As I weigh my days wondering "To Run, or Not to Run" and start getting seriously bummed at the fact that my ankle/leg pain, while not getting worse, does not seem to be getting better... I'm looking for good distractions. Being in Ohio in an uber-small town with all of my friends a phone call or plane ride away, the idea of not being able to train for this marathon is a pretty big bummer. I'll find out more on Thursday when I go to the sports doctor -- stay tuned!
So I'm looking through my list... and checking it twice (Tee hee. Sorry.) for some ideas to pre-occupy myself.
I've already signed up for my CPR class, might as well do something that could (but hopefully won't) put it to the test... so I just signed up for a Masters Swim class at the nearby YMCA. A good workout since I'm sitting around and trying to stay off my leg. And although I've checked off "#6: Learn how to swim properly" and "#2: Complete a triathlon", I'd still like to keep moving forward on those items and improving both!
And because that class will be Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:45-10pm, I noticed there was Adult Beginner Guitar classes on Thursdays from 7-7:45pm at the same Y. So there you go: "82: learn at least three songs on my guitar."
We're making progress people...
Showing posts with label swimming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label swimming. Show all posts
Monday, February 22, 2010
Sunday, September 14, 2008
A Crash Course in Triathlons
Literally. . . so Life List #2 "Complete a triathlon" checked off this weekend. Barely.
My sister Tessa schlepped her bike on Bolt Bus this past weekend from NYC (it actually worked pretty well, she just locked it to one of the bars in the baggage bins so it wouldn't toss around. Of course, then the bus driver said, "Oh, if I had known you had a bike we could have put it on the bike rack in the back." Nice, the Bolt Bus customer service folks failed to mention this but now at least we know!).
So Saturday morning. . . a lovely cool day, we left in our Honda Element zipcar at 6:30 am for Douglas, MA. We didn't get there without a lot of drama. AS I got on 90, I noticed a weird light on the dashboard and a very loud sound when I got around 70mph. Called zipcar team and they referenced the car's manual and said it seems like one of my tires was low. Pulled over at the next gas station, and sure enough the back tire was REALLY low. Had to go buy a tire gauge and fill er up. It didn't even register at 10lb pressure when I measured it. So after about 15-20 minutes we had it up to 40 and were good to go. Thank God Tessa was there to help run back and forth from the store there or it would have easily taken me 40 minutes.
We got there in plenty of time to set up our equipment in the transition stations but barely got our stretching on. The triathlon was organized by firm-racing which was so great with customer service (I had to reschedule twice and they were totally fine with it. . . thanks, Wendy!). The park was absolutely gorgeous. A very serene lake and beautiful wooded surroundings.
Tess was in the 20-24 age group (our ages were marked on the back of our calves. Hey thanks, organizers). I was in the 30-34 age group.
Oh, an even more fascinating note, the Hoyt team was competing. Rick is the father of Dick Hoyt a man who was born with brain damage and is parapalegic. They compete in the Boston Marathon and many others every year. Rick Hoyt is now in the 65-69 age group and still kicking ass. Rick pulls his son in a raft through the swim and pushes him in a carriage for both the bike and the run. Amazing. They compete in the 15-hour Hawaiian Ironman triathlon as well! This was I think they're 956th or something triathlon/race overall and the Boston Marathon 2009 will be they're 1000th! Such an inspiration. They are up for the Versus Toughest Athlete Competition . . . vote for them and learn more here.
The swim portion was tough. Only 1/4 mile, I still kinda freaked I think because of the crowds. I did the backstroke for a while because the freestyle was exhausting for me and ended up way off course. I'm like a bad shopping cart. But I quickly recovered and made it (although I couldn't seem to do my bilateral breathing so I literally kept my head above water. . . I'm a wuss). I finished in 10:38 and Tessa kicked a** at 9:21.
Then off to the 11-mile bike portion with a very confusing transition for us newbies. We got started off and quickly realized we were in for a treat because the hills were INSANE!!! At a very sharp turn at mile 4, I hit a patch of gravel going too fast and took a pretty crazy spill. Off my bike in the way of another biker, rolled off and into the other lane. Thankfully there were police officers (and an ambulance waiting. . . reassuring!) and the one cop jumped between me and a cargo van that was approaching the stop sign and luckily going slow enough to stop in time. FREAKED OUT! So I got back on the bike and continued in a bit of pain as I noticed my scraped up shin swelling up. So through the last 7 miles (and that turn which we had to repeat in loop 2), I took it a lot more cautious and it definitely slowed me down. Thankfully Tessa was a few bikers ahead of me when I crashed because she had no idea. She would have totally freaked out and stopped too. So I finished the bike portion in 46:30 (pretty good considering) and Tess again kicked bootie at 45:24. Awesome job, Tess! I knew she would do well since last week she did a 36-mile tandem ride through New York with the Achilles Club. She's hardcore.
