Still early, but not so cold ...

Call it global warming, or just the normal variations in climate that occur during the life cycle of a planet. Nowadays it seems like everyone is hopping onto the global warming bandwagon, but back in the day when Pluto was still considered a planet, we were happy to get a warm day in December. The good news is that at least for this week, our outdoor training sessions were a little warmer. At least on the weekend.

On Wednesday we had a 30 minute out and back (OAB) run. That means we run for 15 minutes out and then 15 minutes back. Right when we turned around at the fifteen minute mark, it began raining which then turned into hail. At that point, there's not much left to do since fifteen minutes in the rain is still fifteen minutes in the rain.

However, Saturday was a completely different story. I checked the weather before leaving my apartment and saw that the temperature was 52 degrees Fahrenheit. The GTS was changed to a run session from a bike due to the rain from the previous night. The run workout was a series of four ten minute OAB run with squats in between each set. After the second run, I was down to just a t-shirt. It appears that global warming is short lived as next week has the temperatures back into the twenties. Hooray for under armour cold gear and sugoi jackets.

Call me crazy ....

Call me crazy, but I decided to sign up for another Team in Training event this year. I will be a mentor for the Summer season with the NYC triathlon team. The seasons for spring and summer overlap for about three months between March and May, so I will probably be doing double training sessions on some days. Some people will probably think I am crazy, but I am looking forward to it. Besides, if I am going to do a half-ironman distance in June, then I will need to get some more training in before that.

This week was a nice and wet run in central park. While the group was slightly diminished due to the holidays and the weather, those who showed up were in great spirits and slightly damp. This weekend is scheduled to be our first bike session so I am off to try and get some cold weather bike booties for my shoes. Happy Holidays to all.

Just for fun ...

Remember no children, small animals or plants were harmed in this survey. ;-)

26

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And so it begins ...

8:00 am on a cold (low 30's) Saturday morning usually finds most of us sleeping in bed or at least thinking its way too cold to get out of bed. But the better way to spend an early cold Saturday morning is to join all of your friends for a leisurely jog through Central Park as we begin our training for the Capital of Texas, St Anthony's and Gulf Coast Triathlons.

That's right yesterday was our very first GTS or Group Training Session. From now, until the race, I will start off Saturday early in the morning with a GTS. Either a run or a bike or a bike/run combo known as a BRick. Today's training was a social run (with some squats and walking lunges thrown in for good measure) although many of my friends may find it to be an oxymoron to include social and run together. The purpose of this run was to get to know our new teammates and to begin to acclimate our bodies to the training that we will be doing for the next six months.

The other thing that happens at the beginning of most of the group training sessions is the mission moment. This is where different member of the team speak about their personal connections to the cause or why they are training. Many people on the team have very personal connections where parents, children, siblings, other family members or loved ones have been personally affected by leukemia, lymphoma or other blood cancers. One of the things I learned last year when I did my first triathlon with Team in Training was how many people I know had personal connections.

At yesterday's GTS, one of the honored teammates gave the mission moment. The honored teammates are cancer survivors who are training with us for these events. He spoke about during his chemotherapy treatments, when the doctors would ask how he was doing, his response would be "Can't Stop Now." During this season, if a run get hard or our legs get tired during the bike, or we feel we can't swim another stroke, the little voice that says "You're tired, why not take a break" is replaced by a new voice, "Can't Stop Now".

This time it's for Bar-B-Que!!!

Austin, Texas. SXSW Music, Film and Interactive Festival. The Elvis Presley Memorial Combo at Chuy's. The Bats at the Congress Avenue bridge. The family style all you can eat BBQ at the Salt Lick. These are just a few of the memories that I have of previous trips to Austin. Now, its time for another one.

This May 2008 during Memorial day weekend will be the Capital of Texas triathlon. I'll be joining with Team in Training again for to raise money for the leukemia and lymphoma society to train and complete an olympic distance triathlon. For those of you new to this blog, that means I'll be swimming 1500m, biking 40km and running 10km. This is the same distance as the NYC triathlon last year, but this time in Austin.

Since the race is in the spring, we get to train in the winter. I picked up some new cold weather training gear this past weekend to last me through the winter months since our first GTS (group training session) will be this coming Saturday at 8am. Yes, that's right, 8am on a cold (forecast is around 32 degrees) Saturday morning in Central Park. So keep coming back here to read about this next round of training. On the plan for this coming spring/summer is the Capital of Texas Triathlon in Austin, the NYC Triathlon in NYC and possibly at least one half-ironman triathlon. Thanks for reading and remember, if you are willing to donate on my fundraising page to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the I'll do the work of waking up and running on a cold Saturday morning.

