Tag: ironmanlakeplacid

Welcome to full scale geekdom

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It was Friday, and I awoke like a kid on Christmas morning – or like a triathlete about to receive her first CompuTrainer. You know, same thing… Having checked the UPS tracking information, I knew it “out for delivery,” which caused me to keep checking the front door to see if it had arrived. (Hmmm, obsess much?) Around 3 p.m., I heard a rustling on the front porch. It was Jolly Ol’ Saint UPS delivery driver. I walked to the door, and what to my wondering eyes did appear: the CompuTrainer. “It’s here! It’s here!” This exclamation was complimented by …

A return to the roads

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While I will run in almost any weather, I will not cycle in cold temperatures. It’s just too, well, cold! That means I have been cycling on my trainer 4 days a week since the beginning of November. Today, however, the thermometer read 45 degrees at 8:30 a.m. That is warm enough. I was excited and apprehensive to return to the road. Excited because I’ve been working my arse off on the trainer for over 3 months – hill simulation, interval rides, tempo rides, long rides, high cadence rides, rides I don’t even know what to call them rides. I …

I’m a desperate masochist

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The sounds of the Rocky theme filled the air. My phone was ringing. I took a quick glance at the number. Hmmm. I don’t recognize that one. Usually, when I don’t recognize a number, I let it go to voicemail. But, this time, for some reason, I hit the answer button. “Hello?” I asked, more than said. A cheery voice sang wonderful words to me: “Hi, Maria! This is Sherri from CompuTrainer.” CompuTrainer?! Did she say CompuTrainer? About two weeks ago, I had submitted an entry for a contest that CompuTrainer was running to find their 2011 “Desperate Athlete.” The …

Riding to nowhere: Making the most of the bike trainer

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After several weeks of the weather forcing us to ride our bike trainers instead of the road, I was less than enthusiastic to do my 2.5 hour bike ride last Saturday morning. Then, I had an idea: What’s my first important triathlon of the season? Rev3Tri’s Quassy in Middlebury, CT. We had heard the bike course was grueling. So I thought, Hmmm, I’ll create a trainer workout that simulates the Quassy course. Now, without a computrainer (the $1,700 price tag is prohibitive for us right now), this simulation is not an exact science. But, with a little bit of time …

Training begins anew: setting goals for the new year

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When I was a young girl, one of my favorite things about the beginning of a school year was a clean notebook, with its crisp white pages just waiting to be filled with notes of my learning experiences. Today, I still enjoy the promise of empty pages, waiting to be filled. Now, however, those clean pages are those of my training log for the 2011 season. It’s time to start filling them with experiences as this week marked the beginning of the 2011 training season. It’s not like I have being doing nothing. It’s just that I’ve been working out, …

All training and no playing makes me a cranky pants: Thoughts on the holidaze

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I love this time of year: Thanksgiving, my birthday, Christmas, each complete with gatherings of family and friends. Yet, all of this merry making, combined with  colder temperatures, dark mornings and evenings, and busy days, comes with a price with respect to training and health. I’m by no means an expert in overcoming these holiday hangups with training and nutrition. But, I have few key guidelines to keep in mind during the holiday offseason. All training and no playing makes me a cranky pants. We can’t train hard every day, all year long. Well, I guess we can if we …

The Best Year Ever

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Saturday, December 11th is my birthday. And, to celebrate, John and I are going to see Railroad Earth and the Hackensaw Boys at the World Cafe in Philadelphia. Naturally, I am excited. “This is a GREAT way to cap off the best year of my life so far!” “Wow…I didn’t realize finishing an ironman was that big for you.” John immediately hit on a key contributing factor as to why my 37th year has been the best one yet. Certainly, part of what made this year great was setting and achieving difficult goals, such as completing an ironman and running …

Making the best of the off-season

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 I’ve been involuntarily thrust into off-season due to the aggravation of my bicep femoris (one of my hamstrings) during the Vermont 50 several weeks ago.  My initial reaction to off season? It’s hell on earth. It’s a prison. It’s worse than being dipped in hot tar and feathered. Okay, maybe not the last one.  Suffice to say, I don’t enjoy this part of the annual training plan. But, that type of thinking is not very positive or productive. So, I’m turning this frown upside down, and I’m going to make the best of this early entré of off season.  It is my hope …

What will I learn today?

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About a year ago, I met with my University’s public relations guru, Barbara. (She is a media coverage rainmaker!) She had heard that I was training for my first Ironman, and that I would be raising money for a scholarship during the process. She wanted to help me promote the scholarship. We had lunch, during which she asked a series of questions about my athletic and academic history, about the training, about my motivation for raising money for the Iron Scholarship. At one point she asked, “Has this training helped you be a better teacher?” At the time, I said …

Ironman Lake Placid: Running to the Finish

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The run course begins along Main Street, among thousands of people, cheering, ringing cow bells, shouting words of encouragement, and drinking lots of beer, which I could smell on the breath of some of the spectators. That is how close they get to you on the run course. A group of spectators held up a sign that read, “Free Beer!” I wonder if anyone took them up on that. One woman commented to me, “You are looking strong! Have some beer!” I replied, laughing, “Not sure I’ll keep looking strong if I drink that!” During the first three miles, I …