to be seen again.

My personality is generally to be overly nice and accommodating (hence my back pain, hives and foot pain) but sometimes the crowds in New York City bring out the worst in me. Three years ago I would never have made contact like that on purpose... I think I need to find a bit of my 'Minnesota-nice' again because this aggressive move cost me $135...

Eye Candy: Cannondale Slice Women’s 5 105

2011-03-13T16:05:00.000-04:00

I’m finally ready to share some photos of my new bike, a Cannondale Slice Women’s 5 105!

I should be out on my inaugural ride right now, but instead I’m sitting on the couch sucking down cough drops, soup broth and watching bad TV while Sam is out riding by himself…

Even though I’m too sick to do anything active, I decided it was high time I shared some pictures of my new ride.

As long as I was taking my bike outside I couldn’t help but take her for a quick spin around the neighborhood. This is wear it got a little ugly… This bike feels so much more different than my road bike. I think it is a combination of the aggressive position of the saddle and handle bars and the women’s specific fit. Plus, it’s been more than 4 months since I’ve ridden my bike outside. So, I was so excited for my first ‘ride’ that I clipped in one foot and then promptly fell over. But I have to say it was a “good” fall because it didn’t hurt anything but my ego.

So after I got back up and brushed myself off it was time to go. I waited for a significant break in traffic (no need to fall down again in the middle of the road) and took off. I’m going to be honest here… I was scared sh*tless. The handling on a tri bike is completely different and it didn’t help that I had already fallen over once. At first I was freaking out and terrified that I just spent a ton of money on a new bike that I was going to be too scared to ride.

I biked down to Astoria Park where there was a longer flat stretch where I didn’t need to worry about cars and intersections. However, I was still too scared to get down in aero… Plus, whenever I try to look over my shoulder to check for cars I’m swerving all over the place. I think that it’s going to take me a bit longer to get used to this new bike than I thought!

But, I have to say that when I was biking up a small hill I could tell that once I'm used to this bike it's going to be awesome! It is so smooth and light - I'll be able to fly up those hills! I just have to keep reminding myself that it took time for me to get comfortable on a road bike and the tri bike is going to take time for me to get used to this bike too.

Once I got down to the water I took a few more pictures.

Most of the people down there were taking pictures of the bridge or the Manhattan skyline, but I was taking pictures of my bike!

During my bike fitting I upgraded to an Adamo road saddle. I can already tell from my fitting and my very short ride that I’m going to love this saddle! It looks a little funny but it takes all the pressure off the lady bits.

What Scares You?

2011-03-11T16:44:00.000-05:00

I was recently having a conversation with several coworkers and one mentioned that she did not know how to swim. I was surprised and asked her what she meant. She said she didn't want to swim as a child so her parents did not make her (much to her adult disappointment) and she is afraid of water. If she was thrown overboard she might be able to keep herself afloat for short time, but she wouldn't last long. Much to my surprise the three other women in conversation also said they did not know how to swim! I think my parents taught me to swim before I learned to talk and after spending 6 years on a swim team I'm practically half fish. It made me sad to learn that they did not know how to swim at all.

The conversation drifted away from swimming and someone mentioned horseback riding and dancing (like at a club).

I have no desire to go horseback riding because I think horses are big, powerful and scary. However, if I was with someone who wanted to go horseback riding I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to trying. On the other hand, the idea of "fast" dancing like at a club or a wedding terrifies me. Just thinking about having to dance in a social setting makes my stomach knot up and my throat constrict a little. When we got married we had a daytime wedding. There were many reasons for this but I would be lying if I didn't say that I was drawn to a small, daytime wedding because it eliminated any chance of someone trying to make me dance.

When I think about it these two things are somewhat surprising. My #1 hobby is a sport where riding a bike (fast) is very important and I think riding a bike is more dangerous than horseback riding. I don't know what to say about dancing since I don't even want to think about it...

As Gretchen Rubin from The Happiness Project said, "You can choose what you do; you can't choose what you LIKE to do."

What is something that scares you that others might be surprised to learn?

Shin Splints and a KT Tape Review

2011-03-10T17:00:00.000-05:00

I think I mentioned awhile ago that I was having some minor shin pain - you could call it 'almost shin splints.' The pain would be present for the first mile or two of my run, mostly go away and then sometimes return at the end of longer runs. I didn't have pain when walking or going up or down stairs like I have when I've gotten shin splints in the past, but the muscles along my shin were tender to the touch, even on non-running days.

{source}

I have had this pain before and it usually occurs when I am resuming a running program (this time I had been off running for nearly 3 months) or when I have started incorporating speedwork. In the past I focused on wearing running shoes everywhere (no high heals or fancy boots) and doing an ice/heat regimen twice a day. This time I also decided to give kinesiology tape a try. I picked p a box of KT Tape at a local running store.

How does KT Tape work? The website says:

KT Tape is applied along muscles, ligaments, and tendons (soft tissue) to provide a lightweight, strong, external support that helps to prevent injury and speed recovery. KT Tape works differently for different injuries... Depending on how it is applied, KT Tape supports, enables, or restricts soft tissue and its movement.

One of my biggest fears about using kinesiology tape is that I would not know how to apply it correctly. KT Tape makes it easy because the box comes with precut strips and step-by-step instructions for every common injury from head to toe (plus videos on the website). And, if your pain is not listed in the included instructions you can submit your question on their website and they will send you custom application instructions!

The instructions for shin splints were very easy. The strips are 10" long and each strip separates into a Y shape. For each leg I used two strips. The first strip started on the bottom of my foot and then ran vertical up along my shin bone. I used the second strip to wrap horizontally around my calf to hold in the first piece in half. The tape comes in many colors but I decided to go with red (now that the weather is getting a bit warmer I think I will pick up some beige tape so I won't look like a total freak when I'm running around with my legs all taped up).

Last week I applied the tape before my Monday morning run and then left it on for several days after. The tape can be worn for up to five days. I haven't tried leaving it on that long, but it did last several days and stayed stuck well even after several showers. I also tried the tape for my 11 mile run last weekend and while I still had some pain at the beginning and end of the run, I found that I didn't have the residual pain after and my shins were not sore to the touch the next day either.

I should mention that the removal was simple and painless (unlike band-aids) and it didn't leave gooey adhesive on my legs either. Overall, I give KT tape two thumbs up. I would highly recommend trying it for any minor sports injury. Check your local running store or find an online retailer on their website.

I was not compensated for this review in anyway. I discovered, purchased and tested the KT Tape all on my own.

Procrastination Monday

2011-03-07T16:35:00.000-05:00

Age: 26

Bed size: Queen

Chore you hate: Going to the laundry mat. In January I discovered the joys of drop-off laundry service. Best investment I've ever made. Some people treat themselves to a massage, I treat myself to laundry service.

Dogs: None. I always grew up with german shepard's and my parents have a springer spaniel, Lucky, that we got when I was in high school.

Essential start you day item: Coffee!

Favorite color: I just realized the other day that I don't really have a favorite color...

Gold or silver: Silver

Height: 5'4" (but I *think* I'm taller than that...)

Instruments: In first through fifth grade I took piano lessons. Then I played the french horn for four years which is about the dorkiest instrument you can play. I wanted to play saxophone but there weren't any openings in that part of the band...

Job title: Call Center Manager & Oncology Clinical Trials Specialist

Kids: nada

Live: NYC

Mom's name: Val

Nicknames: KG, Rock Solid

Overnight hospital stay: thankfully never

Pet peeve: lateness

Quote from a movie: "Nobody puts baby in a corner"

Right or left handed: Right

Siblings: 2 older brothers.

Time you wake up: 5:30AM, except Fridays and Saturdays

Underwear: Yes

Vegetable you dislike: Beats. Ugh.

What makes you late: Not much. I hate lateness that I am always early to everything. I calculate the longest it could possibly take to get somewhere and then add 10 more minutes just to be safe.
X-rays you've had done: I broke my arm when I was six and then another x-ray when I fell while running in my neighborhood.

Yummy food you make: I'm a baker heart. I make some mean chocolate zucchini cupcakes!

Zoo animal favorite: Penguins

Happy March!

2011-03-01T15:25:00.000-05:00

Spring is coming! Spring is coming! Yesterday it was 58 degrees (today it is 35), but there is no doubt that spring is coming.

The Asphalt Green gala was a blast. It was fun to get dressed up for a night on the the town (or eatdinner-drinktoomuchwine-eatdessert-1am-bed).

Asphalt Green Tri Club Gala
Feb. 2011

Four days until I get my new bike! The weather on Saturday is looking tolerable so hopefully I can take her out for a spin!

Rest Week

2011-02-25T16:12:00.000-05:00

This week has inadvertently turned into a rest week for me. I didn’t plan it that way, but looking at my schedule I realize it was probably time so that is okay with me. I skipped a planned run and spin workout, but I did get in an extra long swim and some much needed rest.
Tonight I’m going to go to yoga after work. I don’t really want to go to yoga, especially because it as a 90 minute class and that seems so long on a Friday night (plus my new laptop arrived today and I want to go home and play with it), however I know that I will be glad that I went once I am there (or at least after) so I am going to force myself to go.

Tomorrow I’m doing my first bike/run brick of the season for a short spin and then a 8ish mile run. Then it’s party time as we get all fancied up for our tri club’s annual gala. We put on fancy clothes, do our hair and makeup and head to an event for good food, lots of drinks and tons of laughs. It’s nice to get together with your training friends, howver I find this slightly awkward because I will introduce myself to someone and it isn’t until I hear their voice that I realize I’ve been swimming in the same lane with them every Sunday morning for the last year but I didn’t realize it because they are wearing actual clothes and not a swim cap and goggles…

Sunday will be a ~~hangover~~ recovery day. It will likely include streaming Netflix, brunch and a museum if we are feeling up to it.

Have a great weekend!

Randomness

2011-02-21T17:04:00.000-05:00

I've thought of at least 20 posts in the past month but I just haven't had a chance to sit down and write!

I am happy to report that training is going very well. With the exception of a crazy 2 weeks of travel I have managed 2 swims, 2-3 bikes and 3-4 runs per week. I've also resolved to start incorporating more weight training again and try to get back to a weekly yoga class.

I am counting the days (12!) until I get to pick up my new bike! I am so excited I am at a loss for words! I promise I will be back immediately to tell you all about my fit and post some bike p*rn.

I had a great dinner with Regina (of the one and only Chiu On This) a few weeks ago. It was so nice to catch up over a delicious dinner and wine.

I'm training hard for the upcoming More Women's Half Marathon on April 3rd. I'm starting to think the time off from running was actually a good thing because since I've gotten back in the groove I'm faster than ever. I did a 10 mile run with an 8:41 average on Saturday. A few weeks ago I set a lofty goal of breaking 2 hours (my one and only half marathon in 2009 was 2:21:XX). I am now thinking I could even shoot for a sub-1:55?!

The NY weather this winter has been approaching unbearable for me. I had a trip to Austin, TX earlier this month and it was freezing there too and it SNOWED, in Austin, Texas. WTF? At the end of last week we finally had two warm days (into the 50's), and even though it was snowing again this morning I know that spring will come, eventually.

I've read a ton of great books lately, including the Hunger Games trilogy. If you have not read them yet I highly recommend them!

It feels good to be back :)

Planning a Race Schedule

2011-01-11T10:00:00.001-05:00

It's that time of year again. It's time to investigate races and set goals for the coming season. Many of my fellow bloggers will be attempting their first Ironman (I can tell you for sure that I will not be doing the iron distance this year).