Swim ... Bike ... Run ... Celebrate!!!

Sunday, July 22, 2007 got to an early start at 4:00 am. Usually being up at that hour in the morning means I have not gone to bed yet from Saturday night, but this weekend means its race day. The transition area was packed as athletes worked to get their area set up before the 5:45 am close. Its important to make sure that you have set up all the equipment you will need to move from swimming to biking and then from biking to running since the time spent in transition counts as part of your total race time. It is considered the fourth event in the triathlon.


After checking that my bike and all my equipment was set up and my bike was in the proper gear to make it up the hill at 79th street out of the park, I exited transition and begin the long walk to swim start at 98th street and Riverside park. At that point I had a long wait since my wave didn't start until 8:27am. Luckily I met up with some friends and got to relax with them while waiting for the race start.

Soon it was time to put on the wetsuit and line up for the swim start. Having completed the 1500m swim in the Hudson the prior week at the Stars and Stripes Aquathlon, I felt pretty confident in completing the swim. Of course, that doesn't mean he nervous anticipation was not there, but no need to visit the complementary shrink tent available at race start. Starbucks and counseling, definitely a full service triathlon.

Prior to race day, we had always heard about the strong current in the Hudson. Tales of a bag of Cheetos overtaking racers were often heard. After jumping all I can say is good thing we had a safety line. I grabbed on to the line and discovered that other racers were pushing the line down which made it difficult to hold on and keep my head above water. I finally managed to position myself with the rope at my thighs so I could remain in place as the current pushed me forward and keep my head above water. Finally our prayers were answered and the start gun was off. 25 minutes later I was stepping onto the finish barge which was much faster than my 35 minute swim the previous week.

Triathletes lined up at the swim start line

Heading into transition I "quickly" (relatively speaking) got my gear and headed out for the bike portion. Having practiced exiting the park up the steep hill often enough during group training sessions, I had my bike in an easy gear and avoided struggling or falling up the hill. Heading north up the West Side Highway, we faced a strong head wind. That along with not being in optimal gear selection resulted in a slower bike ride than I would have liked. Although, the ride back with the wind at my back and more downhills felt much better.

Heading out of transition to start the bike course

Heading back into transition from the bike

Finally, it was time to head out for the run. I was feeling pretty tired at this point, even more than usual. Not sure if it was from dehydration or lack of nutrition, although I had made a conscious effort at both, made the run a lot slower than my usual pace. The great thing about training with TNT is all the support you get from your other teammates as well as from random people on the road. All during the bike ride and during the run, I heard shouts of "Go Team" from teammates, strangers who cheered the purple shirt, and friends who decided they would wake up early on a Sunday to come out and support me. All of that helps to keep you going when you are tired. And of course thanks to our TNT coaches who stationed themselves on the last leg of the run for that last bit of encouragement. Finally, thanks to everyone who donated to the Leukemia society on my behalf and helped me raise close to $3400 and helped the NYC Chapter raise over $1 Million Dollars for the fight against blood cancers. Go Team!!!

Some of the music at the finish line festival

Heading to the finish line

All finished!!! (Final time: 3:33:51)

Celebrating with Team in Training teammates (Nancy and Jay)
at the Boat Basin victory party.

Triathlon Finish Line Video

A full race report and pictures will be posted soon, but for those of you who can't wait here is a video of me crossing the finish line at the triathlon this past Sunday, July 22, 2007. I'm the one coming up wearing the purple Team in Training singlet.

As a team, the NYC chapter of Team in Training for the NYC Triathlon raised over One Million dollars for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Less than a week to go!!!

In less than a week, this adventure which began in the cold dark days of February will finish in the still dark, but much earlier and warmer morning of July 22. That Sunday morning will start extra early at 4am to get to the transition area, check in and get set up. While the race starts at 5:50am, my wave will start at 8:27am. Lots of hurry up and wait!! I am estimating a finish around noon, maybe between noon and 12:30 depending upon lots of different factors. One drawback to the late start time will be the heat of the day.

For those friends who wish to come out and watch, here are some of the details for spectators from the NYC Triathlon website.

