Ironman Lake Placid - aka The Best Day Ever!

(Pre-race days here)

Race Day!

I slept pretty solidly from about 9:45 -1:30, and was wide awake and raring to go at 1:30, just as I expected might happen. I stayed in bed, reading and watching some TV on my iPad. I figured even if I wasn’t sleeping at least I was resting staying off my feet.  I read an article about the fire stating that there was a chance the swim would be cancelled due to the fire – like I said earlier, having watched the whole thing happen I was not about to get worked up about parts of the race I couldn’t control. They had put a boom in the lake to contain the debris and they would test the water quality at 5am. I decided that if we didn’t swim, that was ok and just meant I would need to do another Ironman. If the swim was a go, then I would look at it as we were fortunate to be swimming, and to be grateful! Finally at about 3 I couldn’t take it any longer and headed downstairs to make coffee and breakfast. I wasn’t super hungry but managed to choke down some coffee, a bagel and ½ of an avocado. (Side note: cutting that bagel was terrifying! It had gotten pretty stale overnight and I was sure I was going to slice my hand open trying to cut it! Luckily that didn’t happen :) The combo of coffee and nerves did its job pretty quickly and then I went upstairs to get ready for the day. Hair braided, SOAS kit on, HR monitor and fully charged 920xt, sunscreen and I was all set. I had been listening to the rain coming down steadily all morning but by 4:30 when we were getting ready to leave the house it seemed to finally be stopping.

Cid, Emily and I (along with some sherpas!) left the house around 4:30 and started the 1-mile walk to transition. It had stopped raining and we were pretty quiet on the way down to the oval. On the way we dropped out bags off at run/bike special needs, then headed to get body marked before going into transition. Once in transition I added all my bottles to my bike, set up the nutrition that went on the frame and double-checked every thing. I held Emily’s bike while she pumped her tires and greased her chain, then she did the same for me. A few pics and we were out of there! On our way out we ran into Kenny, our local 70.3 race director, who gave us the all clear – the swim was on!

I knew that I needed to spend some quiet time listening to music and ignoring the pre-race hubbub, so I found a spot to sit on the curb near the beach and put my headphones in. I was hoping some of the words to the song would stick well enough in my head to entertain me for the day!

I had asked my family to meet me near the tennis courts at 6, so a little before I headed there to meet up with them. I can’t say enough how awesome it was to have my whole family there. Mike and Sarah instantly started documenting everything I was doing, including trying to yank up the wetsuit and defogging my goggles with some baby shampoo. Before I knew it it was 6:15 and the race was starting at 6:30!

Swim - 1:08:19

Emily and I were pretty confident in our swim ability and wanted to start as close to the front as possible, so we took on last picture, hugged our families and quickly went to rinse out our goggles and get in line. As we were walking through the porta-potty area, I got a whiff and actually dry heaved a few times – I was terrified that I was actually going to throw up and figured that would be a terrible way to start my Ironman day! Luckily the feeling passed and Emily and I began to push our way to the front of the swim line. We wanted to start in the 1:00-1:10 group, but we got there later than most people and eventually got tired of pushing our way through the men. We ended up somewhere near the front of the 1:10-1:20 group. The new rolling start works great if everyone is honest...and that’s a big if. We had both swum a 1:06 in training and knew we were capable of that, if not faster, unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. Thinking back, I’m glad we didn’t stand at the start any earlier than we did, because standing with all those people waiting for the countdown was nerve racking!!

Finally, the national anthem played and after a short wait the cannon sounded! Emily and I had been standing arm in arm waiting for the start, with a quick hug we wished each other good luck and started to move forward. We actually ended up being stopped on our way into the water and made to wait about 30 seconds, allowing us a little bit of clear water to start since we were now at the front of our wave. If people had seeded themselves correctly this would have been awesome. We must have been being super cute with all of our hand holding because someone at the start definitely snapped our picture – if only we could find those shots! Anyways, our group was eventually allowed to start and we dove in and started swimming side-by-side, stroke for stroke. But by the first buoy, all hell broke loose (gross exaggeration alert!) as we came right up on to the people who had a 30 second head start on us. It got very crowded and a little physical as we started passing people left and right (these are all the dumb people who didn’t seed themselves correctly!). That’s where we lost each other, and I had to start focusing on myself and racing my race.

I tend to get very panicky in race swims, even though I’m a very strong swimmer. I have this pit in my stomach for the whole swim, that goes away as soon as I’m done! The rest of the swim was pretty uneventful, I tried to find open water and focused on counting my strokes and swimming long and strong. I was out of the water for the first loop in about 33 min. I took a second to readjust my cap and goggles (my caps always start to slide off, anyone know any good fixes? And my goggles were a little askew from a gentle heel to the face early in the swim).

 I dove back in to start the second loop. The two loops were pretty similar, passing people constantly and just looking for open water. On the second loop I was even able to spend some time right on the cable with no one around me – that was nice! It got super crowded after I rounded the last turn buoy, but I just kept swimming until my hands were in the sand and I couldn’t swim anymore. I was up and running and all my nerves just disappeared! I found a pair of wetsuit strippers and they were just amazing – I hadn’t even gotten in fully unzipped and they each helped me with a sleeve, one of them pulled it down over my waist, I sat down and they whipped it off – so easy! I threw it over my shoulder with a quick thanks and was on my way to transition.

So excited to see my bro (and be out of the water)!

T1 - 5:30

The transition at Lake Placid is a solid ¼ mile run from the beach, but it’s packed with people cheering and I had to try really hard to slow down. It was also very wet and the road was only lined with the skimpiest rug. Falling would have been super embarrassing! Into transition and through the bags (ran by my bag but it only took an extra second to realize), grabbed my swim-to-bike bag and into the women’s change tent. A volunteer near the exit put her arm up and yelled for me to come over. She dumped out my bag, and offered to help anyway she could. She was awesome! All my nutrition went into one pocket, inhaler into the other, shoes, helmet and sunglasses went on and I was out of there. As I ran towards my bike there was a woman with a megaphone calling out numbers so the volunteers could grab your bike off the rack. I shouted my number at her and heard her call it out, but when I got to my rack there were 3 volunteers standing there with no bike! Oh well. Luckily my bike is very visible, so I quickly grabbed it and started running towards Bike Out.