Before we can look forward we need to look back a bit. In 2010 I competed in 9 events between May and September. Six triathlons (3 Sprint & 3 Olympic), two open water swims (a 2 miler and a 3 miler) and a swim/run relay. That averages out to one event every other weekend! I also had two fall running races on my schedule (a half and a full marathon) but I had to scratch those due to my foot pain. Plus, I worked as part of the race management team for six events for NY Triathlon and volunteered at the NYC Marathon. I can tell you without a doubt that this was too many races. I was so fired up from my first tri season that I over committed myself. Now that I'm looking back at it all I'm wondering how I had time to actual train?!

I'm going to take a much more relaxed approach to planning the season this year. Right now my schedule looks something like this:

April 3, 2011: NYRR More Magazine / Fitness Magazine Women's Half-Marathon
June 5, 2011: Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon (I qualified in the Westchester Tri last September)
Late Summer: My first half ironman - which one?
Fall: Marathon

On average, how many races/triathlons do you do each season? How far in advance do you plan your schedule?

I'm a Brooks Girl!

2011-01-10T19:10:00.000-05:00

I was a big fan of New Balance 1224's. However they had to go and 'upgrade' and I've not been happy with the 1226's that I bought last summer. Since I've started running again I'm actually running in my old 1224's. I knew it was time to ditch those so I went in for a pro shoe fit and I'm now a Brooks girl! I tried on 7+ pairs of shoes and decided on the Books Adrenaline GTS 11.

Brooks Adrenaline GTS 11

This is the top selling shoe for Brooks. They use DNA cushioning which is adaptable to the weight of the runner and the speed of the runner. This new cushioning technology prompted Runner’s World to award the Adrenaline GTS 11 "Best Update" in their Winter 2010 Shoe Guide in their December 2010 issue. Runner's World describes it as:

Brooks made a lot of improvements to this lightweight stability shoe, adding a heel cradle to securely hold the back of the foot in place and more gel underfoot to soften impact. The result is a well-padded and supportive landing that doesn't feel squishy. The company also tinkered with the upper, incorporating adjustable straps into the eye-row to allow for a secure, foot-hugging squeeze. Recommended for normal to low-arched runners looking for a soft stability shoe with a great ride.

I've done a few runs with my new shoes and I think they are going to be a really good fit! What a relief! Finding good running shoes can be stressful and challenging! My only disappointment about switching from New Balance to Brooks is that New Balance shoes seem to be the only running shoes still made in the USA.

Three-a-Days

2011-01-06T13:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a busy day and I managed to fit in three workouts and a shoe fitting! In the morning I braved the dark and the cold and went for an easy three mile run. All of my runs right now would fall into the ‘easy’ category as I try to regain my running base after nearly 3 months with no running. I’m also fighting off a case of shin splints. Last year I received a very helpful tip to treat shin splints with 10 minutes of ice and then 10 minutes of heat. I’ve been doing this twice a day this week and it is already helping.

After my run I was off to the running shoe store for a special shoe fitting. A good friend works at my favorite running store and he agreed to come in and meet me at 8:30am, well before opening, since it was the only time our schedules worked. After 45 minutes and at least 7 pairs of shoes I think/hope I’ve found the right shoe for me – more on this later.

Since this week was the start of the Asphalt Green Tri Club winter workout schedule I was excited to start back with my favorite cycling workout. But, it doesn’t start until 8:30pm! I don’t know about you but I usually go to bed at 9:30! I couldn’t sit around for hours waiting for cycling (I’d probably fall asleep at Starbucks and get my Kindle stolen) so I decided to join the first part of the Wednesday swim. I managed to squeeze in 1000 yards before I needed to head to the cycling studio. Then I spent the next hour sweating and spinning like crazy. I love that workout!

Finally the day was over and we arrived home at 10:45. A quick bowl of oatmeal and I happily collapsed into bed. I finished off the week of training with another short run this morning and then 30 minutes of Rodney Yee’s Yoga Conditioning for Athletes.

It feels great to be working every day again. I hope that I'm finally refreshed after a lax month of training in December. I've worked hard this week and I'm really looking forward to a rest day tomorrow!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-04T21:45:00.000-05:00

I'm back! Did you miss me? Did you notice I was gone ;) A few of you asked why we exchanged gifts early, well because we were heading out of town for the holiday! We went to visit my family in Northern Minnesota for Christmas! We had a fabulous time and it was wonderful to spend quality time with my family!

Last year at Christmas we were stuck inside for three days due to a major snowstorm. This year we lucked out and missed the NYC blizzard while enjoying relatively mild weather in MN. Go figure!

We took advantage of all the snow and did a lot of snowshoeing:

Plus I got to spend some time with this cutie pie! Isn't she adorable?!

My 3-month old Niece

~~My family~~ Santa was more than generous! He checked my triathlon wish list and I returned home with a pair of Louis Garneau Women's Tri Speed Shoes, 3 pairs of Eurobike Socks, a Buff Wool neck band to keep my face warmer while running outside, a Smart Wool long sleeve running shirt, Swim Workouts in a Binder, and a Valeo Yoga Kit. I feel like one lucky lady!

As for most this week has marked a renewed commitment to health and fitness. After a regular diet of cookies for breakfast and drinks with dinner I'm getting back to clean eating and drinking lots of water. I've started the week of well with a tough swim and a run in Central Park on Sunday, a 3 mile run Monday morning and strength training class Monday night, and an hour trainer ride this morning. I'm looking forward to Wednesday night when my favorite winter cycling workouts with Asphalt Green start again!

I hope 2011 is starting off great for you!

Winter Solstice 2010

2010-12-22T13:45:00.000-05:00

{source}

Yesterday was the winter solstice. According to Wikipedia, "The winter solstice occurs exactly when the Earth's axial tilt is farthest away from the sun at its maximum of 23° 26'."

Many people prefer to think of this day as the first day of winter. I am more of a "glass is half full" kind of gal so I would like to think of this as the shortest day of the year. Therefore, beginning today the days will only get longer and we will gain a minute or two of sunlight every day.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday. Eat, drink and be merry!

Santa Delivered!

2010-12-20T16:21:00.000-05:00

Last night Sam and I exchanged our Christmas gifts. He gave me a Latest Generation Kindle! I love reading and I'm always carrying a book or two around with me. Typically I only buy used paperback books so it takes a long time for me to get around to some of the more popular books. Now that I have a Kindle I can get most new releases for under $10! Of course, some of the top books on my wish list are sports related. If you are looking for a last minute gift for an endurance athlete/reader you could consider:

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
The Long Run: A New York City Firefighter's Triumphant Comeback from Crash Victim to Elite Athlete by Matt Long and Charles Butler
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall
Chi Running by Katherine Dreyer

I choose Unbroken as my first download. Two clicks of a button and 90 seconds later and the book was at my fingertips. I've just started but I can already tell it's great. I actually looked forward to waiting in line outside the DMV for an hour this morning so I could read :) Lucky me I didn't have all the documentation so two hours later I was back again!

After I finished ogling my new e-reader it was Sam's turn. I got him a copy of Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance and a 24oz Polar Insulated Water Bottle. Finally, I gave him this bike jersey from "Share the Damn Road" and this magnetic bumper sticker:

Share the Road Bike Jersey
Magnetic Bumper Sticker

If you would like to get your favorite cyclist (or yourself) a gift, Share the Damn Road is providing 25% of all orders with the code HAPPYHOLIDAYS. They have many more jerseys to choose from. If you are feeling a bit more 'assertive' you could go with something a little more straightforward:

What's on your list this holiday?

Before and After: The Pain Cave

2010-12-14T15:26:00.000-05:00

The last few weeks have been a real return to regular workouts for me. When I was off from running I found I was unmotivated to do anything else. It was too dark for weekday rides, I was unmotivated to swim and I couldn't run. I wavered from cross training on the elliptical because I was afraid it would aggravate my foot and I some days I was just lazy.

But, the past two weeks have been great. In addition to running, my new commitment to training was motivated by a little transformation. Remember when I joked about converting our 2nd bedroom into a training room? Well, it turns out I wasn't really joking after all.

Our 2nd bedroom went from this:

To this (the Pain Cave):

We rarely have guests over and we decided to capitalized on this real estate and do some redecorating. We got rid of the bed and set up our new Kurt Kinetic trainers. Don't mind the bed frame in the back - it was the only pace we could store it :)

Now you can find us spinning away every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday! On a side note, riding the trainer is much more difficult than I anticipated and I actually think it is harder than biking outside. There is no down time because you never get to coast! And everyone who told me that you need to have a TV - you were so right! It is really mind numbing. We don't have a TV but we do have our computer in this room so we can stream shows off Hulu or Netflix. But, because the trainers make a fair amount of noise we have to turn the volume way up so we can only do this on Saturday when we are riding during normal hours. I don't think the neighbors would appreciate us cranking up the volume at 6am on a Tuesday. I've been listening to NPR to pass the time but I think that I'm going to try an audio book. I love reading but I've never had any success with audio books. I get distracted and then I don't know what's going on. However, I think it is worth another shot since there is nothing to distract me on the trainer... Any recommendations?

Catching Up

2010-12-06T09:42:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile since I've posted but a lot has been going on. First, I'm running again! After switching gears with how to treat my foot pain I'm happy to report that I'm feeling better and running again. Anybody familiar with TMS and the mind-body connection would not be surprised to learn that the day of my first run in 3 months, which was mostly pain free, I promptly broke out in hives. This is not surprising since hives are just another symptom of TMS. I'm still working on this - mentally and physically - but I'm so happy to be running again (and mostly hive free). This morning I ran 3 miles, my longest run yet! It was 6am - dark, cold and windy - and I loved every minute of it.

In other very important news, I bit the bullet and put down a deposit on a new bike! AHH! Last time I mentioned it I was eyeing the Felt B16. Well, I had a change of heart. I liked the Felt because it was an affordable tri bike and I was ready to settle with that. I'm not too picky. But then, THEN, I went to another bike shop and the bike guy showed me this:

2011 Cannondale Slice 5 Women’s 105

The Cannondale Slice 5 Women’s 105. I was in love. My eyes were twinkling, my cheeks were flushed, my heart was racing - I may have even been drooling a little. We left the shop, Cannondale catalogue in hand, and I daydreamed about her all the way to Philly. A little more research and I was confident the Slice would be a great bike for me. It was still affordable, only $150 more than the Felt, and it's most talked about feature is comfort and control - it is not "twitchy" like a lot of other tri bikes which was one of my biggest concerns about going aero.

Now, the bike shop we went to is well known and respected but I just wasn't feeling very good mojo from the bike guy. So, I called up Sunrise Tri, where Sam bought his new bike earlier this year. They are not a dealer for Cannondale time trial bikes, but our favorite guy Matt agreed to do some investigating and let me know. A few days later he confirmed they could order her for me - we had a deal! We headed out this weekend for a few preliminary measurements to determine size and I put down a deposit. In just a few short weeks I should be the proud new parent of the Cannondale Slice 5 Women’s 105!

Reconsidering Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS)

2010-11-17T11:29:00.000-05:00

The results showed no stress fracture (YEA!), but did have some soft-tissue swelling (adema). The MD recommended that I start a 3x daily Ibuprofen regimen and icing for a week as well as getting metatarsal shoe inserts. I'm on day 5 of Ibuprofen and icing but I'm not sure if there is any change. In my last entry I linked back to my post about my history of back pain and tension myositis syndrome (TMS). If you have not read this post before I would recommend clicking over and getting the history. The general concept is that back pain is caused by a disorder called tension myositis syndrome (TMS). This is a real disorder and causes real pain, but it is the result of repressed rage and emotions, not physical injury. I know it sounds wacky but go read my post. I went through countless treatments without relief until I discovered TMS.

