Sore but Psyched

So today was a mildly productive day. Took mom to breakfast, went to the thrift store and got a cartoon VHS of Barbie and the Rockers and a Mary Kate and Ashley movie for a dollar, paid a library fine and got out more books (new Mariah Stewart, hooray) including a couple for some of my classes and had a lovely talk about Native American lit with the librarian. Then I went to Verizon expecting a fight over replacing my Razor phone, which has just decided to suck lately. Luckily, they were nice and are sending me a new one, though not with a new battery. I hope it's just the phone that's the issue- I'd hate to waste more time dealing with this stupid thing.

Then Dad and I drove to Stockton and ran (well, he biked next to me) for a solid hour and a half. My knee seems ok, but after an hour or so I just started having a ton of joint and muscle pain. It eased up once I got home and had some food and a hot shower, but it really hurt! I think I need to work harder on drinking during those long runs- dehydration is a bitch... I just don't think of it until it's too late.

Also, in Stockton after the run, we stopped at the liquor store so Dad could get beer and I fell in love with this beer bottle shaped like a Buddha and called Lucky Beer. Didn't get it, but maybe next time. I'm not a big drinker, and by that I mean in the past year, I've had 2 drinks. I'm just not into it.

Anyway, got home and went out to the drugstore to get Udder Cream for tomorrows 70 or so mile bike ride, part of which will be by myself, the other part will be with the bike team and the last part will be with Dad. I'm excited about it!

Stopped at Walmart and got glucosamine, which should help my joints out a bit. I think the cold weather is getting to them- ever since I got hit by a car 4 years ago, cold weather hurts my left hip. Also more Pure Protein bars- 190 calories with 20 grams of protein! Great deal.

Robbie came over for Chinese food and Frasier Season One- we're boring, but very happy about it. Anyway, gotta get sleep for my ride tomorrow!

Pizza Day!

OK, I admit it: I had a Dunkin Donuts muffin for breakfast. And no, not the reduced fat variety. Full fat, full flavor blueberry. And you know what the bummer about that is? It didn't taste nearly as good as the oatmeal I make for Robbie and I a lot of mornings.

Anyway, today is my rest and recovery day, and it started with a serious stomachache. I've just had this persistent vague stomach pain lately, and it's driving me nuts. If it keeps up, I'll go to the doctor, I guess. The biggest problem is that lately, I haven't been feeling hungry- my stomach doesn't growl or anything. The only way I can tell I'm getting hungry is when my stomach starts hurting, and when it does that, I don't really want to eat!

I've been tired as anything this week, though I think it's less because of training and more because I'm adjusting to a new schedule. 8 am bike rides with the team are actually great- it's a good feeling to get that much of my workout done before anyone in the house is even up! It's also been great having Dad here on Thursdays to go to the gym- it really breaks up the week and makes the day go faster.

I ordered an amazing swimsuit from Splish today, I can't wait to get it! Pictures of it ASAP, and this weekend I'll get pictures of my new exciting bike gear! It feels like Christmas, the amount of new training stuff I'm getting. I'm still up in the air about the tri bike, and I know I have to decide soon.

In other news, as if I needed more to worry about, Robbie and my fish has been hiding out in his castle lately, and he barely comes out, even to eat! This is Doctor Zoidberg, our baby Beta, or as Robbie's brother refers to him, "our Love Fish."
While I'd still like a kitten eventually, the Good Doctor is the best we can do at the moment, given our funds and the fact that we like being at our parent's houses over the weekend, which means Zoidberg only gets fed once every couple of days- like Betas are supposed to.

Swimming with Dad

Whenever I swim, I start really thinking about training. Especially on days like today.

I woke up this morning and decided it was waaay too icey and slushy to go out on a ride, so I spent an hour and a half on my trainer in the basement, rocking my new bibs.

Afterwards, Robbie and I went to Au Bon Pain so I could get a whole wheat bagel with veggie cream cheese and a soda to re-energize. It was comedic gold, as we both spent the walk sliding and tripping on the ice.

Dad showed up at 11 so we could go to the gym together, and since I skipped weights last night (I was tired and sore), I was pretty psyched about Dad coming to New Brunswick, since he's more into weights than I am. We ended up spending 45 minutes doing weight sets, where I did the entire routine that Mark, Pat and I did last week, and then some other ab and arm stuff. My legs were so damn sore, but they felt really strong. Just a few sessions and already I see a huge improvement in the muscle definition in my legs, which is a definite plus.

Had some "weight issues" yesterday and bullied Robbie about them- it's just hard for me to figure out nutrition right now, since I'm spending more time training, so I can't tell if I'm losing or gaining weight. Yeesh.

Anyway, after that, we hit the pool and my shoulders were killing me for the first few minutes, but after a few laps, they were fine. I was still tired, but not too bad. That's what got me thinking about training.

Don had asked how I can stand to train for triathlon, since it's a very individual sport, especially swimming. I was surprised at that assessment, since I really don't see that. In the pool, I feel a certain comraderie with swimmers next to me. Don says there are no games to play in the pool like there are on the bike, but I would argue that. I love playing games, racing certain laps with fast people lanes away from me, and feeling a very secret victory if I beat them. Dad started a new pattern today, trying to swim more. I'd swim 2 laps (50m) and then he'd join me on the third, making it sort of a race. It just inspired me to speed up just a little bit, and I ended a pretty solid 45 minute swim with a few laps of just all out sprinting.

I hate starting to train, I hate the first few minutes, but I love the feeling when I drag myself out of the pool.

I hate the sore muscles, but I love how Robbie is willing to give my legs rubdowns the nights that they're really sore. I love mineral ice at work, even though the smell drives everyone nuts.

I don't even mind waking up feeling sore anymore, though I mind waking up in a very cold room.

I like layering up for a ride outside. I like bragging that before my housemates are up, I've already ridden for an hour and a half with the team.

I love that my Dad is clearly very proud of me. And that he thinks buying a tri bike is an investment. He really is my hero, lame as it sounds. I'm proud of him for all teh gym work he's been doing with me, and all the support he gives me.

I love the sports, I love the training, and I love the people surrounding it. I love that Robbie isn't into the athletic stuff like I am, so I have some escape from it and it doesn't run my life completely. I love that I have friends on the team now that I can ride with and spend hours talking about training with, people as dedicated as I am.

I love when a song comes on and I just want to run or ride. "Eye of the Tiger" makes me want to sprint, "Shake It" by Metrostation makes me want to race my bike as fast as I can.

