Not for Nothin' But I Think God is Reading My Blog

Take a look at yesterdays post, I said the humidity needs to go. And this morning I wake up and take the dog out for her morning business and viola its beautiful out. And by beautiful I mean it was like 60 degrees, zero humidity. And it didn't even rain! So someone is listening to me!

Anywho, today has been a very productive day. I got up at 5:30am for a quick 58 min swim. Here's how it went down:

3 x 800
1x 500
all of TT + 10 with 30 second rest between sets

I can say that I was somewhat dreading it. But I psyched myself up, i.e. drank about a gallon of coffee and got to it. I can admit by the last 100-200 I am sure my form was more like a drowning person's but I did it. Then I took a quick steam and headed for home.

Once home, I had to make up my bike from yesterday so I hopped on the bike for a 1:50BST. I was comprised of the following:

30min Z1/ZR
3 x 10min (55-65rpm) with 4 min easy in between each
3 x (1 min at 105 rpm, 1 min at 95)
20 min ZR

I have to admit it would have been nicer to be outside on the bike, but I knew I had a limited amount of time to get everything done so there was no time to dilly dally. After the bike I headed out for a Z1/Z2 T Run with the first mile in Z2. I completed the first mile in 8:16, while huffing and puffing all over Hoboken. Then I finished up in Z1 and headed home.

When I got home I was there just in time for my furniture delivery. We are having visitors here from out of town this weekend and so we realized we would need to offer them a place to sleep and that we have been in our house for about 2 years and we still are not done decorating. So we bought a new day bed. And here it is:



Now all I need is a bookcase and some decorations and we are good to go. Then that will just leave a dresser and a kitchen table and some small decorations for the living room and everything will be done. Ahhh...I can just imagine what it will be like!

As for the rest of the day, I have work on the agenda along with making a vegetable tart for dinner. It will be my first time working with philo dough. Let's see how that turns out!

Enjoy your humidty free day!!!

Holy Humidity Batman!

Honestly, I just can't deal. Leaving the house after showering and starting to sweat once one foot is out the door, just doesn't work for me. Not one bit! I would rather never leave the house. All we need is one big storm and then having the walk to work will be doable again. But nooooooooo, they just keep saying it is going to rain and it keeps getting more muggy! Ok, now that I got that out of my systems, I can get on with my life.

This weekend was just tons of fun. Friday night I went out to meet up with a friend of mine who shares the same bday as me. She is a year younger so she was celebrating entering the world of thirty-somethings. I went and hung out at her party for a bit but headed home early so I wouldn't be too tired for mine the next day.

On Saturday morning, I got up and did the usual workout then spent a decent amount of time working on various mexican themed dips for the party. Then I put on the bikini and headed out to the pool for a little R&R before the party began. After the USA got dropped from the World Cup, people began to show and the party was underway in no time.

It was a fantastic time had by all and the night ended with some late night pizza and a nap on the couch. I have to say I have some absolutely wonderful friends!

Sunday was a lazy day. I worked out and hung out at the pool again, then rumor on the street was that Shop Rite had lobsters at 5.99 a pound and who are we to pass that up! So off to Shop Rite we went. Sunday ended with our own seafood fest. And with full bellies we went to bed early.

Monday, well why even bother right? You know the drill, it went like this Spin, Work, Swim, Spin and then for the grand finale an unbelievable dinner of ahi tuna steaks, asparagus and grilled peaches. Unbelievable!

Today is the 4th consecutive day of horrible humidity. I got up about ten minutes before I had to leave for work, showered and ran out the door. Tonight I have a 1:50 ride followed by a 20 min run. That is if I don't drop from heat stroke.

I will let you know what the results are tomorrow! Stay cool!

Birthday Weekend

So the weekend of fun is upon us. Yesterday I turned the big 3-1. Yup, 31, one of those in between ages that really means nothing. But I turned it, so this weekend we will celebrate. Tomorrow I have a 3:45 Z1/Z2 ride followed by a T run and then I plan on sitting around the pool until people arrive. The bf has planned a fiesta themed party that will most likely begin with the World Cup game and end lord knows when. We are stocking the house with Margaritas, Rita's ice for spiking and chips and salsa. All in all it should be a pretty filling party!

