Prospect Park Duathlon – Saturday, March 24

I almost decided to sleep in for this race since it was a bit chilly outside and I wasn’t in the mood to wait around in the cold for the race to start. To top it off, I discovered that I had 3 flats over my two sets of wheels. I had put on my Zipps the night before and inflated them after they have been sitting since September ’06. When I went to my bike in the morning I discovered both of them had lost all of their air pressure. I can’t imagine why this was so as they seemed fine when I took them off all those months ago. My third flat was on my regular set of training wheels, so I had to spend a few minutes that morning, getting my hands dirty to fix at least one flat.

I met up with a bunch of other members of the Asphalt Green Triathlon Club. Since this was a club points race, I felt obligated to wear my AGTC tri clothes. No worries to Hammer Nutrition though, as before and after the race, I had on my Hammer gear. It was nice to be part of a team for a change.

My lack of serious training as of late showed up in the race. I felt like I was running through molasses. The last time I did this race, I was second in my age group. This time the best I could muster was 7th. It is what it was though and I guess I should just be happy to have been able to put in a hard effort. Overall place I was 33rd out of 111.

After lounging around the house for a while, I decided to head to the YMCA for a swim. I felt pretty good and wound up going 2000 yards when all I planned for was 1500. I could have gone longer, but I wanted to leave the pool wanting more. Hopefully this will give me inspiration to get back in the water soon. I do have Alcatraz coming up.

When I got off the subway when returning from the pool, I decided to stop into the local grocery to buy a lottery ticket. A woman was standing outside of it asking for money. She didn’t seem to be in particular need and I didn’t like the way she asked for it. Anyway, I entered the store to cash a winning lottery ticket and buy another for that nights drawing. As I turned to leave the store, this woman who only moments ago was on the sidewalk begging for money was right next to me purchasing her own lottery ticket. I couldn’t help but ask her if that was why she was asking for money. She replied “That’s right, there is no crime in that”. I could have thought of a million different replies to her, but I just kept going instead. Who knows, maybe one day she will become a millionaire from someone else’s money.

I guess the workouts from Saturday, took their toll on me. I went out for a 5 to 6 mile run this morning and completely lost all energy by the time I reached 2.5 miles. I stuck with it thought and managed to get in 5 miles without stopping, although it was a struggle. The fact that I had trouble with these 5 miles is concerning me a bit as this coming weekend I am signed up to do the Kurt Steiner 50K. At least this ultra will be over a short 2.2 mile loop so I can always easily bail out. I am counting on my friend Larry to get me through it. This 50K will also serve as my one and only long training run before the Boston Marathon. I’ll just have to see how it goes.

Return from San Diego

Well, I am back on the plane, returning from San Diego. It was way too short, but we packed as much time in together as we could. It was great having my family with me on this work subsidized mini-vacation. I was able to spend some quality time with them in between work commitments. The following is a summary of what we did.

Sunday morning I managed to get myself out of bed after a late arrival Saturday night. I went for a pleasant 5 mile run. It took me past the aircraft carrier Midway. Several miles into this run I got a strange sense of déjà vu. Everything looked very familiar and it took me a few minutes to realize I had run this route several years earlier on a business trip with a different company. It was complete coincidence that this happened as I picked out my route by looking out my hotel window and thinking it looked nice to run there. My previous time, I was directed to the place by people at the hotel.

Once back, we started off our Sunday together with brunch at the Hotel Del Coronado. This is an old and famous hotel, the scene of Marilyn Monroe movies and a sleep over place for every American president. The place is huge and spectacular. Everything is very ornate and the Crown Room where the brunch is held is magnificent. The buffet consists of everything from pancakes and eggs to Sushi, Raw Oysters, crab legs, prime rib, roasted ham and the list goes on. To top it off they had a desert station with a flowing chocolate fountain that you could pour over marshmallows, fruit, graham crackers and other items.

After that we headed out to Sea World and spent the day watching several shows and seeing the attractions. My children seemed to really like the shows, especially the parts where you were in danger of getting wet. Sea World is pretty much spread out and you need to do a fair amount of walking to see the different exhibits. We didn’t have time to finish it all since we wanted to go to Carbrillo National Monument to check out the tidal pools. We timed our arrival for the pools to be in the late afternoon, since that was when low tide occurred. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to me, the park closes at 4:30pm, so we only had around 25 minutes to explore. My biggest disappointment of the trip was not getting to spend real quality time looking around. The other days were out, as the tide would be high making the tidal pools invisible. If only my flight out wasn’t cancelled on Friday. It’s a spectacular place.

Sunday night I went to a work related dinner and hung out with coworkers eating a drinking until around midnight. My wife took our kids out to dinner and were back in the hotel asleep by 9pm.

