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.

Litchfield Hills Triathlon Recap

On Sunday, July 14th, my friends and I did the Litchfield Olympic Triathlon.  For me, the Olympic triathlon has proved troubling.  I have had trouble with Olympic distance for the past few years, this was my third and failed attempt.  The first one, I got 2 flat tires and fell on the bike and in Round 2 I made a wrong turn on the run.  I felt terrible after the experience but I found a blog from a fellow who did not finish after training for the Ironman and his disappointment and story of picking himself up afterwards was very inspiring.  I was very glad to be there at the end of the race to see my better half finish the Duathlon and he did an amazing job.  I also got to see my good friend Jen finish and she did great.

This year, I will admit I did not trained properly.  I was so focused on getting through the half in June after being sick for most of May that I did not put in the proper training effort. I also have not been swimming as much as I should have. So right there, 2 things to work on. However, one positive, we got to make use of the brand new 4 bike hitch and bike rack on the back of our car!

Brand New bike rack!

 Race Recap
I started off the swim great, I was only a few seconds off from last year, so I was pleasantly surprised. 31:36 for a mile.

In T1 I was 2 minutes faster than last year, which was great considering it's a .25 mile run uphill after the swim on a rocky path back to transition.

On the bike I got started strong down the screaming downhill and started a good pace.  Unfortunately, things headed downhill from there.  My odometer wasn't working so I started focusing on that instead of riding and then at some point in the first 5 miles I developed a searing pain in my glute.  I know a pain in my ass and OMG was it.  I felt like couldn't peddle, it hurt to sit in the saddle, I couldn't stretch it out.  By the time we got to the uphill side of the ride I wanted to cry. I also wanted to get off my bike, throw it in a ditch and beat it with a baseball bat.  Needless to say, it was some pain.  I made it up Bruning Hill which is a final 2 mile uphill and the last push to transition and started to get off and wanted to see if I could run.  I was already limping along and mentally I had given up.  The 6.2 mile run just seemed too far, I felt like too bad of a runner to finish it, and I wanted to sit in an ice bucket.  So for the first time ever, I gave up.  I spoke to the medic and he advised turning in my chip and sitting in ice.  So, I turned in my chip and got an ice pack and waited for my pals to finish.

Fortunately, I have a fantastic boyfriend and friends who were encouraging.  The race kicked off the week of heat and humidity and we dealt with some serious heat and humidity during the race.  Afterwards, we went home and sat in a cold pool. It was seriously wonderful.  My boyfriend even offered to share his medal with me, he said I could have the swim image since technically he never swam during the race.

I think the Litchfield Hills Course is gorgeous, but it has beaten me, abd I think if we tackle it again next year, the better half and I may tackle it as a team.  But, I will not give up on the Olympic distance....yet. However, that means putting in the training and setting goals.

Bricks, Burpees and Fireworks! (and watermelon)

It's been a few weeks since I posted because last week was July 4th! And what should have been a super slow week turned into a crazy week!  I decided to take a break from Zuzka Light for a week and go with the daily hiit workouts!  If you go to workouts you can see a list of all their workouts and they are completely free!

Weekly Workouts  - July 1 to 7
Monday - REST I am loving Monday as my REST Day
Tuesday - Daily HIIT workout and swimming (See below for workout)
Wednesday - Spinning
Thursday - 4+ mile run for July 4th in the heat even at 9am!
Friday - 3 mile run, class at Local Barre and Yoga Up at 6am to avoid the heat!
Saturday - Brick Workout (16 mile bike and 2.5 mile run) and Stand Up Paddle Boarding. up at 5am to drive to LI and avoid the heat!
Sunday - 16 mile bike ride in hilly Jersey - HOT!

Over the holiday, we definitely treated ourselves, we did a lot of grilling good chicken and fish and veggies at home but we did a lot of treats as well.

On Thursday after a run in the sweltering heat and humidity that is Hoboken we enjoyed a beverage at the Biergarten. 

Then we watched the fireworks that night from our balcony.  We made chicken burgers, portabello mushrooms, corn on the grill and an assortment of veggies. 

On Friday I worked from home in the morning and got to enjoy my flowers.