Tonight I am going to head out after work and treat myself to some birthday clothing. I figure why not buy myself something nice to wear at the party and maybe a few other things just for fun! So me and my best friend are going to shop and enjoy some post shopping cocktails in celebration of my week. And then it will be off to bed somewhat early so I can get out on the road before the early morning rush of bikers comes out.

Well everyone have a wonderful weekend.

A Morning Underwater

Yesterday was a pretty uneventful day. It was one of my days to work from home so I spent the day sitting on the floor at my coffee table just typing away. I did take a quick break to give the dog a bath since she hasn't had one in a while and we are having company this weekend, so that was nice. Hey, the dog's gotta look good too!

I finished off my day with dinner and the last few episodes of Weeds on dvd. And now I have to wait a whole season before I can find out what happens since I don't have Showtime. But that is a story for another time.

I headed to bed early in anticipation of an early wake up for my Wednesday swim. I had 56 minutes of steady swim on to do list.

When we got the pool this morning I shared a lane with a regular that I know and began my swim. The guy in the lane next to me was methodical. Apparently he had already been at it for about 40 minutes and he just didn't stop. So I am thinking maybe it was with his help that I got into my rhythm. I had no idea when I hit the 56minute mark, I was lost somewhere in my brain and my body had gone into auto pilot. I just kept going. Finally I stopped to see what time it was and I had gone over the hour mark by a bit so I decided I would get out of the pool and head for a steam.

Those kind of swim workouts are my favorite. I really think I could have spent the rest of my morning underwater. I would have just kept going until I ran out of steam. It is these kind of days where I realize how far I have come in my training. Fine, the pounds are melting off the way I would like them to, but I am getting stronger, without a doubt. Two years ago, this morning would not have happened. I would have been 20 laps in, and need a break. Today, after who knows how many laps, I had to make myself take a break.

So here's to starting the day on a positive note!

Long Branch Tri- Race Report

What a fun weekend! Friday night I packed my tri bag and had some pizza then headed to bed. At 4:30am the alarm went off and it was time to pack the car, pick up a friend and head down to Long Branch. It was a beautiful morning and it looked like it was going to shape up to be a decent day in terms of heat. Well that is, if we had started on time. But for some reason this event never starts on time. And as everyone knows, when you start late, a ton of things get thrown off. But thankfully I had a little extra food in my car, so I was able to get a few more calories in to try to even out the 1 hour delay. (I know, right?)

So after setting everything up, it was down to the water. Since it was a first tri for a few of my friends I think I spent more time worrying about them than thinking about the race, which turned out to be pretty good method for calming me down. So in went the guys for the longer course and 3 minutes later we followed. The water was about 67 degrees, which isn't too bad, but it still felt cold. And get this, there were 2 whale sightings that morning! And that is what they decided to tell us during the 20 second countdown. Comforting? Well whale's don't tend to eat people, so I just tucked that tidbit into the back of my mind and started to charge the waves, knowing that if I saw one I would freak out, but also hoping that the water would be cloudy enough I wouldn't know if I did see one.

About 2 minutes into the swim, I started to notice the current was a bit weird and a lot of people from the men's heat were floating on their back and having trouble getting past some of the waves. I wasn't feeling the best I have ever felt, but I just kept pushing. Before I knew it was around the last buoy and headed towards shore. Once out of the water I could hear my friends screaming my name while they waited for their start on the short course, and while trying to not pass out I couldn't help but smile. The worst part of the swim was the run up the beach and into transition. I would say my swim was probably about 1:30 less than the time they have for us, considering the run at the end. End result 600 yards in 9:04, 12th female out of the water and a possible throw up situation when I entered T1.

Once in T1 I honestly thought I was taking forever. I felt really out of it and was having some trouble catching my breath. But now that I see my time I wasn't that bad. In and out of T1 in 1:26.

The bike was nice and flat and except for a few portions the wind agreed with us. I managed to average 18.7 mph for for what they said was 18 miles and what my cateye said was a bit over 19. It was great. Knowing that I was in 12th I knew that I wouldn't see many women on the road. That is at least in front of me and the goal was to not have any pass me either. On the first loop I rode with a few guys and we played leap frog for a while. Then at the beginning of the second loop I decided to get ahead of them and end this game we were playing. At that point I passed one woman, flew through the last few miles and entered T2. So what was somewhere between an 18 and 19.5 mile ride came to 1:04:48.