Bike - 6:27:10

The bike course starts with a couple of sharp turns and a downhill so steep that they put haybales at the bottom, so I got clipped in quickly and just focused on getting through this section safely. It was somewhere after the hill that I realized my Garmin said run, not bike, and realized I had somehow clicked it a few too many times. I stopped it, hit save (couldn’t lose the swim data!) and started a new multisport event, quickly toggling through the swim and T1. I wasn’t worried about the watch for time or pace, but I had specific HR ranges Kelly wanted me to be in. Once the watch was set I could see that I had some work to do to bring the HR down into the right zone, but the bike course is also steadily uphill for the first 5 or so miles.

Anyway, after I got out of town and was heading out to the Horse Show area, I realized I already needed to pee! Good sign that I was well hydrated that morning? So less than 2 miles into the bike I just let it go! As I was peeing I saw Abby and Annie running up from River Road – sorry guys, that’s why I had such a big smile on my face! Feeling much lighter and better, I tried to get settled in for the long haul. Having seen Emily’s transition bag on the rack near mine, I knew she was somewhere behind me, but figured she would be coming up and passing me any second! Every time someone in pink passed me, I was checking if it was her! I was really hoping for a riding buddy, and knowing she climbs faster than I do I was expecting her any second.

But back to my ride. I sucked down a gel to replenish what I had used up in the swim, and focused on drinking a lot (water with my nutrition and nuun between). Before I knew it I was at the top of the Keene descent and I was flying! Garmin shows my max speed here at 49mph! Luckily there weren’t too many people around me here and those that were I passed easily. The bottom is still pretty rough (rougher than I remembered from training camp, actually), and I sat up and feathered the breaks a little to stay in control. The goal for this ride was to survive to run a marathon, not break any records. I made the turn at the bottom of the descent and started trying to eat my Larabars. Thank G-d this section is pretty desolate and there were no photographers to witness my attempt at chewing – it was pretty ugly. Speaking of desolate, this is about where I thought to myself, “This is so boring! What am I going to do with myself for the next 4ish hours?” Well, I remembered Kelly’s advice to sing to myself, so that’s what I did. Basically repeating the chorus to any song that would pop into my head.

Thankfully I was flying through this section and pretty soon I was starting the out and back section to Ausable Forks. At this point I saw some of the lead men and they were only 12 miles in front of me. Too bad that number was just going to keep growing. I reached the turnaround at mile 30 and was averaging over 20mph. Unfortunately I knew that the next 26 were pretty much straight uphill, so I was glad to have some time in the bank.  I snuck a glance at my watch at the turn around and started looking for both Emily and Cid. Emily was about 3 minutes behind and Cid about 15. It was so fun and exciting to see them!

By then I had just about finished the out and back and made the right and turn which signals the start of the climbing! I rode with a guy named Frank who had a Shiv like mine, before sending him off ahead so we wouldn’t get a blocking penalty. At the top of the hill at the aid station I grabbed a bottle of water and then heard my name screamed super loud by John (the AD at the school where I coach) and his wife. Their cheers gave me such a huge boost – I think I heard them all the way up the next hill! Thanks to some solid advice from Tim I kept it in the little chain ring through the rolling hills towards town and tried to conserve some energy for the second loop. Before I knew it I was heading up the bears where the screaming crowds made me feel like I was on the Tour! I guess there hadn’t been too many girls through at that point because I got a lot of “go girl!” cheers. The ride back into town put a gigantic smile on my face. I saw lots of friends and the crowd just past special needs included my friends Erin and Maria and what sounded like a huge group their friends – they went nuts when I went through and I just could not stop smiling. Coolest feeling ever. I hadn’t had a flat and was doing great with nutrition so I didn’t stop at Special Needs, but looking back I wish I had one more Nuun tab. Oh well. I was off on my second loop with a grin that lasted for at least the next 15 miles.

Every picture of me on the bike is from the back....I guess they didn't expect me so soon!

The second loop was pretty uneventful. I kept an eye on my heart rate and keeping the averages right where Kelly said. It started to warm up and I was starting to wish I had stopped for sunscreen on my way out of T1. I peed again (3^rd or 4^th time!) on the descent and briefly worried I had peed on my gels (ew!). Luckily they were dry and I just focused on fighting the headwind on the way to Jay. I rode with one of Emily’s Migonis teammates for a short while on the out and back section, who said she was not far back and doing well. It was nice to get an update! I got a big boost and some cold water to dump on my head from John and Kareen when I passed their aid station, then turned my focus to making it to the next one, where I knew my whole family would be volunteering! I shouted to my sister on my way passed them at the start of the little out and back so they would know I was coming. Successfully made it to the turnaround, got a water bottle from my sister and made sure to smile for my family! At this point I also saw Emily, and told her to hurry up and come run with me. I kept thinking about how nice it would be if we could hang together on the run, and how cool it would be if we could actually finish together.

Sarah got a 1 mile warning I was coming to get this one :)

Papa bear was just as fun the second time around, and I started to spin out my legs to get ready for the marathon. I was shocked at how consistently great I had felt throughout the whole bike, even with the increasing winds on the back half of the course, but it was really starting to get hot. Riding through town was slightly less exciting the second time, but I was about to get off the bike so I didn’t care. I got my feet out of my shoes and successfully dismounted, where I was able to just hand my bike off to a volunteer. 

T2 - 3:01

I grabbed my run bag and headed back into the changing tent. Another awesome volunteer dumped out my run bag, put my socks on my feet, helped me into my sneakers and even buckled my race belt! I can’t say enough about how awesome the volunteers were – they never even flinched about touching my nasty feet! The one thing I was really looking forward to in my T2 bag was the little bottle of mouthwash. It was so nice and refreshing to feel clean after eating all that sugary stuff on the bike. I swished it around while I got covered with sunscreen, then realized there was no good place to spit it out! My brother was waiting right by run out and said he would have gotten a great pic, except that I leaned over and spit the mouthwash out right on the side of the road. Sorry, Mike!

