One Week Left

The Philly Tri is this coming Sunday, June 28th! Ahhhhh!

Training, training, training

Thank you everyone that donated, I have raised $1000 over the minimum totally $3800! Yay!

Here's an overview of how my training has been going:

Last Week:

I biked to work!

Participated in a 5K race near the art museum, my time was 36 min 40 sec.

Road some of the bike course with teammates including Lemon Hill. I need work on biking up the hills!

This Week:

tues: swim 25 min
weds: strength class in morning at my gym, then an hour bike ride around kelly dr./west river dr.
thurs: swim 40 min at the 50m pool at UMLY, it was really nice to practice swimming without having to turn around every 25m. It was very challenging and a good workout.

It's Melinda and Greg's wedding today, so I'm taking it easy on the training front. But will right back into it with a run tomorrow and bike ride on Sunday. Maybe swimming at the 50m pool on Monday???

Morning, Noon, & Night

Okay, so not the noon part. But I have been going to gym sometimes twice a day. It's weird.

It started Monday night when the day almost went by without a workout. So I went to my gym and road a stationary bike and watched Monday night TV. Anyone see the teen wolf on "how I met your mother"? Hilarious.

Monday night/Tuesday morning, my gas was turned off, so no hot water. Thanks PGW. I couldn't go to work with the sweat from the night before still on me. So I went to my gym to take a shower, and did 10 min. on the elliptical while I was there. The two showers in the locker room were occupied when I needed it, so I missed my train to Center City for work. I took the next one and was 30 min late. When I work in the City (which is once a week) I like to go to the Center City Sweat gym which is on Broad & Arch because they have a pool. I did my 30 min swim then left.

Thursday morning, I ran to Sweat gym on Main St. then ran a mile on the treadmill. Then I worked in the North East office. I went back to the gym after work to take a much needed yoga class. Being at the gym before work and after work is a bit strange for me, but it was good. I think I need to try and start my day that way more often.

Team Practice

I practiced with the team this morning. I hope my schedule allows me to go more consistantly from now on. Swimming went well. At the end of practice instead swimming in seperate lanes, we snaked across the whole pool single file up one lane and then down the next. It felt really good to continously swim like that. I went through the whole pool twice which winds up being 400m which is only about a quarter mile. 1600m equals a mile, so I'd have to swim the entire pool 8 times to equal the swim portion of the triathlon. I partcipated in the run after swimming today. It was only my second time. I chose to go the short cut again today, running past the Barnes museum. The last time I did this run, the Barnes was covered in snow. This time I took a picture. My goal is to work up to running the longer route.

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My postcard

updated slightly for the Philadelphia Triathlon.

Pre- dawn run

This morning I went on my first pre dawn run ever. I've been procrastinating my training for the run portion of the triathlon. I cannot put it off any longer. So I decided to try something new. At 5:55 a.m.I ventured outside. It was still dark, very empty and quiet. Nice. I ran down main st. which is well lit. And ran/walk back. It wasn't that long, but it was tough. I want to stick with this new schedule to try to improve as much as I can. I need to work on it or else I won't be able to run 6 miles.

Some of my favorite Resources

Murray just gave me this book called "The Essential Triathlete". It was written by Steven Jonas M.D. a self proclaimed "back-of-the-packer". He repeatedly acknowledges his slowness which gives slow pokes like me some encouragement. As the book states: "Triathlon is a wide open sport. You don't need to be a highly trained athlete to get involved and reap the benefits." I really like the book and it makes a great reference tool.

I just came across this awesome web site called TriathaNewbie.com It's great for anyone that had any questions about Triathlon, and also for beginners wanted to start out.

Diary of an amateur triathlete is a blog that I have followed since my first inclination to participate in a triathlon. She talks about different events she is in, and day to day training.

Beginner Triathlete.com is another good one. It even has logs to keep track of training sessions.

Same Reason, New Event!

It's been a nice week off from training, now my knee is all better time to get back. Except, now I have a yucky cold, so we'll see how I feel...

I've decided to change Events to the Philadelphia Triathlon, which is this June 28, 2009 (my mom's bday!). May is an incredibly busy month with my cousin's wedding, in North Carolina and Melinda and Greg's wedding. When I found out I was still able to change my event I jumped at the chance to be able to stay at home.

Now I'll be biking on the trail that I practice on, twice around with some extras including Lemon Hill. Swimming in the Schuylkill River, and running down Benjamin Franklin Parkway!

Here's a description from the Philly Tri web site:

THE OLYMPIC COURSE
1.5K swim 40K bike 10K run
This exciting course will travel through some of the most historic and picturesque sections of Philadelphia. The start/finish area and the transition area will be located just off of Martin Luther King Drive, near the base of Black Road – it is a beautiful part of Fairmount Park, complete with statues, trees and grassy fields.

