You just never know

I came across the news this morning that yet another tragic incident occurred during an endurance event over the weekend. A Des Moines businessman, Jim Goodman, 46, died during the swim segment of the Hy-Vee Triathlon in Des Moines, Iowa. He signaled for help during his 1500 m swim in Blue Heron Lake, however the "22 lifeguards, five Jet Skis, 12 kayaks and five boats on site at the Hy-Vee Triathlon" were not able to reach him in time. Jim was a mere 150m from the finish of the swim.

Jim's story, similar to the other unfortunate and untimely deaths of endurance athletes we've seen in the news recently, must remind us of a need to take caution when pushing ourselves to our max and also to look out for one another. Stories like this also should make us take a moment to appreciate our own hard work in our lives and give necessary credit to ourselves and to those around us who continue to support and motivate us.

The article indicates that Jim's death was not due to drowning. Further, as reported by his brother, (Jim) "was an avid runner and good swimmer". The article does not specifically indicate the cause of death (as his family and officials still await autopsy results). Jim was the father of three young girls, Natalie, 11; Ellie, 7; and Rubie, 3 and also leaves behind his wife, Lisa.

Is it just me, or has there been an increase in the frequency of such fatal outcomes at endurance events? Is it just the fact that we're simply hearing about it more or are there other similar factors involved here? After doing some googling on the subject, I happened upon this intersting article, "Are Endurance Sports Good for You?", which then led me to this blog, V-Tach which accounts one endurance athlete's struggle to work with his own Acquired Arrhythmia. Both the article and the V-Tach blog are interesting (and relative) in that they explore research relating increased endurance training to the actual deterioration of one's heart. Sounds backwards, right?

Has anyone else read interesting articles/research on this topic? I'd be intersted to hear more about it.

Happiness IS a New Bike!!

I just came across this blog post from Runner's World. Yes, maybe directing my focus towards the purchase of my new set of wheels will be the route of my new found happiness. With the little running I'm actually able to do, I think I need to join fellow blogger "Gotta Run" and "Saddle up"! :)


Coach Cane has been helping me search for a new bike within my budget, but with all my running around of late (and, ironically, the lack there of "actual running"), I've put off actively searching through eBay like I should have been doing for the past four weeks. You know that dumb saying your mom used to annoy you with is really true, "when it rains it pours!". I can just hear the sound of mom's voice and her following up by telling me that I just put too much on my plate! ... what can I say, I have a big appetite! I've just been overwhelmed with life and have felt like I can't get it together. geesh! Seriously, I'm way to stubborn to not to keep ploughing through, but if it's not one thing it seems to be another. I'll eventually get it all under wraps.. and especially now that I have all this time that I'm not running.

The pool workouts are getting a bit monotonous and the hammy doesn't hurt when I'm cycling so I think that's the right direction for me. Okay, off to spin!

Also, my doctor's appt is set for this coming Monday. Fingers crossed!

Sunday- FunDay- RunDay

Today's Training: After two intense days of cross training... it was back to basics this morning. I got in a nice 8mile run over hills followed by striders and some core strengthening work. Ah.... it was chilly but wonderful to be out running again!

Review of Week#3 Training Schedule -(March 3 - March 9):
Monday: 3miles
Tuesday: PM: RUNNYC (5.8 tempo run) total: 7.5m- 4 X 20 sec striders
Wednesday: PM: 6miles
Thursday: AM: 6.5miles
Friday: AM: 60min -YOGA, PM: 60mins Ultimate Street Fighter class
Saturday: cycling session at City Coach 17miles (including warmup/cool down)
Sunday: 8miles, 4 X 20 sec striders
Totals: 31 miles + 60min of YOGA + 60min kickboxing + 17miles of cycling

Thoughts: Well, losing the Saturday running mileage lowered the original goal number (35miles), but I got in some quality cross training with yoga, cycling and kickboxing. The run Tuesdasy night with RUNNYC kicked my butt and I was still recovering through Thursday. Friday's Yoga+Kickbox combo top off with a spur of the moment late night dance party with some friends made Saturday's AM cycling session way more of a challenge!! Shorty got LOW on the dance floor and it defintely did a number on her hamstrings and quads (esp after 60mins of kickboxing!!). Whoops!

But all in all it was a great training week. I got in lots of quality core work and I'm really diggin' the YOGA class I've been going to. It's unlike any other yoga class I've ever attended. It combines lots of core strengthening and stretching poses but with very high repetitions. The instructor is great and the class leaves me wonderfully exhausted but refreshed at the same time.

