meetmeonthecourse

[meetmeonthecourse]

If You Never Challenge Yourself, You’ll Never Realize What You Can Become

Never in a million years did I think I would ever be a cycle instructor. Let alone a cycle instructor for one of the biggest fitness brands in the world. 

I remember my mom dragging me to cycle classes at The Atlantic Club in NJ when I was in high school. All the while, grinding my teeth as the middle aged instructor blared Guns N’ Roses to try and hold our attention. THE.WORST.

When I moved to New York, I fell in love with a weekly cycle class taught by Larry at Crunch Fitness in Union Square on Wednesdays. Larry’s energetic vibe, sweatiness, positive encouragement, and blaring techno changed the way I viewed spin....oddly enough. 

After taking up triathlons in 2014, my knowledge and interest in the sport (both indoors and outdoors) increased and so did my participation in classes. I also decided to join Equinox (as long as I made a conscious effort to bring my coffee and lunch to work each day) :) This opened up a whole new world to me. The brand is immeasurable, their instructors are motivating...different in their own way, and each person can walk away from the classes with something different depending on their goals. Not to mention, the interior design and cleanliness in each club is unmatched. Long story short, the monthly fee is worth it. 

Somewhere along the line, I decided that I no longer wanted to just be a participant but I wanted to take on the challenge to coach and instruct others..I wanted to inspire other and help them achieve their fitness goals. I texted my friend Sarah Kusch (an LA based Equinox Master Trainer and Grokker/New Balance ambassador) and asked her how I could become an instructor. She told me “first you need to get certified, then you can audition.”

In April 2017, I signed up for an 8-hour Schwinn Cycling Certification. It was a full day in an NYC Crunch Cycle Studio with Schwinn Trainer Angela Leigh (well known at Equinox, the Yoga world, and around the US). We reviewed the “Schwinn Bible” (as I like to call it) a 50 page pamphlet that details everything you need to know about reaching. We also did numerous teachbacks (Angela takes us through several songs explaining each interval/drill/set up for the stage). 

At the end of the class, I felt that I had all I needed to know and was ready teach a class tomorrow! What little I knew....

Throughout the next few months, I would audition at NYHRC once a month in front of three women. Each time, getting up on the bike and teaching 2-3 songs. To me, they were very disorganized in their communication pre and post-audition and I found it difficult to receive any type of feedback or critique as to why I didn’t pass. Frustrated, I decided that I needed to try somewhere else and expand my search. 

I met Erika Osberg (Equinox Cycle Instructor, now friend) one morning in June while getting ready in the Equinox locker room post-class. To me, instructors always came off very “untouchable” so when we striked up a friendly conversation, I was pleasantly surprised that we had a lot in common. I told her about my recent certification and struggle with contacting gyms for auditions. She openly told me about her same struggle starting out and that she’d help me reach contacts at the gyms she had worked at or auditioned at prior. 

By August, I was invited to tryout as an Equinox Cycle Instructor on September 2nd. About 30 or so men and women had 3 minutes to engage the group, make an impression and HAVE FUN! About 30 Equinox instructors and employees watched and graded us. Surprisingly, I was at the end of my Half Ironman training (super stressed 1-week out) and was SUPER SICK. But I worried I wouldn’t get another opportunity to tryout, so I layered on the medicine and powered through, hoping they wouldn’t realize how sick I actually was. 

A few days later, I received an email notifying me that I was 1 of 12 chosen to advance to the Equinox CMP Program. We would meet 2 hours on Saturdays for 6 weeks at Equinox led by Danielle Hopkins and Gregg Cook (two Cycle Mentors/Instructors/Managers highly regarded at Equinox). On Wednesdays, we had 15 minute working sessions where we would rehearse 2 songs and receive feedback on certain aspects we could improve on. As our team of 12 grew closer, I looked forward to each Saturday. It was exciting, engaging, and fun to be a part of such a great group. 

Erika was an integral part in my learning as well and would watch me rehearse after many classes on Tuesdays. It was helpful to get in front of her to practice my sessions prior to demoing in front of our lead instructors. 

Our final audition was on 11.14 and was a similar set up to the original tryout. We had 7-8 minutes to show our true colors and what we brought to the table. My songs of choice were Written in Reverse by Tiesto and Love Me by WiDE AWAKE. All of us did amazing and I was happy with how I performed. 

Shortly after, I was told that I was accepted as an instructor with the caveat that I would perform several teachbacks and mentor sessions with Danielle before a final sign-off. I met with Rachel Vaziralli a few times who helped me with my inflection and attempt to vary my voice. Working with her allowed me to gain a new perspective on my coaching style and how I wanted to teach my classes. 

To be honest, after a few teachbacks with Danielle, I made a few mistakes and my confidence started to dwindle because I began to make mistakes on basic teaching techniques I learned the first few weeks of the program. Danielle decided it would be best to pair me with another instructor--Michael Keeney who would help me with my “transitions” “clarity” and “context.” My sessions with Michael were open and honest, and really helped me to perfect my coaching style. He challenged me to get outside the box and ensure that I had a “goal” for each song that I wanted the class to meet. He also boosted my confidence After 4-5 sessions with Michael, we decided it was time for me to have a “final final teachback” with Danielle and Gregg. From there, they would decide if I was ready.  

I practiced two days before for an hour, filming myself and rehearsing---trying out different interactions with the class. On Saturday 1.20 I arrived at Printing House an hour early to set up and get myself comfortable with the sound system. I chose Follow Me by Hardwell/Jason Derulo and Tsunami by DVBBS. Being up on he stage, I felt more confident and prepared then I ever had. The countless hours of cycling, learning, listening to feedback, making playlists had finally paid off and I felt comfortable in front of Gregg and my friend Amanda who also passed that day! 

I received an email a few hours later notifying me of my approval. Matt and I were out in NYC at the time and decided to celebrate with some champagne. 

I’m so excited for this next venture with Equinox and very proud of all that I’ve accomplished. It just goes to show that not everything is as easy as it seems, and if you want something bad enough you just have to put in the work. 

Follow me on social media for class times and details!

[meetmeonthecourse]

You Are Your Only Limit

Last week I was invited to the Equinox Cycle Instructor Tryouts. I became Schwinn Cycling Instructor certified back in March by taking a 8am-5pm deep dive course on a Saturday. I've always wanted to be a fitness instructor and because of my recent training and fondness of interweaving music into workouts, I felt that spin would be perfect for me. Since I was certified, I've really been focusing on my training and not as much on getting a gig at a studio.

