Hurricane Sandy - Frankenstorm

I finally had some time to write a post on what's been going on...when Hurricane Sandy (or as some of us called Frankenstorm) hit and decided I would instead wait and post after the aftermath has cleared.  It was ironic that the last post I did was on the Atlantic City Triathlon where I talked about the best part of my day was running along the Atlantic City Boardwalk where most of my childhood memories were.  In fact, those memories coupled with all of my summers spent along the Jersey Shore.  Just for reference, this is the picture I posted on my last post from the race...

This is post-Sandy.

A Godsend was that Mike's parents house did not lose power.  His dad is hooked up to a fair amount of machines and extremely fortunate that they didn't need to go to the back up generator.  My parents are okay, they live by one of the bridges in Philly and extremely close to the Delaware River, but they said they heard both of the sub pumps kicking in during the storm.  We were also very fortunate and did not lose power and had no issues.  However, friends 5 and 10 min away did and are still without power.  I opened the house for coffee, charging and showers but I still feel a little guilty that I was so lucky. 

New York downtown was bad, some friends stayed uptown but I am sure it will take a while for the subways to get back in action.  It is horrible to hear about all of the homes and businesses.  

I remember when Katrina hit and my brother was in New Orleans, he, thank God, was smart and evacuated but I remember how much was lost among him and his friends and the sadness.  It becomes a different experience when it's even closer to your home.  I know this isn't the same size of a storm but the Hurricane Sandy coupled with the high tide made this a perfect storm.  It will take a lot to rebuild and get things going in a large city like NY and the East Coast beaches.  My thoughts and prayers to those who experienced the worst.

I went for a short run yesterday (given I have two running races this week and next) and posted that people need to be smart being on the road after a hurricane.

1. Keep your eyes on the road ahead, there are tree branches and small twigs that can cause a twisted ankle.
2. Look around you as well as there are things coming from the side, you may be better off on a trail..
3. Pick up your feet, don't shuffle along, you don't want a broken ankle.
4. Pay Attention, if you don't feel comfortable go to the gym

They say is still unsafe with all the trees being so weak from all the wind we had. So to all my friends...

•  Be safe
• Help out a friend
• Pray that we can get this rebuilt

Perfect Ending to the Tri-Season - AC International Distance Race Report

After doing my last week negatively sad post (I will try to keep those posts to a minimum), I am happy to report two things:

• I turned 37 and survived
• Had a pretty sweet race
• I got a haircut

I went into this race feeling "blah" about everything, but the pity party was over and decided I was going to CELEBRATE all my training and hard work for the year.  In typical taper fashion, I got slammed with work which ironically helped me to feel super fresh on Sat...Friday night, we met at my parents (got a cute purse from my mommy) and we drove to Atlantic City to stay at my sister-in-laws where Christine gave me my bday present that I could wear for the race...

That made me smile and feel ready then ever to race.  My parents and sister were our support team and they did a great job showing up at random places on the course.

Cutest parents wearing their NJ Metal sweatshirts - REPRESENTING

Bright and Early at 5:30am

Christine and I got to Bader Field at 5:30am (I credit Yasi with encouraging me to be early for races) and picked up our race packets and went to transition.  The race was starting 15 minutes late because many people were caught in traffic...I have NEVER seen a race do this and it just showed how accomodating this company was.  They really did a nice job.  Thank you DelMoSports!

Swim -  1 mile (36:36)

The swim course looked like it could be cold but in actuality it was awesome.  I wore my full-piece wetsuit, I wish I had a sleeveless as I always feel so constricted in my full piece.  Anyway, I think the swim out to the start was good because it forced me to warm up a little.  I stayed in the back-right to avoid the initial crazies, and there was a bit of a current (against) on the way up. When I got to the first left, I got a little confused, I thought it was making a rectangle and think I ended up getting off course, then back on then off again.  Finally on the way back we were able to ride the current and I sighted the rest of the orange and was able to stay on course the rest of the way.  Most of the Olympic distance swims have been 0.8 miles so my time was faster than previous for a longer course...PR!

