Such Great Heights

Life According to Teen

2007-10-04T23:31:00.000-04:00

I really am writing again, I promise!
It is just not here.

Since so many things are changing in my life I figured I would change the blog too. Instead of tweaking things here I am initiating a total makeover and going here.

I hope you like.

hiatus over

2007-09-03T08:39:00.000-04:00

My four month hiatus is over.
After taking some time off for school, training, life, etc. I am back. Thanks to those who have written asking where the blog is. I didn't think so many of my friends actually read this. Thanks again!
Lots has happened, especially my first Half-Ironman! I'll post a report and some pictures soon as well as a general update. As far as training goes, I have a race this Sunday (Annapolis) and the Army 10-miler coming up in October. I probably should end my training break and get back out there again, eh?
In the meantime though I have a test tomorrow so I probably should get on that.
Happy Labor Day, everyone?

more to come...

2007-05-03T23:19:00.000-04:00

Thanks to EM and TE for the pictures.
I will post the link to mine as soon as I can free up disc space on my computer to hold them.

wow. a month!

2007-05-02T16:57:00.000-04:00

I can not believe that it has been a month since my last post.
A LOT has happened:

Work is done, school has begun. In six months I will be a personal trainer, if all goes well. So far it is going great! I am really enjoying it and am learning a lot.

I had to have a biopsy but the result was thankfully benign. BENIGN!

Successfully made it through a third Team in Training season with a fantastic race weekend at the St. Anthony's Triathlon for a second time!

I turned 28 last week.

But enough about that...back to the main event, the Saint Anthony's Triathlon!
We left for Florida on Friday and met the rest of the team at the airport. Arlene brought cupcakes all the way through security so we had a little birthday part for me at the gate and on the plane which was funny. I was forced to wear a birthday crown and carry the cupcakes on board...luckily the flight attendant passed them up and down the aisles for me!

Friday was busy....bike pick-up, open water swim, packet pick-up, check in and registration. We still managed to get in a fun b-day dinner with some of the crew that night at a nice little italian place with a piano bar. Liz gave the guy a dollar to sing Happy Birthday to me and that was hilarious. Even more hilarious was when I went up to the bar to say thanks and chatted with the singer and the old bar flies for a few minutes. Here is a sample of the conversation:

"So how old are you anyways?"
"Twenty eight."
"Twenty eight? I got pairs of shoes older'n you!"
"Hey Fred......weren't you still in jail at twenty eight?!"

"Do you like Jimmy Buffet? We want to buy a song for you so that you can dance for us, I mean dance with us!"

Got to love Florida.

Saturday was another full day of race expo shopping, open water swimming, running/riding, tire inflating, bike drop-off and preparation, nail painting, TNT pasta party...it goes on and on.
The dinner was really nice, even though we had to suffer through another Dave Scott talk. At least this time he didn't tell us that most of the TNT racers wouldn't finish. Just that we would all finish in the bottom 10 per cent. Sweet. Did I mention that he won the Ironman 8 times. 6 of those in a row? Did I mention too that he thinks very highly of himself? Ok, just checking. Such a jerk!

Sunday morning came with a 4:30 am wake-up call and a walk to transition. After setting up our areas a bunch of us watched the pros swim across the bay and exit the water. Amazing! The top ones were doing it in 16, 17 minutes....I could not believe it. I will never be close to being that fast!

My wave went off at 8:50 so I got to spend some time on the beach with the team and take it all in. My numbers were practically one big black blob on my arms/legs but I didn't even care. It was time to get in the water for triathlon number eight!

Swim
The water was much better than last year....totally flat and calm. I got a bad starting position right in the back and had a really tough time finding my groove. I definitely got kicked and jostled a lot at the beginning which really made my heart rate spike and let the panic set in a bit. I just could not find a good stretch of water! Once I passed the first corner I felt a lot better and settled into a better stride. All things considered I think I could have pushed it a lot harder and had a faster time. Although I felt pretty fast my swim was a lot slower than expected. I finished it in 32:54.

