NYC Triathlon #3- The Race

Hi. It's Laura.

A very sore Laura today. (It is creepy to refer to yourself in the third person, I know.)

I have given up trying to figure out what the weather is going to be on race day. I used to look starting 10 days out and I found this to be pointless. This year I never bothered to look until the day before. The Husband and I looked at several different apps to try to figure out what the weather would bring. Not one of them seemed to have a clue. In the end, it didn't really matter. The race happens race or shine. I do believe they would call it off for a hurricane although none was in the forecast.

Race weekend truly begins on Friday for me. NYC Tri starts holding the mandatory athlete briefings at noon on friday through sometime in the afternoon on Saturday. I do like to make a weekend out of it so I go to the first briefing on Friday and hit the Expo afterwards. The briefings are where the rules are verbally stated (they also publish an athlete guide). Such as: “No briefing then no hand stamp, no hand stamp then no race packet, no race packet then no race, no exceptions! No crying. No whining. These are pretty clear cut rules and they are not kidding.

Bike check-in the day before the race is mandatory. No bikes will be accepted on race day. No exceptions. No bike, no race. Once inside transition there are other rules NYC Tri enforces. No markers on your bike and no covers on bikes either. The team does sweep every aisle and remove markers and covers. The volunteers inside transition are also supposed to report bike that are improperly racked. Improperly racking your bike is a justifiable time penalty. I like that their rules are clear and simple. If you do not follow them, you do not race. I have raced other races where everyone does whatever they want and it is chaos. Trying to get 4000 people, with tons of gear, onto the UWS of NYC is quite a feat and needs discipline.

Race day plan: up at 3:00am, coffee, breakfast, leave by 4:00 am. We got close. Up at 3:00am , no problem. Coffee, no problem. Breakfast is always tough. I changed nutrition plan this year a bit to help with any GI issues I might experience. Dinner at 3:30 PM the day before and a light snack just before bed. (At 8:00 PM, while you were out to dinner Saturday night and/or imbibing, The Husband and I were already in bed.)

Instead of trying to choke down an egg sandwich, I decided on a fruit smoothie to top off my calorie stores. I still choked it down. Ugh, nerves. Out the door by 4:10, not bad. We pulled the car out of the garage into the rain and my heart sank. Rain? Seriously? Cycling in the rain is not my idea of a good time.

Since we moved 6 months ago, neither one of really thought about the logistics of getting to our old hood. We would just cruise down the west side highway (they close the north bound side for the race not southbound) get off at 79th Street and park. Except the 79th Street exit is closed because that is part of the race course. Duh. We keep going and head towards 56th Street. This was a glitch that I was not expecting and my insides reacted. Suddenly I had to pee so bad I couldn't speak. I asked The Husband to please pull over so I could go. Of course now we are in traffic. Yes traffic at 4:30 a.m. With the West Side Highway closed for the race and it was just after last call in the bars, we turn onto 57th street to look for an area for me to squat. Meanwhile the clock is ticking. Yellow transition is open from 4:00am - 5:15 am. If your gear is not in by then you are S.O.L. We found a nice little dark area, away from the people hanging on the street. I jumped out of the car, squatted behind a towel and magically regained my ability to speak.

Because of the turn we made, we wound up on Amsterdam free of traffic. Phew! We parked exactly where we planned and walked down to transition. I am happy to report, the rain stopped. I entered transition with all my stuff with 25 minutes to spare. I have gotten quite efficient at setting up my area. I do it every week for my brick workouts. I am always surprised that people actually spend the entire time that transition is open, setting up their area. Now of course I have to pee again. I decided not to go in transition porta potties but to make my way up to the start area. Mistake. The walk from transition to the start is 1 mile. Let's just say it was a good warm up for me. We hustled all the way up there and thankfully, no lines at the porta potties, yet.

With an hour to go before I need to be in the start corral, we hung out. We watched the people every where, relaxed a bit and waited. I then reminded The Husband not to let me do this again, my nerves just can't handle it. I wanted to use the restroom one more time before I had to get my wetsuit on. By 5:45 the lines were so long and the bathrooms just disgusting. 4000 people, 50 porta potties. Enough said.

Off to the start corral. The crowd in the women 45-49 age group this year is quite thin. I looked at the results this morning and it looks like a lot of no shows or maybe DNFs, no way to tell. The start corral is, believe it or not, quite settling. Everyone in it is about my own age sharing experiences either from previous races, training rides runs and/or swims. We can see the pros & elites take off which is amazing. While we were waiting to start we heard the guy who ultimately did win finished the 1.5 k swim in 11 minutes! WOW! WOW! WOW! Let me not forget to tell you, waiting to move up, it started to rain.

My goal this year was to have a good swim. Every year so far, I have had serious panic attacks about 600 meters into the swim. Last year it was so bad I though about having the guards pull me out and taking a DNF. I did eventually get past that and finish. The whistle blows and in we go. The Hudson is murky at best. The initial jump into the water is a little disorienting. I get back to the surface and off I go. They post the distances every 300 meters on the sea wall for us to see. The first one I see is 300 meters. I’m doing ok. I feel ok. I keep going. I see 600 meters. I think to myself am I ok? I'm ok. Do I need to backstroke? Nope, all good.

I see 900 meters. I'm ok. I'm doing it! 1200 meters. Still ok. Moving along, relaxed (as one can be swimming in the Hudson during a triathlon) this was the longest part. It felt like the current abandoned me and that I was going nowhere for quite some time. I didn't care. I have 300 meters left to go and I am not quitting now.

During the course of the swim, I did get knocked around a bit. There was some wake coming in from the motor boats mid river. I also had another swimmer slapping the back of my leg a couple of times. I felt like “seriously? do you think I am a piece of wood?” “Move on bitch.” I made it to the end with no panic attack, no back stroke, no floating. WOOHOO!!  HOT DAMN! I let the guys pull me out of the water and onto the exit ramp. I so much wanted to enjoy the moment but I was a little too disoriented. On to T1.

The women have an 800 meter run to T1. I have not been able to run the distance after the swim in the past. This year, I half ran, half walked. I entered T1, stripped my wetsuit and peed again at the porta potties. Last year I made the mistake of leaving transition and going just into the public restroom which added to my cycling time. I took my time, did my thing and headed out.

It’s just not just raining at this point, its pouring. I was smart enough to cover my things on the ground so at least I started off with dry shoes. Riding a bike in the pouring rain is bad enough add a race to that and conditions just get dangerous. I was not looking forward to riding in the pouring rain. I was a little panicked (I guess I had to panic somewhere).

Out on to the highway. The road was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Usually when it starts to rain, the oils rise to the surface. It did not look too slick. I tested my brakes, they seemed ok. I never thought about racing in the rain and I certainly didn't train for it. I also was not expecting little water spouts shooting out of the back the bike in front of me.

