Yankees and more....

Here are some highlights from my NYC trip....

I went out exploring BY MYSELF! I have it admit, it was awesome. I was so proud of myself. The only bad thing is that it was during a torrential downpour. I had an umbrella and a rain coat and I was still soaked. I stepped in two huge puddles and my left foot got soaked. So.. I wasn't out for as long as I'd hoped.

Thursday afternoon we spent 4 hours waiting through a Yankees rain delay. I was freezing and hungry and Kev didn't want to eat at the ballpark. After much deliberation (and calling friends and family to check the weather for me) we decided to leave. You need to know the Yankees have a policy that once you leave the stadium you can't get back in. Well, of course, it stopped raining and they played the game after almost 5 1/2 hours. We were bummed because our seats were awesome. However, I did not come to NYC to sit watching a baseball game for over 8 hours. We went back to our hotel room and watched it on TV. They lost.

Yesterday we decided to get my long run in. It was supposed to be today but weather.com was predicting 80% chance of rain. We headed to Central Park to do a 5.25 mile loop 2x. It started out overcast and very humid and the sun eventually came out. Kevin did the first loop with me but I was on my own for the second. It was really tough. I was soaked- completely. I ran the whole thing and it was such a good feeling to finish. The best part about that run was finishing it! I feel bad for the people on our subway car who had to smell us. On a side note- I got some very interesting looks on the way to Central Park because of my "bat belt" as Kevin calls it.
It was funny because I was thinking "Of all the strange things I've seen, you people think my fuel belt is weird?"

NYC

I'm in The Big Apple for the weekend with my hubby. We got in yesterday and promptly went for a run in Central Park. 7 miles. It was actually more than 7 because we got into a disagreement over whether or not we were going the right way. I said we were, he said we weren't. Because I'm such a submissive wife, I agreed to do what he said and we ended up back out of the park. It turns out I was right after all.

Today it's pouring. I'm getting ready to head out to explore the city by myself. YIKES! I know Kevin will be proud of me though. We're supposed to go to a Yankees game this afternoon, but I have a feeling it will be cancelled due to rain.

I'm pretending to be a vegetarian for the weekend. I thought it would be fun. I tried to talk Kevin into joining me but he's not interested. This morning I had a spinach omlette (no, I"m not going vegan), and some yogurt with granola. I'm actually excited about it. My only question- do vegetarians eat seafood? I can't remember.

Biggest Loser Challenge

I joined "The Biggest Loser Challenge" on sparkpeople.com. I first joined this website when I started training for the Princess Half. I've had between 10-15 pounds to lose for a while now and thought this might be the way to get it off. Today is the second day.

So far it has worked. Today I didn't want to get out of bed. In fact, I was planning on not getting up when the alarm went off at 5:10. With a little shove from my husband (okay, several little shoves), I got out of bed and stumbled to get ready. I was so tired I was dizzy. (My little one was up coughing late last night.) What really got me out of bed though, was my team and how I couldn't bail on them on only the second day. I still don't get the whole thing, but I do know I need to lose weight and the only way that's going to happen is if I get myself out of bed.

So, 30 minutes of swimming today. It seemed especially hard. The pool was long (50 m instead of 25). I was sweating when I was done! Sweating in water is pretty hard so I must have really been working. Tomorrow is strength training and this weekend is another 19 mile bike ride and a 5 mile run.

Time Trial Done

I finished my 2 mile time trial in 16:28 which translates to an 8:14 mile. I'm happy. I could have run faster, but I'm still happy.

I showed up 25 minutes early to get a warm up run in. I was thinking maybe a mile and a half. As soon as I started running I knew I had to make a trip to the bathroom. (Those nerves!) Now, another quirk about me is that I refuse to go to the bathroom in a port-o-potty unless it's absolutely necessary. My gym is close to the track so I thought I'd just run there and run back in time. After going just a little way I realized it was further than I thought. So, I ran back to my car and drove to the gym. I headed back to the track with 12 minutes to spare. I saw everyone heading to the track so I did a 3 minute warm up and then headed over myself. I missed all the instructions and got there about 2 minutes before it started. I asked the lady next to me what I needed to know and she just said "Stay out of the fast people's way.". I can do that. Off I ran.

My pace was steady throughout. In fact, my first mile was 8:15. I really don't know how to pace myself for that distance, so I was being conservative. I sprinted the last eighth of a mile. I do know that at the end of a 2 mile race you should NOT be able to sprint at the end. Oh well, live and learn I guess. I'm excited to have this behind me and get my training program soon.

Marathon Training?

I took the plunge and decided to officially sign up for our local marathon training program. I've been contemplating it for a while. I'm so afraid I'm going to get hurt in the process that I don't want to make it "official". Whatever, Lisa.

Tomorrow morning at 6:30 I have a two mile time trial at the local track. I've heard from someone who's done it that it's very official (they have a real time clock). I know I shouldn't be nervous but I wouldn't be me if I wasn't. I really have no idea what to expect. I can run an 8:35 pace for 3.1 miles- can I run an 8 minute mile for 2? My biggest fear is that I'll start out too fast and die at the end. Or else, start out too slow and be mad at myself because I could have run faster. It doesn't matter- at the end of it I'll be able to get a customized training program. I'd prefer it to be more conservative anyway, so it's probably better if I'm not too fast.

On another note- I biked 19 miles last weekend and got an 8 mile run in. My leg feels good, just a slight tightness that I'm keeping my eye on.