I'm getting pretty psyched about race season being only a month away. I have to work on:
1. technical stuff like cornering and riding with a pack
2. endurance (riding 50+ miles at a time on Sundays)
3. getting my run time back
4. more yoga for flexibility

I think I'm going to do pretty well if I can get the hang of bike racing, not biking during a triathlon. It really is an entirely different thing, learning to draft.

It's been a strange two weeks, getting the hang of being on a team, new classes, new schedule, and finding time to have a normal life. I'm tired by the time I get home every night, and I think I need to start eating even more, but I'm having the time of my life.

Off to Public Health, where we DO learn about plagues and nifty stuff.

Rest and pizza day tomorrow, and I admit, I'm glad it's here, even though I'm already planning a 70 mile route coinciding with the team for Sunday, and trying to find this bathing suit that I really want from Splish tomorrow after work.

Snowy Slushy Lame Day

It's pretty disgusting outside- slush puddles over a foot deep, snow, rain, and cold. It's the first day this year (I mean since September) where even I will be utilizing the Rutgers buses. I'm not thrilled about it, but the ride tot he gym would be almost impossible, and certainly terrible. So I'm making up the time by using the trainer in my basement.

Chris brought me my bibs last night, and they're so padded it's ridiculous, but I'm really happy about it. Pictures of me and my new gear asap!

My list of things I need is just getting bigger and bigger, as my cell phone seems to be not holding charge anymore. Ugh.

In my class today we were talking about the economy- so freaking scary. It's just nerve-racking that I'm graduating (even though hopefully grad school will happen next year), I still may need to try to get a full time job. Yuck. Blake made a good point though- when we're this young, it's worth a year of sacrifices for an easier life afterwards. I don't know though.

Anyway, managed to get through the first small part of my workout this morning- I should do a longer run (10 miles) on Wednesdays after class at 11, but since my legs have been iffy lately, I'm doing it in chunks. So the first half hour is done, and I'll be at the gym for a while tonight running, swimming and lifting. In the meantime, I'm riding for an hour on my trainer in the basement.

Here's Robbie and I last night:
Cute, right?

Training...

"You triathletes are crazy."
Don said that at the end of our swim last night.

I think he may be right, since after hardcore runs and rides over the weekend, Monday saw 5 hours of training and today started bright and early with training in the freezing cold.

When the alarm goes off on ride mornings, the cold air hits me and the desire to just cuddle back up under the blankets is so tempting it almost hurts. Those first few minutes are the worst, where I'm tired and cold and rationalizing that I don't need to ride, that it just seems like a miserable way to spend a morning. But then, after a protein bar with the space heater on, I'm ready to start layering up. Today's ride saw me with:
sports bra and bike shorts
assos leg warmers and a sleeveless underarmour shirt
tights
underarmour bike shirt
long sleeve jersey
shoes with booties
gloves and clava

It takes me 15 minutes to get ready! Yeesh.

Anyway, I met Chris and Christian at Brower and we rode about 23 miles in the cold. It was not too bad. I love riding with a group, though I'm still getting a handle on pack riding and drafting- it's hard to understand that drafting is actually legal!

But it's always great when I start into a training workout- the hardest is just getting started, but as soon as I get going, I realize why I'm doing it and how much I love it.

I went to my appointment with Cohen, the sports medicine guy, who said what I assumed he'd say- that my training volume is likely what's hurting my legs, since it takes so long to heal muscle tears when they're constantly getting retorn and rebuilt. So maybe I'll cut out the minor stuff like the extra spinning, but I can't cut much- I need the rides and the runs for the marathon and for bike racing, and the weight stuff augments that, the yoga is important for my IT band and my hamstrings, and swimming is important in terms of keeping up technique and just relaxing a little bit. So it's tough. Hopefully that's all it is, though. He does want me to come back in a few weeks and see what's going on. I'm just leery about cutting back on some stuff- it's not like I can shorten team rides, and I damn well can't shorten my longer runs, since the marathon is coming up. But I'll try to slightly decrease volume.

Well, I'm going to start tonight, since I feel totally wiped out from the past few days. Instead of a 30 min weigh set, 30 min swim, and riding to and fromt he gym, I'm going to do my Iron Yoga. And actually do school stuff... Off to the computer lab and library!

Cold Weather, New Friends

So today it was about 10 degrees when I woke up, so riding outside seemed like a terrible idea, considering I didn't know if anyone was even meeting to ride. My stationary trainer in the basement seemed like a really smart idea, so that's what I did... for two hours. Stopped in the middle to make a pharmacy run and meet Robbie between his classes, and finish a Powerbar that Blake gave me. Watching Frasier helped pass the time, but riding is getting just a bit painful (in a girl way). I really need to get my bike properly fitted and quickly!

Hopefully in a couple weeks I can make a trip to NY, see some friends, get some shoes, and get my bike fitted better. We'll see.

Anyway, after that, had lunch with Robbie and biked him up to class and went to the gym for some weight set stuff and speedwork. The speedwork was simultaneously worse and better than I expected. I wanted to be up to the speeds I was at a few weeks ago, but with my knee I didn't want to push it. I survived for the thirty minutes, but it was rough. Even mentally I just wasn't as "in it" as I usually am. I don't know. I think I'm just getting bummed about my legs being so weird. It seems like the slightest thing will set my leg off- I bumped part of my thigh on my steering wheel lightly the other day, and now my other hip hurts. So if it isn't one thing, it's another. I don't get it! At least I have my appointment with Dr. Cohen tomorrow so I can talk to him about it and see what he says.

Then, I went swimming with Don from the bike team. It was a lot of fun, having someone to swim with. Swimming with Dad is fun, obviously, but it's neat getting to swim with someone my own age. So I did that for an hour at a pretty moderate pace and was feeling really good! It was definitely significantly better than swimming alone, which gets dull occasionally. I like thinking of it as I'm in a fishbowl just hanging out. That helps a little, sometimes...

Anyway, I'm just glad I'm meeting people from the team on a smaller level instead of as a huge group, since I get so nervous around masses of people. I don't understand it, but now that I'm making friends, I feel a lot more confident about it. Hopefully, Sunday I can do part of the Century, and bring Dad along for part of it too! I just wish I had a Cycling sweatshirt!

