Relay

Once again, I can confirm that sitting patiently is NOT one of my strengths. Sitting in class these few days has been challenging. Fortunately, I have the opportunity to rock like in high school. I have my hand in the air always, and answer questions well. I have done this teaching before. It's also fun giving feedback to new teachers.

Besides, I have more people to tell Bridgeport stories.

Today, we are discussing cultural perception and bias. I can add this to my collections of discussions in Botswana, Queens, Connecticut, and Newark. The best part is that I was required to bring in an artifact representative of my culture. On Tim's suggestion: a bagel. I don't think anything better represents my identity as a foodie-Jewish-American.

So, I've got one more day of sitting patiently.

I've taken a few days off from running due to some unexpected foot pain (due to, surprise, a tight calf muscle). Besides, I signed up for a 5K on Thursday, and I will go sub-30, DAMMIT. So, I'll think of it as tapering. On purpose.

Fortunately, my foot is entirely better today, so we're good to go. Ready for more sitting patiently.

Now I'm going to toot my own horn for a moment. I've been dealing with the sitting still by staying really active and raising my hand all the time. This has payed off. I have repeatedly gotten personal praise from the head of the program. I am a leader, an example. It's nice to do something as easy as high school again.

Bear!

For the first time since the start of the summer, I am anxious enough to blog. This is probably not a good thing, in regards to my long term health, but I do enjoy the feeling of pouring myself onto paper in the same way that the sky poured itself onto my head when I tried to go running today. Seriously, I'm soaked.

Tomorrow, my certification program starts. We'll call it Relay, which is good, because that's its name. About a week ago, I was sent the first few assignments, but I promised myself I wouldn't start them or worry about them until today. Instead, I focused my energies this week on fun training and catching up on Dance Moms.

I found out that there is about half a season of Dance Moms that I haven't watched! Much of my week had episodes shamelessly watched on my computer while Tim was out doing important things like emergency medicine research or EMS.

I attended two more different exercise classes. Mostly, I really like the teacher. The third class was very modern-dance-ish, which I LOVED. It made me sweat, but was the most fun. I definitely feel stronger after this week. Let's see if I can keep this up.

On Wednesday, I kept making excuses not to do my scheduled swim, before I realized that I didn't have a schedule. My A-race is done. The season is fun only from here on out. Fortunately, I had several (5!) really fun runs this week. The strength training is making me feel better as a runner. I had my highest mileage week (18.4 - yes, I know it's only .2 more than my next highest) and have no major aches and pains in sight. (Except muscles. Many muscles.) This included a fun interval session on the track (4 x 400 m, or 4 laps, at goal 5K pace, with a lap jog in between each) which wasn't too strenuous, but I enjoyed. I also just did a nice tempo run in the rain, which included 15 minutes at a sub-10 minute mile (actually, 10 min @ sub-10 and 5 min @ sub-9, but that was accidental).

I also had a pretty exciting bike ride yesterday. I joined a riding group that has rides at multiple levels every day. I picked the slowest and easiest ride on Saturday, and met a group in a school parking lot about 35 minutes away from home. The first thing I noticed is that I was the youngest of the group by at least 30 years. I guess that's what happens when you're slow at biking. I soon realized that not only were they old, they were good. The ride was hilly (like, West Side Highway hilly), and I struggled to keep up with the group. Fortunately, the ride leader stuck back with a few of us slower folks, and we averaged an embarrassing 11.2 mph over 21.5 miles. (Hilly miles. Very hilly miles.)

The best part of the ride, though, was one moment about halfway through. I had just crested another hill, and saw that about 15 feet to my right, next to a bush, on the front lawn of a nice big house, was a bear. A real bear. A full grown, really gigantic, huge, black bear. I nearly lost control of bodily functions, and tried to pass as quickly and silently as possible, hoping it wouldn't notice me. Fortunately, it waited until I passed before crossing the road. The ride leader, who was about 20 feet behind me, chose to alert the group by shouting, "Bear! Bear! Bear!" It was cool, after the fact.

To use a cheesy metaphor, I feel like that bear is the upcoming school year. It's big, and it's looming in the bushes. I'm not anxious about all of the things I'll have to do next year, due to my new responsibilities as lead lesson planner, but I'm anxious about being stressed out. Yep, that's how my mind works.

Fortunately, I am now "allowed" to start on my work. So far, I'm finding the Relay work time consuming, but actually pretty interesting. As I've found about most of my education education, it makes much more sense after teaching for a year or two. I've watched some videos and written some stuff about childhood physical, socio-emotional, and linguistic development. I've promised myself that I'm going to remain positive about the whole Relay thing. Besides, I've learned some cool things so far: Did you know that 11-through-13-year-olds like to push boundaries and challenge authority? NO WAY.

