Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Summer Run Series: Bobby Moe

Finally made it to another Summer Run Series event last night. I haven't been since the 5k in Bethpage State Park that I had to peace out right after for a meeting. We skipped one because it was a 4k and practically in Queens and then we missed one last week because we were having too much fun drinking our way through in Chicago.

Last night's run was at Robert Moses, otherwise known as Bobby Moe. Or at least that is the nickname I have made for it. I don't know if it's actually known as that to other people, but this is my blog so I can call it what I wish. Anywho - the run was fast and flat. I'm pretty sure the elevation never ticked an inch throughout the course, and if it did, it was a negligible amount. I clipped off an easy 1.3 miles before I even realized and hit the last turnaround at a respectable 17 and change.

I also did something that I rarely do on these runs - I paced myself. As you may or may not know, I do an AWFUL job at pacing. It's just something I never got the hang of, especially for these short SRS races. I usually just bomb it right from the beginning at then start to fade away towards the end. However, last night I was determined to find a pace and hold it for the entire 3.1. I settled on a 6:55 pace - which would get me in over my PR time but was just uncomfortable enough to manage (I did run a half marathon last week, y' know!). I crossed the line and looked at Alastair and alas! - 6:55 pace exactly! So hey, maybe I do have this whole "pacing" thing down after all!

Susan and SJ also had awesome runs (of the exercise variety - I don't really want to know about any other kinds) and both came in better than expected. Susan hasn't run since the big race last Sunday, so she wasn't sure how her legs would hold up, but the flat streets of the Bobby Moe Causeway turned out to be just what the doctor ordered. SJ broke 8:00 miles - a first for the summer - so she was super pumped as well.

Susan was also excited for the quantity and variety of post-race snacks that she was able to acquire, so all-in-all, it was a pretty successful night. I'm off today - but will resume back in full force tomorrow morning with a swim AND a bike ride.

Whoa - two-a-days, it's been a while, my friend.

Monday, July 29, 2013

Weekly Wrap-up: Firefighting, Running and Crawling

Big weekend here at Blood, Sweat and Beers. Let's start by recapping the events.

Friday - The weekend officially started with a roaring fire on Friday afternoon (that's me with the number 58 on the jacket in the orange helmet) that took a solid 2 hours to officially put out. Thankfully, only one person was injured - a minor burn on his arm - and everyone walked away okay. Greenlawn and Huntington Fire Departments were also on hand to help out in battling the fire and for overhaul and salvage, so thanks to those guys!

After the fire, I went home for an easy fiver that was anything but. My legs were absolutely exhausted. It was probably a combination of the half-marathon on Sunday (still using that excuse as long as I can!) plus all the walking we did around Chicago (estimated at roughly another half marathon) and then the fire on Friday afternoon. Needless to say, the roughly 9:00 pace I was struggling to keep  holding felt horrible. I chalked it up to a tiring week and moved on.

I actually had a Friday night to myself for a change and SJ came home and cooked an AH-mazing dinner of baked swordfish, potatoes and corn. Talk about a much-needed home cooked meal! After a few post-dinner bevies, it was time to hit the sack for an early rise-and-grind session.


Saturday - After a workout in the morning, Tammy and I hosted a successful pub crawl on Saturday afternoon, taking a big chunk out of our fundraising goals. We had a great turnout of friends, family and coworkers to help support our efforts by drinking - and boy did we drink a lot. By 7:30, when it officially "ended", there were quite a few of us that were on the verge of literally crawling. However, there were a few noble souls that stayed out to continue the festivities until later that evening before calling it a night.

Thanks to everyone who came out and supported our fundraising efforts. If you weren't able to make it but would still like to contribute to my fundraising campaign, click the link to the right! Nothing is too small. And fear not, we are planning another event that involves copious amounts of alcohol for October! This time we will be hitting up New York City for one epic event.


Sunday - Seeing as how I drank more beers on Saturday than miles I had run all week, I thought Sunday might be the day to rectify that. After FD duties in the morning and a solid, yet expensive trip to BJ's in the afternoon (it is pretty much impossible to go into that place and walk away without spending over $150. It's a fact - I have a master's in Library Science so I know what I'm talking about.), I was able to get my act together and head out for a LSD 8 miler. I shuffled myself on down to visit SJ at work and then rode her bike home - so I am also counting that as a brick workout for yesterday as well. Considering I haven't actually done a brick workout in weeks, I will take what I can get.

Post-run bevies were consumed and meat was grilled and an overall enjoyable Sunday evening was had by all parties. A great way to end a considerably long weekend.

