Starting to Feel Like Me Again

This entry is for all of you that I have given me guidance, advice or simply just yelled at me in the last few weeks.  I did hear what you were saying, I was just too stubborn to do things my way...........................surprise surprise on that one.

A smile is back on my face today. Yesterday, for the first time in about four weeks I finally felt like myself again. I had energy, I could talk (well kind of), and just felt like I was normal again.  It is amazing when you are off how much your life is impacted by it.  I am happy to be back and you can say I learned a huge lesson about my body and how much I can push it. 

I kept saying that I needed slow down a little and limit what I was doing.  I wrote in an earlier blog that I needed to start to put priorities on what I wanted to do since I could not do it all.  This was great on paper but in reality, I kept going, wanting to get everything in, not wanting to miss a workout, night out or getting behind at work.  In my head I knew I should slow down.....but I kept going.  Ok, I will say it, sometimes I think that I have a 'Superwoman' persona, that I can do everything and get through anything I put my mind to.  My body will catch up to me sometime.  It took me breaking down a little to realize what was going on.  

I ignored the signs in the last few weeks I was getting sick.  And....oh  the signs were there:  I partially lost my voice for over three and half weeks, I picked up a cold, I had everyone from my co-workers, classmates, friends, and family tell me - take a rest/slow down, I went home early from work, and I even got on the wrong train and headed to Newark instead of Secaucus one day.

Throughout the last few weeks I kept thinking, I will get better tomorrow.  My body is strong, tough, and I have the power to push through being sick.  Two things with this:   1.  In the back of my mind, I had the fear that if I stopped doing what I was doing, I would get behind on where I was fitness wise.   There is still an unsureness in me that I truly will be able to complete the Half Ironman.  I am not sure if it is because of the unknown or me being cautious but the only thing that pushes this thought out of my head is knowing that I am at least training hard enough so if I do not finish, I will know I did the best I could - preparing myself the best way I could.   2.  I think that sometimes I am afraid to give up or the fear to know that I did give up.  Stopping to rest to me was giving up.  I know that this should be not the right thing to think but to me....I wanted to push through, I did not want to use being sick as an excuse to stop what I was doing. 

It took me lying on my parents couch last weekend for three days when the weather was gorgeous outside and all I wanted to do is be outside doing something, to realize - be smarter, work smarter, live smarter.  I read all the articles on 'Training Smarter' when I first started to think about doing the tri and thought that this was common sense.  I was smart enough to realize when I needed a break, I would never get to the point of breakdown.  Then I got caught up with my routine, my thoughts, and the fear that I needed to keep going in order to prepare myself for what I had chosen to do and I fell into the bucket of 'Training Dummy'.

And once I decided to slow down, it still took my body more than a week and half to start to get back to normal.  I took off a total of four days last week and slowed my activity this week, skipping parts of my workouts, went to more doctors than I seen in more than a year, went on two sets of meds, went on voice rest (well tried) for two days, and made sure that I was eating healthy more than ever. With all of that it still took 10 days til I felt myself.    Great reward for not listening to my body in the first place.

So, next time I start to cough, my nose runs, or if I just don't feel up to par for that day.....I know that I need to check in with my body and ask - do you really need to push yourself.  One day of rest is not going to hurt me.  What will hurt me is to keep going, thinking that as 'Superwoman', you will get through this.   

Teach Me How to Blog, Teach Me, Teach Me How to Blog (Tha Remix)

Greetings, y'all. Lauren here-- co-contributor to Rebecca's journey into blogdom. In the event you have no idea who I am (which, I suppose is likely), I am the tall one drowning in pools of her own sweat in the PM Slim and Strong sessions (such a classy lady, no?)

Rebecca and I got the idea for this blog-marriage of sorts on a whim last Saturday, during our outing to the Multisport World Expo at Columbia. The reason for attending said expo? I too am signed up for the Rhode Island Half-Ironman in July. This decision... made on the fly, as most of my crazier fitness endeavors have been lately.

Have I been training? Hmmm... aside from BBBC, long weekend runs, and the ill-fated 50K attempt (more on this later), NO!

