Tweaking Sarah v.2.010...

I know I've mentioned that I rely a lot on the support of others, and so here's something I wanted to call out. People have noticed that I am looking toner. I appreciate this a lot, because I have noticed that my weight has yet to change drastically, which has been a little discouraging. I've adjusted my diet to be more balanced, and have increased my protein intake especially in regards to eggs, reduced-fat peanut butter, and milk. Overall, I feel like I'm doing a lot of good for myself, and it feels good. Sarah v.2.010 is looking and feeling relatively good about herself, but can definitely take it further.

This might seem like nothing to most of you regular athletes out there, but I'm honestly completing a minimum of 3 workouts a week.

This week I had completed:
1) Sunday: Indoor run on treadmill (raining in NY): 3+ miles
2) Monday: Indoor swim with Group Training Session (raining in Brooklyn) - 1/2mi approx
3) Thursday: Indoor bike (3 miles) and swim (.5mi) in Omaha (torrential downpour in Omaha)
4) I'll probably do a Friday night or Saturday morning workout here in Omaha, but it'll be tough squeezing it into the Thomas Family fun we're having. :)

I'm currently staying at a Hampton Inn near the Yahoo! Omaha office, and its pretty spiffy with the workout gear they've got. Specifically, every machine is hooked up to a state of the art TV, they rent out headphones (with disposable ear covers), they've got medicine balls of all sizes, and a pool/hot tub setup. The weather in Omaha was pretty amazing yesterday, and I was tempted to go for a run outside, but was too exhausted from the red-eye I took out here. I'd like to work on my stamina for things like things, and, of course, a certain endurance race that I'm completing in July.

I need more time, and more running buddies. Let me know if you ever want to do a early morning run on the Brooklyn Bridge! I'm thinking I might need to start doing this on either Sun, Mon, Thurs, or Fri mornings, minimum of 5 miles.


Location of my Thursday-night swim - Hampton Omaha West:

Where to go but up?

Its Week 8 now, and I'm not feeling confident about my work thus far. I need your support and motivation, people!!!

Week 7 was pretty much a week-long celebration of my birth, Ad:Tech, and recovering from a great weekend in Hawaii. Now, the holiday is over, and its crunch time. This is almost the halfway mark, and I know I'm definitely in better shape than I was when I started, but I want to be farther than I am.

I'm finally upgrading to a hot kick@$$ bike in the next few weeks, and I'm ready to rock into gear. Its raining in New York today, so I jumped on the treadmill and churned out 3.2 miles to the Sunday night feature. 3.2 miles in 33 minutes -- not so shabby, but I was not doing so well at the end of it, and definitely sweating like I was ill. We'll have to work on that, but I think it was good to get a good sweat out.

Tomorrow is swimming practice (haven't swum in two weeks), so I will be demoting myself to the first lane, which is the beginners of the basic session. Should be interesting! I feel like I've lost the rhythm of the 2-beat kick, and I'd like to work on my breathing. Its late, so I'm off to see if I can get to sleep, even though I'm still worked up from my 10:30pm run.


Also, as a *reminder* --
its about ONE WEEK till our Right Media Fundraising Happy Hour!! Should be AWESOME! I hope you can make it.
Right Media Fundraising Happy Hour Details
(or view the Facebook Invite)

Keeping it going across the country!

I'm doing a lot of traveling over the next 2 weeks, so the goal will be to keep the training going while I'm away. I'm currently in the airport, en route to San Francisco after 4 beautiful days in Maui.

I went to swim practice on Monday, where we did a 1/4 mile sprint in the pool. Needless to say, I think swimming may be my weakest activity. Tuesday was a busy day as I needed to pack for the trip, and Wednesday, I headed out west.

I didn't workout Wednesday or Thursday, but I was pleased to say that I rolled out of bed on Friday morning, and hit the beach for a serious leg and calf workout on the sand. Let's just say a beautiful view is great inspiration to keep going. (i captured it on my phone)

My workout view, Kaanapaali Beach, Maui, HI

Saturday was the wedding, so there was general running around, and Sunday (today) was the reception and afterwards, we went ziplining (a huge adrenaline rush) before I had to head to the airport.

Tomorrow is my birthday, and I'll be in SF for Ad:Tech San Francisco. I'm unfortunately not sure if I'll be able to get over the jetlag to wake up early enough to workout before client meetings.

Week 6: My last mountain bike workout!

As Week 6 closes, it was another beautiful but extremely cold day in Prospect Park. I've mapped it out, and it is a 3 mile bike to the park from my apartment, and I'm including this in my overall mileage for the day.

I'm borrowing a mountain bike made for a 6'4" man, and I really need to take it in for a cleaning. I was having difficulties shifting gears, which made me realize exactly how gunky the chain was. Maybe as a "thank you", I'll get one of those chain cleaners and clean off the chain.

The picture is from 8am on Saturday -- we always have about 10 minutes of bike safety, talking about fundraising, and discussing strategies we should be working to increase our endurance and reduce our recovery time. (Here's a great article I found, which pretty much covers what Coach Jon was telling us to try out.) The overall bike ride was pretty good, but being on a mountain bike, you realize exactly how much it can slow you down with the heavier frame, wide-set fork, and massive tires. I felt like I was chugging along next to the pretty little road bikes. I'd describe the mountain bike as an old man next to those skinny youngsters. Regardless, I think this weekend was my last ride on the mountain bike!

I'm definitely building up the endurance, and the core workout we did after our run (planks, side planks, abs, advanced bridges, etc) was significantly easier this time around. I'm feeling the flexibility and energy really begin to kick in as well!

Total mileage for the day: 18.5 miles

New Team Logo!