Weekly Wrap-Up

This was a "step-back" week for me, training wise. It was supposed to be this week, but because of the Chicago Half and the vacation that was planned well prior to my training plan taking shape, I opted to switch the weeks so that I didn't stress about getting in my training while on vacay. So I'm not super bothered by the fact that I have consumed more alcoholic beverages in the past week than training miles - but hopefully this week will change that.

Total running mileage: 17
Total biking mileage: a whopping ZERO (I'm not actually counting the bike ride home as a ride)
Total yardage: 2300

Total miles walked around the city of Chicago: 17

Like I said, it was a slow training week, but this week will pick up the intensity so check back later this week for an update friends.

Friday, July 26, 2013

"It's a Marathon, Not a Sprint" Pub Crawl

TOMORROW!

If you are on Long Island or in the general vicinity - come out to Huntington tomorrow for a fundraising Pub Crawl. Tammy Hunt and I are raising funds for the Marcie Mazzola Foundation, our charity sponsor for our ING-NYC Marathon adventures this upcoming November.

It's kinda what this whole big blog is about so come down and support us!


Finnegan's Bar and Grill  2 - 4pm

 

Rookie's Sports Bar  4 - 6pm

 

Dr. Finley's of Green Street  6 - 7:30pm



Bracelets cost $20 and go directly towards our fundraising goals of $2500 each.

Food and drink specials at every location with a bracelet - free munchies at Rookies to make you thirsty again.

Everyone is welcome so tell your friends and family. Come for a few and stay for a few more - and remember: it's a marathon, not a sprint!

Race Report: Chicago Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon

(What day is it today? Is it really Friday? This two-day work week is great - I think I've caught on to something here.) I just got back from five days in the mid-west, where I was able to eat, drink and run my through the streets of Chicago. The city was amazing - the run was flat and fast - and the food and drinks made me want to stay longer. Here's a recap of the events.

Pre-Race

We flew out of LaGuardia at 6:30am Saturday morning, landing sometime around 8:00am Chicago time. Having had the week from hell in terms of work and commitments, I was running on fumes at this point but knew we had a packed day ahead of us before race day on Sunday. Seven of us were on the same flight and we met the remaining two at the Hilton Chicago. I highly recommend this location to anyone thinking of doing this race. The start and finish lines are directly across the street in Grant Park and it's super easy for anyone watching the race to get around.

After walking up to the Expo - which I considered my "shake out the rust run" since we ended up walking over 1.5 miles - we grabbed our swag and tooled around a bit, checking out what the vendors had to offer. I made an impulse decision to buy The Stick and it turned out to be one of the better decisions of my life. Amazing. I really don't know why it has taken me so long to invest in one of these bad boys. Looked at a few other items but didn't make any other rash purchases - however, SJ did get a few Christmas present ideas, hint hint.

Post Expo browsing and nap time, we hit up an architectural boat tour - highly recommend - and then we met up with our Chicago local Dave who took us to an amazing pre-race carbo load at a place called Mario's Table in the Gold Coast. (Shout out to Dave - who was absolutely fantastic as a tour guide! Everywhere he recommended was great and he knew some awesome places to go for food and drinks.) We finally made it back to the hotel to pass out for a few hours before the race in the morning.

Race Day

 We were staying in a classy hotel so we needed
a classy picture.

Since we were staying in the best location ever, we all met around 6:00am to walk over to the starting line. That was probably cutting it a bit too close, since I ended up having to literally jump an 8 foot fence and just squeaked into my corral with about 2:00 to spare before the gun went off - but it also meant I didn't have time to dawdle. I basically had time to set up Pandora and my Garmin and then we were released.

The run was flat and fast, and I knew by mile 3 that I had done every runner's worst thing and gone out too quick. Passing mile 4 in less than 28:00, I knew I would have to back off or else someone would be calling an ambulance for me around mile 8. I caught up with our cheerleaders Liz and Lauren - who were absolutely outstanding as a support team - around mile 6 and that gave me a little extra oomph to get through that middle mile. Turning the corner onto Michigan Avenue, the crowd was going crazy which made everyone on the course kick it up a notch.

We hit the Gu and Gatorade station at mile 9.1 and after looking at my Garmin - whom I have taken to calling "Alistair" - I realized I was running well over the race mileage by almost 6/10s of a mile. That threw me off big time because I thought I was on pace to PR but according to the race mileage I was well over that. I passed by our tour guide Dave - who had been bike marshaling for the big guns out front - around mile 10 and asked if the course was long. He said a few other runners had commented on the distance but he wasn't sure.