Run - 4:40:36

The run is also two loops, and you get to go through town 4 times, which means awesome crowd support. I probably started out running a little too fast, especially on the downhill, and I would pay for that dearly later. My plan for nutrition was to eat a shot blok at every aid station (so about every mile). The first aid station is right at the bottom of the hill on the way out of town, so I popped a gel even though it seemed really early. It turns out I’d only been running for about 6 minutes, not even close to a mile. Oh well! I decided to just stick with the aid station plan and not worry about the miles. I was running pretty well, taking ice and water and each aid station, dumping the ice down my bra and taking it out to suck on it between aid stations. The crowds on the way out of town were awesome – they cheered for every runner by name and I even met some kids from Canisius.

The one thing I remember being really conscious of for the whole run was how hot it was. All week the weather had been calling for about a 60% chance of storms, though it kept changing as to when those storms were supposed to hit. I had really been trying not to let the weather bother me, because I knew I was racing regardless and had trained in all kinds of weather. But I really wanted some rain or at least some clouds on the run. In the end, it was not to be. The run started out mostly sunny and just got sunnier and sunnier as time went on. I remember having several conversations with runners around me about how it was supposed to be raining. Oh well. That’s upstate NY for you. I had run the course before but I definitely didn’t remember how out in the open and unshaded it was!

River Road was really mental and lonely, and I tried to focus on just following the plan. Finally made it out to the turnaround and found Emily at the aid station. Seeing her along the course always made me smile! Soon enough I was heading back into town and the crowd support was amazing. Just at the top of the hill were Kris and Kurt, and Kris asked me how I was feeling – I told her I felt great and she said to me “You’re going to be an Ironman today!” Cue the tears. Shortly after I saw Matt (Emily’s coach who was so awesome in taking me in as a “free agent” for training camp back in June) and he told me to remember to pump my arms. I tried, and immediately felt that effort in my stomach! I slowed back down and made my way to special needs. I gave a thumbs up to signal that I wanted my bag (awesome idea, btw) and a fantastic volunteer actually put my dry socks on my feet for me! I took the little tube of aquafor just in case and extra salt since it was so hot and I was off. It was somewhere around mile 12-13 on Mirror Lake drive when I started to notice some really low level nausea. I had heard that the coating on the salt capsules could be hard to digest and I was taking twice as many as normal to deal with the heat and the amount I was drinking. I made a decision to buck the “nothing new on race day” adage and switch to the Base Salts they were offering on the course because I figured I knew I could digest salt ok and thought getting rid of the capsule might help. Luckily I was right!

Heading out for loop 2.
The best part of friends and family all over LP? Not having to buy the FinisherPix!

So my stomach stopped bothering me, but by the time I got to the bottom of the hill leaving town my quads were on fire! The second loop was a lot more painful than the first. I was prepared to have to walk, I guess I just thought I might make it a little further than 14 miles before having to walk more than just the aid stations! However, I had said to Kelly before the race, that if I needed to walk, I was going to walk with purpose, and I did that. Even when I was in pain, I kept my head held high and walked as fast as I could! Somewhere out on River Road I started to walk, and a woman came up behind me and said “no way you’re walking, you made me run when you passed me earlier, let’s do this together!” Girl in the black kit – thank you! I wish I knew her name. We ran together and off and on for the next several miles and she definitely kept me going while my quads got tighter and tighter. I started making promises to myself that if I just ran to x marker, I could walk, or have a cup of coke at the aid station. I had never been so happy to see a hill as I was to see the hill leading back to town. I was 2 miles from becoming an Ironman! There was a group of kids with SuperSoakers near the top of the hill and they went at it when I told them they could spray me! That felt amazing!!

Just.Trying.To.Make.It.Up.The.Hill!

On the way back out Mirror Lake drive for the last time I saw John (my AD) and his wife, plenty of friends and of course my whole family. I was hurting but I was so close. I started running and chatting with a guy who was only on his first loop, but it was nice to have company. I did feel bad when a spectator asked us if we were on our way to meet Mike Reilly and I yelled, “Yes, we are!” and then “Oops, I AM!” Thankfully he just laughed. At the turn around I knew I was less than a mile away and all the pain just went away. I tried not to rush it and just take it all in. Following the arrows to the “finish” instead of the “2^nd loop” felt so good, and the crowd was going nuts. When I entered the oval, I got super emotional, I couldn’t believe I had really done it, and felt so amazing all day.

Entering the Oval

But I didn’t want to be crying in my finish line pictures, so after checking to make sure there was no one too close behind me, I tried to slow down and take it all in. The finish chute was nothing short of amazing – my whole family was in the stands to hear Mike Reilly called me an Ironman, even if he did pronounce my name wrong!

So excited for me or glad to be done spectating?

Actual finish time: 12:24:36!

Eric was there to “catch” me.

It was nice to have a friend to steer me through all the post race crap – chip return, tshirt and hat, food, etc, before he took me right to my family who was waiting at the edge of the stands. I can’t express how awesome it felt to have all my hard work over the last 6 months come together so closely according to plan.

I waited in the finisher chute for Emily to come through, and even though I got yelled at a few times it was totally worth it. The first thing she said to me was "never again!" Followed by "I fell off my bike" (read her blog), which prompted this picture:

We got some food and I went to get a massage (the first time I'd been off my feet since 6am!), thinking I had plenty of time before Cid finished, but she crushed it and I was wrong...sorry Cid!

Back at the house, showered and feeling slightly more human (except for the wicked chaffing and screaming quads) we got a ride back to town to watch the final finishers. Lake Placid has a reputation for being one of the best finish line parties and this year did not disappoint!

Watching the final finishers was so much more meaningful having been through it myself and not being able to imagine being out there for one minute longer than I had been. Enjoying it with a well deserved bowl of ice cream didn't hurt either!

It's been 10 days now and I still can't wrap my head around so many aspects of this day/week/year. I keep getting stuck at "I ran my first marathon!" since I didn't even notice those running miles ticking by and it was the only distance I didn't do in training. There are so many people for whom "Thanks" will never be enough. My family for coming from Detroit, New Jersey, NYC, Syracuse and Saratoga to support me on this crazy endeavor. Kelly for making sure that I was happy, healthy and well trained for this awesome day. Emily for signing up first and always giving me someone to swim with at 6 am or vent about the crazy training to. Steve, Eric, Annie and anyone else who accompanied me on a long ride. Matt for letting me crash his training camp. Karyn for peer pressuring me into doing this thing in the first place! Plus, everyone who was out there cheering at LP and all the volunteers. You made this day what it was for me and I wouldn't change a thing.