I honestly haven't considered TMS as a possible issue for my foot pain because I've been so certain that this is a running related injury. Yesterday a reader left me this great comment and it got me thinking:

Hi,

I saw your blog a few months ago when I was looking for other triathletes who (like me) had recoverd from TMS before. I was checking your blog again today and saw your post.

I wanted to encourage you not to rule out TMS again. In my own experiences, I've found that TMS can be very sneaky. In 2007, I was healed from some very chronic pains (back, neck, PF). Then in 2009, after being pain free for 2 yrs, I ran my 1st marathon after which I started having knee and achilles issues. I suffered for 5 months trying all manner of physical treatments and reducing training. Eventually, I treated as if it was TMS and the pain dissolved quickly (within days).

Just my opinion. Best of luck in whichever path you choose toward healing!
Enrique

Thank you Enrique! I can't tell you how much I appreciate your comment. I think that I'm going to spend a little time looking at this from the TMS viewpoint. The symptoms make sense - the pain has lasted for nearly 3 months, its a non-specific location and random timing, and it seems to be "untreatable" by doctors and physical therapists. My homework is to re-read my copy of "Mind Body Prescription" and start back with the journaling. Every time my foot twinges or tingles I say to myself "What is bothering you now" and "Relax - you cannot be perfect." I am hopeful and optimistic today.

If you or anybody you know is experiencing chronic pain, please consider the idea of the mindbody connection. If anyone is interested I have an 8 page summary of TMS (given to me by Dr. Sarno at my first appointment with him). If you have any questions or would like a copy of this summary please email me at kristagager@gmail.com.

Tick Tock

2010-11-12T11:07:00.000-05:00

Since I'm still having continued pain in my left foot I went back to the sports med doc on Tuesday. He did another x-ray which still showed nothing so he decided to send me for an MRI.

So, I had the MRI done on Wednesday night and they told me results would be in Friday (today). I called the office this morning at 9:05. They opened at 9:00 so I gave them plenty of time. They get three deliveries a day and my results were not in the first delivery. They told me to call back at 12:30 and if they don't have then to call again at 2:45 for the final delivery. The anticipation is killing me.

My worst fear is that they will find that nothing is wrong. Or that it is all in my head.

Penny Palfrey Attempts a 72 mile Swim

2010-11-11T09:00:00.000-05:00

Have you heard about Penny Palfrey's recent attempt to swim the 72 miles between Oahu and Kauai? OpenWaterSource.com posted about her incredible attempt. Unfortunately, her swim was cut short after 8 hours because she was repeatedly attacked by jellyfish.

“I got hit over and over again, but I was right on the same pace as before. I thought I might have been going a little slower than before, but I was at 16 miles around the 7 hour mark. The jellyfish were hanging off of my arms on both sides. I had them on my hands too as I was trying to get them off. But I couldn’t get them off, their tentacles were wrapped around my arms. They were all over the place. Then I got hit right in the face and that really hurt. But the one which stung me on my ear is what is really hurting now.”

Check out Penny's amazing battle wounds:

{OpenWaterSource.com}

The path between Oahu and Kauai is the last major channel in the Hawaiian Islands to be uncrossed. Wow.

Going Aero

2010-11-10T14:26:00.000-05:00

Now that I'm officially saving for a new bike I've started doing research about my options. I've been debating between upgrading to a much better road bike or going for a tri bike. I've hesitated to consider a tri bike because I'm a nervous rider and I was afraid that the aggressive positioning would be too much for me to handle.

Last weekend we stopped to see our favorite bike guy at Sunrise Tri on Long Island. I told him about my bike dilemma - road vs. tri - and he was very helpful. He told me that since I already have a road bike that I should strongly consider getting a tri bike. The sport I do is triathlon and if there is a tool designed for it then I should try to make it work. He kindly reminded me that I probably wasn't comfortable on a road bike when I started (which is true) and while it will take time to get used to the tri bike it's highly unlikely that I will hate it.

Last weekend I decided to put Sam's old aero bars on my bike to test it out. We were out on Long Island at Heckscher State Park. It is a very flat park with a 3.5 mile loop. It is free to enter during the off season and a good place for a flat ride or run (as long as you don't mind going in circles). This was a great place to test out the aero bars since it is flat and there was very little traffic. I ended up doing 8 loops for a total of 28 miles. I am very happy to report that with time I think I can get used to the aero position. In fact, I had moments where I felt fast and efficient and I might even say I liked it. I know it will take a lot more practice to be comfortable on descents or for longer periods of time, but I think it solidified my decision to go with a tri bike.

I asked the bike guy if he had any recommendations and he brought me over to check out the Felt B16. This is a full carbon fiber TT/tri bike that is an excellent and economical choice. The entry level bike is an unbelievably affordable price of $1999. There are 8 versions of the bike but they all have the same frame. This means I can start with the entry level and upgrade components in the future.

Felt B16

I think I may have found the bike for me but I've still got some research and saving to do...

Volunteer Report: NYC Marathon 2010

2010-11-09T20:57:00.000-05:00

The NYC Marathon is one of the largest in the world with more the 45,000 racers each year. The famous course starts on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge on Staten Island and winds through the five boroughs of New York City, finishing in Central Park.

{Photo from NYC Daily News}

The size of the NYC Marathon is hard to comprehend:

- More than 45,000 runners
- Over 2 million spectators (+315 million TV viewers)
- Over 6000 volunteers
- Guaranteed prize purse exceeds $800,000
- 130 bands and acts
- 368 portable toilets (that actually doesn't seem like nearly enough for 45,000 runners).
- 390 tubs of Vaseline

{Photo from NYC Daily News}

Last Sunday I spent the day volunteering at mile 18 of the NYC Marathon.

First, Sam and I went to swim practice so we could get a workout in before reporting to duty at our aid station. After swimming we grabbed some coffee and breakfast and walked over to the mile 18 aid station at 96th Street and 1st Avenue. I've worked at a lot of smaller duathlons and triathlons but I've never volunteered at a marathon. I had no idea how crazy it was going to be. We spent the first few hours filling cups of Gatorade and water. Runners drink more than 100,000 gallons of water and Gatorade during the race.

After we finished filling cups there was a little down time while we waited for the wheelchair and hand cycle athletes and then and pros to come through. It is always amazing to see people running so fast. They make it look unbelievable easy.

Around 11:30 the rest of the runners started coming through. The next 3 hours were non-stop craziness! People are thirsty at mile 18! There was a PowerBar Energy Gel station just before our aid station so a lot of people wanted water. For awhile we had a hard time keeping the cups full but we never ran out. I would grab 7 cups off the table, 5 in my left hand and 2 in my right. Within 30 seconds I would hand out all 7 cups and be back for more. It was truly incredible.

{Photo from NYC Daily News}

Whenever I would look up First Avenue I could just see a wall of people that looked like it would never end.

{Photo from NYC Daily News}

I assumed that I would see all the famous people run by, especially the Chilean miner or Amani Toomer, but I didn't see a single one. I did not have time to think or look around. I just yelled water over and over again. Even though I didn't see any famous runners I did see some fun costumes.

{Photo from NYC Daily News}

Volunteering at the NYC marathon was in an amazing experience. I would Hilly recommend it!

Triathlon Link Love 11.5.10

2010-11-05T15:29:00.001-04:00

"Triathlon Link Love" is a weekly(ish) series where I repost interesting blogs from the week. If you have a link love suggestion (including race reports and giveaways) please send it along to kristagager@gmail.com.

Triathlon & Training
This I Believe (Kevin @ Ironman By Thirty)A great story to warm your heart and bring tears to your eyes. Best blog I read today.

UNcoached vs. SELF-coached (Steve @ Steve in a Speedo?! Gross!)

Steve wrote an excellent post about the differences between UNcoached and SELF-coached. It was a real eye opener for me.
New Vegetarian Running E-Course (Matt @ No Meat Athlete)
Matt started a FREE running vegetarian e-course. If you've though about reducing or cutting out meat from your diet I highly recommend it!

Race Reports
Bassman Fall Half (Regina @ Chiu On This)
Regina wrote a great report about powering through (mentally and physically) on a difficult course. She did great with a major PR.

Randomness and Giveaways
Road ID Giveaway (Mandy @ Caratunk Girl)
Mandy's giving away two Road IDs! If you didn't win on my blog just hop on over there to enter by Sunday!

A Slot to Escape from Alcatraz!

2010-11-04T22:11:00.000-04:00

When I got home from work tonight I checked my email and found this:

Congratulations on your wonderful race at the Jarden Westchester Triathlon. Because of your incredible performance, you have qualified for a slot to the Escape from Alcatraz race. The Race will be held June 5, 2011.

This slot is being offered to you first, but if you choose to not use it, the slot will roll down in your age group to the next qualifying athlete.

Please respond to this email by November 6th. Please let me know if you will accept the slot or not. A simple YES or NO is all I need to get you on your way to San Francisco (or not). The Alcatraz registration fee is $400.

Congratulations again,
The Westchester Triathlon Committee

{source}

I am still in shock! I was really proud of my race at the Westchster Triathlon this year. I placed third in my age group out of 29. I thought that I had missed a spot for Alcatraz since slots are awarded for the first two in each age group but it turns out that the slots roll down. Apparently the first or second place winner in my age group decided not to go and now I have an opportunity to take the slot.

The problem is I don't know what to do! The race fee is really high and the associated expenses for flying to San Francisco, shipping my bike and getting a long sleeve wet suit would clear out my race coffers for 2011. Plus, I haven't nailed down my race plans for 2011 but I was tentatively planning on doing my first half ironman early in May or June. If I decide to do Escape from Alcatraz I'll need to put those plans on the back burner. Due to some other commitments for next year it would probably mean I would need to wait until 2012 before attempting a half. On the other hand, this is an amazing opportunity! Entry to Escape from Alcatraz is done through race qualifications and lotteries. I might not have the chance to do this race again.

I've got a big decision to make. I reached out to the director and asked more more details about the registration window to see if I can get a little more time to decide...

Preparing for Winter: A Bike Trainer

2010-11-03T16:28:00.001-04:00

Thank you all for your feedback on my bike purchase. It's very overwhelming and I just want to make the right decision. I guess the good thing is that it's going to take me a LONG time to save enough money so I'm not in any rush.

I think this winter will be know as the "Winter of The Bike." Last winter I focused on running and I made serious gains by consistently running 4x per week and focusing on form and core strength. I went from a 10 minute mile to an 9:00 or even 8:30 minute/mile in races. Hopefully once my foot is healed up I and I can run again I won't have lost too much of that speed and fitness.

To officially kick of my winter of biking I've decided to invest in an indoor bike trainer. Our local tri store, Jack Rabbit Sports, is running a promotion for a group buy of Kurt Kinetic Road (Fluid) Trainers and the Cyclops Magnetic Trainers. We stopped by the store last night to test them out. We both decided to order the Kurt Kinetic Fluid Trainer. It is about twice the price as the magnetic trainer ($294 with the group discount) but is much quieter and it has an unconditional lifetime warranty. Since we live in an apartment we knew it would be wise to invest in the quieter model.

Now we just have to decide where to put them. We have a two bedroom apartment and we are honestly thinking of getting rid of our guest bed and setting up a little training room... (Sorry Eliza, the couch is still really comfy!)

Do you have a trainer? How do you use it? Do you do more structured rides or just long, consistent rides? Spinnervals?

If you live in the NYC area and you want to get a trainer you can participate in this group buy before Sunday. Visit this website to place your order.