We went through the tunnel under the Expo around mile 11 and the DJs had decked out the entire tunnel in strobe lights and were playing some great running tunes - house beats and a bass - and it totally got me back into the groove. Coming up and around Soldier Field we hit a long straight away that took us into Grant Park and towards the finish. The street was lined with spectators and the crowd surrounding the chute was loud and crazy.

Official race time has me crossing the finish line in 1:39.39 - slightly slower than what I wanted to do but still a good time overall considering I was using this as a training run for NYC. However, my Garmin had me at 13.72 - so either I weaved in an out of people enough to add almost 6/10s of a mile to my route or the course was running long. Either way it was a great day.

Race Crew

Like I said, there were 9 of us on this trip (we missed you, Jade!) and everyone did a fantastic job. Liz and Lauren were our support crew and walked the streets of Chicago cheering us on and our two half-marathon virgins, Susan and Kristi, absolutely rocked it! Shannon, SJ, Ei and Laura rounded us out and we all finished with great times and smiling faces needing a drink. So that's what we did.

 Looking fly, ladies. Post-race and pre-boozy brunch!

Post-Race Party

I always love me a good post-race party, and the Chicago Half didn't disappoint. Because it was a Rock 'N Roll half, there were bands along the course and a band playing on the stage at the end. Michelob Ultra was the beer sponsor and every racer was given one free drink ticket for post-race consumption of alcohol (my favorite). Personally, I think that if you just ran 13.1 (maybe 13.7) miles you should be given more than one free bevie, but that is why I'm not a race director - my races would probably lose money on the amount of alcohol I would give away. However, I would gladly pay $10 more per race to drink my face off after - post-race buzzes are the best.

We found our way to the Mich Ultra beer tent and sat down to consume our post-race drinks. I managed to somehow talk my way into a second free beverage (it pays to be nice) and then we hit the streets to head back for even more post-race bevies at brunch.

Wrap-Up

Overall I would give this race a 7 out of 10. The run was fast and flat and the atmosphere was fun. Hearing about other Rock 'N Roll races, I thought it would have been a little bit more rockin' and rollin' but there were only really a few spots where I got into the bands. They could probably have bands/DJs every half-mile and make it a bit more festive, but it was better than other half-marathons I have done (I'm talking about you, LI Half-Marathon and running along Jericho Turnpike for 3 miles). There were a few dead spots on the run where not a lot of spectators were, but the overall package was great. I wouldn't run it again, but I would recommend it to others who haven't done it.


Beers Consumed in Chicago

The following are a list of beers I was able to get my hands on while in the Midwest. I tried to keep things as local as possible, but sometimes it was necessary to go to an old stand-by:

Outlander IPA
Wailua Ale (Kona Brewing, HI) - brewed with pomegranate, too sweet for my taste
Goose Island - 312, Green Line, Honker's Ale, Summer Time, IPA
Daisy Cutter Pale Ale (Half Acre Beer Company) - a very hoppy, very delicious beer enjoyed at the beach (really!)
Chain Breaker White IPA (Bend, OR) - delicious and smooth
One bourbon barrel Root Beer from a place in Wisconsin
Lots of Angry Orchard that made me turn a violent shade of red and break out in a rash - that's called an "Irish Sunburn" my friends

All-in-all it was a very successful journey to the Midwest. I liked both racing and getting it done early so that I had the rest of the trip to relax and enjoy a few a lot of adult beverages. It made my lack of serious training over the next few days easier to forgive. I wonder how long I can keep using the "I ran a half marathon on Sunday so I can skip my workout today" excuse?

I hope to someday return to that part of the world - anyone interested in biking RAGBRAI next year with me? C'mon - you know you want to!



Sunday, July 21, 2013

Chi-town

Official race time has me at 1:39.39. However, I think the course was long but more to follow with a race report! Having too much fun drinking vodka lemonade a in Old Town!

Hope everyone had a great weekend. 

Thursday, July 18, 2013

A Day in Which Physical Exertion Should Be Kept to a Minimum

It's Thursday. The temperature in Huntington according to my Weather Channel app reads 97*, but feels like 104*. I'm starting to wonder if this heat wave is ever going to break, especially with tomorrows outlook at 95*/105*. Lucky for me I have the Chicago Rock 'N Roll Half on Sunday, which gives me a perfectly logical excuse to not do the 6 mile tempo run that I had on tap for this afternoon and instead do an easy 5 miler.