Now what's next?

Nike Night Run Tel Aviv

I'm still not sure if this was a rave or a race or a dry land simulation of a triathlon swim, but it was definitely one of the coolest races I've ever done. Nike definitely put on a show! I traveled down to Tel Aviv with a friend and our jaws hit the floor when we entered Rabin Square. 

Excitement had been building since we got off the train with hundreds of other runners, and only continued to build as we walked the mile to the race start. Because the race asked everyone to wear their official race shirts, we didn't even have to worry about getting lost on the way - you just followed the mass of people with "Game On, World" emblazoned on their backs. Coming around the corner to the entrance on the square we could feel the beat of the music, which got louder and louder until I felt like my eardrums might explode. There were lasers and lights and the energy of 20,000 people getting ready to run - it was pretty incredible. 

I was excited to race and wanted to use this race to get a good gauge on how I was doing implementing Kevin's training on my own. I guess I hadn't fully thought out what it would be like to run with 20,000 people in the dark. In a word - crowded! I had planned to start with the 45 minute pace group and then pick it up at the 5k mark, but right from the start I had a problem. Despite pushing myself up as close to the front as I could get, I wound up smushed like a sardine up against the 50 minute pacer with no room to run.

Before the start line got crazy!

After a countdown of, "Five, Hamesh, Four, Arbah, Three, Shalosh, Two, Shtaim, One, Echad!" the air horn blew and we were off! ....Except we weren't going anywhere exactly....You couldn't take so much as a step forward without getting elbowed, kicked, tripped, etc. Have you see this Clif Bar commercial? Because this is exactly what the start of the race felt like (except more crowded and way more humid):

I kept the guy with the giant 45 on his back in sight, and gave myself until the 5k mark to catch him...except I got a little excited and wound up in his little pack within the first 1k. The first four kilometers flew by - I felt like I was just cruising along on this wave of energy coming from the party at the start line. Unfortunately I lost my little pace group at the first water stop when I realized the water was only on one side and it was not the side of the road I was running on. Let me tell you - trying to cut across the stream of runners is hard when it's light out, it's nearly impossible to do at night without tripping and falling on your face.

After I lost my pacer, I kind of fell apart a little. It was humid, I was tired, and I couldn't really pick up the pace without running into someone's back. I'm not proud of how I was thinking throughout this one, but I managed to get myself across the finish line in a PR worthy time of 47:19. Not quite the 10 or 20 minutes all my friends seemed to think I was capable of finishing in (I left my jetpack in NY!), but not too shabby either! I wound up 59th out of 5,208 women.

Overall it was an amazing experience - something I am going to remember for the rest of my life!

Status Update

I know it's been so long since I've written here, but it's not for a lack of things to talk about. On the contrary - I sometimes feel overwhelmed (in the best way possible), because there is just no way to share everything and do justice to the experiences. 


My biggest writing block has been Yom Kippur. I just feel like there are no words for how meaningful it was spend the holiest day of the year in the holiest city in the world. Walking to the Kotel after Kol Nidre services (a 2 mile walk each way, while fasting!) walking in the middle of normally busy streets, their traffic lights changed to blinking reminders that tonight was different. The helpful people we met who walked us to synagogue after we got lost and my group leader's husband who whispered a hushed translation of the Ne'illah sermon. We spent the day synagogue hopping, not exactly sure if we were looking for the place that felt most like home or the most completely different, but by the end of the day it was clear that it didn't matter what you were looking for. The experience itself was enough.
Post Yom Kippur marked the official start of our first vacation. 10 days completely to ourselves! Although it does sound funny to me to talk about a vacation from the program, because despite the volunteer hours, Hebrew classes and Beit Midrash, I often feel as if my life is a vacation. I am so blessed. 

Anyway, we took full advantage of our time off to do some serious relaxing and a exploring. First to Petach Tikvah to visit our friends on ITF, to the beach in Tel Aviv and finally to Haifa, were three of my friends and I took an Israeli cruise line to the Greek Islands of Rhodes and Kos. Being the only Americans was a fun badge of honor, and we were able to meet some great people, eat way too much food, play tourist and relax some more. 

Clock Tower on Rhodes

While we were on vacation, September became October and I fulfilled a promise I made to myself - I officially registered for the Jerusalem Marathon! After counting back the weeks to race day and realizing it was only about 20 weeks away, I jumped head first into my training plan and have since completed two long runs over two hours each and my first official marathon length speed session (30 minutes of hills all alone). I know this journey to 26.2 is going to be difficult without my normal training partners-in-crime, but I know that with their virtual support and the physical support and company of a the runners and friends I've met here, I'll be crossing that finish line on March 1st with a bigger cheering section than I ever could have imagined (even if they all think I'm crazy).

Let's see...what else?

Hiking Adventures right in Karmiel

Beach days in Tel Aviv

Pot Luck Shabbat Dinners

Rock Climbing in Haifa

Taking in a Shlomo Artzi concert like true Israelis, even if we didn't know a single song

So that's much of what I've been up to. What have you been up to? More to come sooner than last time, I promise!

Getting My Mojo Back, Running Israel Week 3

Wow. Three weeks of running posts? The days and weeks go by so fast here, but when I look back on the time as a whole, you'd have a hard time convincing me that it hasn't been a year and I wouldn't have it any other way. I think it means I'm enjoying everyday and living life to the fullest.

So now that I've completed my third straight week of running all over Karmiel, I'm thrilled to be able to say I found my running mojo! I've settled into a routine, chosen to keep Thursday as my speedwork day, found a relatively flat (by Karmiel standards) stretch of road to do said speedwork on and finally got my long run back up to where it should be. My legs are feeling stronger (maybe they got used to constantly running hills?) and I'm actually looking forward to running again. It definitely helps that the evenings and mornings are pleasantly cool, even though the temperature during the day consistently hits the high 80s.

