SUNDAY, 04.12.09. I was excited to see the sun in the morning. I ate breakfast. It's a beautiful riding day I thought, but as soon as I stepped out of the house, I felt chills. KC drove me to the park and set up my bike. It was cold out. It was windy. 50 F but felt more like 24F. Going over the GWB was going to be fun, but not if I fell over with a 13 lbs back pack. I had an 8 lbs. Kryptonite chain a 1 lb. lock, my sneakers, some food in my blue Mac Pac. As we arrived by Central Park, I got out of the car and felt my body tense and shiver. If it wasn't for the wind, I would not have had second thoughts. I looked over at KC who had just assembled my bike. He was also shivering. At that moment I decided to back out. I didn't suck it up. Later I found out only Marianne and Steve made it to the ride. I heard a strong gust of wind blew Marianne to the side of a car! I wasn't going to risk an injury. Instead of biking, KC and I went to the Flushing pool where we did laps. Neither of us counted, but we swam about 16. I thought it was a great workout alternative and as a treat we had brunch at a French Bistro. We considered it our "date" as we hadn't had one in a while. We had almond croissants, cafe au lait, salmon omellete, home fries and eggs benedict royal. It was nice to take it slow this Sunday. I really really needed it.
SATURDAY 04.11.09 It rained this morning and our ride to GWB was postponed to Sunday. We've attempted this ride as a group for 2 weeks now. Last time the wind held us back. This week it was Easter weekend and many couldn't make it. I ended up in Cadence at 174 Hudson St. at 9 am to try on wetsuits for the first time. I've heard horror stories about the experience and wanted to feel it out for myself. Alex, at Cadence was knowlegable as he r
aces triathlons and volunteered to help others put on wet suits at events. The wetsuit should be folded over where the begenning of the leg entrance is exposed. After 3 minutes of carefully squeezing my foot, ankles, calves, knees and thighs into this super tight squeeky rubbery ungiving material, he taught me how to efficiently fix the 2 inch gap I created between my legs, right under what my mom calls my flower. He told me to bend at my waist to 90 degrees and grip the flabby part of the suit where my belly button was. Being careful not to dig my nails into the suit I pulled and rolled until I got to my chest area and WALA! The 2 inch gap now became just a 1 inch gap! I wasn't impressed, but hey! I enjoyed all the things I was learning. When I was all done, I ended up with about 3 inches of skin showing from wrist and ankles and no wrinkles on the suit. Though I didn't end up looking like a superhero in the wetsuit, I didn't look like a sausage either! I thought I looked more like a shapely rubber tire. And if I did a yoga posture in it, I wouldve looked exactlyt like a tire - which I may have to try that one day. We made our way downstairs to the endless pool where Alex showed me how to allow water to enter the wetsuit through the neck opening and sqeeze the water throughout the tight space between my skin and the suit. The purpose was to adjust the suit to better fit the body and to acclamate the body to the water temperature. ihe turned on the current and I swam in place. There was a mirror angled in front of me and another one right at the bottom of the pool. I never got to watch myself swim before, and this was fun for the 2 minutes that it lasted. I tried on the Blue Seventy 5mm thickness and the Orca Apex 2. The Orca defnitely felt less rubbery and I was more mobile in that suit but I need to postpone this large purchase as long as I could. Its going to dent my savings a bit. Although I didn't have a scheduled work out done today, I defientely had some resistance training with the wetsuits!THURSDAY, 04.09.09 This morning I felt flat on my face, scraped both my knees, and spilled coffee as I hurried into KC's car. Turns out, I overlooked the deep pothole in front of our house which I even pointed out earlier that week. Though I fell, I somehow managed to save the cup of coffee I was holding. When I got into the office, one of the building security gave me a hard time letting me upstairs with my bike. 2 of the security guards were about to let me in but the man was stern and told me to ask Juan. When Juan got in, he told me to go past him and that the building management was different on both sides of the building. He asked me to make a decision right away, so I rushed my bike into the elevators. I stored my bike neatly in the closet and stuck a note there. Half an hour later Mike, our company management personnel came up and spoke to the partner asking about a bike. He's looked all over the 10th floor but did not see it. I overheard him, so when he came out of the partner's office I revealed myself. He seemed shocked and upset. He told me I created so much commotion downstairs with building management and someone was fired because of me. =( On top of that, KC got a ticket for going through a block that had an obscure "do not enter 9-5" sign as he came around to pick my bike up. I am so disheveled today - I hate this and I don't even think this is the last of what's going to happen to me today. =( Cafe Au Lait, please save my day!
