Monthly summary - June 2008

Here's June 2008:

Swim: 24,090 yards
Cycling (outdoors): 540.7 miles
Cycling (indoors): 1:00 (hours)
Run: 109.7 miles
Strength Training/Yoga: 3 sessions

Approximate monthly total training/racing time: 56:30 hours

Weight: 163 pounds

This was a really good month. Definitely my best of 2008. I did five long, hard, hilly rides plus weekly shorter rides in the Park. I ran a ton of quality miles and got in some pretty good swims. I didn't have any forced time off and even though my back and knee aren't always pain free, I've been generally able to train without discomfort. Compared to June 2007 (remember that we were in Italy for two weeks that month), I trained a fair amount more this year. That's particularly true with respect to the bike - this June I rode over 200 more outdoor miles than last June. It was definitely my biggest month of riding ever. I needed that time on the bike. And after this month of riding I'm feeling much more confident about my ability to finish the bike course and have something (however little it might be) left in my legs for the run.

The JFK50 application will be posted on their website tomorrow. Do I sign up again? I think so...

Bike - June 28
Distance: 76.4 miles
Time: 128
Average heart rate: 4:39
Course: Harriman, Bear Mountain
Conditions: Hot (low-70's to high 80's), humid, mostly sunny

Indoor ride - June 29
Time: 30 minutes
Average heart rate: 107

Run - June 29
Distance: 6 miles
Time: 48 minutes
Average heart rate: 143
Course: Lower Manhattan, East Side
Conditions: Clear, high 70's, humid

Strength - June 30

NYC Waterfalls!

Yesterday morning New York City Waterfalls, the City's newest public art "show" opened in the East River. Essentially, a Swedish artist created four massive "waterfalls" that suck water up from the river and cascade it back down. The tallest one is 120 feet tall. I'd been reading about it for a while and seen some renderings and even saw the scaffolding for one of them the other week when I was running on the East Side. There's an article in the Times here.

Yesterday morning as I was getting ready for my long run, I heard on the radio that the waterfalls were now officially "on" so I decided to run that way (and across the Brooklyn Bridge) to check them out. I saw the one at Pier 35 while crossing over the Brooklyn Bridge and the one under the Brooklyn Bridge (pictured above) while crossing back to Manhattan on the Manhattan Bridge. I guess they're pretty impressive. They are definitely urban waterfalls and do look cool. They're also loud. Beyond that, though, I'm not so sure. Supposedly, they'll be lit up at night, which will probably have a neat effect.

Yesterday's long run was a struggle. I have not been sleeping all that well this week, and Charlie's gotten into the habit of getting up around 5:30 and his whining and scratching generally wakes me up as well. That's fun. So I was tired and I'm feeling a little beat up right now anyway. I think I jumped the gun a little bit when I mentioned that my "taper" was starting this week. This week is a shorter week than last week was, but it's certainly not much of a taper. I'm about six hours in over the last four days, with a long bike on the schedule for tomorrow. Next week my volume goes down a little more, but I'm beginning to remember that tapering for an Ironman doesn't mean taking it "easy". Anyway, I got through the run, but it wasn't fun. My legs felt heavy and I felt slow. I found my stride at around an eight minute mile pace with my heart rate where I wanted it (mid 140's), but normally can comfortably run a little faster. Thankfully, my evening run was much better an this morning's swim felt great.

Bike - June 24
Distance: 24.7 miles
Time: 1:20
Average heart rate: 120
Course: West Side Highway to Central Park (2 loops)
Conditions: Sunny, high-60's, pretty nice out

Run - June 24
Distance: 5.75 miles
Time: 46 minutes
Average heart rate: 142
Course: West Side Highway
Conditions: Sunset, high-70's, humid

Swim - June 25
Distance: 3,500 yards
Time: 1:05

Run #1 - June 26 6:30am
Distance: 11.25 miles
Time: 1:30
Average heart rate: 145
Course: Through Manhattan, over Brooklyn Bridge, around Brooklyn, over Manhattan Bridge, home
Conditions: Cloudy, humid, low 70's

Run #2 - June 25 8:00pm
Distance: 4.75 miles
Time: 38 minutes
Average heart rate: 137
Course: East Village, Lower East Side, East River
Conditions: Evening, humid, clouds, high 70's

Swim - June 26
Distance: 2,550 yards
Time: 45 minutes

Four Weeks to Go/Taper Begins

Yesterday was the end of my hardest training week this season and today marks the beginning of a four week race taper. (Even though my taper officially begins this week, other than a day off today, I've still got some tough work ahead of me for the next couple weeks.)