Tri vs. Road Bike

2010-11-02T07:00:00.001-04:00

I've officially decided it's time to start saving for a new bike. Yippie! I opened up another savings account with ING Direct so I can keep my special bike money separate from my regular savings. I'm automatically depositing a certain amount of money each month. Hopefully by next spring I'll have enough for a new bike!

I love ING Direct**

Now, the big question. Which bike?! I currently have a 2008 entry level aluminum Trek (1.2). There are so many to brands, styles and types to choose from. So far I know that I want a carbon bike but other than that I have no idea. I'm especially torn between a road bike and a tri bike. Right now I don't feel that I have the comfort or the bike skills to ride a tri bike. However, a new carbon bike is a big investment and I wouldn't want to buy a road bike now and then want a tri bike a year later. Does anyone have any suggestions? For those of you with tri bikes, how did you make the transition? Is there anyone out there who was hesitant about switching to a tri bike?

** This post is not meant to be an ad for ING. However, I love ING Direct. I've banked with them for years and had a great experience. The accounts are simple to setup and the online banking is the most user friendly I've seen. If anyone is interested in signing up I can send you a referral. If you deposit $250 you get a $25 bonus and I get $10. Just email me at kristagager@gmail.com.

My First Ride Through Manhattan & The GW Bridge

2010-11-01T11:20:00.000-04:00

Did you know that November is National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo). I took a few impromptu weeks off from blogging but there has still been a lot going on. I'm going to try to get back in the swing of things by committing to NaBloPoMo.

Even though I still can't run, I've been taking advantage of the glorious fall weather for cycling on the weekends. For the last three weekends in a row Sam and I have headed over to the famous 9W for some cycling. 9W is the highway on the other side of the George Washington bridge in New Jersey and New York. On the weekends it is the post popular place for local cyclists because you can "easily" get there without a car. Easily is in quotes because it requires going over the GW bridge which has a very, very technical on ramp. I have a fear of biking in traffic and scary places and have managed to avoid the GW bridge for the last two years. For the first two weekends in October we drove to 9W, but after last weekend and terrible traffic that resulted in a 2 hour drive home (12 miles), Sam told me to suck it up and get on my bike. So I did!

Saturday morning was quite chilly so we waited until about 11am to head out. The temps at that time were in the mid-40s and it did warm up a bit as the day went on. First we rode through Queens and over to the Queensboro bridge. We took the bridge into Manhattan, rode up First Avenue, across 72nd Street and into Central Park. I think my closest chance of having an accident was actually in the park when a group of 10 foreign tourists were spread across both lanes and decided to just STOP their bikes with no warning (I may or may not have screamed some profanities as I narrowly swerved through them and avoided a serious pile up). We went through Central Park and exited at the North end, rode through Harlem and Northern Manhattan, and then we arrived at The Bridge.
Getting onto the GW bridge is very tricky. There is a very narrow access ramp that makes a 180 degree turn. It is the same ramp that cyclists and walkers/runners use so it is narrow and crowded. I'd heard horror stories about going up this ramp and I was very scared. I found this video of a cyclist going across the bridge. You can see the footage of him going down the ramp near the end (5:50).

To my great relief I managed to make it up the ramp and over the bridge without any trouble. We stopped at Strictly Bikes in New Jersey for a quick bathroom break and a mental rest after riding through the city and across the bridge. It is 13 miles from our house to Strictly Bikes and it took us 1:26. Then it was time to get in the real riding and head up 9W to Nyack, NY. The ride up was beautiful. The fall colors are magnificent, the air was fresh and smelled like leaves, and I was just happy to be alive and well. After riding through the city 9W felt so liberating.

It was 17.5 miles and exactly 1 hour that I arrived in Nyack, NY and met Sam at the local biker hangout, The Runcible Spoon Bakery, for a mid-ride muffin and coffee.

{source}

After our snacks we jumped back on our bikes and headed towards Strictly. The ride back was much harder as there were some serious headwinds. I was an hour into the ride and still had 4 miles to go when I saw Sam stopped up ahead. He was in the middle of fixing a flat. It turned out to be an especially difficult fix which required 2 tubes and 3 CO2 cartridges. Finally we were back on the road. We were back at the bike shop at 3:45pm. I ran inside to replenish our flat supplies while Sam inspected pumped up his front tire to the proper PSI (the CO2 cartridges are never enough). The sun is setting earlier and earlier these days and it starts getting dark around 5:30pm. We were not prepared to ride at night so we raced the sun home. We decided to take an alternate route home to shorten the trip. Instead of taking the Queensboro bridge we rode across 96th street, took the pedestrian bridge onto Randall's Island and then over the Triboro Bridge. We made it home at just about 5pm. After the ride I think I was more mentally exhausted than physically. Biking across bridges and through Manhattan traffic is hard work! This was also my longest ride yet! Even though I was scared shitlees, I was so proud of myself for doing this ride. We celebrated my accomplishments with a dinner out at our favorite Sushi restaurant and then a special treat at Coldstone Creamery.

The Official Garmin Stats: Distance: 59.26 miles
Time: 4:59:37
Average Speed: 11. 9mph (city traffic will do that to you)
Climb: +5,115 / -5,152
Calories: 5,228

Elevation Chart

The Off Season

2010-10-14T14:30:00.000-04:00

There were 23 entries for the Road ID giveaway. The winner was choosen via random number generator and the number was:

Amy from The Nifty Foodie! Congrats Amy! Send me an email to kristagager@gmail.com and I will send you your prize!

In other news, I have somewhat of a resolution about my foot. Last week my physical therapist recommended I see a sports med doctor to rule out a stress fracture. On Friday I headed uptown to visit Dr. Mark Klion at Manhattan Orthopedics & Sports Medicine. Dr. Klion is a serious athlete so I knew I would be in good hands. He has completed eight Ironman distance races, including Kona in 2000/2001. He also serves as the co-medical director for the New York City Triathlon! I had a great experience there, quick and friendly service, x-ray on site, and no waiting! Dr. Klion inspected my foot and then sent me for an x-ray. I'm happy to report that there was no stress fracture and nothing unusual in the scans. However, we talked about my training and my goals and he strongly encouraged me not to do the marathon this year. Even if my foot was 100% healed, which it's not, I still only had 6 weeks left to train for the marathon. With my longest run to date 13 miles he just didn't think it was safe. So, I took his advice and I've officially decided not to do the marathon this year. I am mega bummed, but it was the right decision.

I didn't have much time to bad sad though because I hopped a plane Friday night and headed to Minnesota to meet my new niece, Berit.

After officially embracing my off-season my workouts for the past week or so looked like this:

Wednesday: sick

Thursday: sick
Friday: airport security in NYC on a Friday afternoon
Saturday: raked and jumped in leaves with my nieces

Sunday: walked in the woods with my parents

Monday: stood and swayed with ~~8lb weight~~ baby Berit for 30 minutes

Tuesday: elliptical 30 minutes
Wednesday: swimming 90 minutes (~3800 yards)

Last night was my first real workout in more than a week. It felt nice to get my heart rate up. With that said, I really miss running (I never thought I would say that)... But, this is the best thing and maybe it means I will just have to find a spring marathon in some exotic locale. Any ideas?!

Triathlon Link Love 10.08.10

2010-10-08T14:05:00.000-04:00

"Triathlon Link Love" is a weekly(ish) series where I repost interesting blogs from the week. If you have a link love suggestion (including race reports and giveaways) please send it along to kristagager@gmail.com.

Triathlon & Training
Q&A With Mike Riley - The Voice of Ironman
I was checking out the Ironman website to get my fix for Kona and found this interview with Mike Riley. Read the interview and find out how the famous "You are an Ironman" started. It might not be what you think...

11-year-old rising star swimmer takes on three mile La Jolla Cove swim
This amazing little swimmer finished the 3 mile swim in 1:30! She's also done Escape from Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge Swim. I'm glad she's not in my age group!

Race Reports
THEE Big Race: The TC 10 Mile
Read all about Steve in a Speedo's attempt to pull of a sub-60 at the Twin Cities 10 mile.

Randomness and Giveaways
Road ID Giveaway
Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a Road ID! You have until Monday, October 11th to enter!

Let's Celebrate: The Rusted Chain Giveaway
Callie at the Wanna Be Athlete is giving away a gift certificate for The Rusted Chain. The winner can redeem for some awesome jewelery including some endurance specific items. Stop on over to enter before midnight on Sunday.

Lazer Addendum: Tardiz Aero Helmet Giveaway
Mark at Journey's of a Triathlete Father of Five is hosting a giveaway for a free aero helmet! Enter by Monday, October 11th.

Road ID Giveaway

2010-10-06T11:49:00.001-04:00

I think it's time for a little cheer around this blog. I was looking back at my recent posts and they seem to have all devolved into complaining about my stupid foot and I'm starting to annoy myself.

Everyone loves free stuff so today we are doing a Road ID giveaway. You might remember that I won a Road ID earlier this year from Steve in a Speedo's blog. I quickly bought myself a Road ID and picked one up for Sam as well. I did a review of my ID last spring, but the short story is: I loved it! I think everyone who is out there running and biking should be required to wear one.

After two close encounters this year (Sam's accident and Dad's heart attack) I don't go a single run or ride without my Road ID and I don't think you should either. So, I contacted the great people at Road ID and Outside PR to see if they would be willing to host a giveaway on my blog. Lucky for you they said yes! Even if you already have a Road ID you can use your prize to get a gift for any active family member, friend or coworker!

In order to enter just leave a comment and tell me what you are most looking forward to for the off-season, or the winter, or the holidays or your next vacation, or anything else happy. I am looking forward to October baseball and going to MN this weekend and seeing my new baby niece!

Bonus Entries: If you want a bonus entry you can follow my blog (if you already follow just tell me this, it still counts!) and/or post this giveaway on your blog.

Entries will be accepted through Monday, October 11th and I will announce the winner on Tuesday, October 12th. Please be sure to check back to see if you won!

Pseudo-legal stuff:

- You may comment now (on THIS post) until Monday, October 11th. The winner will be selected and contacted on Tuesday, October 12th

- The winner will be chosen at random by a random number generator or by drawing numbers out of a hat. If you’ve earned multiple entries, you will get multiple numbers, thus bettering your chances at winning.

- Check back next Tuesday to see if you won! (Especially if you don’t have a blog because I have no way of contacting you.)

Marathon Training Without Running

2010-10-04T15:00:00.000-04:00

{Source}

I was searching for articles or posts on people who successfully trained for a marathon after taking a significant break from running. I came upon this hilarious cartoon in the 2008 New York Times article, Coping (or Not) With Injuries in Training for Marathon.

After seeing my physical therapist after the Westchester Triathlon she gave me more exercise to work on to stabilize my hips and strengthen my glute muscles. At the end of the appointment I asked tentatively, "And what should I do about cardio... er running?" Her response? No running this week - stick to the elliptical and the bike. I've been avoiding non-running cardio with the excuse that I don't want to aggravate my injury any further. However, if I still want to do this marathon, and I really do want to do it, I need to maintain my current level of fitness and that is going to mean lots of time on the elliptical, in the pool and on the bike.

I took off Thursday (it was raining and Sam was sick) and Friday (because it was Friday). Then on Saturday I went to Central Park and cheered for Sam and my sister-in-law as they ran in Grete's Great Gallop. It was my sister-in-law's first half marathon and she did great!

After we got home they took naps and I headed for the gym. Getting the motivation to go to the gym alone at 2 in the afternoon is HARD. I motivated myself by renting a move on my iPhone - Killers :) It helped the 60 minutes on the arc trainer and 40 minutes on the stationary bike go by faster. I wore my heart rate monitor and I was able to keep my heart rate in zone 3 while on the arc trainer.

