Category Archives: Training: Cycling

I’m a Sponsored Athlete!

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In 2008 when I decided to take up running and attempt a marathon, I had no idea it would take me this far. Running and Triathlon are an everyday piece of my vocabulary now and my world revolves around races. Is it even possible to immerse myself even more into the sport?

Yes.

It’s with great excitement that I would like to announce that I will be a sponsored athlete on the Kompetitive Edge team for 2012!

Kompetitive Edge will be my support throughout the race season, providing me with the best of the best gear to fulfill my race goals. If that wasn’t reason enough to be excited, I get to be a part of a very serious and talented team of athletes! Lookout 2012!

‘Professional Athlete Simulator’ day

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Training for your first Ironman is anything but easy, especially when your Coach is dedicated to making you the best athlete they can. The last few months have been 10-15 hour training weeks, which have hopefully resulted in improving my endurance.

—

Seeing as how NYC Marathon and Ironman Arizona were coming up fast, Coach asked that I take a day off work to get in a solid all-day training session. “No prob! Sounds fun!”

I have always dreamed (or at least the last 3 years) of being a professional triathlete or runner, my 9-to-5 job being to exercise. What fun to wake up and swim, bike and run all day! You can wear tri shorts and a sweaty tee, eat healthy, and get faster all day! The grass is always greener isn’t it.

My Wednesday morning started off with a coffee and a bagel. I then got my trainer ready, jumped into some gear and started workout 1 of 4.

ONE (2 Hours)

(I’m going to keep the details kind of vague since it is Coach’s secret formula)

A trainer ride starting with a series of ‘spin-ups’ getting my heart rate elevated. I had my iPod on and was rockin’ out having fun, for now. Next was 1 hour of increasing heart rate drills, the max being 155 and very intense. Next I did a series of single leg drills, which at the end my legs were jello. I think that was the goal. I was a sweaty mess.

TWO (1.5 Hours)

Walked over to Asphalt Green while eating a banana and drinking Gatorade, trying not to look like a wierdo since I was already sweaty and red.

In the pool I executed 3500 Yards in a series of different drills. I made friends with a lot of old ladies (remember it is 11AM on Wednesday). This was quite refreshing as there is normally a lot of jerk faces floating around the pool at night training for the 40+ Age Group Olympics.

Back at my apartment I wolfed down a huge plate of shrimp scampi I had made. Seriously, I was starving. I also had just enough time to run out and get my Halloween costume.

THREE (2.4 Hours)

It’s now 3PM and I am half way done my ‘training day.’ Back on the bike trainer, thinking I was unstoppable, I soon found out that my legs were not in a good mood. I was warned that this workout would be PAIN but I had no idea. Heart rate drills were followed by ‘grinding-climbing’ repeats, lots of them. I was seeing stars at a few points. Never in my life have a sweat so much. Luckily, the workout was over before I lost consciousness.

FOUR (1 Hour)

I met Abbe in the Park for an easy run. The legs felt pretty good but were in no shape for speed! Abbe said to me a few times, “You an take off at a faster pace if you want?” In my tough guy voice I was like, “No, no this is fun. Let’s just run together and talk about stuff.”

We ended our run at MXCO for some guacamole. I also had a burrito because my stomach and body needed some serious calories after my fiasco of a day.

—

What did I learn from my ‘Professional Athlete Simulator’ day? Respect. Respect for what the Pro’s do day-in and day-out. Even though it’s a cool career and is glamorous, it’s a lot of hard work and dedication.

I think I am ready for Ironman Arizona. Coach also said I can ‘race’ the New York City Marathon (which is 2 weeks prior to IMAZ) instead of taking it easy. This is terribly exciting as my legs have been itching for a good running race!

Fall Races – Pep Rally

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Isn’t life funny? We get so wrapped up at times in what ‘we cant do’ or what we ‘don’t have.’

I sit here writing this on the eve of the Rev3 Half Ironman in South Carolina, with Ironman Arizona a month after feeling down on myself because I can’t seem to get my swim speeds up to a competitive level.

