Off-Season Activities

Anna got it right last night when she turned to me as said, "are you on your off-season or something?" as we were watching the Yankee game at a bar, well past my normal bedtime. Now that it is officially the off-season, I've been trying to do things each day that I wouldn't normally do during the season. This week that involves going out 4 nights in a row, going to the dentist, going shopping, working at Amy's, etc. Tonight SJ and I are going to the annual US Skiing Association Ball, which we went to last year as well. Some of the top skiers in the county will be there and are going to be honored. To bad there isn't such a thing for triathlon!

Bikes

I really do not like going above 14th street but today I HAD to do it to get to the foot doctor. Karl decided to come with me, although she regreted it as soon as we walked outside in the pouring rain without umbrellas. We had to take 3 trains and a cab to get there and were still soaking wet by the time we arrived. The reason I dragged her up "all the way" to 72nd and York is because Sotheby's is right next to the hospital. And, Lance Armstrong's Tour bikes are currently on display and are going to be auctioned this Sunday. Here's a photo of the bike that was stolen during the Tour of California.

Oh, and the foot is doing better. Still no running, but I've noticed a lot of improvement. Actually, yesterday I did get on the Alter G treadmill at Fusion physical Therapy and was able to run faster and with more body weight than 10 days ago. The treadmill is going to be working overtime this weekend because it is marathon week and a few of the top runners coming in for the race have already book time on it!

Pumpkins

Here's how our dining room table is looking these days. I picked up these pumpkins at Dolan's, my favorite way off the beaten path orchard. We used to walk to Dolan's from Traphagen. They have a great variety of apples and are as far from commercial as you can get. I picked up some Ida Reds and some Mutsus that turned into some really good apple crisp.

Weekend Recap

It was such an off season weekend. Saturday was so wet and rainy that we didn't leave the house until 3pm. We got wrapped up on a project that's been sitting in various basements for years. All we needed to get started was a vintage slide projector, which lucky for us arrived via Ebay on Thursday afternoon. Saturday morning, SJ figured out how to work the "automatic" slide viewer, we set up a movie screen in the living room and spent hours looking at a suitcase full of slides from SJ's grandparents' various trips around the world between about 1961-1970. The slides are color and are in the same era as Mad Men. Same styles and fashions.

I finally ventured into the rain to go swimming at 3, for what turned out to be a potentially very expensive workout due to a ticket on the way home. Just as I was congratulating myself for swimming my 100's in 1:03 (not great, but not bad for my 2x a week swimming program), I saw the flashing lights in the rearview mirror. I was about .5 mile away from home and apparently rolled through a stop sign with out coming to a complete stop.

Sunday, things turned around and we went out for a long mountain bike ride with A & R. I opted to ride my 15 year old favorite hardtail and once again it worked great, and provided a bonus arm workout trying to get the grip shifters to change the gears. I looked around at my riding partners' rides and realized that not only did they have carbon fiber full suspension bikes, but they also had much bigger gears on their rear wheels. So, not only do I not know how to mountain bike but I had a super heavy bike without any easy gears. Good thing they took it easy on me because halfway through the ride I started thinking, now I know what it would feel like to ride a banana seat bike on a group ride.

We finished off the weekend by having apple crisp with some hungry climbers and watching the Yankees win!!!!

Big Day

Here are some photos from my 4 hr. mountain bike ride this afternoon. My camera has been located after hiding in my computer bag for the last 5 months.

I don't know why I haven't incorporated this route into my training routine. Of course, it may have been a little easier if I was riding a bike that fit me, that wasn't 400 pounds!!

Since this was just a fun ride, we stopped along the way to take some photos. The waterfall looks a lot smaller in this picture--it's much more dramatic in real life.

I opted not to swim because the water was a cool 49 degrees. Willie did swim, however, and made it all the way to the far end of the lake and back. The other guy in the picture below also swam. Isn't this a beautiful spot???

Oh, yeah, one more thing, we followed a barred owl down trail on the way up to the steel bridge.

Can't wait to do this ride again maybe this weekend SJ??

This is what it looks like today in New Paltz. Pretty, isn't it?? That's the view from the bottom of our "street" with our neighbors house on the right.

I'm planning to take advantage of this nice fall day with a mountain bike ride through the woods to a somewhat remote lake where I may or may not jump in for a swim. Most likely not since the water is about 52 degrees.

Day-to-Day

My status going into this week's Dallas US Open is day-to-day, just like Giant's QB Eli Manning. I, however, am "practicing" today. I just got the ok to ride and I've already spent about an hour in the gym.

Also, like Eli, I injured my Plantar Fascia on Sunday. That 10k was pretty painful and I'm shocked that I was able to run 36-something, especially because I had to slow down dramatically in the last 1/2 mile. Unfortunately, 10th place passed me and there was nothing I could do to stay with her. I tried and in return I got a stabbing pain and tearing sensation in my foot (magnified version of what I'd been feeling the entire race). At that point, I had to make the decision to just make it to the finish line. I've been limping ever since!! Luckily, I've been treated just like the other pro athletes at HSS and got an MRI right away and the doctor, physio therapist and I are going to make a smart decision about the race this weekend.