Created by yours truly! :)
I'm really getting excited about TNT now! I played soccer yesterday with my team, and I was barely out of breath at the end of it all... i could have just kept going and going and going! The energy level is insane! Now to spend the weekend running around to burn it all off.

Triathlon Race Day Map!!!

We're turning up the heat!!

Race day map has been posted, AND the hotel to stay at is now available to book! Not sure if I'll actually stay at the Hilton, though its always been my hotel family of choice.

Here it is! The official NYC Triathlon 2010 RACE DAY MAP!!!

Is Our CEO Amazing, or what??

and yet, she still calls us amazing for doing the Triathlon and supporting the cause. I guess what goes around comes around!!!

Message from our CEO:
"You guys are AMAZING!!! Please let us know how it goes. I'm good for $500 per Yahoo, so count me in for $22,500. Can't wait to hear how it goes.
All the best,
Carol."

Check it out, and check out the amazing TOTAL amount here ($500 per participating Yahoo!) on our Team Yahoo! page. This is truly inspirational, and makes me want to do EVEN better.

4 mile run in under 40 minutes? Oh yes, give me more!

These were our directions, and we rocked it!!:
"Basic (4 mi)– Cross from West to East Drive on reservoir path (@ lamppost # 86). You will run on reservoir path until you get to the south pumphouse – 1^st building on your left. There are water fountains located here. Head down stairs to East Drive and run down East drive to 72^nd transverse. Cross to Cherry Hill Fountain – do one loop, and head out west driveway to 72^nd transverse. Cross 72^nd to path on south side of transverse and run back to finish line. Confused? We will post a map and you can follow teammates/coaches who know the course!"


So, I think everyone might be a little surprised at themselves after today's workout. We ran 4 miles (basic runners) in under 40 minutes, and many of us could have easily kept going. This was my second run with the Central Park crew, and I really liked it.

Overheard: "I guess this Team In Training thing really does work!"

That made me laugh a little inside, but I know we're all feeling it. Its Week 6, and we have 15 weeks left in our training, and believe it or not, I'm actually feeling good about things. I unfortunately can't remember the last time I ran 4 miles continuously without stopping. Today I've achieved something, and I'm mighty proud.

Its 13 days till my birthday, and I'm proud to say that this little lady has still got it in her to be the best she can ever be! My goal is to be able to say that every single year for at least another decade... maybe 2?

I'm a happy camper, and I'm going to feel it tomorrow. Bring it on body, we're got some serious training cut out for you. :)


I feel like we're beginning to build a little bit of a "One Yahoo!" attitude with the team! While I may not know all 44 Yahoos who are doing the NYC Triathlon, I'm definitely getting to know a good group from our Sales/40th Street office, our 18th Street HotJobs side, and of course, getting to know our Right Media Yahoo folks even better.

Two-Beat Kick? Say what?

"Today I swam.
Today I conquered the timing of the 2-beat kick!!

Here's a little excerpt from this week's weekly email from our coaches regarding this kick:
"A correctly timed kick can provide both lift and rotation to the hips and torso. To be able to get the kick timing, you first have to develop the correct arm timing.
We have encouraged you to leave the gliding arm in front as you recover the other arms through the air and are driving it down into the water in front. This downward drive will move your shoulder, which in turn moves the arm that was gliding in front. Simply stated – the arm driving down into the water will initiate the pull phase of the other arm. We are now focusing on how to use the kick to assist this process."

Complicated? I think so. The motion of this stroke feels like you are crawling through the water in a weird clambering-like motion, and yet, I see what they're saying. You're propelling yourself while rotating yourself, and breathing all along to give yourself the direction to keep moving forward while lessening your energy usage. Who knew?

Week 5 Completed!: 4 successful workouts!

This week, I can honestly say that I got 4 workouts in. The goal will be to continue to push through with this. I know I've been slacking off with last week, but now its time to really focus.

Sunday, I was invited to play on a different soccer team, with one of the guys I used to play with. It was a full 45 minute game, with a warm-up before. It was definitely a lot of sprinting, as these guys had actually made it to the semi-finals but were in need of girls for their game.

Monday, I went to swim practice, where we continued to learn our sculling technique, and began to learn another motion, though I can't remember the name. It was little bit of a flutter kick, where you kick hard once to propel yourself as you are breathing on the opposite side, and its supposed to use less energy. I haven't gotten into the pool beyond my weekly training classes, so I know I need to get on this.

Tuesday would have been the day for my group run, but I have guests from Finland, so I opted to run home right after work to go meet up with them (they were already in my apartment which they had headed to straight from the airport).

Wednesday, I did a quick 20 minute workout on the treadmill, with a few squats, lunges, and crunches on top of that. Is that a real workout? Possibly not, but with the amount of time I can squeeze into my schedule this week, I'll take it for what it is... an increased heart-rate, and maybe a little boost to my metabolism!

Thursday and Friday, I took it easy as I took on the role of Sarah the NYC tour guide.

Saturday, I went to group bike training practice, where we reviewed how to clean your bike chain, and check your tires for debris. After which, I got to bike Prospect Park for the first time ever! Its really not that long of a loop, but there is a bit of a steep incline. I was biking on the mountain bike, and assume that ones I get a road bike, I'll really be able to take that hill by storm. I biked to Prospect from my apt, did about 2 loops of the park before my legs started cramping, and then headed back to my apt before my legs fully gave out under me. Using Google Maps, I mapped out my bike route to a little over 15 miles. I'll admit I like that Google Maps knows where the bike-safe routes are, and is able to map you. It definitely made feel less nervous as I was heading to/from practice. I also met another triathlete who finished her workout around the same time, and we biked back together as she (Ellen) lives in West Carroll Garden on Hicks and Bergen.

Overall it was a good week -- I just have to work on my endurance and stamina!