—

A few years back I was leaving work headed home, very wrapped up mentally in some financial trouble I had gotten myself into. I felt like I was going to either have a brain aneurysm or start crying or both. My mind was racked with how I would deal with this situation and that’s all I could think of.

As I stood in my sardine packed subway car heading uptown to my warm apartment in my suit, listening to my iPod, a strange noise was making itself known at the other end of the subway car. Slowly, ‘Clang! Scrape. Clang! Scrape.’ as it got closer, everyone looking at each other as if we were in some horror movie and didn’t know what strange thing was approaching.

You could see people start to clear a path as the ‘Clang! Scrape. Clang! Scrape’ got near to the center of the car. Everyone was looking down at the floor.

As the people parted, and my eyes were able to fixate on what was headed towards us my heart sank. It was the torso of a man, a paraplegic, moving along by swinging his lower body while his arms supported him. He was blind, and in front of him he pushed a big tin pail collecting money. The subway car was so eerily quiet I could have heard a pin drop. The only sound was of coins and bills going into his tin to help.

Sometimes life isn’t funny. Sometimes we don’t realize that no matter how significant we think our problems are, someone else out there has much bigger problems.

—

Sometimes it’s easy to focus on your own weakness, even when that weakness may be so insignificant in the grand scheme of life.

Most of my friends these days are athletes, impressive athletes no matter what caliber, with a drive, focus and intense determination. I say good luck to all of you in these Fall races you have chosen to compete in. Race hard. Feel that burning sense of being alive, and race for others that aren’t able to.

Bike Adventures with Baker

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The 5th Avenue Mile is one of my favorite races. Last year I completed a dream, which was to run a sub 5 minute mile at the race and since then its always had a place in my heart.

Unfortunately running 1 Mile as fast as you can has NOTHING to do with Ironman training.

I was set to run the 5th Avenue Mile, then tack on anther hour and a half of medium paced running. Sunday was to be my long ride, a very important component to IM training.

As Abbe and I sat having coffee looking at the weather Saturday morning she said, “You know, it’s not supposed to rain today. Tomorrow is the big rain forecast.” Biking in the rain, aside from being dangerous, plain sucks. Running in the rain I can deal with. The decision was made then and there to skip my race and hit the road for my 5 hour long ride.

I set out, geared up with 2 water bottles of ‘fuel’ and a Clif Bar, headed towards the George Washington Bridge. My goal was to make it to Bear Mountain. I had never been and was really curious what all the fuss was about.

As I neared the GW I noticed a heavy amount of what appeared to be novice riders. Using my super sleuth skills I deducted that, yes, there must be some sort of group ride.

Once on the oh so familiar 9W I set controls to autopilot at around 20-22 MPH and just took in the scenery, sipping on my ‘fuel’ cocktail every so often. I felt great, perhaps due to Abbe’s Truffle Pasta from the night before compounded with my Irish Oatmeal.


I always find it funny when you pass the Welcome to NY sign because… that’s where I was coming from! Did I just time travel, or maybe pass into an alternate dimension, or maybe the state is just shaped funny?


Hitch hikers? Really? Yes, I must have time traveled to 1972 when everything was safe! I started looking to see if cars had seat belts right after and realized I was still in the present.

I hit Nyack 1:30 into the ride and blasted forward, marking uncharted territory for me. An adventure… yes, lets have an adventure!

I went through a series of small towns and occasionally hit a stoplight. In my head I was marking off places where I could either pee or get more food or both.

I passed Rockland Lake State Park which was really beautiful. There were swans out on the lake and it was really peaceful. Soon after we hit a ‘T’ in the road and I instantly flashed back to my first Century Ride from 2002! We passed through this very spot heading in the same direction!


I passed these crazy cliffs and took a picture because they seemed very Lord of the Rings-ish and I pictured Frodo and Sam climbing them all starved cause they are out of Lambas Bread.
We went through a few more towns, Stony Point being quite quaint.

It was right around here I said to myself, “Where the hell is this goddamn mountain?”

I entered what appeared to be a wilderness area, or rather, a place where humans dared to live. The hills became fierce and I knew I was close to my destination. It was also at this point I realized that one of my water bottles full of ‘fuel’ jumped ship! This worried me slightly as I needed that energy to make it back home.