T1 - 5:16 (REASON BELOW)

I saw Christine in transition - she was doing the sprint and also did a little PR in the swim.  This was a ridiculously long transition - I was quick, HOWEVER, the Garmin registered a 1/2 mile transition....we had to run with our bikes out of transition and across Bader Field up to Rt. 322 where we were then allowed to mount the bike...NEXT time, I will not run in my bike shoes, and run barefoot so I can go a little faster.  I only know I was pretty speedy in the transition area because NINJA Christine had a similar time...haha

Bike - 20 miles (1:03  -19mph)
There was a lovely head side wind on the way up - it was a 1/2 loop course so I would guess about 60% of it you were going into the wind.  I just kept my head down and tried to keep steady, especially when a semi is flying by you on the AC Expressway and almost knocks you down.  The only "hills" were a couple over passes.  My garmin stopped working on the last mile but from what I gather I was doing about 15-17 in the headwind and 20-23 on the tailwind...Overall, a nice little PR speed for an Olympic/International distance.  I know I started easing up the last 5 miles, I think I got a little bored of no one being around me and the flatness....I need to get my head in the game as I think it cost me a little in speed.

T2 - 4:45 (Same as above)
I saw my dad coming off the bike and then right before my run, this put a little kick in my step and he said mom and Theresa were up on the boardwalk waiting for me to run by!

Run - 10k (54:20 8:46/mile)
This was a PR on any 10k whether that is a solo run or part of a tri, so I am quite happy with this and I think it really shows how far I am coming in getting back to the 8 min mile (goal for next year).  I saw Christine on her way in which gave me a little motivation.  I felt really good, the weather was awesome.  The only real complaint I have on the race was being stopped for traffic on the way to the boardwalk....as you watch people go ahead of you....whatever, what is done is done. I got up to the boards and felt real good, I wish I had my Garmin to push me but instead I worked on passing one person at a time.  I saw my sister at Bally's and she said mom was at the Borgata.  A girl I passed on the bike earlier, was running by me so I figured I should try to stick with her.  I could tell my heartrate was getting a little higher, I would guess (since I am a stalker, the girl did 8 min miles) that we were going about 8min pace, after a mile I decided I wanted to have enough gas for the end.  I saw my mom and gave her a high five and went on...I can't tell you how much emotion I feel when I run here, there was so many memories of my childhood with my family and grandparents.  My grandfather worked at Resorts and as I passed it I remembered walking with my grandmom as a 7 year old from the Golden Nugget to Resorts to see him and then catching a tram home.  I remembered watching these casinos being built and torn down, Trump building the most elaborate looking ridiculous casino...good times....as I remembered all of this I just put one foot in front of the other, I felt really good and steady.  When I got to mile 5, I felt good enough to speed it up, although I had to stop 2 more times for traffic...I am pretty sure it only took about a total of 30 seconds of all the stopping so I don't think it would have made a huge difference.

Total Time - 2:43:46

Our number 1 fan - Theresa!

After all this, we went to breakfast for my birthday, showered and got back on the road.  Mike was taking care of his dad, so he got home a little later and we celebrated with some cake and beers and a movie with a couple friends.  Sunday, I continued celebrating by spending the day on full birthday mode: reading, wine, sun, and then dinner with Mike.

My presents from Mike came and were wonderful.....

Shoes and watch can't get much better.

I had more gluttony in store this past weekend with a Brewtal beer meeting, a birthday dinner with friends on Sat, and then on Sunday for the grand finale of bday week with field hockey, book club and dinner with my family!  Here's to making the birthday last a full month!