Nautica Cheering Zones

1. Swim Start - Riverside Park & 98th Street on the Hudson River.
2. Swim Exit - Riverside Park & 79th Street on the Hudson River.
3. Run Course along 72nd Street from Henry Hudson Parkway to Central Park West
4. Run Course along 72^nd Street Transverse in Central Park – Park Drive East to the finish
5. Race Finish - Dead Road in Central Park near the bandshell off the 72nd Street Transverse

No Go Zones

For athlete safety we ask that spectators NOT attempt to go to the following locations:

1. Westside Highway (no walking, no standing, no riding, no nothing)
2. Bike Transition (NO ONE is allowed in transition except athletes)
3. Transition Bike Paths – respect the race marshals or your pal will end up in a bush – bad tri karma.
4. Finish Line Mix Zone – this is the first 40 yards after the finish. It’s for medical, athletes, and press. Meet your star in the Delta Finish Festival.

Also, as one of the sponsors, Accenture has set up a system where you can track my progress during the race. Sign up at http://triathlons.accenture.com/NewYork. You will be able to receive e-mails, text messages or even voice phone calls with my progress during the race. On race day Accenture will even have a finish line web camera so you can watch the race live. Although if you are in NY, it will be a lot more fun in Central Park!!!

Aquathlon Weekend

Last weekend I became a triathlete with my first triathlon, the Sobe Mossman Sprint triathlon in Norwalk, CT. This weekend I became an aquathlete with not one, but two aquathlons . An aquathlon is a swim followed by a run. On Saturday, I did the inaugural Coney Island Aquathlon, which was a .25 mile swim followed by a 2 mile run. The organizers did a pretty good job with the event, it was a fairly small crowd and a nice dri-fit t-shirt with registration.

Sunday was the Stars and Stripes Aquathlon in Riverside park. It was a 1500m swim in the Hudson followed by a 5k run in Riverside park. We had a large contingent of team in training athletes signed up for either the aquathlon or the Riverside Park tune up swim which was just the swim and not the run. This was an important swim since it was an opportunity to swim the same distance as the triathlon in the Hudson River. The race day course is a little further north.

The start for the swim was from a floating dock by W. 70th street in Riverside park. From there we swam south until we exited by the Pier at West 56th street. A "quick" transition and its off for a 5k run up into Riverside Park. While the much vaunted current seemed almost non-existent (oft-repeated tales of a log doing a 20 minute mile seem mythical), the swim was not bad, at least once I exited the water. The run felt good as well, with my goal being to go at a relatively easy pace and still running an average of sub 10 minute miles.

Swim only athletes getting ready to start their race in the Hudson.

Finish line for the swim

The team in training contingent, ready to do it again, next week.

First Triathlon Report - Sobe Mossman in Norwalk, CT

This past Sunday, July 8, 2007, I completed my very first triathlon. It was a sprint distance triathlon which for this race was a .5 mile swim in the Long Island Sound, a 12.5 mile bike ride and a 5k (3.1 mile) run. It was a beautiful day for a race with clear skies, a perfect day to be swimming, biking and running before most people have even woken up and considered where they would have their Sunday morning brunch. The scene to the left is the transition area at about 9:00 am after the race.

Overall I had a blast and was pleasantly surprised at how much fun I was having. Since I was considering this more of a shakedown and work out some of the bugs, I was very happy with my time and definitely came out with a list of things to keep in mind for the next one which will be the NYC triathlon on July 22, 2007. One of my Team in Training teammates, Nancy came with me and this was her first triathlon as well. As you can see we are both happy to have survived our first event no worse for the wear. So let's look at the full race report.

It started off very early in the morning. About 3:00am in the morning, As I was packing up my car and getting ready to pick up Nancy, the only other people on the street were leaving some of the area bars and getting ready to head home for the evening. For extra fun I should mention that due to a number of factors, I had slept no more than a total of six hours since Friday. Not the recommended rest for a race, but what can you do. The race location was at Calf Pasture Beach in Norwalk, CT. Only about an hour from New York, so it was an easy ride, especially if you just follow all the other cars with bike racks on the road.

Map of Calf Pasture Beach

Arriving at registration in the morning, the big question was, so what do we do now. A good strategy seemed to be to look for the lineup of people with bikes and gear and join them. From there we picked up our race numbers, got our timing chip, race t-shirt, bag filled with complimentary swag from the sponsors (a very good selection, although I don't have use for a scrunchy), and body marking. From there we separated to set up our transition area. My strategy again was to follow what other people who seemed to know what they were doing. At that point its getting close to 6:30 am and they are directing everyone to the beach for the race start.