Then we put the bikes back and headed off to the run. Moron Melissa kept her dumb biking gloves on but they were good sweat wipers since the humidity was kicking in. Again, VERY HILLY. It was only 3 miles but they were tough. I finished in a pretty good (for having already pushed myself for the past hour) 30:19 and Tessa did 31:30.
And then we finished! HOORAH!!! Tessa's final time was 1:29:49 and she was 4th in her age group. One away from an award! Next time, Tess. I finished a bit behind her at 1:30:24 sadly 13th in my age group (which happened to be second to last only in front of a girl who got disqualified). No worries. It was my first time, I took a nasty fall and the next person ahead of me was only 1:30:08. Again. . . next time. I'm so proud of Tessa! And also of course myself . . . I think it could have possibly been tougher than the marathon last year!
And lastly (I apologize for such a long blog post), we made it to the part we had been looking forward to all week — Friendly's for lunch! Yummy greasy food of chicken fingers, fries, burgers, and onion rings and the piece de resistance: conehead sundaes. The light of my childhood. And then we finally headed back to Boston for showers and naps. MMMMMM.
Good day. Quite sore today but we both feel like we'd do it again. Although I think this may be my last marathon (unless I train with a friend), I think my goal is at least one half-marathon and one triathlon for each of the next few years. Tessa and I both think we can shave some serious time if we train a bit harder. I was definitely not prepared for the swim or the bike! We're still pretty much badasses though. :)
(more pics to come as we hammed it up for the photographers with the triathlon organizers quite a bit).
My sister Tessa schlepped her bike on Bolt Bus this past weekend from NYC (it actually worked pretty well, she just locked it to one of the bars in the baggage bins so it wouldn't toss around. Of course, then the bus driver said, "Oh, if I had known you had a bike we could have put it on the bike rack in the back." Nice, the Bolt Bus customer service folks failed to mention this but now at least we know!).
So Saturday morning. . . a lovely cool day, we left in our Honda Element zipcar at 6:30 am for Douglas, MA. We didn't get there without a lot of drama. AS I got on 90, I noticed a weird light on the dashboard and a very loud sound when I got around 70mph. Called zipcar team and they referenced the car's manual and said it seems like one of my tires was low. Pulled over at the next gas station, and sure enough the back tire was REALLY low. Had to go buy a tire gauge and fill er up. It didn't even register at 10lb pressure when I measured it. So after about 15-20 minutes we had it up to 40 and were good to go. Thank God Tessa was there to help run back and forth from the store there or it would have easily taken me 40 minutes.
We got there in plenty of time to set up our equipment in the transition stations but barely got our stretching on. The triathlon was organized by firm-racing which was so great with customer service (I had to reschedule twice and they were totally fine with it. . . thanks, Wendy!). The park was absolutely gorgeous. A very serene lake and beautiful wooded surroundings.
Tess was in the 20-24 age group (our ages were marked on the back of our calves. Hey thanks, organizers). I was in the 30-34 age group.
Oh, an even more fascinating note, the Hoyt team was competing. Rick is the father of Dick Hoyt a man who was born with brain damage and is parapalegic. They compete in the Boston Marathon and many others every year. Rick Hoyt is now in the 65-69 age group and still kicking ass. Rick pulls his son in a raft through the swim and pushes him in a carriage for both the bike and the run. Amazing. They compete in the 15-hour Hawaiian Ironman triathlon as well! This was I think they're 956th or something triathlon/race overall and the Boston Marathon 2009 will be they're 1000th! Such an inspiration. They are up for the Versus Toughest Athlete Competition . . . vote for them and learn more here.
The swim portion was tough. Only 1/4 mile, I still kinda freaked I think because of the crowds. I did the backstroke for a while because the freestyle was exhausting for me and ended up way off course. I'm like a bad shopping cart. But I quickly recovered and made it (although I couldn't seem to do my bilateral breathing so I literally kept my head above water. . . I'm a wuss). I finished in 10:38 and Tessa kicked a** at 9:21.