What's that you ask? How is running a 5 miler any different than a 6 miler? It's all in the lingo my friends, and a 6 mile tempo run in this weather just might kill me, whereas an easy fiver is just enough to break a sweat. (That is also somewhat not factual - most things will make me break a sweat without much effort. I'm actually sweating right now, sitting in the office - in air conditioning. It doesn't take much.) However, the point is that an easy five gives me the option to walk if necessary while a 6 mile tempo will require me to actual put forth some kind of intense effort for a portion of the time - and I would very much like to keep myself out of the hospital.

I was able to squeeze in a fast and flat 17 mile bike ride yesterday afternoon before heading to the fair ground. (That makes me sound like I am either, A) from the mid-1920s where fair grounds were common, or B) living the life of a secret carny worker. Rest assured, I am neither.) I was pretty pleased that I got it in considering the serious time crunch I was under. Spent the evening working the Dunk Tank - which I was fortunate enough to stay out of - and made it home somewhere around midnight. Two more nights of the carnival and we will be on our way to Chi-town for race day and - ironically enough  - relaxation.

Stay cool and hydrated friends!

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Heat Wave

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NEW YORK HAS ISSUED A HEAT ADVISORY WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8PM THIS EVENING.

COMBINATION OF HIGH LEVELS OF HEAT AND HUIDITY. HEAT INDEX VALUES UP TO 100. HIGHEST HEAT INDEX VALUES WILL OCCUR DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING HOURS.

IF NO PROTECTIVE ACTION IS TAKEN, INITIAL IMPACTS INCLUDE FATIGUE, SUNSTROKE, MUSCLE CRAMPS, AND/OR HEAT EXHAUSTION.

With this warning from my Weather Channel app in mind, I set off on a nice little 11 miler Monday evening. I know it wasn't the smartest thing to do, but I wanted to get another double-digit run in before leaving for Chicago and the Rock 'N Roll Half on Sunday and this was the only day I could get it done. The pace was slow and steady - more mileage than training - and I ended up cutting it short to 9 miles due to both lack of time and the weather.

I also wore a Fuel Belt for the first time, and I'll have to admit it wasn't as annoying as I thought it might be. Once you get the placement on your hips/waist right and you get into a rhythm, you kind of just get used to it being there. It's also great to have a handy water/Gatorade supply right there for when you need it. The bottles aren't cumbersome and while they don't exactly hold a great deal - three bottles barely made a dent in a 32oz bottle of Gatorade - it was nice to know I had some liquids on my run. I'm sure I also looked like a ginormous tool, running through the streets of Huntington and Greenlawn with what essentially amounts to a liquid fanny pack around my waist, but at least I was a well-hydrated tool.

It's definitely not something I would wear on every run - obviously - but since a good portion of my training will be done over the summer, I have a feeling I will be relying on this little gadget more often than not on my long runs. In theory, I could do loops that circle me back towards my house to just rehydrate there, but that's always a dangerous game. Every loop gives you the option of bailing out and stopping before the planned mileage so I would rather not tempt myself. Thus, my new-found love affair with my Fuel Belt.

This week is almost suffocatingly busy with both work and the FD fair, plus training on top of that. I won't get to bed much before midnight any night this week and then in order to get any type of training in for myself I am up before 6. By Friday I will be walking and talking, but I don't know that I will be functioning. I took off yesterday and lifted this morning. I'm hoping to squeeze in some kind of easy bike ride this afternoon, but I'm not going to stress if it doesn't happen.

For those of you who haven't done so yet, check out my Fundraising page for the NYC Marathon. No donation is too small (or too big, for that matter)!

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Race Report: Aquaphor New York City Triathlon

(Sit back and relax, dear readers, this is a long one)

I was a last minute fill-in for the swim portion of a relay team in today's New York City Triathlon - and it will be the one and only time that I EVER race in it. I have never felt the desire to do the race in the first place, and after the swim this morning, I now know that this was a wise choice - I hated every minute of it.

Pre-Race

Because I was a last minute fill-in, I technically wasn't racing under my name so I never did go to the race briefing that was a requirement at packet pick-up. In fact, I never did even go to pick-up my packet - I left that up to the girl whose place I was taking. However, due to the early start, I did drive into Queens last night and stay in Astoria (thanks Jer!) so that I didn't have to drive in this morning. This is problem number one with this race - the logistics of getting there.

