Bicycle Sunday and progress with my ankle

Last Sunday I ventured up to Westchester County for a new adventure and really, really enjoyed myself. Thanks to a blog post by JT over at Races Like a Girl where she mentioned Bicycle Sunday and some tips from the very generous and helpful Joe Garland, I found this great event. In the early summer and then again in Aug/Sept a 7mile section of the Bronx River Parkway is shut down to cars and opened to bikes, rollerblades and runners. I even saw a man on an Elliptigo at some point. Those things are so bizarre and awesome. I can really see my friend, Matt, riding one of those someday.

At the south end where I started

I set out in the late morning for the Village of Bronxville which is a mile or so south of where the highway portion starts. I've been to Bronxville before and really loved it. It's a charming and fun little town with a main street that is lined with restaurants and shops. I had a 30 mile ride in mind, so I set off on the serene and beautiful tree-lined pathway that runs parallel to the highway. Upon reaching the Bikes only section of the Parkway, I was thrilled to see so many other people out and about. The highway is two lanes wide in each direction with a guard rail between them and though there were hundreds of people out and about, many with children, everyone was following the rules of the road. The slower folks and those with kids stayed right and I was able to zip by in the left lane without anyone cutting me off. It was a whole new cycling experience after riding the west side of Manhattan with the rental bike morons. I was working hard and pushing north up the hills, but I was having a great time. I was in shorts and a short-sleeve jersey, but some folks were decked out in their fall and winter gear. I'd worn long tights on a ride on Saturday and nearly melted, so I knew better. I was sweating as I headed north through Scarsdale and was happy to turn around at exit 22 to head south with the wind at my back. It took a lot less time and effort to make the return trip. There were still some good hills going south, but there were great downhill sections too. I recall seeing 28 mph a few times on my bike computer. Whew. I stopped for a snack when I reached the start again and then set off for another loop. My neck and shoulders were really tight and I had a numb foot for much of the second loop, but the weather was so amazing and the road was so smooth that I hung in there and had another great loop.

Somehow I got grease inside my helmet and I noticed this when I got back to my car.

This coming Sunday is the last Bicycle Sunday of the season, which is really sad because October is typically the best weather month of the year, but I will definitely be putting this on my calendar for next year in the spring. I am keeping my eyes on the weather for this weekend, but it looks like it might be raining on Sunday, otherwise I'd be making a second trip up there for another 30 miles or so. I'd like to really explore that whole area, hopefully with a guide (ahem Joe, ahem Julie) because I can tell that it is an amazing place to run as well. As soon as I'm cleared to get back to training I'm taking a trip up to run the path along the Parkway. I bet it is incredible when the leaves start changing.

A sweet 30 miles

I stopped in the Bronxville Running Co. after my ride, they were really nice.

Speaking of getting back to running, there is a glimmer of hope in my recovery! I went to PT today and after trying some new "running-like" drills on Wed and today without pain around my ligament my PT suggested that I bring my running shoes next week!!! He thinks I'm finally ready for a trial run on the treadmill. I don't even care that it is on the treadmill, which I hate, because I can try RUNNING!! By next week's session I'll have been off of the road for NINE WEEKS. Whew. It has been a long road, but it has been a good stretch too; I've started doing yoga twice a week; I've been working twice a week or more on my core; I've also been really diligent about strengthening my hips and keeping them limber. Some good has come of this whole ordeal and I'm happy about it. I also think I might try to play matchmaker with my PT and a good friend, but not until after my PT is finished...just in case.

Keep your fingers and toes crossed for me next week, I hope the trial run goes well and doesn't lead to any swelling or pain!

The elevation profile for the ride:

The map:

posted from Bloggeroid

Vacation/Training Camp

Looking ahead...

