Westchester Tri

We're finally warm and my wet stuff is just about dry after a very wet Westchester Triathlon this morning.  This was one of those races that reinforces how important it is to be prepared for a race.  And, it was a lesson in how to be prepared for a rainy race morning. 

We drove down to Mamaroneck last night so that we'd be closer to the race site - the idea of driving 1.5 hours at 3am didn't sound like a good one!  Luckily, we were able to find yet another great homestay.  SJ's co-workers welcomed us into their house and allowed us to crash in their living room and mostly likely wake up the entire household at 5am.  Unfortunately, we didn't plan out our coffee situation ahead of time and the local DuDo's wasn't open.  This was the first indication that this was going to be a challenging day!

At the race site it was dark and rainy and we had lots to do and little time, leaving no time for a warm up.  The swim was really chopping and I really couldn't see anything and just like the last race, I didn't take a very good line to the shore, leaving me not in the position I was expecting.  I guess this made me a little flustered in transition because I grabbed the first bike I saw and didn't realize until a few minutes into the ride that it wasn't mine and that I was riding Laurel's bike.  Even though we have the same bike frame, we have different bars and different seat heights, shoes, pedals, etc.  Oh yeah, I also took her helmet, which should have been my first indication that something wasn't right.  But, I was too focused, I guess.  Once I realized the mistake, I slowed down and looked around to see if Laurel was anywhere near me, thinking we could switch back.  She wasn't there, so I decided to just go for it.  I was in a race once where a girl's seat post broke and she rode the whole thing standing up, so I figured having someone else's bike wasn't so bad.  Meanwhile, Laurel tried to get my attention as I was leaving transition with her bike.  She was distracted by riding my bike and proceeded to miss a turn on the bike.  We crossed paths about halfway through the ride, she was going in the opposite direction.  A few minutes later, still feeling 1) extremely bad that I stole Laurel's bike and 2) that she went the wrong way, I misjudged a corner and almost crashed on the really slippery roads.  After that I just decided to take it easy on all the corners and just get to the end of the ride.  Once the run started, I was able to run tempo pace to get into the lead and then ran in easy, doing my best to save up for the next month or so of racing.  In the process, I slipped and went sliding across the wet boardwalk headfirst.  That hurt, but only left me with a few splinters.  

My favorite part of this race is running by my superfans in the last mile.  My mom, dad, Michael (all the way from charleston), Sarah and Eamon were all there at the finishline.  Leezie, Bubba, Sam and Jack were there a few minutes later.  Eamon is a great fan.  He was so happy to be there and was smiling and toddling around in his new running shoes.  Sam, doens't seem to love triathlons, but he does love his Aunt Bec(s), even though Aunt Bec took Aunt Bec's bike. 

Also Racing this Weekend

Justin, one of my training partners in NP, is racing the Duathlon Worlds in North Carolina this weekend.  I've been chasing him around the hills of the Hudson Valley and around the track at SUNY all season...and I know he's ready!!  

Racing this Weekend

We'll be back in action this weekend at the Westchester Triathlon in Rye, NY.  This is a local race for us and I think the 4th time I've done it.  I'm looking forward to the race as a training day, since I will be training through this race.  It will also be fun to race with friends & training partners.  Best of all, the SuperFans are going to be there!!  

After today's workout, I feel like my running is back to 100%.  Thanks to the Alter G treadmill, I didn't miss out on any important workouts, even though my calf was still recovering from the Muskoka hills all week.  And, thanks to Dr. Ness in New Paltz and Rod's PT (Carolyn at Fusion) in NYC, my legs feel great and I was able to run as hard I could today.  Phew.  

As I mentioned before, it is Fall here.  Along with fall comes falling leaves and apples AND active squirrels.  The squirrels are everywhere collecting acorns and leaving the shells all over the roads (making road surfaces a little more challenging for cyclists!).  They are also really determined to get their acorns and will risk their lives to dart across the street in front of oncoming bikes.  

Our apple supply is dwindling, just in time for the next round of picking from our shared tree.  Today I made 2 crisps and a cake.  Thanks to that apple peeler I got for the wedding last year, it took no time.  

Here's a photo I took during my ride yesterday.  It was actually sunny and clear, not dark.  Obviously, I'm not the photographer in the family!

We've had some really nice days here this week, but it looks like rain is coming our way.  I'm still recovering from the 70.3 and am attempting my first hard post-race treadmill workout this afternoon.  I'm actually going to be doing the workout on the Alter G or antigravity treadmill.  This way I can get the full effect of running fast without the pounding on my sore legs.  Luckily, there is a place on 13th street, around the corner from Chelsea Market, that has one of these fancy treadmills.  

Snack

Yesterday's post  rock climbing/bike riding refreshment was carrot apple ginger juice.  Doesn't it look good?  We still don't have any proper pitchers, so I'm making good use, once again, of one of SJ's dad's lab beakers.  Don't worry, the chemicals have been long since washed away.  The apples are from "our" apple tree and the carrots from Brook Farm CSA. 

New Season

It is officially fall.  The leaves on the trees are yellow and are falling.  Sad to say, but it is true.  It's ok though because with fall comes APPLES!!  And, thanks to Phil V., we have our "own" apple tree.  We are the proud leasers of a organic apple tree at a local orchard.  That means we get to pick all the apples we could ever need off of our own tree.  The apples are perfect tasting, but probably wouldn't make it to Whole Foods because they don't all look perfect.  Right now both drawers of our fridge are full.  Time to make apple pies, crisps, chutney, etc.  