I took a left into Bear Mountain State Park and started going up Hell-o-Hill. Seriously, I rode for 30-40 minutes in my lowest gear, knees bleeding, straight up the mountain. For what it’s worth, the park is gorgeous. I was all by myself in dense forest with streams, brooks and all kinds of nature-y things around me. I was moving at 7 MPH the whole time and I was dying to see what was at the top of this thing. It had better be awesome.

It was. Clear views of the Hudson for as far as the eye could see. Pretty amazing. I think it’s so cool to live in Manhatty, in the heart of the urban jungle, and yet I can ride my bike over to a mountain!


After taking a breather, I hit the road. It took me 8 minutes to descend the mountain and you better believe I had my hands on the breaks the whole time and was still going 30-35 MPH! It was wet and I didn’t want to slide off the side of the cliffs to my doom.


The second part of the ride seemed easier for some reason. Maybe it’s because I knew the terrain now, or perhaps I was just warmed up. I don’t know?

I had been riding without music on the way there, but on my return blasted some Drum n Bass to keep me company. It gets lonely out there on the open road…

Close to Nyack there is a Toga Bikes. I popped in and got a new water bottle and grabbed some snacks for the road.

As I neared the GW and was coming up on 90 miles I started to feel a little winded, but then I realized my ass was just sore.

My total distance was 97.7 Miles at 5 hours, 45 minutes.

It was a glorious adventure.

Bike Talk

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To truly know me, is to know bikes and how much I love them.

Bikes are awesome. Anyone that thinks otherwise should be locked up. Seriously, watch out once I become Mayor cause you’re going to jail naysayer!

In the last year I have slowly been building up my TT Bike (Time Trial Bike or ‘Triathlon Bike’) to get it up to Ironman worthy status. (Ironman Arizona is fast approaching) A new cassette, a new saddle, adjusting things after rides, new shoes, handlebar streamers, and finally my rear water bottle cage.

I hate excess, but unfortunately in any distance race you need to be prepared for flats as well as have ample nutrition. My solution was the Profile Design RMC (in white of course to match my saddle). I installed it last night and can’t tell you how thrilled I am with it.


It sits under your saddle and back a bit, creating this like ‘bucket’ area to put things! Inside I have my Co2’s and tire levers, and underneath my spare tube! Oh, and you also have to water bottle cages for nutrition. Its perfect! Now I can load up the front of my bike with snacks (like my Race Burritos!)

RACE REPORT: 062 Boomer’s CF Run to Breathe 10K: 39:02

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The week back from a long vacation is never fun, but I was very excited to have a race at the end of it. The Boomer’s Cystic Fibrosis Run to Breathe 10K was a new race put on by the football legend himself.

The Friday before the race I did some easy spinning to loosen my legs, then went to Abbe’s for dinner. Amanda and Stefan came over and Abbe made us some amazing pasta dish to carb-o-load on!

RACE DAY

Up at 5:30AM! What? Yea that’s early but stupid Irish steel cut oats take forever to make and I am beyond Quaker Oats. Sorry Wilford.

Abbe and I did a warm up run up to Central Park arriving to our respective corrals right on time. I get really stressed (quiet, pensive) before a race until I am in my corral ready to be let loose. Surprisingly there were not that many runners up in Blue. I had front row seats to watch Boomer give his lil speech! I was highly disappointed that Peter Chacha was not there to give race instructions as it’s always a good time (I learned this from Matt6) to yell “ChaCha!” as he takes the mic.

The gun sounded and we were off. First up was the notorious Cat Hill. I ascended it easily and kept my heart rate low, trying to build a nice pace. What I realized as I hit Mile 1 in 6:15 was that I was running to conservatively. My PR in a 10K ha me running 5:58s all day, I would need to make up some time in order to PR, but could I?


I was running steady with a group of runners that I decided were holding me back. Increasing the pain threshold I moved past them and started picking off people.

Harlem Hill arrived like a heart attack. It burned pretty bad and this time I didn’t pace myself, blasting up it. As far as strategy goes, I think I’m a fairly decent hill runner so I try and put some distance on people on the uphills.

