i have had so much trouble trying to put the stupid orange training tire on my bike and then trying to figure out how to put my bike on the trainer that i bought from maija a while ago. yesterday it took me 20 minutes to put the tire on, then 10 minutes to try to put the bike on. !$#!#%! wasted time at 4 to 5 in the morning makes me cranky b/c i keep thinking "i could be sleeping!" so i went to the treadmill and got in 4 miles of interval running but at a higher speed than tuesday then rushed to the pool. the pool was pretty empty again so i shared a lane w/ only one person w/ whom it took forever for me to discover that he was not the same man as yesterday. this guy, robert, used to be in lane 1 and then injured his shoulder so he is stuck in lane 5, but he wanted to keep up with lane 4 so i was pretty tired. i realized that i have been absolutely stiff and unrelaxed and over-kicking since coming back from england b/c i'm anxious to speed up.. so then i relaxed and kicked less and tried a lot less harder and was actually faster. amazing!
when i got home from work, i was determined to put the bike on the trainer and after whining to SB and G about it online, finally figured out how to fit in on (this is after turning the trainer around backwards and forwards a few times b/c i couldn't figure out which way was the front). whoopee!
original plan this morning was to use the trainer for an hour, focusing on high cadence and gradually shifting to higher gears, then run for 30 to 40 mins. about 25 minutes into it, i got so into watching the democratic national convention on t.v. that i stood up on my bike and whoops! fell over ever so slowly onto the carpet. i even had time to clip out on both sides while falling over. when i tried to put the bike back on the trainer, the bike was tilted sideways so i figured that would not be good for form, lasted 5 more minutes and decided just to run for about 1:10.
i bumped into old dude #3, we pounded fists and kept going (thank goodness we were going in opposite directions and away from a hill). then i was passing this other guy and gave him a "hello" nod but he was kind of rude and yelled, "how come the only runners i see here are asian!"
i was surprised.. b/c: 1) the idiot is running in fort lee, where there is a major korean population, 2) i personally don't know very many asians who are athletes, 3) i guess when i am doing something like sbr, i am not really cognizant of my ethnicity (or that of other people) 4) how weird would it be if i had said something like that to him?
of course i could not think of a smart comeback until about 5 minutes after he left. good thing i am such a fast thinker on my feet.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
The Weather Rocks!
These past days, the weather has been so nice! If it only stayed like this for the whole year! But no, I'm sure that is all a set up, and that the nasty weather will rear its ugly head when I least need it. But such is life.
Monday I woke up early for my swim workout. Monday is the day when I struggle with my swimming form, because I don't swim during the weekends. It is funny how that works. Once I start to get tired, then my form improves. This has to do with my shoulders relaxing, and I stop trying to muscle my way through the water, and my reach gets longer and more relaxed.
After work, I went to buy some suits. I have a few weddings coming, and my current suits were bought back in my couch potato days. So a few years later, and 50lbs lighter, I decided that it was time to stop looking like a bag of potatoes when I wear my suits. According to the tailor, my measurements are all screwed up, meaning they don't fit any of the standard jacket sizes. My shoulders and chest are too broad for my height, and my arms are longer than normal for my height. So he'll have to do a lot of modifications to the suits that I bought. So after spending way too much money on that, I went for a deep-tissue sports massage. I'll say it again: I don't know why I did not include this in my training routine before.
Tuesday's swim workout consisted of 10x100m with 50m drill in between, with a 300m warm-up and a 200m cool-down. Then after work, I went to E's place, and went running in the park for a crisp 1hr run. The highlight of my run was almost tackling a few pedestrians who don't look when coming out of restaurants. Hey, they are messing with my running time! Out of the way!
This morning I went to the pool and did 1600m at a steady pace. Then I met Bob, Matt, and Maija for a track workout. After squeezing our way through the locked fence, we did 4x1200m and 4x200m. My times for the 1200m were 4:38, 4:45, 4:49, and 4:50. For the 200m I did 0:38, 0:40, 0:42, and 0:41. We were certainly no Usain Bolts out there! After the workout, I have that good soreness feeling. There is nothing like a good workout! Tonight, I may go riding for a little bit, but I may just go to the gym to do my shoulder routine instead. I have got to give the tailor something new to complain about!
