Triathlon Training: #3: 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

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.