As the school year came to a close, I stacked my upcoming vacation with trips and tried to figure out how to squeeze my training in with them. The day before vacation began, I had a major day o' activity to start things off right. Thursday the 24th of June was the day my best friend NM was moving to Philly for a year-long residency, so we had to do a run to commemorate it. We always run together on big days including graduation from PT school, my wedding day, etc so this was no exception. We snuck in a very early, hilly 5mi or so before the rest of the city woke up. It was bittersweet, I'm terribly sad to see her leave NY, but excited for the opportunities ahead. After work I was able to come right home and begin the packing process before driving up to Van Cortlandt park for another of the 5K series, no muffin this time because I really held back and took it easy, finishing 1 min slower than last time at 24:08 or so. I didn't care that I had a 9:00 mi 2 because I was saving a lil energy for soccer! Yup, post 5K I trotted back to my car and went directly to a 50 min soccer in the sweltering heat. We won! When I arrived back home, my hubby was home from work so I told him to get his stuff together, he was coming with me to NJ for the night because we were leaving for Calgary, AB Canada in the morning and had to bring the cats down to Mom's house. That worked out nicely! Boy did I sleep good that night...

View from our hike to Grassi Lakes, it was unreal!

Canada was a blast, we spent much of the long weekend in the Canadian Rockies at a beautiful, picturesque lodge tucked away by a great big lake. I was really hoping to get in more training, like a trail run and open water swim, but the trails were too far from the lodge and the lake had leeches in it!! Eww, no thanks. I did manage one run though... But it was an adventure! I asked a nice Aboriginal man where to run and he told me the road (boring) so I asked if their was a path around the lake and he assured me that there was. He mentioned that it was "a bit uneven" and I waved him off. Pshhh, I thought. He neglected to mention the loads of bear poop, the disappearing trail, and the ancient, decrepit bridge that I made it halfway across before noticing that the other half was broken and under water. Sadly, I ended up on the road after all. Boo. I didn't notice the altitude too much, I think we were only at about 3,500ft or so. The hike we did was at about 5,400ft, yay for gorgeous mountains and crisp, blue glacier lakes. I was so relaxed and happy.

When we returned to the States, I took off to NJ for a beach day with Mom on Tuesday and got in a solid 5x1mi intervals workout before the heat crept in. It was fine to get up early on vacation to run because I was all mixed up in terms of my time zones. If it weren't for the heat, I think I could have gone even faster on my run, but I had 5 solid miles anyway. After a hot day at the beach with Mom, I ventured back to the city to spend one night at home before jetting off again. It happened to be the most gorgeous of nights, the humidity was gone and the night air was cool and fresh, it was a preview of the rest of my week.

Wed morning I did an hour of PT with some twins that I work with before hopping back into the (new and shiny) car for a 4hr drive upstate. My good friend SF has a wonderful and charming house in the Adirondacks where she spends the summers swimming in the gorgeous lakes and doing projects around her house. I drove up with my bike, swimsuits, caps, goggles and plenty of comfy clothes. It was going to be relaxing and yet a good training opportunity.

I spent Wed through Sat morning there and had a GREAT time, it sucked to come back home as it did last year also. I managed to swim 2mi each morning with SF across and back in Paradox Lake, consistently in around 50mins each time, despite the different conditions (wind, waves, temp) every day. On Thursday I ran the 3 very hilly miles there, swam, dried off and ran back on numb feet. Brr.

Friday we swam and then after breakfast (yum we had some amazing and fresh food) we ventured to Schroon Lake where I rode around the lake along the course of the Adirondack Marathon (wow, HILLS) for a 26.2 mi ride in 1:45 with a quick mile run after to make it a brick. Whew, the sandwiches we had after the ride/run were unreal too, and I don't think it was just because of my hungry bear state of mind.

Bike Course

We did one last swim on Sat morning with SF's bf paddling his kayak alongside us so we didn't have to bring along our little beachball-string-ankle strap contraptions along to make us visible for any boats on the lake. The beach balls were fun though, hehe especially on the first day when we had a tailwind on the way home and the ball kept smacking me in the head and arm because it was beating me. Anyhow, our last swim was great, I feel like I really got a good rhythm of breathing and sighting down, which is something I didn't feel like I had at the tri in Harriman. Sadly though I had to get in the car and head home to NYC and then on to Jersey for a wedding Sunday. Ahh, what a great way to spend the week though.. we ate delicious foods right from the garden and drank cold beer and even had to bundle up because it was so chilly at night. I wish I could bottle that feeling of relaxation, happiness and sleepiness from a good workout and really great company. I'm so lucky to have such great friends in my life.