Now I'm just relaxing after chili from a can with homemade corn muffins (what a contradiction!)
I am starting to eat what I think is the right amount of food, or at least close to it. Nutrition is definitely one of my main weaknesses. Blake and I talked a lot about it: it's really hard for me to eat while exercising or right after, because a) I'm not hungry and b) I'm not used to the concept of eating while working out- I'm still struggling to get past girly notions of burning calories, not putting any in. So I really need to add more good calories if I'm going to lose that last little extra bit of fat that I'd like to get rid of. I've started to accept that I'm not naturally "thin" by normal standards-I have very little body fat and you can see muscles sticking out of my legs, but at the same time, I have wide swimmer shoulders and really muscular arms that are never going to be super skinny. I have a hard time getting used to it, and naturally, I have an "ideal" image in my head, but at least now it's a triathlete chick, not some skinny anorexic girl. So that's pretty cool.

Anyway, speaking of relaxing, I'm going to do so, but not before catching up on homework. Already. Yeesh.

Best Day(s) Ever!

Yesterday went really surprisingly well. It was beautiful out in the morning and I had to drive around on a few errands, so I had the window partway down, listening to Springsteen, singing along. Fantastic! I looked dorky as hell but it put me in a great mood for the rest of the day.

Then Dad and I went out to Frenchtown to try for another run, hoping this time it would go a little bit better than last week. The goal was an hour and a half, but I figured I'd be lucky with an hour. I don't know if it was the warmer weather, the super-light running week I've had, the leg weight set on Wednesday or just plain luck, because I made it the whole hour and a half at my old speed. My legs were a little achey at the end, but a walk around town with dad did wonders stretching them out and getting the kinks out. I even had energy enough to do a 30 minute weight set afterwards. So I'm very happy.

Robbie and I made mustard at night, honey mustard and super spicy varieties, and they turned out just ok. Good on pretzels and good for the sinuses. They just didn't thicken like they were supposed to, so we tried adding corn starch and really overdid it. Oops!

The only down side of the day? I realized I really need new sneakers- that's a big part of my leg problems lately, I think. Maybe in 2 weeks I'll head to SBR to get Blake to help me come up with a pair or two. And speaking of Blake...

Today I got my booties and leg warmers! According to Blake, not only are they "really good shit," they are the "Prada of bike gear." And damn, they worked!

We went on a ride from the GW Bridge to Piermont in NY, so a slightly over 30 mile ride. Piermont is maybe the cutest place on earth! The houses are all so freaking cool and the town is so bike friendly I was completely shocked! Best blueberry muffins too.

The ride home was super hilly in parts but we actually had a better ride there than we did on the way to Piermont. It was just so nice getting to hang out with Blake and get a really decent ride in at the same time. I'm just hoping we can keep it up and keep going on rides. He also promised to help me fit my bike, which I desperately need.

He and dad are trying to convince me to get a tri bike and I admit, it's really tempting. But then again, so is being able to pay rent.

Bike team meeting time!

Sore Muscles I Forgot I Had

I'm really happy with how much progress I've made with biking in such a short time. I can see a lot of improvements even in how I ride when I'm just using my mountain bike to get between campuses. And to work in the morning! It wasn't that it used to be hard, but now I'm less out of breath, my legs aren't protesting, and I'm not sweating as much.

Last night when we were biking home from our public health class, we just started sprinting up this one hill and then the last half mile to the house. It was actually fun! Normally by 8:30, riding home is sort of a nightmare, but it just felt great.

I've been all over the map emotionally lately, and I think poor Robbie is bearing the brunt of it. One minute I'm upset, then I'm being a bully, then back to upset, then over it like nothing happened. I think it's a combination of changing my training and getting more intense, starting classes, moving back to New Brunswick after being home most of winter break, getting less sleep because of classes and not being used to sleeping in N.B, and of course, PMS. So I feel sort of like a jerk. Luckily, my moods have been short-lived, and most of the time, I've been pretty upbeat, I think.

Had some of my trailmix cookies last night, since we finished off the fat free brownies mom made us. Also, getting used to drinking skim milk instead of soy milk is rough, but it's just so much cheaper. I would prefer to drink soy, but right now we're trying really hard to save money. Which is tough, considering all of my training/racing expenses that are looming.

I'm just glad it's the weekend, though I'm nervous about how running tomorrow will go. I'm hoping I can make it for at least an hour without my knee bugging me. It's been ok for the past 2 days, and the only time it bugged me all week was when I was running. Runners World just had a blurb about how women with knee problems may have hip problems causing the knee pain, which is what the PT at the conference the other week told me. I just hope that Dr. Cohen can help me, because I don't want to quit running altogether, but if it doesn't start getting better soon, I don't know how I'll be ready for the marathon by March. I don't mean to sound defeatist, but I'm not willing to sacrifice my bike season by risking injury running on a hurt knee. I'd rather have a great bike season and no marathon than a subpar bike season and a subpar painful marathon. Fingers crossed it isn't anything serious. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't run- I hate it but I love it so much.

I can't imagine going a week without running even a bit. Training is a huge part of who I am now, and it would kill me if I had to stop it because of something I can't control.

Enough depressing stuff. It's Friday, it's the weekend, and it's pizza night!

My daddy took me to school today

Well, he didn't take me to school. But I did take him to the gym! I was pretty exhausted when I woke up this morning, but surprisingly not too sore. We went to breakfast- multigrain bagel with veggie cream cheese- and then biked to the gym. 15 min bike warm up, 30 min of weights, 30 min on the elliptical, then 45 in the pool for a recovery swim. Normally I'd hit the gym for a short session between classes in the afternoon and have a totally different morning- I should have been cycling but I need booties, and I was supposed to go running with my internship professor but she was busy.

On the up side, I'm sore in a lot of places that I haven't been sore in for a while/ever, so I think that weight set actually did a lot of good. I feel like a lot of areas I wanted to target actually managed to get a decent workout.

In total, I've biked outside for an hour today, and biking in N.B isn't exactly easy. Lots of hills, lots of traffic. Now, Robbie and I are between classes and I'm not at the gym, so I'm eating chocolate covered pretzels instead!

I have an appointment Tuesday to see the sports medicine doctor that Mark told me about, and hopefully he can help me- the marathon is only 2 months away, so I need to get better fast or all my training will have been for nothing. Or at least, my running training.

Starting Sunday, I'll be officially on the Cycling team, once I give Andy a check. Exciting!

Other than that, life is as usual. I can't wait for tomorrow to be over, or at least for it to be 6 so I can have my Friday recovery pizza dinner! This has been a really long week of classes, and Robbie and I are dreading having to go to our three hour one at 5:30. Hopefully it doesn't last that long and we get to go home. It's about public health and such, so hopefully we can hear about all kinds of gory plague type stuff, but I doubt that's the case... Environmental Sciences always sound cooler than they really are.

Sore, impatient, tired, and psyched.