Yesterday's cycling session was particularly disappointing. I got off to a slow start since the bike City Coach has generously lent me (until I get my own) was given a new seat which from the moment I hopped on... was an obvious problem. Let's just say it was particularly painful... and pretty much hurt like a little b*tch. The seat is designed so your sit bones rest directly on both sides of the split (picture on right). .. And HOLY HELL!!, it was painful. I had to sit on a towel for extra cushioning about half way through and finished the ride as bent forward as possible to take the pressure off my screaming sit bones. On top of that the bike wasn't changing gears correctly and kept skipping over gears as I tried to adjust. The big gear wouldn't even slide up to the big wheel (I know, I need to learn my cycling terms!) so I had to stay on the middle wheel. So, on top of my legs feeling like lead (from the kickboxing and dancing night before) there were several factors that distracted me from having a good ride. I was bummed about it, but I understand that sh*t happens.
I've learned a few lessons this time around... so hopefully next week's ride will be better! :)

"Favorite Thing" Fridays - Soy Chai Lattes

Over the last four weeks I have been abstaining from Chocolate (the entire time), and Coffee and Alcohol during the work week. Not that I'm a caffeine junkie and/or booze hound, but it does upset the normal routine of my daily cup of coffee and occasionally weekday happy hour or drinks with the gals. Slowly as people find out about my "sacrifice" of late, the typical response has been, "Why would you do that to yourself?".

Well, I'm still pondering that question... that is in between fighting my sometimes intense urge to hijack someone else's coffee in the subway each morning (ewww! That would be kind of gross!). The Chocolate, I'm okay with, but the NO coffee and NO red wine has been tough, I'm not gonna lie! By Thursday, I find myself crossing to the other side of the street if I know I'll be passing by a liquor store. I just miss my evening glass of vino! And so Lent rolls on....

And given my recent state, I have renewed my love for hot tea (Come on! It's cold in NY and I need something hot & uplifting in the morning). And the Starbucks Soy Chai Latte has become my "special" end of the week treat (at least until Easter). I don't necessarily like Starbucks or more so the paying $4.50 for a latte, but hey, it's New York where all things are generally pricey. Plus there's a Starbucks on every corner enticing me, so I occasionally cough up the change for a hot, sweet, caffeine boosting - soy chai Starbucks delight. YUM!

The other cool thing about my "Friday-Chai" is that the Starbucks cups now feature (and may have for some time) this campaign called, "The Way I See It".

Today my cup reads, "When I wake up in the morning, I want to know that my family, friends, and fans know what I believe in and what I'm all about. That's what should be important." - Robert Randolph

I like this thought, so I'm adding Chai Lattes and Starbuck's "The Way I See It" quotes to my list of favorite things.

And you may be asking yourself, what exactly does this have to do with running? Well my blog friends ,the answer is simply NOTHING. I suppose I would just like you to believe in "what I'm all about".

And with that, have a spectacular weekend!

Today's Training: Cross Training: 60min YOGA (YIN) & 60min "Ultimate Street Fighter" (YANG) :)

Ultimate Street Fighter ...Or Something Like That!

You may have noticed I've thrown a "Cardio Kickbox" class in to the mix over the past few weeks. I signed up for this class, officially labeled as "Women's Self Defense", to learn a few new moves to protect my sometimes risk taking (a.k.a. dark alley running) self. To my pleasant surprise, the course instructor has insisted to "make us sweat" while we learn how to throw proper punches and kicks. I totally love it! Great music, an intense punching, kicking, squatting, ducking routine followed by some ab work. It's a great cross training workout that leaves me wonderfully sore all weekend long.

In the first class, after I jabbed full out into my instructors hand held punching target glove, she endearingly referred to be as "a beast". hmmm??? well, as I saw it I had two options, I could either embrace my new inner street fighter self or back off and wimp out. I quickly chose to step up and whale into the punching pad yet again. Life's just too short not to release your inner beast every now and then!

My New Life as a Cyclist

Clearly, I have a lot to learn! But I left City Coach studio feeling refreshed, rejuvenated and spent (in a great way!). I'm in a little bit of pain today (in the seat) :) , but it was well worth it. I loved it!

Yesterday's indoor cycling "intro" session was lead by City Coach - Assistant Coach, Shane Neil who had us start off with a quick 4.5mile interval set where we worked on hills and regulating our cadence, which is the number of revolutions of the crankset per minute. It was definitely challenging since learning to keep proper form on the bike while also maintaining speed took more focus than I thought it would. After the 4.5, they put the class on a 15mile course over rolling hills, but we only had another 40mins left of class so I conquered 11.5miles is that time. The rest of my overall mileage (20) was in my warm up and cool down.

The way the simulator works is you can see on the scene in front of you all of your stats and where you are exactly on the course as well as where everyone else in the class is in comparison. I have to admit, my favorite part was kicking it into high gear on the down hills. So much fun!!! It's the best how you can see it coming so you put your finger on the gear trigger as the anticipation builds. As soon as the resistance changes, BOOM! you kick it up and rock it out. It's fantastic.

I'm so green when it comes to this sport, so I hope the more experienced cyclist-readers aren't too turned off my my naivety. I had an excellent time cycling yesterday and can't wait to get my own bike and hit the open road! :)

Today's Training: 8miles, 4 X 20 sec striders

Evaluation of this past week (week#1):
Monday: 5miles, core routine
Tuesday: PM: 6.5miles, 4 X 20 sec striders
Wednesday: Cross train - post work - pool running workout
Thursday: PM: Tempo run - 5miles
Friday: AM: YOGA, PM: Women's self defense/cardio kickbox class-55mins (long story) followed by 2mile run
Saturday: 20miles indoor to cycling class,
Sunday: 8miles, 4 X 20 sec striders
Total: 25 miles + YOGA + 30min pool run + 20mile cycling + 55min kickboxing

Thoughts: I need to get my mileage up and take out some of the other junk. I'll post week#2 of training (for the upcoming week) shortly.