I'm feeling pretty pumped for the upcoming NYC Tri... I did another 10 mi bike (much flatter!) and 3mi run Brick workout on Sunday morning just to get in some more time in the saddle and practice the bike to run transition. I realize that it is going to be difficult on race day, but I think I can still do really well. I guess we'll see... 13 days to go!

Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks

Alright, well I'm not "old" but I am pretty set in my ways of running and swimming a lot with few diversions. Today was a day of "new things" for me and I'm happy to report that it turned out really, really well. In fact, I feel fantastic tonight.

After many self-induced delays, I hopped on the train and moseyed over to Toga Bike shop on West End Ave and 65th St to pick out some new bike shoes. Being a newb and all I had purchased road shoes and mountain pedals which are a slippery combination for a beginner. I felt like the guy showed me a really expensive shoe that looked pretty and a really ugly shoe for less, knowing that I'd have to choose the nicer one. I was determined to get out today so I sucked it up and shelled out the extra cash and got a nice lil pair of Specialized Motodivas. They feel nice, though I'm sad to say they aren't as shiny as the Diadoras I had originally. :) Yep, I care about the color.

I got back home and suited up in my most ridiculous outfit because thats what cyclists do, and I headed out to join some fellow neighborhood tweeters in Inwood Hill Park for some hula hooping! I walked the bike probably .25 mi to the greenway because I'm a scaredy cat and from my apt to the greenway is a really steep downhill! That was not a good place to test out the new shoes and clip in. Once I got to the greenway however, I clipped right in like a pro and just started riding! I practiced clipping out a few times along the greenway to make sure I had the hang of it, and I felt great! Wow, this was turning out to be kind of fun! As I hit Riverside at the far northern end of the greenway (yep, it just ends) I turned onto the actual NYC streets and repeated in my head "clip out or wipe out" so I didn't get too comfortable riding along and fall over upon stopping. I know the area there so well because I run there regularly and I think that eased some of my anxiety. I rode along Dyckman St and turned up hilly Seamann Ave but didn't have quite enough confidence or gusto to go from a dead stop to uphill so I walked the bike just a little way to the top of the hill. I rode Seamann Ave north past Cumming (Yep, intersection of Seamann and Cumming St) and probably had a big goofy grin on my face because I was having so much fun!

I joined the Inwood Hoopers for some fun and silly hooping in Inwood Hill Park which I haven't done in MANY years! I remembered being awful at hooping as a kid so I was expecting to be sucktastic, but I surprised myself and kept the hoop up for minutes at a time! Wow! It was a blast to see so many neighborhood tweeters brought together for an afternoon in the park for a good cause! Ryan, the son of a neighborhood blogger/tweeter ZG, is selling hoops to raise money for tuition to Berklee Music School camp this summer. You can purchase a personalized hoop on their website, I tried a few out today and they are SWEET!

Sadly, I couldn't hoop all night because life and work-week prep were calling, so I hopped back on my white stallion and made my way home. Since most of my ride there was downhill, the ride home included many uphill sections, right from the very start. I hopped out of the saddle and pumped my way up the hill before I even realized what I was doing! That was really exhilarating to be puffing my way up a hill that I can run without batting an eyelash. I felt even more confident on the ride home and was able to ride in the actual car lane for much of the ride because the streets were quiet and I felt safer because I'm petrified of being hit by a car door opening. I cruised my way back to Riverside and onto the greenway where I played with the gears to find what felt right and was able to pick up some speed without being scared of hitting a bump and dying. With the sun toying with the idea of setting to my right and the wind in my face, I cruised along my usual path with much more speed than ever before and all I could think was "this is so exciting!" I unclipped and walked my bike up and over the overpass that crosses the West Side highway at 181st St because it is quite windy and narrow. I snapped a photo of the GWB in its pre-sunset glory there before walking my bike for a while up the 181st hill (which I normally run so that was tough to swallow) and was heckled by a man leaving a kid's birthday party, he said, "you're not going to let this hill stop you, are ya?!"Argh! I smiled and told him I'm a newbie and don't care for the scary traffic on 181st (it's like Panama city on that street). I did however cruise on up the hills of Cabrini Blvd which was so fun that I decided to keep going and looped all of the way up to Fort Tryon Park before cruising on home. The only word I can use to describe it was FUN. I really enjoyed my new adventure, it was a really different way to see the city, totally different than running and walking or riding in a bus or car and totally different to be moving so fast in the open air.

