WEEK 06.5 - NEW PALTZ TRAINING DAY 1

SATURDAY, 03.21.09 Here we go! I woke up at 5 am to pack for a two day boot camp training at New Paltz (upstate). Arrived at Emily's apartment a little early as my text message awoke her. =X. I felt bad so I decided to wash her dishes. Haha joking. I did it because I wanted to be productive. My mom taught me to do that. We picked up Katie who wore the hot pink Nike's she designed and then Maggie who wore her sunglasses and hoddie which made her look like a superstar in disguise. Emily is the craziest driver ever! "Move the f~#k outta the way jerk off!" "I never give way to pedestrians!". Haha. She scares/worries me sometimes (her legs are strong and rock solid). We played Sandstorm during our ride, bounced around in the car, and arrived to Motel 87 late. Marianela, Maggie, Emily and I got room 15 right next to Coach Laura, Coach Jenn and sweet petite Tiffany. When we arrived, Coach Jenn lent me her favorite drawstring Accenture bag. It was useful as it held my sneakers and snacks for the day. I need to get one of those! By the time we arrived Coach Laura already sold the last team jacket. Rats! It took us a while to get settled. Emily and I were late to our breifing so as punishment we were supposed to do the "chicken dance." I didn't even know the electric slide - forget the chicken dance. In the Philippines the chicken dance consists of flapping your elbows while running and making "bawking" noises. I didn't think that's what she wanted to see. Was it? Hopped on our bikes and we were on the road! Beautiful were the views of New Paltz especially with 23 ladies (and 2 men) most in bright orange uniforms cycling in a very long pace line. We rode along the slim and curvy, steep and hilly routes next to vinyards, horse farms and along busy thruways. Ugh! I still can picture the sight. My Rudy Project Syluros brightened up the colors of the green grass and trees surrounding me. I saw large friendly dogs and playful horses. Not even half way through our ride, Tiffany, Marianne and I got lost at a dead end. Where'd everyone go?!? Luckily I had our printed cue sheet. Oh geez! And to think that I was going to leave my phone in the motel that morning like everyone else did. Whew! With the cue sheet we were able to turn around and find the rest of the group waiting for others at a stop sign. We totaled about 35 miles at the end of our ride. We pulled all our bikes up to the Wassner mansion. Laurel and her twin sister Rebecca Wassner are professional triathletes who were our special coaches for the weekend. They were tiny in size but should not be underestimated. The house was elegant and had breathtaking views and sounds of waterfalls from their living and dining rooms! I reassured myself...One day, Joy Sy, you'll have a mansion of your own. We had our snack. Everyone whipped out their powerbars and gels I had chicken curry puffs and a pear. =) We were each supposed to carry food with 1,000kcals, but I had no idea how to measure that with curry puffs. I enjoyed my snack until we started heading up for the hills. I cramped. Apparently these are not the types of food I should be eating before a long endurance work out. =T. But I wasn't the only one that cramped, poor Tiffany had an aweful one on her leg and she couldn't even stand. =( I opted for the flat run which reminded me of how much I disliked running. But as I shuffled the brown leaves against my sneaks and listened to them ruffle, it made the run fun-er. Not fun, just fun-ER. After our run, everyone complained how the hill was hell. I needed to save some energy and muscle for tomorrow so I was glad I didn't make it to hell. As soon as we arrived back to Motel 87, Jenn brought out a surprise! She brought some of her home baked crunchy chocolate chip cookies and they were perfect! I had one and delighted in another - without guilt. We had 2 hours before dinner so we took turns showering and then landed our legs high up against the wall to rest them. I massaged my legs as hard as I can to release some lactic acid build up. It was painful but beneficial. We headed to dinner at the Guilded Otter where I had a delicious salad with walnut cranberry vinegrette and a large portion of braised short ribs and mashed potatoes. I drank it down with two cups of hot water. Emily decided to do her chicken dance after dinner - she waited until the waiters and the bus boys walked by - then she started to give them butt humps while they weren't looking. haha! I didn't do my chicken dance - so Coach Laura said she was going to make me do something worse. I don't think she'll remember though because she does so many things in a day! During our ride back to the hotel, some crazy woman decided to cut Emily off on the road! Turns out it was Coach Laura! Oh...we're still planning to get her back!