Into T2 and I threw my stuff down and switched out of my cleats. Now here is the weird part, I thought T2 was way better than T1. It turns out I was wrong. T2 1:32. Huh? Whatever! Let's start running!

And here is where the starting an hour late comes and kicks you right in the ass. We did a five mile with 2 out and backs but in opposite directions, so we met in the middle to finish. Each out and back had one leg where the wind was in your face and one where it wasn't strong enough to push, you but the sun was strong enough to make you feel like you were melting. I started out around 8:00 min/miles and decided I would do what I could, and then if I felt bad, let myself taper for mile 3 then force myself to go "strong" for 4 and 5. I ended up making a friend around mile 3 and that made it a bit easier to deal with the heat. And when I crossed the finish line I was quite happy. 5 Miles in 42:24. I will take it!

Now the best part is this is a series of races, so there is no podium or anything along those lines. And it would figure that this would be that kind of race. My end all was:

83 out of 189
11th female
3rd in my AG

In the end, all of my friends but one finished and we all felt great. We spent the rest of the afternoon, sleeping on the beach, eating and enjoying some cocktails. I got up early again on Sunday, more so out of habit than necessity and I felt great. We spent that day with my pops and headed to bed early again on Sunday night.

This week should be fun. I turn the big 31 on Thursday and the bf is throwing me a Mexican Fiesta on Saturday with our close group of friends. I am exciting and looking forward to what 31 may bring!

It's Game Time!

Today I have the day off from working out and I can't lie, I am really happy about it. So I slept in. Now I am working on 11 hours of sleep! I love when I sleep that much. And the good thing is, I will need it. I realized I haven't said anything about this, buttomorrow is the Long Branch Tri Series Kick Off. Nothing too crazy really. I had registered for the longer course of 600 yard swim, 18 mile bike and 5 mile run, but it looks as though they put me in the sprint course. So I am trying to get that fixed by the morning. The fun part about this race is that it is going to be a first tri for 3 of my friends and my bf is coming to play paparazzi. So it should be a fun day. And after the race we are going to go out on a friends boat and get some fishing in.

The rest of the weekend should be pretty uneventful. We need to do a massive house cleaning at some point to get ready for the big bday celebration next weekend, yup I am getting older, but other than that it will just be off to the rents house for Father's Day. I am hoping to bring the pooch this time. She could use some time to run! We shall see!

All in all, not much to report today. I will be back in the next few days with a race report. All you dads have a Happy Father's Day!

A Night on The Couch

So last night I spent the night on the couch. I know sounds scandalous doesn't it? Not really though. After hanging out and watching some tv after dinner, I made myself a protein shake, walked the dog and we all headed to bed like a nice happy family. I was sitting in bed watching the Kardashians (no judging!) and then it was lights out. All of a sudden I felt something on my arm, then again something on my face, then on my other arm. At this point I jump out of bed screaming "There is something in the bed! There is something in the bed!" And yes, there was something in the bed....ANTS!

Now before you go a judgin' and think I am some dirty person that would have a dirty enough room to attract ants, let me explain. I live on the ground floor on my condo complex and in mid May, the property managers laid down some new mulch. Within about 3 days, our apartment and the two above were infested with ants. So we all bought some Raid and went to town. Since then we have had about 3 more large outbreaks. We then realized the ants are living in the mulch outside of our bedroom and in the tree. So we got more ant killer. And last night before bed we sprayed it again. So We think maybe there were still some ants in the air conditioner and they had no choice but to come in. So after that and about and hour of spraying and freaking out I decided to hit the couch. And so we had a nice sleep over in the living room.

So all of these shenanigans made it super easy to get up and swim today! I was tired but I did it anyway. I got in a 1:20 swim and called it a work out. Tonight I am heading out for a dinner date with a friend. Some wine and oysters and I will forget all about the ants, at least until I get home!

