New Look

So I've made a promise to myself. I will get in kick ass shape during the month of June. I'm cranking up the workouts by over 1 hour per day. I expect to drop 3-5 pounds by the end of the month. That should be enough incentive.

I've laid out my race calender and it has a lot of races. I am officially in triathlon training. Ironman is the first week of December and that is the big race for the year. My first race is in 2 week and I have to train hard. It's a sprint triathlon in Harriman.

Ok the distance is fine. But the hills are killer. This race always let me know how out of shape I am. It will be a good base. I'm looking forward to the training ahead of me. When I finish this, I will go to the pool and swim anywhere from 1/2 to 1 mile and then call it a day.

I taught 1 spin class and ran 7 miles. I've had a good day. Tomorrow will be my first bike ride. Wish me luck.

Fitness Program And Win Cash

As you know, it's hard to workout and stay fit. Here's an incentive. L & T Health Fitness has a program which I am affiliated with called 25,000 On The Move. You'll get the chance to win cash prizes just for working out.

Sound good? I know it does. All you have to do is log on to www.ltwell.com/onthemove.com/
Use my user id: BERNNI
Workout during the month of June.
Win cash and prizes.

And me? If I get a few more people signed up, I'll be eligible to win cash. So please help me out by signing up your friends as well.

Sometimes Things Just Don't Go Your Way

Everything looked like it was going to be a good day when I awoke at 5:15 AM. I actually woke up without the alarm so you knew it was a good sign. The cat even slept with me for part of the night and I didn't hear him come into the room. The only way, I knew he was there was when I went to turn and the covers didn't move. It was good to wake up to a restful sleep.

I did my usual prerace drinks and waited till I used the bathroom before I headed out. I saw that I needed gas so I stopped for that. I was making great time and arrived at the site 1 hour before the start. It sure looked like it was going to be a good day.

The bathrooms were closed so I had to wait for them to be opened. Checking in was easy and I got my XL shirt. While waiting for the start of the race, I talked with this guy Tim who just moved here from Nevada. He had recently gotten a divorce and moved home to his parents house in NY. It was going to be his first NY race.

Prerace instructions were clear. Follow the arrows. Broadway ultra society is usually good at not getting you lost so I knew that it wasn't going to be a problem. Seeing that everyone was hydrating I went for a cliff shot block, blackberry with caffeine. That didn't settle well in my stomach, but I didn't know that at the time.

I went out hard and fast and soon I was 3rd. Not wanting to loose time or my place, I picked up the pace and wasn't getting water. This was a bad thing as it was in the 80'ies but I didn't know it. The course wasn't shaded so I was doomed from the start.

Before you knew it, I had started to slow up and felt nauseous. Thought of quitting entered my head and I just couldn't shake it. I dropped out. My face was white and I was exhausted. This just wasn't going to be my day.

Soon after the race, I arrived at Lee's in NYC and drank 2 1/2 liters of seltzer in under 2 hours. I was severely dehydrated. By the time I finished all the water, my nausea went away.

It's sad. So days you have it and some days you don't. I need to prepare myself for the heat and this just hasn't been happening. Only Monday it was 36 in the morning. Hopefully next race will be better.

Happy trails.

Tales Of Woe

Earlier this week, I found myself in the car on the way to Rockland Lake where I run. What started out as a good day, slowly changed. While driving, I heard a bong in my car which meant there was a temperature problem. Boy was it right. It was 36 degrees out and I had a pair of shorts and a short sleeve shirt. Already in the car on the way, I looked in the backseat and found a windbreaker, but no wind pants. I decided to go for it.

When I arrived at the park, I found my shorts were torn right at the inner thigh. I could turn around, but figured I'd cut my run short with only doing 4 miles. It was cold and quickly my inner thigh started burning and I got chafed.

It is still raw and I have my race tomorrow. I can only hope that it won't get worse!

