2002 Training Log

Sunday, September 15, 2002
Thank you: Scott and Roger

Two weeks til the tri. Time to taper. This week was kinda tough. I was really tired from beginning of the semester stress and all, and I just kept thinking, one more week to push. Well that was too much so I rested a day and the rest was better. Today I ran eight miles. It was raining pretty hard when I started, but it stopped after after a couple miles. So it was a great run because the rain cleared the crowds out of the park. Besides runninng in the rain is nice. Like hiking in the rain at camp. Only problem is the f***in' blisters I keep getting on my feet.

Wednesday, August 28, 2002

At swim practice tonight (our last at the BIG pool -- next week we move to a more "cozy" pool) my coach said my stroke is "fantastic." That was very cool! I may not be fast, but at apparently I am at least efficient.

Tuesday, August 27, 2002

Tonight I noticed that I pass people when I am running! Whoo hoo! I ran the main 4 mile loop of the 7.4 mile workout in under 10 minute miles. Just barely, and I realize that for some people that isn't impressive, but I was psyched.

Did you know that training is bad for the skin? I've been breaking out for a while, and I went to a dermatologist to try to improve the situation for Pia and Steve's wedding -- didn't want to look icky in their wedding pictures. She said to me, "You are working out in this heat!!?? Of course you are breaking out." Apparently I am breaking out in sweat gland areas -- neck/jawline and shoulders mainly, and a little on my forehead, back and chest. More information than you needed. Hopefully the combination of medication she gave me and the fact that it should be cooling off soon (I hope!) will improve the situation.

On the plus side my muscles look cool.

Monday, August 26, 2002
Thank you: Anthony and Mike & Diana

Went for a bike ride today. Felt good, though I felt a little slow after a weekend of decadence celebrating Pia and Steve's wedding. Congratulations, Mike, for completing Ironman Canada last night!!! I'm so proud of you! *hug*

Mike and Rain finishing Ironman Canada 8/25/2002 (more pictures)

Saturday, August 17, 2002
Thank you: Anonymous (2), Belinda, Chris W., Christine, Jon, Lisa, Loring, Mark, Mary Jo & John, Mike S., Mike W., Nabeel, Nancy and Rocco

I'm a little behind in my training log. Ok, I'm a month behind in my training log... bad andrea. But I am NOT a month behind in my training. Tomorrow is the New York City Triathlon. About 2/3 of my team is doing that tri instead of disney, yet we have been training with them all season. So if I wanted to, I feel I could complete the tri tomorrow, but I have another 6 weeks to get even stronger for my tri!

Training is going very well. It's fun to think 3 miles is a short run, and anything less than a mile is a short swim. And I do not feel like a complete clutz on my bike anymore. I'm looking forward to the smaller group workouts, though I will miss some of the NY tri participants.

The other exciting thing is that I am not far from doubling my original fundraising goal!

Apologies to my fans who actually read my log. I hope you didn't give up on me.

Monday, July 15, 2002
Thank you: Dan G.

Rest day!

Sunday, July 14, 2002

Went for a 5 mile run in Central Park -- the upper 5 miles with all the hills. It's also less crowded in the upper part of Central Park. It was a pretty good run. I came home and fell asleep after.

Saturday, July 13, 2002
Thank you: Aunt Mary & Uncle Tony

Group bike ride at the crack of dawn this morning. I'm not great at these early morning workouts. Plus I need a different bike seat and I was still a little sore from riding on Thursday. I am also really sick of riding in Central Park. (have I mentioned that already?) But I'm making it sound a lot worse than it was. I still had fun.

Friday, July 12, 2002
Thank you: Lis and Elena

Went for a swim in the TC pool. The Columbia pool has opened again, so I guess a lot of people have gone to swim there, because I was significantly faster than the two other people using the fast lane, and I'm not a very fast swimmer. The Columbia pool is bigger, so I should probably go use it, but I don't want to spend another $27 to use the pool.