Since the middle of May when I decided not to drop of Lake Placid I have taken exactly one day off (the day before the Harriman race). Over the last five weeks, I've worked my way up to my longest and hardest workouts of the season, all of which happened between Wednesday and Saturday last week: Wednesday's 4,500 yard swim, Thursday's double run day for a total of around 21.25 miles and Saturday's hard 109.7 mile bike ride.

Saturday's ride was a pretty epic one. Since I was scheduled to go so long and since we have a car for the summer, I decided to drive up to Harriman State Park and start my ride from there. I knew that I could really challenge myself with all of the hills in and around the Park. And challenge myself I did. I have no idea how to calculate exactly how much climbing I did, but it felt like I was always either climbing or descending. This will all probably be a lot of gobbly-gook to anyone not familiar with the area, but I started with one counter-clockwise 14 mile loop of the Park, then did a clockwise loop (this is the way the half-ironman goes), then I left the Park to climb up Perkins Drive to the top of Bear Mountain (beautiful views!), then back to and through to Park for a nice 70 mile ride through the Hudson River Valley, through Sloatsburg, Tuxedo and Sterling Lake before turning around and coming back. Beginning about five hours in, I really started questioning both my sanity and my physical ability to stay on the bike. My original goal was 6 hours and as I got close to that I realized that I would be very close to the Ironman race distance of 112 miles. I got back to my car after about 104 miles and my watch told me I'd been riding for 5:40. I turned around and rode part of the Park loop (avoiding the big hill by Lake Welch) and really wanted to hit 112. But I got back to my car at 109 and as much as I wanted to stay on the bike for another 10 minutes and get those last three miles in, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I have never been so happy to be off my damn bike!

I am physically and mentally exhausted, but also feeling strong and excited and ready to be ready for Lake Placid.


Bike - June 21
Distance: 109.7 (longest of season)
Time: 6:03
Average heart rate: 124
Course: Harriman State Park, Bear Mountain, around the Hudson River Valley
Conditions: Sunny, started in mid-60's, ended up in mid-80's

Indoor bike - June 22
Time: 30 minutes
Average heart rate: 117

Run - June 22
Distance: 5.25 miles
Time: 45 minutes
Average heart rate: 132
Course: West Side Highway
Conditions: Some sun, humid, mid-70's

CAF Celebration of Heroes, Heart and Hope

Wednesday night Elizabeth and I went to the Challenged Athletes Foundation's Celebration of Heroes, Hearts and Hope. The event is CAF's annual fundraising gala and fortunately for us takes place right here in Manhattan. Last year we couldn't go because it was right before the Ironman and we were already up in Lake Placid. We were both really excited for the event, even though we didn't really know what to expect.

Simply put, it was a blast! It was inspirational, informative, exciting and best of all, really fun. There were a ton of well-known challenged athletes at the event, including CAF spokespeople Sarah Reinertsen (who I randomly met in New York in January), Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah (from the movie "Emmanuel's Gift" and pictured on the right), Carlos Moleda and Rudy Garcia-Tolson (pictured below with Jake Frank), and some relative newcomers to the CAF team: Scout Bassett, Evan Morgan, Jake Frank and April Coughlin. Rick and Dick Hoyt were there as well. There were a few grantees (including Evan Morgan) who were injured in combat in Iraq or Afghanistan. Elizabeth and I spoke with Sarah for a little bit and she remembered meeting me, which was fun. I also had a brief conversation with Emmanuel, who is actually running for parliament in Ghana (the election's in December). We met two of the founders of CAF, who were both so nice and happy to speak with us.