This was the location of the swim start down at the far end of the beach. Halfway down the beach they announced that the first wave with the orange caps would be starting in less than a minute. So my run got started a little early. But I got to the start before they blew the whistle and even got to ask what the swim course was before I got going. Its important to find that stuff out. For the swim course we would be swimming out to the first big yellow buoy, swimming parallel to the shore for four buoys and then swimming back to shore. I was pretty happy with the swim and for the most part stayed on course. There was one time between the third and fourth buoy when I though that I was on course and when I look up saw nothing up open water in front of me. Using the third open water sighting technique that our coaches have taught us (the where the f... am I technique), I saw a line of swimmers and a buoy off to my right in a completely different direction from where I was swimming. So I go back on course. At that point I was now being passed over by the speedy swimmers in the second wave start. An errant elbow knocked by goggles of a little, but I was able to readjust before too much water entered in. In the end my swim time was 25:14. Not necessarily speedy, but then I didn't think it would be. Running up the beach towards the the first transition otherwise known as T1. This is where we strip out of the wetsuit and get ready to bike.

Now, the big problem for this transition is gravity, or staying vertical in the face of gravity. I was feeling a little shaky as I was getting out of the wetsuit and opted to sit on the grass to get my socks and bike shoes on. Finally helmet is strapped, bike is off the rack and I am racing (strolling) out of the transition area to start the bike portion. Time for T1 - 5:06, lots of room for improvement there. The bike portion was a loop course out on the surrounding roads with the distance comprising two loops of the course. I felt pretty good during the bike portion and was able to maintain a pedal cadence of around 95 which is what the coaches have recommended for us. After two loops on the course, I headed back into the transition area for T2. The time for the bike course was 47:16. Heading into T2 and switching from biking to running, a little faster than T1, the time was 2:46. Room for improvement as well and then off to the run.

I felt pretty good coming of the bike and beginning the run, although a little tired by now. The run course was a loop that took us out into the marina and surrounding area and then back.
The time for the run was 29:09 which averaged out to a 9:24 mile split. I was surprised at that since I felt I was going much slower and that is typical for my time when I run a 10k without swimming and biking. Total for the entire event, 1:49:31.

Complete Breakdown:
Age Group: M 35-39
.5 Mile Swim (min/100yds): 25:14 (3:03.5)
T1 5:06
12.5 Mile Bike (MPH) 47:16 (15.9)
T2 2:46
5K Run (min/mile) 29:09(9:24.2)
Total 1:49:31

Overall Male Winner Time: 1:04:00

Now the lessons learned:

• I should probably get more then 3 hours of sleep.
• Faster transitions, especially going from the swim to the bike
• Reset the bike computer before the race starts so I have a better idea of distance and pacing during the bike ride.
• Figure out how to rehydrate during the bike ride. Not as much of an issue for the sprint distance, but will come into play during the longer distances, including the NYC triathlon in less than two weeks.
  

Three weeks to go

Only three weeks to go till the big event. As our coaches have told us, that means two more weeks of hard training and one week of taper till event day.

In addition to our regularly scheduled training sessions, I have decided to compete in a couple of warm up events prior to the NYC triathlon. Next Sunday, July 8 I will be competing in a sprint triathlon, the Sobe Mossman Triathlon in Norwalk, CT. This event will be .5 mile swim in the Long Island Sound, a 12.5 mile bike ride followed by a 3.1 mile run.

Then on Saturday, July 14 I will be competing in the Coney Island Aquathlon at Coney Island. This event will be a 0.25 mile ocean swim off Coney Island, followed by a 2 mile run.
Back in February when swimming 5 laps in the pool was a daunting task, these events would have seemed like great efforts instead of just a warm up as part of regular training.

Finally the following weekend will be the big event. For those of you reading and in the NY area, feel free to come down and cheer me on at the finish line at Central Park. Once again, thanks to everyone who has donated to and helped make the efforts of Team in Training and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society possible.

Awesome Donors!

Everyone please stand up and give a round of applause to all everyone who has donated to the society on my behalf. Thanks to you, I have currently my personal goal of raising $3,000 for this event. However, that doesn't mean the work is over. Rather, its a great opportunity to have an even bigger impact on the fight against leukemia.