Monday I woke up early for my swim workout. Monday is the day when I struggle with my swimming form, because I don't swim during the weekends. It is funny how that works. Once I start to get tired, then my form improves. This has to do with my shoulders relaxing, and I stop trying to muscle my way through the water, and my reach gets longer and more relaxed.
After work, I went to buy some suits. I have a few weddings coming, and my current suits were bought back in my couch potato days. So a few years later, and 50lbs lighter, I decided that it was time to stop looking like a bag of potatoes when I wear my suits. According to the tailor, my measurements are all screwed up, meaning they don't fit any of the standard jacket sizes. My shoulders and chest are too broad for my height, and my arms are longer than normal for my height. So he'll have to do a lot of modifications to the suits that I bought. So after spending way too much money on that, I went for a deep-tissue sports massage. I'll say it again: I don't know why I did not include this in my training routine before.
Tuesday's swim workout consisted of 10x100m with 50m drill in between, with a 300m warm-up and a 200m cool-down. Then after work, I went to E's place, and went running in the park for a crisp 1hr run. The highlight of my run was almost tackling a few pedestrians who don't look when coming out of restaurants. Hey, they are messing with my running time! Out of the way!
This morning I went to the pool and did 1600m at a steady pace. Then I met Bob, Matt, and Maija for a track workout. After squeezing our way through the locked fence, we did 4x1200m and 4x200m. My times for the 1200m were 4:38, 4:45, 4:49, and 4:50. For the 200m I did 0:38, 0:40, 0:42, and 0:41. We were certainly no Usain Bolts out there! After the workout, I have that good soreness feeling. There is nothing like a good workout! Tonight, I may go riding for a little bit, but I may just go to the gym to do my shoulder routine instead. I have got to give the tailor something new to complain about!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
pb boys
what is up w/ guys and their attachment to pull buoys?
at swim today, the pool was quite sparse so i split a lane with a friendly and lean man named dan who was surprisingly slower than me in back (is that possible?!) but only for 1 lap. he was faster than me by about 0.5 to 1 second without the pull buoy and about 2 to 3 seconds faster with, and his flip turns kicked my butt (w/ the pb, too! i still haven't figured out how to maneuver that). i am still all confused with my stroke so it felt like i was swimming in slow motion, and i was having some trouble breathing (b/c of the slow motion) but i guess things will get better in time. i had decided to try to take a caffeinated gu before swim b/c of all this talk about eating and nutrition during workouts, but it is pretty much confirmed now that caffeine makes me sleepy. i need to figure out what works for me nutrition-wise, as it would probably be helpful before the half that's in less than 2 weeks. before swim i had done my 2nd least favourite thing, intervals on the treadmill for 4.5 miles. my 1st least favourite thing is weight training which i have been avoiding for a few months but will be forced to do come IMLP training time.
yesterday's workout was a 1:18 bike ride followed by a :41 run, trying to get into the run a little faster from the beginning. it was still dark when i left home and i was trying to tell the sun to hurry up and rise but i guess i'll have to start using the trainer.
i had gotten the phone number of a triathlon coach from Strictly Bicycles last week, but was too chicken to give him a call until today. hopefully he'll be affordable and helpful.
can't wait for the weekend!! already. bike and bbq and family time..what could be better than that! and the weather is fantastic.
question:
- what are some workouts you can do on the trainer to work on higher cadences and increasing resistance?
at swim today, the pool was quite sparse so i split a lane with a friendly and lean man named dan who was surprisingly slower than me in back (is that possible?!) but only for 1 lap. he was faster than me by about 0.5 to 1 second without the pull buoy and about 2 to 3 seconds faster with, and his flip turns kicked my butt (w/ the pb, too! i still haven't figured out how to maneuver that). i am still all confused with my stroke so it felt like i was swimming in slow motion, and i was having some trouble breathing (b/c of the slow motion) but i guess things will get better in time. i had decided to try to take a caffeinated gu before swim b/c of all this talk about eating and nutrition during workouts, but it is pretty much confirmed now that caffeine makes me sleepy. i need to figure out what works for me nutrition-wise, as it would probably be helpful before the half that's in less than 2 weeks. before swim i had done my 2nd least favourite thing, intervals on the treadmill for 4.5 miles. my 1st least favourite thing is weight training which i have been avoiding for a few months but will be forced to do come IMLP training time.