I have a new-ish bike, that was bought last year for 75% aesthetic appeal, and 25% "practical use." It is one of those Felt fixed-gear bikes-- you know, the single-speed kind that if you do not keep pedalling, when coasting, you will fly over the handlebars? Needless to say, it is not set on fixed-gear at press date. Insert my dilemma: while hot, in a low-key, minimalistic sort of way, I do not think it will get me far in Providence. This might involve a Craigslist transaction, I do believe. In any event, I am somewhat proficient on a bike, though traffic elicits a fear in this Brooklynite greater than any sewer rat and rumored mugging spree ever will!

Do I swim? The short answer: Recreationally, with a stint as a high school breaststroker. I can hold my own in the pool, and grew up swimming in the muddy, occasionally shark-infested waters of the Gulf of Mexico, but haven't done any outdoor swims in years. So I am a bit worried about how this might play out in RI's Olney Pond. Guess I should have jumped on the Coney Island Polar Bear Club bandwagon. Then again, hypothermia might have been a bit discouraging.

Running deserves a whole 'nother post, that encompasses so much more than the activity itself, so I'll save that for when I'm a more seasoned blogger. Drama, intrigue, troublesome shoelaces... oh yea, get excited!

Stay tuned! If anything, thanks for entertaining my self-indulgence! Until I blog again....

Taking a Spin on My New Bike

Finally, after a month of waiting, I got my new bike.  If anyone saw me last week, it was the only thing that I could speak about, I was so excited.  I felt like a little kid waiting for my birthday or holidays to open up my presents. Who knew that a bike would cause this type of emotion?   When I stopped at Campmor to pick it up, I had the biggest smile on my face, I think that the bikeshop thought I was crazy.  I tried to explain that this was my first road bike and all I have been wanting to do is get out and ride. Thankfully most of them were riders so they did get it.

Like the first day of school, my mom came out to take a picture of my first ride on my new bike

The timing could not have been more perfect since last weekend was beautiful and I was heading up to my parents in Cornwall on Hudson for my niece's birthday on Sunday.  I decided  to drive up on Saturday night and get up early on Sunday to take a ride.   Now those of you that know me well know that my favorite place on earth is where I grew up, Cornwall on Hudson and West Point. I dont care of the places that I have seen around the world, nothing is like coming home to the valley. 

Between C-O-H and West Point is a hidden treasure, RT 218,  that if you hit it on a day that is closed, is an amazing experience to be on.  RT 218 is a narrow hilly road built into Storm King Mountain that closes when it snows or rains due to rock slide risks.  When I was younger I would look forward to the days that it would snow so that I could take a walk with my father on the snow covered road.  Most of the time we would have the road to ourselves.  The highlight of the trip would be when my father would pull one of the icicles off of the rocks for me to suck on.  I still look forward to these walks though now I am able to pull my own suckers off the rock.

I lucked out that 218 was closed last weekend due to all the rain.  My original plan was to ride over 218 to 293 through West Point to Camp Buckner. It was about a 35 mile route.  I had to be home by 10:45 and got going a little late...so at the end, I just road for time.   I hopped on my biked around 9:00 and road through the village to RT 218.

First time on my bike and actually any road bike took a little getting used to.  I probably should have read the booklet first. I spent the first 10 minutes trying to figure out to change the gears.  I could increase the gears but had no clue on how to decrease them.  Finally after hitting the brake, I realize the whole part moved, decreasing changing the gear. It was perfect timing, right when I got to the start of 218 and the incline.  

After getting used to it, I realized I love my bike.  It is so much easier (yeah duh) to ride than my old mountain bike and so much faster.  I barely had to move to make the bike react.  I found myself a little scared going down the hills and had my hands on the brakes the whole time.    The hardest part that I will have to adjust to is where I hold my hands. I am used to having the brakes on the outside of the handle bars.  Now they are in the front....so downhill, I have to keep my hands in that position the whole time or at least be able to react when needed.

The ride itself was great. The road had some debris and rocks from the last rain that I had to navigate but nothing too bad.  Since it was warm, there were waterfalls everywhere from the melting ice and some really cool icicles.  (check out this photo of the leaning ice).    The only person I passed on the road was my father walking with our dog. 