By the time we are 15 minutes in, my shoes are loaded with water. I am already wet from the swim so who cares, but my feet being that was just gross. I have spray in my face that completely covering my glasses but we are all moving fast. The only issue I wound up having on the course was my chain popping off. My own fault due to my aggressive gear changing. Got it back on with no problem other than being covered in grease. Chain on, heading north, I pass by our current apartment and head up to Mosholu Parkway for the turnaround. I make the turn and realize I'm making really good time. I might actually finish in 90 min. Note here: I am only talking about my race. I am not comparing myself to any other person on the course. I don’t care about them. I don't share their same genetics, training or otherwise. My PR is my my PR.

Coming up on the last leg of the ride and I know I am finishing in a really good time for me. I am so excited that I have had to two really good legs so far. On to T2.

Into T2, I execute the same game plan: take my time, do what I need to do and then head out. I am not racing for money so really who cares. I take my time, pee and decided to ditch my socks. They are so soaking wet that I don't think it’s a good idea to run in them. I am afraid of getting itchy feet.

I leave T2 and walk up the ramp and through Riverside Park onto West 72^nd Street. I needed a minute to recover. My hamstrings and glutes were starting to cramp. I started to run as soon as I hit the street. Half way up 72^nd, I started talking to a fellow runner. We were both moving at the same pace and, at that moment, we decided to run together. What a life saver!! I am not a fast runner and left to my own devices I would have walked a bit out of sheer exhaustion, both mental and physical. But meeting Kristy at the beginning of the run allowed me to not think about how much I hurt or how far we had to get. We chatted the entire time trading war stories of training and previous races.

At mile 4, I realize no socks with no lube was a really bad idea. I can feel the blister form and a while later I feel it form again. The rubbing blister is excruciating. What am I going to do? There are no extra socks on the race course and no lube for sure. I keep going. This is what is was all for. Who cares if I have a blister? My next race is a month away and I will be off training for the next few days. This race and this moment was what it was all for, screw the blister.

As we closed in on mile 5, the sun started to fight to come out. Next thing I knew, we crossed the finish line. I was so grateful for her presence. We hugged. We traded numbers. I will definitely run with my new friend again. Thanks to Kristy, I was able to shave 3 minutes off my previous run.

What a day! I am so happy with my race time. I took 2 min off my swim, 10 min of my ride and 3 minutes off my swim. All told, 3:37:16 for a total of 6 minutes better than last year. I know what my next goal is but I am going to bask in the glory of my personal victory for a while. My race year is not over. Iron Girl Triathlon on Sept. 7th, a few days off to rest, then back at it. My "A" race complete with a new PR. Ecstatic!

Between the Hudson River, lube, sweat, bike grease and what ever else made it onto my body, a shower was the first order of business once home. Well, that was truly the most painful shower. I had so much exposed skin from blisters and chaffing I could barely stay under the water. I needed to strategically splash and rinse myself careful not to let the water hit my heels, back or chest, like playing twister. 

A giant thank you to The Husband. I would not be able to all of this with him. His support during the months of training leading up to race day is amazing. He puts up with all my whining and crying and nerves and crazy schedule and still comes out on race day and follows me all over the city with enthusiasm. I love you. And thank you to my Blondish Friend for coming out to cheer me on where on the race course where I needed it the most.

Showered, hydrated, fed. Bed time was once again 8:00PM only this time there was sleep. 

Laura

9 days left

Hi, it’s Laura,

My blog, this year, is like that person you promised to call. A few days pass and you feel bad that you have not made the call. Then a week passes and you promise yourself you will do it this weekend. By the time two weeks have gone by, it’s just too awkward to make the call. I am making the awkward call today.

I think about what stories to tell every day but it has just been difficult to put fingers to keyboard these days. I do know the last I made an awkward call like this, it was received with open arms. Hoping for the same.

I am supposed to be keeping a journal of my training. You will have to trust me when I say I have been training. Long swims, long long runs and even longer bike rides. Just 9 days from race day and I am done done done. I am ready for race day up until I think about race day and then I get anxious. No matter laps or miles logged, apprehension always happens.

I had to look back at my blog entries to see where I left off in my stories. It's been longer than I thought. I have not written since the half marathon in June! I took off just one day after the half. It just happen to be my scheduled long run for the week. There is the triathlon to train for after-all. And from that point, two more months to go.

The best way to catch you up is to work backwards. At just 9 days out, I have my last brick today (bike followed immediately by a run). And this week, I completed my last long ride (20 miles). Just a note on the bike rides, my average bike ride these days is 90 min (20 miles). I do these twice a week. Add to these the occasional long ride scheduled periodically that has varied between 105 and 150 minutes (that has landed me somewhere between 30 & 35 miles depending on how I feel on the scheduled day). Last week was my last long swim (3000 yards which translates to 1.7 miles or 2743 meters). These last two weeks have been a bear. When I said earlier that I am “done” you may now see why.

The Husband and I decided to spend the last two weeks at our place in VT. What an interesting twist to my training it has been. I thought that, training at a higher altitude, would help my training. But it turns out you have to be at about 2500 elevation for at least three weeks for any benefit. Our place is at 2300 feet but I drive back down the mountain where it’s just a little flatter and actually doable by human standards. This takes me down to 1100 elevation. And only for two weeks… oh well.

So my poor man's Colorado didn't completely work out. However, there are enough rolling hills and steep climbs to keep one busy. I will say I do not miss all of the stair cases in my rides out of the Bronx. Here are some of the stairs cases where I have to carry my bike to get back to the path:

For these last two weeks, steep & rolling hills are a nice change of pace from the staircases of the Bronx.

I knew the pool in our building was a little shorter than 25 yards. I asked management what the actual length is and no one ever answered me. I decided to treat the pool as 25 yards anyway I figure no matter what if I spend 45 to 50 minutes in the pool the training was getting done. I have since figured out that the pool at home is about 20 yards. I have already stepped up my training in swimming this year by adding a third day. Last year I trained on a more intermediate schedule and this year is a more advanced schedule. Here in VT the pool where I swim is an actual 25 yard pool. Oh my, what a difference those 5 yards make. The swims that were taking me 40 min are taking 50-55 minutes.

The pool at Pico fitness center is awesome. It has a salt water/chlorine blend that is less harsh on the skin and swims suits. All I can think about while I am swimming is the swim in the Hudson. My longest swim this season was 3000 yards. Which I whined about getting done last Thursday. I kicked and screamed at myself during the 10 min.drive down to the pool. An hour and 20 minutes later, it was complete. I was so happy to have that swim done. Knowing that I can swim that far, I am hopeful that the swim leg of the tri will go smoothly. The last two years I have had panic attacks about 600 meters into the swim. After upping the training, I am hoping for the best.