Feeling very mixed emotions right now, probably prompted by the fact that the last 8 hours of my life have been at the gym, and I was up at 7 after a crappy night's sleep and getting sick.

But oddly, I'm not in a bad mood!

Had a media and politics class today and I was afraid that we'd be focused on Obama and all that stuff for the whole semester... not that it isn't important, but I do a ton of that at work. Instead, we're focusing on New Jersey politics, which is neat because it's something I'm learning about from working for a union that supports state workers. So that should be interesting. And it's the same prof that I've had before, and I really like him, other than the fact that he talks very softly, which makes it easy to get tired during a three hour class that starts at 8 AM!

Then, biked Robbie to class and went back past my house to another campus to hit the gym. So, 45 min in all. Freaking cold!

Ran for 30 min at 6.6 mph, which is really slow for me, but my knee is still acting up. It didn't hurt too bad after that, so I spun on the stationary bike for 30 min to cool down, and then stretched. Mark from the cycling team was meeting me at 4 to lift with Pat, another team member, and then to talk about the blog for the team. It was really cool getting to know them and lifting with other people! We were at it for an hour, and I really felt it. Definitely interesting.

Mark and I chatted about training and periodization- I have a hard time adhering to that, especially in the lower volume parts! I love my 3 hrs of training a day, and the bike team stuff is top priority now, but I have to maintain everything else for triathlon, not to mention marathon. He also told me about a Rutgers sports medicine guy at the health center, Dr. Cohen, so I think I'm going to make an appointment with him to look at my knee. It's been 3 weeks and it still hurts, so I think it's time to get it checked out.

We talked about the blog, and I'm going to write about joining the team and training in a newbie's perpective, and once racing starts, I'll post stuff about that too. I can't believe it starts in early March! It seems so close...

Anyway, then he left, so I did another 30 minutes of spinning and ate my PB&J dinner. After relaxing for a while in the lobby, I hit the pool for an hour, swimming 3 sets of 15 min. strong improved stroke technique with sets of 5 min breaststroke in between. It was a good format and the hour zoomed by! Then, 20 min in the sauna to relax my muscles.

I was goingto stay to lift again with the team, but I got a little nervous when I saw a ton of them walk in- I was expecting a really small group, and I'm still learning how to deal with people. They didn't notice me sitting there (I was taking a break and debating if I should head home), so I took that as a sign and headed home, which I think was probably the smart thing to do, though I'm kind of mad at myself for not even saying hi. Like I said, sometimes my shyness gets the best of me. Oh well, there's a team meeting Sunday so I can meet everyone then.

Blake is getting me booties and legwarmers Sunday, so I'm skipping the team ride tomorrow morning since it's going to be freezing. Plus, dad wants to come to New Brunswick to hit the gym in the morning, and I can't say no to that! (And after today, I'm going to be exhausted tomorrow anyway!)

Molly's First Day of School

Phew. Even though today was pretty relaxed since I have no homework or tutoring jobs yet, I'm still pretty beat. My legs are stiff going up and down the stairs, but it's in a good way.

This morning Chris and I rode up in his attic on the cycling team trainers for an hour at 8 am. It was a lot of fun, since we actually got to talk about a lot of stuff while we were riding- like how to handle relationships and training and finding a balance! We're both very lucky people in that we have significant others who understand our training.

Then, class up on Cook, so we had a 15 minute freezing cold bike ride. Class seems pretty interesting, so that's a plus. The ride home was brutal though- I was freezing! We warmed up with veg chili and corn muffins, which was great.

I'm meeting Mark from the bike team tomorrow at the gym to talk about helping with the Cycling team blog, which is going to be really cool. Tomorrow I'm lifting with him at 4, the bike team at 9, and in between I'm doing a whole bunch of cardio. I just want to get in a really solid couple of weeks and build up a really strong base before I have homework and more work.

Headed over to Busch to swim for an hour thinking I'd be lucky to get through it... once I hit the water though, I was on fire! I managed to swim probably 3200-3300 yards and really pushed it at the end. The new stroke techniques I was working on seem to be helping a lot. There were a lot of people in the pool swimming pretty fast, and I was swimming faster than them most of the time!

I just need Blake to get me booties and legwarmers, and fast! It's too damn cold. And I need to bring my old sneakers here so I'm not destroying my good ones biking through the slush. Ugh.

PB&J for dinner, icing and compressing my knee, hoping it feels better. I feel so weird about getting this semester rolling...

PS: "Shake It" by MetroStation is the best workout song ever!

Small Pizzas are Lame. (So is snow.)

This morning, mom, dad and I went to breakfast at this riverside cafe in Clinton, and dad and I got cornmeal pancakes- yum! I just can't get enough of cornmeal products lately!

So we're finally back in New Brunswick and unpacked and settled in. It snowed like crazy from noon til 6 today, which sucks in terms of driving here. I'm also bummed because the first official cycling ride I'd be on tomorrow got canceled, and I'm just hoping that someone has an extra trainer I can use for the indoor cycling team practice at 8 am. Otherwise, it's off to the gym. What a crappy way to start the semester!

Also, we got a Red Baron pizza for dinner and it was waaay smaller than the box suggested. Lame! So I'm still hungry, but luckily, mom made us fat free brownies!

I went to GNC today and got Accelerade to start drinking on rides. Fingers crossed that it won't hurt my stomach. If I do like it, I'll get the GNC card thing for the discount.

Blake is getting me booties and legwarmers! Hopefully we'll get to use them next Sunday, if work and weather freaking agree with us for once!

I just put up some really old pictures for my friend Rob on my facebook:
I'm on the far right... this was during my Irish dancing days at a competition (no, the hair isn't real.)

My dog, my aunt and uncle's dog, and if you look real close, you can see me surfing in the bottom one!

This is Rob, my high school friend, (not to be confused with Robbie, my boyfriend) wearing a stylish outfit that I made him!

Anyway, off to enjoy brownies and spend some time with Robbie and get a good night's sleep- first bike practice and first day of my spring training schedule and first day of our classes. It should be fun- Native American Lit in English, and Robbie and I are in it together!

Life in Pictures...

So yesterday, I was supposed to be going on a long run, but my knee and leg weren't to happy with me or the cold, so we cut it short at only thirty minutes and I took the rest of the day off. On the up side, it felt better as soon as I warmed up. So I think it's getting much better.

I spent a lot of the day making a ton of corn muffins to freeze and use for a while, since my semester and serious training start Tuesday. I'm excited, but nervous.