One thing I took note of on this race, is that due to the fact that all my systems were in check and working great (legs, arms, food, heart, mind) that I was having a blast! I try to tell myself on occasion when racing “This is what you love doing, do not be so concerned with time, enjoy yourself.” I didn’t even wear my Garmin so I had no idea what pace I was hitting and you guys know me and my math skills, those Mile clocks are baffling!


At Mile 5 I saw my time and to PR I would need to run the last mile in 5 minutes or so. A tall order. I decided to try. I gunned it, and then I started thinking of my Dad and how although he never got to witness me race in person, he was probably watching at this moment. I was passing people and putting the pressure on my legs and lungs. It was really hot out by now and the sun was on top of us.

Cruising up 72nd Street I saw the finish and also saw a few guys flanking me, attempting to pass. I threw it into overdrive and blasted forward giving it all. I have no idea what my time was for that last mile, but I do now it was the fastest of the race.

This was my ‘Peter Pan’ landing…

My time was 39:02 which is easily 2 minutes shy of a PR for me, but still, it was so fun!

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall Place Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M33 136 44 10 39:02 6:18 69.6%

After a pear and some water, I marched over to the finish line and cheered on the rest of the runners waiting for Abbe and Erica Sara to finish. They came through, Erica Sara first then Abbe like 10 seconds behind her, both looking very strong!

We had some coffee and then took off to hit the showers.

POST RACE

For lunch Abbe took me out to ABC Kitchen in Union Square. It was amazing!

Then, we went to Brooklyn (I know, wow! so far!) to my friend Dimotta’s birthday party at Berry Park. I saw Dimots, Mirko, Lauren and Molly among others who I had not seen in some time. It was great catching up.

Next up, I took Abbe out to Dinner at Robataya in the East Vil. It’s a fairly new restaurant owned by the same guy who owns Sakagura, my all-time favorite restaurant! We had a plethora of Japanese food, all prepared with such detail. It was amazing. Abbe said to me that night “This should be great fuel for our workouts tomorrow!” We would come to find out that Japanese food is exactly the wrong food for pre-workout dinners.

SUNDAY RECOVERY RIDE (not!)

As I woke Sunday Coach S had me queued up for a 4 hour ride to Nyack. Fun? Of course. Always. I would sleep on my bike if I could.

It was a hot, but beautiful day and I set out on my Tri bike ‘Andraste‘ with a smile. I hit a number of hiccups along the way which really discouraged me and as I saw my mood change I realized I was cranky because I was exhausted.

The South path of the GW was closed so we bikers had to use the North, more ‘walker friendly’ side. I think I carried my bike up and down 7 or 8 sets of staircases.

Once I was in dirty Jersey I got cooking. Then, another problem… there was a roadblock on the Palisades and a No Bikers sign! What? Not wanting to end my ride I ept going straight toward Englewood New Jersey where I discovered the biggest hill I had ever seen in the area. It was a set of 4 or 5 consecutive bomb drop hills! I was flying, tucked in, maxed out on my gears. Then, to the left I saw some bikers walking their bikes UP the hill and I got to thinking, “Oh man, I have to go back up this monster!”

That’s exactly what I did. Nice and slow with an easy heart rate I ascended all the hills returning to the bridge. Then I remembered you can go under the brige to the Park portion which is just as fun. That’s what I did.

I forgot how pretty it is over on the cliffs overlooking he city (where Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr dueled many years ago).


45 miles and 3 hours later I returned home, ready for a shower, lunch and to put my feet in some cozy sneakers.


It was an awesome weekend of races, workouts, adventures and food!

Bike. Swim. Cheer. Run.

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55 degrees and sunny both Saturday and Sunday? I’ll take it, and you better believe everyone else in NYC will too!

Coach had me queued up for a 2 hour trainer ride, but after running an errand outside I was like, “Stay inside and ride? No way, I’m terrorizing the town on my bike!” and with that I was off.

I chose to ride my track bike as I figured that would simulate the trainer best as I can’t coast. I also have no brakes, and since you never brake on a trainer ride that seemed logical too.

