Tri, Tri again...

I had slightly high hopes for my second triathlon. I figured it couldn't really be worse than the first one. Sadly, I was incorrect.

This time around I got a wetsuit because the race was at the end of September. I figured this would help with the colder water and Paul said it might help with my anxiety when I first got in the water.

Wetsuit up!

Basically we drove all around Long Island until we found a place that sold wetsuits. This was the first one I tried on and it's teal down the side, aka I love it. It helped get me a little more excited about the whole thing, which was nice since I was mostly just nervous before. As I mentioned recently, I had basically been consumed with work and had very little time to run, bike, or swim. The wetsuit made me feel just that little bit better about the whole thing.

Race morning came and Paul and I drove over to the site. Tons of volunteers were out helping which was nice to see. We got everything set up, put on our wetsuits, and went into the water. I will admit, I first got in the water to swim around and was nervous. Nobody was splashing around me yet, but I still couldn't see and hated that. I relaxed a little and was ready to go. To be honest, I don't remember which wave I was but i was definitely somewhere in the middle. I did my usual, find someone that looks slower than me and line up next to them, routine and started to walk with my group into the water. About a half a second before I got into the water my heart was pounding so intensely I thought I either was about to have a heart attack or was going to pass out, or both. I managed to stick with a pack of women this time around me who were my pace, and randomly yelling words of encouragement to each other. While I still was not thrilled with my lack of seeing in front of me, or the intense amounts of salt I tasted in my moth, I did enjoy this swim more than my first tri. I also was a whole 10 minutes faster on this swim, and again didn't drown! It's the little things in life. :)

Me coming out of the water!

Then it was time for the bike. I knew the course, it was also a lot shorter than the last tri's bike course. About 5 miles shorter. I was excited to get going and was happy with how much faster I was so far this time around. 

Transition 1...The only transition for me for this day haha

I went out on the bike and was going along well. It was a nice course and I was moving pretty fast. I figured if I could be faster on this bike ride, I would be so excited going into the run that I may be faster. Things were all going well until around mile 5. 

This was the towns first time doing this triathlon, and many people driving around in the town apparently felt uninformed and displeased with the amount of roads closed off for it. The bike course wasn't completely closed to cars and I could hear a car coming up behind me. I knew they weren't happy about the race and also knew that some times cars like to see just how close they can get to the bikers without running them over as a fun game. I decided moving over further to the side of the road would be a good idea. I moved over and didn't notice the pothole that had been in front of me. My back tire hit it, causing my tire to pop, and me to lose my balance. Yes, you are correct. This resulted in me falling off the bike, which hit the chain off the bike. The whole thing was a disaster. Some very nice bikers in the race stopped to make sure I was fine but didn't have anything for me to change my tire. I also was not aware of how to change my back tire. I know, I was very unprepared for this whole thing. A cop went by me at one point and told me "Listen, I'll be honest, you have over 5 miles left to go. You can walk it and then run 3 miles, or you can put your bike on my car and I'll drive you to the finish." I liked his logic, was totally over the race, and did not want to walk 5 miles to then run 3. So yes I quit. You can all start your lectures about how quitting is the worst thing to do. I know.

The other down side to this was I had to wait for the last biker to finish before the cop could leave that area and drive me back up. Unfortunately, Paul's parents were also there, and were waiting at the finish for me along with Paul (who had finished already). They then began to get nervous seeing the race crew bringing in the cones, signaling all bikers were in and out on the run. I'm pretty sure they thought I was dead. If you're keeping count, this is now two triathlons we're people thought I may have died during the race. The cop drove me to almost the race area and then I walked my bike a couple hundred feet past the finish and went and met up with everyone. 

Basically, the race was miserable. I was not happy, not prepared, and not a finisher. That was about the worst it could get. Paul on the other hand, did a great job and had a new PR. As usual, he kicked my ass. So that is the story of my second triathlon (also probably my last one for a little while), and my last race of the fall. My big lesson was to be more prepared before I decide to just up and do a triathlon with very little training, and also get everything I need to change a bike tire!

On an embarrassing side note..a week later I got an email from the race company that basically said "Dear Athlete, We noticed that you did not finish the event and want to make sure that you're okay. Please email us and let us know." FAIL!

TriRock...My First Tri!

So this post is long over due, and to many people will be very entertaining. Now keep in mind I am writing this almost 3 months after the fact, so looking back now I have a much nicer memory of the whole event. I also have no memory of specific stats, because well even I don't have that great of a memory.

The morning started out very nice, the upsides to getting up at 5 am, after not sleeping at all the night before, is definitely the view you get when you wake up.

We drove to the site, got set up and were ready to go. I had no wetsuit which I figured was fine because the water was warm. Paul and I walked in the water for a little while, it was a lake so nothing too exciting. Paul went out further than I did and told me how nice it was cause you could still stand pretty far out there. I started in the second wave and felt oddly calm about the whole thing. I was comfortable with my swim and my bike and figured I would just hang in there for the run. The gun went off and we all ran into the water. This is when the entire race fell apart...

I should mention that the only swim training I did for this was in a pool, with nobody else around me, where I could see in front of me the whole time. The second I put my head in the water and tried to start swimming I completely panicked. I couldn't swim, I couldn't do anything. I remembered Paul saying he could stand pretty far out so I tried to stand and breathe for a second, huge mistake. I couldn't touch the bottom at all which completely freaked me out. At that point my main focus was do not drown! Looking back I believe it was the combination of not being able to see and the splashing going on around me that got me nervous. I couldn't even put my head back down in the water to continue swimming full strokes. I have never been scared of water in my life, I always have loved swimming, so I didn't know where this fear came from. I apparently was not the only nervous one however, as one girl pulled out her inhaler in the middle of the swim and another one asked the lifeguard to come take her in. I did the side stroke for the first 1/2 of the swim. All the guys that started after me went way past me. I kept pace with one girl directly in front of me and made sure not to let her out of my reach. Finally I rounded the corner and only had the second half left. I had calmed myself down and was able to swim like a normal person the second half. I don't remember exactly my time but I do know that my last two goals were to finish the swim in under 30 minutes, which I did, and to not drown, which I also made sure not to do!