I cleared 218 pretty easily and really started to enjoy the ride. It helped that I was going down a nice downhill when I had this thought.   Then I hit RT 293 that pretty much was a slight incline for about what felt like 45 minutes.  Holy crap, this is where I realized that my biking ability is not the greatest.  I started to struggle after about 5-10 minutes in and my legs were burning.  I was trying to sit in the saddle for this part of the ride but I had to stand up to get some power. I changed my gears, that did not work. My quads felt like dead weight and I felt like I was moving about 5 mph.   I kept looking at my watch to see if it was time to turn around.....I was not enjoying this part.  I finally made it to Round Pond where I decided to turn around.  I had biked for about hour and was thankful I had Mia's 11:30 birthday party to be at for my excuse to be home.    

The ride back was not as bad since the incline turned into a decline.  My legs were warm enough that 218 was a little hard but not as bad as 293.  The whole time I kept thinking "this ride is kicking your ass".  Thankfully I did this alone.   There is nothing like doing an activity that will tell you how in shape you are to complete it.  I realized that my biking shape needs a lot of work and maybe I should focus on this a little more.  I plan to be up here a lot in the next few months hitting 218 (if closed) and 293 as much as possible to get in better shape.

Here are some other pics from the ride.  Hope you enjoy them.

Getting an Education

This post is a week late in getting up but it has some pretty cool info in it.

Last Saturday, Lauren and I headed up to Columbia for the Multisport World Expo to get some tips on training.  The expo was pretty cool.  On a random side note, I learned something else....Triathlete men have the nicest bodies.  I could not believe how fit every guy in the building was from young to old.  Not lanky, not bulky, just perfect.  I told Lauren that we needed to become triathlon groupies, how did I not know of this before! 

Back to the expo, we sat in for the second set of seminars for the day:

• What can I cook to keep myself healthy?
• What's the deal with sodium and muscle cramping?
• Is there such a thing as a "natural" running style?
• The five swim drills I dream about at night
• The five run drills I dream about at night

Adam Kelinson, author of The Athlete’s Plate: Real Food for High Performance was the first speaker.  When he started out with the key to healthy eating is diverse eating and that his biggest piece of advice was to not eat the same thing every day, Lauren (she eats like me) and I knew we were in trouble.  We looked at each other like 'ha, this is going to be good for us'.   His focus was on local and organic foods that will supply you with all the nutrients that you need for your body.  Local sourcing/eating is something that I have tried to increase in my own life for the last two years, so it was great to hear his ideas.  He spoke on both the macro/micro nutrients that we need to include in our diet.  On the micro nutrient side, I did not realize how beneficial sprouts were.  I picked up some broccoli sprouts from one of the vendors at the Green Market two weeks ago, they were great tasting but I did not realize the super power health benefits.   I am going to have to go back and get a few more packs.  

On the organic side, the following is most important idea that Adam stated.   Did you know that we have lost 50% of the nutrients in the vegatables that we grow in the last 50 years due to the way that we mass produce our vegatables?   The nutritional value of 1 cup of spinach grown in 1961 equals 25 cups of spinach today.   That is so crazy.  I am going to think twice before I pick up a non organic/local vegatable again. 

The second session, Earl Walton of Tri Life came to talk on the 5 Swimming Drills He Dreams of in His Sleep.  He was a pretty interesting speaker and his whole belief is to 'Commit to a plan and that plan has to sync with your swimming career'.   We went through a bunch of different drills for beginners through experts in the water.  Here is a link to some videos of the drills that we went through.  Click on 'Training' section to view the list. 

Next session was 5 Running Drills presented by Josh Gold.  Holy cow, he had so much energy when he was presenting, he was jumping all around.  They were broadcasting this live on the web but I think that people watching the video saw him only for a portion of the time.  I wonder if it is a requirement for all running coaches to have this much energy.  God knows that Terence does.     