Once I raised the Team in Training minimum of $2,500, 100%, that's right One Hundred percent of everything donated above that amount goes to the Leukemia society to fund research and their patient service programs and not to administrative costs. So for anyone else who still wishes to donate, please visit my fundraising page at http://www.active.com/donate/tntnyc/herb and use the form on the left. Now is the time to contribute and your money will go even further in the race for a cure!

Thanks to all!!!!!

Here there be Mermaids

Ahoy! Avast ye maties! Arrrrr! Me'n'these here scurvy scallywags drug our sorry keesters out t'th'ship'n'had us a grand great adventuaaarrr! Arrrrr! Me'n'th' crew seen a great grand sea beastie, th' mother of all whales, aye! Shiver me timbers, there be mermaids at Coney Island.

Such was the scene at Coney Island yesterday after our open water group training session. And no, it was not international "Talk like a pirate day" (that's Sept. 19), but rather the 25th annual Coney Island Mermaid parade. A day for sailors, pirates and of course mermaids to go out and strut their stuff.

After a morning of swimming and running, a little down time on the beach, a visit to Nathan's for their hot dogs and crinkle fries, and mermaids parading down the street is a perfect way to spend a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Besides the mermaids, sailors and pirates, there was everything from the Seapranos, Charlies Angelfish and the Four Seahorses of the Apocalypse. A few pictures from the parade below.

Milestones

Wow, only four more weeks to go. It feels like it was just February and I was heading out for my first twenty degree group training session run with NYC Triathlon Team. While the blog may have been quiet these past couple of weeks, the training certainly has not. Since that cold morning in February, I've swam countless miles in the pool, run countless more miles in Central Park and Riverside Park, and biked even countless more around Central Park.

I have always considered swimming to be least strongest event, especially due to my lack of experience in competitive swimming. Apparently floundering in the waves at the beach and games of marco polo in the backyard pool don't count. The first time I tried swimming laps in the pool at Equinox, I was exhausted after five laps. Since that time I have swam .5 mile (40 laps), 3/4 mile (60 laps) and 1500 meters or .93 miles (80 laps) in continuous swims at the training sessions. This past Saturday, I completed my first open water ocean swim at Coney Island with my sleek new triathlon wetsuit.

Things have also improved on the biking and running fronts as well. I am feeling much more comfortable with my new clipless pedals. Clipless pedals are a bit of a misnomer since the shoes clip into the pedals to allow for more efficiency and power when biking. The drawback is that your feet are attached to the bike and unless you unclip when stopped you will fall over. Which of course everyone does, including myself. The first day I went riding with them, I was stopped at a light and as I pushed off to get going, I proceeded to slowly fall onto my left side. Luckily my body was there to protect my bike from getting dinged up. Today, once again, I started to fall to one side as I was getting started. However, this time I managed to unclip and stop my fall before hitting the ground. That and a 25 mile training ride in Central Park made it a good biking day.

Finally, I am almost at my goal in terms of my fundraising. There is still time for those you who have not donated yet. Please visit my web page at http://www.active.com/donate/tntnyc/herb and use the online donation form on the left. Your donations will help the leukemia and lymphoma society in their search for a cure as well as to fund the many patient care programs they run to help the patients and families who battle this disease. Thank you to everyone who has opened theirs hearts and wallets to contribute for this event.

Where does the money go?

Some of you may have wondered where the money that I am raising goes. Good question! Team in Training raises money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to fight blood cancers such as leukemia, Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphona, and myeloma. The society takes the money that I and the rest of team in training raises and uses it to fund research and patient services programs.

Research:

• Everyday research is being done to find a cure for these types of blood cancers. The hope is that one day, research will find a cure to this and other types of cancers.

Patient Services Programs:

• Patient Education Programs - The society provides up-to-the minute information to patients and caregivers. These educational programs are offered free of charge to help clarify treatment options and strengthen decision-maiking and coping skills for patients and their families.

• Information Resource Center - The society provides patients, families, and healthcare professionals with the latest information on leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. This support is available via phone, email and live chat online.

• Family Support Groups - These groups facilitate communication among patients, family and friends and the medical team. With professional guidance, patients and family members can discuss their anxieties and concerns with others who share the same experience.

• Back to School Programs for Children with Cancer - This program fosters communication among healthcare professionals, parents, young patients and school personnel in preparation for a child's return to school after cancer treatment.