One would think after the swim course I had the bike couldn't be any worse. That person would be in correct. The bike was 15 miles and I was ready for it. I was confident about my biking skills for the first 5 miles. We were going down a HUGE hill, that had signs on it saying things like "caution steep road slow down". I realized at one point, these signs are for cars, I'm on a bike with no protection if I hurt myself coming down one of these hills. Paul's pace for the bike was around 51 mph, and mine was probably around 47 mph. I did nothing but look straight ahead for fear that if I made any sudden moves I would go flying off the bike and cause serious injury to myself. As I was flying down the huge hill I noticed people coming up the hill on the other side, and they were all walking. These were the people in the front of the pack and they were walking their bike up the hill. That did not make me feel any better about my ability to get up the hill. I finally got to the bottom and had to make a complete 180 degree turn. Going from 47 mph to making that drastic of a turn without warning is incredibly dangerous and I am again shocked I did not injure myself here by falling off. I made it up the huge scary hill (walking most of it with everyone else) and made it to the run. Overall the bike part was not fun...at all. I again don't remember my exact time but it was absolutely longer than an hour and 5 minutes, so I again made my goal d of not falling off the bike and making it to the run.

The run was actually the nicest part of the whole thing. I know after all my worries with the run that was the only nice part. It was a straight out and back, the only thing was it was a trail run. This was fine, even though I had no idea it was coming. On my way back in from the 5k a baby deer went sprinting directly in front of me. I didn't have enough time to take out my phone to get a picture or anything but it is still one of the coolest things I have ever seen running. Right after that an incredibly in shape man went running by me mentioning how cool that was, he had bike trouble and walked his bike the whole way which was why he was with me at that point even though he was so in shape. I was incredibly impressed with this guy an seriously considered asking for a piggy-back-ride back to the finish line, but he sprinted past me before I could. Then finally I rounded the finish and it was done!

Paul was anxiously waiting for me at the finish, pretty sure that I had died somewhere on the course. I was not last, thankfully, but was pretty close. It was my first triathlon though and I was quite proud of myself. Little did I know I would have a triathlon that ended even worse than that (you have to come back for another post about that one)! I got my medal, had some water, and headed back to my house with Paul. The medal is awesome and I love the shirt!

I know, how cool are we with matching shirts haha. So that is the story of my first triathlon. Complete panic on the swim, insane hill on the bike, and a deer running with me for the run. Always something interesting at these races and the fun part is you never know what you will expect!

What happened to New York Running?

Well your observations are correct. The New York Runner has basically fallen off the face of the earth….and directly into her new job! I mentioned after my Yankee 5k post that I had happily accepted a new job; I was hoping to update everyone before this on the job itself and running life in general. Sadly I haven't even been able to report about my first triathlon (which trust me was quite interesting and entertaining for any one that was not me). So where have I been since August? Oh that would be working at the new job 24/7. Here is some quick info on how the job came to be.  

Back in May I informed my boss that July 1st I would be moving to New York with the hope of working as an admissions counselor at a college. After that I searched and searched for a job. May and June came and went and I started to panic. I had worked and networked with so many great people in search of a job, but nothing was happening. Nevertheless, I continued with my moving plans and packed up and headed out to New York (as you all know). July dragged on and my money dwindled down. I started to get discouraged about the prospect of any job. The last weekend in July I went to a wedding with my boyfriend, who was one of the groomsmen. We, along with a few of his friends, all drove to upstate New York for the weekend wedding. A friend of ours was also a groomsman and had a date coming for the wedding the next morning. The guys had to be at the wedding earlier for pictures and our friend asked if I could drive his date over to the wedding when I left later. I thought not a problem, I had never met this girl in my life but I consider myself a social person and typically am capable of getting along with just about anyone (the car ride was also only 5 minutes). We made the usual small talk in the car and got to the topic of jobs. She mentioned she just left a job in New York and had moved to Vermont. I asked what the job was she left, and was speechless when she said she had been an admissions counselor at a college. I quickly asked for all details, the main one’s being are they hiring and will they pay me?! After we got home from the wedding weekend I sent in my resume for the job. I received a call that night for an interview the next day, and by the end of the week I had managed to land myself a job as an admissions counselor at a college, aka the job I had been searching for since May. I’ve been told I am the luckiest person in the world, and to never give job advice to anyone because nobody is as lucky as I was to find a job in less than a month when out of work.   
So that is how the job came to be. The downside to the job is that I jumped right into travel season. I was excited to go at it with full force, and unfortunately that meant everything else in my life stopped. This included running, eating healthy, blogging, and etc. Travel season is coming to an end and I am ready to have my normal life back. Last night I had a realization that for an organized and usually balanced person, my life was completely unbalanced and disorganized which I hate! This then led to many tears and a complete freak out (thank you to my boyfriend for just sitting listening to me panic for over an hour). It is time to get back on track with my life, running wise and eating wise. I have learned without the balance of these things in my life, it leads me to panic, stress, and typically disaster.  So you can look forward to many new posts from me and updates on some things I have been doing in the past few months!   

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! :)

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 :)