My Muffins:

• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin pan or line with paper muffin liners.
2. In a large bowl, mix together corn meal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add egg, oil and milk; stir gently to combine. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
3. Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

Anyway, I also went to the thrift shop and got a great old seventies crock pot- soup making time!!

I need to find some vegetarian recipes for it- maybe cooking quinoa in it would work- I have a huge bag of it that I need to cook at some point. I just haven't liked the taste of it every other time I've cooked it.

Today, I went down and worked out in my little basement gym, since Blake had to work and couldn't ride. Just as well- I was going to watch Frasier episodes while I rode but the disk wasn't working, so I was listening to music instead, and I was sprinting and going really hard for an hour, just dripping sweat everywhere- it felt so good! Then I did 30 min of weights and bosu ball stuff in our living room- I admit, I'll miss being able to do an entire workout in the house, since in New Brunswick, there's no room anywhere to do that.

My basement gym:
My weights and Bosu are upstairs, but you get the picture. Nothing fancy, but I love it!

Speaking of which, the bike is calling to me, so I'm off for another hour or hour and a half. Hopefully dad will grace me with his presence so I'm not stuck alone the whole time. It'll be weird not having him around to work out all the time, I have to admit.

I Need Routine!

So it's been an uneventful but busy couple of days... Now, I'm just at the office and freezing because it's ten degrees outside and our heat is off. So typing is taking a really long time, since I can't really feel my fingers.
Anyway...

I got ditched by my friend for running on Wednesday, since his eyes had just been dilated, and he couldn't run like that, so that was just 30 min of weight and 2 hrs of easy-moderate spinning on my trainer watching Frasier episodes. I also visited my old English teacher turned principal, who, while gossiping, used the phrase, "if it sounds like a duck, looks like a duck, smells like a duck... I think they're definitely ducking." (if you catch her drift.)
It was great- she hadn't seen me in a couple years, and she was shocked by how athletic and in shape I've gotten. "Molly, your shoulders!"

Yesterday, Dad and I went to the gym, where we swam for an hour, me working on correcting my stroke as per my stroke analysis at the conference last weekend. I think it helped a lot- on the sprints, once I got the hang of it, I was definitely faster and my arms got less tired. So that was cool.
Then, we hit the showers and the gym. I was waiting for Dad to get done and he walks out in his great t-shir I got him for Christmas ("Some say heavy-set, I say Clydesdale") and his shorts and white tube socks rolled all the way up. No shoes.
"Dad, where are your shoes?"
"Forgot sneakers, but no one will notice."
I'm pretty sure you can't help but notice my 200+ lb. dad walk into a gym primarily filled with students. He walked in and they told him to get shoes, so he went back and put on his old leather moccasins, and they let him in. I love my Dad!
Seriously, he really is my best friend, and working out with him and spending time with him over break has been really great.
We did 30 min of elliptical, 30 of weights and 30 on the bike (on hill setting, so it was kind of tough)
In all, good workout.

I forgot about lunch until 3 pm, which speaks to me needing more set routines if I'm going to eat right. PB&J at Robbie's, crappy TV shows (Rock of Love is just so good!) and then pizza for dinner. I admit, while eating a ton of stuff like pizza and tacos and Chinese is fun, it'll be nice to get back to New Brunswick and have our nice little dinners together.

I really need to figure out a Spring schedule (over Winter break it's been pretty much gearing up by doing longer endurance stuff- very rough base building, I guess)- it's especially important because I'll be racing with Rutgers Cycling, and doing a marathon, and they occur at roughly the same time. So Master Swim may have to take a backseat, now that I'll be training hard for the other two disciplines. Also, my schedule puts me on the other campus with a pool often, so it's easier to swim there, even though it won't be with a group. Oh well, maybe in the fall. I need to figure out how to store my road bike at school- my house makes me nervous...

I also need to:
pack up my athletic gear and clothes for New Brunswick
try on the bag of jeans the boyfriend's mom got for me from a co-workers daughter
grocery shop for Robbie and I
make corn muffins
apple to the Rutgers grad study program of library science!

Badge of Honor

This isn't the best color for the picture, but it's really hard to get a good bruise shot... It's from the ride with Chris and Rich yesterday when i fell on the ice. Awesome, right?

I went for a run with my professor yesterday, and it was actually a really solid 1 hr recovery run. My knee hurt a little but it didn't suck.

Today, I was supposed to run with my marathon buddy but he's over an hour late and I'm giving up on him in a bit. Probably take it easy for the day, jut spin on the bike for a couple hours and do some weights if he doesn't show up... I have a ton of work to do too!

I've had a serious corn muffin craving lately, so maybe I'll make some this weekend.

COLD COLD COLD

Wow. This was the coldest morning ever. I went cycling with two guys from the Rutgers Cycling team, Chris and Rich, and it went really well. Well, at least for the first hour. Then we stopped so Chris could pee, and I got off my bike and sort of passed out. Between the cold (about 15F with wind chill) and the lack of good underarmour or booties and the fact that I had only had hot chocolate for breakfast and hadn't drank at all, it was a bad combination. God. I got off the bike and all of a sudden I felt nauseous and everything went weird colors and started fading out. I was sitting down and I just couldn't talk or communicate or anything- even my brain felt slowed down. It was scary as hell, since we were sorta in the middle of nowhere. Chris lent me his jacket and booties, but he had to put them on me, I could barely move. Luckily, he also had a protein/carb drink, so he made me dirnk some and some water too. Once I got up, everything was weird and I couldn't see right- everything was really bright- but once I started walking a bit, it started to clear up, so I could get on the bike and finish the ride, which went about 1:45 by the time we finished. We warmed up at my house and talked about the team- they want me riding with them and think I should race and stuff, which is really cool. So I'm doing it.

Also, I felt really strong, other than being really freaking cold, and while it was their base and a pretty laid back ride, at no point did my legs hurt or did I feel really beat. So that's really good, I didn't know how I'd stack up against them. They ride at 8am everyday during the semester, and Rich and Chris said I could use their trainers in their attic with them as well. I'm excited!

Of course, now I have to add booties and underarmour to the list- hopefully this late in the year, it won't be too expensive, since a lot of stuff goes on sale.

So, joining Rutgers Cycling is taken care of.

Yesterday wasn't so great- to get to work, I have a lot of staircases to deal with, and they just bugged ht ehell out of my knee, so I ended up taking an extra rest day. Since I did an hour and a half of workout on Sunday instead of resting, I didn't mind so much, but still. Annoying. I was only plannign on being at the gym for an hour though, so it's no great loss.