I liked this session the most, he had us up and moving and doing a whole bunch of exercises.  He spoke on the POSE method of running.  His exercises consisted of 1.  Pulling your foot off the ground in the pose. 2.  Partner Running - Running Backwards   3.  Partner Running - Closing your Eyes  4.  One Leg Pulls - with your foot under your General Center of Mass (right under but)   5.  Fast Feet - clicking feet together, landing only on toes.  Once is easy but try 25 in a row.

The last session of the day was on Natural Running Form.  I am not going to try to recap any of this presentation.  There was so much info on it.   I did learn that I think that I am going to stick to sneakers for a while and that barefoot running is probably not for me.

After the seminars we walked around the expo a little, got more good info, and spoke some of the vendors. We also found the Amica Half Ironman booth (the race we are doing) and stopped in to say hi.    I wanted to see if they had the course route up yet.  Just our luck, the gentleman at the booth said that they had recently changed the routes and were in process of putting them on the site. I asked how the run course was. His response, hilly, very hilly.  The exact opposite of what I wanted to hear since I love hills. Oh well at least I now know.

Finally, A Day Off.....Well Kind Of

Before you read this, two things so you dont think I am crazy:   1.  Below is not a normal day, I dont push my body that much  2.  I know I need more rest/sleep - I am working on this.     With that, enjoy.

I took my first full day off in a long time.  I actually did not realize how long until I tried to think of the last time and I could not remember.  I do take a day off from running/swimming/biking but have been trying to get yoga,  bootcamp or lifting in on those days.  I know I should take more full days but I have no time to get those things in.  With this one, I was determined to give myself a day off from everything, my structure, my workouts, and worrying about my diet.  It felt great.

The day actually started off feeling like a workout.  Trying to get in for a 615am call is a lot harder than I thought.  I forgot that I had to actually get dressed for work at home.  My wakeup time was 355 and I was out the door running up the hill to the bus at 440.  Not sure the bus driver recognized me since I looked fairly nice.  He is used to seeing me in my pjs. 

Due to a cab driver that drove slower than my father, I got to work at 6:03 and I ran around to make my oatmeal and espresso.  My day started to turn up when I saw someone putting the bananas out as soon as I was got down to the kitchen.    And I was happy I did not have to do the dancing I normally do while making breakfast, trying to avoid everyone else, the kitchen was sparse. 

Rest of day went well, crazy enough I actually had energy all day.  I had back to backs all day so I never stopped to feel tired.

At 6:00 the fun started....Beer Class.  Calling it a class may be strectching it.  Basically you got a bunch of beer and listened to someone from the brewery talk about each one.  Our table was not the best at paying attention.  We were a good group:  Marla, jet lagged from flying back from Paris the night before, Mamie who was getting over being sick, Chris and Jon who had worked late the last few nights plus me, with my voice that sounded like Marge Simpson's sisters (Marla's description) from facilitating requirement sessions all week.   Lets say we were a hit with the speaker. 

I had come for one thing and one thing only: Strawberry Beer. It has been all I have talked about since we chose the Abita Brewery.   I was pysched when the first bottles they pulled out were the nice green labels, my Strawberry beer.  This beer is only out one month a year.   One sip and I was happy as a clam.   They even gave me an extra pour since I told them it was my favorite beer.  We got to try a whole bunch of their other beers.  They have a really good IPA and one called Restoration Ale. 

They put out dinner, chicken wings and vegetables and hummus. I decided to be healthy and eat the veg and hummus.  Dont ask why it did not cross my mind that trying to eat healthy went out the door after the 5th beer.  At least it is the thought that count, right?

The rest of the night was fun.  I was on the 10:50 bus and in the door by midnight.   I even packed my bag for class in the am with intentions that I was going to make it.  I guess after a few beers you think you can do anything.

4:20 did come, but I did not get up.   One look at the clock and I rolled over.   I slept in til 7:00 and god, it felt good.  

Being off was great.  It let me stop, relax, and think on non training things and remind me that life is not only training or work. This may seem simple to most but sometimes I forget this with my structured life and always moving from one thing to another.  Stepping away from my routine let me see how well my balance has been.  And yes, I will be first to admit it needs some work!