Six-time Ironman World Champion Dave Scott and two-time Ironman world champion Scott Tinley were there too. Florida Marlin's president David Samson is a big supporter of CAF and was in attendance. Finally, tons of people from the local triathlon community, including athletes, coaches, race organizers, and Lee Silverman, the owner of Jackrabbit Sports. It was great to see friends from around town and meet some new like-minded triathletes.

Since the event is a big fundraiser, there were plenty of opportunities for CAF to raise money. During the cocktail hour, there was a big silent auction with tons of triathlon and general-sports related items (including race entries to sold out races, signed sports memorabilia, golf trips, tickets to a Las Vegas heavyweight fight and a Guru Crono). After cocktails, the event moved into a massive ballroom where they showed inspirational videos about the featured athletes, they gave out a couple awards and held the live auctions. The biggest prize (and the last item auctioned) at the live auction was an entry to the 2008 or 2009 Ironman World Championship in Kona. Seeing as how this is a nearly impossible achievement for most of the world, it's a huge prize. The bidding started at $20,000 and closed - moments later - at $45,000! Most of the other live auction items were sold for $1-5,000. They included cool trips to places like a Land Rover driving school and a new resort in the Caribbean, two tickets to each 2008 World Series game, and a trip to LA to go backstage at the taping of Fox NFL Sunday, meet the Fox team and watch all the games. We bought the last item - and we're both really excited for it: flights to LA, hotel room and the day at the studio. I think it will be great fun, and Elizabeth is totally into it too!

It was an excellent evening. It seemed like CAF raised a ton of money from some very generous people and it was great to feel like we were doing our part. Seeing the athlete's stories and getting the chance to meet some of them and speak with the people who run CAF reinforced our interest in supporting and being a part of this wonderful organization.

Run #1 - June 19 (8:15am)
Distance: 12.25 miles
Time: 1:35
Average heart rate: 147
Course: West Side Highway (north-bound)
Conditions: Beautiful, mostly sunny, mid-60's

Run #2 - June 19 (5:15pm)
Distance: 9 miles
Time: 1:11
Average heart rate: 139
Course: Around lower Manhattan
Conditions: Some sun, mid-60's

Swim - June 20
Distance: 1,700 yards
Time: 30 minutes

K-Swiss Ultra Natural Run shoe review

If you remember, right before my knee problems started, Elizabeth and I received pairs of the new K-Swiss Ultra Natural Run shoe from a friend of ours who does PR for the company. K-Swiss is trying to enter the running shoe market and is specifically targeting triathletes with the Ultra Natural Run. Supposedly top pro and K-Swiss sponsored triathlete Chris Lieto (6th at Kona last year, won at Columbia Triathlon (Olympic) a month ago in a record-breaking 1:51:13) had a hand in designing the shoe and he debuted them at Kona last fall. Their main competition in this niche right now is the Zoot Ultra line of shoes, which essentially market the same features to triathletes looking for an edge.

I didn't want to try running in them until I felt my knee was OK - both because I didn't want to mess things up worse by running in shoes that might not fit right and because I didn't want my review to be colored by residual injuries or aches. Over the last few weeks, I've done five short runs in them (the first one on a treadmill and then four on the road) for a total of about 21 miles.

From checking them out and reading on-line, the primary features that they're using to target triathletes are:

• light weight
• built-in elastic quick laces
• water management via drainage holes in the footbed and soles
• built-in sockliner so you can run without socks