There's been a lot of talk amongst our group about trekking to Tel Aviv for the Nike Night Run next month, which means I've been sharing my training plan and Kevin's Y-Running Demystified with everyone who's thinking about signing up. It's so nice to have a concrete plan to share and be able to encourage everyone to join us. I'm excited to have a short term training goal, in addition to my long term training goal. (Thinking about pulling the trigger on this one October 1.)

5 hours and 3 min! (Yes, that includes two long runs, but still.) Monday's 42 minute run was a huge breakthrough. As my friend and I left to run one evening, the Shomer (guard) introduced us to his friend, a fellow Shomer and former Ukranian immigrant who was looking for someone to run with. Dima showed us how the roads in Karmiel loop back on each other, so doing (in his words), 'boring out and back' runs isn't necessary. He got to practice his English, we got to practice our Hebrew (I learned the word for run - roots or la'roots - to run) and I finally got over the 40 min mark for a base run.

Then, armed with a new cell phone plan with unlimited data, three Pimsleur Hebrew lessons on the iPhone, my fuel belt and a loose idea of a route I thought would be long enough, I set out determined to complete a 90 minute run. I must have been a sight - fuel belt, headphones, repeating after the teacher, "ani rotsa lishtot mashoo" and "ani rotsa l'echol, b'vakasha"as I ran up hill after hill. I hope the people of Karmiel all got a good laugh. I got this at the tail end of the run. Finished just in time!

Hope everyone has a great week and a sweet new year!

Random Thoughts

Been thinking about a few things, but nothing major enough for a full blog post. So, bullets....

- Shabbat here is special. Even if you do nothing to observe it, it feels different from the rest of the week. It's more relaxing than a weekend day at home and I love the way it feels.

- I feel so lucky to be where I am right now. Despite the hectic schedule, volunteering, 12 hours of Ulpan each week, Beit Midrash and long educaction days, the first three weeks of this trip have truly felt like a vacation from real life. I miss my friends and family back home but I have made new friendships that will last a lifetime.

- Karmiel might be the most beautiful place on earth. See example from the end of my long run tonight:

- I had been volunteering on a farm with 5 other Otzmankim twice a week, but the experience wasn't exactly what I was hoping to get out of my time in Karmiel. The work was fun (and dirty!) and I loved our walk to work through a random cow pasture, but the 6 of us were only getting to interact with each other, and not with the school kids who came to the farm. Not exactly a recipe for learning Hebrew. So I worked up the nerve to ask if I could switch off the farm at least one day a week. I'm not sure what I was so nervous about and am happy to report Wednesday was my first day at Hairisim (the Iris) Elementary School. I'll be helping out in the 5th and 6th grade English classes twice a week! This deserves a full post, but my first day was absolutely amazing. The kids and the teacher I work with are fantastic and I think I'm learning as much Hebrew as they are English.

Shayna and Eric walking to the farm

- I got the chance to observe the Galilee Circus - a Jewish-Arab circus that brings kids from very different worlds together in a fun environment. These kids are seriously talented and they do so much with so little. One of the boys tried to teach me to juggle (in Hebrew!) but I was an utter failure. I'm happy to report it had nothing to do with the language barrier. I'm going to be helping out with their acrobatics classes on Sunday evenings!

Not sure if it's clear - he's jump roping on a unicycle!

At the end of our last Education day, someone (I think it was Erika) told us that Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur were the end of the beginning, and the beginning of the rest of our year in Israel. I am definitely going to miss celebrating the holidays at home with my family, but it is so nice not to have to ask for vacation time, miss work and explain my absences to people. Although I may not be home to celebrate as I normally do, I'm getting the chance to spend the holiday with my cousin, her husband, kids and her husband's family. There's also a special feeling in the air to have everyone (including the cab drivers and cashiers) wish you a Shana Tovah and know that you can wish them one right back. It's sorta like the holiday season in America, only better and way less commercial. We've dipped so many apples in honey, eaten lots of dates (my fav!) and been to more New Year's ceremonies than I can count. I'm loving every minute of it.

Listening to the Shofar in the Merc!

Shana Tova U'Metukah (A good and sweet New Year) to all of you that are celebrating!

Marathon Thoughts and Running Israel, Week Two

Aside from the one line of the really annoying Hannukah song from 3rd grade that is stuck in my head, there has been one constant theme on all of my runs this week. Marathons. Yup, you read that right. I've got marathons on the brain. I've literally been analyzing every minute of every run, thinking about how I feel, if I'm mentally tough enough to basically train myself to run 26.2, if I can handle the hills in Jerusalem, etc.

I think I am. I think I can. I think if I put my mind to this I will make my body do the work. I'm also trying to rationalize the way I've been feeling on my runs this week. Tired body, heavy legs. Then we went to Haifa for the weekend, and I slept 10 straight hours in an air-conditioned room. Oh. Duh. Now I know why I've been feeling sluggish. I just haven't been sleeping as well here as I do in my nicely air-conditioned room at home. Combine that with the late nights, early mornings and way more time on my feet than normal, and my legs are just taking their time to get adapted.

I'm also slowly teaching myself to be a night runner. Cooler temps, beautiful sunsets and not having to wake up so early is totally worth it.

I still didn't really get in a true long run, but I'm working my way there. The tempo was the hardest I've done in a long time. There's really nowhere flat to run here. I found the flattest strip of road I could and ran it twice. About 17 minutes in my legs just weren't having it. I pushed myself to run to the end of the street, but I was definitely not at tempo pace anymore.

So here's my week:

Think I can get from here to a marathon by March 1st?

PS. About that 13 minute swim....We joined a gym, with a nice pool. But I have never seen so many people swimming breast stroke in my life. Every lane had 3 or more people circle swimming, every person was swimming breast stroke. I hopped in the only lane with 2 people and tried to swim. Oy. Those two people I was swimming with? An 80-year-old man and a middle-aged woman, swimming the WORLDS. SLOWEST. BREAST. STROKE. Oy, I spent 13 minutes swimming around them before giving up and going home. Hopefully I can get into a routine that involves getting to the pool at 6 am (when the guard said was the best time to go).

