Thursday, August 11, 2011

Triathlon Weekend

Saturday I will be partaking in my first triathlon! TriRock New York !! It is a sprint triathlon, .5 mile swim, 15 mile bike, and a 3.1 mile run. I'm feeling ok as of now, but wish I was a little more confident going into the race. I am doing another triathlon the end of September, so mostly I'm looking at this race as my practice for that one.

I have many goals for each of these stages and a few over all goals for this race.

For the swim: .5 Miles
First of all, I've decided not to get a wetsuit, mostly because they cost an insane amount that I don't want to spend just to swim a few times. The water will more than likely be cold, my hope is that it's just not freezing and I think I will be ok. I also have never really swam in the ocean, so yeah that should be interesting.
Goal A: Finish in 15-20 mins
Goal B: 20-25 mins
Goal C: Under 30 mins
Goal D: Don't drown!

For the bike: 15 Miles
Oddly enough, the bike is what I feel most comfortable with at the moment. When I first started biking more I was nervous and uncomfortable all the time. Then I bought myself a pair of bike shorts, got a little more use to left turns, and started to get faster. I'm hoping my bike will be the best of all my events on Saturday.
Goal A: Under an Hour
Goal B: 1 Hour
Goal C: 1 Hour 5 mins
Goal D: Don't fall off the bike and make it to the run.

For the run: 3.1 Miles
I feel like at this point I'll more than likely be exhausted and in no mood to run 3 miles. I also don't get to listen to music, so I admit I'm not looking forward to this part of the race at all. However, I'll suck it up and do it because really there is no choice haha.
Goal A: 30 Mins
Goal B: 35 Mins
Goal C: 40 Mins
Goal D: 45 Mins/ Don't pass out

Overall Goals for the Triathlon
Goal A: 1 Hour 50 Mins
Goal B: 2 Hours
Goal C: 2 Hours 10 Mins
Goal D: Finish...in any amount of time

So there it is, all my goals for Saturday. I am nervous, but optimistic that all will go well! Friday night Paul and I are going into the city to pick up our race packets and get dinner. Early to bed Friday night and up early for the drive Saturday morning!

Fingers crossed! :)

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Yankee Stadium 5k Run

Sunday morning I, along with Paul and his brother, and about 4,000 other people, ran through Yankee Stadium. Being a Red Sox fan I wasn't sure how much I'd actually enjoy this run. I did not wear a Red Sox shirt cause I didn't feel like getting in fights with people while running, and my boyfriend said he would basically disown me if I wore one. I did however find this man who was wearing a Red Sox shirt, and I followed him all the way to the stadium.


Woohoo!! Red Sox!!!

We got to the stadium and waited outside in the ridiculous heat to go in and stand and wait again. I get really antsy before races usually and just want them to start. I saw two of my friends finish right before we started and was so excited they stayed until the end so I could see them! They were also nice enough to take a ton of pictures of us during the race.


Paul and I waiting to go in before the race!

Before it started some guy with a megaphone gave us what was possibly the most confusing instructions of my life. We had to go left and if it was our first loop stay right, there was something about really sharp turns in certain places, stairs, more lefts if first loop or stay to the right and etc... He finished it up with saying the course was well marked so I forgot everything he said before that point. We ran two laps around the first level and then some how went through tunnels to get downstairs to where the players usually hang out and come out on to the field from. Then we got to run two laps around the warning track, which I will admit was pretty cool.

 They put a camera on the field while you were running, and when you ran by you were on the jumbo tron which was awesome. You can't totally  tell but Paul and I are on it in the corner in this picture!

 Paul, Justin, and I at home plate!

 Inside the stadium!


Paul and Justin


Boo Yankees!  hahaa


More inside the stadium!

I should not take pictures while running, but I wanted one haha

After our two laps around the warning track we ran inside and it was time for the stairs. The stairs wouldn't have been that bad if we didn't have to do them all twice. We went up I can't even remember how many stairs to the upper levels of the stadium and ran around there. Then we ran down some tunnel all the way down to the first level and back up all the stairs again to the upper levels. Finally we ran down to the first floor and finished!

Yayy!! All done! We got our medals, bags, and t-shirts and went outside to see Beckie and Parker!
 So glad we got to see them!

 Yay!!
 All done with our medals!

The medal! My favorite part of races haha

I will say I had a great time at Yankee Stadium, which was NOT expected at all. I also found out while running in there that they have a Johnny Rockets inside. I told Paul we could go back for a game as long as I sat somewhere near Johnny Rockets :) The stadium was very nice and the whole race was organized well in my opinion. I was worried at the beginning listening to the directions, but they had signs along the course telling you which way to go and plenty of water stops, which was great in the heat!

Overall successful 5k and I will definitely run again next year! I'll post more pictures from the day when they show up on the 5k website. Now back to finishing up training for the triathlon this weekend!!!

Oh and on a side note...I accepted a new job and will talk all about it after I start, but I am very excited about it :)