Cruising

I went on a cruise; it was awesome. I found countless ways to sit and read (and drink (and eat)). We visited Bermuda and found new ways to sit and read. I only gained 3 pounds. Highlights include: main dining hall on the ship was 1940's art deco style with a dance floor and live band; a table on the deck outside a jazz and blues club where we spent a lot of time; snorkeling at a coral reef.

I'm feeling the anxiety of almost-school. This is my last week of absolutely nothing. Next week, I begin my journey towards teacher certification - in New Jersey. New Jersey refused to accept my CT cert, and not for any good reason, but because they have nothing equivalent to "Secondary General Science", so I get to start the process all over again. Class starts Monday - Wednesday of next week in Newark, and then continues about three times per month (Saturdays and Thursdays). I'm getting frustrated just talking about it.

I've heard great things about this program (Relay Graduate School of Education). It was founded by the founders of North Star/Uncommon. They do a good job. Of course, it will be frustrating going through a process that will be almost identical to what I did with 1) Teach for America, and 2) SCSU and CT certification. I don't expect it to be difficult at all, just time consuming. I plan to excel at everything, and be modest about it. Ha.

Can I just complain about one thing? On the Relay website, my password requires a capital letter, lowercase letter, number, and symbol. Is that really necessary? Here's what I think.

I have been trying to spend my time training as I please, with no plan or schedule. The hardest part is not planning or scheduling. Okay, just a little scheduling. It's only a little color-coded.

Yesterday I went for an early-morning, still cool out, but also humid, 3-mile run. It was nice and relaxing, but I'm still super slow from the heat (or so I keep telling myself...). In the afternoon, I bought a LivingSocial deal for 1 month of fitness classes for $40 at a location about 20 minutes from home.

I also got a clean bill of health from my doctor ("Congratulations on your engagement! You're an Ashkenizic Jew? You should probably get your blood tested." "Yeah, no thanks. Not worried about that quite yet...or for a while."), and joined my mom for an hour of flipping through bridal magazines and eating sushi. It was a pretty great hour.

I got home in time to grab some groceries and put together chicken chili in my brand new slow-cooker (Thank you, you know who you are!). I am thoroughly enjoying coming home almost every day to a new package from Crate and Barrel. I should get engaged every year!

Yesterday evening, while the slow cooker cooked slowly, I tried out my first fitness class - Boot Camp. It was a blast. Four women were alternately motivated and yelled at. We did lots of fitness-y things like lunge squat walk plant push-ups (or something) and raising light weights too many times. I have endurance, but no strength. I was actually happy to take jumping-jack breaks. It was like a personal trainer for less money than a personal trainer. It really does help to have a person there, to put a hand on your sweaty back, to tell you to stand up straight, or to stop being a wimp. I worked hard to impress teacher, and pushed myself harder than I would on my own.

Boot Camp was fun, and I plan on doing a TRX Suspension Class on Wednesday (I can't explain what it is -- because I'm not too sure. Try the Wikipedia link). I like that this fitness spot only does monthly memberships, so I can go many times a week. They have classes at convenient times (6:30-7:30 PM, my usual workout time) and the location is not bad. Membership is a little expensive for my taste, though (about $79/month), and I think I'd rather spend more time running and biking. I only have until August 3, 2014 to get another chance to defeat the NYC Triathlon bike portion. I'm gonna do it, too.

The good news is that I got my bike computer fixed, and found out about a local bike club that has 3-4 bike rides of various levels and distances EVERY DAY! (If you're in the central Jersey area, check out the Morris Area Freewheelers.) Unfortunately, I got out of the dentist about 10 minutes too late to make the group ride tonight, so I had to settle for a kick-ass interval run (very proud, very tired, despite sore muscles).

Right now, about 24 hours after Boot Camp, my muscles are starting to shout. I hope I don't have any need to raise my arms above my head in the next 24 hours.

NYC Triathlon - Race Report

Training:
You've read the details. I haven't been training anywhere near competitive standards, but I have been training more than ever in my life. I peaked at 9 hours of training per week (3 running, 4 biking, 1.5 swimming, 0.5 core/strength). I'm already planning on increasing this for next year (although, I'll be pretty busy next summer, what with the wedding and all...).