First Impressions:
At first, I had very mixed feelings. First off, they're not all that aesthetically pleasing. I don't mind "flashy" shoes, but in my opinion the bright blue is a bit too bright to use as the primary shoe color. There are other color options, but none of them really impress me either. They also look a bit wide and bulky, especially in the forefoot area. I didn't get a good picture of them from above so it might be hard to tell from these photos. They do feel very light, similar to a lightweight trainer (like the Asics DS Trainer), but I couldn't find weight information on-line and don't have a scale at home on which I could weigh them. However, even though they feel light, they don't scream "light and fast," they more mumble "light and cheap." The foam in the soles doesn't feel that supportive or durable. I felt around inside them to see if I could wear them sockless and for the most part, I couldn't feel seams (obviously good), but the area around the tongue worried me. The tongue has a pretty big seam around its edge and it sits a little loose in the shoe so I was worried about it moving and rubbing. I like the idea of built-in speed laces - assuming they work. Here's a close-up of the laces and tongue from the side:

I wear a size 11 in Asics, Mizuno and Brooks and the 11 in this shoe fits my foot well. I like the drainage hole idea a lot - during hot, humid runs or runs in the rain, normal running shoes get bogged down and heavy with water. Hopefully these holes would release that water weight.


Post-run:
I was happily surprised by the Ultra Run in a few areas. They definitely feel light on my feet. They also encourage a good mid-foot strike and didn't seem to cause any pronation. They are comfortable and were snug enough around the heel and had enough room in the toe. The tongue actually flattens out and didn't bother me at all or cause any blisters. The quick laces held tight. I ran with socks for the first two runs and it wasn't until half-way through the third run that I was brave enough to try them without socks - I ran about 20 sweaty minutes and didn't feel much rubbing or get any blisters. I didn't notice any seams, not even the ones under the tongue. I did my fourth and fifth runs in them without socks for the entire run and they were comfortable and didn't cause any problems.

I do have two complaints. First, getting them on isn't as easy or quick as it should be. The whole point of quick laces is so you can slip right into the shoe without any struggle or effort. That's how it works with my other shoes when I replace the laces with Yankz. On the Ultra Natural Run, you have to sorta jimmy your way into the shoe and then fiddle with the tongue a little bit to get your foot situated. I think this is a design issue having to do with the placement and shape of the tongue and the elasticity of the quick laces. Also, the Zoot Ultra shoes have a high "grabber" at both the tongue and heel to help get the shoe on quickly. The K-Swiss versions of both "grabbers" are considerably smaller and don't lend themselves to much "grabbing." Also, the insole isn't connected to the shoe. Putting a socked foot in isn't a problem, but a bare foot is stickier and pulls and sometimes pushes the insole around a little bit. (Fortunately, this is especially an issue when taking the shoe off - the insole came part way with my foot - and that wouldn't be a big deal in most triathlons.) While getting the shoe on only takes a few seconds and isn't a big deal for anyone not in a triathlon, those seconds and that effort and concentration are not what I want to deal with in a race. My second concern about them is that they don't feel as stable and comfortable and easy as my other shoes. Just in the course of my five runs, they did get better and more comfortable, but compared to my other shoes, I didn't feel as fast wearing the Ultra Natural Run. And feeling fast is what it's all about, really.

I did not have a chance to test the water management/drainage holes, but the holes are prominent and I'll believe they work.

Conclusion:
I like the shoes but don't love them. They're not as sleek looking or feeling as I'd like in a shoe. The color choices are pretty ugly and the shoe is boxy. I'm not counting them out, but I also don't anticipate replacing the rest of my shoe rotation with more of these. I'll keep this pair in my rotation and would definitely try them in a shorter (sprint or even Olympic distance) triathlon. I'd also try test them on some really hot, sweaty days and maybe in the rain to test out the water drainage holes. I am concerned about their durability. Again, I only have 21 miles on them, but they don't feel like they'd stand up to the 200-300+ miles I'd expect from $80 shoes. As for getting them on quickly in a transition, maybe there's a trick and I just need more practice, but I really feel something like this should be intuitive and simple from the get-go. On the other hand, if Chris Lieto is willing to trust his races (and his livelihood) in these shoes, then maybe I am missing something.

p.s. longest swim of the season this morning - 4,500 yards - approximately 2.55 miles, a little longer than race distance.