WEDNESDAY, 04.07.09 I missed a group ride this morning with the team because I had a podiatrist appointment. Looks like they timed themselves and had a good time! I have to agree that the girls riding in the park in bright orange is by far the hottest I've seen! And I'm glad to be a part of it! Instead of riding, I decided to run to my doctor's appointment! Double benefit: I get my workout in PLUS I save two bucks on transportation! BUT BUT BUT! I didn't only run regularly, I ran with a backpack that weighed 8 lbs! People are always curious to know why my backpack is so large and heavy. Well let's see...I have a set of gym clothing, breakfast consisting of 2 fruit, lunch which includes a large ziplock full of steamed vegetables and chicken breasts, dinner which includes egg whites and another fruit, my filled to the top purple watterbottle, my cycling shoes, lock, and much more...! Yes, with all the things I have in my bag, I can survive a week under the subway station if I were ever to get trapped. So - the stupidest thing I did today was leave my work clothes folded on my bed. Meaning I forgot to bring it with me to my doctor's appointment. Therefore, I'll be walking into the office with sweaty gym attire and I will have no bra AGAIN! Ugh! Luckily a while ago, a wise friend of mine suggested that I keep extra work clothing in my drawer (just in case). And today I will be using that *just in case* set of clothes! It's retarded looking, but I don't care. My doctor sliced and released the tendons on three of my left toes this morning. He said it wouldn't interfere with my activities - it better not. Afterwards, I treated myself to a coffee and a jumongous blueberry corn muffin from my favortie muffin place in Brooklyn, Steve's Bagels. I didn't get to lift weights yesterday, but I'm okay with that. I visited my mom at her first swim class last night and was so happy to see a big smile on her face as she really enjoyed the lesson. She's the cutest little mom on earth! I'm glad she will be able to overcome her fear in the water as I did just a few months ago. At Coach Laura's cycling class we rode 2 minute climbs with 2 minute flat recurrances. The last effort was a 4 minute climb and a 4 minute all out pace. I sat next tio Jill from Team Lipstick. She has a kid and family and manages to keep up with training. Very impressive. During class, Coach Laura came by a few times to check out my heart rate. At first, she looked at my number and said good. But during the last hard effort, she looked at my number, looked at my face and looked at my number again. Then she said: "You're working hard, but you don't look like it!" I smiled. My heart rate was at 182 beats per minute. With a slightly confused look she said "Maybe it's because you're always smiling." She chuckled. My analysis is either my heart rate monitor (HRM) is plain out wrong. That it's telling me my heart is beating faster than it really is. OR I can make a really hard effort look so easy with a smile. I have to tell you though its one of the things that yoga emphasizes. Eventhough the pose is difficult and causes your heart rate to rise you keep a relaxed face. No sour or angry faces in yoga that's for sure. My maximum heart rate is supposed to be 193 bpm, and at 182 bpm, I should be panting like a dog. Instead I held it in and smiled.
TUESDAY, 04.07.09 In the beginning, I thought that after half of the training program has passed (6 weeks) I would start writing only once a week. Afterall, my exercises would become more routine and I wouldn't have that much to write about. I was wrong! After 8 full weeks of training, I feel that I still have so much more to write and experience. There are so many unexpected events and happenings. Today was a disappointing swim. Can being absent in the pool for only 2 weeks really put me that much behind? Wasn't it just two weeks ago I swam 30 laps without feeling a thing? Today felt like I started from square one...and a half. When I junped into that pool (10 minutes late) I thought I'd be able to pick up and swim right away. lnstead I struggled. Breathing was forced. Kicking was not controlled. Strokes were weak. I didn't feel the flow. It didn't feel natural. =( In short, I was disappointed. Regardless, I will not let this mornings swim damper my mental goals. I know everyday is different and I can jump right back into it. KC and I signed up for swim clinic lessons that is scheduled for Friday's beginning this week. I am quite excited to be able to spend some leisurely time with him in the pool. We both find enjoyment in swimming. With KC's help, I was finally able to set up my Yankz! - speed laces last night. They work well! I will need to get a few more pairs. They allow a secure fit throughout my whole foot! Very comfortable. With regular laces, I feel restricted sections on my feet where the laces are tighter. This could be the reason for my numbing feet. We'll see. Hopefully work won't be overly demanding today and I'd be able to some weight lifting this afternoon. My body mass is melting fast and I need to do less repetitions and lift heavier weights. Oh and also, judging from my performance at the race on Sunday, I need to do some extensive running. FOCUS JOY!
