It’s Memorial Day Weekend and I’m spending it on Martha’s Vineyard. We arrived on Friday to a sunny and warmer than anticipated Island with temperatures up to 80 degrees. I looked up what the water temperature is supposed to be – a mile off shore at the bottom of the ocean, it’s about 55 degrees. I investigated at what temperature my wetsuit is supposed to keep me warm, and I’m still in the zone if the water temperature is in the fifty-something degree range. So, with a forecast of part sun and clouds and 70 degrees on Saturday, I announce to my family that I’m planning an ocean swim.
Saturday comes and it appears the weather has changed, as often happens here. I monitor the weather as if I’m a meteorologist monitoring a space shuttle launch. There’s not much sun in sight, the wind is coming in off the south at 11 mph, and the temperature is still as planned. Sun is still as forecasted for tomorrow. I call off the open swim “launch” and opt for a bike and run. Of course the sun still breaks through but at that point my spectators /assistants have made other plans. I do 10 miles on my slower, hybrid bike without proper pedals in 39 minutes and a 2 mile run in 17.5 minutes – my fastest run time yet.
On Sunday, the weather is again cloudy and not as planned but I’m determined to go forth with my maiden voyage. My parents and husband are active participants in my exhibition, which will include a practice transition from swim to bike. We arrive at State Beach – also known as baby beach for its calm waters - and the sun appears out of nowhere. I see one brave soul in the water without a wetsuit so I figure I can survive the cold temperatures with the wetsuit. I’m getting more efficient at putting on my new neoprene fashion du jour but now I must contend with sand and it still takes me 15 minutes of tugging and situating– about the same amount of time it will take me to complete the ¼ mile swim.
Finally, I make my dash for the water. It’s cool but it’s totally awesome to swim in May and feel warm in my suit. I make my way out just far enough that I can swim but still stand up. I start my freestyle swim running parallel to shore, and I feel like I’m moving faster than normal. The added buoyancy of the salt water must be helping. But, I do find myself getting out of breath after about 100 yards. Perhaps it’s the excitement of seeing all of the shells and a very large, live crab. I don’t have to worry about too much swim traffic. I do pass one other fellow wetsuited triathlete who is going in the opposite direction. (I assume he is triathlete because he is freestyle swimming without leg kicking, something many triathletes do to save their legs for the bike and run).
I turn around after 8 minutes of swimming for the return trip. I do find I have trouble getting into the “zone”, and I can’t quite get my breathing right. At least I feel comfortable that the wetsuit will help me float so I won’t drown – I just may not be as fast as I could be if I have to take breaks in the race like I’m doing today.
Approaching my original starting location, I run out of the water and practice reaching around with my left hand to unlatch the velcro and with my right hand to unzip the suit as I approach my mock transition area. The sand proves to be a bit of a challenge, but I pull off the suit inside out and not as fast I need to, and then about fall over trying to pull on my Asics with their new Yankz laces. These Yankz laces were a free sample at the Columbia multi-sport event and are supposed to allow for easy slip on without lace tying. Hmmm….more practice is needed.
I quickly put on my helmet and hop on the bike. I’ve decided since it’s only a 10 mile ride that I will wear my sneakers and use pedals with toe clips (an invention dating back to the 1860s!), rather than changing into bike shoes and then running shoes, in order to shorten transition time. My tri-suit, a 2XU, proves to be great – I don’t feel drenched, the built in bra provides just enough support, and the shorts provide just enough padding for the bike ride but aren’t too bulky for running. I’ve decided I can manage the tri without socks or biking gloves – everything the simpler the better.
So, one week away and I’m mostly excited! I’m a little nervous about the swim but somehow I know I’ll conquer it – there just may be moments when I’ll have to reset and get my breathing back in order. I think the fastest I could expect to complete race is 1h10 min (13 minute swim + 1 minute transition + 37 minute bike + 1 minute transition + 18 minute run). We’ll see – I’ll be happy just to finish!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Cathy’s Gear: The Wetsuit
Barb and I spent the weekend together at her son Derrick’s last home baseball game of his college career in mid-May. This gave us an opportunity to get a swimming workout in together and to compare notes of our gear. We are sisters but very different people – as is reflected in our different gear choices! As she’s mentioned in one of her blogs, she went for a shorty. I’ve opted for a Blue Seventy Reaction fully body wetsuit.
