New discovery

So I just discovered (courtesy of my friend Anne), that you can borrow CD's from the library for free (at least here in New York).  This is very exciting to me.  I love music, but can not afford to buy everything I want.  This way, I can borrrow them for free, import them to my iTunes and return them.  All for zero dollars. 

It's the little things in life.

I. want. one.

Why does Apple always make the coolest stuff?

www.apple.com/ipad

It looks awesome.  I totally want one.  And, in all honesty, it's not that expensive (compared to how expensive it could be).  I've been wanting a Kindle/Nook for a while, so maybe I'll just wait a couple of months 'til Apple works out the kinks and then get this one.

Currently reading...

I enjoy reading, I really do.  Right now, I'm in the middle of "Fever Pitch" by Nick Hornby (yes, the book the movie "Fever Pitch" starring Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore is based off of; and in the book it's about soccer, not baseball.  Anyways, off topic...).  I started it in November.  I'm enjoying it, I am, but while I enjoy reading, I find that something always seems to distract me.  Right now, it's the first 5 seasons of LOST, which I am trying to re-watch before the premier on Feb. 2nd.  I've seen them all before, but re-watching them has been fascinating.  I'm on season 5, so I'm pretty confident I'll be finished by next Tuesday.

Then, I can go back to reading my book.

really bad blogger...

So, it's kind of ironic that in my last post, I commented that I was a bad blogger and hadn't posted in a while.  Well...now it's been almost 1.5 years since I posted.  Whoops.  Rather then re-hash what has happened in the last 1.5 years, I'm just going to start fresh.  New Year, New Blog.

So, in that spirit, this blog will no longer be about running and training for a marathon, but about everything.  Running is a given, but also about random thoughts, travel, food, celeb sightings, things going on in the city, daily adventures...basically whatever comes into my mind. 

Enjoy!

So its been a while....

Yea, so I'm a bad blogger. And apparently people actually read this (I'm serious - who knew?). And I'm sorry to the people who I told I would update this a while ago. Clearly, I did not. Oops. So to make up for that, this will be a longer then usual post (I'll try to re-cap what I can from the last 2 weeks).

The official pictures from the Philly Tri are up! Check them out at the link below:

http://www.asiorders.com/view_event.asp?EVENTID=32064

My bib number was 629. There are some pictures that are not me (not sure how they ended up in there), but the rest look pretty good.

I did my first long ride over the GW Bridge on the 28th. Meet the team in the park and then headed up. We rode over the bridge and along 9W to Piermont and back. Did a total of 48 miles, my longest ride to date. I felt good during the ride, but I am sooo not a fan of riding over the GW. I've run over it before and was fine with that, but riding over it was whole different experience. I kept having visions of me falling of the bridge. But, I took it slow and made it out and back. And hopefully the next time I do it, it won't be so terrifying.

That Sunday (6/29), I did a long run with the team, which went well despite it being ungodly hot out. I also went for a short, easy swim.

Monday's are rapidly becoming one of my favorite days of the week since they tend to be recovery days. I did some stretching and used the foam roller (I am still pretty inflexible/tight despite all my efforts).

Tuesday was our speed workout. We did a tempo run that mimicked the course of the NYC Triathlon (which is next weekend). I'm not doing the tri this year because of a family wedding, but it is good practice since I am planning on doing it next year.

The rest of the week I did strength training, 2 rides, a brick, and lots of swimming. I felt like I was becoming a fish by the end of the week. I also did a long-ish run on Sunday morning. As it was the 4th, I was able to be lazy and catch up on my sleep (well, some of the days I did). Monday (7/7) was another recovery day.

This week has been a lower volume week, but the intensity has definitely been higher. Tuesday night I did a 30-minute time trial. Wednesday I did a strength workout. Thursday morning I did a ride in the park. I had a really good ride - felt really comfortable and strong on the bike. I can finally feel the strength workout paying off - Harlem Hill was easier to do then usual.

Today I am doing a time trial in the pool, tomorrow one on the bike and Sunday another running time trial.

Another Philly pic

Here's another pic from the Terrier Team dinner at Philly:



Me, Shannon, Jen and Robert (Terrier Head Coach)

I am sore and tired...

So I am definitely a little sore from last nights workout...we did Harlem Hill repeats. I don't mind hills (they make you stronger), but after 7 of them at 90% effort, my body was tired. Plus, then I still have to get home (Harlem Hill is NOT near my apartment at all). Needless to say, it was a long workout. And I got up this morning and did a brick (17 mile ride, about 1.5 mile run).

I know, I'm a crazy person.

Pictures

Official race pictures aren't up yet, but here are some my friend Shannon took of me on Sunday:


Heading into the finish:

All done! (I'm such a dork I know)

Philly Tri!

I finished the Philly tri this weekend! YAY! I am beyond excited to have finished and am pretty happy with my time as well. It was a ton of fun. I was a little nervous going into it (as it was my first), but not as nervous as I was before my first marathon. I went down on Saturday afternoon with some friends from Terrier. Upon arriving, we went straight to the "expo" to pick up our numbers. Got our numbers and went and checked out transition. Then, we went back to the hotel, checked in and chilled for a bit before dinner. We had a Terrier team dinner (which was a ton of fun!) and then it was back to the hotel. Since I had to get up at 4am the next morning, I was in bed by 9pm.

The race started at 7am on Sunday. I was in the 4th swim wave. The swim went well. The water was very nice - not too cold. After the swim, it was time to bike. The bike was 2 loops of the same course. The course was definitely very technical with a couple of steep climbs, but by the second loop I was able to anticipate them better. Then it was time for the run. I had a rough T2 - I got a little confused coming off the bike. Kinda forgot what I was supposed to be doing, lol. The run went well. I was definitely drained, but was still able to run a 9:00 pace.

All in all, I was very excited for the race. Spoke with Coach Josh yesterday and he was really pleased with my time, (especially since he didn't taper me at all). Now just the half-ironman in August!!!

Times for Sunday are below:
Swim (.93 miles) - 30:51
T1 - 2:57
Bike (24.5 miles) - 1:30:03 (16.5 MPH)
T2 - 2:15
Run: 55:48 (9:00 pace)

Total: 3:01:55

Philly Tri

This weekend is the Philadelphia Olympic Triathlon. I can't believe its here already. I remember registering for it in December and thinking it sounded so far off. So much has changed since then (in a good way). I feel ready and prepared. I am driving down with some friends (my bike is going on the Terrier trailer). We are having a team dinner on Saturday, which will be fun, and then the race is on Sunday!

I'll update next week with details! YAY!