• First Connection - The society provides a peer support program that provides patients and their families the opportunity to share experiences with someone who has been successfully treated for the same diagnosis. Coping skills and hope are gained from trained volunteer survivors who share their perspective on the recovery process.

• Connecting through the web - The society's website, www.lls.org, is the definitive resource for information on blood cancers.

• Patient Financial Aid - The society provides some limited financial assistance to help patients with significant financial need cover some of the costs associated with transportation, drugs and treatment.

These patient service programs provide immediate relief to patients who are battling blood cancers and the daily challenges that become part of their lives.

As you can see, your donation is providing a great deal of help for the present and for the future. If you have not had the opportunity yet, please visit my fundrasing website at http://www.active.com/donate/tntnyc/herb and make a 100% tax deductible donation. Any amount, even just $25 will help the society keep these programs going.

Thanks for your help!

Five boro bike tour

This Sunday was the five boro bike tour which was a bike tour through the five boros of NYC (Manhattan, Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island), seems pretty self-evident, huh. All in all, a 42 mile trek through the city with 42,000 of your closest friends. I met up with a friend of mine at the exit from Central Park to the tour. From their we traveled through the five boros and saw the sights. The tour started in battery Park City and finished up in Fort Wadsworth in Staten Island. Like any event this size, joining 42,000 people at the start line and getting home from the finish line can be the toughest part of the event. Especially when most of those people want to take the ferry back to Manhattan from Staten Island. here are some pictures from the day.

First of many port-a-johns set up for riders along the route. This one just north of the exit from Central Park.

After a brief trip through the Bronx, we traveled down the FDR drive towards the 59th st. bridge to get into Queens.

Rest area at Astoria Park in Queens, one of several where people replenished on Water, Snacks, and enjoyed the sunshine.

Another rest area in Brooklyn, more water, snacks, and sunshine.

Colorful costumes, headgear and unique bikes were the order for many of the riders.

A view of the Verrazano bridge from the BQE, almost finished.

This time, a view of the BQE from the Verrazano.

A view of the Verrazano from the finish at the park in Staten Island.

The long trip home on the ferry. Actually, the long wait for the short trip home is more like it.

Happy Cinco de Mayo

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!! While this holiday may receive minor press in Mexico, it is much bigger in the U.S probably due to commercial interests of beer, tequila and people looking for any excuse to drink. Not to be confused with lesser known holidays such as "no pants day" and "talk like a pirate day", Cinco de Mayo is an excuse to drink Mexican beer, tequila and develop your bilingual abilities. This leads to hearing many calls throughout the day of "Donde esta mi cerveza" and "Uno mas cerveza, por favor".

Of course I started off the day with a group training session in Riverbank park. My ankle is feeling much better from the initial sprain, although I am holding off on running on it for at least another week or two. Today's ride started off with a basic bike skills handling clinic including important stuff like changing gears, stopping and starting. So the use of trees, cars and small children are not recommended for stopping. Very useful information. Due to the park being completely closed for the Revlon Run/Walk, we finished our biking workout riding along the Hudson river.

After the GTS (for those of you not, playing along, group training session), we had a team picnic afterwards for some food and team bonding. While no calls for cerveza could be heard (hey, its not even 10am yet) there were bagels, OJ and other goodies to be had. Much better for you after a run anyway.

In other training news we will be now starting our Saturday sessions at 7:30 am. That's right, not a typo. So for those of you who have donated, I'm working hard for your money. And apparently, the Hudson river is deeper than the pool at Riverbank where we normally do our swim practices. So, no running or walking during the swim on race day is possible. As a result we are moving our swim training sessions to a deeper water pool. Things are getting serious now.

Tomorrow, the five boro bike tour.

UPDATE: First (non-training) injury

As you can see, I have received my first injury, well at least the first while training for this triathlon. The ironic part is that I didn't even receive this while training. I made it though biking and racing this weekend without a scratch, and then manage to sprain my ankle while walking down from Belvedere Castle in Central Park. I may have to invent a better story than that, but for now the truth will have to do.




UPDATE:

Well, 24 hours later and my foot is feeling a little better. As can be seen from the picture on the left, I no longer seem to have a softball attached to my ankle. I am still limping and don't see running in the near future, at least this week. I figure I will swim and then try to add biking back into the mix.