This brings us around to the running portion of training. After the half marathon, I thought all running would be easier. What was I thinking? Before we left for VT, I still had long runs built into my training plan the equivalent of 9 miles each. I really do not like running 9 miles. I much prefer 5 and 6 miles. I ran my last of the longest runs, two weeks ago. I was so happy it was done. The run for the tri is only 6.2 but, as a personal trainer myself, I understand that you need to train longer for all the things that can go wrong on race day. At this point, I am maintaining the 6 mile runs twice week with other smaller runs built in.

This brings us to the home stretch. A brick today and my last longer swim tomorrow with one of those smaller runs to finish, let the tapering begin! 

The taper week brings with it all kinds of fun activities, the expo, the mandatory athlete briefing, bike check in and then the race itself (8/3/14). The one thing that unfortunately goes away is the eating. I will miss being able to eat whatever and whenever I please. Although, after this tri, I am doing one more sprint distance in September. I will say that it is not nearly as challenging and will not allow the reckless abandon eating to continue.

After Saturday, I will have a bit more free time on my hands.

Laura

13.1

Hi. It's Laura.

I watched the weather forecast for the 10 days leading up to the Heartbreak Hill Half Marathon.

10 days out, there was a 50% chance of rain (I think this is a default setting for the weather channel). 5 days out "they" predicted the high to be 71 and the low 51. What a wonderful prediction. Then reality sets in.

Lolita and I took Amtrak into the "Boston area" which turns out to be Newton, MA. It is at least 7 miles from Boston which makes a huge difference in being in the city then from being in the suburbs.  The race was to start at Boston College (BC) in Newton. Our hotel was in Needham which is another 5 miles from BC.  We planned this trip back in March. Neither one of us had any idea about Boston or the surrounding area.  How far away could things be really? Had we had a car, things may have been different. But we both agreed that driving home after the race was a bad idea for either one of us.  If you are not familiar with Uber car service, you need to be.

I cannot sing their praises loud enough.  We Ubered back and forth and back and forth. From the hotel to BC, from BC to Needham to dinner to the hotel, you get the idea.

We arrived in Needham area Friday night.  The one and only taxi we took, which was VERY expensive, dropped us at a brand new Residence Inn in the middle of an industrial park.  I was slightly panicked that we were so far away until we met another person checking-in who was running the same race.  Turns out there were quite a few staying in the same hotel which made me feel better about the choice we made.

Because we were unfamiliar we decided the Friday arrival would be ideal to get ourselves orientated. We took all of Saturday to explore so we would not be completely lost on race day.   We start Saturday off with a free breakfast.  When they told us it was free we expected coffee and Danish.  Not the caseJ. They had a full breakfast buffet with make-your-own-waffles station.  Seat yourself, clean up after yourself and eat all you want.  I do not like buffet style eating. I find them pretty disgusting and let's face it, I’m a bit of a food snob. With free breakfast, without leaving the hotel, hot eggs and being hungry, I dug in with no problem. 

Off to the expo.   Neither Lolita nor I knew that there were other races going on during the weekend. We knew about the Eukanuba Dog Race but no other people/dog race.  Our timing to the expo was bad. We arrived just as the bulk of people were either finishing or staring a 5K or a 10K. Apparently there was a hat trick (5K, 10K, 13.1) of races. A runner could do 1, 2 or all 3 with the 5k and the 10k on the same day. There were all these sweaty smelly people milling about the expo trying to pick up the bib and shirt for the next race. Ewww.   Good stuff but too small. With all of the space on the floor of the BC arena they had the vendors in only half of it which smooshed everyone together. Why? Why not spread out? 

Bib and shirt secured. We set out to enjoy the rest of the day.

We took and Uber car back to Needham proper to grab some lunch, mani/pedi and relax.  It would have been an absolutely lovely afternoon but for the heat.  We were prepared for a high of 71 not 87 degrees.

We walked around Needham sweating and trying to find shade for the lack of SPF.

I checked the weather again for Sunday and it was not looking food for us.  85 degrees is awesome when you are going to the beach. 85 is not awesome when you are going to run 13.1 miles in race called Heartbreak Hill.   If you are not a runner you may not be familiar with the rule of thumb of 20 degrees. 

Before heading out to run, add 20 degree to the temp outside and dress for that.  If the high is going to be 86 we need to dress for 106. This is going to suck.

We left for the race start on Sunday morning at 6:30.  We were very lucky there were a number of people running the half, so the hotel arranged for a van to take us all over (good Expedia and trip -advisor reviews for them). We arrived right at 7 am and headed straight for the porta potties.  It is inevitable that no matter how many they have there will always be a line.  Some time there is dancing in line some times its just sheer panic. No matter which it’s just unpleasant.

This is the first road race that I have done that did not have a number or time finish corral start.  Apparently it was the honor system and you could start wherever you wanted (I think most people do that anyway). So we pushed our way to the section that seemed right.  We were close to the front but not too close to the people who would eventually win.  There was the national anthem and, once complete, everyone started moving. What happened to the shot gun, cannon or other loud starting noise? Oh well, here we go.   I thought for sure we would cross the start line about 1/2 hour after the actual start time but we actually crossed very close to 7:30.  I have heard rumors that some people who run the NYC marathon don't start for something like four hours after the actual start time.  I don’t know how true that is but it certainly sounds believable to me for the size of the race.

Even before we actually started you could feel the heat of the of the sun beating down.  No clouds no wind and, down Commonwealth Avenue, no shade.   According to my Garmin, the temp was only 70 degree with no wind, no shade and, running 13.1 miles, it felt closer to 100.  We can sum that up with it was HOT HOT HOT. By mile one people were already very sweaty and starting to walk. 

You can study a course all you want but until you are on it, you have no idea what it is going to be like.  This one was rolling hills, steep hills, and more rolling then Heartbreak Hill perfectly situated at the start of mile 12! Why not at mile 5 or 6 or 7 or 2? It’s just mean. 

I managed to lose Lolita at mile 1ish. I knew I would find her at the end and didn't worry about her too much. As far as my race went. I was good until mile 6/7.  We made the turn to head back up Commonwealth Avenue and I started to have pain in my right foot.  I had to stop twice to make sure I wasn't blistering.  I wasn't.  I stopped twice more to rub the numbness out of my foot.  My right foot was so numb, it was causing actual pain to the point it felt almost broken. The broken toe, BTW, felt just fine.  I did not run heartbreak hill, I walked it.  I just couldn't. I was hot and hurting and there is no shame in walking in direct sun up hill at mile 12. Once I cleared the top I ran to the finish line.