Transition #1
Coming out of the water was a lot less hectic than last year but the giant mud puddle under the archway and into T1 was a little disgusting. I ran through without incident and then managed to get a bit disoriented/lost in looking for my bike., Once I finally got to my slot I stripped the wetsuit as fast as possible and got ready for the bike. I somehow managed to think I lost a glove and wasted time looking for it before realizing that it was actually inside my helmet and on top of my head. Sweet. Oh well. I managed to get out of there in 3:53 regardless.

Bike
I started off the bike strong and then slowed down quite a bit. I definitely felt very nauseous. Why? I don't know. I might not have had enough to drink and it was very, very hot. Maybe I didn't take in enough food. It was rough going there for a while but I managed to pull it together and finish relatively strong, albeit is a lot slower than I had planned. I still had a good time and saw lots of people from the TEAM out on the course which was awesome. I also saw a woman almost get taken out by a motorcycle (strangely, it was the motorcycle riders that managed to fall down and not the racer) and another completely take out a squirrel that decided to make a run for her tire. Never a dull moment. I finished the ride in 1:29:19.

T2
Fairly uneventful...got in/out without getting lost and had a time of 2:55.

Run
For some reason I had a great run, even thought it was a little slow (1:00:49, or a pace of 9:48). I felt great after a rough time on the bike and actually managed to enjoy most of it. It was HOT though! Luckily there were lots of nice people with hoses spraying the racers down. I felt pretty solid and got told as much by many people on the course which was really nice (of course, they all probably thought I was in the TNT wave and not age group..this would have meant that I started much later and would have seemed on track for a great race). I saw TONS of teammates and cheered for every single one which was a lot of fun. I ran into Al at mile 6 and told her we were going to finish together and we did just that, crossing the line in style. Overall time was 3:09:48. Last year I did it in 3:05:10. Oh well. You live and learn. I don't want to make excuses but I had a rough season with illness, personal issues, etc. All things considered I am ok with it. There's always next time, right? ;) And my next time I MEAN next time. Columbia Triathlon is just about three weeks away. What is wrong with me? Ha ha.

What difference does a day make?

2007-03-25T21:40:00.000-04:00

Something right around twenty-five degrees.

When I left DC on Friday morning it was 75 degrees (according to my car) and sunny and gorgeous. By the time I pulled into my hometown the temperature had dropped to about 50 and was raining. At least I was home!

The weekend was very low-key which was perfect for me. I managed to get in a 130 minute ride Saturday over the very hilly back roads near my house and then a 30 minute run. Solo bricks are definitely not the most fun thing in the world but at least it was nice out. I didn't even get too lost which was surprising since half the time I had no idea where I was. Minutes from home I came across a group of riders from the Colavita Team. I passed one on the hill just as I was pulling up to my parents' driveway and then stopped to enter the path back to the house. I definitely felt pretty strong at that moment...even though he was probably a "kid" from the junior team. Oh well...it is all about the little victories.

The 30-minute swim today was the culmination of a really hard week, our hardest week yet of the training cycle. I am definitely ready for Easy Week and it couldn't come at a better time! It's definitely a little tough to get everything in when I'm away from home...especially with the flat-tire that I found on my front tire when I got home today. At least it happened now and not on the ride yesterday!

"Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes....."

2007-03-19T07:35:00.000-04:00

"Still don't know what I was waiting for
And my time was running wild
A million dead-end streets and
Every time I thought I'd got it made
It seemed the taste was not so sweet
So I turned myself to face me
But I've never caught a glimpse
Of how the others must see the faker
I'm much too fast to take that test..."

What a difference a day makes.
Early last week temperatures were in the high 60s-low 70s. It was absolutely gorgeous and finally felt like spring. By the time Thursday afternoon rolled around however the freezing rain and sleet and snow made an appearance. Again. The brief taste of warmth was just another terrible tease. As a result, Saturday practice was postponed until Sunday to hopefully give the ice a chance to melt and the temperatures to possibly rise.