Option A: Drive into Manhattan race-day morning.
While this seems like an easy thing to do, we are talking about Manhattan and nothing is ever easy when it comes to the words "Manhattan" and "driving". Another problem is just how early you have to get there. Transition closes at 5:15 - in the morning. That means that to feasible set up your transition spot in some kind of semi-decent order, you need to get there by at least 4:45. Considering that you will probably have to park somewhere in the Broadway and high-70s/low-80s, add on an additional 15 minute walking time. So now I am leaving my house by AT LEAST 3:30am. Which means I am up somewhere about 3:00am. That is just ridiculous. Also - see below about bike drop-off.

Option B: Stay with a friend in Manhattan/Queens
This is actually what I did, and had I been racing the full tri, it would have sucked immensely. You have to drop your bike off at transition on Saturday, which means that you either have to bring someone with you to the Expo so that they can watch your bike while you pick up your race packet, go through the briefing, etc. and then go up to transition which is NOWHERE NEAR THE EXPO! Or go into the city twice. Easy enough if you live there - not so easy if you don't. Then, on the race day, you still have to wake up at the ass-crack of dawn to get over to transition and I don't know about you, but the subway at 4:00am is not something I really want to experience - especially sober. And as a side note: Manhattan is actually quite a big place so just because someone "lives in Manhattan" doesn't mean they live anywhere close to where you need to be on race morning.

Option C: Stay in a hotel somewhere near the West Side
I am too cheap to even entertain this option, so I won't even bother discussing it.

Seeing as how I was only doing the swim, staying in Queens was only slightly bad, mostly because of how early I had to get up (3:20am). I had a nice relaxing dinner and polished off the two Shed beers (born and brewed in VT!) I brought with me and hit the pillow about 9.


 Pre-race dinner! 

The drive to the West Side in the morning was uneventful from a traffic standpoint but highly entertaining in other ways. Things I saw on the way: multiple people urinating on the sidewalk, one guy vomiting in Columbus Circle while his girlfriend rubbed his back consolingly, three possible "ladies of the night" (or they could have just been three regular ladies coming home from a night out, I can't really tell sometimes), one car accident and no less than five people out running (for exercise, not from the cops, well at least I don't think they were running from the cops). New York City truly is the city that never sleeps.

I found a parking spot and made my way to transition, met up with the other two members of the relay and got ready. It's go time.

Race Time


After my barefooted walk of no less than 1.25 miles from transition to swim start, I was getting excited. But I slowly realized I was going to have quite the wait. Seeing as how roughly the entire island of Manhattan was racing, there were two different sets of groups that went off: yellow and red. Lucky for me, we were in the yellow group, which went off first. Unlucky for me, the relays were the very last wave to go off in that group. So not only did I have to wait until 6:51 to start (remember, I have been up and going since 3:20 so this is about lunch time for me at this point) but I am also stuck swimming behind the 3,000 people that are not so great at swimming (not that I am an Olympian or anything, but avoiding slow swimmers is not exactly as easy as avoiding slow runners - also, Jennie Fitch, an ACTUAL Olympian, competed today!).

It's finally our waves' turn to go, so we line up on the starting barge and get ready for the whistle. NYC does a time trial start, so 15-20 people go off every 20 seconds - which is actually one of the only things I really liked about it. I dove in and immediately realized that this was it - my one and only swim in the Hudson River, so I might as well drink it in (but not literally because it's the Hudson River and that would be gross.)

It was awful. The Hudson is just as bad - if not more so - than everyone says it is. It smells. It's dirty. There is zero visibility. It tastes bad. There are no redeeming qualities about the Hudson River - except for the current (and the fact that it keeps New Jersey a safe distance away from New York - just kidding Danielle!). That thing rips and we were only about 25 yards off shore. I can only imagine what it's like in the middle of the river. The only things I kept thinking was, "The faster I swim, the faster I can get out of this awful, awful place," so I swam faster.

I hit the ramp somewhere in the 20:00 mark and then ran for transition - and kept running, and running, and running. Almost a full .4 of a mile, in fact. That is horrible. They should actually include that as part of the 10k because there should never be a reason to run that far from a swim exit to a transition area. I handed off the timing chip, changed into dry clothes and peaced the eff out. I hit the LIE by 8:15 and was home by 9:00am.

Post Race

Since I really didn't stay for long after my swim, I have nothing to write about the post-race festivities in Central Park. Usually I am all about the after-party (duh) but I had my car with me so there would be no post-race bevies for me - and there was also no beer sponsor at this race (another reason I have never found the desire to do it). However, if anyone has anything to offer about this then feel free to let me know.  Apparently there is a VIP area that I could have gone to since I was "on the list", but never made it over there. Oh well, next time.