I was going to put off the search until after my race was over but received the invitation from Equinox and couldn't pass up the offer.

My favorite spin instructor (and now friend) Erika told me that she'd watch my routine and critique me prior to going in. I met Erika through Equinox and taking her class accidentally one Tuesday morning. It was so great that I kept going back each week and haven't missed one since (that I have control over of course). We got to talking one day while getting ready in the locker room post-class and I told her all about my affinity for cycling and recent certification. She offered to help me right away and give me lists of contacts, tips, etc. She's super nice, always happy, up for a challenge, and just a genuine person. We've quickly become friends over the last few months and I really cherish our relationship. If you haven't taken her class look her up (Erika Osberg) or take her spin classes at Flatiron on Tuesday mornings at 6am and 7am.

Back to the audition--- after a few times through, Erika gave me her opinion on things I should change, color commentary, specific ques, etc. It took about a half hour overall but I felt so good to have rehearsed beforehand.

At the audition, there were SO many instructors there. Probably about 35 or so and we each had 3 minutes to show off our stuff. We filed into a spin room and claimed a bike. In the back of the class, stood all the instructors that I've taken class with over the years...who were getting ready to watch me perform. Instead of making me anxious, it made me really excited.

The lead director went through name by name and called someone "on deck" while the other was doing their thang. To be honest some instructors looked like they hadn't prepared at all, froze up, or were just doin them and don't really care about spin etiquette.... it made me feel good to say the least. When my name was called, I got up on deck and watched the girl before me do a routine that I'm very glad wasn't my own.

Finally it was my turn and I hopped up on stage. I picked the song "Melody radio remix by Dimitri Vegas." It's 3+ minutes long and has two 30 second sprint intervals with a heavy beat drop. Very exciting stuff and really goes along with the type of intervals I'd want to teach in my own class. I thought that I did well because I got through my entire song. If the director didn't like you, she'd most likely end up cutting your song short because she'd seen all she needed to see.

Afterwards, the director told us that we would be hearing from her within the week in regards to next steps. I felt so great with my performance and couldn't wait to hear from her.

Two days later, I received an email telling me that I had been accepted into the Equinox Mentorship Program. From here, I'd need to take 6 2-hour in depth Saturday sessions along with 1.5 hours of practice time once a week. Then, I would tryout one final time to be accepted as an Equinox Instructor (or not). I accepted the offer and am so excited to begin the program. Watch out world!

[meetmeonthecourse]

In Order to Succeed, We Must First Believe That We Can

What a weekend. 

Matt and I headed down to AC Saturday around 9:45am after picking up some breakfast along the way. We arrived at Bader Field around 12:15pm and went straight to athlete check-in. I love athlete expos, there’s so many products, gadgets, and fun gear to look at (every marketer’s dream)…Matt on the other hand not so much. I dropped my bike in the transition area after we checked in and I received my transition bracelet (the kind that doesn’t come off). Fun fact for those who don’t know what a transition area is. It’s the area that all the triathletes go into twice during a race (between the swim and bike & between the bike and run,). You get one teeny tiny area to yourself where you get to lay out all your gear. I got lucky because the girl next to me didn’t show so I had a LOT of room (for my gels :) )! 

After my bike was in, Rick showed up to the race. Rick is a friend from home who I’ve done several triathlons and ocean mile swims with. He did Ironman Lake Placid last year and has taught me A LOT. Mainly, about the bike and little tricks and trades during the races. When I told him that I signed up for this race, he signed up right away to join me. 

Matt went to check-in to the hotel while Rick and I stayed for the athlete briefing. During the briefing, the race Director goes over the course, rules and regulations, do’s and don’t etc. This race is regulated by the USA Triathlon Association so there are several big rules athletes need to abide by (no littering-trash only goes in certain areas, stay 6 bikes lengths behind the bike in front of you, pass on the right, if you are going to pass it must be done in 25 seconds, etc.). 

After the briefing, we headed to the Tropicana hotel and had a really nice dinner with my parents at the Palms. Post-dinner we headed out to gamble (aka my dad and Matt while my mom and I watched). AC is a fun place to hold a race. There were so many interesting people there, I could have people watched all night and in the morning, all those zombies were still out. By 8:30pm I was ready to go to bed. Matt and my dad stayed up to watch football– to which I was a bit relieved so I could head upstairs and organize my race bag for the next day. I put my race tattoos on (one on each arm and my age on my left calf). I went to bed around 10pm but couldn’t fall asleep for about an hour because I was attempting to not think about racing…..which made me just think about things more. 

I woke up at 4:30am and was downstairs by 5am just in time for Rick to pick me up. We arrived to the lot a couple minutes later and parked with ease. The transition area was PACKED. There were 2474 total participants in the race and it’s also noted as the #1 largest Triathlon in the US. I got to my area and set out all my things. I also placed my tracker on my ankle. It’s basically the same thing that you wear on house-arrest, except this one has velcro and sponge padding. 

The transition area closed 20 minutes prior to the race start, so we grabbed our wetsuits, swim caps, and goggles and headed to the area outside the transition area. The race decided this year to have the swim be a rolling start. Instead of people being seeded by their age, athletes get to decide when they start based on how fast they think they will complete the swim. I chose 26-35 minutes and went in the middle of the pack on the outside left-hand side since the course planned to have us all keep the buoys on our left-hand side at all times. When it was my turn, I walked to the edge of the dock and jumped in at the beep with 4 other swimmers. The swim was amazing (I now love a rolling start). The buoys were clearly marked and because we were in the bay there wasn’t a huge current at all, just a little one on the turnaround. A few people swam into me but for the most part I was cruisin along. Towards the end of the swim, I didn’t swim in a straight line because my goggles fogged up a bit, but all-in-all I could still see everything to some degree. 

I exited the water and ran up through the inflated swim finish marker. Matt, my dad and mom were cheering as I came out and into the transition area. As I ran, I stripped down to my racing suit, threw on my helmet, gloves, sock, bike shoes, threw the gels in my pocket, grabbed my bike and off I went. 