The first two half marathons I ran were both flat flat flat, cold and rainy. Philly half was 23 degrees in November and Long Branch was pouring rain in May. I finished both of those in just about 2 hours but the heat of the day on Sunday just killed me. I wound up finishing in 2:44.  I never set out with time expectations for this race, so I am not too disappointed. Ok, maybe a little but I finished and that is what counts.  The heat was just awful.  Did I mention it was hot?

After I crossed the finish line, I grabbed a bottle of water, finished it and grabbed two more waters and a bottle of Gatorade. I made my way back to the ending .1 of the race to look for Lolita.  She made the turn into the last 800 yards about 30 minutes later. Since this was her first, I ran across the finish line with her and handed her a bottle of water at the end. 

Finishing 13.1 felt good but the Mercedes Benz Uber car that took us back to the hotel felt even better.

We showered, we lunched and we headed home.

Tuesday morning, I was back at it.  Still sore from the half and still training for the tri, I headed out for a good bike ride to break up some lactic acid and swam in the afternoon.

One adventure down, the next one continues and one more after that one. I would have liked to take another day off but they are not going to move the date for the tri because I decided to run a half marathon.  This morning was a slow 5 miler. It is such a relief to not have very long runs anymore.   10 mile training runs are not exactly fun, which is why I will never run a full marathon. 20 mile training runs sound even less fun.

Now I can just focus on triathlon which makes it sound almost easy. Almost.

Laura

Let's Play Catch Up!

Hi. It's Laura.

We make rules for ourselves. When we abandon them we feel guilty. When we follow through we feel good & justified. I created this blog for me to chronicle my triathlon journey. Yet this year, sitting down to diary everything, has been such a chore. I just can't seem to find the time. The writing is not the chore, finding the time is.

I feel like I should start with:"Father, it has been 6 days since my last oversharing...” penance: two days of zero activity followed by a day of Burpees with a 2 mile swim.
 

After I slammed my toe into a piece of furniture last week, I was absolutely convinced that I broke it. I have broken enough toes in the last decade to know what one looks and feels like when broken. So I should be an expert by now. However, I am not convinced that it is actually broken. The simple solution to this is to go get an x-ray and find out for sure. Not this time. I am in the midst of training for a half -marathon (which happens to be this weekend) and training for a triathlon. If it is broken, the Dr. will tell me not to run on it, which would stop me from training and that is just not going to happen. Ultimately, I took last week off from running. I did continue to swim and cycle. I am running the half marathon with LI Lolita. I know for sure she would be disappointed if she had to run it by herself. My ultimate goal though is NYC tri #3.

When I decided to take the week off, I thought maybe I would run the half but I could not jeopardize my "A" race.

The cycling was easy. Good cycling shoes are as hard as ski boots (almost). Pushing the pedals with the ball of the foot did not affect the toe whatsoever (FYI – it’s my second toe that is at issue). With swimming, it took a little more concentration. Generally, I do not kick during a swim. I use a pull buoy to hold up my bottom half and use my arms to stroke. I do kick some, but for the first week I decided it would be a bad idea to have the toe hit anything else including water. Let me explain, during triathlon, I use a wetsuit for buoyancy and try to save my legs as much as possible for the bike and run. Of course some kicking does happen, I just try to keep it to a minimum. The kicking turned out not to be the issue. But pushing off the wall, that's another story. I don't do flip turns in the pool, there is no need. I take a breath and push off. My first swim of last week, I swam without tape on my toes, which was a mistake, I kept forgetting not to push off the wall with both feet. Lesson learned. I kept the tape on my toes for all swims going forward and have had great success in doing no more damage to my toe.

During the off run week, as I mentioned, I continued to ride. Cycling has proved to be the biggest challenge for me this year. It started with not knowing where to go from my new home base to indoors trainers failing. Bike drama has certainly been consistent, and even with a broken toe, it continued. The Friday before Memorial Day, I took off for a ride before going away for the weekend.

I wanted to make sure I got in a good ride so I took my normal route down Riverside. The upper part of Manhattan tends to be very hilly. As I was ascending a climb, I heard a pop when I switched gears. This is the same sound an ACL makes when it tears. At the top of the hill, I realized I lost all of my low gears. I got down the hill just fine but I was never going to make it home at the end of the ride without low gears there was no way I was going to be able to climb any hills.

 

I called The Husband and asked him to come pick me up. Then I changed my mind. Then I changed it again, I asked him to pick me up a different point. Riverside is pretty flat. I think I can do the entire ride in one gear. A gear or two would have been nice to accelerate and pass and adjust with the wind but I managed to get down to Battery Park City in the one gear. I checked the time once there. Just about half way through the ride. I called The Husband and asked to change our pick up location. Not a problem. I managed to get an hour forty ride just 20 minutes short of my scheduled ride. Not too shabby.

 

It turns out the line that runs from the gear shift to the gears had popped. Thankfully an easy fix (not by me of course) by the bike professional.

On our way down to the bike shop, The Husband and I were discussing if perhaps all the mishaps are a sign NOT to do the tri this year. Or are all of these obstacles a test of character? Would a different person stop trying after the pedal incident or the gear incident? Would a different person not try to run after the broken toe? Perhaps it’s just a sign of crazy.

The week continued with cycling and swimming. I set a deadline of Friday at noon to decide if I was going to run the half marathon or not. Lolita needed to get in the mindset of she may have to run 13.1 by herself. I of course would go to cheer her on. I did decide to try running Friday morning as part of my brick workout (ride followed immediately by a run). After a 20mile ride, I ran my 2 miles. I was not quite sure if the toe hurt or not because my feet were numb from sitting in the saddle for 90 minutes. I texted Lolita: “Plan A”. Meaning the half will be run as planned, unless of course I continue to hit the toe all over the apartment. Why is it that we continuously hit the injured body part?

That brings us to this week. I know that, before a race, you are supposed to taper. However that is not happening for me. Just the opposite, I am trying to get all my tri training done before we leave on Friday morning. If I had not mentioned previously, we are running the Heartbreak Hill Half in Boston.

My thinking is that if I pack all of the "heavy lifting' in the front end of the week, I can get some rest before Sunday. It has been a crazy training week and so far. Free of drama: Monday, 6 mile run, 12 mile bike, Tuesday 5 mile run, 2000 yard swim, Wednesday 90 min ride, 1600 yard swim, Thursday 1300 yard swim 4 mile run and finish the week off with a 60 minute ride on Friday. Not my ideal schedule, but I will say, I am sleeping well this week.

Laura

Need I Say More?

Hi. It's Laura.

This happened on Friday night and I think it pretty much sums up my week.

Enough said.

 

Laura

Celebrate You

Hi. It's Laura. 