Then off to the 11-mile bike portion with a very confusing transition for us newbies. We got started off and quickly realized we were in for a treat because the hills were INSANE!!! At a very sharp turn at mile 4, I hit a patch of gravel going too fast and took a pretty crazy spill. Off my bike in the way of another biker, rolled off and into the other lane. Thankfully there were police officers (and an ambulance waiting. . . reassuring!) and the one cop jumped between me and a cargo van that was approaching the stop sign and luckily going slow enough to stop in time. FREAKED OUT! So I got back on the bike and continued in a bit of pain as I noticed my scraped up shin swelling up. So through the last 7 miles (and that turn which we had to repeat in loop 2), I took it a lot more cautious and it definitely slowed me down. Thankfully Tessa was a few bikers ahead of me when I crashed because she had no idea. She would have totally freaked out and stopped too. So I finished the bike portion in 46:30 (pretty good considering) and Tess again kicked bootie at 45:24. Awesome job, Tess! I knew she would do well since last week she did a 36-mile tandem ride through New York with the Achilles Club. She's hardcore.
Then we put the bikes back and headed off to the run. Moron Melissa kept her dumb biking gloves on but they were good sweat wipers since the humidity was kicking in. Again, VERY HILLY. It was only 3 miles but they were tough. I finished in a pretty good (for having already pushed myself for the past hour) 30:19 and Tessa did 31:30.
And then we finished! HOORAH!!! Tessa's final time was 1:29:49 and she was 4th in her age group. One away from an award! Next time, Tess. I finished a bit behind her at 1:30:24 sadly 13th in my age group (which happened to be second to last only in front of a girl who got disqualified). No worries. It was my first time, I took a nasty fall and the next person ahead of me was only 1:30:08. Again. . . next time. I'm so proud of Tessa! And also of course myself . . . I think it could have possibly been tougher than the marathon last year!
And lastly (I apologize for such a long blog post), we made it to the part we had been looking forward to all week — Friendly's for lunch! Yummy greasy food of chicken fingers, fries, burgers, and onion rings and the piece de resistance: conehead sundaes. The light of my childhood. And then we finally headed back to Boston for showers and naps. MMMMMM.
Good day. Quite sore today but we both feel like we'd do it again. Although I think this may be my last marathon (unless I train with a friend), I think my goal is at least one half-marathon and one triathlon for each of the next few years. Tessa and I both think we can shave some serious time if we train a bit harder. I was definitely not prepared for the swim or the bike! We're still pretty much badasses though. :)
(more pics to come as we hammed it up for the photographers with the triathlon organizers quite a bit).
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Swimming with Fishes
So last weekend, as part of the day of bachelorette fun, Sarah, Kim, Leah, and myself all trekked out to the quaint Walden Pond in Concord to catch some sun before heading back into the city for a night of revelry. I thought it was a perfect opportunity to practice my lake swim with the upcoming triathlon on 9/13 (which is also a lake swim because I'm definitely not ready for the ocean!).
I didn't do so well and realized that although I'm pretty confident in a pool at this point, the whole not seeing the bottom and being freaked out anytime a fish swam too close, made me panic, gasp for air, and gulp water repeatedly. Not a good forecast.
So this lovely weekend, I headed back out with my pal Christi. MUCH BETTER! I realize, that like running, its the starting out and getting my groove that is the roughest part. I swam half-way out and back (1/2 mile?). Although it took me a hefty 20 minutes, that was because I stopped frequently so I could switch strokes or even just tread water. Something I'm not too skilled at and I felt I better feel more comfortable in case I tire out. I also took multiple moments of pause and floating to just soak up the sun and enjoy the quiet of being stranded in the middle of a lake. It was incredible and I'm definitely much more confident that I can do this thing.
I didn't do so well and realized that although I'm pretty confident in a pool at this point, the whole not seeing the bottom and being freaked out anytime a fish swam too close, made me panic, gasp for air, and gulp water repeatedly. Not a good forecast.
So this lovely weekend, I headed back out with my pal Christi. MUCH BETTER! I realize, that like running, its the starting out and getting my groove that is the roughest part. I swam half-way out and back (1/2 mile?). Although it took me a hefty 20 minutes, that was because I stopped frequently so I could switch strokes or even just tread water. Something I'm not too skilled at and I felt I better feel more comfortable in case I tire out. I also took multiple moments of pause and floating to just soak up the sun and enjoy the quiet of being stranded in the middle of a lake. It was incredible and I'm definitely much more confident that I can do this thing.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
A Running Machine...
So far I'm doing... um... ok with the training. It ain't easy trying to mesh the half-marathon with the triathlon training. The only thing I'm delinquent on (assuming I go for a another 3-miler tonight) is my swimming... I need 45 minutes of pool time but since there's no pool at my gym, I'm just going to pay $10 to go to the Y on Saturday. Although... the Blackstone Community Center's pool directly behind my apartment will be opening back up in a few weeks after getting a new filter installed and the membership price is — get this — $30... FOR A YEAR! I cannot wait!
Unlike last year's marathon training, this year, I'm really making an effort to make up for any miles I miss each week (within reason of course)... last year, if I missed a run (or 5) I would just pick back up where I was at. Which meant I would do multiple long runs and entirely skip my shorter weekly runs. And wouldn't you know, I ended up with a stress fracture. Silliness and stupidity.