The bike course was 56 miles. A tip Rick gave me early on was to keep a high cadence so that I didn’t tire out my legs too quickly. Since this course was flat and fast, it proved to be a great tool. I enjoyed 2.5 loops around the Atlantic City Expressway into Pleasantville. It was a really enjoyable ride and actually went by a lot quicker than I thought. To pass the time, I played a few games: guess riders age before looking at their calf, sing-along, thank the volunteers, eat my gels, drink water and electrolytes, try to do athlete math in my head to calculate my race time (it’s hard!), and not freak out when I saw someone with a flat. While on the ride, I received a lot of compliments on my new bike! That was very nice :) My nutrition worked wonders and kept me going the entire time (ill talk about that breakdown later in the post). 

Once the ride was over, I went back into the transition area and dropped my bike, changed my socks, threw on my sneakers, hat, and glasses, and ran out. As soon as I ran out I saw Matt, my mom and dad and Matt’s parents Frank and Fedela who I saw on my way in from the ride. They were cheering me on with signs they had made. It made the race that much better to see all of them and really kept me going–especially because I knew I’d get to see them another time on the loop back out that led to the beach. 

Once we were out of Bader Field, we ran down to the AC boardwalk for the last 11 miles. I started out feeling so strong at an 8:30-8:45 mile pace. That pace jumped to 9:30, 10:50 and even 11:06 I’m sad to say. If there was anything during that race that I would’ve done differently, it would have been to start slower. I knew it going in that this was the part a lot of people messed up (or it was going too hard on the bike) but I felt so good for the first few miles that I thought I was fine (completely forgot that I had already been working out for 4 hours). 

The miles did not fly by and man it was HOTT. Luckily we had amazing weather the entire race and it was overcast for most of it with some pockets of sun during the run. Had it been sunny the entire time, we would have been in trouble. The run aid stations were the most important for me since I only carried 2 gels with me. I took water, gatorade, and ice at each one because it was that hott. At one of the aid stations the most amazing volunteer ran behind me–opened my tri-suit and dumped ice down my back. I actually threw ice into my bra and ran with it in there just so happy to be cold for a few seconds. On about mile 6-8 I saw Matt, my parents, and Fedela and Frank. No words were really exchanged this time other than that I was dying a bit more. Matt ran with me for a little down the boardwalk to help lighten my spirits. It helped a lot. It’s hard not to get in your own head when your boiling and your legs are on fire. I tried my best to smile at each person I passed and hold on to that the race would be over soon and I would regret it if I stopped… I didn’t stop once my entire race and I’m so thankful that I didn’t. Had I, it would have broken my zone and definitely changed my race. Throughout the race I repeated several different mantras “I’m strong. Thankful I can race this amazing race. Thankful for my health. I can do this. Don’t stop. All this training. Keep going. This is temporary…etc.”

The last few miles were not fun but I got through them. At mile 11, I met up with a guy named Paul who I ran with from Bader Field down to the beach. He was in his 50s and did an Ironman along with several halves. It was nice to see a familiar face and have someone to run along–anything to distract me. The end of the race was the best feeling. Usually at all my races, I find some extra juice in me to really push it at the finish. I found some and sprinted the last several hundred meters or so. It feels so good to give the last bit of everything you have to finish strong. My time was 6:26… just 4 minutes faster than my goal window of 6:30. As I finished I passed my crew, which gave me an even bigger reason to smile. A volunteer threw two cold towels off me, put my medal on and took of my tracker. It was hard to walk after stopping but I met up with my parents and Matt to take some pictures of my newly earned medal. It felt so good to be done and I was so happy it was over but that I had completed this goal that I set back in February with several injury setbacks along the way. 

After taking pictures, grabbing some ice, and food from the food tent, we were able to watch Rick finish and then head over to grab some real food. I didn’t have very much of an appetite (except a soft pretzel, WAY out of the norm) but it was great to sit down and recount the race for everyone and also get it from their perspective. As an athlete, I can tell you this race was a great one and run extremely efficiently with great volunteers and a race Director. 

All in all, the road to Ironman 70.3 Atlantic City was a rough one with many tears, injuries, and setbacks. 

I’m really grateful that I’ve had Matt by my side the entire time supporting me, driving home early for my training, listening to my crazy training thoughts and gameplan, planning our weekend around training, coming to get me when I had a flat tire in the Bronx, lugging my bike in his car, reminding me to stretch, passing the time while I was training, taking me to the bike shop, reserving our room for the race, purchasing a fancy new bike rack, sourcing the perfect bike pump, and making signs to put a smile on my face. 

I’m so thankful for my parents for their continuous support for this sport that I love, pushing me to be my best, talking me through the times when I’m having seconds thoughts, reminding me to put my health first, waking up early to cheer me on, and supporting me always. And thank you to Frank and Fedela Kessler who drove 6 hours on Sunday just to run around and cheer me on. It helped immensely! .

I’m also thankful for many more people who have helped me get to where I did in this race: My girls Lisa, Lexie, Chiara, Erica, Maria, Nicole, Jackie, Britney, John Mark, Rick, Sam Robin, Michele, Erika Osberg, Dr. Jordan Metzl, Eric Schwartz, Sierra Cycles in Scarsdale, and I’m sure I’m missing a few.  

Now to my Race Day Nutrition!

Pre-Race: 1.5 slices eziekel bread with 1 packet of Justin’s Almond butter, 1 small coffee, 1 vega protein bar, 1 banana, 1 bottle of water with 1 nuun electrolyte tablet. 

Swim: None

Bike: I increased my food intake because I was getting hungry on my training rides (did not want to bonk so had to increase). Every 15 minutes 1 STINGER gel and ¼ of 1 32 oz bottle of water (total of about 10-11 gels). Halfway through the race I ate 1 Stinger waffle (it was amazing!). 

Run: The bike is supposed to prepare you for the run so you don’t really have to eat that much. I took a huge swig of water with nuun at transition. On the run, I took water and gatorade at each station with ice cubes. I also ate 1 gel on mile 6 to keep my energy up. At the last aid station, I took coke because I had to see what all the fuss is about (really I don’t think it did anything). 

Post-race: Pretzel and water, 2 crab cakes, a couple sips of beer, french fries, and ice cream and a banana for dinner (talk about healthy!). 

Can’t wait to see what’s up next, thank you all for the continued support and keeping up with this crazy journey!! <3 <3

[meetmeonthecourse]

You Will Never Know Your Limits Until You Push Yourself to Them

Sunday 6:50am is the big day!

