Great long bike ride yesterday

Only 13 days till the New York City Triathlon!  Nervous about it in generally, and most specifically, nervous about the swim.  Since the pool I go to has been under renovation for the last 2 weeks, its been 4 weeks since I have last gone swimming.  Pool supposed to be open again as of today, so I should still be able to get 4 swims in between now and race day. 

Thanks to all the bike riding I’ve done lately, the tri distance of 24.4 miles does not scare me at all anymore.  Yesterday was my longest bike ride ever, at 36.5 miles!  See the main course here.  At the end I was really beat and  didn’t feel like biking through the streets of Queens and Brooklyn all the way back to the city.  So, I hopped on the A train, took it to Fulton St, and biked another 2.5 miles from downtown Manhattan back to my apartment.

It was a great day for bike riding, although a little windy.  Headed over the Manhattan Bridge, through downtown Brooklyn and then down 3rd Ave to the 68th St pier.  Took in the sights for a moment, and then followed the path along the Belt Parkway around to Coney Island.  Picked up a corn dog, and then followed the bike path all the way around to Flatbush Ave and took a right turn to Rockaway.  Brief stop at Riis Park to admire the beach, and then heading back to Queens by the long, long, long way of Cross Bay Blvd.  All in all, a great ride, and I’m hardly sore today, which is great news.  Took a few pictures, which you can check out on my DailyMile profile.

Was quite active over the last week.  Had good longish runs (6 mile range) on Thursday and Saturday, and rode my bike to and from softball on Wednesday.

On tap for this week is the gym and pool today, running tomorrow, softball (bike ride to/from again?) Wednesday and then time to start my taper into the triathlon…

One last note, so very thankful for the low humidity July.  Really making for nice training weather at a time of the year where that is usually not the case!

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Blogging outdoors!

It is still kinda cold outside, 40 degrees, but I’ve got spring on the brain and so am walking downtown to pick my 13 year old from dance class.  Stopped off at Madison Square Park to take advantage of the free wi-fi to kill some time.  Funny, last time I did this, I also had weather on the brain.  The answer to the question I posed back then is that the weather in Austin in Feb is wonderful!

On a more serious note, had a visit to my doctor today.  I’m used to dealing with running injuries, but lately having a health issue.  Nothing to be concerned about, and 2-4 weeks of Cipro will hopefully kill the bacterial infection my doctor suspects I have.  We’ll see!

Otherwise, had a great workout lifting weights at the gym last night.  Had another pathetic swim session in the pool, but I can already see some small improvements after 3 visits.  I still have 4+ months to get myself up to swimming a mile before the New York City Triathlon.

Probably will stay inactive tonight, and maybe drag myself out of bed for an early run in the morning.

Getting my bike and swim on

Time to start focusing on the swim and bike portions of the triathlon as I start training for the New York City Triathlon, coming up late July.

Took a couple of big steps today.  First, took my bike into Metro Bikes to get a tune up.  In addition to basic free tune up I get from purchasing my bike there, I’m also getting the more extensive ‘drivetrain’ tune up.  I want them to do a good cleaning of my chain and a good thorough check of everything else.  I’m also getting the handlebars retaped.  One of these days, it will warm up and I’ll start getting some rides in.  I think we change the clocks next weekend, which means we’ll start getting daylight till 7pm – can’t wait.

I also went to the gym tonight and went in the pool for the first time in about 8 months.  I am a really bad swimmer, and I’m essentially starting from the very beginning.  Did about 18 pool lengths in a variety of bad forms, but trying to work on breathing, which is my big weak spot.

Will be running in the Coogan’s 5k race tomorrow morning.  Forecast is for rain, sleet or snow, so we’ll see what happens.  This is a very fast 5k course due to the hills, especially the downhill in the last half mile.  I’ve set PR’s the last 2 times running the course.  I was hoping for dry conditions so that I can attempt to finish in 25 minutes.  My PR is about 26 minutes.  I just hope the weather is good enough that they don’t turn it into a fun run.  I want to use this to bring down my NYRR corral pace time, which is currently 8:14.