I made this watermelon mojito from a recipe on Saturday after our brick workout along with a sweet and savory bbq sauce and it was delicious.

Daily HIIT 
What you need: two sets of weight - I had 8's and 12's, bench and a mat
Warm Up - Jog, Jacks and Jump Rope, Wide Leg Pushups (3), Squats and Lunges  (about 20 of each) and stretching for the hip flexors, shoulders, calves, etc.

Workouts - for section 1 and 10 - 50 seconds on 10 off
Section 1
Plank tricep kix, alternate halfway
Tuck jump burpee
Extend leg row L
Fly
Extend leg row R
Lunge bicep curl
Row high up
Plank KB
Bike chest press
Sandbag swing

Section 2
Left step up jump - power off the bench
Shot put R
Shot put L
Right step up jump
Plie squat side kick
Weighted scissor pass
Toe touch R
Toe touch L
Cross leg reverse curl L
Cross leg R

Switch lunge kick up 20 reps
Side burpee 20 reps
Supergirl deadlift 20 reps 
Dive bomber knee tuck 10 reps
Jacks 20 reps
3d pushups 10 reps
Side to side 20 reps
Ab chopper 20 reps
Sumo twist 20 reps
Plank knee side to side 20 reps

 BBQ Sauce Recipe - measurements are by the eye!
1/2 cup ketchup
scoop of marmalade I used orange cranberry
1/4 cup orange juice
dollop of Dijon mustard
little cayene pepper
S&P
Bring to a boil then simmer

This weekend I am getting ready for the Litchfield Hills Triathlon.  I have to have my race prep and race recap for you this week and next week!

Tough Tuesday Workout (5/7/13): Shuttle Runs Plus Weekly Workouts & HOHA 5 miler

Last week ended up completely different from what I planned but great nonetheless. I've been pretty lousy about signing up for races.  Being somewhat low on cash and headed to Nashville on vacation, I've been waiting to sign up and see what I want to do.  I had thought about doing a Mother's Day duathlon this past weekend, but haven't been out on my bike enough.  I also thought about the Newport 10K but the rain put me off (I know it shouldn't but since my running buddy got sick, I wasn't eager to go alone).  Well I headed to the gym Saturday (shockingly) and turns out some friends were running so I headed to the HOHA Sunday and it was great and my Ipod and I finished in 52 minutes, which was great!


What you need: two sets of weight - I had 8's and 15's, mat, bench and a mat, Gymboss or other timer

Warm Up - Jog, Jacks and Jump Rope, Wide Leg Pushups (3), Squats and Lunges  (about 20 of each) and Stretching.with band 



We ran across the gym the short way, so it looked like little shuttle runs

heavy weights at one end
2x back and forth sprints
down curl press
Repeat for 3x 15, 10, 5 of each exercise

shuffle low back and forth
alternating lunge 15, 10, 5 (add one more shuffle at end)

frog jump burpee and back peddle
pushups 15, 10, 5 toes or knees

Rest

50 on and 10 off

1. jump lunge
2. side to side burpee
3. Dive Bomber
4. one legged deadlift
5. 3 d pushup
6. one legged deadlift
7. tap knees
8. side lift R
9. side lift L
10 Dead lift

Repeat

Rest

30 seconds - squat in and out on the bench
Repeat other side
Repeat Taps for 10
2 pushups - downward dog for 3 sets

Abs

one minute plank. 

cool down & stretching

This took about 50-55 minutes (4 Round x 10 plus about 1 minute break plus abs and the warmup and cool down)


Remember to always check with a doctor before doing any exercise and to always keep on tri'n!

Weekly Workout Summary
I started my week on Tuesday after taking Monday off after we had run 10 + miles Sunday I was TIRED. Tuesday I did my morning weekly boot camp and I did a light 20 min jog before heading to the Shelter meeting at night

I was pretty sore the next day (Wednesday) during spinning but still did some swimming to get ready for tri season.

Thursday night I went for a quick run with the my running buddy since I got home late (again - repeat the same as last week! 
 

 Friday I taught spinning and did some weights and swimming.  And that night I did yoga at Sky Club.