Still, last week wasn't all bad.
I finally got a couple of evening rides in on Monday and Wednesday. It felt great to be on my own bike and riding in shorts without multiple layers of clothing. There were lots of people out enjoying the weather so I was definitely not alone.

In other news, Friday was my last day of work! That's right, I resigned. Apparently after 430 days according to one co-worker. It was weird yet kind of nice to realize that I no longer am responsible for THAT conference, that I no longer need to go to work! I packed up my final things and walked out of there never to have to return to a crappy, fluorescent-lit office building again unless of course I choose to. Not to worry friends...I have not gone totally off the deep end. I do have a semblance of a plan!

Starting April 9 I will taking a six-month, 500-hour course to become a certified personal trainer. It will take place Monday-Thursday for 6 hours a day (2 of which are spent in the gym under the practice of a trainer) from 9:30 to 2:30. The course of study will include anatomy/physiology, designing workout programs for individuals, nutrition and much more. It sounds absolutely amazing and right up my alley. After years of succeeding but struggling and stressing through the emotions of the non-profit event planning industry I think I have finally found what I am meant to do. The biggest "ah-ha! moment" came when I realized that I have been at my happiest during Team in Training season when I am helping my fellow athletes get to race day and beyond. There is nothing like seeing someone go from "I can't" to "I did it!". Nothing. And soon I will get to do that every day! Helping people meet their goals will be much more rewarding than suffering through the emotions of a troubled Association.

For now though it is time to decompress, spend quality time with family and friends, and focus on my training, fundraising and part-time job search. I can't wait! It will be a great three week break from my life.

Speaking of training, here is what is on tap for our toughest week yet:

Monday- bike 45' with 3x10' AT/3' RI, weights
Tuesday- run 50' with 2x12' AT/3.5' RI & 3 strides, swim practice
Wednesday- bike 90' EZ, weights
Thursday- swim, long run 75'
Friday- OFF
Saturday- brick with 130' bike- 2x10' AT, run 30' with 4' AT right after the bike, swim
Sunday- swim

Listen!

2007-03-14T13:22:00.000-04:00

Ted Leo covering Kelly Clarkson.

Since U Been Gone

Awesome.

This week's long run

2007-03-14T11:41:00.000-04:00

The long run for this week is scheduled for Thursday but I pushed it up to Tuesday due to other obligations. I was a little nervous running so much five days after my last long run, three days after a long brick and then just two days after the 5K but I did it anyways.

It went fairly well. The weather was absolutely perfect with temperatures in the 60s, finally! I went straight from work to the gym and then did all 75 minutes (and then some) outside. With a cool-down walk back to the gym taken into consideration I probably ran just under eight miles.
Physically I didn't feel as good as last week. My left foot started to blister (I'll spare the details) and my right shin was aching but all in all it was a great run. The waterfront down by the monuments is a gorgeous place to run and the traffic is relatively light. There was probably a good 50-minute period where I didn't even have to stop!

it was nice to see some familiar faces through the course of the run. I recognized some guys from the club out doing afternoon laps and then ran into my fellow DC Tri Board member Joe getting in a run of his own. All in all a great evening.

this week in training

2007-03-12T07:47:00.000-04:00

Our biggest week yet. Yikes!

Monday- Bike 45' with 3X8 AT, RI=2.5', weights
Tuesday- swim practice, 45' with 2x10 AT, RI -2.5', 3 strides
Wednesday- bike 80' easy, weights
Thursday- swim, long run- 75'
Friday- OFF
Saturday- brick with 140' bike, 30' run
Sunday- 30-minute continuous swim

Daylight Savings Weekend

2007-03-12T07:29:00.000-04:00

Great weekend!

Saturday's brick called for a 2 hour ride followed by a 2 hour run. It ended up being a pretty great morning for it- temperatures in the 50s by the time we set out for the run. Yay! We ended up doing about 3o miles on the ride which isn't bad at all.