PPS. I found a bike shop! The guy was great and after really awkwardly measuring me because I didn't know my height in centimeters, he called a bunch of his bike-shop-owning friends around Israel to see if anyone had a used bike for me. I'm waiting to hear back. Hopefully soon.

PPS. They sell PowerGels here, but they cost a fortune! ($2.50 each) Anyone want to send me a care package? Does PowerBar want to sponsor me???

Running Israel, Week One

At the end of my run tonight, I came to the realization that I just completed my first 6-run week in Israel (and first since tri training picked up in April). The thought made me smile, and also realize that I wanted to start a little series on the blog. Since this is supposed to be a running blog, and I do want to chronicle my running adventures here, along with all the other adventures, I figured I would just sum up a week of runs each Saturday night.

This week was all about getting to know Karmiel, both through group activities and runs. One of the greatest things about my new home is how walkable everything is. There are sidewalks everywhere, people actually stop for you when you are in the crosswalks, and there is certainly no shortage of hills. On the other hand, its walkability is also a downfall when it comes to being a good running city. Unlike the towns in the US where I normally run, it's not as simple as just running from town to town.

See? Very contained. I haven't explored much outside of the main roads, but looking at the map now I can already see new loops and new ways to lengthen my go-to routes (yes, I have go to routes after only a week). The only other small problem I found was the lack of a flat stretch for speedwork. I got through this week's 5>7>3 intervals by doing them on a dirt path our security guard pointed me to, but I found myself very close to a cow pasture at the end of the first half of the 7 minute interval. Luckily there aren't any intervals longer than 7 minutes on the schedule, but a tempo run on these hills will be a challenge for sure!

So here's what my week of running looked like:

The long run was a little short, but seeing as how I haven't truly done a long run since...(Kevin hide your eyes!) Musselman(?) I didn't want to do too much in my first full week back. It was a solid 4 hours and 8 minutes of running this week and I'm hoping it'll only go up!

I finished my "long" run just as the sun was setting, and I definitely picked the right time of day to run. Shabbat was ending, the city was walking up, there were runners and walkers everywhere, and with the setting sun, I was treated to beautiful views and cooler temperatures. An even better reward? Meeting up with some fellow Otzmanikim right as I finished, and heading out for a post-run chocolate milk.

3 shekel Chocolate Milk in a bag, yum!

We wandered around Karmiel for a few minutes, before ending up at our favorite Falafel stand. Not exactly the best post-run food, but at 6 shekels (the equivalent of $1.50) for the 1/2 sandwich and all the salad you want, it's not bad!

Making it fresh, just for us!

Looking forward to next week and finally getting to use the gym membership we got for just $25/month! The gym has two pools, a weight room and a cardio room. I might do some speedwork on the treadmill to avoid the hills. We'll see, and hopefully I can find a bike!

It's the Little Things

Sometimes it's the simplest little things that make you realize all the hard work is totally worth it.

I've always liked how running helps me clear my head, and I like long runs even more since it's even more time for all the weird thoughts running through my head to sort themselves out. Green Lakes was quiet, peaceful and as always, beautiful at 8 am this morning. Even with the 70+ other runners, it was the perfect mix of supportive nods, smiles, good mornings and solitary running time.

At one point, running all alone on a stretch of road completely surrounded by trees, I saw a deer standing in the road about 20 yards ahead of me. It just looked up, stared me down, then calmly turned and walked into the woods. At other times there were beautiful views of the hills around Syracuse, leaves just starting to turn. I can only imagine how beautiful it will be 2 weeks from now when we hit the park again. I'm going to be sure to bring my camera.

But the one thought that made its way into my head and stuck there today, was how good I felt on this run. It occurred to me that this is what Kevin's running program is all about. Sure, the seemingly endless lists of people PRing are wonderful, and I'll fully admit to feeling my share of pride every time I crack another one or hear of someone else smashing one of theirs. But the way I felt this morning? Like I could run forever? This is why you put in your time day in and day out, week after week. When your base is big enough, strong enough that you feel really, really good out on a long run. It totally makes the hard work worth it. No crowd cheering at the finish line necessary.

Even when the elevation profile of said run looks like this:

Fall Favorites...And Did Someone Say Marathon?

Things I love about fall: crisp mornings giving way to warm afternoons, bright blue skies, temps that call for runs in tights and long sleeves, pumpkin anything (lattes, muffins, you name it) and soup bubbling away on the stove on a Sunday afternoon.

It’s always a crazy time of year for me but I love being busy. It’s taking every ounce of willpower I have to fit 6 days of running in a week. Wait. Willpower is the wrong word. I want to run, and I’m full of fresh inspiration to get my miles in now that I’m set on this Marathon thing (and I’ve just decided that from now on that word should always be capped).

On another Marathon note…Tel Aviv Marathon? Sounds perfect for me. Flat, fast, in one of my favorite places in the world. But if I’m going to travel do I want to go somewhere I’ve never been? Or is the comfort factor a good thing?

Ok. Sorry about the tangent. This Picking A Marathon thing is consuming me. It seems like Such. A. Big. Deal. But really, why does it feel that way? I don’t think I’m being very picky, I’m fully committed to doing it, but nothing feels “right.” I keep thinking if I just keep looking I’ll find something better. But really? Better is anyone’s guess at this point. It’s too far out to know if the weather is going to be ideal, and everyone’s race experience is so different. One person’s too crowded could be another’s lonely.

Oy. So anyways. Back to the reason it’s been difficult for me to squeeze my runs in. (Difficult yes, impossible, no. I haven’t missed one yet. Success!) I’m up at 5:15, at work by 6:30. Leave the office at 3 and head over to the high school. Coach from 3:30-5:30. Monday and Wednesday I like to go to Boot Camp at 6. So I can squeeze in the first 10-12 minutes of my daily run between practice and Boot Camp, then I count the time we spend running during class, then I head out from Inertia at 7 to make up the rest of the time. Home by 7:30 to make dinner, shower and crash. It’s not ideal but it works.