AND just to be sure I am vacation ready, I started my week of detox before I leave 10/2 - which means coming up with some fantastic recipes that are detox-friendly - I think I may be the only one that gets excited for a detox...and detoxes BEFORE "toxing" on vacation.  See this post for my detox (I sometimes add in greek yogurt and eggs since this is not a full vegan detox although I had done it full vegan in the past for detox), obviously everyone is different and here for some relevant recipe lists...also I follow the various nutrition posts on my right hand column - Edible Perspective, Daily Garnish, Gluten-Free Goddess for some great recipes :)

9 years later, finally a PR....

9 years ago in 2003 (in case you had trouble with math), I was 27 years old and decided to do my first half-marathon after taking a fairly long sabbatical to running from high school track...(I am not counting playing field hockey in college).  I ran a 2:02:21 at the Ceaser Rodney Half Marathon in Delaware.  I ran one more that year and did a 2:03:05 at the formerly called Philadelphia Distance Run and then I took yet another sabbatical of running any longer than a 5k and went back to kick-boxing and weights and other activities.

When I took up triathlons in 2008, I became addicted to the bike and improving in the swim.  Let's face it, I was hit with one issue after another with my legs and feet that I was faced with the feeling that I was doomed to be a 10min/mile runner in anything over 10 miles.  I did a couple half-marathons and 10 mile Broad Street runs and it was constant....

2009 Philadelphia Half-marathon - 2:12:42
2011 NOLA Half-marathon - 2:11:17

I dropped out of a 1/2 in 2010 but my debut in 1/2 Ironman that year proved another cursed 10 minute miler...it was getting to the point where I only signed up for these things in the hopes of not doing it, because I was tired of not doing anything any better than seeing the 10:xx flash before  me.  This year, you heard (or read) me talk about how I changed my foot strike and have been working on my gait.  This change has led me to (knock on wood) NO calf cramps which was the demise of any of my half-marathons around mile 9 or 10 during the running races or during a half-ironman.

My last report was the DC 1/2 marathon which I had a small PR (since 2009) and did a 2:10 (yes, another 10min/mile - however the Garmin SAID 9:50).  I had a couple small issues, but I also had a "not-so secret goal" for Atlantic City.  This was an area where I not only spent most of my childhood days at the Jersey Shore walking the boardwalk, but also a recent family shore house (sister-in-law).  I am used to running the course the opposite direction at least 3-4 times a year during the summer while training on vacation.  Oh yeah, and it is flat....

My only negative thought on PR'ing was that A, I was 2 weeks after the last half and I never went on a recovery week, I was still in my Build phase for the 1/2 ironman plan which meant getting in about 15 hours before Sunday.  However, I have been feeling extremely healthy and recovering remarkably well after hard workouts. 

It helps when you have plenty of good food...

good beer and friends....

and making beer...(this is another post for another time)

Our cherry bourbon stout we are kegging....

The day before was a 3.5 hr trainer ride while "stalking" my favorite peeps in Oceanside which watching some flicks...

We left later that night to pick up the packs and stay over at my ever so generous sister-in-law's awesome home so we could sleep in....Best part of race day morning?  The fact that we could use casino bathrooms instead of port-a-potties...not so good for the casino goers with 1000 runners vying for the toilets and well you know how it rolls race morning...

Our biggest supporter, my sister!

Myself, Christine and Nicole with the beach in the back...

The race started and looked at my Garmin 8:47, we know what happens when I start out like this so I kept a 9:20 -9:30 pace depending on water stops.  As I waited for something bad to happen, I kept going, my heart rate was in check, I felt good, it was nice seeing the ocean and reminiscing in various areas.  At mile 8 I saw my Garmin say 1:33...which even if I did 10 min miles for the last 5 miles I would PR.  What this meant to me was if I got a cramp I can still pull this off....but I wanted to keep going and kept the same pace, no cramps, no elevated heart rate, nope just steady....and then I saw my mom on the side lines and my sister and dad and reeled it in.

Clock time 2:01:35 (9:22 min/mile)

I think this sums up the race!

FINALLY A PR from 9 years ago...at this point I feel better than I have in a while, and completely excited about the next 9 weeks of training for Mooseman!