In my early wetsuit shopping, I tried some sleeveless suits but I was afraid with my small frame that the arm gaps would let too much water in and weight me down. The Reaction suit has more flexible material in the arms to avoid my other concern of my arms getting tired. Most of the advice that various people gave me was to go for the full suit as a beginner for the buoyancy. In addition, I’m hoping this will just be the first of many triathlons to come and so some may be colder than the 70-75 degree water temperature predicted for my first race. I was concerned that I may get too hot in it, but I tried it in the indoor pool and I was fine.
It was tempting to go for an Xterra suit, which as far as I can tell, can only be purchased online. They advertise the fact that you get a better suit for a lower price because they’ve eliminated the middle man. Since I really had no clue how one should fit and how to get one on, I decided a retail option was the best bet.
I went to a few different stores in Connecticut and New York City. The Wilton Outdoor Sports Center surprisingly let me down. While they had some suits and are usually very knowledgeable, the sales clerks by their own admission “hadn’t been through their training yet” to give me much advice. The sales consultants (I’m purposely giving them much more credit than just being clerks) at both Jack Rabbit and Swim Bike Run (SBR) in New York City were terrific. They each helped me try on 2-3 suits which meant they spent a good full hour with me and pulled and tugged to help me get them on.
I went to Jack Rabbit first and thought perhaps I would go back and rent a suit for a weekend and then either return it or use the rental against the purchase. Then, I heard that SBR has an indoor tread mill pool that I could use to try out potential wetsuits. As long as I purchased the suit, there would be no rental fee for the pool.
The one thing I quickly learned is that my long fingernails are a hazard to the suit! The sales staff warned me to be careful (they will charge you if you damage a suit while trying it on). Some suits are more prone than others to getting nicked (I rejected those – who wants to worry about that during transition time!). I also covered my hands with make shift gloves, although this made getting the suit on all the much harder.
I had pretty much resigned myself to paying full price for a mid-level suit - $300 plus, realizing what mattered most was fit. I was pleasantly surprised when SBR had last year’s model of the Reaction suit, which was on sale so it came in under $300. I also threw in the swim socks to protect my delicate feet during the transition since I seem to have a hard time walking bare feet. I’ve since purchased an O’Neill neoprene bathing cap at swimoutlet.com (it’s nice when you wear extra small and find things in your size on clearance) for warmth during cold ocean swimming.
Swimming for a brief demo in the treadmill pool is one thing but swimming the distance is another matter. I’ve suited up on the pool for my last two swimming lessons. I’m happy for the large changing room with a mirror in the locker room so I can sequester myself for the ordeal of getting the suit on. The $14 I spent on the small bottle of spray on Tri glide seems to be worth it – at least I can get my suit in 20 minutes instead of 30! I do have to wonder though if Pam (I’ve read some swimmers just use that) would work just as well for a fraction of the price – but after spending the bucks on the wetsuit I don’t want to chance an unknown substance on the suit.
I of course get strange looks as I come walking out of the locker room head to toe in a wetsuit! I was hoping I would feel sleeker in the water and go faster. I am definitely more buoyant so my body position is different in the water. My suit is tight, as it’s supposed to be but it didn’t feels too tight. And, the flexible arms aren’t making my arms too tired. But…I’ve found myself getting out of breath. Since there are days in my normal swim suit I get in the zone and swim a ½ mile effortlessly and other days that I feel a bit off kilter, I can’t determine if the wetsuit is causing my angst.
Since I’m less than 2 weeks away from my first triathlon, I’ve decided a dry run in open water is in order. Fortunately, my vacation home on the island of Martha’s Vineyard has an abundance of open water. So, stay tuned for the trial run!
In my early wetsuit shopping, I tried some sleeveless suits but I was afraid with my small frame that the arm gaps would let too much water in and weight me down. The Reaction suit has more flexible material in the arms to avoid my other concern of my arms getting tired. Most of the advice that various people gave me was to go for the full suit as a beginner for the buoyancy. In addition, I’m hoping this will just be the first of many triathlons to come and so some may be colder than the 70-75 degree water temperature predicted for my first race. I was concerned that I may get too hot in it, but I tried it in the indoor pool and I was fine.