Run - June 16
Distance: 3.75 miles
Time: 30 minutes
Average heart rate: 140
Course: Greenwich Village, Washington Square Park
Conditions: Hot, muggy, overcast

Bike - June 17
Distance: 33.8 miles
Time: 1:47
Average heart rate: 123
Course: West Side Highway to Central Park (4 loops)
Conditions: Beautiful, sunny, mid-60's

Swim - June 18
Distance: 4,500 yards (longest of season)
Time: 1:20

5 Weeks!

Can you believe that the Ironman is five weeks from today? Neither can I. Unlike last year when I was counting down the hours, this year the race has totally snuck up on me.

I had a good, pretty hard ride in the farm country outside Washington DC yesterday. Despite the fact that my legs are feeling very heavy and my back/butt and knee aren't 100% pain free, I am feeling excited and confident about the race. I am so thankful for the support of friends and family that helped convince me not to give up. I'll be writing and reflecting more over the coming weeks.

Bike - June 13
Distance: 29.6 miles
Time: 1:40
Average heart rate: 121
Course: West Side Highway, Central Park (3+ loops)
Conditions: Sunny, high 60's

Bike - June 14
Distance: 70.9 miles
Time: 4:08
Average heart rate: 121
Course: Washington DC to Poolesville
Conditions: Sunny, humid, 70's-80's

Run - June 15
Distance: 6 miles
Time: 46 minutes
Average heart rate: 143
Course: Chevy Chase/Rockville Park
Conditions: Sunny, humid, high 70's

What I Love About Austin

What's not to love??

Another list...

• Swimming - If you live in Austin, there doesn't seem to be any need to swim in a traditional pool, and definitely no reason to swim inside. They have two of the best swimming locations that I have ever experienced. First, there's Deep Eddy, which is pretty close to a traditional pool - it's got lanes and walls - but it's spring fed fresh water (no chlorine) with pool-like visibility and it's 33 yards long. It's always between 68-72 degrees, and when I swam I'd guess it was at the higher end of that range, so it was chilly at first, but once I got warmed up it felt great. They have lap swimming (maybe eight lanes?) all day and when I went - mid-afternoon on a Saturday, it was busy, but not packed. It's also the oldest swimming pool in Texas, so it's got that going for it. The second is Barton Springs. Barton Springs is also spring-fed, but it's much closer to the open water experience. There are no lanes at all. It's 1/8 mile long and there aren't walls to push off from. The bottom is rocky and there are fish and turtles swimming alongside you. The visibility isn't as good as Deep Eddy, but it's still clearer than most lakes or the ocean. There are people swimming every which way, so you really have to be on the look-out for crashes. You can swim laps whenever you want, but it gets crazy packed during the middle of the day and with people swimming where ever they want, trying to swim laps under those conditions can't be fun. Early mornings (before the kids get up and moving) seem to be a safe time to swim. It's even free if you're out of the water before 9AM (after that it's $3!). So that's all great, but it is C-O-L-D, COLD! They say that Barton Springs stays a constant 68 degrees all year round. After 40 minutes of swimming (no wetsuit or earplugs, but I did wear two swim caps), I was pretty much frozen. It was also hard for me to swim fast, what with the sighting and people to swim around. Unlike an open water race where everyone is swimming roughly the same direction, at Barton Springs you have people going up and down the length the pool, plus side-to-side and some people just bobbing around. Before I try to do a long swim in Barton Springs again, I'd better toughen up some, or bring a wetsuit!
  
  
• Running Town Lake - Lake Austin (really a river) runs right through the middle of town. And going around the lake is a 10.1 mile trail perfect for running or walking or riding (knobby tires only). Parts of the trail are dirt, parts are paved. You can cut the course short by cutting across the river on one of a few bridges. It's mostly flat, but there are some little hills. There's plenty of shade on most of the trail. There are lots of water fountains and the nice people at the local running store, Run Tex, provide large coolers of water at two places along the trail. Despite all that, it gets hot out there, so for my long run Tuesday morning, I carried my own bottle (I learned that lesson after Sunday's run with Elizabeth when we both thought we might die from overheating and dehydration!). Finally, there are some really bad-ass runners on that trail, which is always fun to see.
  