Just Keep Going, One Foot Right In Front of The Other

Well that has been the theme for today that is for sure. I got out of bed at around 7am to get ready for the 1:20 Z1/Z2 run that I had to make up from Sunday. The one that I missed so I could eat way outside of my diet and lounge on my couch? Yup that one! So got up, ate a chocolate powerbar, had a cup of coffee and set on my way. It was 52 Minutes in Z1 and the rest in Z2. So I decided to do an out and back. I would run out the water in Hoboken, out to Port Liberty in Weehawken and back. And here we go! Into the wind? What? So here is the bizarre part on the way out I hovered at the top of Z1 into the wind, not hot at all, but at the top and mostly 2 beats into Zone 2. Then I reach my turn around, run 3 more minutes but now in Zone R (HUH?) and then try to get into Zone 2. Now with the wind at my back and the sun in my face, I can't reach Zone 2 if I tried! It must have been the fact that I had the wind to my advantage, but seriously it was hardly windy and who knew it made that much of a difference? I did manage to reach Zone 2 but with how beat I was from my spin classes I thought it might kill me!

By the time I was finished, I was dead tired and my legs were trashed. So I got home by 9am only to enter the busiest day at my job yet. I knew that I at least had a bike ride to get in before the end of the day and possibly another run. So I did the smart thing and rearranged my schedule a bit. I worked straight through the day only to stop to make a salad and some bbq chicken and then it all started again!

Back on the bike for a tempo ride at 6:00. It was a 1:30 Z1/Z2 ride and since I had my reader on the trainer with me I can say that it was bearable. But I can't lie, I finished up, logged my times and cracked open a beer. After the day I had I am lucky I didn't open all of the beers in the fridge. And now for the perfect ending to a crazy day, I plan to grill some tuna steaks and mushrooms, with a side of fresh avocado and sit on the porch and enjoy the last bit of day light.

Now one foot in front of the other to the patio.

A New Riding Buddy..I Guess?

So Saturday came with the threat of storms, so I sighed and got on the trainer. I had a 3:25 Z1/Z2 ride and I was not excited about being indoors for it. But I put some Arrested Development DVDs in and started pedaling. I was about 1 episode in, that I just said "Fuck it!" and I got off the trainer grabbed my helmet and a powerbar and decided to risk it. I figured, if it started to really storm I could had three options:

1)Call a cab and hope that they sent one with room for the bike
2)Call my boyfriend and hope he could find me
3)Hang out in the rain until it cleared up a bit and hope I didn't get struck by lightening.

In my mind, all of those options were better than sitting in my guest room watching TV. And beside I figured I could use a little fresh air and alone time. Little did I know....

I was about 20 minutes into my ride thinking, this is fantastic, out here alone, pushing myself when I want, deciding my own pace and enjoying myself. I was about to pull up to a red light when all of a sudden someone in a blue Italia jersey flew passed me and said "Come on little momma, keep pedaling!" At that point I was confused, because the light was red and I didn't want to get hit by a car, but off this character went. So the light turned green and this "little momma" got back to pedaling. It was then that I realized that Italia had slowed his pace a bit and kept looking over his shoulder. Finally he caught my eye and waved me up to him.

So there I went up to this stranger to see what he wanted. (Did my parents not teach me anything!) And next thing I know we are riding buddies. Now this would have been fine, except it was more like the worst game of cat and mouse. All I did for the next 3 hours is chase this guy. We did about 6 killer climbs and every time I fell behind, I heard "Come on little momma, pedal!!!" and so I did! And that is how it went for the remainder of my relaxing ride with myself!

It turned out he was from the tri club from Hoboken and quite an interesting person to ride with. I felt trashed when I got back but I knew it was a good workout. It was just such a strange situation. What is the etiquette with that anyway? Can you just drop back from the person and then they get the hint? Or do you have to explicitly say, "I don't want to ride with you." Not sure what the best practices are for deferring a bike partner! But I can say I am glad that I didn't.

The remainder of the weekend was filled with eating and relaxing, we finished off Saturday with the US/England soccer match. (Snooze fest!) And then on Sunday we headed into the city for the New York BBQ Festival and sampled some phenomenal bbq, from pulled pork, to ribs and brisket. It was delicious. Then we headed home to hold the couch down for the rest of the night.