It was tempting to go for an Xterra suit, which as far as I can tell, can only be purchased online. They advertise the fact that you get a better suit for a lower price because they’ve eliminated the middle man. Since I really had no clue how one should fit and how to get one on, I decided a retail option was the best bet.
I went to a few different stores in Connecticut and New York City. The Wilton Outdoor Sports Center surprisingly let me down. While they had some suits and are usually very knowledgeable, the sales clerks by their own admission “hadn’t been through their training yet” to give me much advice. The sales consultants (I’m purposely giving them much more credit than just being clerks) at both Jack Rabbit and Swim Bike Run (SBR) in New York City were terrific. They each helped me try on 2-3 suits which meant they spent a good full hour with me and pulled and tugged to help me get them on.
I went to Jack Rabbit first and thought perhaps I would go back and rent a suit for a weekend and then either return it or use the rental against the purchase. Then, I heard that SBR has an indoor tread mill pool that I could use to try out potential wetsuits. As long as I purchased the suit, there would be no rental fee for the pool.
The one thing I quickly learned is that my long fingernails are a hazard to the suit! The sales staff warned me to be careful (they will charge you if you damage a suit while trying it on). Some suits are more prone than others to getting nicked (I rejected those – who wants to worry about that during transition time!). I also covered my hands with make shift gloves, although this made getting the suit on all the much harder.
I had pretty much resigned myself to paying full price for a mid-level suit - $300 plus, realizing what mattered most was fit. I was pleasantly surprised when SBR had last year’s model of the Reaction suit, which was on sale so it came in under $300. I also threw in the swim socks to protect my delicate feet during the transition since I seem to have a hard time walking bare feet. I’ve since purchased an O’Neill neoprene bathing cap at swimoutlet.com (it’s nice when you wear extra small and find things in your size on clearance) for warmth during cold ocean swimming.
Swimming for a brief demo in the treadmill pool is one thing but swimming the distance is another matter. I’ve suited up on the pool for my last two swimming lessons. I’m happy for the large changing room with a mirror in the locker room so I can sequester myself for the ordeal of getting the suit on. The $14 I spent on the small bottle of spray on Tri glide seems to be worth it – at least I can get my suit in 20 minutes instead of 30! I do have to wonder though if Pam (I’ve read some swimmers just use that) would work just as well for a fraction of the price – but after spending the bucks on the wetsuit I don’t want to chance an unknown substance on the suit.
I of course get strange looks as I come walking out of the locker room head to toe in a wetsuit! I was hoping I would feel sleeker in the water and go faster. I am definitely more buoyant so my body position is different in the water. My suit is tight, as it’s supposed to be but it didn’t feels too tight. And, the flexible arms aren’t making my arms too tired. But…I’ve found myself getting out of breath. Since there are days in my normal swim suit I get in the zone and swim a ½ mile effortlessly and other days that I feel a bit off kilter, I can’t determine if the wetsuit is causing my angst.
Since I’m less than 2 weeks away from my first triathlon, I’ve decided a dry run in open water is in order. Fortunately, my vacation home on the island of Martha’s Vineyard has an abundance of open water. So, stay tuned for the trial run!
Monday, May 23, 2011
Food for Fuel
I’m on the train, and I’ve just finished a small multi-grain roll, hopefully timing its consumption perfectly an hour before my swim. In training for a triathlon, I now have a whole new outlook on food. Calories are no longer “bad” – they are “fuel” that will help me perform. Carbs are now my friend, along with protein and even fats (the good ones). It’s no longer about just thinking about 3 meals, I must think about how to balance my food intake throughout the day and time my intake not too soon and not too distant from my workouts. I also have to think about when I eat certain foods.
I went to a multi-sport conference at Columbia University and found the dietician talks helpful. Triathlon workouts, they said, typically burn 500- 800 calories. Tonight I plan to swim and bike, which will burn about 500 calories. At the conference, there were many vendors selling their food products and the swag bag provided me with a handful of products to try.