Today I woke up feeling much better than the last three days. I went to physical therapy and saw Sam. She rubbed out my knee/quad and taped up my leg for the final time. Since I’ve been sick, I wanted to sleep in as much as possible this morning and save my workout until tonight.

After work, I headed over to the West Village Equinox and threw on my wetsuit. Chiara has been nice enough to lend me hers so I wanted to make sure that it still fit well (I wore it at the Equinox Malibu Triathlon last year). I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with wetsuits. Most people love them because of the buoyancy, but as a stronger swimmer sometimes I’ve felt as though it holds me back. Tonight in the water, I glided through it and was definitely more buoyant than if I were only in my suit. I think I’ll wear it :) I also got into a little altercation with a woman who swam into me in my lane. Stay in your lane people!!!

During the day, I swung by Paragon to get my gels. Now I know you are all DYING to know what gels I bought and how many. Welllllll today’s your lucky day. I’ve decided to use Stinger gels as they are an all natural gel. The Gu gels just haven’t been doing it 100% for my stomach. I purchased vanilla and chocolate which has some caffeine in it. I also bought a couple Cliff Gels for backup (this brand is on the race), and a few RX bars since they are all natural ingredients. On my bikes, I’ve been getting hungry towards the run so I need to increase my food intake on the bike from 2 gels an hour to about 3 or 4 an hour. I will also drink 32 oz of water per hour with 1 nuun supplement for sodium. After I finish the two bottles, I will need to rely on the course water. 

Tomorrow, Matt and I plan on leaving at 9am to drive down to Atlantic City. We will then head over to the race for Athlete Check-In where I’ll get my race packet, numbers, bibs, cap, and race chip. Afterwards, there will be an athlete briefing where the race organizers go over important things everyone needs to be aware of. Hopefully, we can enjoy AC the rest of the day and I can get a full nights sleep, just in time to wake up around 4:30-5am to get to the transition area.

If you want to follow me on Sunday, you can download the Delmo Elite Events App on your phone: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/delmosports-elite-events/id1118842562?mt=8 My bib number is 546.

I hope to be able to write a post tomorrow to relax my mind and go through the motions of the day ahead. I’ll be sure to post a recap of the race and my experience after the race. That should be a fun one. 

Thank you to everyone who’s been reading and following along on my journey. Make sure you say some prayers Sunday morning and send all the good vibes my way! I’d love everything I can get. :) 

[meetmeonthecourse]

A Positive Attitude is Contagious... Be a Carrier

For the last two and a half days, I’ve been home sick. It’s been pretty hard to stay positive, but luckily I have Matt who’s been taking care of me with lots of medicine, food, and anything else I’ve needed. 

This weekend, I felt as though I was getting sick and even towards the end of last week I was feeling a bit run down. But knowing that I had my long workouts ahead of me, I pushed through them and believe that’s what pushed me over the edge. 

I read that sometimes sickness is a way of your body telling you to slow down. If so, I’m finally listening. Luckily, work has been supportive and I’ve been sleeping and working as much as I can from home. All the while, trying not to focus on how anxious I am that a day off of training could break my race. Luckily, yesterday was my scheduled “rest” day and today was only a 45 minute ride so all-in-all, I think I will be okay. 

I’m hoping to go to physical therapy and get a swim in tomorrow if I can. After work, I’m going to plan out my race, organize my things and have a peaceful night at home before we head down to AC Saturday morning. 

I also received the nicest card from my mom’s cousin Darby, which definitely made me feel better. The front reads “What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.” It’s so nice to know that I have the support of Darby and so many others in this race. 

Can’t wait to share it all with you!

2 more days!

[meetmeonthecourse]

One Week Out

Woke up today feeling a little under the weather but felt okay enough to get through my workout. 

Today’s Workout

Swim 1,300 yards total. Main set: 5 x 100 sprints, RI = 20 seconds. | Run 2 miles easy, 1 mile at 10K race pace, 2 miles easy.

There were some other Ironman racers in the pool so that was awesome to see. The run felt good but I was gased afterwards. My throat has been hurting all day so trying to get to bed a bit early so that I can do my 30 min bike ride tomorrow. 

Today’s Nutrition

Pre Workout- 1 vega protein bar & 1 coffee w/almond milk

Breakfast- 3 hardboiled eggs

Lunch- Salad w/chicken, cauliflower, beets, artichokes, hearts of palm, tomatoes, and mushrooms. Dressing: balsamic vinegar and olive oil

Snack- 1 packet justin’s almond butter & cashews w/ 2 ferrero rocher chocolates

Dinner- Roasted brussel sprouts, chicken, potato chips & decaf vanilla chai tea

[meetmeonthecourse]

Tough Obstacles Build Strong People

Things have been a little crazy this week. Here were my workouts: 

Thursday- Bike 45 minutes with 8 x 1-minute hard efforts scattered.

Friday- Swim 1,600 yards total. Main set: 2 x 400 yards race pace, RI = 30 seconds. | Run 4.5 miles moderate + 4 x 10-second hill sprints.

Saturday- Run 12 miles moderate  | Swim 2,400 yards total. Main set: 600 yards race pace

Sunday- Bike 40 miles moderate + 10 miles race pace + 10-minute transition run at race pace

Most notable workouts were Saturday and Sunday. Matt and I headed down to NJ to visit my parents and celebrate my friend Nicole’s birthday. I figured that I would take advantage of the Jersey Shore and use it as an opportunity to train with my friend Rick. 

Rick and I have done numerous triathlons together and he’s taught me a lot especially when it comes to biking. Last year, he completed Ironman Lake George, an extremely impressive accomplishment. He’s slated to do Ironman AC 70.3 with me next weekend. It’s always reassuring to have a friend with you and also someone to help who’s done it before and can answer your questions or bounce ideas off of. 

Saturday morning we met down at the Long Branch boardwalk and proceeded to run 12 miles. We ran at about an average 10 mile pace. Honestly, I had run 4.5 miles the day before and my legs were pretty dead so the slower pace felt okay. We finished up around 9:40 and Rick had to go to work so we were unable to swim. I was hoping to get a wetsuit swim in later that day when I had a few people with me, but it never ended up happening. Oh well, tomorrow is another swim day so I think we are good. 