On Saturday I went to Combat class at Sky Club and followed that up with a short run (about 25 minutes) and then went to Local Barre over the weekend and did the Sports Barre Class. 

On Sunday, I ran the HOHA with the Sky Club crew and kept a pretty good pace for me.  I was excited.  

I put together my weekly workout schedule for the spring/summer a few weeks ago to get ready for tri season and to finish up training for the half we planned to do and it's working out well. BUT

Then this week I found out the Half Marathon we'd planned to do was CANCELLED - super bummer.  We hadn't signed up since I was waiting for Uncle Sam to send over his contributions to race season but it was disappointing nononetheless, looking at a half in CT and then today I found out they cancelled my usual first race of the season in CT for tri season (Westport TargetTraining race). DISAPPOINTMENT AGAIN. I've looked into other options.  Fortunately the Hartford Marathon races for the summer are still a go. 

Back to the races & Plymeteric Paradise: June 4

 Back on the Road to Racing

I have slowly started to make my way back from illness!  And it's been a long road.  Before I got sick, I was doing really well with running (for me) and ran the HOHA Hoboken 5 mile in just about 10:30 miles, which was great for me.  The run was great, fantastic morning and I was there with some great pals from Sky Club.

After the HOHA 5 Mile on Mother's Day.

Then, I got sick as I talked about in my previous post, and lost all ability to move much less run.  But, this weekend I came back with a vengeance (ok I just came back) and ran the Oakley Mini 10k.  The race ending up being a lot of fun. I had been really excited about doing the race and then Friday it poured rain, like Noah's ark prep.  I had mentally prepared myself that the race was going to be cancelled, Hoboken was going to flood, I'd lose power, and sleep in.  So had my better half.  But, race morning came, so did the sunshine and birds chirping and with my pal Run Lift Repeat saying she was up for the race, we were off to the races, literally.  Fortunately, the drive by car into NYC is speedy quick, which left us plenty of time to get registered, talk my better half out of being mad at me for waking him up so early, and use the restrooms. He set off on his own run around the park and I went to the starting line.  I ended up being last. How? I dunno. 

I was expecting to have a horrible race after eating pasta and pizza by the pound at 10pm the night before, but amazingly I was setting a 10:30 pace a week after being sick, I slowed up some on the hills in Central Park but my finish was only a minute behind last year, so I was happy overall.  I was happy I didn't cough, throw up, or DNF, especially since I had forgotten many of the hills that were involved. Whoops. The one at the 5k mark always gets me.

I was very excited the medals were pink! Especially since I was wearing pick.  One the way into the race, Run Lift Repeat and I had a long discussion on race fashion, much to the disgust of my better half, who couldn't understand dressing up to sweat.The race has a great "go women" vibe and I love the medals and carnations they give out.  I also cannot forget some love for the super race volunteers who made bag drop easy.

Post Race Pink!

This is the 5th year I've run the mini and the tanks that they gave out may beat some of the previous T's. Go partnership with Oakley.

Missing a medal from 2010, maybe I lost it? But otherwise 4 years of medals starting from 2009!

Last week, before the Mini 10K, I also formally got back to teaching classes.

 Plyometric Paradise.

Warm Up - Jog, Jacks and Jump Rope, Wide Leg Pushups (3), Squats and Lunges  (about 20 of each) and Stretching

I decided to change up my Tuesday class and I set up rows of benches. We did our usual warm up and then a plyometric workout.

They lined up in front of the benches and did plyometric jumps all the down the benches (6 in a row at varying heights) and then lunges back (3 rounds).  The first set deep squat on the step.  Second set was deep squat when jumping down and run back after 10 squat jumps.  The 3rd set we moved laterally and did toe taps down and shuffle back and reverse.

We broke it up (each set) with heavy weight work and 3 minute challenges. The 3 minute challenge was 3 minutes of 5 competition burpees, 10 squat jumps, 5 burpees, 10 mt climbers. I was exhausted by this. The weights we did squats, curl press, push ups, single leg dead lift, and dead lift row. (10-15 of each).

Here is a link to the video that inspired me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLzI1mcvIv8


Remember to always check with a doctor before doing any exercise and to always keep on tri'n! 