I have been writing this particular entry in my head for the last two weeks.  Every time I start well and my message is clear. I just have not been able to sit down long enough to write it down.

 About two weeks ago I went running with a friend of mine.  We were getting dressed and discussing what to wear based on the weather. She put on a very long T shirt that nearly looked like a dress. She told me that it was to cover her “large butt”.  My friend does NOT have a large butt.  It’s actually pretty small but she just doesn't see it that way.  I now know this is about her and her body issues. It saddens me that she would think so little (or big) of herself when I can see the beautiful person that she is. Which got me thinking about women and their body issues.

Last summer I volunteered at a Biggest Loser Run/Walk.  My first station was handing out the T-shirts for participants during registration.  It was an amazing turn out of people of all shapes and sizes. My second station was merchandise.

After the race everyone wanted a T-shirt or a hoody that says that they participated in the race. I totally get that! Who doesn't want to brag about their accomplishments (eh hum) anyway. I had a woman who wanted the baby blue hoodie. All I had left in baby blue was a medium.  The woman explained to me that she just lost 60lbs and this run/walk was her gift to herself. So we went through the table of hoodies looking for one that would fit her. 

Instead of baby blue we tried black in XL. She was swimming in it as it was so big.  Then she tried the royal blue in L. She thought it fit perfectly.  She still was looking at herself with the 60 extra pound eyes and she was wrong. It was way too big.  I asked her to please try on the baby blue medium. She refused claiming it would never fit her.  I finally convinced her to just try it. I felt like my mom trying to get me to try a new food. 

When we (I had a little help from a friend of hers) finally got her to try it on, I asked her to zip it up. It fit perfectly.  She didn't believe me.  Thanks to smart phones, I took her picture and showed it to her.  The look on her face was priceless. Her tears were contagious.  It was amazing to see someone who worked so hard achieve their goals.

I have so much to say on this topic that I lose my point once in a while please bear with me.

We all have parts of our bodies that we don't like which is most evident when you start comparing yourself to someone else.

Personally I have given that up. It is bad habit that needs to be broken like smoking and just as dangerous. The only opinion about you that counts is yours. I know easier said than done but like exercise it’s something you need to practice every day.

Giving up the habit of comparing yourself to others or hating your own body is not easy. We are bombarded with "perfect" images every day. Forget social media for now, that is a whole other beast. Magazine covers, billboards & television are enough not to mention that fat- shamers and bullies among us. Other people’s opinion of you are none of your concern. Are you still looking through a magazine and wishing you could like that? No pores, perfect skin, long flowing glossy hair.  It’s all a lie.  Every single picture in a magazine and billboards, even movies, are photo -shopped.  Yes you too can be perfect with photo shop. There are enough photo shop GIF's out there.

To help convince you here is one of my favorites:
http://jezebel.com/photoshop-gifs-make-you-wonder-why-we-have-models-at-al-1455209793

 

and one other:

 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jessicamisener/17-mesmerizing-before-after-photoshop-gifs

 

As for TV, it too is an illusion. Makeup artists, hair extensions and spanks lend themselves to the perfection illusion. 

Try to look at yourself as a whole person, not a body part. If you are comparing yourself to anyone else, stop it! You cannot be anyone else, EVER.   Back in 2002, I was dying to get my boobs done.   Seriously!  I did all the research online. I found out it was actual surgery and that it was expensive. I read all of the things that could go wrong simultaneously convincing myself, through celebrity photos, it was the right thing to do.  I desperately wanted bigger boobs.  But why? I got plenty of attention looking the way I did. There was a woman where I trained who had fake boobs.  She was cute and bubbly and not in saccharine way. I saw all of the attention she got just because of her boobs.   I ultimately decided that is not the kind of attention that I want for myself.  She was a smart girl too but no one would ever know that because they couldn't get passed the boobs.

I have not wanted to surgically enhance any part of my body since.  I have come to the realizations that I will never be 6', have thick hair or have big boobs.  I don't need to be 6', none of my clothes would fit. My hair is just fine. And as far as boobs go, I love the ones that I have. I am happy now that I never got it done.   I don't need to be anyone else.

I am strong, ambitious, athletic, nurturing, beautiful, smart, sassy full of energy and I love my life, my friends and my family. And they love me (most days anyway).

I continue to make discoveries about myself every day.  I am not perfect, I have my flaws, and we all do. I refuse though to eliminate whole food groups from my diet in order to be some else's definition of thin or to run a marathon because that is somebody else's definition of physical success. I run my own race, define my own success because no one else has traveled my journey, has my genes or embraces my same values.

Recent campaigns by both Dove Soap and The Today Show have tried to show women embracing themselves just as they are: beautiful.  Stripping them down to their underwear no matter their physical size and showing the world that every woman is to be embraced, not just the slender unrealistic models & celebrities that are glorified in media.

 I have an article to share with you that I found in the NY Times last May. It made me so sad that a person could be so disconnected from themselves. I Am Not This Body

You are a beautiful person. Celebrate you! Don't hate you. You only get one of yourself. It would be shame to go through life not liking how you look or wishing that you were someone else or had some else's body part.

Laura

 

Left, Right, Hill

Hi, it’s Laura.

 I finally thought I had some traction in my training. 

Monday's run went off without a hitch. An easy five miler.

After last week's foray into Yonkers, I sat down and studied a map.

There is a trail in Van Cortland Park that I run but it is unpaved in the Bronx.  Once you cross into Westchester, it's paved. I have looked it up several times but just couldn't not figure out how to get there on bike without heading up the unpaved part. My tires would not be able to handle the mud and dirt. Even if I did head up the unpaved road with my bike it’s usually pretty wet and I don't want to get muddy.  I can cover myself with sweat and suntan lotion but not mud.

 As it turned out, by my map studying, I was not that far off in my direction to get there last week just needed to make a few lefts and rights, climb a giant hill, make a few more lefts and rights go down a small hill enter into a private parking lot and VIOLA! There it is.

I heard the guy behind me yelling “hey”, “hey you” and I chose to ignore him and pretended that I didn't hear him since I ride with my music generally pretty loud. I worked far too hard to go to this very lovely, very flat, very long trail and I wasn't giving it up now.  Turns out, you cannot get to the trail from the parking lot after all.  The guy did not follow me into the parking lot. I am guessing that he didn't care that much.  I pulled out my phone from my saddle bag to see how to get there from here. Just two block further down and there is an actual entry.

The phone in the saddle bag is another drama story.  Once the weather turned and I was outside to ride , I realized I had no idea where I was going in this new neighborhood. I needed to use my phone to help me navigate.  At first, instead of listening to music, I would listen to directions in Google maps, smart right? Missed my music so ordered a case that I could use to hold the phone on the aero bars. Great idea. Didn’t fit my phone. I have the 5S and it only accommodates up to the 4S. Back to the old fashioned way of looking at maps as I go. Now I am adding at least 15 minutes to every ride because I have to stop, take out the phone, study the map, forget the direction, pull it back out look again, and then head back on the road.