SWIM
The 1.5K swim will be a point-to-point course, with athletes entering the water from the dock at the St. Joe’s Boathouse on Kelly Drive. Athletes will swim downstream, staying to the left of the island and heading under the second opening at the Columbia Bridge. The swim will conclude with a right hand turn to the swim exit which will be right in the belly of the transition area.

BIKE
After exiting the transition area, athletes will start the two loop, 40k bike course through Fairmount Park. Each loop of the bike course includes a portion of the COMMERCE USPRO CYCLING CHAMPIONSHIP and combines the flat & fast Martin Luther King Drive and Kelly Drives with four several short technical climbs and descents, including Lemon Hill.

RUN
After exiting the transition area, athletes will head north on the Martin Luther King Drive (towards Falls Bridge) and reach a turnaround roughly one mile from the run start. They will then run south on Martin Luther King Drive back towards transition. When reaching transition (after approx. 2 miles of running), athletes will loop behind transition on the grass before rejoining Martin Luther King Drive. They will then head to the front of the Art Museum, one of the City's most famous landmarks, where they will turnaround and head back on Martin Luther King Drive for a photo finish, a short distance from the transition area. Roughly 4/10 of one mile will be on grass. The course will be extremely well-marked for directions.

Injured

I went to NYC this past weekend to visit Tammy and order bridesmaid dresses for Liz's wedding... I return slightly injured. I twisted my knee while on the greyhound bus. Oops, my injury isn't even training related, but it has slowed my training to a complete stop. My knee has been getting better each day, but I don't want to push, so not to injure it more. This doesn't help my fear of running at all.

On a happier note, Tammy and my V-day brunch had a nice turn out on Saturday, Thanks to everyone who came! We raised $200 for LLS! Thanks Tammy for being such a good host! I cooked a lot of pancakes made to order with chocolate chips, bananas, and/or nuts. We had way too much food, and lots of leftovers.

Almost at $2000!

I'm a hop, skip, and jump away from the $2000 mark. Thank you so much to everyone that has responded to my postcards, and thanks to those of you that have bought chicobags! Every little bit adds up.

With this spring-like weather, I went for a long bike ride on Sunday down West River Drive to the Art Museum, then back down Kelly Drive. I am really lucky to live in Manayunk, were those paths are right outside my door. Adam and I also explored a path into Fairmount Park that we hadn't gone before. We took some pictures that I will post later. It felt great to bike outside again.

I need to focus more on my strength training portion of getting ready for the triathlon. I plan to do that by, doing push ups in the morning as well as other strength building exercises that are on wii fit. It's hard for me to do anything without someone telling me what exactly to do.

Have a great V-Day!

-jessica

V-Day Brunch!

Okay, I confess, I didn't make it to spinning last night, but I still managed to get to the gym and bike for 50 min! Today, I'm going to run after work (maybe outside).

To all those in the NYC area, the lovely Tammy Lew is hosting a V-day Brunch next Saturday at 1pm at her apartment in Astoria, Queens. We'll be making pancakes, and have bagels & lox. A $10 donation to eat, or what you would spend on brunch.

Tammy wrote a great e-mail inviting all her NY friends, please RSVP if you can make it. Thank you Tamala for hosting this event! You're the best!

Tammy's e-mail:

Hey all,

My best friend Jessica is running a triathlon for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She is trying to raise $4700 by May. (Check out and donate: www.jsitkoff.com/donate or her blog at http://lazyfeettriathlete.blogspot.com/). Since she'll be in NYC for President's Day weekend, we've decided to have a fundraiser towards her goal. We're having a delicious home-cooked brunch at my apartment for Valentine's Day! So regardless if you're in love, love love, hate hallmark holidays and/or love, or need more love, come eat with us and some of your favorites. And who knows, maybe you'll meet a valentine :) We'll have pancakes (with or without chocolate chips), bagels and lox, fruit, and lots of goodies. And we ask that you donate $10 (or what you would've spent if you went out to brunch) to a good cause! All in all a good situation. No excuse if you live in queens! And if you can't come, you can still donate! And feel free to invite friends, family, significant others, etc. :)

Here are the details:

When: Saturday Feb, 14th at 1pm (You'll be done in time to get your groove on for vday!)
Where: My apartment-- 3164 32nd Street, Astoria, NY 11106. I'm the first floor apartment. Take the N train to Broadway.
Why: To raise money for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society-- bring $10 :)

RSVP PLEASE :) Either email me at tammylew@gmail.com or call me at 302-354-1865. We have to know how much food to make :)

Hope to see you a week from Saturday!
Tammy

Spinning

Spinning class starts in 20 minutes! I better get moving. Spinning is like aerobics class on stationary bikes. I try to go once a week at my gym to work on biking endurance.

What a difference a day makes

Okay, so I know I was all pumped in my last post. I've had a drop off since then, but I'm still trudging along.