Sunday, Matt and I drove back to White Plains early so that I could take advantage of the Bike Sundays on the Bronx River Parkway, one of Westchester's longest-running and popular recreational programs. They close 13 or so miles of the Parkway and allow families to run and bike along it from 10am-2pm on select Sundays in June and September. Given that I had a brutal first ride on my new bike last weekend with the short loop and those hills, it was so nice to have a stretch of road where I could just put my head down and crank out some miles. It also gave me a chance to really get comfortable with my aero bars. For those of you who don’t know cycling, racing bikes have bars that you kneel your arms on and go into a seated crouched position. It’s considered more aero dynamic, which allows you to go faster on the bike. I finished 43 miles (it was 2pm unfortunately so I had to stop.) in about 3 hours. 

Nutrition-wise, I brought along 6 Gu gels and 2 water bottles with 1 nuun electrolyte tablet in each. My stomach did not feel too great but was okay. I couldn’t decide if it was because of the gels or because I stayed in the aero position too long after taking the gels. I told myself that next time, I will sit upright for a bit to give my body a little time to digest it better. 

After the bike, I transitioned to the run and was able to get Matt to come along! Big big plus when I get him to come out with me. It’s also so much easier to complete one more leg of a workout when I have him to take my mind off the 3+ hours I’d just put in. After our long workout, we showered and headed down to Tarrytown’s Little B’s to watch some football and drink a few beers. We then went to the Boat Club to hangout outside for a bit while Matt smoked a cigar. Both of us were pretty dead (and I was a zombie) so we went back home a few hours later and have planted ourselves on the couch to watch some Sunday night football. 

Today’s food was a pretty poor showing butttt it’s aiight:

Breakfast- Bacon, egg, on whole wheat toast & two pumpkin coffees with almond milk & 1 splenda

Bike nutrition- 6 Gu gels and 2 water bottles with 1 nuun electrolyte tablet in each

Lunch- 1 burger on whole wheat bun w/ lettuce tomato, onions, 1 egg on a whole wheat bun, sweet potato fries 1 wheat blond beer of some sort

Snack? 1 vodka soda splash of cranberry & 1 small oreo cookie ice cream at the Tarrytown Ice Cream shop <3 

No dinner, lunch was late but had some nice ginger tea while watching the Giants game 

Very excited for this final week and slowing down a bit training-wise. ONe week to go!!!!

[meetmeonthecourse]

My First Tri

My interest in triathlons all began on a run with Heiko, a friend I made at work with Mercedes-Benz USA. Heiko accompanied me on my long training runs for the New York Marathon. He’s one of those who can just run 15 miles at the drop of the hat without training....just for fun. You can’t help but hate him. You can listen to me talk about it in the podcast w/Eric Schwartz if you missed it: http://triathletetraining.com/ 

Anyway, Heiko and I were discussing my swimming background and he tried to tell me that I’d be great at doing Triathlons because I loved to swim and run...biking was no problem. I laughed and him and told him I’d think about it. All I knew that people who did Tri’s were a different breed. Heiko followed up with an email in February to try and convince me again. I held off for a few weeks and then one day at the office decided I would give it a try. 

Heiko borrowed one of his friends bike’s for me and got it all set up. The night before the race, he decided to teach me how to clip in and clip out of a road bike. It was raining outside and I fell flat on my butt my first try--unable to clip out fast enough before the bike came to a stop. Luckily it was fine and I didn’t break anything! My pride was just bruised a little bit. 

The next morning we set out to go to Wyckoff Franklin Lakes, NJ where the race was. The swim was in the lake and the water was super warm. I wore a 3/4 surfing wetsuit that I had (ha!) would have been better not to wear one at all. The race lasted 1:59 minutes and was so much fun. The bike was a little difficult because I didn’t fully understand the gears and how to change them. My favorite part was the run because it wound through the backroads of the community and families came out to cheer us on from their yards. Since Heiko started before me, he found me at the last leg of the run and sprinted with me to the finish. Afterwards, I was hooked. It was such a fun event and I really liked doing 3 different sports within one event. Heiko and I haven’t done another race together since but we did do some Marathon running! I’d like to think he’s the reason I got started in this sport in the first place. 

Results: Wyckoff Franklin Lakes 2014 (NJ)

Distance: .5 mile swim | 17 mile Bike | 5 mile run

Swim   Pace      T1      Bike   MPH    T2       Run     Pace  Finish

16:06     1:50   | 2:54  |  58:07 17.6   | 2:36  |  40:14  8:03 | 1:59:57

[meetmeonthecourse]

Long Weekend

This weekend Matt and I had his brother Greg’s wedding. The rehearsal dinner was held in Fishkill, NY and the reception at the Thayer Hotel at West Point.

I scheduled my training so that I could take off on Saturday. It felt soooo nice to sleep in and allow my body to rest (until I fed it alcohol, cake, and danced all night long).

We had so much fun at the wedding that after getting my new bike at the shop, we immediately went straight to the couch. Once my butt hit that couch, I decided that I was going to rest on Sunday as well. I was supposed to ride for 45 minutes moderate and felt that if I allowed myself to rest again, it wouldn’t impact my training. Had I gone and worked out, I knew I wouldn’t have had a valuable workout and it would have been agonizing the entire time. Instead, I decided to watch movies/sports on the couch with Matt and cook dinner. Much better decision.

Monday, I woke up at 6am with all my things laid out. I headed over to SUNY Purchase campus a few miles away, parked the car and jumped on my bike. I headed out for a 56 mile bike ride and little did I know that a 3 mile loop full of hills awaited me. It was my first time on my new bike, so I played around with the gears, tried to break in the new seat as much as I could (man it’s hard!) and enjoyed toying around with the aero bars and being in that position. The ride was TOUGH and really long. All the hills and the shortness of the course caused my ride to last from 7am until about 10:45am (originally planned for a a 3hr ride). Nutrition-wise I didn’t bring enough with me because I didn’t think I’d be out there as long as I was.

Here’s what I ate: Pre-ride coffee, water, 1 vega bar, 1 banana, 1 sports nutrition bar. During the ride: (4) peanut butter gu gels every half hour with (2) 32oz bottles of water w/(1) 360mg Nuun active tablet in each. Pre-running: 1 bottle water. Post- training: 1 banana and 1 sports nutrition bar & lots of food at Matt’s parents house :)

After the ride, I transitioned into my running shoes and threw on my sunglasses. My legs were a little crampy because of the lack of water and the lactic acid I’m sure--but once I got moving I could get myself down to a 9:15 pace. I ran for 20 minutes around the baseball field to give my legs some nice grass to land on. I kept my cadence high and also focused on my breathing because sometimes I forget to breathe and/or focus on it. Total workout (47 miles biking and 20 minutes running)

Surprisingly, today I felt great and was able to hit up my fav spin class taught by Erika’ Osberg at Equinox Flatiron Tuesdays at 7am (check it out!). After class, I biked for another 15 minutes and did some strength exercises for the knee along with some core work. Was starving by the time I got to work!