Robbie and I signed a lease for the attic apartment yesterday, which was really cool. (Good thing I keep this blog- I had to go over to the landlord's liquor store to sign papers by noon and I almost totally forgot about it. Yikes!)

Now I'm going to a job interview to be a movie screener for film classes a couple nights a week- since Robbie works a lot of nights, I figure it's a smart idea to earn some extra cash. And my schedule is so independent study oriented anyway, it works out perfectly, since I could work during the screening. At any rate, I could use extra income and it'd be nice to not have to tutor quite as much...

All right. Heading out to the gym and then Princeton to run with my intern director type. Godwilling, it's a short easy run, because I'm beat!

My Best Race Picture

I know that it's from way back in September, but I feel like it really defines my personality perfectly... this was from the Skylands Sprint Triathlon right in my hometown, and the girl behind me is in my age group- I got third place thanks to a 100 yard sprint at the end that made me 3 seconds ahead of her. The funniest part about it (aside from my face, of course) is that for the entire race, my legs were cramping so freaking badly I was actually thinking about dropping out. Ten, the last hundred yards came up, and I figured, "I might as well sprint, worst thing that happens is I crawl to the finish, but I'll make it."
After I crossed the finish line, my legs gave up the ghost (my new favorite expression) and I could barely walk to get my trophy/beer mug. It's a godawful picture of me, I know, but it's just such a perfect depiction of how finishing a triathlon feels. Painful, but amazing.
And that's why it's my favorite race picture.

Knee Issues Aside, Cookies!

Took Sunday pretty slowly, since I wanted to give my knee as much time as possible to heal, so I just did the stepper for an hour and some bosu ball and free weight stuff for another half an hour. Dad used the rower while I stepped, and did really well!

I spent the day reorganizing my huge binder of articles torn out of my old Triathlete Magazines, Bicycling magazines, Runner's World, and Oxygen. Now I just need to figure out my training plan for this semester- which starts next Tuesday, yikes!

I also got new protein bars to try (only 190 cal with 20 grams of protein!) and some new Icy Hot Gel. And cookie ingredients! I've had this recipe for Appalachian Trail Cookies from Bicycling that I really wanted to try, so mom and I made a double batch. They're amazing- coconut oatmeal with M&Ms, nuts and raisins... They're mildly healthy, and they'll be a good substitute for the huge bakery cookies that Robbie and I have been wasting money on lately- I even bagged them in single servings to I won't be as tempted to overeat- I have such a bad sweet tooth!

I set up mom's new printer (with built in scanner and photo printer) and got my laptop hooked to it too, so I can actually scan and print right off my computer again! Hooray! To pay me back for doing that, mom went to get me a plain bagel with cream cheese from Dunkin Donuts, and returned with a multi-grain bagel with low-fat cream cheese. I asked, "why did you get this?" and she says, "well, it had a picture of a runner next to it."
It was actually really good... I'm going to steal her Dunkin Donuts gift cards she got for Christmas from her students, since she isn't overly fond of Dunkin Donuts and I'm trying like hell to save money because...

I probably need to buy a wetsuit for the half-Ironman. I'm very unhappy about this. I hate wetsuits, and I alreayd own one for surfing, but it isn't good to swim in, so I have to shell out money for a second suit! At least I can use it and start open water swimming more, I guess. I just hate that I have to spend so much money when I have rent and tuition to be thinking about... it's tough being a college student and serious triathlete- I see why more college kids don't do it, honestly. But I'm trying to tutor more and work as much as I can to save up for next year, though unless I get a full time job, I'll be taking out loans for tuition, which I'm not thrilled about. It's such a bad time to be hitting the job market, I know... It's scary, since I don't have a heck of a lot of choice. I just hope the economy gets a bit better. Anyway, on to happier things...

And this is my new favorite thing: Icy Hot GEL! It has this neat foam applicator thing on the tube so you don't get mineral ice all over your hands, and the smell actually does vanish after a minute or two, which is great since I was getting really really sick of having to smell it all the time, and force everyone (especially at the office) to have to smell it too. And it actually works! Maybe not as well as the regular kind, but well enough that it's worth it.

Sports Medicine and Coaching Workshop

So yesterday I went to this amazing multisports clinic in Freehold. It's the first one, and it was put on by the Training Bible guys and Geraldo Goldberger, an orthopedic surgeon and a super nice guy. So, despite warnings of snow, yesterday morning I drove the hour and a half to check it out, and it was well worth it.

They had physical therapists, trainers, people from running stores, coaches, sports medicine doctors, bike specialists, nutritionists, everyone! You could walk around to different stations and get checked out and there were lectures as well, so it was a lot of fun. I was most psyched about a PT and the swim trainers at the pool nearby.

The therapsit put me on the table and within 5 minutes, had stretched my leg so my knee stopped hurting, and showed me a bunch of stretches to do. He said my knee is probably because my knee joints and hip flexors aren't geting stretched enough, so I'll have to work on that.

Then, I went to the pool, and oh god it was cold! I was freezing since we had to stand around and wait our turn and only swim a bit to get analyzed. I loved the two coaches, a father daughter team. Ed Foeri was the father and they run a coaching business not far from me, so its tempting to spend even more money... I found out that what I thought was the proper swim stroke really isn't- I'm not bad but I definitely need tweaking, so they showed me what to do for good form and had me practice for a while- my head kept moving so the woman had me go to the side and held it in place underwater until I got it right! (luckily, this came before I passed out) I need to focus on keeping my hips lower (apparently I'm really really buoyant, which surprised them!) and straighten my arms more on entry, which honestly, I used to do but I taught myself what I thought was the correct way to do it, which is more bended. So after that, a hot shower felt really really good....

I did some running on the treadmill, found out about some shoes I should get, talked to a lot of people, and attended some gret and some generic lectures. A couple were trying a bit too hard to stick with the Training Bible by Friel, but since I've already read it a few times, it was nothing new. Still, hearing someone talking about some of it made me realize that I should reread a few parts. Then a lecture on nutrition made me worry more about raceday nutrition- as an athlete with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), the idea of eating while racing is scary.


So in all, what I need to do:
1. Work on race nutrition (try more gus and a high carb electorlyte drink)
2. Swim technique (again, Master Swim would help if I can make practices)
3. Stretch! (in the morning, before workouts, after workouts, at night)
4. Get 2 news pairs of shoes (one lightweight for racing, one moderately cushioned for training)
5. Register with the USAT (too many one day passes this season are adding up... I know I didn't learn this at that conference but it's been on my mind.)