Wrap-Up

So all-in-all, based solely on the swim, I would rate the NYC Tri somewhere in the 4-5 range. The location is great - who doesn't love New York City? - but that is also what makes it so awful. Manhattan is just not an easy place to get around when you have to lug bikes and wetsuits and bags and helmets around. The Expo isn't conveniently located to the transition and getting from one to the other isn't easy. For the marathon, it will be amazing; for the triathlon, not so much. Lucky for me, I don't have the desire to ever race it, but for those that do, here is the link for next year's registration. It lottery opens November 1, but I have no idea when they draw the numbers.


As a total side note: I also responded to a working fire this afternoon, which means I did a partial triathlon and then put out a fire all in one day. This is also my one day off all week. I am currently drinking my second Saranac Pale Ale and am ready to crack open a beer SJ brought home from England for me called Ginger Tosser. For those of you keeping score, I will not be going on my 12 mile run this evening. Instead, I am counting my barefoot walk and my run to transition as my running and enjoying the rest of the evening.

Friday, July 12, 2013

Wind Cycle

It's Friday night, so you know what that means - party time I'm stuck at work covering for someone. The joys of doing the right thing. But alas, it means I get to catch up on my work - and by "work" I mean looking up random things on the internet and reading sports and fitness related magazines. Hey, it's relevant. I work in the field!

I hit the track yesterday for my first track workout of the training period. I haven't run on a track since the last timed mile I had to do for lacrosse in college (shout out to the MU lax crew!) and I haven't done an actual "work out" on a track since those winter track days in high school (shout out to the TP!), so, needless to say, I was a little rusty. Considering the fact that I have been a competitive triathlete for the past, ohhhh five or so years, you would think I would have gotten by ass in gear earlier in terms of all this "speed work", but I have never been the most disciplined person when it comes to an actual plan. I have more of an "all over the place" type of training style, so the fact that I have any kind of training plan at all at this point is a huge step in the right direction.

Let's get back on track (pun intended) - the actual workout was 4x800 repeats at 3:15 followed by 4x400 repeats at 1:30, with a 200 jog/walk between each repeat. I did a mile warm up and a mile cool down, so in total I did somewhere around 6 miles, 3 of which were at a pretty decent clip. Clearly, this is not a pace that I could sustain for 26.2 miles, but I figured if I'm gonna do speed work, I might as well go fast.

I'm not going to say that the workout was awful - any Monmouth Lacrosse player circa 2004-2009 can tell you that Monday running was much worse - but it wasn't a pleasant experience either. Thankfully, I only have to do track workouts one out of every three training weeks, so I won't have to think about this again for another 20 days.

I followed up yesterdays track session with a windy and sneakily hilly 35ish bike ride today. The thing about windy rides is that, when you have the tail wind and are pushing 26 mph, you love it, and then when you hit the turn around - as you inevitably do unless you are lucky enough to be riding a point-to-point and then you never have to worry - and you're hitting the head wind and barely breaking 15 mph, it's absolutely dreadful. Really. When you crest a tough hill in a head wind and STILL have to peddle just as hard on the way down, you know it's gonna be a long ride home. And you almost NEVER get the tail wind home.

All-in-all it was a hard two days worth of work, and my legs are definitely feeling it. I'm supposed to get in a 5 mile marathon race pace run in tomorrow, but I'm back to work early in the morning and then headed into the city for the NYC Triathlon on Sunday and the thought of a 5 am wake-up call for a run tomorrow makes my already drained legs tremble just slightly.

I will, however, be getting in my second double digit run this weekend, as well as giving you a full race report from the NYC Triathlon on Sunday. I am only doing the swim as a last minute relay substitute for a friend but I've never done NYC so I'm looking forward to it. Maybe not so much the "swimming in the Hudson River" bit, but I'm sure I'll survive. I will be wearing a full wetsuit to protect myself from hypodermic needles though. I'm not stupid.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

A Note on "Insider Training". . .

There are only a few things in life that are worse than running on a treadmill, and one of those things happens to be using a bike trainer for indoor rides. I know, I know - you're probably thinking, "What about the state of our economy?". Or maybe, "What about starving children in Third World countries!?". Or even, "Global warming is ruining our planet!" (although I'm sure there are quite a few people out there who believe global warming is a myth, so perhaps that isn't the best choice). Yet, as much as I hate to say this, these thoughts rarely cross my mind on any given day - at least not in a way that actually disrupts the course of my daily routine. However, treadmills and bike trainers are two things I am confronted with far more often than I would like.