Left onto Alan P. Sherman way and there it is. Glory! I ride and ride, ecstatic that I now know where I am going and can add the ride to my repertoire. Ride completed.  Tuesday only requires a short swim along with the ride.

Training for a half marathon while training for the triathlon is certainly bringing its own challenges.  This is week is supposed to be a recovery week from tri training but it’s also a building week for half marathon training.  That makes my long run this week nine miles.

 I stress pretty hard over long runs.   24 hours ahead of the run, I start to obsess about the distance.  I know I can run the distance. I have run it before. But something about tackling 8 or 9 or 10 miles is daunting. I have yet to figure out exactly why I drive myself crazy about it.

The worst part is the start of the long run. I am so stressed and jumpy that I starting running at an uncommonly fast pace for me.  I was just over a half mile in and I could barely catch my breath.  I checked my heart rate realized how high it was and made myself walk for a minute to calm down.  When I started up again, I was better but still running faster than my normal pace.  Finally at mile 2.5, I settled into a nice pace to complete the rest of the run.  I tried thinking about why these long runs stress me, I had plenty of time to think about, but nothing really seemed to solve the puzzle.

Let the bike drama continue!  Thursday's forecast was for rain with maybe no rain in the afternoon. Last week I got lucky and the sun came out for a lovely afternoon ride. Today I decided I didn't want to wait and headed to the gym to spin.

If you recall the crank on the spin bike was loose.  My hero husband came down and fixed it for me.  We opened a repair ticket with our building to have them fix it.  I have been riding outside so the repair of the bike was not an issue for me, until it was.

 

When I got to the gym this morning, of course the bike was not fixed.

I marched back up to the apt got my ratchet set and marched back down the gym.

I fixed it.  Three times I fixed it. I was so aggravated. While I was spinning I sent nasty emails to the building manager. Why two weeks have passed and this is still not fixed? I know that I am not the only one that uses the bike. Every time I do go to use it, I need to adjust it back to my size.  Let's just say oodles of calories where burned on that ride this morning. I had to take my frustration out somewhere.  Why not burn a few extra calories?

 As of this writing, I am happy that I didn't wait for the weather to turn because I would still be waiting for the sun to pop out.

One more ride, one more swim and one more run for the week. Phew.

 Laura

 

Last Week in a Nutshell

Hi. It's Laura.

Before I move into telling my stories for this week, I thought I would recap some of the craziness of last week.

During the throws of triathlon training it is not always easy to sit down and tell a story. Not only is there training but there is life and other obligations (we may have established that in earlier posts but it can't hurt to reiterate).

My current Saturday schedules are insane:  bike, clean the apt, walk the dog, swim. 

On paper it doesn't look like much but every activity takes a minimum of one hour. Needless to say, by the time I get to the swim I am dragging myself around.

I desperately wanted to nap last Saturday. With the swim still in front of me for the day, I was torn: nap, swim, nap or swim, nap then swim?  We all know that, if the nap happens first, the swim will never happen. 

Not to offend any of the reading audience, but I am not a huge fan of other people's children. If there is more than one, the dislike grows exponentially. (There are exceptions to the dislike, son of The Curly Girl comes to mind.) I am not going to use this blog to share my distaste for ill mannered, spoiled, narcissistic children so I will stop here. But you need to know where I stand.

 

I headed to pool and forbore the nap. The pool in our building is generally pretty quiet. Compared to my time at the JCC, it’s a welcome change. That is until someone else actually shows up.  This particular Saturday, it was five tweens. The rule in our pool is, if you are under the age of 16, you must be accompanied by an adult.

 

There they all stood at the bottom of the stairs. Meanwhile, I am just about to put my swim cap & goggles on until I notice that they are all dry. It is customary in public pools to shower before you get in the water. As a matter of fact, most pools have signs in both the locker rooms and around the pool saying just that. Our pool is no exception.  I inform the girls that they need to shower before entering. You would have thought that I told them to cut off all their hair.  And, after the looks I received, I wanted to grab my shears.

 They huddled around trying to figure out what to do when, to what do my wonderful eyes do appear, their adult.  I inform her they need to shower and instruct them to the locker room. “I have never hear of such a thing!” she says. I gladly pointed out the very large sign just above the pool that says “Please Shower Before Entering the Pool”. Unfortunately for me, I had forgotten my swim watch in the apt. So I suffered the humiliation of having to travel back to the apt soaking wet (wrapped in a towel) with other children on the elevator asking their mommies if they could “swim with them”. I dash into the apt, grab the watch and head back to the pool.

The tweens are well into whatever water game they were playing and had the good sense to stay out of my way.  Did I mention I was tired and cranky?  A serious nap followed.

Monday passed without incident.  I run on Mondays and nothing seemed to interrupt the five miler on that day.  I have carved out a nice little route up near the Van Cortland Golf Course. It’s quiet. It’s pretty. What more can you ask for?

The drama this season seems to be stemming from cycling. 

Last Tuesday, the weather was chilly and threatening to rain. Instead of heading out to ride, I decided to ride on the spin bike in the gym in our building. When I tell you the bike is old, it’s probably not as old as I think it is. New spin bikes are great with their power meters. So this one is maybe 10 years old. I guess that is pretty old. Anyway, I have been on and off the indoor bike in the gym since the temperature this spring has been so cold.

I start my ride, everything is going well.  Until it isn't.  It started gradually so I didn't notice at first but my right foot started to wobble.  I continue on but it almost feels like an actual outdoor ride.  I get off the bike to check it out.  It turns out the crank is loose.

I finger tighten it and get back on.  Seems to be working for all of about 2 minutes and the crank is loose again.  I need to get my ride in. I feel like this year's cycling is really off and it is what I wanted to focus on this season.  While on the bike, I text The Husband for an eight sided wrench, do we have one? "no” is the response. I text him the problem and correct myself, “it’s not eight its six”. “I will be right down.” YAY! My hero.  He comes, he tightens, and he leaves.

I pick up the pace and get back to where I was, sort of. The tightening of the crank lasts for all of five more minutes.  I decide this is just too dangerous to continue and cut my ride short. There is a second spin bike, a bit older than the one I was using. It is too difficult to explain the exact age. I tried to adjust it but I realized I could absolutely not ride the thing. Pics attached because word just won't do.  The guilt doesn't get too bad until I decide to skip my swim as well.

I believe that I have mentioned that I am also training for a half marathon in June. I am running with a friend of mind and we have a visit and an eight mile run planned for Wednesday. LI Lolita lives at the end of the universe on the North Fork, with a three hour drive in front of me with potential rain, skipping the swim seemed like the right thing to do.