So last night I did 4.5 miles with the Niketown Running Group last night (was going to do 3.5 but then I found out the Longfellow bridge sidewalk was closed and I didn't want to do the back and forth run as they had planned). And then this morning I did a 3 mile interval run (trying to build up speed). I looooove running in the morning... if I could get up even earlier than 6 right after the sun rises, that would be even better. Its so zen when I'm up running and hardly anyone is out.
Check out my side bar updates... with my Nike+ profile and the Wehrman sister challenge.
Unlike last year's marathon training, this year, I'm really making an effort to make up for any miles I miss each week (within reason of course)... last year, if I missed a run (or 5) I would just pick back up where I was at. Which meant I would do multiple long runs and entirely skip my shorter weekly runs. And wouldn't you know, I ended up with a stress fracture. Silliness and stupidity.
So last night I did 4.5 miles with the Niketown Running Group last night (was going to do 3.5 but then I found out the Longfellow bridge sidewalk was closed and I didn't want to do the back and forth run as they had planned). And then this morning I did a 3 mile interval run (trying to build up speed). I looooove running in the morning... if I could get up even earlier than 6 right after the sun rises, that would be even better. Its so zen when I'm up running and hardly anyone is out.
Check out my side bar updates... with my Nike+ profile and the Wehrman sister challenge.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Life List #6: Learn to swim properly
Check!
Finished the local Y's "Stroke Technique" (not as sexy as it sounds, you perverts) last Monday. I absolutely fell in love with that class... and how great a workout it was... and I'm loving my new arms.
I'm not a perfect swimmer -- but my freestyle is fastly improved. On the third class I swam the 25yards in 28 seconds. On the last class, I did it in 22. After already swimming 1000 yards beforehand. And I also didn't feel like I was on the verge of death! And I can now breath bi-laterally (sounds fancy, eh?). And I realized that in addition to freestyle, my backstroke is pretty darn good.
Things I need to work on: breaststroke -- I don't know if I'll ever like that swim. And finding better goggles. I went through three and I hated them all. Even the latest one that I thought was good at first. Suggestions?
Now I just need to practice my "proper" swimming stroke more throughout the summer. (OH! Update! I'm not doing the triathlon now in May as originally planned because I'll be in Japan that week. The local Firm-Racing club that organized it though let me put that registration fee towards another tri in August -- the WILD DOG triathlon. I hope there are no actual wild dogs involved as I don't expect to be able to out-run many folks).
Finished the local Y's "Stroke Technique" (not as sexy as it sounds, you perverts) last Monday. I absolutely fell in love with that class... and how great a workout it was... and I'm loving my new arms.
I'm not a perfect swimmer -- but my freestyle is fastly improved. On the third class I swam the 25yards in 28 seconds. On the last class, I did it in 22. After already swimming 1000 yards beforehand. And I also didn't feel like I was on the verge of death! And I can now breath bi-laterally (sounds fancy, eh?). And I realized that in addition to freestyle, my backstroke is pretty darn good.
Things I need to work on: breaststroke -- I don't know if I'll ever like that swim. And finding better goggles. I went through three and I hated them all. Even the latest one that I thought was good at first. Suggestions?
Now I just need to practice my "proper" swimming stroke more throughout the summer. (OH! Update! I'm not doing the triathlon now in May as originally planned because I'll be in Japan that week. The local Firm-Racing club that organized it though let me put that registration fee towards another tri in August -- the WILD DOG triathlon. I hope there are no actual wild dogs involved as I don't expect to be able to out-run many folks).
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Woo-hoo: New goggles!
To help with items #2 and #6 from my list, I bought new swim goggles today. These are my THIRD pair. First pair I left on the shower hook at the gym... the second pair (Nike) fogged, filled with water, and made my eyeballs feel like they were going to pop out of my sockets no matter how loose I made the straps, so hopefully I have some better luck with my new Speedo Race View Training Goggles (ah hem... endorsed by Bob Bowman, coach of Michael Phelps... if that means anything). I attempted to take a photo from my computer at work but... well... they were all just too damn frightening (especially when combined with my braces) so I am not including. I don't want to lose all my readers just as I'm getting this blog started!!!
Despite my sassy new goggles though... I will NOT be buying this Prada swim cap that was brought to my attention by my coworkers this morning. I can assure that I would get kicked in the face if I was competing with that crazy thing on!
Despite my sassy new goggles though... I will NOT be buying this Prada swim cap that was brought to my attention by my coworkers this morning. I can assure that I would get kicked in the face if I was competing with that crazy thing on!
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