Today’s Nutrition

Pre-workout: (1) banana & coffee

Breakfast: (1) vega sport protein bar & (1) nature valley trailmix bar

Lunch: Mixed salad with pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries and 6oz grilled chicken and lemon poppyseed dressing

Snack: 1 matcha almond milk latte & (2) scoops of less naked vanilla protein powder with water

Dinner: est. 1 cup broccoli, 5 oz chicken, 1/2 cup quinoa, 1 raw ginger Kombucha

[meetmeonthecourse]

10 Miler

I’ve been a little busy these past two days and slacking on the posts. Yesterday I completed a 10 mile run in the morning, which is my farthest run to date. Usually, I run a 7-8 minute pace but with my inability to train over the past few months--- I’ve have to slow that speed down to 9-10 minute pace. The run itself was up in White Plains. It’s 3.5 miles up to the Kensico Dam Plaza, which is a huge beautiful structure that reminds me of The Wall in Game of Thrones. It also has a large park that leads to it where families and friends can gather to hangout, have a picnic, relax, etc. 

The back half of the run was a woods route through the Bronx River Parkway. I tried to run on the grass as much as possible to give my legs and feet a little break. I focused on shortening my stride to increase the cadence and activating my glutes--which has been a huge lifesaver of my knee recovery. I forgot to bring my Gu Gel on the run so I ran without nutrition and I also didn’t eat before I ran, very stupid of me--but I got through the run fine and my energy levels surprisingly weren’t that bad. However, I will not be doing that again it’s just not smart.

Overall, I felt great after the run and stretched/rested while working. I recovered well just in time to head to Matt’s brother’s rehearsal dinner for his wedding this weekend with his fiance Kaiti. Looking forward to dancing tonight especially because today is REST DAY!!!! 

Yesterday’s Nutrition

Post-run: 2 packs Justin’s almond butter with 1 piece ezekiel bread & 1 vega bar

Lunch: 6oz chicken with mixed veggies and sunflower seeds & asian vinagrette dressing from Trader Joes

Dinner: Stuffed sole, mixed veggies, 2 potatoes, garden salad, cold veggies, some calamari, 1.5 vodka soda, 1 glass cabernet, a few bites of apple dessert

[meetmeonthecourse]

Hump Day

Today's was a busy day. I had my second round of PT in the morning with Sam. On my lunch break I headed over to Equinox Flatiron to bike for 45 minutes. I was supposed to do a total of 60 but I could only squeeze 45 with my schedule. After work I headed up to the US open with my coworkers. It was a fun outing and we were able to see Venus Williams play. I even got to meet Chiara for a hot minute who gave me her wetsuit that I'll wear during the race. I gotta test it out a couple times so I feel more comfortable (I kinda hate wetsuits). Nutrition Pre-PT: 1 coffee and packet of Justin's almond butter Breakfast: 3 eggs Lunch: chicken and roasted zucchini Snack: Mixed nuts Dinner: Salad with grilled chicken, carrots, green beans, tomatoes, and cucumbers. 1 vodka soda (I'm not a honey deuce person but Jonny gave me his)

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TAPING TUESDAY

Today was a fairly easy day workout-wise. Swim 1,800 yards total. Main set: 8 x 100 sprints, RI = 20 seconds. | Run 2 miles easy, 3 miles at 10K race pace. I kept the swim to a final set of 20 x 50 yard sprints. I can get my heart rate up more than I do during 100s so felt that would help simulate race day better when transitioning. I doubled up to two PT sessions a week until my race to maximize my strengths work and stretching/releasing, so I headed over to Spear at night. A couple posts ago, I told you that Sam introduced me to Rocktape. At first, I thought how is this stuff going to really help me??? Well, I'm biting my tongue now because I am a believer! I've kept the tape on for the last 5 days and it's worked like a charm. I've also increased my PT exercises to once a day. Together it's been seamless magic. Obviously, I still have some pain but it's no where near what it used to be last Wednesday. I plan on wearing the tape until the end of my race (and changing it out every 3-5 days). Nutrition today Pre-workout: Vega Bar Breakfast: 2 eggs and a coffee Lunch: Salad with brussel sprouts, cauliflower, beats, mushrooms, grilled chicken, artichoke hearts, and hearts of palm with balsamic dressing and olive oil Snack: chocolate covered almonds (they're back!) and 2 scoops Less Naked Vanilla Pea Protein with water Dinner: literally a tray of raw veggies from grand central w/balsamic olive dressing. I had a lot of protein throughout the day and I wasn't particularly hungry after PT (which is shocking for me). At the time I was craving lot of fresh veggies so I listen to that and drank some ginger tea before bed.

[meetmeonthecourse]

Podcast Stunna

I found Eric Schwartz’s podcast while looking for tips, tricks, and suggestions for race day, equipment, training and nutrition. He interviews pro’s, ex-pro’s, amateurs, and those who work in the fitness/nutrition field. He explains “There is a genetic component to multisport success, and there’s an intelligence component.  Your parents determined your genetic component but you determine your intelligence component.  This podcast was created to help you with the intelligence part”

I reached out to him for some questions and feedback on my training. Consequently, he asked if I’d be open to do an interview and that he was looking to create something that would be useful for others in my situation preparing for a 1/2 IM. I sent him my list of questions and we walked through them on the podcast. Tonight, he sent me an email letting me know it was up. I haven’t listened to it yet, but for those of you who may want to--feel free to tune in here http://triathletetraining.com/ Below are my questions that I asked him and the information I sent him, if you’d like to read along. 