Speaking of organic, last night we went over to Px's for dinner.  We ate a chicken that Paul "processed" at a friend's CSA over the weekend.  Processed as in picked up the chicken as it was running around its free range pasture, coning it, slicing its throat, taking the feathers off, and so on, until it went in the oven and then ended up on our dinner plates.  It was delicious, of course, since Paul is a great cook.  We forgot to take pictures of the bird before it was carved, but it looked like the front of a thanksgiving food magazine.  

I made a good dinner tonight too (sorry SJ).  It was all cooked and eaten within about 20 minutes.  We went on an afternoon 2.5 hour ride and I forgot water.  Good thing it wasn't hot and we didn't go fast.  

By the way, I'm recovered from the 70.3 and attempting a hard(ish) run tomorrow morning bright and early.  

Muskoka 70.3

I've now officially completed 3 70.3's and it looks like I'm in for at least one more this year. As expected, Yesterday's race was a tough one, but I'll take a hilly course like that one over a flat one anyday!! The race started off as planned with a fast swim...that is until laurel and I were directed off course. We had a big lead that disappeared by the time we got back on. I was so fired up, I swam my way back to the front and was able to get on my bike first, but with only a few seconds on my main competitors. The ride felt great though, I just listened to my coach's advice and pushed the pace. I thought I might get tired, but 40k came and went and I felt great and before Iknew it, I was at the 90k mark. This race is extra long, about 94k. The only thing that went wrong on the bike was missing both water bottle exchanges. I'm just not coordinated enough to reach out at 20mph and grab a bottle. Maybe next time I'll slow down, especially considering how I felt the last 5k of the run.
I managed to hold off the competition for the entire ride and entered t2 first and quickly proceeded to crash my bike into the men's transition rack because my legs were so wobbly. Once I started running, mirinda quickly passed me running at a speed that would win most short course races. Whoever is racing her at kona better watch out! At that point, I just decided to run my own pace because I was in no condition to run 5:45 pace. I got in a good groove and was estimating my time to be about 1:21 after the first 15k, but the last 5k is when things (like getting the right nutrition on the bike) started to take a toll. I tried to push myself all the way to the finish, but it was hard! Meanwhile, Karl was out running hard, trying to make up for her bogus dismount penalty. 4 minutes in the penalty box, which, by the way, was added to her run split. In the end we finished 2nd and 5th, both with big improvements over last year.
After I finally made it to the finish line, I hung around to wait for SJ. In the end, he opted out of sprinting by Lisa bentley and came in just a few seconds behind her. He finished 6th in his age group, not bad for someone who runs maybe 5 times a month. Seriously. And, his run split was 1:34.

More from Canada later, we're off to check out queens university while SJ does a work recruiting thing.

Today has been a little more relaxed than yesterday's non stop activity.  I actually had time to catch up on Top Chef today which gave me something to think about on my solo easy bike ride through the countryside.  I can't believe those girls made such a dull pasta salad.  I'm pretty sure I've made pasta salads better than that with just the ingredients in the larder.  Plus, shouldn't they have known that the bowtie pasta was going to spread out and take over the entire plate? Not the best for a buffet line.  I'm totally pulling for the brothers from Frederick.  

Next up is a swim at the town pool--one of the last outdoor pool swims of the year.  I have to go so that I can take part in the bon voyage swim for 2 of my lanemates who are leaving on Monday to swim the English Channel.  They are doing a double crossing actually, as a relay of 4.  Each person swims 1 hour, then they switch.  No wetsuits, cold water, strong currents.  

Looking forward to Labor Day weekend...I've been checking around for a church supper, but haven't found anything that will compare to the one in Thurmont.  I hope I at least can visit one junk sale over the weekend!!  

BDay

Thanks for all the birthday wishes!!!  

So many people sent along Happy Birthday notes, thanks to facebook.  

The day was a really good one.  Anyone wondering what SJ gave me as a gift?  

A giant LED stopwatch mounted on the wall in the Computrainer room.  I've always had an obsession with time, so this was the perfect gift.  

After a very fun day of lunch out with Paul, Anna, Leezie & Wah + all of the little ones, SJ, Karl & I went on a birthday adventure run to Brooklyn.  It was my crazy birthday wish to run to Brooklyn--most people probably would chosen to get dressed up and go out to a nice restaurant in the neighborhood.  We crossed the Bk Bridge and had to find our way up to Williamsburg.  Lots of interesting sights along the way, like the Admirals House at the Navy Yards.  We also found ourselves in the middle of cake hat central as we got closer to our destination.  There were tons of kids out playing on the sidewalks.  We actually walked through this area because there were so many people out.  After a great meal at Cafe Dumont (Rod's rec), we decided not to run home and took a taxi instead.

Post B-day Day

Justin spotted this falcon during our bike ride today.  We stopped and waited for it to make a move on whatever he was watching in the field below.  He stared at us a few times, but was really more concerned at catching his lunch.  

The birdwatching came right in the middle of a conversation about why everyone in the world wouldn't want to live in new paltz.  Today was an exceptionally beautiful end of summer day.  We rode for almost 3 hours, including over the mountain and back, on roads that neither of us had been on.  At one point, as we were sailing down a hill, the road turned to dirt.  Luckily, we both noticed in time and cruised along the road until it turned back to a regular road about a mile later.  

After the ride, I had about an hour to rest and eat before heading up to the Lake for a big birthday swim.  By the time I got in, I only had 90 min. to complete my 6800m set.  34x200m was the set.  I did a few casual 200's for warm up, settled into a tempo pace for the next 20, then finished a few off with some sprinting mixed in.  The water is cooling off -- only 71 degrees today.  At about the 25th on, I thought, I wish I turned 26 yesterday, not 34!!

When I finished the last 200, I quickly transitioned to the car and drove to yoga class.  Great way to finish off the day!