Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Training

I'm excited for this race season. With the weather being warmer, I am not focused on the tasks at hand. A lot of the races planed for the early part of the season have been cancelled due to a number of things. I will take a look at other races and let you guys know what is coming up next. As always, if you know of any races, let me know. I know that I am pacing some of you on smaller races, so if you'd like that let me know. Yukiko, send me the link to the trail race you want me to help you out with.

Today I will teach 3 classes: spin, muscle toning, and abs. Later I'll make it to the pool for 3/4 to a mile. It will be a relaxing pace. I'm not trying to kill myself...yet. If any of you would like to take a dip let me know. And yes, Julie, I'll be seeing you at your pool. It looks really tempting.

New Race

It's official...race season has started. I will be racing next weekend. It's a 25k trail race. I know that most of you are saying, "Nicole, sucks on thoses races." Sad but true. I need to learn how to race on every terrain and that is why I am doing the 25k and not the 50k.

Here's the link to the site. http://theglirc.org/assets/images/events/greenbelt.pdf
It's in Long Island so I'll be in the NYC area afterward if anyone want to get together. I will be seeing Lee, but you are more than welcome to have coffee.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

At the Pool


We to Julie and Yaron's house. Laps only for me.

At the opera


We went to see the Marriage of Figaro.

Lee & I at the Ethopian Restaurant

Lee after his birthday



This is a picture of Lee after we got back. Look how he smiles while he sleeps.

Park

Now the park by my house is open and I've been running there for sometime. They still haven't opened up all the bathrooms but I'm happy to be there. Today I did 9 miles and went down by the water. It was a nice clip, but still I was sweating within the 1st mile.

I was out there early, but so was everyone else. I guess they also looked at the weather report. Many walkers, joggers, and cyclists.

When I started my run, it was in the high 60ies. When I ended it was in the mid 70ies. It's a little too hot. They even cancelled the central park's marathon on Sunday and made it a fun run. Unscored and untimed.

This weekend the weather will be more comfortable. I heard it will be high 60ies. I'd like to have a little spring before we hit summer.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Central Park

I just got back from a wonderful run in Central Park. Finally the weather has broken and I found myself wishing it was cooler. I haven't adjusted to the warm weather yet. It has gotten too warm too quickly. I must get adjusted as I'd like to race in 2 weeks. That race will be in LI on a trail so hopefully it won't be too hot. We'll see.

The run in the park was beautiful. All the flowers were in bloom and there were many people out running a biking. I even saw a St. Bernard. I walked up to her and pet here. It was nice to see such a big dog and made me miss Bogie. He was a great dog.

My run was great. I found myself competing with a woman there...she really made me work hard especially on the bad end hills. Last week I was running there and it wasn't as hard. Somehow I thought I had become a better runner, but this week it was hard. Boy did she push. Whenever she heard my footsteps, she quicken up the pace. I thought I'd pass her on the second downhill, but she moved too fast.

In life, we all have those who push us to become a better person. Today I had that. I was tired. Life is a long lesson. I can only hope that I learn each one with an easy stride.

Lee's Birthday

Yesterday was Lee's 38th birthday. I wanted it to be special for him so I woke up early to be the first person to wish him a Happy B-Day. Not wanting to be awoken by my alert, I used my internal clock. As most of you know, that is not the way to go. I found myself up at midnight, 2 AM and then finally 5:15 where I picked up the phone to call him. He should have been out of the shower, but I got his answering machine. So sing the happy birthday song, why don't you.

Shortly after hanging up, there was my honey calling me back. I told him how I longed to give him a hug and a kiss, but I knew that would have to wait for later. After work, I picked him up and met up with Paul at this cool place in mid-town called Saint Andrews. This place has 4 pages of just Scotch on the menu.

We found Paul already sipping some Scotch. I knew if I took my dad he'd be in heaven. I just have to remember where it is. Lee and I were both tired, had 1 beer, and shared a pizza before we both looked at each other and head home.

We have plans to go to an Ethiopian restaurant for lunch and the opera. It will be nice to have some alone time.

Happy Birthday weekend to Lee!

Friday, April 24, 2009

Kid's Day

Yesterday was 'bring your kids to work day.' Or should I say, bring your brats to work. Let's just admit it...it was a great day. I saw over 125 children who participated in the fitness program. Throughout the day, children in groups of 6-22 took my aerobic class where I tired them out so much that some of their faces turned red. When I heard some of the children huffing and puffing, I realized how out of shape children are. Please if you have kids, get them outside. These children were so pooped that, I had to give them a water break for their 20 minute program.

I kept my cool even when one group had some kids that were out of line. I just incorporated what they were saying and doing and made it mine. It was a great day and a fun time was had by all.

Today I woke up and was sore. Can you believe that? Finally I got a good workout. Too bad kids day is only once a year! Back to hard core triathlon training.

25,000 On The Move

As you know, I work for L&T Health and Fitness. I need your help. We're trying to get 25,000 people working out during the month of June. This is a free program where every time you log your workout you'll be eligible to win prizes like cash and fitness center equipment.

Just commit to exercising a few minutes a day for 25 days and L&T Health and Fitness will donate money to the fight against ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), through the MDA's Augie's Quest research initiative.

Please sign up at http://ltwell.com/
Put Bernni as your ID (that way I get credit and I will also be eligible for cash prizes)

The more people I get signed up, the closer I become eligible for prizes so please tell all your friends and family.

Happy Training

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Bronx Zoo

This weekend Lee, Paul, and I went to the Bronx Zoo. I saw all sorts of animals. What I liked most were the Lemurs. Did you know that the female is the Alpha of the pack? Now that's my type of animal. Even though I'm more of a cat person, they were beautiful to look at.

While I loved the Lemurs, it was great to see the big cats. There were 2 lions, 1 spotted panther, and a tiger. I still wish I had one of them as a pet. Of course the best show was the seals. Everyone was watching them swim and speak. They gave the performance of a lifetime.

After 4 hours of walking around, we finally saw the whole park. Even though I didn't run in the AM, I certainly got my exercise.

luck in love

As most of you know, it's been hard finding that special someone. I've had all sorts of relationships that really weren't healthy, but I can finally say that I've been dating this guy, Lee since February and I believe he's the best. Finally I'm involved in a healthy relationship. Even though he doesn't run marathons or triathlons, we've made a solid foundation which continues to grow each day. He's supportive and has my best interest at head. He's also level headed, so I find myself calmer. Can you believe that? I look forward to the many days ahead.

I'm sure when you meet him...you'll see the same things.

Bad Girl

I know that I've been bad in not writing. Maybe it's because I'm lazy, or maybe it's because my workout just haven't been there. My race season has changed so much that I don't have much coming up. I need to redo it so I can keep my focus.

I have officially started triathlon training and getting ready for Ironman. I still want to do a 100k race, but my friend has pulled out so I think I need to find another race to do that would be fun. Also the sponsorship pulled out of my 175 mile relay so here I am trying to figure out what to do.

The result? I will race May 9 in a 25k trail race. They also have a 50k race that day, but it is an out and back....meaning that I'd have to do that 2 times for the 50k. Not fun, I'd already know what is in store for me. This race will be local so if you'd like to come out, I'd welcome it! As of now, only 2 of you have come out. Let's see if we can break that record this year.

If anyone know if a cool race, let me know. I'll even pace you to your goals.

HAPPY TRAINING!