Work Out Today

Bike 50 miles moderate + 10-minute transition run at race pace

Nutrition

Pre-ride Vega Bar

Ride nutrition- 3 Gu gels, 2 32oz water bottles w/ 1 tablet of nuun each (360mg sodium)

Breakfast- Paleo banana pancakes: 2 eggs, 1 banana mashed, cinnamon, topped with almond butter. (1) cup of coffee

Lunch- quinoa, chicken, peppers, spinach bowl 

Snack- 2 hard-boiled eggs, 1 piece of ezekiel bread, two fresh tomatoes courtesy of Dr. Kessler

Dinner- 5oz chicken w/baked zucchini, tomatoes, some potato & (1) cinnamon tea w/ almond milk

PODCAST INFO/QUESTIONS

Race: Ironman 70.3 Atlantic City Date: 9/17Link:

http://delmosports.com/events/ironman-703-atlantic-city

HISTORY/ OVERVIEW

Current Training Schedule: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12LFdPG-7QfV96GCbEVceGMLa-K4kPEHYKIzsBO4EbJk/edit#gid=957907399

Training Plan came from here: http://www.triathlete.com/2010/09/training/super-simple-ironman-70-3-triathlon-training-plan_12364

Started training May 22nd

Farthest workout thus far: 56 miles biking and 3 miles running (this past Sunday) 

Injury: Plantar Fasciitis in my right foot since Feb, developing patellar tendonosis in my left knee recently

PT since April once a week

QUESTIONS

What the right amount of nutrition, water, and sodium for each leg?

Thoughts on salt tablets?

Wetsuits- I'm a strong swimmer, do you think I need a wetsuit? Sometimes I feel like it holds me back but the buoyancy definitely helps so I'm torn on this subject.

When do most people hit their "wall."

I don't bike with groups usually. Any tips for riding with others?

This will be the first time I'm using sunblock. Is this important to watch?

Hat/no hat?

Any transition tips? Is it similar to Sprint and Olympic transitions?  

I don't have a watch or bike meter. Thinking of getting Garmin 735xt. Is it worth it at this point?

Currently training on a 58 frame bike but should be on a 54. I will be on a 54 race day. Is it worth buying a bike?  

Do you recommend getting massages regularly or how close to race can can I get massages?

How important is strength training. I try to do it once a week (PT 3 times a week) but it's hard to fit in with all the training

With my injury, I may not get up to 13.2 during training. Any tips for the run/my pace/etc?

Any tips on post-race to eat/do post-race to maximize my recovery?

What should I do after this?!

CURRENT RACE NUTRITION PLAN

Eat Vega Protein Bar, Banana, maybe some almond butter upon waking. Cup of coffee & water with Vega energizer

TBD may eat another bar and drink water with 1 nuun tablet

Swim-none

Water at transition

Bike: 5-6 gels (probably Stinger. Cliff will be on the race), carrying 2 32oz water bottles with 1 nuun tablet in each. Will need to take water provided on the ride

Run: 1-2 gels w/ water

RACE HISTORY

Jersey Girl Triathlon August 2016 (NJ)

o    Distance .1704 mile swim | 11 mile bike | 3 mile run

o    Finished 2nd overall

o    Results 1:09:09 final time (splits not avail)

Born to Tri August 2016 (NJ)

o    Distance .25 mile swim (I think) | 26 mile bike (I think) |

o    Results: 06:23 swim | 49:48 bike | 23:27 run | 1:21:46 finish

o    Finshed 1st in age group

Equinox Triathlon March 2016 (NY)

o    Distance 500m Swim | 10.1 mile bike | 3.4 mile run

o    Results: 0:08:13 | 0:23:00 | 0:22:59 - 0:54:12

o    Invited out to Malbiu Triathlon as a result

Nautica Malibu Triathlon September 2016 (CA)

o    Distance .5 mile swim | 18 mile bike | 4 mile run

o    Results: 12:32 swim | 59:37 bike | 31:43 run

o    Finished 4 out of 118 in my age group and 27/538 females (271/1577 overall)

United Airlines NYC Half 2015

o    1:43:15 (7:53 pace)

NYC Marathon 2014

o    4:03: 27 (9:18 pace)

Brooklyn Half 2014

o    1:49:27 (8:21 pace)

First Triathlon: Wyckoff Franklin Lakes 2014 (NJ)

o    Distance: .5 mile swim | 17 mile Bike |5 mile run

o     Swim   Pace SwPlc  T1   T1Plc   Bike  MPH BkPlc   T2   T2Plc   RunPace RnPlc Finish

o    16:06     1:50  130   | 2:54  269 |  58:07 17.6  319 | 2:36  389 |  40:14  8:03  177 |1:59:57

[meetmeonthecourse]

Hotlanta

As I referenced in my last post, I flew to ATL for work this weekend. Friday and Saturday were spent onsite at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium. For the last several months, I’ve been working on the team who’s responsible for working alongside Mercedes for their the naming rights deal. Ie, left and right concourse build out and activations, player appearances, suite logistics, dealer relations and logistics, staffing, vehicles, etc. It’s been a wonderful project and very fulfilling to work on. Below are my workouts all Friday, Saturday and Sunday (spent in NY).

Friday 8/25

Swam 1.2 miles and ran 3 miles at the Georgia Tech Rec Center. Legs felt good. This facility is a dreammmmmm and so gorgeous-- originally built for the 1996 Olympic Games and now enjoyed by Georgia Tech students.

Saturday 8/26

I went to the Georgia Tech Rec Center at 6:30am only to find that it didn’t open until 9am...MAJOR fail. So then I headed to my Marriott Hotel gym, biked 60 minutes (rolling hills, sprints, and climbs varying) and rand 3 miles. The legs have been feeling great now that I’ve focused on doing glute strengthening exercises before I run and squeezing the glutes as I run. It’s major. I think a big part of the problem has been that my glutes are improperly trained and have been for quite some time ie. my hamstrings are used to being the lead boss in charge and leading the majority of my running stride. However, after all that I’ve learned these last few months, I am under the impression now that the glutes are supposed to fire first.

Sunday 8/27

I came home and got Matt to run 2.5 miles with me out of the 6.15 miles that I completed. In the last 5-6 months this is the farthest that I’ve run. Super huge for me and the legs felt great. The knee is a bit sore post-workout but I’ve been icing and stretching to reduce the pain. Also, this Rocktape is working like a charm 100% recommend it.

[meetmeonthecourse]

Travel and Training

Today I flew to Atlanta early in the morning so training was put on hold until later in the night. 

It’s hard to balance training when I fly or have trips during the weekend but my hotel has a great gym with (1) bike. I’m also hoping to swim at the new Georgia Tech Campus Recreation Center. I went with Lexie and Jamil last time I was here about a month ago and it’s AMAZING. 