Spring is here ... Yay Spring, Redux

Well, it looks like spring has finally appeared in the city (again). Although, this time it looks like it will be sticking around for a while. After last weekends Nor'easter, the city had dried out and we had a beautiful springtime weekend. This Saturday's GTS (group training session) was a bike ride. I finally got to put my new bike through its paces. I did a couple of 5 mile loops in the park along with 30 minutes of riding the lower loop. With the warmer weather it appears that everyone else has the same idea.



The weather is too nice to stay indoors and the park is a great place to enjoy the spring time. Of course, that makes riding a bike in the park much more interesting. Think about frogger times ten. The main problem is when there's a collision, the bicyclist is probably more likely to be the one getting injured than the person not paying attention as they stroll absent-mindedly into the road. Thankfully, no frogs, bicyclists, or pedestrians were injured in yesterdays training session.

Today was just as nice a day. Happy Earth Day if anyone is keeping track. As part of earth day the care for the parks run was held, which is a benefit race for the NY Parks Foundation. This was a 4 mile race and while I didn't feel as strong the last 10k I ran, I think that may have to do with being sick for the past week. However, I did finish in about 38 minutes, which was within my goal of sub 40 minutes. The other option is that I got too much sleep and not enough alcohol the night before. Still may need to experiment with these theories.

Spring ... bahh humbug

OK, it's April. WTF is up with the weather. We were teased with that warm weather for a week and then it dropped miserable and cold again. I think we need to find Punxsutawney Phil and General Beauregard Lee, and tell them they can take their early spring and go hide back in their holes for the rest of the summer. Probably feeling a little curmudgeonly because I am still feeling sick, a flu bug or something that has been going around. So with that and work have not been able to do as much training as I wanted to this week. Although I did manage to join the GTS (group training session) this Saturday for the run session which was the actual tri course that we will do on race day. We started off in Riverside park and then ran about a mile to Central Park. From there we do a five mile loop up the west side, across the northern hills and down the east side to the 72nd transverse. The finish line is in the same area where the disco skaters hang out. Although they will be there later in the day, so we won't be having to run though a skating circle. Although that could make for an interesting finish line.



This past Wednesday, I had to work late so I decided to go to the intermediate swim session at 8:30 instead of the basic one at 7pm that I normally attend. My first though after I jumped into the water and look across the poll was "Wait a minute, the middle is gone. The pool is the full 50 meter length, oh crap!" So, not much drilling that night either just swimming laps and then finishing up the night with the dreaded double snake swim. Basically the whole group starts off together in the first lane and then proceeds to swim up and down the lanes for the entire width of the pool and once you get to the end, you come back. Right now the only consolation I can give myself is that it's still 3 months before the race. So lots of time to get better at swimming. Looking forward to warmer weather this week and better health. Time to grab some more Nyquil and OJ.

Mayor Mike B. reads my blog?

Well we have an answer to the puzzle that was brought up in a previous post regarding the times square shuffle. The sign is correct in that there really is a times square shuffle, and no, unfortunately we will not be seeing a bunch of guys in top hats tap dancing through the park. Rather, it is a reference to new traffic patterns in times square. For more info, check out this link: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/pdf/timessquare.pdf.

As requested, the answer to this puzzle appeared in a comment to my post with the above link. This raises a new question since the commenter signed the post as Mike Bloomberg. While the mayor does like to get out among the people and is known for taking the 6 train to work every day, I find it a little hard to believe that he is checking out my little corner of the web and leaving comments late on a Sunday night. After all, I would think that he's got more important or at least more interesting stuff to do, but you never know. So, if it is Mayor Mike, thanks for the info and hope you enjoyed the inner circle roast on Saturday night. I saw the dress rehearsal Friday and was laughing out loud at parts. Especially the rats and school kids on the subway skits. More likely, if it someone who likes to post as Mike Bloomberg, thanks for the info as well.

I'll provide an update on my training in my next post.

Train like you race

It's a common theory for any type of athletic event that you should train like you race. The point being that your training will prepare you for the actual competition day. Our friendly team in training coaches like to torture us on the pool sessions with sideways stroke drills and other assorted ones where the main purpose seems to be to provide them with fun and amusement. They tell us that these drills are good for our skill development, but I sometime s wonder. They appear to be enjoying our sinking way too much. With that in mind, I expect this to be coming soon for one of our Swim GTS (group training sessions) when we go into open water.