I arrived in Long Island Tuesday night. Traffic was pretty awful. When is it not on the LIE?

We knew there was potential for rain on Wednesday. We made an alternate plan. If it is too bad outside, we could run eight on the treadmill at Lolita's gym.  Shoot me.

On Wednesday morning we decide to run outside. If it is too bad weather-wise, we can always pack it up and go to the gym as our original plan B.

 Lolita has a spot picked out that  should be a little sheltered from the wind. Fingers crossed. We wind up parking on the main road with crazy winds. It’s not looking good. I step out of the car and its only drizzling. It’s not that bad. We make the decision to go for it.

Well. That was pretty stupid.

Not only did the rain really kick in about mile 2.5, there was some snow mixed in as well. We were cold, we were wet but we got it done. Once we were back to the car I cranked the heat and the seat heaters. Because we were absolutely drenched, I caught a chill that I had a tough time shaking for the rest of the morning. The only cure I know: hot, hot shower.

 I was so cold that the shower  water on my hands and feet made them feel like they were on fire. But we got it done.  As you well know, the rain only got worse for the rest of the day.  The afternoon trip to the wineries made it all worth my while. My ride home was nearly four hours.

 Back in The Boogie Down for Thursday's ride.  I was getting ready to cause my own drama.  The week before, I knew that my saddle was loose. I don't have a bike hex key (Allen wrench) to fix it but I do have a hex key set. So it can be fixed. Now neither I nor The Husband are good mechanics but we were both willing to try.  I did not want to write a blog about how I was too lazy to tighten my saddle and had to ride with it in my hand or stand up for a twenty mile ride.

 I thought about it too. But its better when the drama just happens and there is no need to help it along.

We get down to bike storage and take a look at the seat. It will be awkward to tighten. The Husband gets his hand in there and is able to get it sort of. It’s not working, so he winds up taking the seat off to figure out how to get it to tighten. Now he can't get the seat back together. Oy.  Glasses please! Wrench please! The seat is back on the bike.

 The schedule is for an hour long ride. I don't want to ride up and down riverside again. I want to explore the neighborhood.  I take off out of the building only to find myself scrunched up on the bike. Apparently when we put the seat back on the bike we put it on too close to the handle bars. Oops.

I had remembered seeing a bike shop in the neighborhood. I stopped in, had him fix my seat. Easy peasy! He has the proper tools. I also asked him where to go. I thought maybe he could me to a place where I could just let'm spin. He directed me to the old Putnam line with some fairly sketchy directions.

 Up Broadway, right at Tibbet Station (wherever that is), and it should be right there.  “Uh huh.”  Up Broadway, into Yonkers, into a really bad neighborhood in Yonkers (yikes). The characters were so sketchy, I high tailed out and back the way I came, grateful that I have self-defense skills just in case. I have them, I would prefer to not have to use them.  I wound up tooling around the neighborhood never really finding the path that I wanted to take.  Once again I was short changed on the bike.

 My mission for this week is to find a couple of different routes to go without having to pack the bike onto the car. I do miss Central Park. It’s just too far down to go and enjoy right now.

The week ended easily enough: three mile run on Friday, twenty mile ride Saturday morning (up & down riverside) and a late afternoon swim all followed by a nap.

 The pool

 

old spin bike

 

old spin bike

 

even older spin bike

 

even older spin bike.

 

Laura

 

 

Thanks

Jim Ewing

________________________________________

From: Laura Irving [laurairving@live.com]

Sent: Monday, May 05, 2014 2:57 PM

To: Jim Ewing

Subject: last week in a nutshell

 

Hi. It's Laura.

 

 

 

Before I move into telling my stories for this week, it is only Monday.

 

I thought I would recap some of the craziness of last week.

 

 

 

During the throws of triathlon training it is not always easy to sit down and tell a story. not only is there training but there is life and other obligations (we may have established that in earlier posts. can't hurt to reiterate)

 

 

 

My current Saturday schedules are insane:  bike, clean the apt, walk the dog, swim.

 

on paper it doesn't look like much but every activity takes a minimum of one hour. Needless to say, by the time I get to the swim  I am dragging myself around.

 

I desperately wanted to nap last Saturday. with the swim still in front of me for the day, I was torn: nap, swim, nap swim. nap then swim?  we all know if the nap happens first the swim will never happen.

 

Not to offend any of the reading audience, but I am not a huge fan of other people's children. If there is more than one the dislike grows exponentially. (there are exceptions to the dislike, son of the curly girl comes to mind) I am not going using this blog to share my distaste for ill mannered, spoiled, narcissistic children so I will stop here. but you need to know where I stand.

 

I headed to pool and forwent(?) the nap. The pool in our building is generally pretty quiet. compared to my time at the JCC its a welcome change. Until someone else actually shows up.  This particular Saturday it was five tweens. The rule in our pool is under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

 

so there they all stood at the bottom of the stairs. Meanwhile, I am just about to put my swim cap  & goggles on until I notice that they are all dry. It is customary in public pools to shower before you get in the water. As a matter of fact, most pools have signs in both the locker rooms and around the pool saying just that. our pool is no exception.  I inform the girls that they need to shower before entering. You would have thought that I told them to cut off all their hair.  after the looks I received, I wanted to.  they huddled around trying to figure out what to do when to what do my eyes appear, their adult.  I inform her they need to shower and instruct them to the locker room. " I have never hear of such a thing'!  I gladly pointed out the very large sign just above the pool that says " please shower before entering the pool" .  unfortunately for me I had forgotten my swim watch in the apt. So I suffered the humiliation of having to travel back to the apt soaking wet (wrapped in a towel) with other children on the elevator asking their mommies if they would swim with them . I dash into the apt, grab the watch and head back to the pool.

 

the tweens are well into whatever water game they were playing and had the good sense to stay out of my way.  Did I mention I was tired and cranky?  A serious nap followed.

 

 

 

Monday passed without incident.  I run on Monday's and nothing seems to interrupt the five miler on Mondays.  I have carved out a nice little route up near the Van Cortland Golf Course. Its quiet, its pretty, what more can you ask for.

 

 

 

The drama this season seems to be stemming from cycling.

 

Last Tuesday, the weather was chilly and threatening rain. Instead of heading out to ride, I decided to ride on the spin bike in the gym in our building. When I tell you the bike is old, its probably not as old as I think it is. New spin bikes are great with their power meters so this one is maybe 10. I guess that is pretty old. Anyway. I have been on and off the indoor bike in the gym since the spring has been so cold.

