Filed under: Fitness | Tags: biking, City to Shore, MS Society, New Jersey, Physical Fitness Rampage 2009
Cherry Hill to Ocean City New Jersey.
75 miles.
Here we go.
Filed under: Fitness | Tags: dating, New York, Philadelphia, Physical Fitness Rampage 2009, SheROX, starbucks, swimming, YMCA
Last night, I celebrated the passing of the triathlon by taking a walk after work, ordering the most fattening drink on the Starbucks menu and watching 48 Hours: True Mystery. Or in other words, I did the exact opposite of planning my evening around the pool schedule at the YMCA.
It was delightful. Especially when the barista at Starbucks asked me if I had a boyfriend. Twice. I thought he was going to ask me a third time when he ran out of the store and chased me down the sidewalk, but it turns out that he just didn’t notice that the gift card I had used to buy my drink didn’t have enough money on it and I owed him $1.89.
I don’t have a boyfriend, but I don’t have any interest in dating the overly forward or the seemingly desperate. But at the same time, I don’t mind if they want to appreciate the obvious benefits of Physical Fitness Rampage 2009.
Filed under: Fitness | Tags: biking, danskin, New York, Philadelphia, Physical Fitness Rampage 2009, running, Schuylkill, SheROX, swimming, triathlon
So in the end, the swim portion of the triathlon was canceled due to bacteria and debris in the water – which is kind of funny since I’m pretty sure the Schuylkill River is chock full of an unhealthy amount of bacteria and debris every day – but what do I know?
The event organizers really did their best to try and let us swim. At the orientation on Saturday, they even announced that they were trying to clean the portion we’d be swimming in with giant skimmers – and as much as I would have liked to see that for my own entertainment, I didn’t think it sounded like it was going to work. Unfortunately for everyone, it didn’t.
Instead, the event was turned into a run-bike-run duathlon – and it was going shockingly well for me until a massive thunderstorm hit and they cleared the course during the second run.
It was uncontrollable turn of events, but disappointing none the less.
Especially since my time for the first two legs were pretty great and I had plenty of energy left to finish.
Oh well. Better luck next year. For now, I’ll just be happy that I learned to swim, I ran the first leg at a pace of 8/minutes a mile and managed through the bike portion despite having not been on one in at least ten years.
I didn’t actually do a triathlon. But I could have. And that will just have to be good enough.
Filed under: Fitness | Tags: Philadelphia, Schuylkill River, SheROX, swimming, swimming conditions, triathlon
So according to the Philly RiverCast, “recreation in the Schuylkill River presently may not be suitable due to high flows, poor bottom visibility, or physical drowning dangers.”
OH HEY, NO BIG THING.
Bring it, Schuylkill.
Filed under: Fitness | Tags: New York, SheROX, swimming, triathlon, women's triathlon, YMCA
Well. It’s supposed to rain in Philadelphia every day between now and Saturday. I’m sure that’s going to do wonders for the current in the Schuylkill River and, in turn, my ability to swim across it.
Whatever happens, I don’t think it will cause me to react any worse than I did tonight when I found out that the YMCA was closed due to electrical work and I promptly cried at the bus station on 14th St. and 2nd Avenue. Or in other words, unreasonably and with a fair amount of embarrassment.
Filed under: Fitness | Tags: arguing with myself, New York Sports Club, SheROX, swimming, triathlon
Last night, I walked in and out of my apartment building three times while trying to decide if I should go to the gym. Unfortunately, that’s not an exaggeration.
Here’s a sample of my internal monologue:
Try #1
(Building Vestibule; 9:30 p.m.)
Nova 1: Go to the gym. You need to swim.
Nova 2: I went to the gym every day this week! I can swim the 862 yards! I already proved it last week when I swam it all in one giant spurt and stopped only to confirm that the man swimming next to me had taken off his bathing suit. That was gross. Skip it.
Nova 1: JUST GO.
Try#2
(Corner of 14th and 1st Ave; 9:35 p.m.)
Nova 2: Eh. Maybe not.
Nova 1: Seriously. Go to the gym.
Nova 2: The pool closes at 10:30. By the time I get there, I’m going to have to get out! Just swim tomorrow, and Friday! You LOVE Friday.
Nova 1: You are an alternate on the softball team tomorrow. And you have to pack on Friday to move (yet again). Carpe diem.
Nova 2: I hate softball. Maybe I can say that I have a swim lesson tomorrow and get out of the game. Then I’ll HAVE to go.
Nova 1: GO.
Try #3
(Outside 14th St. Subway stop; 9:45 p.m.)
Nova 2: I’m tired.
Nova 1: YOU ARE GOING TO DROWN IN A RIVER
Nova 2: I have a headache.
Nova 1: Fine. DROWN.
I then spent the next hour sitting on a bench outside my apartment building doing absolutely nothing. I went to bed by 11 p.m.
And for the record, I really did have a headache.
Filed under: Fitness, Uncategorized | Tags: Fitness, floating, Physical Fitness Rampage 2009, swim lessons, swimming, YMCA
At my swim lesson last night, I asked the instructor, Arthur, what I should do if I have a panic attack in the middle of the triathlon swim.
“Just flip over and float,” he told me.
I figured that would be a good a time as any to admit that I can’t float.
So Arthur spent the next five minutes trying to teach me. Except try as he may, he couldn’t make it happen either.
“That’s really strange,” he said. “I’ve never seen a girl’s legs sink like that. It usually just happens with guys.”
And why is that?
“Guys usually have more muscle,” he told me. “But you must have really muscular legs – a little fat would help you float.”
I loosely interpreted that as, “Eat an entire pizza for dinner.”
So I did. And while I was doing that, I tried to figure out if maybe Arthur has been reading my blog.
Filed under: Fitness | Tags: Brooklyn, Brooklyn Half Marathon, Fitness, half-marathon, Physical Fitness Rampage 2009, running
Last Saturday, I was relatively unphased about completing the Brooklyn Half-Marathon. Maybe it was because I ran it alone. Maybe it was because I generally can’t get excited about anything that happens before noon on a Saturday. Or maybe I was just plan exhausted. I don’t know.
The point is, when I was finished, I didn’t feel like I accomplished anything and all I really wanted to do was take a shower and get on with my day.
But I’d like to edit my position on that. Because I got the photos from the race back today, and I can’t believe that those legs are attached to my body.
And that is an accomplishment:
Oh, and don’t mind the face… We can’t have everything.
Today I took my first swim lesson at the local YMCA. To sum it up: I spent 40 minutes working a kickboard and trying not to get water up my nose.
In other news, I’m really excited to be 11 again and I’m hoping to earn my embroidery merit badge this summer.
Not really, of course – but I do paint mousetraps in my spare time, so does anything surprise you at this point?