Any time I take a ride in the streets and avoid Central Park (especially since al the police have been ticketing bikers as of late) I like to say that I am ‘Saying hello to all the neighborhoods’ and seeing what’s going on in each one. The Garmin map below shows where I visited.

Pizza is a common theme for this post and halfway through my ride I popped over to Nino’s drive by window for a slice.

SIDENOTE: I have very strong opinions on the best food in NYC. Nino’s happens to be one of top 3 pizza joints.

Later that day I had swim instruction. We went over my form and worked on some drills that will improve my speed over time. Very exciting stuff!

Saturday night? Yeah I was tired.

I was really looking forward to Sunday. Maura, Bryan, Matt6 and I were to cheer on Maura H., Erica Sara and Steph (long with countless other women) in the More Fitness Half Marathon for Women.

I was supposed to wake up at 7AM but instead woke up at 6AM because my ‘smart’ alarm clock from 1998 still thought ‘Spring Forward’ was April 2nd. Save the Robots? Maybe.

Arriving just after the start, Matt, Bryan and I… ‘The High Five Station’ were on fire. We were obnoxiously loud with Thunder Stix, Cowbells and a sign made by Bryan and Maura. (Maura and Robin K. arrived shortly after, they were getting a run in first… Runnerds!)

There were somewhere around 7,000 runners and probably 1,000 of them high fived Bryan. It was awesome. We saw Maura H., Steph and Erica Sara a couple times before we headed out to get some breakfast, celebrating the gals running achievements. Both Erica Sara and Steph PR’d! Nice work gals, well done!

After the race I was supposed to run a 1:45 minute aerobic threshold run. Arriving home at 1PM I was in some kind of a funk. Maybe it was all the bad walkers cutting me off? Anyway, me being in a funk is a rarity. I pretty much swore the run off.

At 3PM I had the craving for some pizza. I embarked out to my favorite Upper East Side location on 79th and 1st, acquiring a slice of hot cheese pizza. After thoroughly enjoying it I had the secondary craving for Pretzel M&Ms. This may be due to the fact that there is a huge bowl of them on my coffee table. I had 20-30 and they were everything I had dreamed they would be.

Slowly, my attitude was changing. Inside, energy was forming.

30 minutes after my feeding… I was like “Hey, it’s nice out. I haven’t missed a day of Coach’s super charged plan (see image below) so why stop now?!”

It was an amazing run at a 147 HR Average. This means I was running 8 minute miles. On occasion I pushed into the high 7s which is great because it means I’m progressing!

I wanted to kick out some speed a few times as people passed me but I held my ground. Then, I heard these footfalls coming up behind me like a bat outta hell… I was like “Who? What?” As the runner passed they patted my back looked back and gave a shout. It was Antonio, one of my running partners from early on!

Gotta love Central Park… it’s the Runner Army’s backyard.

Appetite for… Progression?

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Over the last week my appetite has become ravenous. I find myself walking to work, drooling at all the cafes, in some sort of glazed over zombie-like shuffle.

“Will I make it to work, where my precious oatmeal lay waiting for me to devour it and live another day?”

“Will I have to throw myself through the door of some unsuspecting cafe and demand eggs, cutting everyone else in line off like a jerk?”

“Perhaps, at my last waning moment I will resort to some crazy cannibalistic behavior and eat my left arm, since I’m a righty?”

These thoughts have been going through my head because for the first time in my life my training program is through the roof and I’m loving every minute of it! Coach S has me really gearing up my volume and relaying all kinds of data to her. Heart rate, cadence, pace, times… it kinda feels like a science project…

This is what happened this week so far, explaining my hunger. I am leaving details out because I don’t want to give away Coach’s planning or secret formulas, but you get the idea.

Monday: AM Run, PM Swim

Tuesday: AM Bike, PM Run

Wednesday: AM Swim

Thursday: PM Bike

Friday: AM Run

I feel really good, especially since this kind of schedule is starting to become a bit more routine for me and falling into place so to speak. I never ran, biked or swam this much EVER. I ran like once a week (if it was sunny) and biked a couple times because I drank to much coffee those days.