Weekly Workout Summary - June 3 - 9

Monday - Rest
Tuesday - Plyometric Paradise and Swimming - 20 min, 20 min run at night
Wed - Spinning 45 min and 20 min Running
Thursday  - 40 min Run in the Rain
Friday - Spinning - 45 min and some ab work
Saturday - Oakley Mini 10k
Sunday - 17 mile bike on some big CT Hills and 20 min Run (BRICK!)

Tough Tuesday Workout: Fantastic Four Round (4.30.13)

What you need: two sets of weight - I had 8's and 15's, mat, band, bench and a mat, Gymboss or other timer

Warm Up - Jog, Jacks and Jump Rope, Wide Leg Pushups (3), Squats and Lunges  (about 20 of each) and Stretching.with band and gymboss 50/10, 10 Rounds

Round 1 w. the band

1. Uppercuts

2. Squat

3. Overhead press

4. Wood Chop R

5. Overhead press

6. Wood Chop L

7. Squat Curl

8. Front Raise

9. Squat Side Curl

10. Wide Leg Squat

Round 2. w/ bench, weights and mat (same intervals)

1. frog jump burpee

2. high knees

3. burpee step jump

4. high knees

5. one legged burpee

6. high knees

7. one legged burpee

8. high knees

9. pushup jumpover

10. high knees

Round 3. w band

1. Squat

2. Front Raise

3. Squat

3. Overhead Press

4. Right leg side leg lift

5. Left leg side lift

6. Two steps R and L

7. Wood chop alt sides halfway

8. Squat Curl

9. Chest Press

10 Row

Round 4. with step and w. heavy weights

1. lunge twist

2. star jump

3. lunge twist

4. pulse squat with heavy weights

5. wall sit overhead lift

6. Single Leg row R

7. Single Leg Row L

8. Pushups

9. Lunge side and back alternating

10. side Plank alternate halfway

Abs

one minute crunches
one minute bicyles

one minute plank. 

cool down & stretching

This took about 50-55 minutes (4 Round x 10 plus about 1 minute break plus abs and the warmup and cool down)


Remember to always check with a doctor before doing any exercise and to always keep on tri'n!

Weekly Workout Summary
I started my week on Tuesday after taking Monday off. This Tuesday workout was really tough, especially with all the burpees!  

I was pretty sore the next day (Wednesday) during spinning but still did some swimming to get ready for tri season and then that night when I went to Local Barre class with Meghan in Hoboken.

Thursday night I went for a quick run with the my running buddy since I got home late and then  
 Friday did the Cinco de Mayo Spin, some weights and swimming.  

Over the weekend we did 5 miles with some 400s and 15 miles on the bike on Saturday and on Sunday we did 10.3 miles to get ready for a half marathon at the end of May. 

An Olympic Spin

With the Olympics here it was all I could do to contain my excitement about creating a (maybe multiple) Olympic playlist for class on Friday (next week).  It was virtually impossible due to the secrecy around the ceremony to see what music they used so I picked some of my favorite British music and inspiring music.

The Olympic Spin Playlist



London Calling - Obvious choice.

Spice Up Your Life  - Brits ladies and a good one to get the heart rate up.

SuperGirl  - Favorite song of Nastia Luikin, US gymnast and 2008 Olympic all around champion.

London Bridge - Starting to climb to a lil London tribute.

'Till I Collapse - Hauling up that hill after that intro and a great one to showcase how hard the athletes work and how hard can you push.

I'm Still Standing (Live) - Flush to another England legend and then run in 2.

That's Not My Name - This English indie band is great for sprints.

We Will Rock You - Heading up a steep hill at one minute mark all you've got. 

Dog Days Are Over  - My fav English lady and flush it out then run in 2 and jumps in 2. 

Firestarter - I found out this song was going to be used and I hadn't heard it awhile so it was great for sprints.

What Makes You Beautiful - Irish/English pop boys make for a climb to the end with hill run in 2 at the chorus

Jenny Wren Paul McCartney - Sir Paul to cool down.

White Ladder - cooling down.

This was super fun and I can't wait do do another one.