On Sunday we worked the Central Park Biathlon. I had a chance to meet Amy (Tri Tri Again). We didn't get a chance to talk long though since it was such a busy morning. She did great though and more than exceeded her goal time! I had hoped to go back to the gym on Sunday but it never happened. Getting up to volunteer at 4:15am really messes with your mojo. Plus I had been on my feet for six hours straight and my feet were throbbing. So, I ate some malt-o-meal and took a nap instead :)

In addition to my daily icing, stretching, rolling and hip exercises my goal this week is to get at least one hour of cardio a day:
Monday: weights/abs (AM) + 1 hour swim or arc trainer (PM)
Tuesday: weights/abs + 1 hour stationary bike, arc trainer and/or row machine (AM)
Wednesday: 1 hour stationary bike or arc trainer (AM) & 1.5 hour swim (PM)
Thursday: weights/abs + 1 hour stationary bike, arc trainer and/or row machine (AM)

On Thursday I go back to the physical therapist - hopefully I can start running again soon!

Race Report: Jarden Westchester Triathlon 2010

2010-10-03T20:53:00.001-04:00

The Westchester Triathlon was my last triathlon for 2010. It is the biggest race I have done yet with about 915 competitors. The day before the race we headed up to the race site in Rye, NY to pick up our packets, rack our bikes and check out the water. It was a beautiful day!

I was a bit nervous about the swim so I was happy to have the chance to test the water before race day. The swim involved two things that are new to me. First, it was a land start. All of my races so far have been in water starts - either waste deep or treading water. The other issue was that the swim was in the Long Island Sound so it was salt water. If you've been a long time reader you might remember my ocean swim in La Jolla, CA last year. In short, I am a mid-western, fresh water, lake loving girl at heart. The salt water was not too bad, but I still prefer fresh water.

The swag for this race was fantastic (which was a good thing since it cost $185!!). We received:

- A technical-fabric hooded sweatshirt

- Water bottle
- Gloves
- Coleman Flashlight

- Zoom race belt
- Zico coconut water
- Samples of chamois cream, raw bar and prunes

On race morning we woke up at o'dark-thirty, ate a pre-race breakfast of English muffin with PB&J and jumped in the car. After a quick stop at Dukin Donuts we were on the road. We arrived at the race site with plenty of time set up and get situated. In no time at all the transition area was closing and we headed down to the beach.

Swim: .9 miles
23:52 / 4 of 29 Age Group (F25-29)

It was a waived start with a total of 10 waves, 3 minutes apart. I was in wave 8. I positioned myself in the second row of my swim wave group and just ran and dove when they blew the horn. I definitely prefer an in-water start, but the land start was not as bad as I imagined. There was a lot of contact to start and I did get a good kick in the face. But, we quickly spread out and for a few lovely minutes I had clear water and a straight line. But, after a few hundred yards I started running into the men in the waves in front of me. I tried to just swim around them and avoid any unnecessary contact. On the way back to shore in the last 500 yards the swim was very crowded for me. I was running into a lot of guys who were breast stroking, back stroking and doggy paddling. It was really frustrating for a few minutes, but finally I was out of the water. I ran up on the beach and towards T1. I was happy to have the salt water behind me.

2:57 / 9 of 29 age group

T1 was pretty uneventful. I threw on my socks, shoes and helmet and ran out of transition. I had a good spot close to the swim in and the run out. This was nice because transition was big and it would have been a long run across the parking lot with bare feet. The downside was it meant I had to ~~walk~~ hobble pretty far with my bike to reach the bike out.

Bike: 24.6 miles

1:22:06 / 17.6 mph average / 2 of 29 age group

I can't believe that I had the second fastest bike split in my age group! I did push very hard on the bike and I felt that I handled the course well. I passed a ton of people but I did not think I was really going that fast since about 700 people started before me...

My goal for 2011 is to get a bike picture where I don't look like a complete idiot...

Sam and I had gone to Rye the weekend before the race and road the course. I think this was a big help because I knew exactly what to expect. The course is mostly uphill in the start and downhill on the way back so I pushed really hard in the beginning since I knew me legs would be able to recover a bit on the second half.

Claire's Climb is a .4 mile climb in the middle of the race and the last major uphill in the course. It is named after Claire Collier who lost her battle with ALS in 2009. The climb is timed separately with an award for the fastest climb. There were a lot of people cheering on the climb and and even a lone bag-piper.
Overall it was a well marked and well patrolled bike course. My biggest complaint is that the course is very crowded. There were a lot of people who did not understand basic etiquette of cycling like staying to the right, no drafting, and calling out "on your left." It was quite irritating at times.

I saw a lot of random things on this bike ride including road kill, tons of water bottles, a cop getting screamed at by an angry motorist (upset about the delays caused by the race), and an arm pad from aero bars. But, the most interesting thing I saw was the top of an aero helmet at the bottom of Claire's Climb. I'm not sure how that happened...

T2
2:16 / 13 of 29 age group

Run: 6.35 miles

55:14 / 8:42 min/mile / 9 of 29 age group

The community support on the run was really great. There were tons of people out in front of their homes cheering on the racers. Some were having big parties and other houses it was just an elderly couple or a young mom and child. Many people had radios turn up on their porch or the car stereo blasting upbeat music. During mile 2 there was even a band playing in their driveway.

I was not sure how my foot was going to hold up for the run. My plan was to run as strong an as fast as I could in case the pain forced me to walk. I figured less time on my foot was better than taking it easy.

The first two miles were virtually pain free. I was thrilled! I started thinking that maybe I just needed to be really warmed up before running and then I wouldn't have any foot pain. Unfortunately, after two miles the pain started creeping in and miles 3 and 4 were uncomfortable but not terrible. After four miles the pain was getting a lot worse, but I did not want to slow down and I really didn't want to walk. Around five miles I passed a guy and he commented, "You make it look so easy" and I replied "You have no idea how much pain I'm in right now." My mantra for the rest of the run was the "The faster you run, the sooner it will be over."

The last tenth of a mile was across a field and down to the finishers shoot. The uneven ground was especially painful and I was grimacing across the finish line.

8:25

8:45
8:40
8:40
8:59
8:54
2:51 (last .35 / 8:04 pace)

Overall
2:46:22 / 3 of 29 Age Group / 384 or 915 Overall

I was very proud of my finish time. I do not time my swim so when I cam across the line my clock time was 3:07. I wasn't sure exactly how far back I had had started so I couldn't calculate my final time but I estimated around 2:50. 2:46 is a major personal record for me - almost a 20 minute improvement over this distance from last year!

After the finish we grabbed some cold pizza from the food tent and some Muscle Milk. We found a few of our AG team members cheered for others while they crossed. After a bit I decided to head over to the massage area to take advantage of the post-race massages. It was about a 10 minute wait and then I got a 8ish minute massage. It was great :) I told him my calf was especially sore/tight and I think he was cautious and didn't want to work it too much when what I really wanted was him to focus on my leg. Oh well. It was still a fantastic perk.

After the massage we headed out. We did not stay for awards because I had no idea that I had actually placed in my age group. I found a picture from the awards ceremony and I photo-shopped myself in :) The Westchester Triathlon is a qualifier for Escape from Alcatraz. The first two in each age group earn a spot. I'm bummed that I missed a spot, but in all honesty I did so much better than I expected that I can't be too upset. Plus, I was six minutes behind #2 and I know that even on my best day I could not have cut 6 minutes off that race.

On the way home I iced my foot with a frozen water bottle I had brought with.

I couldn't be more happy with my 2010 triathlon season. In the last year I've had major improvements in my bike and my run. I know the bike improvements came from consistently attending the Tuesday and Thursday morning bike rides with Asphalt Green in Central Park. I'm looking forward to the off season but I'm already dreaming about 2011.

Triathlon Link Love 10.01.10

2010-10-01T15:07:00.002-04:00

It's been awhile since I've done a Link Love post. Enjoy!

"Triathlon Link Love" is a weekly series where I repost interesting blogs from the week. If you have a link love suggestion (including race reports and giveaways) please send it along to kristagager@gmail.com.

Triathlon & Training
3 Ways to Get Strong Again (No Meat Athlete)
Is strength training one of your goals for the off season? Read this great post about options for incorporating strength training into your routine without joining a gym.

Finding a Good Coach (Steve in a Speedo?! Gross)
Steve outlines the tips for how to find a good coach to help you meet your goals.

Zen and the Art of Running (Go Sonja)
Read Sonja's recent experience of her journey into Zen running.

Race Reports
Inspiring Race Report
Wanna Be Athlete posted this very inspiring race report about Katie Mathews' first triathlon. Katie was paralyzed in 2006 after her friend crashed the car they were driving in while talking on her cell phone. Katie has committed her time to raising awareness about the dangers of distracted driving.

General Health and Nutrition
Humpastry Day - Baked Oatmeal
Aimee @ "I Tri To Be Me" posted this recipe for baked oatmeal. I have made them yet but they sound like the perfect breakfast for cool fall mornings.

Randomness and Giveaways
Big Daddy Diesel Nutritional Sampler Giveaway
Big Daddy Diesel is doing a giveaway for an assortment of nutritional products. Stop by his blog and leave a comment to enter.

Island Nectars Roctane
Gu is giving away a six pack of their new Island Nectars Roctane with any purchase. Limited Time Offer.

Coasters for a Cause
Wanna Be Athlete posted about a great opportunity to help support an orphanage in Bolivia. You make an $18 donation and receive 4 custom coasters with maps from any locations you choose, anywhere in the world. I jumped on this offer and ordered up coasters from Dover, NH (where Sam and I met), Washington, DC, NYC and Napa, CA (where we got hitched).

Closing out 2010 with a PR!

2010-09-27T22:20:00.000-04:00

{The Rye Record}

The Westchester Triathlon was a success! It was a beautiful course and a perfect day! I couldn't have asked more a better way to finish off my 2010 triathlon season. The picture above was posted in The Rye Record today. I remember standing next to Sam on the beach at this exact moment. I watched the sun rise over the Long Island Sound and felt overwhelmed by gratitude to be standing there and having this amazing opportunity. I'm so glad someone captured this moment.

I promise a more comprehensive race report soon, but the dirty details include:

- Finish time was 2:46:22 for a major PR.
- Killed the run (and possibly my foot) with an 8:41/average
- Third place in my age group

Not quite sure what to think about the foot. It is very sore today, although the rest of me is pretty sore too. I have moderate pain if I walk flat footed for more than a block or two but when I lift my heel and bend my foot more in the middle or stand on just my left foot there is a more acute pain. I'm stretching, rolling, icing and taking ibuprofen. I'm still holding out hope for the Philadelphia Marathon on November 21st but I want to be safe and reasonable too. I'll see the physical therapist on Thursday and hopefully I'll know more then.

Foot Update (& a NYC 2010 Marathon Entry)

2010-09-23T15:43:00.000-04:00

{source}

I found a wonderful physical therapist to treat my foot pain based on a recommendation of a coach at Asphalt Green. I've gone to see Danielle at Finish Line Physical Therapy. The diagnosis? Tight calves. Sound familiar? It might because this was the same issue that was causing pain for Jon. My pain started in a different spot so I figured it was different but it turns out that tight calves can cause all sorts of pain in the feet. I found this website that really explains how tight calves can cause foot pain.