Since I enjoy blogs with photos, I have included a few below (however unrelated they are to the above text) to entertain you.

LOOK! I got new goggles! I test them Saturday, look out sharks, I will eat you.

Last weekend Abbe and I went down to DC. This is a shot I took as we made our way to cheer the National Marathon runners. Pretty cool right?

Cherry Blossoms and an Egyptian obelisk.

 

 

 

From Cabo to being Coached

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I set off last Thursday morning with 9 friends en-route to Cabo San Lucas for a 4 day bachelor party aka ‘4 day bender’.

For those of you geographically challenged below is a map of where we were headed. I was really excited as it is remote, and is also home to the mighty Humboldt Squid.

SIDENOTE: I watched a lot of nature shows as a kid so I tend to get excited about that kind of information. Humboldt Squid are also man-eaters ohhhhh scary!

As we arrived in Cabo we ran into a mutual friend of ours who RANDOMLY happened to be going to Cabo by way of L.A. Very wild coincidence and totally awesome. I love that stuff.

Without going into my usual drawn out way of story telling I figured I would just give some highlights.

Cabo is very beautiful with a rugged almost ‘Mars-like’ terrain. Yes, I have been to Mars, it’s my home planet.

The first night there someone made me fresh salsa for my fish tacos as the normal salsa wasn’t spicy enough for me. It was the best salsa I have ever had!

One morning we went fishing and caught an 8 foot, 140 pound Striped Marlin! During this outing we were 15 miles off the coast and a huge school of Pacific White-sided Dolphins were following the boat, jumping and speeding along! I have always wanted to see this species of dolphin, so you could imagine my excitement level.

SIDENOTE: The photos I took were horrible so I appropriated some. Whatever.

During the day a few of us non-golfers would sit by the beautiful beach drinking Coronas. Once the group returned we would head out and explore town, causing a bit of mayhem here and there. It was a bachelor party after all.

Cabo San Lucas is a beautiful place and I would recommend it to anyone who love sandy beaches and surreal landscapes.

RETURN TO REALITY…

The flight home was painful. Lack of sleep, nutrition and the fact that my liver was angry were the main issues, as well as the large fellow next to me spilling into my personal space.

SUPER RETURN TO REALITY…

Let’s do some time traveling to oh, November of last year. After a fantastic race year capped off by the New York City Marathon and my first Boston Qualifier I thought about taking my game higher. To open myself up a little, I will say that my ultimate goal out of all of this is not Boston at all. My supreme dream is to get to Kona. For those not familiar, Kona is the Ironman World Championships, the race of races, end game. (Don’t get me wrong, there are crazier things to race, this is only my opinion.) In order to get to Kona you need to qualify which is very difficult.

Realizing this, I knew I needed help. I needed someone to take me under their wing and coach me, something I have never done. Remember, my athletic life started in 2008. Up until then I was just a pedestrian…

After a few months of research, I found that no one really fit what I was looking for.

Time traveling back to the present… I have finally found the coach that fits my criteria. Some of you may know her, as our Triathlon/Running circle is smaller than a lot of us realize. Her name is Sonja and she is a killer triathlete.

I met Sonja in June during the Quassy Rev3 Half Ironman. Basically, we rode part of the bike portion playing leap frog until she finally kicked my ass and took off! Since then I have chatted with her often about races and followed her progress as an athlete. I encourage all of you to follow her blog goSonja if you already don’t.

So why did I choose her as a coach?

I find similarities in our athletic careers that I think she gets and can understand where I am athletically. She started racing out of nowhere like me and has taken it very far.

Sonja is also a wife and mother and I am completely in awe of her ability to manage a family and her triathlon training. Not to compare my day-to-day to that of a mother, but my life here in NYC is really busy, and if someone like her can accomplish these things, then I have no excuses.

Lastly, she is a really fun racer. She is serious, but goofs off and enjoys the ride. Those of you who know me understand that I am a complete nut during a race. I need a coach that has a quirky and fun personality too I guess.