  
• Friends - We have some really great friends in Austin. My closest friend in Austin, the guy who convinced me to move there in the first place in 1995, is Charles (pictured up top with Elizabeth and I). He is about the nicest, most generous person you'll ever meet. A great tour guide, he's lived in Austin his whole life and knows people all over town. It was great catching up with him and hanging with his wife and son (we didn't meet his daughters on this trip). Some other friends of ours, Tad and Carrie, moved down there from New York recently, so now we have more excuses to visit.
  
  
  
• Food - There is no shortage of fantastic food in Austin. I think the city is best known for its barbecue and tex-mex, but you can find it all in Austin. And it's hard not to find yummy food. We ate at Shady Grove, Hula Hut and Iguana Grill and had great ice cream at Amy's (a local chain). We didn't hit a whole list of places that I meant to get to - Guero's, Chuy's, El Arroyo, Magnolia Cafe, Kerbey Lane, Stubb's, Salt Lick, the list goes on and on...
  
  
• Bars/Nightlife/Patios - You know I'm not a big drinker and around New York, I don't go "out" very often. But, I think it would be hard to stay home at night in Austin. The bar scene is great and the big thing in Austin are "patios" at the bars. All the bars have outdoor spaces, either on their roof or around the front or side of the building. The bartenders and waitresses were all super nice and drinks are cheap. My friend Charles owns a couple bars - Doc's Motorworks Bar & Grill (on South Congress) and Doc's Backyard (in South Austin). We hung out at Doc's Motorworks a bit and really enjoyed it. I'd definitely recommend it - and not just because my friend owns the place! Our other favorite place from this trip was Key Bar on West 6th Street.
  
  
• The Weather - Sure it was hot when we were there, really hot. But it was worse in New York that weekend, hotter, more humid and all around miserable. And Austin's nice out all year. Their winter is sorta like New York's spring.

Run #1 - June 10 (8:30am)
Distance: 11 miles
Time: 1:30
Average heart rate: 153
Course: Town Lake, Austin, Texas
Conditions: Hot, Hot, Hot (high 80's), sunny and humid

Run #2 - June 10 (7:45pm)
Distance: 7.5 miles
Time: 1:00
Average heart rate: 144
Course: West Side Highway to Battery Park
Conditions: Low 90's, humid, thick air, evening run

Strength - June 11

Swim - June 12
Distance: 3,500 yards
Time: 1:09

Austin!

We're in Austin for a little mini-vacation - arrived Saturday and flying home tomorrow. We're having a great time, visiting friends, eating good food, sweating our tushes off in the heat and relaxing. I've done two great swims in outdoor pools (one in Barton Springs - pictured above) and a hard, hot run in the mid-day heat (oops!) around Town Lake. I'll write more about the trip once we're home.

Swim - June 5
Distance: 3,500 yards
Time: 1:10

Brick - June 6
Bike
Distance: 93.3 miles
Time: 5:19
Average heart rate: 124
Course: West Side, GW Bridge, 9W, Hill repeats
Transition: 5:44
Run
Distance: 2.5 miles
Time: 21 minutes
Average heart rate: 145
Course: Washington Square Park
Conditions: Sun and clouds, low 60's to low 70's, humid

Swim - June 7
Distance: 2,640 yards
Time: 56 minutes
Location: Deep Eddy Pool, Austin, Texas

Run - June 8
Distance: 6 miles
Time: 50 minutes
Average heart rate: 141
Course: Town Lake, Austin, Texas
Conditions: HOT, HOT, HOT (mid-90's) and sunny

Swim - June 9
Distance: 2,200 yards
Time: 40 minutes
Location: Barton Springs Pool, Austin, Texas

Happy 50th Birthday NYRR

There's absolutely no question that New Yorkers are crazy. And I think New York runners are the craziest of them all. Today is the 50th anniversary of the founding of the New York Road Runners Club. There are running-related events going on all week, and this morning the NYRR hosted a 5 mile Anniversary Run at 5:30am (yes - AM) in Central Park. The run was free (normally they charge between $15-30) and was limited to the first 5,000 runners who signed up. When I signed up last week I thought, what 5,000 people are going to get up on a weekday before the crack of dawn to do a 5 mile race in the Park? Well, by last Saturday the race had filled up. That means 4,999 dummies, just like me, planned on lining up this morning to commiserate with their fellow dummies and run a circle around the Park. Today happened to be my long run day this week, so I probably would have been in the Park anyway, but definitely not that early! I guess it made sense to do the first 5 miles as part of the race and then just continue on, on my own.