I admit it, treadmills and trainers are easy and convenient. When it's 105* outside with humidity hovering somewhere just around "tropical rain forest" (global warming?), who wouldn't like to be in an air conditioned gym with a cool breeze blowing on your face from your own personal mini-fan? Or when it's pouring rain to the point where building an Ark isn't too far out of the question and you have a 40 mile bike ride planned, why wouldn't you want to just throw your bike on the trainer and ride in the comfort - and dryness! - of your own home? Yes, yes, these are all valid points. But it doesn't take away from the fact that YOU ARE STAYING IN ONE PLACE FOR THE ENTIRE DURATION OF THE EXERCISE!

I mean, really. You want to take about feeling like a hamster, go try busting out a 10 mile run on the treadmill or biking 40k on the trainer. It's not exactly the most thrilling of activities. It's the means to an end, of course, but that's about it.

And yet, these were the two options I was forced to consider yesterday as I try to keep on track with my weekly training goals. Having already skipped the planned early morning swim Tuesday due to a late meeting Monday night, I couldn't slack off for a second day in a row and as I stared at the weather monitor on TV and the impeding thunder clouds looming overhead I knew I had a Sophie's Choice-type decision to make. (Okay, I realize that my choice wasn't nearly as dramatic as that, but all being equal, it was a choice I would have rather not have had to make. And for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, see here.)

I decide on the bike - it's the lesser of the two evils and I can do it at home, rather than in the gym. I literally work and work-out in the same place which, while convenient, leads me to want to spend as much time as possible working out elsewhere. I also realize that I can watch the DVRed time trial stage of the Tour de France from earlier today, which makes this somewhat slightly more bearable. It gives me a change of scenery and makes me feel like I'm riding in the Tour, just without all the blood doping and steroids. I get everything set up - bike trainer, fan, chair to put the TV remote on situated right next to my bike, water bottles - and go grab my bike.

Flat tire.

What? I rode last Friday and everything was fine. I decide it must be a slow leak somewhere and opt not to change it - I'm not going out on the road anyway - so I just pump it up and get going. I turn the TV on and hike up the volume (those trainers are effing loud) and press the DVR button.

No Tour de France.

What? I distinctly remember using the FiOS app to record this stage. It HAS to be on here. Still nothing. I run through all the troubleshooting - reset; manually reset; unplug and wait 30 seconds; reset again. Still nothing. At this point I'm cursing Verizon and their stupid cable service and mentally calculating how much it will cost to switch to Optimum or DIRECTV and it's only five minutes into what should be an hour trainer workout. This is going to suck.

With no Tour to get me through and nothing decent on TV - I slogged through another 20 minutes before finally giving up. There is only so much I can do staring at a blank TV screen, going absolutely nowhere before my adrenaline wanes and I pack it in.

Today will hopefully be better - it's raining off and on but my first track workout of marathon training is calling my name so weather be damned, I'm going outside. I got in an easy 2500 yards this morning in the pool and I'm itching to get a run in. And I have a feeling it'll be another couple of months before my bike trainer gets any love.

Happy Thursday - the weekend is almost here!

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Monday Night Runs

Despite what the title may imply, this post is not about bowel movements, but rather the State Parks Summer Run Series here on Long Island. Every Monday night at 7 starting mid-June, a gathering of roughly 2,000 people get together at one of the state parks on Long Island and slog happily run their way through a 5K, 5m or 10K run. And then, after we've all sweated and snot-rocketed our way through a park, we sit down and have a few drinks.

I realize that after reading the above paragraph, I make it sound like we all sit around a campfire and sing Kumbaya while we make s'mores, and that is not AT ALL what we do. I mean, c'mon, there are over 2,000 people there on any given Monday. That is one MASSIVE campfire. And we all know you can't make a (legal) campfire that big! (Remember: only you can prevent forest fires!) However, it's not very far off from it either.

The best part about the Summer Run Series is that anyone can do it. No, really. They even have a wheelchair race that goes off 2 minutes before the rest of the runners. Kids, teens, adults - everyone can run or walk and hang out afterward. They even serve beer at the end! I mean, if a couple of 8 oz. cups of lukewarm, badly poured Miller Lites don't get you running faster, I don't know what would.

Last night was the Bethpage State Park 5K. For those of you into golf - a sport I don't play but wish I did (mostly because of the ubiquitous 19th hole at every course) - that's where the 2002 and 2012 US Opens were held and it's also one of my favorites in the series. The finish line is on the Polo Fields (really!), and who doesn't like dodging horse crap on their way to the finish! But you also get to run along some of the golf course cart paths and it's got a lot of rolling hills which means you can get a decent time on a pretty hard course.