 

I start my ride, everything is going well.  Until it isn't.  It started gradually so I didn't notice at frist but my right foot started to wobble.  I continue on but it almost feels like an actual outdoor ride.  I get off the bike to check it out.  It turns out the crank is loose.

 

I finger tighten it and get back on.  seems to be working for all of about 2 minutes and the crank is loose again.  I need to get my ride in. I feel like this year's cycling is really off and it is what I wanted to focus on this season.  While on the bike, I text the husband for a eight sided wrench, do we have one?" no"  I text him the problem and correct myself. its not eight its six. "I will be right down"  YAY! my hero.  he comes, he tightens, he leaves.

 

I pick up the pace and get back to where I was, sort of. the tightening of the crank lasts for all of five more minutes.  I decide this is just too dangerous to continue and cut my ride short. there is a second spin bike, a bit older than the one I was using. It is too difficult to explain the exact age. I tried to adjust it but I realized I could absolutely not ride the thing. Pics attached.  the guilt doesn't get too bad until I decide to skip my swim as well.

 

 

 

 I believe that I have mentioned that I am also training for a half marathon in June. I am running with a friend of mind and we have a visit and an eight mile run planned for Wednesday. LI Lolita lives at the end of the universe on the North Fork , with a three hour drive in front of me with potential rain, skipping the swim seemed like the right thing to do.

 

 

 

I arrived in Long Island Tuesday night. Traffic was pretty awful . when is it not on the LIE?

 

We knew there was potential for rain on Wednesday. We made an alternate plan, if it is too bad outside, we could run eight on the treadmill at Lolita's gym.  shoot me.

 

Wednesday morning we decide to try it. If it is too bad outside, we can always pack it up and go to the gym as our original plan B .

 

 Lolita has a spot picked out that is should be a little sheltered from the wind. fingers crossed. we wind up parking on the main road with crazy winds. its not looking good. I step out of the car and its only drizzling. its not that bad. we make the decide to go for it.

 

well. that was pretty stupid.

 

not only did the rain really kick in about mile 2.5, there was some snow mixed in as well. we were cold, we were wet but we got it done. once we were back to the car I cranked the heat and the seat heaters. Because we were absolutely drenched, I caught a chill that I had a tough time shaking for the rest of the morning. the only cure I know: hot hot shower.

 

I was so cold that the cold water my hands and feet feel like they were on fire. but we got it done.  as you well know, the rain only got worse for the rest of the day although the afternoon trip to the wineries made it all worth it. my ride home was  nearly four hours.

 

 

 

back in the boogie down for Thursday's ride.  I was getting ready to cause my own drama.  the week before I knew that my saddle was loose. I don't have a bike allen wrench to fix it but I do have allen wrenches so it can be fixed. now neither me nor the husband are good mechanics but we were both willing to try.  I did not want to write a blog about how I was too lazy to tighten my saddle and had to ride with it in my hand or something along those lines.

 

I thought about it too but its better when the drama just happens no need to help it along.

 

We get down to bike storage and take a look at the seat. it will be awkward to tighten. the husband gets his hand in their and is able to get it sort of. its not working , so he winds up taking the seat off to figure out how to get to tighten. now he can't get the seat back together. oy.  glasses please! wrench please! the seat is back on the bike.

 

the schedule is for an hour long ride. I don't want to ride up and down riverside again. I want to explore the neighborhood.  I take off out of the building only to find myself scrunched up on the bike. apparently when we put the seat back on the bike we put it on too close to the handle bars. oops.

 

I had remembered seeing a bike shop in the neighborhood. I stopped in , had him fix my seat. easy peasy, he has the proper tools. I also asked him where to go. I thought maybe he could get to place where I could just let 'em spin. He directed me to the old Putnam line with some fairly sketchy directions.

 

up Broadway, right at Tibbet station, where ever that is,, and it should be right there.  Uh huh.  up Broadway, in to Yonkers,(yikes) into a really bad neighborhood in Yonkers. The characters were so sketchy , I high tailed out and back the way I came grateful that I have self defense skills just in case. I have them, I would prefer to not have to use them.  I wound up tooling around the neighborhood never really finding the path that I wanted to take.  Once again I was short changed on the bike.

 

My mission for this week is to find a couple of different routes to go without having to pack the bike onto the car. I do miss Central Park. Its just too far down to go and enjoy right now.

 

 

 

the week ended easily enough : three mile run on Friday, twenty mile ride Saturday morning(up & down riverside) and a late afternoon swim all followed by a nap.

 

 

 

[cid:image001.jpg@01CF6872.673068E0]<https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVRyRYCzPhyISJqY7kj0S5aqLbSj2LKLJFve90vyuJKG3Ol0fRcQ8wbuwYDUv2-PV_vxRIpyIHysLIlcX2s_f5QeCriGzNO7HQ4RXUORtDdy-v4zQtecmWut7D5iinltpXBhFihkTC-a_i/s1600/the+pool.JPG>

 

 the pool

 

[cid:image002.jpg@01CF6872.673068E0]<https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtj2LYTMeeageu6WFnT7SMvhyphenhyphenk0wNs2iRz0to39DcJDvUYNyi3LyxvGy4-ue9O6LC8r4kG6N3lDUuyMX0eK1dpSizc1lCW4sr6xaJ7p0H0G0BsNfGZUWxHIAwCzMkmlN02rL1g-gw5pIgn/s1600/old+bike2.JPG>

 

 old spin bike

 

[cid:image003.jpg@01CF6872.673068E0]<https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicgalBaBOocAtu3-y9oIcTdIDGBtVc6dPRuoVy6qJWqJRrZrFIytTAYOIxmlayq6K3Nu759XbBJVYHiROlIdquCZy-uHFSd_H4tYd_qtPOK1B0GZSbytjRmr62mXkqEWNTfW1YGcYhsCHM/s1600/old+bike.JPG>

 

 old spin bike

 

[cid:image004.jpg@01CF6872.673068E0]<https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Nr1IVVixC0IfK2jNWdphp1COHX6GpcihL9Y09Ib3nL3aJcUJkpwCjXJ8rc1oHwrS0EV5SX1p8WaP0ptqsrqQAAVK3Z3M0pZli8atRNDsxqFd8ORWy3nw620rb7-mTgGhkekoZ0j_zLP2/s1600/older+bike+2.JPG>

 

 even older spin bike

 

[cid:image004.jpg@01CF6872.673068E0]<https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgokLkGXGdoxL_e1Kms-wNUOwND7zW7i7jVGXIYRJ56QZhr4tuuSRBQMGQIw-P5kkGZzXltd_raIvMo77kypglH5vVpL4MT4NEgwag05E1qvYQRzjDMWCYj4tusCkk13DTdPejUxqIYBEbM/s1600/older+bike.JPG>

 

even older spin bike.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Laura