yesterday's workout was a 1:18 bike ride followed by a :41 run, trying to get into the run a little faster from the beginning. it was still dark when i left home and i was trying to tell the sun to hurry up and rise but i guess i'll have to start using the trainer.
i had gotten the phone number of a triathlon coach from Strictly Bicycles last week, but was too chicken to give him a call until today. hopefully he'll be affordable and helpful.
can't wait for the weekend!! already. bike and bbq and family time..what could be better than that! and the weather is fantastic.
question:
- what are some workouts you can do on the trainer to work on higher cadences and increasing resistance?
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Power Outage
Saturday was a blur. E and I ran at 5:30AM for 1.5hrs, then got to the beach at 9AM, got back to my place at 3PM, then we were at Newark at 7PM, and finally back at my place by 11PM. It is funny how she does not mention that she mostly slept while I was driving. Such short memory... But it was all a good time. The weather was excellent all day!
On Sunday, I slept in until 7:30AM, then went to the gym to lift weights. Then back home, to get my bike. I had to meet E and the rest of the Aquaholics for a bike/run workout. So I rode my bike to meet them at the Round Valley Park, which is 18mi away from home, with some good hills on the way. Only Maija and E were there to do the workout. We rode for 17mi, and then ran for perhaps 5mi. It was all good, and my legs did not feel dead when we did the brick.
Then I rode back home. I knew before starting that it was going to be a struggle, but I wanted to ride tired, so that I can get used to it. Well, I got what I was looking for, as the heat was really getting to me (it was past 2PM at this point). The only thing that kept me going was the knowledge that I would get home to a nice shower, and then rest with the A/C on.
Well, I made it home alright. But there was a blackout in my block. So I got my rest with no A/C!!! And with all the sun that I took, my body was really dissipating some heat. So I was feeling like crap for a while. It was very anticlimatic. I can do crazy workouts, but I need some comfort when I get done. And we did not get power back until 8:30PM!
On Sunday, I slept in until 7:30AM, then went to the gym to lift weights. Then back home, to get my bike. I had to meet E and the rest of the Aquaholics for a bike/run workout. So I rode my bike to meet them at the Round Valley Park, which is 18mi away from home, with some good hills on the way. Only Maija and E were there to do the workout. We rode for 17mi, and then ran for perhaps 5mi. It was all good, and my legs did not feel dead when we did the brick.
Then I rode back home. I knew before starting that it was going to be a struggle, but I wanted to ride tired, so that I can get used to it. Well, I got what I was looking for, as the heat was really getting to me (it was past 2PM at this point). The only thing that kept me going was the knowledge that I would get home to a nice shower, and then rest with the A/C on.
Well, I made it home alright. But there was a blackout in my block. So I got my rest with no A/C!!! And with all the sun that I took, my body was really dissipating some heat. So I was feeling like crap for a while. It was very anticlimatic. I can do crazy workouts, but I need some comfort when I get done. And we did not get power back until 8:30PM!
hey baby, your legs must be tired
back in action! thursday was a normal bike/run, i had planned to do 1:30 bike and then a :45 run at least but i bumped into an idiot on the road who had gotten a flat tire and had only brought with him those plastic things to take your tire off (my usage of terminology is amazing, right, mel?). he asked me for a pump but it didn't fit his replaced inner tube, so he asked me for a patch to repair a hole in his inner tube. i was sort of annoyed and i wanted to yell at him, "do you think i got up early so i could wait for you to use my stuff?!" but pansy that i am didn't say much but kept looking at my watch. so that cut down my run time and i was hit with a craving for a peanut butter and banana sandwich, making my ride back slightly faster.