It also means that I’m going to be floating my rest days around based on our meet schedule. I got really used to speed work Thursday, rest day Friday, long run Saturday and loved how I felt rested and ready to run on Saturday. Last week was perfect since we had an away meet on Friday. I’m hoping I might be able to fit 40 minutes in before our home meet this Thursday since it’s not till 5, which will mean I still get to take Friday as a rest day. So it’s all good. I’m learning about flexibility and there's no pressure right now since I'm not officially training for anything. It also makes me glad that I'll have from November to January to slowly increase my daily minutes without increasing my long runs. Then come January it’s officially Time To Get Serious, a.k.a. Marathon Training Time! I can’t wait!

Goals, Commitment and a Super Awesome Un-Recipe

I didn't do any writing this week, but I did do a ton of thinking.

And I'm feeling like I can say I have a rough idea of what my goals are for this coming year. I really have to look at a calendar and see if it is at all feasible, but this going to be the year of go big or go home. Either that or I just have no patience and a need to do it all.

In the past, I've never given the marathon much thought at all. If someone mentioned it, I'd say, "no way!" as fast as I could. But the hype around Boston Marathon registration week was enough to get me curious. I know they are dropping the qualifying standards by a lot for next year, but I was curious. I guess you could say I got bit by the BQ bug. So I plugged my most recent 5k time into the Runner's World SmartCoach app, added my weekly mileage and requested a moderate training plan. (I'm not planning on using it, it's just a neat app that will give you a fairly accurate estimate of how fast you can expect to finish based on prior race times). It spit out a 3:33:00. So I looked up Boston's age-graded qualification chart for the 2013 race, and sure enough, for 18-34-year-old females, you need to run a 3:35:00 to qualify.

That was all the motivation I needed. Just to know that I could be close, was enough to push me to try. I also have no doubt that thanks to Kevin's training, I'll be faster before I even start to seriously train. So barring any thing weird, my goal for my first marathon is going to be to qualify for Boston. Go big or go home, right? Kevin is pointing me towards an April/May race, specifically two over Memorial Day weekend. Vermont City or Ottawa. I'm heard good things from people who have done Vermont City, but Ottawa sounds great as well.

So a May marathon is on the calendar. But I'm going big this year so I think a half Ironman is going on as well. I'm leaning towards the Timberman in New Hampshire. It's late August, so it's enough time that I can still do Iron Girl and maybe one other, even after taking some time to recover from the marathon. I don't know. I also want to do Israman in 2013, and thought that having that be my first 1/2 Iron would be really symbolic and meaningful. Who knows? That one is still a ways away and there are a ton of logistics that go into that one. Including getting my bike to Israel and the small problem of training through the fall and beginning of winter.

Ok so those are my big rocks for this year. What's on your list?

Oh! And that Un-Recipe I promised? I'm currently obsessed and it's super healthy to boot.
Baked Tofu!
Drain and rinse a block of extra firm tofu.
Lay a towel on a rimmed dinner plate, set the tofu on top, then cover with another plate and something heavy on top (a can of pumpkin is perfect). Leave it for 30 minutes.
Mix up a marinade. I started with about a 1/4 cup of low sodium soy sauce, some Garlic Expressions Dressing and Peanut Sauce. (It was delish, especially with the sesame seeds we added before baking, but a little to salty for my taste.) There's a batch with Dino BBQ sauce marinating in the fridge right now.
You can use anything you like. Olive oil, salt and pepper would be good, too.
Let the tofu soak up the marinade for a least 30 minutes. (Overnight works, too)
Cover a baking sheet with foil and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Lay the tofu out on your baking sheet in a single layer.
Bake, flipping every 10 minutes (I'm not sure this is necessary but the recipe I reference said to do it), for anywhere between 20-45 minutes. It gets chewier and denser the longer you cook it. That's it!

It is great for snacking on (my sister and I finished a whole brick today), salads and I imagine it would be great in a stir-fry, too. We didn't have any left for that! I'm going to make a sandwich out of the BBQ version that's marinating now. Let me know if you try it and what you marinated it in!

ARC 5K - Another Check Mark

I woke up yesterday morning to find an absolutely perfect day for a race. Gorgeous, sunny and not too hot, I was ready to run! I wasn’t planning on going out super hard, trying to win or anything crazy like that. I just wanted to know if I was fully back in shape after my break in May and how the triathlon training had affected my running. I got my answers. I’m definitely back in shape and the triathlon training made me stronger. I finished the ARC 5K in 21:59 (a new PR) and actually won my age group! I’ve never done that before so it felt really cool to be able to check off another secret goal (to win something).

The PR was what was really most important to me though. Not only had I taken a break right after my last 5K PR (Race for the Cure), but I also had someone pacing me through it. Ever since, I’ve wondered if I could have accomplished that 22:04 by myself. Did I have the mental toughness? Could I focus long enough? Yup, I did and I can!

Knowing that this race was just a test of my fitness, I felt no stress, panic or anxiety going into it like I normally do. At Iron Girl, Race for the Cure, Mountain Goat and even to some extent at the Teal There’s a Cure 5K, I was putting serious pressure on myself to perform, to place, to PR or even just to prove that Kevin’s training was working.

But what I found yesterday is that going into a race with no pressure, running just for me and just for fun, I’ll still see results as long as I’ve been putting the work. And that’s what matters. Yes, my inner competitiveness still comes out a little once I start running and I’ll pick someone up ahead to try and catch or pass, but starting relaxed is the key for me. As long as I haven’t given that race anxiety time to build before I even start running, I can use it to my advantage.

Yesterday was the first time I’ve ever run the ARC race. It’s never been on my radar before but a friend got me an entry so I figured, why not? It was a nice race (flat out and back), plus there is a half marathon also. The half starts 10 minutes before the 5K, so we got to cheer them on as they headed out. Then, timing works out perfectly as almost all the 5Ker’s are done right before the fastest guys finish the half. We got to see Kevin win the half marathon by more than 2 minutes! It was so cool to see. I couldn’t stay for awards but I heard he gave away his medal to a disabled child. That I wish I could have seen, so heartwarming!  

Pressing Restart

With my tri season over and nothing specific to train for, this week felt like a reboot. And it was exactly what I needed. The timing couldn’t have worked out better. I finished the Skinnyman on Saturday morning with a run that felt suspiciously like a tempo. Exactly the workout I’d missed during my taper. I filled in that last spot on my training log with a successful race and turned it in for a new one.