Wow, that session in the pool really wiped me out.  Need to get to bed!

Good ole fashioned soaking

Went out for a run last night in the pouring rain, and had a great time!

My last run had been on Monday night.  By last night, Thursday, I was really itching to get out for a run.  Been busy lately and wasn’t able to get any running in on Tues or Wed.  I also knew that a run on Friday was out of the question, as we went out to see a show tonight, so my only opportunity was last night.  Unfortunately, it was 39 degrees and raining hard, so I’d have to brave the elements.

I may be crazy, but I really do enjoy running in the rain.  It got to me a little bit on my last long training run, but for a quick 5 mile run or so, I could deal.  Some of my normal courses are just not runnable when there is a lot of rain, due to puddles or narrow roadways, etc.  So, I decided to run on the 3.3 mile loop down 1st Ave to the East River and then up Ave A, and then add 2 miles down along the East River.

It turned out that the first 1.5 mile (down 1st Ave / Allen St) was with the wind, so the rain did not bother me at all.  When running with the wind, you don’t get the rain in your face, while against the wind, it can be tough.  So, with luck on my side, or blind smart planning, the first part of the run, with the wind, was almost pleasant.  Went with 2 pairs of gloves and 2 shirts, the outer shirt layer very heavy, so I was plenty warm at that point.  Then, when I hit the East River, I headed south on the bike path down to Wall St, and then turned around to head back up the path.  That section of the bike path is all under the FDR Drive, so for that 2 mile stretch, I was completely dry!  So far, so good!  The final 1.5 miles, up Allen St / Ave A, was against the wind, and very tough.  The wind was really blowing, and the rain was relentless.  But, since it was a relatively short distance, I was able to get through it.  I was very lucky on this run to get through Houston St and Delancy St, in both directions, without having to stop at the lights.  By the end, I was soaked through and starting to get cold. 

Total run was 5.1 miles, in 46:47, or 9:10 per mile.  Not bad at all, considering the conditions.

Looking forward to getting a run in on Saturday, and then a trip to the gym on Sunday.  Trying to decide if I will go semi-long on Saturday (10 miles or so), or go for a speed workout.  My next ‘long’ run in preparation for the Austin Marathon will probably be the weekend after New Years, and in the 17-18 mile range.

Would rather be running

56 beautiful degrees outside, and I can’t run due to other obligations 😦

I’ll hopefully get up for an early run in the morning…

What is the weather in Austin in Feb?

I have a few minutes to kill, so I’m sitting outside at Madison Square Park (awesome free wifi by the way), freezing, but catching up on email, blogs, etc.  Hopefully I’ll get a run in later tonight, but with the cold weather, I’m just kind of curious what the weather is like in Austin in February, as I prepare for the Austin Marathon on Feb 15.  I know Texas is hot, but when I was there previously in November, the weather was awesome.  I figure the weather in Feb is pretty awesome as well.

So, went to Yahoo Weather (don’t worry, powered by The Weather Channel), to find the historical averages for Austin.  Average high 65, average low 44.  So far, so good!  50’s is perfect, 40’s and 60’s are manageable.  But, what if we have a record hot or cold day, what is in the realm of possibility?  Record high is 99 and the record low is -1.  Oh no.  So, it could be beautifully perfect, or it could be New York dead of winter, or New York dead of summer.  Regardless, it will be fun, and sub 4:30!

Was able to get to the gym this morning after getting 7 year old off to school, and before work.  I’ll try to get a late run in as well.  On Sunday, I may try for a 10.3 mile loop over the Williamsburg and 59th St bridges.

Anyway, I’m freezing now, they are cleaning up the tables and chairs, and I just had to stamp a rat out of the way, so I’m outta here!

I’ll write more about my diet another time (so far, ehhh), but I’m proud to say that on this visit to Madison Square Park, I resisted the Shake Shack!