On Monday morning I woke up early enough to get in a 6.1 mile run despite eating a drinking a lot the night before. I would have gone longer, but then I would have been late for the convention I was supposed to be attending. My wife and kids went to the San Diego Zoo, while I was at work. They were gone all day, which gave me some free time in the afternoon after the convention ended for the day to hang out by the hotel pool with some coworkers. I even got in a 30 minute swim. At around 5:30pm, my family returned and I played with my kids in the pool. It was a little cool outside, but after first going into the Jacuzzi for a while, my kids warmed up enough to go in the pool.

Monday night I went out with my coworkers again to a restaurant where you cook your own steaks on an open grill. I didn’t actually cook mine as one of the coworkers took on that responsibility for everyone. I ate a big fat T-Bone steak and drank several beers. This knocked me out enough so that Tuesday morning I slept in instead of getting in a run.

The convention ended early enough on Tuesday for me to get in a struggling 4.5 mile run and then meet my family in Old Towne San Diego by late afternoon. We shopped for souvenirs and ate an early dinner in a decent Mexican restaurant. Afterwards, we dropped off our purchases at the hotel and then walked over to the seaport just outside our hotel. We bought a few more souvenirs and rode the carousel several times. We didn’t stay out too late as Wednesday would be our last day and we only had a few hours to see a couple of more places before we had to get back to the hotel to pack, wash up and leave for the airport.

I took my family to La Jolla Cove, the place that I written about previously where you can get in an excellent open water swim. I took my wetsuit with me just in case I was able to get in the water. It was very windy when we arrived and the surf was very rough and looked unpleasant. I couldn’t see any buoy markers, nor were there any other swimmers or lifeguard on the beach. I decided not to risk a swim and more importantly spend as my time with my children exploring the surrounding area. We walked through some caves and tidal pools and saw a Sea Lion perched on a rock. My son ran from the surf as the water chased his feet.

After La Jolla, we went back to Cabrillo National Monument to look at the lighthouse and other exhibits. The tide pools were not visible this day, but there was still much to see. My children did the Junior Ranger program, in a much expedited fashion, as we were running out of time. After they received their badges, we hurried back to the hotel, washed, changed clothes and began the long journey home.

Silver Lining

I am off to San Diego with my family. I am heading there for a business trip and I decided that San Diego is too nice of a place to go without them. I was supposed to leave on Friday, by the Noreaster that stopped by cancelled all of the flights out of JFK airport. I’ll only get to spend 1 day with them and the rest of the time, I’ll be at a conference and the wife and kids will be off to Sea World and the Zoo. I’ll at least get to go with them to the tide pools and beach tomorrow (Sunday). Maybe I’ll even get a swim in at La Jolla Cove.

The storm did have a bit of a silver lining. My real estate class ended this week and the final exam for it was on Friday. Since I was no longer flying out, I was able to take the exam on the original time scheduled, instead of having to sweat it that day after I come back from San Diego. The test was quick and easy and I was home before 7pm. This gave me just enough time to take my kids to Prospect Park to do some nighttime sledding. We were the only ones out and we had fun going down the unmarked fresh snow. I also managed to get in a quick swim and run earlier in the day.

Today I extended my workout streak to 16 days. I did an easy 4 miler on my treadmill, in between packing for the trip. Yeah, I should have packed yesterday, but since my flight was cancelled I spent the time studying. So today was just a quick 4 miles and then it was off to one of my most dreaded tasks – packing for a trip. I hate it. I always worry about forgetting or not packing something I may want. It’s enough that it almost makes me not want to go anywhere.

I still haven’t done a long run in quite some time. To make up for this and to get ready for the Boston Marathon, I signed up to the Kurt Steiner 50K. I figure I will get all of my long runs in at one shot. Kind of like cramming for an exam. I am doing the race with Larry, so I really have no worries about finishing it. I know he will help me pace properly to insure success. Also, when I return from San Diego, I have the CityTri Spring Duathlon in Prospect Park. Just a short little race to get some of the cobwebs out of my body.

That’s all for now. The airplane is getting ready to land.

10 Days in a Row

I have now trained for 10 days in a row, which included a double workout yesterday – Bike/Swim. None of them have been all that exciting, but at least I am on a roll. I think the training highlight for the past 10 days was when I did a trainer ride on Wednesday night and then backed that up with a 5 mile run in the morning. I haven’t done a night/morning workout in quite some time.

On Saturday I rode with my friend Todd for about 45 minutes. He had called me early in the morning, just as I got up to grab something to eat. At first the sound of my vibrating phone filled me with dread as I thought it was someone from work calling me about a problem. I was relieved when I heard Todd’s voice asking me to join him in the park. I took a while getting out the door, so Todd was just about finishing up when I finally met up with him. Oh well, some company for a while was better than no company at all.

After Todd left, I finished the distance I was supposed to do in the park and then headed out of it to do a final long climb back to my home. It was the route that my friend Larry would take to end a ride. Finishing the ride this way turned out to be providence as I ran into Larry just as I was finishing. Larry had just got back from the LA Marathon and we talked about that for a while. He then mentioned that the Kurt Steiner 50K is coming up on April 1st and he said he had an application for me. I think I am going to try to do it, even though my mileage has been next to nothing lately. Maybe I need the challenge of something big to snap myself out of this training funk I am in. If anything it will definitely serve as a long training run before the Boston Marathon.