So. I have never had ANY sort of structure to my workouts. In fact, I only ran like 2 times a week, biked 3 times and so forth and only when I felt like it. All of this changed when my plane landed in Newark after I had 4 days of relaxation in Cabo. Coach Sonja was about to set it off!

Tuesday I did a crazy bike trainer workout. We are working on deciphering my heart rate in regards to my aerobic fitness and I am so excited about it. Throw science into something and I’m all in.

—

Wednesday I did a 1 hour fun tempo run. 9.5 miles at a 7 minute pace which was evidently not fun enough and too fast. I guess I just get too wild out there in the Park and let loose. Maybe it’s my music? My sneakers perhaps? More zombies were chasing me and I had to escape?

It’s going to be really exciting to see what areas I improve in and how I develop as an athlete. Beyond Defeat (of course) will document everything so stay tuned.

The next week is looking to kick my ass and get some real data in the works and I am very excited. I am also excited about Claire’s Beer Run this Sunday and wonder if that counts towards Sonja’s coached training?

A Taste of Spring!

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This Thursday and Friday in NYC were slated to be in the 50’s and 60’s. You better believe everyone was outside doing something whether it was running, biking, or drinking.  I did all 3.

On Thursday night some of the Runner Army met in Central Park for a tempo run. In attendance: Joe, Matt6, Samantha, Susan, and Abbe. Clearly, Abbe and Matt6 need blogs.

We split into 2 groups of 3 and blazed the northern loop of the Park. So many people were out and it was really fun wearing single layers of clothes in the mighty February.

We finished up the run (strategically) by Tavern on the Green, where Joe had parked his car. He had brought us all a sample beer from his latest brew, Coffee Stout. We sat in a circle in the Park savoring this amazing beer, i was so fun. After the beer, Susan, Abbe and I hopped in a cab headed East to continue our ‘Bamboozaling’ as Abbe dubbed it.

We grabbed a table at Brother Jimmy’s, all of us still decked out in running gear. We drank and ate runner style til 11! How did that happen? ‘Time flies.’

Friday was even warmer than Thursday! I had been skateboarding to work again and today was no exception!

After work I jumped on ‘Athena’ my trusty track bike that has never let me down. Once we crashed headfirst into an SUV going 25MPH (through the windshield) and rode away unscathed, but that’s anther story.

SIDENOTE: Fellow run/fitness blogger Kelly from Meals for Miles and I discovered a few months ago we are neighbors. I ran into her  (our first time meeting) leaving for my ride and we discovered that we live in neighboring buildings! How wild. Who says NYC is a small town?!

She is the ‘Fastest Bike in the Galaxy’ and is very responsive. It is a Cyclops Track bike made my Mike Mulholland for a US Track rider. It was made in the early 80’s with Columbus tubing and weighs nothing.

I set off down Lexington full throttle. It was amazing out and I was really having fun. I decided to ride through Times Square and by the Empire for nostalgic reasons. It wasn’t the best idea seeing as everyone was out in large groups, making it dangerous at major intersections. Why is it that a car going 30MPH inhibits pedestrians from crossing the street, but a bike at the same speed doesnt? Its still going to be quite painful when I crash into you.

SoHo was bumping and people were eating outside everywhere in the sidewalk seating. Such a refreshing change from piles of snow. (and I like snow)

I jetted up 3rd and 1st Avenues to get home. The cool thing about now riding for awhile is that your legs get stronger, like scary strong on a track bike. At stop lights I could ‘0-60’ sprint very fast and get my max speed up in no time at all. Did I mention that it has no brakes? That’s where the scary part comes in.

TRACK BIKE 101: A true track bike (or fixie as those god forsaken hipsters I hate so much dub it) has one gear per se. It is always locked into this gear and cannot coast. Meaning, at a standstill you could pedal backwards and the bike goes backwards. The handle bars have nothing but grip tape on them, no shifters, no brake levers etc. It is the purest form of a bike. In order to stop you must slow your legs down or skid. Another way is to throw your legs in the air (like you just don’t care) and while the back tire is off the ground, reverse the drive train. I live for this.


I finished up my ride and felt great having taken advantage of the amazing weather!