After serious massage and stretching on Monday my feet were feeling better and Danielle suggested I try running a few miles. Well, two days later I ran 2.5 miles. The first 2 were excellent but then the pain returned, although in a new spot. Now it was the left side of my foot that was hurting, a lot. I stopped and walked a bit and then jogged the rest of the way home. Today I went back to see Danielle and she did a lot more deep massage, put on some physio tape on my left calf and side of my left foot, and wrapped my footin ice. She told me that the pain on the side of the foot is likely from a messed up gait due to the tight calves. Apparently it is causing me to almost run on the side of the foot. No wonder it hurts?!

I'm going to go for a short test run tomorrow, 1-2 miles, and then then my last triathlon of the season, the Jarden Westchester Triathlon on Sunday. I'm still holding out hope for the Philadelphia Marathon and Danille thinks it is still a serious possiblity but I know I'm just going to have to take this one day at a time.

Interested in the NYC Marathon?
A representative from the Fresh Air Fund contacted me and requested I spread the word about this opportunity.

The Fresh Air Fund is still looking for runners and sponsors to join their Fresh Air Fund-Racers team for the NYC Marathon on on November 7th. They have until September 30th to register racers, so they need to fill the spots quickly. If are going through some off-season withdrawals and looking for another challange this is a chance to participate in NYC's premier race while helping Fresh Air Fund children.

Since 1877, The Fresh Air Fund, a not-for-profit agency, has provided free summer experiences in the country to more than 1.7 million New York City children from disadvantaged communities. Each year, thousands of children visit volunteer host families in 13 states and Canada through the Friendly Town Program or attend Fresh Air Fund camps. Visit the Fresh Air Fund website for more information on participating in the NYC marathon.

A Mish Mash

2010-09-16T14:29:00.000-04:00

Well a weekend away turned into more like two weeks away, at least from the blogosphere. I won't lie. I've been in a funk. A lot of bloggers seem to be right now. I guess it is that time of year. I decided to lay low for awhile hoping to avoid adding complaining about how tired and burnt out I am.

We spent 4 days in Minnesota for my best friends wedding and we had an excellent time. On Friday night we took in a Twins game at the new Target Field. This is my first ever Twins game in Minnesota (I've seen them many times here in NYC) and it was a blast. I think my favorite part is that the official beverage of the Minnesota Twins is Land-O-Lakes milk. Not Budweiser or Miller Lite. Milk :)

Minnesota Twins Game
09.03.10

Giant BBQ Turkey Leg, or according to Sam, "The best thing I've ever eaten at a baseball game"

On Saturday morning we drove up to Breezy Point resort and the wedding festivities began. I completed all my bridesmaid duties which included getting a manicure and pedicure (my first in years*), seeing an Elvis show, having my hair styled, wearing a pretty dress, feeding the bride, smiling for pictures (in the woods, with mosquitoes), and drinking delicious drinks. It was fantastic and I could not be more happy for her. I am also insanely jealous as she has spent the last 10 days honeymooning in Hawaii.

In other news:

- I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my new niece or nephew. The due date is today but no signs of labor yet!

- Sam and I did a 1K Swim/10K Run race as a relay last weekend and we finished in 2nd place. The downside is that the race may or may not have been sponsored by a cult and now I feel bad I gave them money and I can't appreciate the trophy we won or wear the shirt.

- I went to swim practice at Asphalt Green last night. It is my first swim in nearly four weeks (except the cult-race) because the pool was closed for awhile and I was lazy. The tri club practice was pretty small so I joined them instead of masters. It was fun to do a swim workout geared towards triathletes and not just swimmers. We did an awesome drill call the "Six/Three Kick." You start kicking on your left side, kick 6 times, then three strokes and end on your right side and kick 6 times. Repeat. When kicking your body should not be facing the wall or the ceiling, but right in the middle. After doing this for 150 meters we swam a regular 50 meters and my rotation felt great!

- My foot pain was still very moderate until yesterday. I did a 5 mile run on the treadmill on Wednesday morning. It was supposed to be 6 but my foot was sore at mile 5 so I stopped short. It was okay walking home and then to the train but on my 4 block walk the train to my office it hurt so bad I was limping a little and wanted to cry. So, I'm scheduled to see a physical therapist on Monday. I have a sinking feeling that my season may be over... I have the Westchester Tri next weekend (10 days), plus a half marathon in October and the full marathon in November. Right now I'm icing a lot and keeping my fingers crossed.

- Interestingly as much as I'm ready to be done with training for a little while I am so much more upset about the idea of not being able to finish the season. I hope some ice and rest will be the (fast) fix.

* I used to get pedicures every 4 weeks or so during the summer. Since starting triathlon I gave them up to spend more money on race entries and gear...

A Weekend Away

2010-09-02T21:47:00.001-04:00

The winner of the Happy Hippo giveaway is...

Comment #3 - Regina! Regina, send me an email to kristagager@gmail.com and I will get you some hippos :)

It has been a crazy week but I am looking forward to the weekend - hopefully Earl cooperates with us! Tomorrow morning I am going to do a long, 12 mile run and then we are off to the airport. We are flying to Minnesota because my best friend is getting married this weekend! The remainder of the weekend will be full of celebration, food and drink and lacking any swimming/biking/running! I'm looking forward to the break.

We've been friends since the kindergarten and we've become even closer in the last few years. She was my maid of honor at my wedding and I'm honored to stand behind her as she marries a wonderful man on Sunday.

Have a great weekend!

Fun Friday Giveaway - Happy Hippos!

2010-08-27T08:44:00.000-04:00

It is Friday and I think it's time for a fun giveaway. The end of the season is coming and I'm sensing a lot of fatigue and burnout in the blogosphere. So, I think it is time for a Fun Friday Giveaway. I can't stop thinking about those delicious Happy Hippos and I want to give a box to everyone I know. So, I think the best place to start is with my blog friends!

I am giving away one box of Happy Hippos to one lucky winner. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post telling me something that makes you happy.

This giveaway ends Monday, August 28th at 11:59PM Eastern Time.

Have a great weekend!

My Aching Foot

2010-08-25T15:00:00.000-04:00

Even after an excellent race on Saturday, my training did not slow down. On Sunday I did 2500 meters in the pool and then headed to Central Park for a long run - 12 miles.

After a long run on Sunday I decided it was time to upgrade my running shoes. I stopped at my favorite store, Jack Rabbit, and purchased a pair of New Balance 1226's. This is the newest model of my current shoe (my last two pairs were NB 1224). I also took this opportunity to switch out my laces for a pair of Yankz (speed laces).

On Monday afternoon I headed down to the track in my new shoes for a speed workout. Three, one mile repeats at a 8:15 min/mile with 90 second rests. When I was walking home I noticed that the front portion of the bottom of my foot was hurting. I figured this was just a result of running 3 days in a row for a total of 18 miles (usually this volume is spread over a week instead of 3 days), plus walking another miles on top of that.

My pain is the yellow spots

The pain was relatively minor, enough to notice but nothing too bothersome. On Tuesday I just rode my bike but my feet were still hurting a bit. I skipped high heals and stuck with regular sneakers for the day but the pain was still there.

I had a 7 mile run on the schedule for today (2 easy, 3 tempo, 2 easy). I decided I would try running on the treadmill instead of outside for a softer surface. However, I was only five minutes into the run and my feet were still hurting so I reluctantly hit the stop button and got off the treadmill. I would rate it as a 3 out of 10 (1 is nothing, 10 is hospitalized). It is a low enough pain that I could live with it forever, but my fear is that it will get worse.

I've never had this pain before so I've been doing some ~~Googling~~ research to try to figure out the problem. It turns out this area is called the "ball of the foot" and pain there is often referred to as "Metatarsalgia" and it can be related to a Morton’s neuroma, a stress fracture or inflammation of the metatarsal toe joints. This article from Running Times was a good resource as the Foot.com website.

The possible causes for this pain are any or all of the following:
- Running too much in a short period of time
- Running too fast in a short period of time (race Saturday, track Monday)
- New shoes
- New speed laces (Yankz)

A lot of the research talks about shoes that are too tight, so I'm leaning towards the speed laces being the culprit. Have any of you experienced pain here before? Do you know what caused it or what you did to make it go away?

P.S. A couple great giveaways this week!

Caratunk Girl is doing a major Gu giveaway. There are ~~a million~~ 10 ways to enter to stop on over to her blog and check it out! You have until Friday, August 27th to enter.
Tricia at Endurance Isn't Only Physical is doing a Sugoi Giveaway for a bra (for the ladies) or a shirt (for the men). Stop by her blog to find out how you can enter. This giveaway ends Friday, August 27th.

Happy Hippos!

2010-08-24T21:46:00.000-04:00

We recently visited our local Greek grocery store for some olives (we live in Greek-town USA) and while we were there we picked up a little treat for dessert. Happy Hippos!

Happy Hippos are truly the most amazing thing ever! They are a wafer shell filled with a milk and hazelnut cream that are shaped like little hippos! OMG. And, they are only 117 calories each!! Apparently they come in a chocolate flavor too. Yum!

I want to share the Happy Hippo love with everyone! Maybe I'll give everyone on my Christmas list a box of Happy Hippos this year...

Race Report: Crystal Lake Sprint Traithlon 2010

2010-08-23T22:05:00.000-04:00

The Crystal Lake Triathlon is a sprint distance triathlon near Albany, New York. It is put on by the Capital District Triathlon Club.

Let me tell you, this club knows how to put on a race. I am still thinking about how great this race was! If you live in the area I can't recommend it enough. Why? Well, the better question would probably be why not? Since the race is put on by a tri club they know exactly how to run an event. The volunteers were excellent - they were mostly club members and they did a great job from start to finish. The course could not have been better! The swim was a single loop in Crystal Cove and was very well marked. The bike course was an out and back, 18 mile ride, with rolling hills. The roads were in great condition and one volunteer mentioned that people were out sweeping the bike course before the race! The run was a well marked and filled with volunteers and spectators.

But, the one thing that really makes this race stand out? A women's specific race shirt. This is my ninth triathlon (+ countless running races) and the first women's specific shirt I've ever received. Finally a shirt I can wear out of the house with pride. I love it!

My feelings for this race might be slightly influenced by the fact that I had an excellent race day. I felt like all my training came together: first out of the water, a strong bike and and 8:43/mile pace on the run got me 2nd in my age group!

Swim Start at Crystal Cove

Race Morning

We drove up to Albany on Friday night after work and stayed at a Holiday Inn Express about 10 miles from the race. Our room was more than adequate and we were sound asleep by 9:30. We were up and at'em by 5:30. After a quick stop at Dunkin Donuts for some coffee and a bagel we arrived at the race site at about 6:30. We missed the packet pickup the night before so we headed parked the car and went to check-in. There was no wait and we quickly picked up our packets, chips and t-shirts. Registration set the precedent for the day - women's specific t-shirts!!

We headed down to transition and set up our gear. The morning was quite chilly, only about 50 degrees, so everyone was bundled up and trying to stay warm. At 7:40 I finally stripped off my layers, pulled on my wetsuit and headed into the water for warm up.
The Swim - 800 Meters (1/2 Mile)
13:54
1 of 12 Age Group (F25-29) / 3 of 111 Females / 14 of 236 Overall

The swim was great. I was in the second wave with women under 40. It was a counter-clockwise, square swim. I positioned myself in the front, and slightly to the right. It was an in-water start and I immediately ducked down and started swimming. I breath to my left and I could see the other lead swimmers to my left. I watched them as I breathed and sighted and I could tell I was pulling away. About a 1/4 way into the swim I started running into the men in the wave in front of ours. I swam around them and continued to sight on the giant buoys and the buildings on the opposite shore. I rounded the corner of the first buoy, dodged a few more men, and rounded the second buoy. I was keeping tight corners and pretty sure I was leading the swim. I set my line on the large buoys at the exit and just kept swimming, focusing on a long stroke, steady kick and a strong pull. I swam as far up to the shore as I could then jumped up and ran for the exit. There was a little concrete step out of the water and there was a volunteer there to pull me up. He confirmed my suspicion - I was first female out of the water.