So I’m starting fresh with a new group of runners (um, hello, Thursday night group? Where were you yesterday?), a new training plan and some time to slowly build my mileage while staying healthy. Then it’ll be time to pick my new goal race. I’m torn. Half-Ironman? Marathon? 1:45 Half-marathon?

But it can wait. I’m running the ARC 5K tomorrow morning. Just for fun. No time goal this time. It’s supposed to be a perfect morning for a race. Then next week I have my volunteer spot for the Syracuse Ironman 70.3. I can’t wait. I wonder if I’ll get re-bit by the tri bug? If it’ll make me want to do that race next year? We’ll see. I’m just going to experience the environment and cheer on my crazy friends who made the commitment for this year. Win-Win. :)

Aero Bars and Motivation

I have one and I'm lacking the other.

I got the aero bars the day after the Iron Girl triathlon. (Great timing, I know.) I took 'em out for a spin that day and promptly fell in love. The pain in my back that had been getting worse while riding was virtually eliminated. Plus, I felt really fast and professional. Then...I got busy and didn't ride again until Saturday.

We rode the Skinnyman course bright and early Saturday morning, which meant leaving my house at 6:30 am, after getting home from camp at midnight (and doing a rare Friday morning boot camp). Needless to say I was tired. Riding those hills was crazy hard, and I lost site of the lead rider, which meant I had to keep stopping to check my cue sheet. Despite that, the other eight people didn't catch me until the last turn. So I felt slow, but I guess I couldn't have been doing too badly for my first try if everyone else was struggling.

I'm hoping that when I ride the course again this week I'll feel a little faster. I don't have big aspirations for Skaneateles. I think having a race after my A race wasn't the best idea. There was so much build up to the Iron Girl, I was so focused on doing well there, that when it was over I was left with a little bit of a, "what now?" kind of feeling. Oh yea, another race.

But this week has been better, I think I have my focus back. I'm working on the motivation. Right now it's more obligation than motivation, but at least I'm getting all the workouts in. Two weeks from Saturday! Which means only one week till I get to taper. (I never thought I'd ever type the words get to taper.)

And with this race falling Labor Day weekend, I feel like my life is racing in to the Fall. I start coaching varsity gymnastics next week, then it's Labor Day and soon enough the weather will start to change. I'm not wishing summer away, but I do love Fall. Cooler weather for running, apple picking, leaves changing, even the Jewish Holidays and of course, my birthday :). I'm also ready to focus on running again, see how much better I can be when I'm just focusing on one sport. I think taking a break from focusing on running was good for me this summer. But now I'm ready to get back to giving it my all.

Just a Little Competitive

If you know me, you know I can be a little bit competitive from time to time. Ok. Maybe more than a little. But I'd like to think it makes me push myself a little harder when there are other around that I am striving to keep up with, instead of being competitive in a bad way.

It's been the story of my life for as long as I can remember. I've always had to work for things. The things I love to do don't come easily to me. But I'm glad they don't. For me, the challenge is part of what keeps me interested. If I don't need to work at it, chances are I'll get bored with it fast.

But every once in a while, I've got to admit, it is really nice to be the 'best' or the fastest at something. Now I know best is a relative term. But I was out in front of the workout this morning instead of bringing up the rear and I have to admit it felt really good :). Would I have gotten in a better workout if there was someone out in front of me that I needed to chase? Maybe. But there were two people right behind me and I think that was a pretty good push. It was a nice confidence booster going into an couple of easy days (which are really hard for me to let myself take).

Regardless, I am SO glad I got my but out the door at 5:15am and got my speed work done for the week. I'm just sitting in my kitchen now and I'm sweating. I can't imagine trying to get that workout done tomorrow night when the temperature is going to be approaching 100. So the schedule rearranging was totally worth it. And thanks to the swim getting cancelled at the beach tonight, I even got in a boot camp workout :) All in all, a really good day :)

Now if only I could figure out where to squeeze in that swim/bike workout I missed tonight.

Learning Curve

Back at CNY Tri today. It was a world of difference from last week. Not in terms of time or anything. That’ll come more slowly. I just felt so much more prepared. Even though I was still running around like a chicken with its head cut off in the morning while I was getting ready, once I got to the beach it was a relief to know that I had all the essentials.

What was different this week? Well after last week’s disaster of a first try, I headed out to the bike store and bought a new helmet, flat kit and computer with cadence and had my biked tuned up. I also put the water bottle cage on my bike and grabbed some GU to take with me on the bike portion. The other big difference? I found my tri suit! Basement: 1, Elyssa: 1 (still can’t find the flat kit I just bought and had to borrow dad’s).

I was about 30 seconds faster on the swim (not too bad for just a week!) and swallowed WAY less water. Granted I swallowed a ton of pool water yesterday, so maybe I had just reached my quota for the week. I could tell when I got out of the water that I had worked harder—I was more out of breath on the run up to transition.

The bike was tons better than last week (no flat tires, I had water and I had the computer to keep me on track). I knew I was supposed to be keeping my cadence around 80-90 RPMs and really thought I was nowhere near that. I love that computer. I was right where I should be the whole time and wound up averaging 20 MPH. Yay! At that pace I’ll finish the IronGirl about 15 minutes faster than last year.

The run was the run. I finished the 5k in about 25 minutes, but kept running to get in my daily minimum of 30 minutes. At first I couldn’t really feel my legs so it felt like I was floating along. That didn’t really last too long, but they never turned to lead—victory! I did realize I should probably carry some water with me on the run.

The best part about these practice races is being able to figure out what worked for me and what didn’t. Yes to GU, but I need to find somewhere to store it other than my bra. No to my good water bottle not fitting in the cage! Luckily I had a smaller one but I was scared it was going to fall out since it fit really loosely. Even the little things, like preferring the thin Under Armor socks I wore last week to the thick Puma ones I wore this week. I also realized I need to bring a smaller towel for wiping off my feet. Standing on the big beach towel didn’t really work for me.

Oh, I also met with the tri coach yesterday. I have a whole plan worked out and I’m really looking forward to following it. So far so good! I’ll share more details tomorrow, but in the meantime you can check out her blog here.