Thursday, July 11, 2002
Thank you: Dan and Greg

Took my bike to the park. I felt good about the ride, but the park is so annoying and too crowded. Rollerbladers are the worst! And you can only do the same 6 mile loop so many times.

Wednesday, July 10, 2002

Group swim workout. The people doing the NYC tri had to do a qualifying swim for their qualifying swim for the tri (don't ask) and since I don't have to do the swim I decided to swim in the one lane reserved for other people since it was pretty empty at the beginning of the workout. I was just going to time myself. I guess there were a lot of people late because by the end the lane was crazy crowded with people. It was useful, though, because I got some critique on my swim stroke.

Tuesday, July 9, 2002
Thank you: Carolyn, Hal, Evelyn, Barbara, Huong, Todd, Gun, Lenny, Dr. Rothenberg and Dana

Back in New York. It's hot and humid and it rained in the middle of the workout tonight. I want to go back to CA!

For my fans who have complained about the lack of times in the log, I will make an exception today and post my times. After about a 7 minute warmup, we ran 3 1.7 mile loops around the reservoir. My times were 15:15, 17:11 (this was intervals), and 14:47. Not bad for sleeping on a plane last night. I ran with Tania today. I really like running with her, but she's a musician and travels a lot so isn't at all the workouts.

Thursday, June 27 - Monday, July 8, 2002

Went to CA to visit some friends. Before I left I did a mini bike-run workout in the park. It was so humid, I wanted to vomit while I was running, so I cut it short. While in CA I did some running and swimming, and lots of walking when I went down to LA to go to Universal Studios, Disneyland and Venice Beach.

Wednesday, June 26, 2002
Thank you: Angelo D. Tartaro, PC, Linda & Fredrick and Michelle

Argh! Went all the way up to the pool and the workout was cancelled because of the thunderstorms. I wanted to swim....

Tuesday, June 25, 2002

Interval run group workout tonight with a timed mile at the beginning. I was pretty happy with my time. Tough workout, but it felt good to be working hard. I thought the intervals would be a pain, but it does give you something to focus on. Usually I prefer to just run.

Monday, June 24, 2002
Thank you: Julie

Happy Birthday to me. Rest day. Definitely need it!

Sunday, June 23, 2002

Today was a "shake out" run. I didn't run much. It was very hot and humid and I was tired! In fact, I slept most of the day. But the little bit of running did loosen up my muscles some.

Saturday, June 22, 2002
Thank you: Nanny Doris, Aunt Cyndie & Chuck and Doug & Ellen

Today was the big bike ride to NJ. I was a bit worried about this, I've never biked more than about 12 miles. I pretty much tripled that today. But it was great fun. We biked over the George Washington Bridge and then north on 9W in NJ to the NY state line. I biked mostly with Jennifer who kept me moving at a good pace. Then we had a huge pancake breakfast when we got back. yum! I got home and crashed into a deep sleep.

ps- I passed my fundraising goal today. yay!

Friday, June 21, 2002
Thank you: Mom & Dad, Chris, John/Cummings & Lockwood, Maria, Dave and Amy & Stephen

Went for a swim in the TC pool. Not my favorite pool that I've ever swam in, but then again I prefer lakes to chlorine. I hear the Columbia pool is nicer. It opens next week.

Thursday, June 20, 2002
Thank you: Rennie and Anne Marie

I ran 5 miles today. It took a loooong time, but overall it was a pretty good run.

Wednesday, June 19, 2002
Thank you: Adam, Ralph & Pat and the Sosnoffs

The swim workout tonight was fun. We had the whole pool -- 50 meter laps. They felt like they went on forever, but I really like it. You can just keep on swimmin'.

Tuesday, June 18, 2002

Today's workout was really frustrating. I know that it is because I am coming back from being sick, but it is non-the-less ... frustrating. Before getting sick I was into the routine, feeling good about it. It's like taking a step backwards.