Tonight’s Training

Bike 20 minutes easy, 20 minutes comfortably hard, 20 minutes easy. 

Today’s Nutrition

Breakfast - 3 Scrambled Eggs, coffee & almond milk

Snack- Delta almonds

Lunch- Salad at Beet: Arugula, Brussel Sprouts, Cauliflower, Carrots, and Broccoli with balsamic vinaigrette. Gingerade Kombucha. 10 peanut butter pretzels  (ATL office got snacks!- not as good as ours Kim Lee :))

Dinner- Half roasted chicken with 2 cups broccoli and 1 hot ginger tea

[meetmeonthecourse]

Rock That Tape

I met Samantha Robin back in May after my plantar fasciitis had acted up enough to where I was generally concerned (at the time just a little) for my race…. because all smart people sign up for an Ironman 70.3 after they know that they have an injury (that lasted them a year to fix on the opposite side). “I’ll just recover and add on more training, it’s fine. Sam can waive her magic wand and help me.” Welp, 3 months later and here we are. 

A friend (Liz Upward!) referred me to Spear Physical Therapy after having a positive experience with their practice. I called them up and they said Sam would be the perfect girl for me. She played soccer, enjoyed running/athletics and understood them well. This was important to me because not all PTs understand the body mechanics to sports as well as others. I see Sam every Wednesday morning from about 7am-8:30am. She tells me I'm weak (in relative terms of course), my butt and hips need to be stronger, I need to focus on my hip alignment, tighten that core, engage the glutes, stretch, strengthen, etc. 

This is why I love her. She always sees where I can improve. Obviously, I'm pretty perfect but we can all always improve on something. I have an injury that has developed over time and added up miles upon miles and imbalanced movements upon movements. This didn't just happen overnight. Every Wednesday morning I've gone in with updates for Sam as to how my week was and then she evaluates and we start our routine. 

My absolute favorite part is when she "works on me." For those of you who don't know PT terms, I get a nice hard massage on the area that hurts. You think it'd be torture but the release of pain is the best feeling. One time, she used the Grayson Technique (Google it, that shit's painful), which is essentially taking a huge object that looks like a nail file and scraping my calf muscle as hard as she could. In the moment I wanted to scream bloody murder but afterward it released the muscle, broke up the tissue, and allowed blood to circulate easier. Luckily, I haven't had to do it since. 

If you remember in July my foot got so bad that I wanted to give up. I talked it through with my mom and Matt and decided it wasn't time-- I was putting myself through enough with my injury and not enjoying myself. That was it. I went to Sam the next day and broke the news. She was so surprised with my decision and told me that I shouldn't give up just yet. I cried that day like a baby in front of everyone mostly out of frustration. At the time, Sam felt like a best friend and assured me we could get through it. I'm really glad I had someone like her who's gone through everything with me to fix my injuries. Had she not been as diligent, caring, honest or passionate with her work, I may be in a different place than I am today. 

Today, my plantar fasciitis isn't the problem. Shortly after I got the cortisone injection from Dr Metzl, my knee started to hurt while on runs. Based on my past injuries, I knew my patellar tendonosis had come back. If you remember yesterday, my knee hurt so bad I decided not to run. Today, I told Sam about my recent issues we worked on my knee. Luckily a lot of my exercises for my knee are the same as my foot, so I'm hoping both will continue to benefit with the strength exercises. I also have a fancy new fashion statement I'm trying out: Rocktape. Sam did a video tutorial today for those of you who are interested in the proper application. Rocktape is a therapeutic kinesiology taping product designed to aid in the treatment various sports injuries. It's designed to turn down the volume on pain and more specifically, it attempts to decompress the area of swelling and inflammation. The tape stays on for 3-5 days even in the shower. So, I'll be testing this new look out for the next few days and hopefully if all goes well- wearing it the next few weeks and into my race.

Today’s Nutrition

Pre-PT Coffee with Almond Milk

Breakfast- 2 hardboiled eggs and 1 bag of baby carrots

Snack- 10 chocolate almonds (I KNOW!)

Lunch- Trader Joes mixed veggie slaw and kale. 5 oz chicken

Snack- 10 chocolate almonds ( I KNOW, luckily I’m going to ATL tomorrow so no more!)

Dinner- Hudson Grille (4) scallops with cauliflower, snap peas, and cauliflower puree. (1) vodka soda

[meetmeonthecourse]

Need a New Knee

"Don't miss out on something that could be great just because it could also be difficult." I saw this quote and it really stuck with me today. Currently loving it. Today was a good day. Semi-frustrating. Training workout was supposed to be Swim 1,600 yards total. Main set: 6 x 100 sprints, RI = 20 seconds. | Run 2 miles easy, 2 miles at 10K race pace, 2 miles easy. Overall, the swim went great and I was able to clock in my laps with my new Garmin 735xt, which turned out to be pretty on point distance-wise. I transitioned to run and my knee was still in absolute pain. Knowing I didn't want to hurt it more, I opted for a half hour on the cross-trainer/elliptical with some strengthening exercise for my knee: band walks, squats with a medicine ball, lunge stretch, hip thrust, clamshell, single-leg deadlift, etc. Interestingly enough, after I did the strengthening exercises my knee felt much better. I'm generally good about the exercises especially with all that I've gone through with my foot but as a self-diagnosis (and my amazing PT trainer Sam), I think my left leg has been overcompensating for my right--hence the added stress on it. Overall, I'm hopeful and positive to increase my training over the last few weeks to get me closer to 13.1. Tonight I also tried out Norma Tec recovery compression sleeves at Finish Line Physical Therapy. You out these babies on and chill for a half hour and they compress air all around your legs (just like that machine that measures your blood pressure at Walgreens). Benefits of it include: recovering faster between workouts by reducing muscle soreness and improving circulation. I really enjoyed my session and will be back for a few more prior to my race and post race. Hopefully they help! Today's Nutrition Pre-workout- 1 slice Ezekiel bread with 1 packet Justin's almond butter Post workout- two hard boiled eggs and coffee (1 Keurig pod) Snack- 1 packet almonds Lunch- Chopt summer picnic salad. No feta Snack- 10 chocolate covered almonds (Kim bought these for the office and I couldn't help myself!!) Dinner- tbd salad with Lisa! ❤️