Pre Race Meal

I know that normal people have pasta as a pre race meal....I don't. Maybe I'm crazy or maybe I just know what to do. My pre race meal is sushi. I don't know why, but it seems to go right for me. Here's the theory behind it...you need salt in your system so your body stays in balance. Now I wouldn't be worried about that if I was doing a 10k, but with something longer; you have to start to think about it.

Sushi was great. Fenn from worked accompanied me to Murasaki's in Nyack. We ate at the sushi bar and had a great experience. It's nice to eat with someone who loves the food. Boy did we order a lot of food. And the bill looked like it.

We met a lovely lady, Joanne who is an artist. After over 1 1/2 hours we were on a roll. I never tired of the conversation. I knew that I had to call it a night though. My alarm was due to ring 4:30 so I could head off to work.

16 miles?

Doreen and I decided to go long on Saturday in the neighborhood. I got an early start. 5:45. Now that's early for me. I've been having a hard time getting up in the mornings, but Saturday I was ready at 5:30. I called Doreen at 5:30 to wake her up. We agreed to meet at the top of my hill at 6AM.

It was a cold, dark, misty, foggy morning. I was unsure if we should have ventured out on my original plan but decided to go for it anyway. At 6AM, Doreen and I were on our way. I was hoping the fog would break early, because there are few sidewalks on this route.

Within a few miles both Doreen and I had to go to the bathroom. This is one reason why I hate running in the neighborhood. We found a woody area where we wouldn't be seen and were relieved.

I was hoping to do 20 or so miles, but my legs were tired. Doreen was keeping a good pace and there were some thoughts of walking. How can I think about walking? That never happened...We lucked out with the cars. There weren't many of them on the road.

Finally 16 or so miles later, we finished. I headed home and Doreen went to the gym. While sitting the table, the heaven's opened up and it downpoured. I was happy to be inside. Thank god, I didn't take us the really long route.

Last week's swim

I don't know what it is lately, but I never seem to get my swim in. After work, I headed to Dobbs Ferry where there is a NYSC. I was told that their pool was nice and I've been there only once. The first time I went there, I got lost for over 30 minutes. The navagation system took me to the address, but it turns out the gym is not in Dobbs Ferry and I'm unsure what town it really is in.

Anyway, Wednesday I found myself on the way to the gym. I was a bit distracted because I was talking with my actor friend, Richard. He's such a great guy and we were on a roll. The next thing you know it...I was in Yonkers and took the wrong parkway. I found myself at the toll and had to turn around. I didn't know how to get on the original parkway. Lost again for over 20 minutes, I decided to call it a day.

Lee was due to come in early from work. I went home and made us a nice dinner. We had Cajun chicken alfredo. Boy, did it come out good. I had mom taste it and she told me that I could make it for her any day. "Save the recipe," she said. That wasn't going to happen. It got wet and I threw it out.

Lee got in early so we ate and went for a walk. No swim. Maybe next week.

Wednesday

OK. I've done one class for the day...spin. I have to get my bike shoes. My last ones broke during class and I haven't gotten the opportunity to buy a new pair. You can really feel the difference without them.

Today I hope to log one mile in the water. I need it. I haven't been in the water in over 2 weeks. It will be nice to get in the water. Too bad it isn't that warm outside and hopefully I won't freeze in the water. I'll let you know how it goes.

I'm weight training at lunch so that will be it for the day. My body has recovered from the race and I'm already eyeing a race in 10 days. That will be a 34 mile race. I think I'm up for the challenge. Does anyone want to pace an old lady like me?

Picture from the 25k race

TAKE A LOOK AT MY RIGHT SIDE. MUD AND DIRT EVERYWHERE. WAS I SMILING?

Recover

It's 3 days later since my race on Saturday. My legs are back to normal. It was nice to feel muscle soreness after the race. I know that it was a good workout. Sometimes, I wonder if I push myself enough, because I don't feel a thing.

Most people are scared if they feel pain. A little pain is no big deal

I ran a tempo run today and felt good. Sunday and Monday, I taught spin classes. I'll teach another one later. Later this week, I'll get the bike on the trainer and log miles that way as well. Wednesday, I'll get in the pool and swim at least a mile.