Sunday was a St. Patrick's Day 5K in Baltimore. The race wasn't until 1:15 so we had the whole morning to get in our continuous swim (1600!) and then a nice breakfast before the race. We met up with some of our other St. Anthony's teammates and then started the race. The first mile or so was a downhill freeforall which was crazy. People were tripping all over the place and I bounced off more than one for sure. Still, I felt really, really good and was clocking my fastest time ever on the run as far as I could tell. In the end I ended up doing the 3.1 miles in 26.27!! I could not believe it! Here are the rest of my stats:

place 839/2917
123/650 in my age group
time of 26.27
average pace of 8:53

Our whole group did awesome:
SB- 24:00
NS- 24:00
KY- 25:15
TE- 26:36
SS- 26:56
EM- 33:15

GO TEAM!!!

Running as Therapy

2007-03-09T07:33:00.000-05:00

I had the most amazing run of my life last night.
I don't know why but I have never felt so good on a long run. Maybe everything aligned all at once.

The schedule called for 75 minutes. 75! I have definitely run longer than that before (10-milers, the half-marathon last summer) but for some reason that seemed like a stumbling block last night. I haven't been feeling well and my training has suffered so I had no idea how I would fare. The cold wasn't helping much either and was doing everything in its power to psyche me out.

The route I took had everything...gradual uphills, downhills, missing sidewalks and dirt trails, beautiful homes, dogs, squirrels, fire trucks, traffic, total silence and near complete darkness. For 75 whole minutes, and perhaps the first time in a week, I thought about absolutely nothing. Nothing! I just listened to my surroundings, my breathing and got through it. It was great. I beat the pants off my old Cathedral run and decided to run past it and then all around it just to show it who was boss.

It may not have been my fastest run or my longest but it didn't even matter. I now feel I have more of the mindset to get through the rest of the St. Anthony's program and whatever it takes to get to New Hampshire in August. Bring it on!

I'm famous! Well, not really.

2007-03-08T16:16:00.000-05:00

I just apparently have a lot of free time to read websites that I like.

Like Pop Candy and Life in the Office.

I combined the two today and sent LITO information about a posting on Pop Candy about NBC's The Office. Check it out!

"From LITO reader “teen”:

Not sure if you ever read the Pop Candy blog but there is a great link there to another blog’s Dwight post.

Great to fill the void with no new office tonight!

I will second that it is a great link. Head on over and get your fill of Dwight K."

Fifty Days...

2007-03-08T15:52:00.000-05:00

Until we leave for Florida!

Until MY BIRTHDAY!

Until I get ready to break my 2006 St. Anthony's Race Record.

Until I can stop worrying about snow and cold and start thinking about things like this:

Some Good News

2007-03-08T15:44:00.000-05:00

Apparently I have 20/20 vision!
Went in for an eye exam yesterday (you know, to use the insurance while I've still got it!) and learned that marvelous fact despite getting some of the letters wrong on the chart.

Go Teen.

Little victories, right?

It's too bad. I think I would look hot in a pair of these:

new read

2007-03-07T14:53:00.000-05:00

"In her early thirties, Elizabeth Gilbert had everything a modern American woman was supposed to want- husband, country home, successful career- but instead of feeling happy and fulfilled, she felt consumed by panic and confusion. This wise and rapturous book is the story of how she left behind all these outward marks of success, and of what she found in their place. Following a divorce abd a crushing depression, Gilbert set out to examine three different aspects of her nature, set against the backdrop of three different cultures: pleasure in Italy, devotion in India, and on the Indonesian island of Bali, a balance between worldly enjoyment and divine transcendence."

Thanks for the recommendation, CH and EW.
I'll start it this evening.

Spinning Thought of the Day

2007-03-07T09:46:00.000-05:00

"Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are." - Bernice Johnson Reagon

This was written on the piece of paper handed to me by the spin instructor at this morning's 6:30 class. I don't take this class too often as said instructor can at times be a little too much for me in a hippie/new-agey sort of way. Still, that quote really got me thinking and I think I had a better workout because of it.