Training recap
Thursday I went swimming at UMLY 30 min
Sat: Team practice: 1 hour swim at St. Joe's, 20 min run outside
Sun: 30min bike at Lionville Y
Mon: 30 min swim, 20 min run Center City Sweat

Team practice was good on Saturday, St. Joe's in such a nice place to swim. Everyone is a little stressed about fund raising. I'm stressed about the run coming up after swimming. I've opted out previously because of the cold/hate running. But today, I came prepared with my under armor, and I was going to run!

We ran around a long block near City Ave. Starting out, I could not run without stopping. Running outside is different than a nice cozy gym, with the ground moving underneath you. Luckily, we had a short cut option almost immediately. I was the only one who took it. So I ran a good while by myself, and it was nice. I could jog/walk without judgment and go at my own pace. The highlight was running by the Barnes Museum, looking pretty covered in snow (I gotta start bringing my camera while training outside). By the time I made it back to City Ave, the group was running on the opposite side of the street. They all eventually passed me, but it was okay since I wasn't too far away. Thank goodness for shortcuts!

I definitely have to work on running outside.....

A training break through

Last week was a tough one, I hardly went running and swimming, biking, and yoga were hard. With my motivation lacking, I took a couple of days off. Got my hair cut instead of yoga class last Thursday, and rested my most recent ailment (my left bicep felt strained).

Yesterday, I went to my Monday Spin class at my gym. It was a great work-out and I really felt like I could keep up with Christine, the instructor. I also did Yoga tonight which was better than usual. The class was small, (I guess people stayed home because of the impending snow), and I really applied myself in training to engage my muscles. My yoga teacher bought a chicobag, and said she would announce that they are for sale before every class! Afterward, I did a 20 minute run/walk on the treadmill. (time 22 min, dist 1.55 mi, cal 145)

My super bowl party seems to not be gaining much interest. So as far as fund raising goes, I'm focusing on selling chicobags, sending out a postcard, and my newest idea (came up with it today) an Oscars pool. Anyone interested?

Team Practice

Had Team Practice this morning at St. Joseph's University pool. Which is on City Ave (7 minutes from my house). It is such a nice facility. The pool is very clean, and it is pretty big too.

We started out by swimming 300m, it took us a minute to figure out, OK if each lap is 25m and 4 laps is 100m. Then it would be 12 laps continuous. I felt out of breath by the end. Drills went pretty good. We mostly worked on streamlining, so that we are propelled through the water rather than pulling ourselves through. I opted out of the run after practice, since it is soooo cold. wet hair + cold weather = no run.

I had the opportunity to swim in a bunch of different places since I started training at the beginning of December.

www.swimmersguide.com is a great tool to find a pool near you and if they are public or not.

I started out trying to find the closest pool. LA Fitness on City Ave is right next to where I work, so I figured I'd try it out for a week with a free pass. Otherwise it's $15 guest fee. It was okay, kind of crowded at times, and not the most clean. I decided against a membership since I'm happy with my gym Sweat on Main St.

Next, I tried out some pools that would be no additional cost to me (makes sense, right?). Team in Training has worked out a deal with Upper Main Line YMCA to allow us access to their pools while training. UMLY is in Paoli, not the most convenient place, but not horribly far either. Let me tell you how much I love this Y! First of all, they have an 18 and over women's locker room, which is decked out with exercise equipment inside the locker room! I made use of it for a run after my swim while watching Oprah. Also everyone was super nice, I think I talked to about 5 people while I was there.

I finally got around to trying my gym's pool (yes, I should've come here first). It's in Center City, and Center City is such a schlep. I got the opportunity this past week after working in Center City for the day. Sweat is on Broad and Arch, and it is very nice inside. The locker rooms are nice and big, and the pool is very clean, and there were only a couple of other people swimming at the same time as me. It felt like a hotel pool about 25 yards. I went for a run afterwards on the indoor track they have. Felt a bit odd, since no one else was on it, and felt like I was running in circles since it was such a short track. Only lasted 5 minutes then finished out my run on the treadmill.

UPDATE: TRAINING 6 DAYS A WEEK

I've been hard a work training 6 days a week. I've really been enjoying getting back into the pool. Swimming laps is such a good total body workout. Yesterday, I swam at my gym's pool in Center City, and last week I swam at Upper Main Line YMCA, which I have free membership to during training. It is such an awesome gym! I did my running on a treadmill after swimming in the woman's locker room!

I'm still having the most trouble with running, it is the hardest section for me by far. I plan to run one 5K race in Philly in March and one in April to help prepare to run distances outside. The running portion of the triathlon equals two 5Ks.

Still trying to do a lot of fund raising. In November/December I had a Thanksgiving 50/50 Raffle that raised $55, I volunteered wrapping gifts at Barnes & Noble raising $22 in donations.

I am selling chicobags as well, please contact me if you are interested in buying one. They are reusable bags to fit in your pocket! They are $5 each, and the proceeds go to Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I also am having a Super Bowl Pool (winner receives $50 cash, and a Phillies World Series memorabilia item). As well as a 50/50 March Madness Bracket (Half the money raised goes to LLS, Half goes to winner of the pool).