Transition 1
1:40
4 of 12 Age Group / 31 of 111 Females

I pulled off my suit and kept an eye on the swim exit to check for new woman. I was just clipping my helmet when I saw the next woman come out of the water. I ran my bike out of transition and jumped on.

The Bike - 18 Miles
1:04:34 / 16.7 mph average
2 of 12 Age Group / 15 of 111 Females / 92 of 236 Overall

This is the second time this year that I have been the first out of the water for my wave. The best way to describe this feeling is like you are being hunted. I knew the next woman was not far behind so I was pushing hard on the bike, although I was also trying to be smart and not blow up. The first woman passed me about 2 miles in, but then I did not get passed again until mile five. As usual a lot of men passed me and I passed a few men myself this time.

This was an out and back course so it was nice to be able to see the racers going in the other direction. I saw Sam heading back when I was about a mile from the turn around point. The turn around is at the end of a decent so I had to slow down quite a bit to make the 180 turn. I turned a bit wide and I had a moment where I was off-roading into the broken edge of pavement. For a moment I thought I was going to crash after I regained control I thought I would flat, but luckily nothing happened and I was able to finish the ride without any issues.

On the way back I played leap frog with another guy and a girl. One girl passed me on a climb and I was able to pass her back on the following decent. This was a big triumph for me since sometimes I get a bit freaked out on descents. My fastest speed was 32.9 mph and my average cadence was 84.2. Heading into transition I was passed back by one of the women. She was 23 and I was not sure if age groups were 5 or 10 so I decided my goal was to try to catch her on the run. She was wearing a bright pink top so I figured she would be easy to spot.

I am really proud of my ride. I pushed myself hard and my times are comparable to the other women.

Transition 2
1:29

9 of 12 Age Group / 42 of 111 Females

I got my bike on the rack, switched shoes, grabbed my hat/beans/Garmin and headed out of transition. The T2 course was long because you had to run to the opposite side and then run along the outside of the transition area back to the front of transition.

The Run - 3 Miles
Race Data: 3 miles, 25:28, 8:30/mile average
Garmin Data: 2.92 miles, 25:29, 8:43/mile average
Garmin Run Splits: 8:58 / 8:36 / 7:53 (.92)

3 of 12 Age Group / 28 of 111 Females / 98 of 236 Overall

As I took off on the run and started looking for the girl in pink. I didn't see any girls in pink but I did pass a few men. About a 1/2 mile in the first woman passed me on the run. As she pulled ahead I saw the big 28 on her leg. I decided I would not let her drop me. I picked up the pace and hung on. She knew I was right behind her (she looked back a few times) and I followed about 20 yards back for the rest of the run. It was a great motivation and resulted in a fantastic run for me. In the end I couldn't catch her and she beat me across the line by about 15 seconds.

Final
1:47:02
2 of 12 Age Group (F25-29)
10 of 111 Females
62 of 236 Overall

The post race food was delicous. They had oranges, Luna Bars, Chobani Greek Yogurt, and Mu Mu Muesli. I LOVE greek yogurt so this made me very, very happy!

As we waited for the awards ceremony to start we took a few pictures... some silly...

The race officials waited until the last people had finished the race and then they got started with the awards. The top 3 overall winners won baked goodies from a local bakery and the top 3 of each age group won a coffee mug.

Me & My "2nd Place Mug"

Sam also had a great race and took 3rd in his age group!

Again, I cannot tell you how great this race was. They really covered everything from the big stuff to the smallest details. If you are looking for a small sprint race for next year I cannot recommend it enough. It was worth the 3 hour drive and the hotel stay!

Race Report: Point to La Pointe 2 Mile Swim 2010

2010-08-17T13:00:00.000-04:00

Well, you all know what happened after the race. Thank you everyone for your kind words. It was very scary and I will always think of races in a new way.

Race Review / A-
Now, I have to tell you all about the actual race, the Point to La Pointe 2 Mile Swim! This is a 2.1 mile, point-to-point, swim that starts in Bayfield, WI and ends on the shores of Madeline Island. This is the 5th year of the event and it continues to grow every year. The inaugural swim in 2006 included 24 participants. This year the race was capped at 300 and a total of 287 swimmers participated. It is a great event that has been done as a fundraiser for the local rec center and pool. Last year they made $15K and I'm sure they made even more this year! Participants come from as far away as New York, Florida and California. The race fee, $79, includes a hooded sweatshirt, a coupon for breakfast on Madeline Island and a ferry ticket for the ride back to Bayfield.

Sam and I flew into Duluth, Minnesota on Friday afternoon. My parents had left a car for us at the airport so we were able to get on the road quickly. Friday night turned into a family affair as both of my brothers and their families came to Bayfield for the evening! Sam, me and my dad went and picked up our race bags and then met everyone for dinner at the pasta benefit. After we filled up on spaghetti we headed down to the lake to check out the swim start.

It was a beautiful evening.

The water in Lake Superior is so clear! I much prefer swimming here than in the Hudson River :)

We headed back to our condo and enjoyed some birthday cake (my dad turned 61 the day before). Then it was time for bed - we were all tucked in by 10pm.

I got a good night of sleep and we woke up at about 5:30am. Our condo was just 2 blocks from the race start so we were able to easy into the morning and then walk right to the start :)

We arrived at about 6:45 and the beach was already very busy with racers and spectators.

My dad and I before the start of the race.

Sam, me and Dad before the race.

They had a telescope set up on shore with a sign "See the Finish Line"

Then it was time to race. We dropped our stuff off in garbage bags to be transported to the finish line on Madeline Island. My mom, brother, sister-in-law and nieces said goodbye and boarded the ferry to meet us on the other side.

The swim was spilt into 3 waves. Men, women and community swimmers (they have their own escorts and can swim with flippers). I said goodbye to Sam and my dad and then jumped into the lake to get in a short warm up before the start.

As we were waiting for the men to go I started chatting with a few other woman. It turns out that one of them is actually married to the the guy who runs GU Energy! She told us that when her father-in-law was starting GU he bought chocolate from all over the world to try to formulate the best chocolate flavor. After he decided on the recipe, he showed up at her house with grocery bags full of high end baking chocolate! She has since used it up but now she is hooked on the top of the line chocolates! Also, her children are addicted to GU and whenever they get home from school or finish dinner they are always asking for GU snacks :)

Men's Start at Bayfield

Women waiting to start

The Start

I positioned myself on the far left of the start. We had to swing a bit wide to get around a buoy that leaves room for the ferry and I knew it was going to get crowded there. Even when I positioned myself wide I still had quite a bit of contact in the first 1/4 mile of the swim. It wasn't "angry" contact, just a lot of bodies trying to move forward. I was hoping the whole race wouldn't be so crowded.

Mile 1
After we rounded the first buoy we started to spread out further. Then, there were just a few swimmers around, and then I was alone. There were only five buoys for the entire 2 miles so it was recommended that we just sight on the opposite shore (this is the only reason I gave the race an A-. I think they need more than five buoys for a 2 mile swim). There was a natural "hump" in the skyline and we were ending just to the right of the hump. I felt good and strong. The water was cool, but not cold, and I just focused on trying to swim smooth and straight. I think I started passing some of the men's group after about 2/3 of a mile.

I stopped a few times to breast stroke and get my barrings. I looked to my right and saw that the buoys were VERY far to my right. Based on the the land and the "hump" I didn't think I was that far off course but I figured I better angle in that direction. This is where the green line below angles back towards the red.

Red Line: Straight Shot; Green Line: My Course; Yellow Dots: Buoys

Mile 2

At some point I could finally make out the house and the three giant yellow balloons on the dock. I was glad to know that I was getting closer. Unfortunately, the waves were also starting to pick up and the water was becoming more choppy. The conditions of Lake Superior can change in a moments notice. I tried to focus on keeping the course and steady breathing.

Finally the house came into clear view and I could clearly see the house and the balloons every time I sighted. I started to pick up the pace, thinking I was almost here, but every 20 strokes I would look up and realize I wasn't getting any closer...

In the pre-race meeting they mentioned a current and it was at this point that I could feel the current was pulling at me a bit. I tried to correct for the current and stay the path but I actually ended up on the other side of my original line and had to veer back a bit.

After I overshot the exit a bit I corrected again and made a bee line for the finish. I could hear the person announcing the finishers and I knew I was finally close.

I ran out of the water and across the timing mat. Total time was 1:08:17. I looked up and saw my mom, sister-in-law and nieces cheering for me. It was lots of fun to finish and have your family there to support you!

Official Time: 1:08:17
Pace: 32:59 min/mile
Age Group Place (F20-29): 5 of 14
Female Place: 32 of 119

Overall Place: 91 of 287

Coming in for the finish.

You might recall my goal was to go sub 1 hour. However, now that I've done the race I think that was probably a bit unrealistic. I did not take the current or the possible chop into consideration. Sighting was also a problem that I did not anticipate. I figured a point to point swim would be easier than doing circles, however the lack of buoys and the way the swimmers spread out made it more challenging.
Shortly after I finished Sam came in with a time of 1:23:25 and my dad was right behind at 1:26:19. My dad did great and took nearly 10 minutes off his time from last year!

POM Wonderful Giveaway Winner

2010-08-14T18:10:00.000-04:00

Sorry this is up a bit late. I have been busy enjoying this gorgeous day. The weather is finally cooperating and the mid 70's temps with low humidity are such a relief! I had a great 11 mile run this morning. It is so different to run when you can actually breath :)

There were 23 entries for the POM wonderful giveaway. I listed them in order in excel and then used Random.org to pick the winner. The lucky winner of the POM Wonderful 100% Pure Pomegranate Juice is #12.... Holly! Congrats Holly! Shoot me an email at kristagager (at) gmail (dot) com and I will get it shipped out to you!

Giveaway Reminder & A Solid Training Week

2010-08-13T09:40:00.000-04:00

Today is the last day to enter to with a free case of POM Wonderful 100% Pure Pomegranate Juice. Just leave a comment on this post with the flavor you would want to try. Pure Pomegranate? Kiwi? Mango? Nectarine? Blueberry? Cherry?

Thank you all for your well wishes for my dad. It was a very scary day and I'm just thankful that he should have full recovery!

I'm very pleased to have a solid week of training under my belt. It looked something like this:

Monday: Speed workout: 8 x 400 meter repeats at a 8 min/mile pace with 90 second recovery.
Tuesday: 23 mile steady state bike ride.
Wednesday: 6 mile run (1 easy, 4 tempo @ 9:15-9:30 min/mile, 1 easy) and a 3500 meter Masters Swim Workout.
Thursday: Bike workout with hill repeats on Harlem Hill. Left leg only, right leg only, race pace, power up on hardest gear, attack. Repeat. 11x up Harlem Hill and my legs were dead.
Friday: Recovery!

Yesterday my legs were quite sore from the tempo run on Wednesday and the hill repeats on Thursday. We indulged in Chinese takeout and a little time catching up on the DVR. Then at 9:30 I pulled on my new compression tights* and crawled into bed. 10 hours later I woke up, still a bit tired, but feeling so. much. better.

The agenda for the weekend includes a 10-11 mile run on Saturday, working at the Harriman Sprint Triathlon on Sunday morning and then a long ride at Harriman State Park.