Pre-Race:
The NYC Tri is a logistical masterpiece on the end of a city of 9,000,000 hosting a race for 3,500, but that means some challenges with parking, bike drop-off, and otherwise. On Friday, I attended a mandatory orientation, which was 30 minutes of some guy reading all of the details in the athlete guide, which I had already read. If anything, it made me more anxious about the non-racing stuff, like missing bike drop-off, showing up too late for transition, and getting a flat tire.

I showed up on Saturday afternoon to drop off my bike, and ended up having to walk 1/2 mile + in either direction, because parking was scarce (nonexistent) in the area. I put down my bike, and headed to the hotel for relaxation. My parents took Tim and me out for a delicious 5PM pasta dinner. Immediately after dinner, I regretted my lunchtime carbo-load impulsive decision of General Tso's Chicken, and hightailed back to the hotel to urgently clear my entire lower digestive tract. Fearful of problems at the race, I popped an Immodium and climbed into bed by 8. After getting woken up a few times by city noises, and a few more times due to my overenthusiastic pre-race hydrating, it was time to get up.

I got out of bed at 3:45 AM, about 15 minutes before my alarm(s) were set. I put on my tri-suit and flip flops, and grabbed my gear bag. There was a shuttle from the few hotels in the area to transition, and I sat on a coach bus for a few minutes, and watched some still-drunks stumbling around in the dark. I got to transition by 4.

I set up transition as usual, and started the 1-mile (which, given the location of the women's transition area, was closer to 1.5 miles) trek in flip flops, wetsuit in hand. I sat for a while and watched the crowds, and then dropped my flip flops into the clothing bag. By 5:30, with nearly an hour until the start of the race, I popped a gel and took a cup of water. One of the unspoken joys of triathlon is that the nervous pees aren't a problem in a wetsuit. You're covered in a full body suit of neoprene, about to jump into a river known for uber-grossness. Nobody has to know.

I waited in line with my swim wave. I was nervous about missing my swim start, because they warned us the start would be fast, but I ended up standing around for a while. My friend was racing in my wave, but she was hanging out with her boyfriend. My fiance and father were still asleep, and mom was on her way to her volunteer spot at the finish line hospitality tent.

The Race
We were brought to the start line around 6:15. I was pumped up. We were directed to stand at the edge of the dock, and jump in when the buzzer went off. Once we stepped off the dock, the timer started. A few folks had figured that if you sit on the edge of the dock with your timing-chipped ankle behind you, the timer won't start, but you can still scoot instead of jump.

The buzzer went off, and I scooted into the Hudson. The temperature was perfect, and the current was strong. I couldn't really get into a good rhythm. Wake of passing boats kept choking me with water, and the water was so murky I couldn't see my hand through the water. The course was very fast, but I was uncomfortable. Every 100 yards or so, I paddled for a couple of moments to catch my breath. I kept worrying about losing my timing chip or goggles or swim cap. About halfway through the swim, I finally was able to catch my breath and get into a rhythm. The rest of the swim went smoothly, and I finished the 1.5 km swim at 23:17, well within my A-goal range.

T1 is a schlep. There is about a 1/2-mile barefoot jog on asphalt, with a few hoses set up for rinsing off. The first photographer was shouting at athletes to wipe the Hudson River crud off their faces for the photos. Last time I did this race, I was so worried about completing the distance that I walked the entirety of T1 for an embarrassing 17 minutes. This time, I took it at an easy jog, and was out of transition in 9:35 ready for the bike.

I was not ready for the bike. I was still worried about losing my timing chip, and stopped early on to tighten my shoes and chip strap. I also noticed that my computer wasn't working, so I tried to fix that as well. I couldn't. The bike was much harder than I remembered and I was not well-prepared.

I kept at a steady pace, trying not to blow out my quads too early. I enjoyed the first half or so, but was passed by a lot of people. Soon, I stopped being passed by athletes in my age group and wave, and started being passed by other people. It was a little disheartening, and I asked a passing racer for the distance. I did a rough calculation of speed, and I was not doing well. I had hoped for 14+ mph (last time was 13.1), but was cruising along at only about 12. I tried to kick up the pace.

The ride was lonely and hot. I tried to get down water and gel, but it was tough, because there were very few parts of the course that weren't tough uphills or fast downhills.

In every race, there's a moment where I seriously question my decision to be a triathlete. It hurt. It hurt and I was tired, and it felt like hundreds of people passed me. Fortunately, about 20 miles in, I heard my fiance and father shouting my name from the side. It put a smile on my face all over again, almost as much as seeing the cruise ship a few miles later, that I would be getting on that afternoon for a 7-day jaunt to Bermuda. When I passed fiance and father later on, I was passed the soul-searching and starting to feel pride. I finished the 40 km ride in an embarrassing 1:58:35, having averaged 12.6 mpg. Ouch.