Monday, June 17, 2002
Thank you: Christopher, Inge, Aunt Lorraine & Uncle Whit, Nanny Lina & Grandpa Bart, Steph and Anonymous

I decided to take two more days off for good measure. But all the donations I received today were pretty exciting! I have awesome sponsors!!

Saturday, June 15, 2002
Thank you: Sally, Claire & Edwin, Amy and Anonymous

My bike was quite happy to go out for a spin today. I think I got through the workout without losing my voice again. I'm going to pass on the swim this afternoon and keep getting healthy.

We had a bike run workout this morning. I did about 12 miles of biking followed immediately by about 1.5-2 miles of running. Legs feel very strange after biking. It went ok. I just felt very slow running -- biking is faster, even for a slow biker like myself. But the run was short, so it was fairly quick. I did the ride with a girl named Chelsea. It's definitely more fun to do the workouts with someone to talk to.

Friday, June 14, 2002
Thank you: Ron, Allan & Donna and Anonymous

Well, my fundraising letters have gone out so if people have actually been checking this log, they probably think I've been neglecting either my log or my training. Well, after my workout on Tuesday I lost my voice. Apparently running was not a good idea. It is beginning to come back today, so hopefully I will be healthy enough for the bike run workout tomorrow morning.

The excitment of the day is that I got my first 3 donations! Yay! Go to the fundraising page to view my progress towards my goal of $4000.

Tuesday, June 11, 2002

Ugh! I hate being sick! I haven't been able to workout for days! I went to the run tonight. It was very hot and humid. Between that and me being sick I did not do so well :( And now I seem to have no voice! ouch!

Friday, June 7, 2002

I went for a swim today. Apparently not a good idea because when I got back I felt achy. Ugh! I was just sick two weeks ago...

Thursday, June 6, 2002

The excitment of the day is that I ran two miles, after biking 6, both in less than 10 minutes. This is big for me. My typical pace is 11 minute miles. Well, it was painful, but I did it. yay!

Wednesday, June 5, 2002

There's a pile of dishes a mile high in my sink. I am constantly hungry. I was forced to do laundry because not only had I run out of regular clothes, but I also ran out of workout clothes. And my rugs DESPERATELY need to be vacuumed. I hear these are signs of a triathlete-in-training.

We had a group swim workout tonight. I feel pretty good at the swims. We had a 20 minute time trial -- well, actually it was only 19 minutes for me. I would have liked to have been a little faster, but it wasn't bad. I swam with Dale and Nancy, both cool people.

Tuesday, June 4, 2002

The park was a mad scene today with lots of people doing some race, the JP Morgan Corporate challenge or something. But I made it to the workout just in time. It was a good run. I did the "advanced" workout with Robin, who is slightly faster pace than me. But I still felt good. Robin started TNT in CA. It's fun to talk to someone familiar with SF and the bay area.

Monday, June 3, 2002

Took the new bike out for a spin today. It is so wonderful. I had a fun ride, and there were definitely fewer people in the park than yesterday! I even got brave and used the clipless side of my hybrid pedals.

Sunday, June 2, 2002

Rest day! Besides needing some rest, the bike ride we were supposed to do today will be much more pleasant tomorrow when the park isn't swarming with people.

Saturday, June 1, 2002

Ouch! I have blistery feet. Our group workout this morning was a run, mostly trails in Central Park. We did about 4 miles. Running is good because it gives the opportunity to talk to people, so I finally know a couple people on the tri team. Then I came home and, of course, fell asleep. But we had a bonus swim workout this afternoon. Since the pool for this workout is on the east side, I brought my bike back to have them put on the computer that I forgot to bring with me yesterday. So I did my own mini tri today. Minimal biking, and it wasn't all sequential, but I did do all three sports, technically.

I have begun to get really hungry....

Friday, May 31, 2002

Swim day! Well, it turns out that the pool in the Columbia gym is closed until June 24 so I have to pay $30 to use the TC pool along with $27 to use the Columbia gym. Still better than most fitness centers, but twice as much as I would need to pay if the Columbia pool was open.