Treadin' in Texas

Weekend Post: January 26-27, 2008

This past weekend I found myself in Dallas, TX for work. The weekend was packed with required meetings/events and left me zero time to hit the Lone Star Streets. It was my first time in Texas, but from what I've heard, Dallas ain't nothing to get excited about. Apart from an intense schedule of meetings, I got to see the inside of a local Walmart (always an interesting adventure) and I got to attend Medieval Times for dinner, which was surprisingly fun.

As far as remaining consistent with my training, I'm happy to say that I did stay on track thanks to the fact that my hotel had one of the nicer hotel fitness centers I've seen. So, in the wee hours of the morning, I was able to get in about 6.5 on Saturday and 5miles Sunday.

Treadmill running is just dreadful in my mind. Especially when you've been mostly running outside and are "forced" to come indoors. The few things that I do love, however about treadmill running is the fact that you don't have to deal with traffic lights, crazy intersections and the pedestrian obstacles of the outdoors. Oh, and I guess avoiding the 25degree weather is also a plus!

Treadmills are excellent for getting in quality tempo runs and/or timed intervals. Honestly, I find it very difficult to run on a treadmill and not do one of either. Changing the pace or elevation throughout the run is almost a necessary distraction for me. Most often this happens in 2.5min or 5min increments (for a Tempo run) but on days in which I'm feeling less motivated, I go by a pre-determined number of songs on my ipod (covering my elapsed time for most of the run). For me, watching my time on the treadmill makes my run feel epic!!

RunnersWorld currently has a few good treadmill training tip videos on their site. Here's one that offiers another idea to help us in the battle againts treadmill boredom:


Sunday's workout:
5mins - warm up
@ 5mins- increase speed
@ 10mins - increase elevation
@ 15mins - increase speed
@ 20mins - increase elevations
@ 25mins - increase speed
@ 30mins - decrease elevation
@ 35mins- increase speed/decrease elevation (finish strong- with a kick)
@ 40 mins- slowly decrease speed/warm down for 5mins
Total: 45min run
* Followed by full core strengthening!!

Time to get a little WILD

Yes, it's Wet-N-Wild Wednesday again!

My training, core strenghening and cross training seems to all getting back on track quite nicely. Granted, it's only been a week, but hell, it's a start!

So, it's wednesday again and time to hit the pool. I have a crazy schedule today at work, but the nice thing about pool workouts is that you can get straight to the point and get a good quality effort in and in less time then if I was hitting the streets! I'm actually going to try to squeeze my pool workout in at lunch. We'll see how it goes.

Also, I contemplating purchasing some new gear in order to take things to the next level! ;) Aquajogger is the leading brand for water excercise equiptment. I like this purple belt by aquajogger (and I also like the cheaper price found on SwimOutlet.com)! I'm thinking about buying my own belt since the community belts at the pool stink and usually end up under my armpits because the straps are so worn out. I also like these gloves (although highly dorky) by Aquajogger. The gloves help create resistance which in turns get your heart rate up faster and give you a better workout!

Today's workout: A quick ladder: 5mins warm up, followed by two times the following ladder: 1,2,3,2,1 min (taking half the time of the effort for my recovery, ex: 1 min effort, 30secs recovery). Followed by a 5 min cool down and pool stretch. (total time: 37mins)

Wet-N-Wild Wednesdays!

Wet-N-Wild Wednesdays are a little fun thing my girlfriends and I started in order to incorporate a bit of alternative cross training into our weekly routines.

Btw, I refuse to refer to this type of exercise as "Aqua jogging" since the term puts unfortunate visions in my head of old ladies buoying around lifting pool noodles over their heads. I think this type of cross training is best described as Pool Running! It's just a way more serious sounding label, don't you think!?!

Seriously, after a pool run with me, you won't be thinking noodles no more!


I like how Coach Dean describes Pool Running on his blog, The Running World According to Dean . I know, I know, Coach Dean has the post labeled as "Aqua Jogging" or "Aqua Running", but we'll cut him some slack, since he does gives this form of exercise its due respect in his description. I like the pro/con list and also his mentioning of monitoring heart rate as a way to "gauge" your effort (although he could go into a bit more detail, but do not fret, I can give you more info on this a bit later). Also, his information on interval training is spot on. I have some great interval workouts that I'd like to share in the weeks to come.

Tonight's interval workout: 5mins-Warmup, 8x3min repeats w/1:30min rest, 5min-Cool down
(total: 45mins)


Photo credit - "Everybody into the Pool" is a cover by a book written by Beth Lisick. I've personally do not know much (or anything) about this book, but I love the illustration on the cover.