friday i decided to bike to the pool, do masters, bike back to my place to drop off my bag and then do a ride, giving my ankles a break from running. since i am so good at time management, i had to bike kind of hard to get to the pool, and then found out that our workout would be mostly kicks. what luck.. Alpha Male was actually nice to me, which was a bit of a relief. afterwards i biked back home and then did intervals of 5 mins race pace (trying to do the big ring at high cadence) + 2 mins break. my legs thought all this leg work was a little unfair but tough luck, ladies.
then saturday was beach day!! since the driver wanted to leave early to avoid traffic, i got up at 5 to run, but apparently i needed a chaperon since it was dark. it was a decent run for me but probably a bit easy for A, since he was gliding along while i was trying to keep up. we ran for about 1:30 and then i had a couple nice naps on the beach.
sunday was sbr day w/ maija and supposedly some other aquaholics. maija and i went swimming in new providence in an outdoor 50m pool and i realized that my back/breast are awful but i can't be motivated to improve on them. i mean, working on free is enough and it's not like if a shark is chasing me i'm going to do backstroke. it was really nice to tan and swim at the same time, though, b/c i haven't done so since london. the next event was to bike and run the buckman course with A and some aquaholics who were going to do the tri, but it turned out that it was only A, maija and me. coach maija gave me some good tips on both the bike and run, and i was quite tired then and going with the mentality of "just finish." i was watching maija zoom ahead of me and thinking, "how does that girl have all that energy? must be the organic gatorade." maija was like a porsche, A like a bmw and then here comes e, plodding along like an 87 camry with duct tape on the side. i was pretty wiped out when we were done but superA biked it home while i chilled out in the car.
so vacation is officially over and i must say it got better and better. can't wait for bike and bbq in coundown, 7 days!
friday i decided to bike to the pool, do masters, bike back to my place to drop off my bag and then do a ride, giving my ankles a break from running. since i am so good at time management, i had to bike kind of hard to get to the pool, and then found out that our workout would be mostly kicks. what luck.. Alpha Male was actually nice to me, which was a bit of a relief. afterwards i biked back home and then did intervals of 5 mins race pace (trying to do the big ring at high cadence) + 2 mins break. my legs thought all this leg work was a little unfair but tough luck, ladies.
then saturday was beach day!! since the driver wanted to leave early to avoid traffic, i got up at 5 to run, but apparently i needed a chaperon since it was dark. it was a decent run for me but probably a bit easy for A, since he was gliding along while i was trying to keep up. we ran for about 1:30 and then i had a couple nice naps on the beach.
sunday was sbr day w/ maija and supposedly some other aquaholics. maija and i went swimming in new providence in an outdoor 50m pool and i realized that my back/breast are awful but i can't be motivated to improve on them. i mean, working on free is enough and it's not like if a shark is chasing me i'm going to do backstroke. it was really nice to tan and swim at the same time, though, b/c i haven't done so since london. the next event was to bike and run the buckman course with A and some aquaholics who were going to do the tri, but it turned out that it was only A, maija and me. coach maija gave me some good tips on both the bike and run, and i was quite tired then and going with the mentality of "just finish." i was watching maija zoom ahead of me and thinking, "how does that girl have all that energy? must be the organic gatorade." maija was like a porsche, A like a bmw and then here comes e, plodding along like an 87 camry with duct tape on the side. i was pretty wiped out when we were done but superA biked it home while i chilled out in the car.
so vacation is officially over and i must say it got better and better. can't wait for bike and bbq in coundown, 7 days!
Friday, August 22, 2008
Back on the Road... Bike
My hate for all things related to biking has subsided enough for me to saddle up again. At the same time, all those aches brought by the Ramapo rally are gone. These developments occur not a moment too soon, because the Quakerman 70.3 is in two weeks.
I would have biked yesterday afternoon, but I had to go visit E and her bbbf and wife (I'm open minded) Mel, who is visiting from Hong Kong. It was very nice to finally meet her, as E is always talking about her. We went for some delicious Korean food, and then some dessert.