I took my time in T2 to relax and reset my expectations. My A-goal of 3:30 was out now, but if I ran close to my best 10K, I could make 3:45.

The run was fantastic. I enjoyed every minute of it, which is a huge change from last time, when I was terrified that I'd break down and have to walk the rest. In fact, my biggest complaint about the run was that the mile-markers were sponsored by Fox Business News, and so by the end of the race, I was almost enamored by Fox News. Ugh.

I took the run steady, even though the pretty impressive hills of Central Park. The crowd support was fantastic, and it's always hard to give up while watching the paratriathletes, blind or amputee, completing the same race. I choked down a gel around the halfway point. I took a sip of water at each aid station and poured the rest over my head. It was very hot (mid-to-upper eighties), and I was wary of the crowd shouting inaccurate mile-markers. Last time, I was told "only half-mile!" over the span of an entire mile. This time, I was prepared, and the finish was just when I needed it. I finished in my fastest official 10K time of 1:09:57, which is 7 minutes faster than last time, but about a minute slower than my fastest unofficial 10K run.

Post-Race
I was much more functional after this race than last time, which is an accomplishment on its own. I grabbed water and a chocolate protein shake, and made a beeline for the massage tent. I ended up having two women rub my legs and feet for about 15 minutes. Best-worst feeling ever.

I had finished strong at 3:44:14, an improvement of 20 minutes from last time. Not what I had hoped, but I had a blast. I'm already planning the next one.

Ta Ta for Now

This may be my last post for almost 2 weeks.

You know it's summer when...you're sitting on the balcony, just as the air is cooling off for the day, painting an elephant on a canvas. It's pretty nice (the experience, not the painting. The painting could use some...work).

Today was my last workout before the triathlon. It wasn't a great workout, but it's more important that I don't push too hard. I can't really gain any fitness at this point. In fact, I'm not really sure what the last week's workouts are for. It's supposed to "keep my legs sharp" or something. Meh. I had a nice bike and jog this muggy morning. Now I have two days of relaxing.

I decided to resign from EMS. It wasn't a good fit for me (not quite in the same spectacular way that Bridgeport Public Schools wasn't a good fit for me, but still less than idea). I'll share more stories in a while.

In my taper week, I've taken up a new hobby (painting) and spent several hours discovering how to recover about 6 GBs of photos that I lost a few years ago. A few years ago, I made the "never back up the computer ever" mistake for the first and last time (hold on, gotta go back up right now). In the process, I lost my entire trip to Africa, a dolphin-watching trip in the Mediterranean, and most of high school. Fortunately, I had uploaded my Africa pictures (~1,800) to a free photo-sharing website. The website (Snapfish - do not use ever, terrible interface and worse customer service), at the time, did not allow downloading the photos back again. I put off spending $150 to get the photos sent back to me on CDs. This week, I accidentally discovered that I am now allowed to download my photos again, albeit one at a time. So, that is a now project. So far, I have 500 of them. 1300 to go.

On Sunday, right after the triathlon, I leave on a 7-day cruise to Bermuda. There will be lots of fun, but not lots of internet. So, ta ta for now!

One Week to NYC!

The last weekend in June was my birthday, and my parents threw me a fantastic 3-day bash. It was a combined birthday-engagement-sister's engagement party, along with the celebration of the end of my mom's period of mourning for my grandmother. There was lots of food and lots of drink.

That Friday, we got to our hotel in the afternoon. After a brief excursion for a soggy churro from a sketchy street vendor, I hopped in the small (~15 yards) hotel pool for a quick swim. I had a lane to myself, which was nice, but it felt a bit like a hamster wheel. Following that, we went out for drinks, and then to my dad's favorite restaurant, Keen's steakhouse. I had some phenomenal steak and more drinks.

On Saturday, we slept late and went out for brunch. I had about 3 days' worth of calories in a plate of chocolate chip pancakes with bacon. Totally worth it.

In the afternoon, we visited the Intrepid museum, which was very interesting. It was cool to walk around the different spaces in the aircraft carrier and to learn how they were used in the past. It helped that I have my own private tour guide/history buff/fiance.

Saturday evening, we had another extravagant dinner/drinks adventure at a top restaurant in Manhattan. We ate fabulous seafood. Afterwards, a bunch of friends joined us to celebrate at a bar downtown.