I’ve learned some basics about nutrition, although when it comes down to specific choices, it still seems like food can be unnecessarily complicated. From what I’ve gathered so far:
• Eating small amounts of food every 2-3 hours would be optimal. Hmmm….this is a bit hard in a professional world. Not only procuring the food, but eating all the time in client meetings wouldn’t go over so well.
• You want carbs before your workout. But then there was the advice that you want carbs after your workout when your body can best absorb it. And, there was the other advice that you want protein after your workout to help repair the muscles.
• Gels / food bars / sport drinks are not so good after all…or are they? But xyz brand does say “all natural”… but abc brand has artificial flavors, colors, etc. And you need those electrolytes (sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, etc) to replenish everything you lose when you sweat and to keep your muscles going. Hmmm…the jury appears to still be out. I have found one product – HEED by Hammer that was in my swag bag - that does say it is all natural and is well accolade by many athletes. It’s a powder you mix with water to give you fuel for your workout and replace electrolytes. The first time I tried it was the first time I swam .25 miles non-stop so I became an instant fan!
• You should eat unprocessed foods. Yeah! – this is something easy to comprehend and that I agree with. Executing it can be a challenge but not impossible.
The other dilemma is what to eat on race day and during the race. The big piece of advice that I’ve read is to never try something new the day of the race. Training workouts are also about trying out what fuel works best for you. Since I’m doing a short sprint race that I should be able to complete in less than 90 minutes, I probably don’t need to fuel during the race. I think my plan will be to eat a carb dinner the night before, a bagel and banana the morning of, drink some HEED before the race, and have the HEED drink on my bicycle for the electrolyte replenishment if I can manage to drink and drive.
So, yes, it’s all a bit complicated. The cavemen seemed to have been much more active humanoids than we are and they figured it out in the days before Gatorade, Powerade, Cliff Bars, Power Bars and the numerous gels. And while we are focused on food we can consume quickly during transition times and on the go, they must have had the same concerns while hunting down a saber tooth tiger. I’m convinced the answer to our food dilemmas is written on a cave wall somewhere and that it’s all pretty simple. All I know is that I am always hungry burning all these calories and that food equals fuel.
I went to a multi-sport conference at Columbia University and found the dietician talks helpful. Triathlon workouts, they said, typically burn 500- 800 calories. Tonight I plan to swim and bike, which will burn about 500 calories. At the conference, there were many vendors selling their food products and the swag bag provided me with a handful of products to try.
I’ve learned some basics about nutrition, although when it comes down to specific choices, it still seems like food can be unnecessarily complicated. From what I’ve gathered so far:
• Eating small amounts of food every 2-3 hours would be optimal. Hmmm….this is a bit hard in a professional world. Not only procuring the food, but eating all the time in client meetings wouldn’t go over so well.
• You want carbs before your workout. But then there was the advice that you want carbs after your workout when your body can best absorb it. And, there was the other advice that you want protein after your workout to help repair the muscles.
• Gels / food bars / sport drinks are not so good after all…or are they? But xyz brand does say “all natural”… but abc brand has artificial flavors, colors, etc. And you need those electrolytes (sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, etc) to replenish everything you lose when you sweat and to keep your muscles going. Hmmm…the jury appears to still be out. I have found one product – HEED by Hammer that was in my swag bag - that does say it is all natural and is well accolade by many athletes. It’s a powder you mix with water to give you fuel for your workout and replace electrolytes. The first time I tried it was the first time I swam .25 miles non-stop so I became an instant fan!
• You should eat unprocessed foods. Yeah! – this is something easy to comprehend and that I agree with. Executing it can be a challenge but not impossible.
The other dilemma is what to eat on race day and during the race. The big piece of advice that I’ve read is to never try something new the day of the race. Training workouts are also about trying out what fuel works best for you. Since I’m doing a short sprint race that I should be able to complete in less than 90 minutes, I probably don’t need to fuel during the race. I think my plan will be to eat a carb dinner the night before, a bagel and banana the morning of, drink some HEED before the race, and have the HEED drink on my bicycle for the electrolyte replenishment if I can manage to drink and drive.
So, yes, it’s all a bit complicated. The cavemen seemed to have been much more active humanoids than we are and they figured it out in the days before Gatorade, Powerade, Cliff Bars, Power Bars and the numerous gels. And while we are focused on food we can consume quickly during transition times and on the go, they must have had the same concerns while hunting down a saber tooth tiger. I’m convinced the answer to our food dilemmas is written on a cave wall somewhere and that it’s all pretty simple. All I know is that I am always hungry burning all these calories and that food equals fuel.