This morning I went swimming early. After a 300m warm up, I did 20 X (50m race-25m drill), followed by a 200m cool down. This is the second day in a row that I do this workout, and I really like it. In the future, I will increase the race distance, but for now, this workout feels really good for me. Then got out of the pool, went home, ditched the car, and got on the bike to go to work.
The ride was good. My legs felt loose and strong. The commute itself is less than 20 miles, so I concentrated on going as fast as I could while doing a high cadence. Before getting to the office, I went to the gym to do my arms/back routine. Then I went to the office, where I had a wheat donut as a reward for my gas saving commute.
The only problem is that my body is asking for a longer workout right now. I can't seat still at my desk. At least, I know that I get to bike home. I have to decide if I'm going directly to my place, drop my bag and then go on a longer ride, or just do the extended ride with my bag, and then go home. And then a brick will be required.
As for the weekend, the girlfriend somehow thinks that Saturday has 36hrs. She wants (in no particular order) get a workout done, watch a movie, go to the beach, be back in the Hillsborough area to meet a friend in the afternoon, and attend a BBQ for another friend in the Newark area. And then on Sunday... Lets just say that I may need to take Monday off to recover from all the "rest and fun" that I'll be having this weekend.
I would have biked yesterday afternoon, but I had to go visit E and her bbbf and wife (I'm open minded) Mel, who is visiting from Hong Kong. It was very nice to finally meet her, as E is always talking about her. We went for some delicious Korean food, and then some dessert.
This morning I went swimming early. After a 300m warm up, I did 20 X (50m race-25m drill), followed by a 200m cool down. This is the second day in a row that I do this workout, and I really like it. In the future, I will increase the race distance, but for now, this workout feels really good for me. Then got out of the pool, went home, ditched the car, and got on the bike to go to work.
The ride was good. My legs felt loose and strong. The commute itself is less than 20 miles, so I concentrated on going as fast as I could while doing a high cadence. Before getting to the office, I went to the gym to do my arms/back routine. Then I went to the office, where I had a wheat donut as a reward for my gas saving commute.
The only problem is that my body is asking for a longer workout right now. I can't seat still at my desk. At least, I know that I get to bike home. I have to decide if I'm going directly to my place, drop my bag and then go on a longer ride, or just do the extended ride with my bag, and then go home. And then a brick will be required.
As for the weekend, the girlfriend somehow thinks that Saturday has 36hrs. She wants (in no particular order) get a workout done, watch a movie, go to the beach, be back in the Hillsborough area to meet a friend in the afternoon, and attend a BBQ for another friend in the Newark area. And then on Sunday... Lets just say that I may need to take Monday off to recover from all the "rest and fun" that I'll be having this weekend.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
swimming in molasses
track workouts! i am so jealous, although if i were to do one, i'd probably hate it too.
my bbbbbbf and wife (sorry, A, but the news has been on facebook!) mel is coming to visit from hong kong and i can't wait to see her!
jet lag and the urge to pee woke up me up at 3:30 a.m. (around the time A wakes up normally) but i lay in bed until 4 trying to get back to sleep. i waited impatiently for the sun to come up so i could go biking so i putzed around my place cleaning up. then when i went to pump up my rear wheel (which, incidentally, i had brought to EMS to get the inner tube changed for a reason that i can't remember) i amazingly and instantly deflated the tire and felt like a royal idiot b/c i couldn't figure out how to pump it. i was so annoyed..what an anticlimax! i thought about calling A but it was 5:51 and he would be on the track. i even hauled my lame bike to the doorman and asked him to give it a try, still unsuccessful. doorman laughed at me and said, "well, i guess you have to run." i guess so. btw the doormen (yes, all men) in my building are the best support team. they hold my keys and if i come back "too early" they tease me for not running long enough.