Here is a pic of the beer if you want to look for it.  I did try to take people pics too but they all came out like crap.  Not sure any of the folks would be happy for me to put them up.   Next time

Week 3.....slowly things getting easier

Ahhh....my routine has finally set in and it feels great. I welcomed  back a missing part of my life, my energy.  I was back to myself for the majority of the week and did not need the extra cup of coffee in the afternoon.  The only time I dragged was Tuesday morning in class but I changed up to eat a little before class and Thursday I felt better. 

I think that I may even had more energy than normal.  I  know this because one of my good friends at work commented on my superwoman aura.  Granted this was after I bumped into him in the kitchen while I was running to a meeting.  He is on his health kick (which I am happy to say I influenced and we talk on everyday) and proudly showed me his instant maple oatmeal he was having as a snack.  In my rush (remember, I was running to a meeting), I yelled 'What are you doing!!!!!! That has so much sugar, thats crap.  Better to eat a candy bar'.   He promptly dumped the whole bowl in the compost bin and just stared.  I continued to try to explain in less than a minute that he had to read the packages and impact sugar has.   Then I told him I had to run.   I left him standing there. As a side note, I did go over later to talk to him and explain more calmly what I meant and how I was more concerned he thought he was eating healthly....but making things worse. 

On the training front, I have fallen into the routine of m,t,th,f early morning and night workouts and using Wednesday as my slight recovery day where I only do a night work out.   This has been working out well but just my luck, this week I needed to schedule a weekly call with Asia/EMEA.  Guess what day I chose?  You guessed it, Wed, 6-8 am.  So add another 450 bus ride into the city on Wed to my week.   Hopefully this is only for two months.  At least I should be able to leave earlier and sleep well Wed night.   I love how things keep changing to keep me on my toes, just what I need.   And yes, I have been working on moving to the city.  Got a realtor and started to map out a plan.  And I have been so lucky to have my father helping out figuring out financing options and what I am supposed to do.   Probably more than lucky.....extremely fortunate.

Swimming has turned into the activity I love this most. Maybe it is because I am brought back to the memory of being a kid, swimming laps at practice or the peacefulness of hearing nothing but your own thoughts for 45 minutes.  It is where I think of most of my entries.  The NYSC pool has turned out to be not so bad. I have made friends with the lifeguard Rafeal and he saves me a lane each morning and tries as much as possible to make sure no one else comes in it.  He told me he likes me because I can swim.....so less work for him.     The timing of my swims are great.  I have been pushing my legs a lot on Tues/Thurs with bootcamp and running, it is great to stretch my legs in the water the mornings after.  Friday,  I timed my 1.2 mile (119 laps) and its about 27.5 minutes if I counted correctly.  Afterwards, I looked up some swimming times online...and that seems to be an average swimming time. I am happy to know I do not need to focus so much on it.

I started to bike.  Spinning classes at the NYSC are worst than swimming. Everytime I call, the class is already booked.  I did find something cool.  Most gyms have a 'trainer' that simulates a spinning class.  Its great and I can choose my own music and have the volume as loud as I want.  I have found that the Pandora station of the Ting Tings is the best to ride to.  It plays different beats and songs are awesome.    Alexandria is in town this week so we may try to test out Soul Cycle.

For the first in all my training and actually since October and my first ever bootcamp, I was sore, extremely sore in my left leg and butt.  This was from a combo of leg work Thursday morning and hills at night.  I felt it while running the hills but just went a little slower.  I kind of wished I just stopped now.  Friday, I was sore when I woke up and my morning swim did not help.  I biked lightly that night and spent 30 minutes on the foam roller hoping it would loosen and go away. Saturday was a little better but not great.  I took it easy in class and spent another hour with my foam roller after.    Thank god I woke up today better, just a little tight.  I was able to run my long run (11 miles) at a fairly good clip and felt no pain.  Just a little sore now but will spend some time stretching when I get home.