*Thanks for all your suggestions about compression tights. I seem to be the last one on the compression bandwagon. Thanks to Caratunk Girl for suggesting the 2XU tights. I was borderline between sizes so I went with the smaller size and they are perfect!

Giveaway: POM Wonderful 100% Pure Pomegranate Juice

2010-08-10T08:57:00.002-04:00

After I had a chance to taste the delicious POM Wonderful juice, I asked the great people at POM if they would be willing to let my readers taste it too. Lucky for you, they agreed! POM is giving away a sample case of POM Wonderful 100% Pure Pomegranate Juice to one lucky reader.

POM juices:

- contain no added sugars, preservatives or colors
- are a good source of potassium
- are gluten-free
- are flash pasteurized to retain both flavor and nutrients
- are certified kosher

You have the opportunity to earn two entries for this giveaway:
1. Visit the POM Wonderful website and leave a comment below with the flavor of POM Juice you would want to try most.
2. Post about this giveaway on your blog and let me know you did that in the comments.

Pseudo-legal stuff:

- Contest only open to US residents.
- You may comment now (on THIS post) until Friday, August 13th. The winner will be selected and contacted on Saturday, August 14th.
- The winner will be chosen at random by a random number generator or by drawing numbers out of a hat. If you’ve earned multiple entries, you will get multiple numbers, thus bettering your chances at winning.
- Check back next weekend to see if you won! (Especially if you don’t have a blog because I have no way of contacting you.)

Thank Your Emergency Responders

2010-08-09T12:41:00.000-04:00

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Well, I'm home now from the swim and I'm more thankful now than I have been in a long, long time.

As you might remember, me, my husband and my dad had all signed up to do the 2 Mile Point to La Pointe Swim in Bayfield, WI on Saturday. My dad did this race last year and we decided to join him this year. It was a great event and my dad had a good swim, cutting about 10 minutes off his time from last year!

However, shortly after finishing the swim my father was having chest pains and was taken off of Madeline Island by ambulance and driven 80 miles to the closest major medical facility. The EMT's determined he was having a heart attack and with their excellent care and the quick work of the doctor placing two stents in his heart he is doing very well.

We are all very lucky that the first responders were so efficient. Right now it looks like his heart has minimal damage and after some R&R he should be able to return to regular activities. In fact, when the doctor came in to check on him Sunday morning he recommend that he swim even harder. It sounds like he will be released from the hospital today. Although first he plans to have a long chat with the cardiac dietitian after his breakfast in the cardiac intensive care unit arrived with white toast and jam made with high fructose corn syrup (a known factor to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease).

He will be taking it easy and recovering at home this week (right Dad?). I know he reads my blog so I'm sure he would appreciate all your well wishes ;)

To read more about about heart attacks such as the signs and symptoms, how to respond in the event of an emergency and what you and your loved ones can do to reduce your risk, visit the American Heart Association website.

Pointe to LaPointe 2 Mile swim

2010-08-06T09:00:00.005-04:00

We are on our way to Wisconsin right now for a lovely weekend to combine two of my favorite things: my family and a race! We are going to Bayfield, WI for the Fifth Annual Pointe to La Pointe Swim. As the name implies, it is a point to point 2-mile swim across Lake Superior starting from the city of Bayfield and ending at Madeline Island.

Water temperatures on Lake Superior can vary greatly with wind direction and prior day's weather. The water temperature range will likely be 55-65 degrees (68 and 66 degrees in the last 2 years in ideal conditions). I really, really hope the temp stays over 60 since anything less than that will be truly painful in my sleeveless wetsuit!

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My dad completed this swim last year, just one day after turning 60 (isn't that awesome?!). This year Sam and I are going to join in on the adventure and the three of us will compete.

I'm not going to lie - I'm really hoping to place in my age group. The winner in my AG last year finished in 58:27. Based on my times for the Steelman 3-Mile Swim I am on pace to finish at about 1:01. Steelman was without a wetsuit though and the four loop course was disorienting. I hope this point to point swim will be easier since it won't require any turns! On the other hand, this water will be much cooler and there is a possibility for a lot more chop. My goal is sub 60 minutes.

This is an awesome video filmed at the event last year (the first minute or so is intro credits):

I hope everyone has an excellent weekend! Lots of luck to to Aimee (I Tri To Be Me) as she is doing the Boulder 70.3!

Cycling in the Rain

2010-08-05T09:13:00.001-04:00

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This morning we were heading into Central Park for a group ride when we noticed lighting overhead. It was not raining though so we headed to the park any way. Once we got there the lightening was more frequent and seemed to be close but still no rain so our group decided to go out. Well, not two minutes into the ride and the sky opened up and the rain came down.

It was only 5:30 so it was still pretty dark out, especially with the rain clouds. I'm not a fan of riding in the rain (or the dark) and I don't do it often. The workout today was timed ladder intervals, 1 minute/2 minute/3 minute/4/5/4/3/2/1/2/3/4/5, with a 1 minute recovery between each interval.We were still in the warm up when it started raining and I considered just bagging the ride. The group was quite small today because of the dodgy weather so I was lucky enough to get picked up again by Coach Ben, the King of Pain. No wimping out now!

The next hour was spent cycling my heart out (quite literally). Ben is an excellent coach and he really does a great job of balancing his shouts to push harder with his praises of a job well done. Again we talked a lot about when and how to shift to maximize speed and efficiency. I finished the ride wet, dirty, and exhausted - but I couldn't help but smile.

After our ride I met up with Sam at our group meeting place and we decided to bike down 5th Avenue to get back to our car instead of doing our usual cool down loop in the park. I am still nervous about riding in a lot of traffic but I just sucked it up today and did it. It went great!

Today what I love most about triathlon is that it forces me to get out of my comfort zone and really push myself, both physically and mentally. I feel that every week I do at least one thing that scares me. Sometimes it is hard, but I always feel exhilarated and alive when it's over. I am so grateful that I found this sport!

What was the last thing you did that scared you?

FIRST Training Plan & Compression Tights: Yea or Nae?

2010-07-30T12:35:00.000-04:00

Thank you everyone for all your great advice and recommendations about the marathon training plan. I've looked everything over and I've decided that I'm going to try out the FIRST (Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training) Marathon Training plan. This plan includes three key runs per week: one speed, one tempo, and one long. While training for the marathon I will still be in full-swing of my triathlon training and at this point I don't want to sacrifice my bike/swim workouts for more running. I also want to be very careful not to injure myself and I think that if I increase my running from 3 days a week to 5-6 that I am more likely to get hurt and/or burn out.

Runner's World did a great feature article on the FIRST program and it was what really convinced me that this was the plan for me. This is the plan that I will be following starting next week:

As for the run/walk debate, I think that I am going to continue with mostly running but I will also force myself to walk when needed and not beat myself up about it. Also, as the long runs get longer I will probably start using the walking break. But, when I do walk I am going to try to start a walk/run ratio from the beginning of that run instead of having to just walk/run at the end. I'll certainly keep you posted on how this goes :)

On another note, I've decided I would like to reward myself for officially committing to a marathon with a pair of compression tights. Compression seems to be all the rage in the tri community. I've read a few articles about it and the science and personal opinons are mixed. The claim is that compression gear can be used to aid in recovery by reducing delayed onset muscle soreness, increasing blood flow, etc. It seems to be a personal preference as to whether or not they actually help each individual. Steve in a Speedo already wrote a great article for the Examiner about compression science if you are intersested in learning more.

So my question for all of you: Have you tried compression tights/sleeves/etc? Do you beleive there were benefits? Finally, can you recommend any good brands for compression tights?

Product Review: POM Wonderful 100% Pure Pomegranate Juice

2010-07-29T15:57:00.000-04:00

Awhile back I was contacted by a representative from POM Wonderful to see if I would be interested in trying their juice, POM Wonderful 100% Pure Pomegranate Juice. I jumped at the offer to try something new and a few weeks later I had a box of POM Wonderful juice in my fridge.

I have heard about the great benefits of pomegranates but they are difficult to eat and I really never buy them. Have you ever tried to eat a fresh pomegranate? Your hands and clothes will turn purple, guaranteed.

According to the website, all POM juices:

contain no added sugars, preservatives or colors
are a good source of potassium
are gluten-free
are flash pasteurized to retain both flavor and nutrients
are certified kosher

POM has also posted research on their website that POM Wonderful Juice has high levels of antioxidants and help fight free radicals (which cause cancer).

POM also has a recovery product, POMx Antioxidant Recovery. POM claims that the POMx Antioxidant Recovery:

Speeds muscle recovery – POM reduced post-exercise strength loss by more than 30% compared to a placebo
Reduces muscle soreness – POM reduced post-exercise soreness by 28% compared to a placebo.

Overall I really enjoyed the flavor of the 100% pomegranate juice. It reminded me of cranberry juice because it was more tart than sweet like apple or orange juice. I also found it very satisfying and was content with an 8 oz bottle. There are many recipes and recommendations for ways to use pomegranate juice, however I just drank mine. I think it would have been good in a smoothie too...

The only down side for me was the caloric content. A 8oz bottle of POM Wonderful 100% Pure Pomegranate Juice has 160 calories. It is common for fruit juice to be higher in calories which is why I usually stick with whole, fresh fruit instead of juices. They tend to be lower in calories and more filling. However, given that pomegranates are so difficult to eat (and therefor I never do) I think incorporating a little POM Wonderful into my life is worth it!

Marathon Training: A Run/Walk Strategy?

2010-07-28T09:30:00.001-04:00

I've been researching training plans for my first marathon. It seems as though there are as many marathon training plans as there are people running marathons. Everyone does it differently. Some plans have a long run as much as 25 miles others peak on long runs at 18. Plans are available for running 3, 4, 5 or 6 days a week. Some include speed work and others include only short runs in the week.

I've read a lot about plans that include a run/walk strategy which includes a ratio of running to walking such as run 4 minutes, walk 30 seconds or run 9 minutes, walk 1 minute, etc. Many of the beginner marathon plans include this type of training.

Jeff Galloway may be the biggest proponent of the run/walk strategy. Jeff cites many reasons to employ a run/walk strategy and claims that long time marathoners have managed to set PR's once they incorporated run/walking.

I personally know that a run/walker can be faster then just a runner. At the MA State Triathlon there was a girl in front of me who would walk long intervals and then every time I would get close she would run for awhile and then walk again. Even though I was never more then 300 yards behind her I never managed to catch her and she beat me across the line.

I have considered this as a method for my training, however I feel like a failure when I walk. I think it would be okay if I had to walk a little in my first marathon, but I don't really want to train to walk. Does that make sense? On the other hand when I think about running 20 miles straight my legs start shake.

For my long run pace (about 10 min/miles) Jeff recommends a 3 minute run to 1 min walk ratio. In regards to the walking pace:

When you walk fast for a minute, most runners will lose about 15 seconds over running at their regular pace. But if you walk slowly, you'll have lost only about 20 seconds.

Once we find the ideal ratio for a given distance, walk breaks allow us to feel strong to the end and recover fast, while bestowing the same stamina and conditioning we would have received if we had run continuously.

A 3:1 ratio seems very high to me and I don't think I would be comfortable walking that frequently. The Philadelphia Marathon has aid stations every 2-3 miles and I expect to take advantage of most of the aid stations, so perhaps I can use a strategy in my long runs to walk for 1-2 minutes every 3 miles or something like that? To stimulate walking through aid stations on race day.

How do you train for long distances? Have you tried a walk/run strategy?

Marathon Time! Philadelphia 2010

2010-07-27T11:55:00.000-04:00

or... Oh Sh*t.

I just registered for my first marathon. Philadelphia Marathon, November 21, 2010.