Today I did my first run of the year with my kids on their bikes, but apparently, they didn't have their early season legs. It was a bit of stop and go for the 3.2 miles I ran with them. They wanted to go home after little more than 2 miles into the run, so I took them home and then went back out and ran an additional 3. I had no pace to speak of, but at least I didn't feel the need to walk. However, they both said they wanted to go to the pool after I got back, so I was looking forward to that at the conclusion of my run. However, that is not what happened as their grandmother had come over the house and took them out for a while. I was a bit disappointed I couldn’t frolic around with the kids in the pool, but I used the free time to study for my upcoming real estate salesperson exam and then took a 3 hour nap.

Taste of Ambien

I love the taste of Ambien. I suck on it like a Tic-Tac when I am ready to go to bed. At first I didn’t like the taste, but I must say I have certainly acquired one. I couldn’t imagine swallowing it whole like you are supposed to do.

It has been 8 days in a row in which I have done a workout. I haven’t had such a streak going in quite some time. Maybe I can keep my momentum going. My streak though was in danger of being broken today. I was supposed to go swimming in the morning, but couldn’t get up early enough, and besides, the last thing I wanted to do was face the prospect of going into a pool in which I would have to walk through 12 degree temperatures to get there. I took my swim gear with me, in case I somehow got the urge to do it this evening. I debated whether or not I wanted to go my entire subway ride home and decided to get off at the stop for the YMCA just as the doors were closing. I ended up having a very pleasant swim for 45 minutes. I am glad it worked out.

Back to the Beginning

Due to the nice weather, I pulled myself from the lure of my basement TV and broke out the Tri-bike for a 20 mile ride in Prospect Park. I seriously over dressed, but at least I was warm. You could say I was heat acclimating for the summer.

One thing I can say about today’s ride, is that I am definitely back at the beginning in terms of building fitness. I didn’t struggle to complete 20 miles, but I did feel as though I had enough when I reached the distance. I guess that’s what happens when the only riding you do is half-hearted attempts on a trainer, without wind and hills. I am completely out of shape and starting over again.

Later in the day, I got back on my bike with my children on theirs. We rode over to the Prospect Park Zoo. We haven’t been there in quite some time and it is always worthy of visiting for the occasional diversion. Originally we planned to go skiing today, but I feared the weather would be too warm and the conditions would have been awful. I sort of feel as though I should have chanced it, but at least I got out and did something with my kids today.

Last week was the last day of swim lessons and tomorrow is the last day of Basketball. My weekends we be free of commitments for the next several weeks until Spring Soccer and Baseball begin. I am going to try to use this time to really get back into the swing of things. I really need this Real Estate class to be over though to form some semblance of a productive workout schedule.

Week of 2/26 – 3/3

Well, whatever malaise that came over me on Sunday, infected myself through Monday morning. My eyes didn’t open until after 7am, which was way too late to get in a morning working. The only good thing I had to look forward to later on the day was the NY Knick vs. Miami Heat later in the evening, which turned out to be a fine contest with the Knicks pulling out the game in the final 3 seconds.

Tuesday morning I was completely wasted. My body felt like a ton of bricks and I was stuck to my bed like a mouse in a glue trap. I was lucky to make it to work on time. I felt good enough in the evening for a run, but once again, I am trapped in this real estate class.

Wednesday - Did it even happen? I don’t remember a thing about Wednesday. Oh yeah, I did an easy 50 minutes on my bike in the cool darkness of my basement. And I had real estate class which went on forever. And the train on the way home didn’t want to arrive. When it finally did it was too crowded to get on. I waited another 25 minutes for it. I got home really late.

Thursday I slept late. I had no choice. I got to bed so late the previous night I was too tired to wake up. I drove my kids to school, then drove myself to Long Island for work. This meant I had to drive back home after work, only to head back into the Manhattan by subway to make the real estate class. I considered driving into Manhattan, but my wife needed the car that evening and I didn’t want to pay for parking.

Friday. I got in a comfortable 6 miles on my treadmill. It was nice to know I still can run. I thought I forgot how to do so. The day went by quickly enough and I headed straight home after work. I was supposed to swim, but I just wanted to go home early for a change after being out late all this week. I finished the night off by going to a friends house with my children, where we played a game of Monopoly. My daughter and I were one team, my son and friend’s son were another and the third team was my friend and his youngest son. I am happy to report that my daughter and I kicked ass.

It is now Saturday morning at 5:23am and I can’t sleep. What better time to make a blog entry than right now. I guess I could ride my bike in the basement, but I think it is going to be nice outside today. It would be refreshing to get outdoors with it today. I think that is what I am going to try to do. Maybe I’ll try to go back to sleep. I’ve only slept about 6 hours so far and I am an 8 hour kind of guy.