Star Spangled Spin Class

I really love a theme for spin classes and there's nothing like a holiday to help determine a theme.  This week it was obviously the Star Spangled Fourth of July Spin.  If you have any playlist suggestions for independence, fourth of July, America and summer music, feel free to suggest.

Spin Playlist at Sky Club Fitness on July 2, 214
1. The Star Spangled Banner, Jim Hendrix
2. Independence Day, Mel C. (Spice Girl)
3. American Girl, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
4. American Boy, Estelle feat. Kanye
5. Blister in the Sun, Violent Femmes
6. The Boys of Summer, the Ataris
7. I love New York, Madonna (a tour of the states)
8. Lubbock or Leave It, Dixie Chicks (NY to TX)
9. Lump, the Presidents of the United States of America (get it?)
10. American Pie, Madonna
11. Young Americans, David Bowie
12. Firework, Katy Perry
13. America, Simon & Garfunkel
14. Ice Cream, Sarah McLachlan

And let me tell you the class could have used some ice cream or fro yo after it was over, even though it was 6:45a.m. because this morning was H-O-T!  It was 80+ degrees and HUMID in New York City today.  To beat the heat, I did my brick workout inside today.  10 min on the treadmill before class and then spin class, back to the treadmill for 15 min and then a quick swim before work.  Gearing up for the triathlons we just signed up for July 19 Hopkins Vineyard Triathlon and Niantic Bay.

This Friday we'll be kicking off our 4th in style with a Firecracker 5k.  I started this week with a great Monday night run and yesterday had a kick ass bootcamp class (workout to follow).

Unfortunately the fireworks are no longer over the Hudson, but this was our amazing view last year. 

Comeback Trail...Summer Race Schedule

I've been a bad and delinquent blogger as of late.  Mostly because time is constantly getting away from me with training, work, and the wedding, but also because a few weeks after my last post, on the first nice day in NYC, I went out for a long run (8-10 miles) to see if I was ready to sign up for a half in May and tripped and fell within in the first quarter mile.  I am not sure if I was more upset from the pain or the knowledge that half was likely now out of the question.  It did hurt pretty badly.  Fortunately, it seemed to only be a minor sprain. I was back to spinning the next week, teaching from the saddle only!  However, the half was definitely out, it's next week and I've only just been cleared to run 2-3 miles now. But, I am now back to almost all activities except things like burpees in bootcamp, alas! ;)

Having already done the summer schedule it took a lot for me to regroup and decide not to do a half before the wedding but perhaps get one in before the honeymoon (the next month) and focus instead on getting back into running and triathlon season. I've been waiting to make any final decisions until I actually heard the PT folks say that I was good to run. So far I am hoping the season will shape up as such:

Flat as a Pancake, June 7th
Westport Tri, June 15th
Litchfield Hills, July 20th (this will be a tough one, I had to give up last year after an injury on the bike so this is my "reach" race)
Niantic Bay, August 3rd, (2 weeks before the wedding and the spot of our engagement)
Hammerfest, Sept. 14th

I am also hoping to get in a half, possibly the Newport Half in September in NJ and a few races here and there. I am hoping to do a 5k as early as next weekend and possibly do a few road races over June/July. I just started by 20 week out calendar for the summer now that the okay is in, I'd been thinking about, mentally doing it, but wanted to to wait until the okay came in before putting pen to paper.  Everything will depend on how well the running goes and now the running feels good but also a little like...

Niantic Bay Triathlon (and a Surprise), Camping and Catch up!

A Big Surprise Waited for me at the End of the Niantic Bay Triathlon!

I have not been blogging in awhile, sorry for the drop off, but a lot has happened since the Niantic Bay Triathlon last month!

Catch Up
I am still teaching classes and we're still rocking our Tuesday bootcamp workouts, and I'm going to start up with those again this Thursday. (Promise!)