I am excited to say that we added another girl to our Half Triathlon 'team'.   Lauren Key from my old night bc class is going to join us.   I am super pysched to have someone else doing this.   That makes 5 from BBBC.     Also, Alexandria and I found our Olympic Triathlon that we are going to do for our practice run.  It is on May 15th in Red Bank, Jersey.  Not too far away so it will push us to train hard.   We got two down, now we need to find our Sprint race to make the plan complete.

Looking forward to this week and getting in a bunch of non training activities.   I have an Abita beer class Wed night at Idle Hands(my highlight of the week), two co worker's birthday celebration Friday and my little nieces BD party Sunday.  Training is going to be crazy but I will do the best I can.  I think I will need my afternoon cup of coffee! 

3 weeks down, 17 to go.

Ummm.....am I actually a runner?

I have always hated to run and I  thought running hated me.  I  have very short legs for my body (its trues, stand me next to a 5 ft person and our legs will be the same size) and used this as an excuse of why I did not like to run.  

Not only did I not like to run, I was slow.  Playing sports growing up, this was a pain.   I always dreaded running suicides in basketball where we had to make it over the baseline in 25 seconds or we had to run them again.  I got there each time in 24.9 seconds, sometimes diving to get across the line.   In softball, if the game was on the line and I got a hit, I got pulled for a Jacoby Ellsbury to run for me. Well...this actually happened only once but I remember it.

Because of this, I never really had fun running or ever wanted to do it.  It has always been a chore.  In college, for lacrosse, we had to get our mile under 7 30.  I set the treadmill to the speed I needed and trained for weeks to be able to run that time once.    I forced myself to run the last few years because was the easiest exercise but I never was comfortable.

With all of that said, funny how things turn out.  Running was the first sign that last year my body was changing and I was getting  stronger.  It had become my ally when the scale told me that I weighed the same.   When I could run a little bit more or go a little faster, this was the push that I needed to keep working out.  Very slowly, I was becoming a runner.  My first ah ha moment was Thanksgiving weekend and I went for the '5 mile'. This is a route that my family and friends have been walking or biking for years through the base of Storm King Mountain and through both the town and village.  I decided I was going to see how much of it I could run.  Though at a fairly slow pace, I ended up completing the whole thing.   I remember walking for days thinking 'I ran the freaking 5 mile, you rock'

Running and I were finally becoming friends.  Over the next few months I ran on the treadmill for longer distances or higher settings.  Then, when I signed up for the MORE Half Marathon, I signed up for a running class to really teach me to run and prepare. This is where running and I went from the friend you may say hi to in class, to the friend you wanted to sit next to and hangout with all the time - BFF.

The first class, we were timed for our mile and some how I was not slow anymore.  I ran a 7 50 mile the first time and 7 45 the second go around with ease.   This was without setting the treadmill to the speed for two months of practice.  My friend Lisa in the class made the comment that I was fast and I said 'ah...no, I cant be fast, I have always been slow.....that is just who I am'.  

Over the last few weeks I have started to realize how far I have come from my basketball suicide days.  I look forward to each Tuesday and Thursday classes, and my weekend long runs.  Sometimes I even get excited (just dont tell my running coach Terence that).  I know that all the stress that I have built up will be gone by then end of the run.  I actually like sprinting and running up hills because I still get amazed that I am doing it.  

So now here comes the interesting part.  I registered for the MORE with no expectation except to finish.  I initially did not care what my time was at all.  Then last week, Terence told me my expected time based upon my training times (2:00) and then also said he told me what he thought I could do, 1:54   I cant decide if I want to hit him right now or say thanks (I am leaning towards smacking him......its Terence).   Without realizing it (or maybe he did), he set up a challenge for me.  My competitive nature and the 3rd born syndrome of always wanting to prove you can do what your sisters do, came out.  Now that he told me that time, I have it in my head that I am going to meet it or do better.   I am going to prove I can do it. 

This week, I have started to focus more on my training runs, watching my form and pushing a little harder to prepare.   So I guess I will admit....I probably should say thanks.  I was shown a challenge that turned into a goal that is helping me push myself a little farther.

Now we will have to wait to see if the 'i hate jogging, dreading suicides, slow running girl' will push her way to meet that 1:54 challenge.  3 weeks will tell.