Sunday morning, we had a big family brunch. It was delicious, although I was worn out from the weekend.

The weekend definitely took a lot out of me (energy-wise; calorically, it put a lot into me). I tried to pick up my training as soon as I got home, and didn't do too bad a job.

Last week's training included 3:45:00 on the bike trainer (oy. Lots of Netflix), 11.1 miles running, and 1.8 miles swimming. I've already exceeded my 2012 totals, and it's only halfway through the year!

Running in the heat has been exceedingly difficult. It hurts to go out, even in the morning, or late in the evening. It's hot and sweaty and it's so humid I can't breathe. I feel like every step is a struggle, even when I'm barely breaking 13-minute miles. I'm trying hard not to get upset about weak mileage and speed, but it's tough. At least, I got out today (mid-day, but was "only" 85 degrees with 55% humidity) and did a "normal"-speed run, although the effort was much more than normal. It felt like a longer race effort, but at least I know I can still move at 11:30 min/mi.

My sleep was interrupted one night by a school-related nightmare. I dreamed that I was driving to work, but I was going to be late! I wouldn't be so late that I'd miss anything, and I hoped I could get there before anyone noticed. Then, the traffic got worse. I eventually arrived at school around 7:45, just in time for homeroom, but I kept getting held up by little obstacles and issues. By the time I got to my classroom, class had already started, and someone else had to cover the start of class for me!

Yep, that's me. Even in July, I have nightmares about being late to work.

I'm hoping that the race next week will be early enough that I won't over heat or feel awful. As usual, I have different tiers of goals, so that I will be motivated to push myself, but not discouraged if it doesn't go perfectly. My A+ goal (3:17:00) is if I have my best ever swim, best ever bike, and best ever run. It's unlikely, although it would be the equivalent of my awesome performance in the sprint tri last month. My A goal is the "real" goal, the more realistic time of 3:30:00. It's a 34-minute improvement from the same race in 2009. It requires everything to go smoothly, but not perfectly. My B goal is 3:56:00, an 8-minute improvement from last time. This is if I'm not feeling great, or have a weak performance in one of the events. My C goal is 4:22, the slowest time I could reasonably get, which allows for a complete meltdown in 2-3 events. I don't think that'll happen, but anything is possible on race day.

I am as anxious for the triathlon as I am excited to get on my cruise ship immediately afterwards. I am also a little nervous about the logistics, although I do have about 3-4 hours between the end of the race (B-C goal time) and the time I should get to the ship. Then, all I have to do for 7 days is eat as many meals as I can find and drink lots of frozen coconut-y things.

Training Peak

Training has been going smoothly. I'm already starting to mark off last long workouts before the triathlon in 12 days. 12 days!

Last week was a strong week with just over 9 hours of training. Not quite my 10.5 goal, but still my highest training week ever. I had a second long ride with a different friend, and it was just as wonderful. I've noticed that I can bang out a two-hour ride and it doesn't wreck me for the day. I was also proud of a 42 mile week.

I had a total of 18 miles of running last week, which is my personal best. More importantly, other than some tiredness, there is absolutely no pain. None!

Swimming was the area that was weak. For one swim, I tried to save time by swimming in the pool at my apartment complex. It was small (~18-20 yards), which makes it feel a little like swimming on a treadmill, but I thought I could manage. It turned out to be the least of my issues -- there were kids everywhere! They couldn't figure out that I was swimming back and forth along the same edge. Once they started jumping off the side, repeatedly, without looking, I decided that i didn't want to risk getting jumped on. I stuck it out for 20 minutes. For my Friday swim, I was going to go to my parents' community pool (empty 25-yard lanes! outdoors!), but realized that I left my pool card in NJ. I didn't want to show them my driver's license, and point out that I am no longer a resident of the town, so I skipped the swim and saved it for the hotel in NYC (did I mention that we went on vacation?). At least the hotel and a lane marked off, and the woman working there even helped shoo away kids from the lap lane. This pool was even smaller, though (~15 yards), and I felt more hamster-wheel in this one. I suffered for 30 minutes before calling it a day.

This week, I'm off to a very strong start. Yesterday I managed a mind- and butt- numbing 3 hour ride on the trainer due to thunderstorms. I went out this morning for the same interval workout as last Tuesday, but slightly less successful this time. I think the humidity was about 150%, or so it felt. I had a nice swim this afternoon. I'm going for 11 hours of training this week, before I begin my taper.

I had a fantastic weekend with family. I have stories to tell, but I've been pretty lazy. The stories will come, I promise.