My New Wheels

For the past couple of weeks I've been considering getting a new bike. So far I have been training on my mountain bike, a Gary Fisher Tassajara. While it's a great bike for riding over tree roots, down trails or even New York City potholed streets, its not exactly optimized for speed and long distances. So after much shopping, research and picking of various brains, the fine folks at Toga Bikes on West End Ave. and 64th hooked me up with my new ride.


It's a Cannondale R700. I feel much faster when riding it. Although, I am still getting passed by those other guys who have all that official biking gear on. But those race walkers, they can eat my dust! I picked it up yesterday afternoon and rode it back from the bike shop to my place, although it's hard to get to get the feel of a new bike when you are concerned for your life and limb, as happens by riding in New York City traffic. Gives you a new appreciation for the delivery guys. I don't know how they do it. Other having no fear.

I decided to go out and take my new wheels for a spin in Central Park this morning and I could definitely feel a difference. Flying through the park in my new aerodynamic position, I could stay close enough to see what brand of energy bars all the guys passing me kept in the back of their fancy bike shirts. But like I said, those race walkers, not even close.

Afterwards I decided to go for a run since today was a run training day on the schedule and hey, I'll have to ride a bike and then run anyway. The whole train like you race theory. More on that in the next post. As I was finishing my run, I noticed a sign in the park that I had not noticed before.

Can someone tell what the time square shuffle is? Is that a new dance like the funky chicken? I'm confused. My assumption is that it should say shuttle, but I think seeing a bunch of people doing the time square shuffle as they cross the park would be a whole lot funnier. Anyone have any ideas? Feel free to leave a comment and let me know. Even if you don't have an idea and just want to say hi :)

Bagpipes, drums, and men in kilts, oh my

It's Tartan week here in New York and on Sunday, April 1 was the Scotland Run 10k or 6.2 miles for those of us not up on these newfangled metric conversions. The big question; would I end up feeling like Braveheart (at least the Mel Gibson, face painted inspiring speech one, not the executed, hanged, drawn and quartered version) or a steaming pile of haggis.

Let's look at a little background. Well, so far in training I have been doing around 50 minute runs and/or around 5 miles, so this would be further that I have been regularly going. Plus we'll add to that the fact that I didn't exactly get a ton of sleep the night before. That's a story for another blog, but lets just say that it involved an exploration of various lower east side establishments and the wonders of chocolate and alcohol combinations. So that works out to about 3 hours of sleep.

As expected, lots of bagpipes, drums and men in kilts. The picture above is the bagpipe procession that led the runners down from the gathering point down to the start line of the race. More pictures below:

Before the race milling around the field, not quite sure what the big stuffed horned animal guy wearing a kilt is or what it has to do with Scotland. Anyone?

Waiting around with the rest of the runners at the back of the pack for the race to start.

Let's follow the bagpipes to the Start line.

Afterwards, finished, now someone point me to the bagels!

Still rockin out to the bagpipes afterwards.

And in case you were wondering how I did, I was very pleased with my personal results. The run felt good to me and although I felt a little tired at somewhere between the uphill portion of the 4 - 5 mile mark, I kept going.

As I was running, I thought back to the Connection to the Cause breakfast that we had after our morning group training run on Saturday. Some of the staff from the Leukemia & Lymphoma society spoke to us about the good things they are able to do as a result of our efforts. One women spoke about her own experiences fighting cancer and how the efforts of people in Team in Training lifted her along when she was unable to physically do any type of activity. Listening to the stories of teammates who have completed marathons, triathlons, and bike rides, the common thread seems to be that they are inspired to keep going when they are tired from their personal connections, friends, family members, etc with cancer. Any physical tiredness we are feeling after running, biking, swimming, being tortured by the coaches, etc is nothing compared to the daily struggles of the patients to sometimes just get out of bed in the morning and complete another round of chemotherapy. I guess the point is that we end up inspiring each other to go further than we want or though we could.

I completed the 6.2 miles in about 58:54 while running the last three miles at a 9 minute mile pace. Afterwards I still felt strong with no desire to collapse on the ground and walked back to uptown to my apartment. What have we learned from this? It appears that the secret to my athletic success is alcohol and lack of sleep. Funny, but they never mentioned that in our group training sessions. I may have to follow up with the coaches on that one. And maybe a little inspiration too. You never know.

PS: And no Haggis to be seen anywhere.