Today is the usual spin, swim, spin, and I must say I was quite proud of my full class this morning and a good friend who came to class for the first time ever today!

Other than that it is just another Monday here in my world.

Riding for Fun

This morning, I got up at 5am, got into my biking gear and met my friend, who is just starting to bike and we went on a bike ride. Yup a bike ride, like for fun. What is that you say? Oh it is what people do leisurely, not sweating, eating cubes and gus and drinking Gatorade. Just pedaling, looking around and talking. And you know what? It was fun! See my friend just got a hibrid bike last October and she hasn't gone many places on it, so we decided to ride up to the park where I usually ride and then ride back along the Hudson. We left at 5:30 with no traffic on the main roads and got to the park with some challenging climbs in the mix. Then we spent a little time in the park and then headed back.

On our way back I realized that there was a lot more traffic, so we decided to go really scenic and ride along the water. We checked out condos and boats and made it back to Hoboken in about 2 hours. And then she said the best thing ever. When I went to say goodbye she said "Thanks so much for taking me. I feel great now, like I can conquer the world!" And right then and there I thought...so the addiction begins, she will have a road bike in no time! So maybe I will have a new riding partner in the next few months. But in the mean time, I should probably go out and ride for fun a bit, it might make training more enjoyable.

So since I didn't get the hard ride in during the day I had to put the bike on the trainer and get busy. I got back, refilled my Gatorade, ate a powerbar and then it I faced my 1:30 tempo ride. It went a little like this:

20 min ZR/Z1 (I chose zone 1 because I was feeling good)
2 x (20 min Z2, 5 min Z1)
20 min ZR/Z1 (My heart chose Z1)

When I got done I felt great. I saved my hill bounding for tomorrow at work. For some reason I like to hill bound at lunch on Fridays. Maybe because it splits up the day.

As for tonight, the bf is back home after a week away and we are heading out for some cocktails. But not too many because I have an early morning swim on the horizon.

Talk to you manana!!

The Three S's

No, not those three! My three, Spin, Swim and Spin! That is my Monday in a nut shell! This weekend was fantastic, I am sorry I didn't update, but I decided to stay away from technology all together! So it was nice and relaxing and full of great friends. I did run into a bit of a training snafu though. So on Saturday I woke up and it was hot, but not normal hot, heavy humid hot. It felt like I was being smothered by the air. Awful! So I didn't really think a 3 hour outdoor ride would be in my best interest! So for the first time in a long time I turned off the alarm, got back into my blanket cocoon and drifted right back off to sleep. GLORIOUS!

I got up around 9am (I know, it probably sounded like I was on my way to sleep until like 2pm from the last sentence, but hey 9am is late for me!) and made some fresh fruit salad and coffee, then hopped on the bike. I did my 45 minutes of Tabata drills with 8 x (20 sec BSE and 10 sec rest) smack dab in the middle and then headed out for a surprisingly short T run of 39 min. And damn was it hot. I got back, after having to run at a snails pace to keep myself in Z1, drenched. Drenched with a purple face! My face normally doesn't even turn red usually when I run if that gives you an idea of where I was at!

I got back, grabbed my gatorade and went out to lay next to the pool and soak my legs. And not gonna lie, throw in a few costume changes, a few meals and some visits from friends, and that was my weekend in a nutshell!

So other than that work out, I decided, with the help of a friend, to plant all of the flowers we had bought for our apt complex. With two people it took about 2 hours, but it was well worth it, we spruced the place up a bunch! Then it was more food and more sleep.

When I got up on Sunday, I noticed a weird spasm in my lower left side of my back. Now I never say things like "I am getting old" but I think it might be happening! EEEK! After two hours of bending and planting I was in pain the next day. So I made an executive decision and decided that getting on the bike was not happening. Instead, I took the dog out for one of two 40 minute walks and headed back to the pool to rest and read. After a few hours of peace and quiet I went into the house veg and wait for that horrific storm we were supposed to get. Not so much! We got about 5 minutes of rain and then some more sunshine. So we headed out for another walk with the pooch, grabbed some water ice and a doggy ice cream cup (Yup Rita's has a little cup of custard with a dog bone in it for your four legged water ice buddy!) for the dog (she loved it!) and headed back home to call it a night.