I finished strong with this one chick wearing "Colorado" (ugh, I love that place!) socks. It was one of those mental/physical battles where you both know the other is right there, neck-and-neck, and even though neither one of you is winning anything at this race you are still trying to stick it to the other person. I got stuck behind "Old guy in the short shorts" as we came into the finish so she beat me across the line - but we both gave each other a high five as we crossed. It was one of those "Thanks for pushing me so hard but there was no way I was going to let you beat me even if it meant that now I can't see straight and am in danger of falling over in front of all these people" high fives - but the camaraderie was felt!

Unfortunately, we had to bolt right after we finished because I had a FD meeting to get to, which meant that I also missed my favorite part of the race - the after-party. But alas, there are still four more races to go so there will be plenty of lukewarm beer in my future!

Monday, July 8, 2013

Sunday Night Wrap-up - on a Monday

I woke up late for work detail at Headquarters this morning, which is never a good way to start a morning. You know that feeling when you wake up and just know that the day is shot before you even start it? Yeah, that was my day. I dragged myself out of bed, threw on essentially the same clothes I wore the night before and sped to headquarters to make my appearance. With only two weeks left before the fair, there is a ginormous amount of work left to do and as low-men on the totem pole, it falls to the Probies to do most of the grunt work and if I don't show up, it will be noticed. I have learned one thing in my short time in the fire department thus far, and that is: don't do anything stupid that will get you noticed for the wrong reasons. So hangover or not, I have to go.

After we scrubbed down tents in the baking hot sun and I felt like I wanted to vomit no less than four times, I was finally able to leave to go home and take a nap. My head was pounding and all I wanted to do was lay down - the ten mile run I am supposed to be running today looming over me. There's a heat advisory today and the humidity is hovering somewhere around 100% so there's no way I am running anytime soon as it is - so I want to sleep off this hangover and hopefully feel like a human sometime in the near future. Sarah is up and watching the Murry/Djokovic final at Wimbledon - excellent. I love watching other people workout, especially when I feel like crap.

I finally peel myself off the couch roughly 3 hours later, shower and get on with my day. By 6 it has finally cooled off dropped a degree or two, and after watching 2 hours of the Tour de France, I figure my ten miler isn't nearly as bad as climbing four Pyrenean mountains in one day. SJ has offered to run the first two miles with me, which I gladly accept - if only to force myself to actually do it. Nothing like an audience to force you into something you don't necessarily want to do. Thank you, peer pressure.

We get to mile two and she peels off for home - at least I know I'll have an amazing dinner cooked for me when I get done - and continue on. (One side note: I am not a new runner and ten miles, while not exactly a walk in the park, isn't exactly stretching myself either. But still, there is something about doing a ten miler and knowing that, nine or ten weeks later, you will have to double that in training that makes it all a bit bigger.) Anyways, I finish up about an hour later having sweated out somewhere in the area of 50 lbs. of water and take a walk around the block.

First long run under my belt. Check
First week of training under my belt. Double check.

Weekly Wrap-Up


Total running mileage: 16
Total biking mileage: 18
Total yardage: 2500


Friday, July 5, 2013

First week

This week was supposed to start my first "official" marathon training week (thanks, Hal Higdon, for having not only great training programs, but putting them online for free!). I have chosen the "Advanced 1" level training program - not because I am an advanced marathon runner like the description says you should be, but mostly because the mileage is doable and it gives me speed work.

Naturally, since I am supposed to begin my training schedule, everything goes out the window and I'm lucky to even get in one of the runs that I am supposed to do. Between work and the Fire Department it's already like having two jobs, and then adding training to the mix, I'll be lucky to see my wife, let alone have any kind of social calendar. But so it goes.

Since yesterday was July 4th, I was given a rare day off and tried to use it in a somewhat productive manner. We had a parade in Eaton's Neck in the morning, so that put an early run out the window and I had BBQ plans in the evening, so there went an evening run. That left 1pm - smack in the middle of the hottest part of the day. Awesome.

As soon as I laced up my shoes I knew this was going to be an awful run. The heat and humidity were in full force and I was already sweating just waiting for my Garmin to calibrate. I don't know when exactly Long Island turned into Florida, but I would like just one day where I don't have to empty the dehumidifiers in my basement three times. Anyway, off I go on an easy two mile warm-up and slog through quarter mile hill repeats until finally returning home in a sweaty mess.

Is this really only day three of an 18 week plan?