When I woke up - at 4-friggin-AM, it was pouring rain. Whatever. I'd committed to myself (and Emily and Nick) that I'd do this race and wasn't about to back out. What's another two hours of sleep anyway?

We got up to the Park at around 5:20 and it was still pouring rain. I was surprised by the number of people waiting in the rain for the race to start, but it definitely did not seem like 5,000. In the end, about 1,800 people ran - props to us. The other 3,200 = wussies. I ran pretty easy, keeping my heart rate in zone 1 or low zone 2, trying to concentrate on a quick cadence and the fact that I would be running much farther than most of the people around me. After racing so much last year, this was a novelty for me this year. It was fun being surrounded by the crowd, listening to the footsteps and breathing. I finished the race with an official time of 38:42 (7:44/mile). I'm certain that I could have done it at least 45 seconds a mile faster. But that wasn't the goal today.

After crossing the "finish line", I stopped for a second to turn in my timing chip and continued back along the race course down West Drive in the Park. Almost immediately, the whole tone of my run changed - it went from a loud din of running noises to near silence. It was 6:10am and still pouring rain. There were no cars in the Park (they're not allowed on weekdays until 7:30, I think). There were very few runners and even fewer bikes. At times, it felt like I had the road to myself. And definitely didn't feel like I was running in NYC. As a contrast, when I rode in the Park at around the same time yesterday morning - a beautiful, sunny morning - it was jam-packed with runners, cyclists, walkers and rollerbladers. But this morning it was quiet and calm and peaceful. I did the five mile lower loop a second time and continued around the Park to 72nd Street on the east side, where I left the Park and ran over to Equinox for my weekly ice bath. Ahh!

This week's NYRR anniversary reminded me about a documentary that we saw at the Tribeca Film Festival in April. The movie is called Run for Your Life - its a biography of Fred Lebow, the man credited with founding the NYRR and making it what it is today. He was a totally wacky man, but his ideas about running in New York City were really visionary. It's pretty much just for running nerds or die-hard history of New York lovers, but I thought it was great and if you fit into one or both of those categories you should see it at some point.


Bike - June 3
Distance: 29.3 miles
Time: 1:34
Average heart rate: 121
Course: West Side to Central Park, 3+ loops
Conditions: Beautiful! high 60's, sunny, a little wind

Run #1 - June 4 (5:30am)
Distance: 12 miles
Time: 1:34
Average heart rate: 144
Course: Central Park
Conditions: Rain, rain, rain, high 50's

Run #2 - June 4 (6:00pm)
Distance: 3 miles
Time: 33 minutes
Average heart rate: 129
Course: East Village
Conditions: Overcast, humid, mid-70s

Heavy Legs

I guess that's what 17 straight days of training will do. During my short, easy run this morning I felt like I had lead weights attached to my feet. And it made me happy. I remember this feeling well from last year and I missed the way it makes me know that I'm pushing myself and working hard to achieve my goals. I'll get a rest day when I need it. Until then, legs, you've got some work to do!

Bike - June 1
Distance: 73 miles
Time: 4:37
Average heart rate: 127
Course: West Side across GWB, 9W + hill repeats on Alpine Road
Conditions: Beautiful - sunny, mid-60s' to high 70's, light wind

Run - June 2
Distance: 3.7 miles
Time: 30 minutes
Average heart rate: 138
Course: Village, Washington Square Park
Conditions: Sunny, clear, 70's

Strength - June 2