original plan was to bike for 1 or 1.5 hours and then run longer than i usually do for a brick to get ready for the half, then bike to the pool for a lesson. i ended up running for 2:09 but i went at my regular 1:30 pace for most of it. it was so wonderfully refreshing to be back in the park, and the weather was perfect, i felt like i was absorbing it. there are a couple of long hills so i repeated them just for the heck of it, and on my way down a hill for the second time, i ran into Old Guy #3 (there are 3 old guys i bump into at the park, #1 walks #2's dog and meets #2 halfway, and i have raced #3 up a hill a couple times and he has always kicked my butt) so we raced up the hill but i guess he was too tired today.
then off to columbia for a lesson that i had scheduled b/c i was anxious about losing form after not swimming for 10 days. when i got into the water to do a 50, i was like OMG i'm swimming! b/c i think i had half-expected to sink like a rock. abby, an assistant coach for the masters class, teaches kids so i really liked her analogies. it is funny though, whenever swim coaches imitate how your stroke should be with the rotation and all, i really don't get it. she gave me some really good tips but i find myself swimming surprisingly smoothly but incredibly slowly with a lot of effort.. here we go again!
i am so excited to be back in action! this probably sounds funny but it feels good to have semi-sore muscles again, and when maija said sunday's swim would be a hard swim i got all excited. in london i had done a slow 1:00, slow 1:30 and slightly faster 1:35 the last 3 days of the trip just to check if my ankles could take it. still a little sore but i think it is just something to add to list of Right Leg Pains, which include the sciatica if i run longer than an hour and the knee that feels like it is tearing if i take large strides. i actually tore something in my knee in college trying to learn how to breakdance which is only slightly embarrassing...
my bbbbbbf and wife (sorry, A, but the news has been on facebook!) mel is coming to visit from hong kong and i can't wait to see her!
jet lag and the urge to pee woke up me up at 3:30 a.m. (around the time A wakes up normally) but i lay in bed until 4 trying to get back to sleep. i waited impatiently for the sun to come up so i could go biking so i putzed around my place cleaning up. then when i went to pump up my rear wheel (which, incidentally, i had brought to EMS to get the inner tube changed for a reason that i can't remember) i amazingly and instantly deflated the tire and felt like a royal idiot b/c i couldn't figure out how to pump it. i was so annoyed..what an anticlimax! i thought about calling A but it was 5:51 and he would be on the track. i even hauled my lame bike to the doorman and asked him to give it a try, still unsuccessful. doorman laughed at me and said, "well, i guess you have to run." i guess so. btw the doormen (yes, all men) in my building are the best support team. they hold my keys and if i come back "too early" they tease me for not running long enough.
original plan was to bike for 1 or 1.5 hours and then run longer than i usually do for a brick to get ready for the half, then bike to the pool for a lesson. i ended up running for 2:09 but i went at my regular 1:30 pace for most of it. it was so wonderfully refreshing to be back in the park, and the weather was perfect, i felt like i was absorbing it. there are a couple of long hills so i repeated them just for the heck of it, and on my way down a hill for the second time, i ran into Old Guy #3 (there are 3 old guys i bump into at the park, #1 walks #2's dog and meets #2 halfway, and i have raced #3 up a hill a couple times and he has always kicked my butt) so we raced up the hill but i guess he was too tired today.
then off to columbia for a lesson that i had scheduled b/c i was anxious about losing form after not swimming for 10 days. when i got into the water to do a 50, i was like OMG i'm swimming! b/c i think i had half-expected to sink like a rock. abby, an assistant coach for the masters class, teaches kids so i really liked her analogies. it is funny though, whenever swim coaches imitate how your stroke should be with the rotation and all, i really don't get it. she gave me some really good tips but i find myself swimming surprisingly smoothly but incredibly slowly with a lot of effort.. here we go again!
i am so excited to be back in action! this probably sounds funny but it feels good to have semi-sore muscles again, and when maija said sunday's swim would be a hard swim i got all excited. in london i had done a slow 1:00, slow 1:30 and slightly faster 1:35 the last 3 days of the trip just to check if my ankles could take it. still a little sore but i think it is just something to add to list of Right Leg Pains, which include the sciatica if i run longer than an hour and the knee that feels like it is tearing if i take large strides. i actually tore something in my knee in college trying to learn how to breakdance which is only slightly embarrassing...
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