MONDAY, 04.27.09 All I did was eat Filipino food and sleep.
SUNDAY, 04.26.09 I gave up Sunday morning swim and run to do the 42 mile 5 Boro Pre-Ride. It was an absolutely beautiful day and I forgot to put on sunblock. My friend Dennis and his friend, Steve made it. And the sweet lady that gave me my form to fill out happened to be our swim coach Carlie Brown! She was tall and it was very sunny, so I didn't see her face so well, but I knew that voice sounded familiar! She was the marketing the director of the company! Sweeet! =) She rode her foldable Dahon bike. We did a pace of about 15 - 17 miles per hour throughout most of the ride and it wasn't crowded at all! Almost everyone I met there have been volunteers many times in the past. Cops on motorcycles paved our way along with a cop car that led the direction. I enjoyed the sun and the different views around the city while I sharpened my skills in pointing out holes and rough roads. It was a friendly atmosphere, maybe a little too friendly. I remember going under the overpass along the FDR drive. Everyone got rowdy and made loud noises as it echoed through the channel. I howled - it was funny. I remember thinking how I wish certain people were there for the ride - as I'm sure they would have enjoyed it. We made a few pit stops and took group pictures in Queens. Underneath the BQE (along side my Brooklyn neighborhood), the coordinators in the cop car directed the bike riders to go past the car. Since I was righjt next to the car, I hurried past them along with three other male riders. We rode at a fast pace straight down the flat path. I expected many more people to follow, but no one else did! When I decided to look back, I saw a huge gap between me and the cop car and no other riders. I was afraid I wasn't supposed to have passed the cop car, but as it turns out, the other riders said it was fine. It was me and the wide dark shaded road going fast! I loved it! Right before the last stretch of the ride, we stopped. The coordinators warned a few and took a few people out of the pack because they were riding too slow. We were allocated a short amount of time to cross the bridge as they seem to be very strict about blocking it off for this event. The Verazanno Bridge was the last most difficult portion of the ride. It was sooo cool to be riding my bike across it! Though I took my time enjoying the view and the shade, I still gave it good pedaling effort. The road was super smooth. The tricky part was the connections of the bridge that they warned us about. We were required to dismount our bikes on these 2 very dangerous parts of the bridge, otherwise we and our bikes will be "eaten up.". They were right. I dismounted and thought I'd be able to roll my bike across the vertical grates and my wheels fell right in along with my shoe cleats! I shook my head as I lost balance and figured I needed to carry my bike over the grates. The next set of grates I was smarter and walked along side the paved portion. Another person suggested to walk diagonally across the grates - I guess that might've worked too. After finishing the bridge, I went through the EZ pass lane without paying! Sweeet! It was quite a lovely time as I reminisced about my ride during the ferry ride back to Battery Park. I wish I could say that's how sweetly my day ended, but I decided to run later that day. One round across the Manhattan Bridge and back should be just a bit shy of 2.5 miles. KC and I stretched and headed out together. Not too far into the bridge I already slowed down. Let me tell you, the littlest things can bother me during my runs. My SPI belt was not adjusted and was flopping up and down. UGH! I HATE THIS! Calm down, it's just a run... My legs were definitely fatigued, I felt it. After biking over 90 miles this weekend and doing an open water swim, I was exhausted. I didn't want to do this anymore I remember thinking as I saw KC many feet ahead of me. But I wasn't going to quit what I had started, so I ignored my negative thoughts. There was a slight uphill throughout the bridge going over to Brooklyn. I tried different ways of running and can still say I don't feel comfortable at this specific sport. My friend Dennis pops right behind me on his bike - how coincidental. He hates running as much as I do. He headed home as I made a 360 turn to run back across the bridge. My right side of my body was feeling warm - a lot warmer than the rest of my body, including my face. Reminded me of when I was sent to the emergency room last summer. The tingling pins and needles sensation came. I tried to breathe it off and keep most of my landing pressure on my left leg but It didn't help. I was in horrible condition and I was very upset. I was craving for that end of the bridge which by this time KC had already finished. The time I finally saw his red shirt was when I knew I was almost done. Nothing left to do but to limp across the rest of the bridge without injuring my lower right back before my first race in 1.5 weeks. When I hit the end of the line, I threw a tantrum and hated myself. I kept thinking I hate myself. I threw every effort to stretch the lower back section where I felt my pinched nerve. By this time my whole right side was numb from face to toes. Remind me again why I run?