I have a few triathlons to catch up on, first and foremost, Niantic Bay today. But we also did the Tobay Triathlon on Long Island for the first time and I did the Women's triathlon for the 3rd time.

Races
The Niantic Bay Triathlon is one of my favorite out of the Hartford Marathon Foundation races. I love the location.  The swim is great (especially when no jellies!), the bike is scenic (who doesn't love a course where people blast music to get you up the toughest hill?), and the run is flat and so scenic (which as a lousy runner - I love).  The whole experience makes you want to get up and do it again.

Quick Race Recap

Swim 13:19
I beat my best swim time by almost 2 minutes coming in at 13:19.  I made myself move to the front and tried to stay with the leaders as best I could. I definitely think there was a strong current pulling us in because I felt like I'd landed back on the beach in no time flat and despite being unable to find my wet suit strap I got a helpful hint from the announcer on the shore.

T1 2:28
Shocking! Considering it normally takes me 20 minutes to get out of a wetsuit, but I must've been in high spirits.

Bike 45:25
Not a bad showing for me, exactly where I wanted to come in at.  I was hoping to be at an hour after the bike and that's just about where I was. I was glad to see the family blasting helpful tunes up the hill.

T2: 1:27
After a smooth showing on the bike I ran down the hill, if you've never done Niantic Bay, there is a big down hill after the bike and you need to remove your bike shoes to get down quickly and safely. 

Run 35:38
Running is always my downfall and since my great illness of May and June, I haven't been running like I should.  But, I was pleased to keep my average pace under 12 minute miles and to run the entire course with only a small stop for water at mile 1.5.

All in all it was a great race, and I had always thought I'd never go under 1:45 on this course and I made it in 1:38 so that was a huge success!

Crossing the finish line at the beach!

But the best part was still ahead.  Turns out I got a big (semi) surprise at the end and was rewarded for my hard work with a proposal. (That's why I've been busy!)  Wedding planning, working and running around can make you crazy!

Slightly better than the Niantic Bay medal. 

A great day with the additional surprise of having our favorite kiddies and their parents there! And my mom and dad! 

Fortunately, we also did not have to right back to work after getting engaged and were able to enjoy my first camping trip in the Maine Woods.  We went up to Portland, Me. and had a great weekend just outside Portland at a campground and then staying in Portland. A few highlights

I only spent one night camping and though I enjoyed it, it wasn't without challenges. It took us awhile to build a fire, which almost meant no s'mores (I almost went home!)  We had an animal sneak in to test out our left out beers at midnight and he came back a few more times. And I had to pee.  But all in all it was great. We had s'mores, pancakes and enjoyed a day at the beach the next day.

Our Humble Home for one night outside Portland.

Delicious goods from Two Fat Cats. 

We taste tested most of Portland after fending for ourselves at the campground. We had ice cream and fried clams near Old Orchard Beach.  We ate pie for Breakfast at Two Fat Cats (and whoopie pie) and we had croissants at Standard Bakery.  We ate a great meal at 5 Fifty Five and a out of this world meal at Fore Street. Fantastic foodie town Portland. And we had lobster rolls, all over!!

My wall climbing. 

We did a lot of biking, walking, running and other activities while on vacation. Our last day it was rainy and I was feeling pretty tired. I had done a triathlon that weekend!  So Thursday morning we went for a long walk and stumbled across this park which had awesome obstacles.  We tried to do each one and it gave us a great workout.  I am thinking about signing up for Hoboken's obstacles course race in a month and this was a good test!

Well I will get back to Tuesdays this Thursday.  We had a great workout this morning.  Post my end of summer spin playlist and recap the latest 2 triathlons soon!  We have one more triathlon this season this weekend HAMMERFEST in Branford. It's scheduled in amongst wedding venue searching! Last week's triathlon was in and amongst dress shopping.   Then its on to some runs before the cold sets in. But all in all.

Yes, we spent a lot of money in the life is good store, but look how cute this towel looked on Long Island's beaches.