Friday, May 20, 2011
2 Weeks To Go!
My favorite energy products lately are Clif Shot Roks for after workouts and Clif Shot Blocks for in between events. Cathy likes something called "Heed" an all natural electrolyte energy drink which I haven't seen in stores here.
Two weeks to go!!!!
Friday, May 13, 2011
A Great Day: The NYC 5 Boro Tour
I was lamenting that I haven't had a lot of time for blog writing the last few weeks. A Friday the 13th "gift" of 5 hours in the airport due to a cancelled flight has given me some time to write about a great bike ride a couple of weeks ago.
Every year for a long time, I've said "we've gotta do the 5 Boro Tour this year". One year we got as far as signing up but had to cancel at the last minute -- a combination of injury, rain, and work. Other years, by the time we thought about it, the Tour was sold out. This year, I marked the registration date on my calendar and made it the first thing I did that morning. Good thing I did - the Tour sold out all 32,000 spots in one day!
The 5 Boro Tour is a 42 mile car free bicycle route that starts in Manhattan, briefly crosses into the Bronx, heads down through Queens and Brooklyn and then traverses the very lengthy Verazzano Bridge to Staten Island, where the finish festival is. Participants can then take the Staten Island Ferry past the Statue of Liberty back to Lower Manhattan. It all started in 1977 with 250 participants as a high school project on bicycle safety. It is now the largest mass cycling event in the United States!
Since it has an early start, Mike and I decided to get a hotel in lower Manhattan the night before. Our hotel overlooked Ground Zero. Little did we know the site would become a gathering place the following night with the announcement of Bin Laden's death. After checking in, we headed to Little Italy to meet some friends also doing the Tour and to load up on some carbs.
We decided to get up early so we could claim a spot at the front of the Tour -- we had read that the front moves at 15mph while the rear at 6mph. A tip for next time --get up 1.5 hours later and just join the front of the Tour from a side street! After much waiting and moving blocks at a time, we finally got to the start line. The speeches and "entertainment" seemed to take forever, and then we were finally off.
We made our way up the Avenue of the Americas (6th Avenue) and past Rockefeller Center. Fortunately, we got past a parade before it crossed 6th Avenue (amazing how much NYC can organize, manage and accomplish in one day!). We were slightly delayed before being allowed to enter Central Park as the roads narrow and they needed to spread us out. I thought I would enjoy the Central Park route more, but it was a bit crowded and slow.
We continued up through Harlem and then crossed the Madison Avenue Bridge into the Bronx -- I guess just to say we set foot in our second borough, the Bronx, since we weren't there that long. We continued on and over the Third Avenue Bridge to get on the FDR Drive back in Manhattan -- the highway that goes down the East side of Manhattan that is usually congested with cars.
We crossed over the Queensboro Bridge into Queens. We stopped at the Astoria Park rest stop for some food since we hadn't eaten breakfast other than a couple of granola bars. Bananas were well supplied at this and each rest stop. From there, we made our way through the Greenpoint and Williamsburg neighborhoods in our fourth borough, Brooklyn.
Wow, pretty cool riding on the Brooklyn Queens Expressway (BQE) with all of the cars in the opposite direction honking their horns to cheer us on. But, who would expect a bike traffic jam! I guess this is NYC after all. Unfortunately, even we bicyclists were not immune to construction and narrowing lanes!
We stopped at one more rest stop before making our way over the very long Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, another highlight of the trip being able to traverse the car lanes via bicycle. At the end of the bridge, we entered our final borough, Staten Island, where the "finish line" and festival were located. While some people end there, we needed to make our way back to Manhattan so the route continues a few more miles to the Staten Island Ferry. We seemed to time it just wrong and our "15 minutes" advertised wait turned into 1 hour.
Despite some delays during the route, overall it was a great day. The weather was perfect and we joined people from many states and countries getting out for their first long ride of the season -- everyone was all smiles! Perhaps because there had been so much to see along the way or because of all of my triathlon training, it felt like my easiest 42 miles ever.
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