Great Training, Great Day

So Saturday it was really freaking cold out and flurry-ing so dad and I decided to check out this trail that's near our house instead of driving to our normal running spot so we could save time. What for the first mile seemed like a well maintained trail gave way to 5 miles of ridiculous tiny little trail through the woods with rocks and roots and everything- an off road adventure! We went about 11-12 miles, which wasn't bad, but all the trail running bothered my knee a bit. It felt good to do something a little different though- sometimes it gets a little monotonous, so checking out new trails was really fun! Dad was, of course, on his mountain bike, not running, and he got a hella good workout too...

I've been making hot chocolate from unsweetened almond milk, cocoa powder, vanilla extract and sugar, and it's such a great recovery drink- it really helps warm me up after running in the cold, and almond milk is great for protein!

Afterwards, I iced my knee, used the heating pad on it, and then got dressed and went to dinner with half of the "group" from high school, Linds and Rob. Margerita (or however you spell it) pizza is yummy! Rob lives out in Boulder, CO right now, so in May I may be visiting him for a few days for some serious altitude training, which would be just in time for the Revoution3 half-Ironman June 7. I'm really psyched about it- I haven't ever been to CO, so it'll be an adventure. And it's near my birthday, so hopefully plane tickets can be a present from someone!

I went to an awesome multisports conference today, but I'll talk about that tomorrow morning. For now, getting some sleep!

A Legacy

I was thinking in bed last night about the support systems necessary to be able to survive as a triathlete. My mom and my dad's parents and siblings were super supportive of him, and now my boyfriend and my parents and sister are my support group. While all the science of how to train and what shoes to wear and stuff like that may change, I love that at the core of the sport, the same tenants apply.

This was one of my dad's first races... note that I'm in the picture as well- just check my mom's stomach! She was 8 1/2 months pregnant at the time.

My support team now- mom again, plus Robbie and my sister, Colleen. Dad is taking the picture and running around trying to find good spots to get shots of me running.

Rainy days are here again.

Seriously, this crappy weather is killing my motivation and my joints! Yesterday I woke up to find an inbox full of canceled plans, including a run and bike ride because of pouring rain. So I did Iron Yoga and hit the gym for my first run since my knee went out on Saturday. It went all right, managed a solid 7.2 mph, not too fast, for 30 min, with the last min racheting up to 10 mph, which my knee survived.

Then I hit weights and the elliptical for a bit as a cooldown for my legs, and then went for a 30 min moderate pace swim. By the time I got home, I was starving since all I ahd for breakfast was homemade hot chocolate and a Balance protein bar leftover from the swag at the Bosco's Buddies race in November. My poor pantry is bare in New Brunswick! 3 hours of workout on under 350 cal doesn't cut it, so I had to drive pretty darn fast to Robbie's to raid his pantry for a peanut butter and honey on wheat sandwich. If it wasn't for my depressing Mountain Dew addiction, I'd be a healthy eater!

Anyway, then we had to go out for Robbie's friend's birthday, which was awkward but kind of fun. I don't hang out wiht a lot of people often, so it was interesting.

Then today I woke up and felt achy so I stayed in bed til 8:45! Break makes me lazy... I finally got up, ate a little cereal and did the stepper, rowed for 30 min, did some weights, and biked for 45 min on the trainer, ate a pb&j for lunch and did another 45 min. It wasn't an amazing workout day, but solid overall. My endurance is improving thanks to this break- last week I did 2 straight hours on the bike and hopped off feeling great- it's nice to be able to go until I'm exhausted, go for long blocks of time, and to sweat a ton and not worry about not being able to shower before class! I'm glad my spring schedule is less demanding in terms of going to classes. It'll be more work, but it's more stuff I can do from home, so I can be as gross and sweaty as I want.

I got to hang out with an old friend from high school today, and I forgot just how much I missed that whole group of people- we had such a tight knit circle in high school but we've all lost touch. He lives in Boulder, CO now, which is great if I ever decide to take a trip out there for some serious training. We watched Wayne's World, quoted every line, and caught up and got nostalgic. It was a lot of fun, and I was surprised at how little we've both changed in some ways. I really want Robbie to meet him, they'd get along great.

Here we all are at my Sweet Sixteen- my parents and friend threw me a surprise party at a roller rink!

Anyway, it's weird to realize how this was only a few years ago but it feels like so much longer. My life and priorities have changed so much- I used to be this little anarchist punk bookworm, and now I'm a triathlete bookworm. I guess things change to a point. My friend thought it was hilarious that th gym people I hang out with now in the weight room are the people that I hated and who hated me in high school... my how times have changed!

Well, off to attempt 8 hours of sleep- long run tomorrow, plus bike ride errands and hopefully some Iron Yoga. And at night, the Group (see above) may be going to dinner... The problem with winter break is that it's so hard to eat right when I'm constantly out with people! I can't wait to get back on a regular schedule, my stomach will thank me. Also, tomorrow, I'm writing a training plan for Spring, I think...

Rain Rain Go Away

So somehow my plans of going biking with the Cycling Club president and running with my internship director have gone totally awry, thanks to this stupid rain. And the gym doesn't even open until 11! So I'm planning on breakfast, some Iron Yoga, some writing, then meeting a professor for lunch, then going to the gym and the Library of Science and Medicine to check out new medical sports journals.

Speaking of Iron Yoga, it's my new favorite thing since Mom got it for me for Christmas. I can finally do weights and yoga, which is great, since I always found regular yoga kind of painfully boring. I've taken a lot of classes at Rutgers for yoga, pilates, fitness yoga, you name it, and they all fell kind of flat, except for one, but that instructor never teaches when I'm free anymore! Besides, the video makes it easier to pick when I feel like doing it weekly instead of being stuck to a schedule. Sort of like all of the online or independent study courses I'm doing this semester-- triathlon is just that important, I guess. Anyway, Iron Yoga is awesome, and it's only $15, so I would recommend it to anyone, especialy anyone caught in a yoga rut or hates stretching (also my problem).

My Tiny Goals for 2009:
1. Stretch more
2. More protein in my diet- as a vegetarian, that's never easy
3. Cook more! Robbie and I are already planning this semester's dinners.
4. Less junk food, aspecially at night. I'm making healthy cookies to keep on hand, that should help.

Robbie and I finally found a place to live next year, by the way! It's a really cute attic apartment just down the block from where we are now. I think we're signing the lease on Monday, and I'm really happy about it- I didn't want to deal with ahving to apply to apartment buildings and all that jazz, and $925 a month isn't too bad in New Brunswick- it's even got a second bedroom/living room area that's perfect for a study room and for a place for his brother to crash whenever. The only problem is that it really is like an attic, so the walls slant in a lot, but it's really not that big of a deal. Then again, I'm only 5'4" and Robbie's 6'. But hopefully he likes it when we go back on Monday, so we can give the guy (Tony- perfect landlord name) the deposit. And the upside with the attic apartment? The stair workout, of course!!