The swim went ok. I think I figured out at least part of the technique Scott was talking about. We have an extra swim practice tomorrow afternoon, so hopefully I'll get a chance to clarify with him.

But what's more exciting is that I got my beautiful new bike. It is soooo beautiful. I am beyond exited. I highly recommend Larry & Jeff's Bicycles. Damien did a good job getting me fitted on the bike and getting me all those little extras I needed. Did I mention that my bike is beautiful?

Thursday, May 30, 2002

Tonight we were supposed to do our first brick workout (solo). For those non-triathletes out there BRick: when you Run after Biking, your legs feel like... The recommendation was to go to the gym where you can transition directly from biking to running. Well, I went to the gym, and was told I couldn't pay and had to come back when the ticket office was open (I haven't used the Columbia gym yet). To make a long story short, I biked. I did a full loop of Central Park, and then another loop cutting off at 103rd. That's probably about 10 miles. With all the delays I had getting out there, it was quite dusk-y by the time I was done, but still plenty of people working out. There were HUGE swarms of bugs that came out. I mean clouds of them hovering over the grass.

I felt very slow and weak, especially on the upper-hill of central park, the name of which escapes me right now, with all the guys with biker-legs wizzing by.

Wednesday, May 29, 2002

Well, I'm not totally hopeless, I guess... I did a little running and walking around Central Park trying to figure out where everything is. The place eludes me. Up until now (since moving to NY) I've been pretty good at figuring out how to get places.

Tonight was my first group swim practice. My triceps hurt. I'm a bit confused about some of the technique he is teaching us.

Tuesday, May 28, 2002

I can be really stupid sometimes. Don't ask, let's just leave it at that.

The good news is that my bike is available and should arrive at the bike shop between Friday and Tuesday.

Monday, May 27, 2002

Well, I wanted to go swimming today which would have been really easy since I went to my parent's for dinner. I could have used the condo pool. But I am still sick and my ears hurt. Swimming with a cold didn't sound like a pleasant experience. So instead I went bike shopping with my Dad, which was A LOT of fun. I chose a Bianchi Vigorelli. Here's a picture of it:

Damien, the guy at the bike shop, has to confirm it is available in my size and that color, etc, and then he'll let me know when I get my new bike! Damien was very helpful. And I think he tried to pick me up. I went in after we left to ask one more question, my dad was waiting outside. When I said I had a question he said something like, "Am I free tonight? Sure, what would you like to do?" I was thrown off by that. hee hee.

Anyway, I was very pleased with the bike store. In addition to the Bianchi, I test rode a Cannondale. They didn't have it in my size, though, so it was really hard to ride. Plus riding on the New York City streets is a bit scary, especially since I am not used to road bikes and my balance was off a lot.

Sunday, May 26, 2002

Rest day. Definitely needed it after the ride yesterday, and I also did a hard run on Friday. And I have a cold :(

Saturday, May 25, 2002

Lesson 1: Getting lost in Central Park, while relatively safe at 7:15 on Saturday morning, is none-the-less no fun! Note: The 72nd Street transverse is to the LEFT when entering the park on 72nd St. So it took me a little while but I finally found a huge group of people with bikes just starting to head off. A nice mentor named Russ caught me up on what I missed, gave me a brief Central Park geography lesson and then rode the warmup lap with me. On the ride we met up with his girlfriend, Lauren (?). They were quite cute on their beautiful matching red Kestrels. After the warmup lap, we talked about turns and hills and did some hill repeats. I finished with the 6 mile loop. My quads hurt already. All-in-all, the training was better than the nightmare I had last night in which everyone was mean to me.

Cannondale road bikes seemed to be popular among the women. Maybe I should check those out...

Saturday, May 11, 2002
Team in Training Kickoff!

The training log will begin with my first group workout on Saturday, May 25. Although I will be missing the first week of group workouts while I'm vacationing in CA, I'll be getting plenty of exercise including Bay to Breakers (12k run/walk) and some hiking.