So it was a successful day in the end... I rode without falling or getting run over by a bus or hit by a door, I kept a hula hoop up WAY longer than I expected, and I CANT WAIT to bike again soon. Goodnight all, thanks for being such a great community of runners, swimmers, bikers, hoopers and friends.

BRICK

My goal for this week off is to really try some new workout types and just generally have a good, hard week because I know I can get plenty of sleep and even a massage! So this morning I tried my very first "Brick" workout which consists of a bike ride followed by a run. I've been wanting to try one ever since I signed up for the NYC Triathlon because I know they're going to become a regular part of my training and I just wanted to know what its like. Well, I found out today!!
First of all, I have a clunky old Huffy (yes, I said it, a Huffy) 18speed Mt. bike that lives in my Mom's basement and only comes out about 5 times a year or so for a ride around the hood. Luckily, it had fresh air in the tires because we filled them at Thanksgiving when I made my hubby ride along side me during a run. Second of all, I am not really sure I know how to use the gears on the bike. I generally put the little lever on the left in a position where nothing squeaks and fiddle with the one on the right a little here and there. Every time I ride the bike I think, "I need bike riding lessons". I know how to physically ride the bike, thats not a problem, its the shifting of gears and trying to make it bearable to go uphill. :) So I managed to crank out 8.84 miles on the bike with an average speed of 4:59 in 44:02mins. I have no idea if thats any good.. but it was tough. The wind here is always strong against me when I'm heading north so that part was no fun. I was properly dressed for the ride except for my feet which were numb by the end despite the gore-tex shoes.. I wasnt wearing warm enough socks. That made the run part even more interesting!
I got back to Mom's popped the bike inside the front door, switched helmet&winter hat out for a baseball cap and fleece headband and took a swig of water before heading back out. I knew I might be too warm on the run but couldn't think of a proper wardrobe change that would keep me warm in the wind but not too warm so I left everything on. At this point my feet are numb from the cold and I nearly trip down the 2 front steps because my legs are jello. I laugh at myself and head out, confusing the mailman across the way who just saw me go in with the bike. I must say, I was in NO WAY prepared for the weird feeling that comes with a post-ride run for that first 0.5 mi or so. I was practically laughing out loud because I simply felt like a fool trying to run on a bouncy house or something. I managed to settle right into an 8:30 pace though, and I was impressed with that even though I felt so silly. It just felt like a dream, my feet numb and my legs tightening up with every step. Ow. Finally I stopped to stretch my glutes/hams and calves which really felt good. After that I was moving along at a decent pace, even uphill, but I started to get some tightness in my anterior tibialis on the left (shin muscle for those non PT dorks out there) which took a while to work itself out. After about 1.75 miles the feeling was coming back in my feet and if you've ever tried running with cold/numb feet you know that is not always a good feeling. By nearly 2 miles I felt mostly like a normal person again and finshed off at a respectable time of 19:07 for 2.26mi, an 8:27 pace.
I definitely got a glimpse into my tri training future today and I'm wondering if that transition ever gets easier? It has to.... right? Please let me know if you have any words of advice or wisdom to impart regarding the brick.
All in all, it was really pretty crazy and fun. I wish I had my foam roller here at my Mom's house but I'll have to wait until tomorrow to roll out the kinks. For now I'll settle for a good stretch and some hot tea.
I know that I had a slight advantage today on my ride/run because I'm certain my big brother was watching over me and laughing with me while I ran along with jello legs. Today would have been his 30th birthday, but he died from a degenerative mitochondrial brain disease 14 years ago next week. Thanks for the push bro. ;)