Our bedroom will be so freaking cute too- and it has a huge closet, so I'll have room to store my always growing supply of workout gear. And a working washer and dryer in the basement! The kitchen is great too, though there's a lack of cabinet space. But what I love is that clearly the guy living there now was able to paint on the walls, so I can too! Also, he had a kitten. Which Robbie and I agree is a must.

Anyway, yesterday I had work and an all day staff meeting. I bike to the train station and back but it's about a 15 min round trip. After going to check out the apartment after work, I just wanted to relax for the night but I decided to drag my lazy behind to the gym for a bit.

45 min swim (about 2300 meters)
15 min free weights/crunches
30 elliptical (with arms)

I didn't want to run on the treadmill in fear of hurting my knee for my run today, but since that run isn't happening I'll probably hit the treadmill later today. I have to start counting laps in the pool, but it's just so boring to do! I like being able to just think when I'm swimming, and I can swim pretty fast like that. Hence, master swim ASAP.

Other great news- Triathlete decided to put my article in the magazine! So I'm really happy about that, and my Dad is ecstatic.

Sunday I'm biking with Blake, who finally gave me advice on which half Ironman to do, so I think I'm signing up for the Revolution3 one in Middlebury, Connecticutt. It should be a really good race, and it's at just the right time- June 7, so between the Marathon and the Olympic Tri, which works out really well in terms of my training.

Next week is going to be a nutty last week of vacation, with bikig with Blake, the cycling team guy, running with my marathon friend and my professor, etc. I'm not normally a group sport type person, so this kind of throws me off. We'll see...

Next stop, soy hot chocolate and orange juice- the house in New Brunswick is pretty bereft of food since Robbie and I have been staying with our parents over winter break, and I don't feel like going out in this rain, except to the gym later.

Dad Says Sore, I Say Not Sore Enough!

Dad and I went to the Rtgers gym for the first time in the New Year yesterday. I had gotten him gym passes for Christmas, so I was determined to get him there to use them. He met me at my house and we biked over to the other campus and hit the pool first.

I started out with a 10 minute straight warm up, going briskly. Dad started with 2 laps, floundering just a teensy bit- in his defense, it's been close to 20 years since he swam seriously. I'm determined to get him in sprint distance shape by the summer though- it'll be really good for him to drop some weight and get healthier. We've been using our matching stationary trainers that we got each other for Christmas almost daily, so I'm proud of him for that.

After the warmup, I did a few 100 m sprint sets (the best being 1:25, a number I'd like to lower quite a bit) and a couple 50 m sprints. Dad paddled around and I did some more moderate paced laps so we were in the pool for a total of an hour.

After that, we hit the gym for a weight set- dad was using the leg press set at 350 lbs and when he got off, I innocently said,"let me try, it looks like you're doing a lot," and got on and proceeded to knock of 20 reps, with dad's jaw dropping. Not bad for a girl who avoids leg presses (my leg muscles are bulky enough for riding in the highest gear all the time), especially one who just had her knee hurt for a couple of days.

Weight set finished, we took a protein bar break and then did another small weight circuit and a 30 min cool down on the elliptical- though dad only went 15.

It was a great way to spend a day with dad, and a really good workout to kick off 2009. I really want to do Master Swim though, since I think that's the only way I can make any real improvements.

I'm pissed- winter storm advisory tonight, so my bike and run plans tomorrow may get fouled up. Fingers crossed that they won't!

Looking at an apartment tonight, and I'm praying that it is at least semi-decent... Robbie and I desperately need a place to live in June, and this one sounds great, so hopefully it'll be ok.

And in other amazing news, Triathlete Magazine is putting an article I wrote on IBS and Triathletes on their website! I was so freakin excited to have gotten an email from Brad Culp saying that they wanted to run it- I was grinning ear to ear all night last night.

Good and Bad Start

So yesterday I went on a 1.5 hr run with my dad biking next to me on the trail by the Delaware River, starting in Frenchtown. In the past couple of weeks, I've been doing longer runs (16 miles) and hill runs, and with time off from school, I've had a lot of time to really focus on biking and running. It's been nice having the time to train and the time to recover, even if the holiday season meant me eating a lot more than normal. (Including wayyyy too many desserts!)
So the run got off to a great start- I hit the point that I hit on the last run after 50 minutes in only 45, and then made it back in only 42, a pretty solid negative split. That means an over ten minute decrease in my time! That felt awesome, and dad and I were high-fiving when I turned to walk back to the car and BAM my knee slightly twisted and I could barely walk. By the time I got home, I couldn't put weight on it and a huge bruise had started showing up.
So I had to spend today, a perfect biking day that I was planning on using for a 60 mile ride, on the couch going with the Rest Ice Compression Elevation theory. It's feeling better already, so hopefully the gym with dad tomorrow will be okay.

Busy week ahead- tomorrow dad and I are swimming and hitting weights and biking, plus I have to talk to my old principal of my high school about some career stuff, drop by the journalism department, and make it to the farmer's market to get some food for Robbie and I for dinner. Then Tuesday I have work and gym and going to Sport's Authority for some Gu gels. Wednesday I'm psyched- the Rutgers Cycling Club president and I are riding together to talk about where I can fit in on the team- I want to start racing this Spring, so it's a pretty important meeting. The head of the undergrad English department is taking me to lunch, so I'll be chatting about grad school with her. After that, train and bike to Princeton to run with the reporter I'm interning for this Spring. And call my marathon buddy for a run, and my Ironman buddy for a bike/run... Busy busy busy!

I need to figure out Master Swim stuff, Cycling Club stuff, school stuff, and training schedules for Spring. I'm pulling out all of the stops this Spring to get in prime competing shape- need to cut body fat and really polish my techniques by training with groups.

New Year, New Blog

2009 Resolutions
1. Marathon in under 3:40 (Boston qualifier for 2010)
2. Olympic Triathlon in under 2:30
3. Sprint Triathlon in 1:20
4. Finish a Half Ironman
5. Publish more articles and blog frequently
6. Eat better!
7. Straight A's before graduating
8. Save (and make) more money
9. As dad says before any competition I do, "Kick Ass!"

Really, what better time to start a blog? I'm going to keep this one focused on not just my triathlon endeavors, but also science and health and news related to the sport.