So back to the SSS combo. I have two S's down, and I have one to go! I haven't taught spin in two weeks due to my business trip and Memorial Day, so I actually don't mind that I have to do it tonight. Then I have some chicken sausage and sauteed spinach and mushrooms on the menu for tonight and another early night.

But for now it is a few more hours of work.....

It's Almost Pool Time

Thank god this week is over. Don't get me wrong I actually love my new job, and have been actually enjoying the training, but let me tell you, this heat is making me drag my ass! I am at the point in my training/eating where directly after I fall asleep, I begin to sweat. And not normal sweat, the kind of sweat where you wake up soaked like 4-5 times a night. Like through your clothes, hair soaking wet, outline of your body on your sheets soaked. Gross right? Now imagine being the person sleeping next to me. Oooofa! I feel so bad for him because now it seems my sweating has turned a non sweaty sleeper into a sweaty one! Ahh the joys of living with a triathlete!

So today was full on hill bounding and all that joyous stuff! Due to the insufferable heat (dramatic much?) I ran on the treadmill. I did the following:

25 min Z1 (turned out great, I ran for 25 min at a 9:50 pace and my average HR came in 5 beats below my low end of zone 1)
5 x (1 min with incline all the way up and speed of 4.7 and 3 min incline down 6.0 speed)
30 min Z1

It actually felt pretty good, although my legs are feeling a little fatigued afterwards.

This weekend should be great though. Tomorrow I have a 3:20 bike followed by a nice 35 min Z1 T run. And then some drills on Sunday. But the best part is that I will be home and bbq'ing. Tonight we will participate in America's favorite past time of bulk shopping and pick up all the things you need to grill for the next 3 weeks. Then we are going to plant some plants in the flower boxes around our condo's pool and spruce up the place.

For the rest of the weekend we have people coming over to hang at the pool and bbq It is amazing how popular you become in the summer being the only ones with a pool in the city! Kidding!I can not wait! It looks like it is shaping up to be a great time.

I am sure I will check in, but if not, have a wonderful weekend!

Why Can't Every Weekend be 3 Days and Every Work Week be 4?

First and foremost, Happy Memorial Day (a few days late)! I love long weekends almost as much as I love weeks off! This weekend seemed extra long because we had so much to do. On Saturday, due to the threat of rain I did my ride on the trainer (BOOOOO!!!). It was a 3:20 zone 1/zone 2 ride followed by a 30 minute transition run. Even though I did it on the trainer I felt great when I was done. But I came back with only enough time to shower, pack and hit the road! It was off to wedding central.

We had a Saturday night rehearsal dinner followed by a Sunday afternoon wedding of two good friends from Baltimore. It turned out to be beautiful day and fantastic wedding. We partied until the wee hours of the morning and then headed to bed. Now, because I have been living in hotels for the past two weeks, I demanded and early morning departure so I could get home and sit by the pool. Although it was painful we did it and also pulled off our Memorial Day BBQ without a hitch!

Tuesday came too quickly with more workouts. After a full day of work I did some tabata drills on my bike. Here is the set:

20 min ZR (easy enough)
8x (20 seconds best sustainable effort, 10 seconds rest) (by the time I hit 6 times through this, the cursing begins)
20 min ZR

I then added on another 30 min of Zone R that I missed last week. After that, you would think I would be spent, but instead I was wired and proceeded to cook dinner (yummy chicken sausages and whole wheat pasta salad)and then cleaned the entire house. Then passed right out.

Today started with my favorite swim algebra equation:

Warmup:
500 continuous @ TT+10
Main Set:
4 X ((3 X 100 all out with paddles (no buoy) on TT + 10 sec), 200 easy pull (buoy, no paddles))
2 X 200 Pull on TT+10 swam at TT+5

That is one of the ones that just kill me! I basically feel like if I try to lift my arms above my head within an hour after I finish they might fall off. (not sure why I would be doing that, maybe while riding a roller coaster?) You get the picture, my freakin arms are tired!

Tonight is 2 hours or BSTs on the bike and the dinner with my mom. Dad is back in California so she is stir crazy and wanting some companionship, so I will take a free dinner and some conversation it if makes her happy! Till tomorrow......