I think I'll on my way to get a pr. Does anyone want to train?

Race Update

Well, it's over. Saturday came and went. As most of you know, it has been raining here for a whole week. It even rained the night before the race early into the morning hours. We were lucky that the rain was over, but the trails were covered in mud.

And mud it was. Within the first mile, I took a fall into the thick mud. Now covered in mud on my hands, legs, and the entire right side of my body, I continued on. I was thankful that I didn't break any bones. Last race in NY on the trails, I broke my wrist. Lucky for me, that didn't happen.

I made friends with Warren, who told me he'd get me thru the race without getting lost. He knew the trail really well. I was happy. We started off on a good clip, but soon he slowed up and we ran into Jenna, who was hoping to cover 25k for the first time. Now running 3, we continued on to the turn around. I was thankful when we got there. There were many points where you crossed train tracks and roads to continue on the trail. I knew I would have gotten lost.

Encouraged that the race would be over soon, I picked up the pace and lead the way. Unfortunately Warren couldn't keep up, but Jenna could. We pushed the pace and caught up to this guy who lost his shoe in the mud. By now, the mud on my body was crusty.

Seeing that we finally made it out of the woods, I turned it up again and found myself sprinting across the finish line where I found beer, water, and soda. I grabbed both a beer and a water. Not know which to try first, I went for the beer and used the water as a chaser.

After relaxing for a while, I saw a sign which read, "take your muddy running shoes and bib number to the super runners shop and get 40 % off." That sounded like a great idea. I didn't have a change of shoe with me and knew I'd get my car dirty but Lee and I had plans to go to a classical concert and I wouldn't dare walking into his apartment like that.

Leaving Long Island, I called Lee and get the address for the running store. Happy me, found a trail shoe in my size.

Train Smart.

Long Island Race

Saturday is race day and I'm looking forward to it. I feel that I'm in a better place than I was in March. This is going to be a challenging trail race and after what happened in March , I should be scared but I'm not.

I was told that this trail is well marked and if you go 100 feet without seeing the color to turn around and retrace your steps. I hope that I won't get lost. There are 2 races going on that day. A 25k and a 50k.

I've opted for the 25k. This starts 1 hour later. I entered not because of that but because of the course. The 25k is just and out and back. If you do the 50k, you have to do that twice. What? And know what is store for you? Not me.

All this trail running will get me prepared for my next challenge next year where I hope to do 100k or 100 miles and those races are only on trails. Trails are so challenging not just about getting lost, but due to the change of terrain. Hopefully this Saturday won't be soo bad and I'll be able to have fun.

Happy trails.

Another Run With Doreen

This AM I called Doreen because she told me that she was taking the day off. With mist and light rain in the air, we both made it out and went for a quick jaunt. There was a lot of traffic and really wasn't safe to be running side by side, but somehow we managed.

She was happy that her mom was coming home from the hospital where she underwent surgery for a blockage in her stomach. This was the second surgery and hopefully the last. I wish her mom the best.

I was lucky that I had the opportunity to run with Doreen twice this week. I know that I usually run at the lake but it seemed to me that she really wanted to run with me. I hope that she changes her mind and will run at the lake again.

As always, we talked and enjoyed each others company. I was happy to get a few miles in before my race.

MY Old Running Partner Doreen

I've been thankful that I've run with my old running partner, Doreen. As many of you know, Doreen moved and no longer runs at the Lake with me so I've spent endless hours running alone. However, her birthday was last week and I asked her what she wanted. She said, "I'd love to run in the neighborhood with you." I granted that wish on Saturday.

It was overcast and looked like it would rain any second, but we headed out around 6 or so. We talked and the time seemed to be going by fast. I'm missed her stories and really enjoyed myself. Of course, I had to go to the bathroom. She told me that there was a Mc. Donalds up the road.

When we entered the Mc. D, a guy said he saw us up the road and didn't believe that we were still running. We always got that. We finished up there and continued on the road.

I'm not sure how many miles we went, but I knew how much I missed her company. I hope to do it again sometime soon.