This past week has been all about challenges for me, physically, mentally AND emotionally. I have heard that bad things happen in threes (or is that celebrity deaths?) and that came true for me this week. I have been trying to take my mind of everything that is happening in my life by really diving back into a solid training schedule. There really is nothing like a killer swim workout or a long run to take your focus off of life's problems and onto other things like forgetting not to breathe or watching the road for potholes/ankle-spraining scenarios. So far so good, at least while I am working out anyways, or asleep. Every other moment of the day is fair game for negative thoughts/problem-dwelling.

Anyways, here is what this week looks like:
Monday- bike 45 minutes
Tuesday- swim practice for an hour, run for 45 minutes
Wednesday- bike 80 minutes (45 minute spin class this morning, evening class later)
Thursday- repeat Tuesday swim workout, long run of 75 minutes
Friday- off
Saturday- brick workout of 120 minute bike, 30 minute run
Sunday- continuous 30 minute swim

I opted for the evening swim practice last night in Georgetown. I normally get up for the 5:30 on Tuesdays but a sleepless night prevented that yesterday. It was nice seeing what really amounts to the other half of the Team even though the workout was particularly tough for me. I really got beat up by both the lane lines and the lane itself. I think part of the problem was swimming with four rather big guys! It made for choppier/more crowded conditions than I normally see in the morning. Still, it felt good to do it and then get home and eat massive amounts of pasta. Good times.

Anyways, I am going to continue to hang in there and continue to work on myself. In the long run that is what really matters, right?

training update

2007-02-27T11:18:00.000-05:00

Back to it this week after some time off...Colorado and then a bout of something kept me out of the pools and off the road for a while there. I eased back into the brick this past weekend and then went to swim practice this morning. So far so good! I am crossing my fingers that I continue on a path to health.

Swim practice today was a little unconventional as we practiced some triathlon drills like sighting, bi-lateral breathing and mass group swims. At one point three people were chosen to act as boueys and we swam around them in a triangle with all the lane lines removed. It was a lot of people in a really confined space and I managed to get clocked really hard in the back of my head on the first run out. I have done seven triathlons now and have never been hit that hard in the water, even counting that time that huge dude literally used me for a launching pad in Pittsburgh. Oy. It still aches a little even now..hopefully some advil will help!

Hopefully the rest of this week will go really well. I need to get back on a permanent schedule to gear up for St. Anthony's and beyond.

Sunday SNOW!

2007-02-27T11:13:00.000-05:00

Cold Saturday Brick in Rock Creek Park

2007-02-27T11:02:00.000-05:00

Suiting up for the 1h50 minute ride

TNT = Hard Core!

Group shot. We survived!

me and Coach

Crossing Connecticut Ave. after brunch at the Diner...Safety first!

Colorado

2007-02-23T13:49:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been a while since I last posted!

Lots has happened, but unfortunately, not lots of training. A trip to Colorado, an eye infection and then a strong bout of something knocked me out for a while there. I got back into it with a shortened swim and run yesterday and am planning on doing to group workout on Saturday. Hopefully some more rest this weekend will get me ready to get back on track!

It's not all bee bad though.
Breckenridge was AWESOME!
Here are some pictures from the trip:

Downtown Breckenridge

Lofaro-Royce-Herold-Cooper

Denison Ski Weekend Reunion 2007!

snowy at Copper Mountain

Beej and Teen (swollen eye and all)

Good times!

Video of the Day

2007-02-06T13:26:00.001-05:00

That's what she said!

Easy week

2007-02-06T09:14:00.000-05:00

Last week was an easy week for our team.
This time around easy week turned into slacker week for me but I still managed to get in 2 swims. It has been frigidly cold around here and just really tough to get anywhere, let alone the gym. This morning on the way to practice the thermometer in the car read 5 degrees. 5!!! Ridiculous!

The Superbowl was a nice end to a relaxing weekend. Friday night I went to help Liz with her Karaokeathon fundraiser at school. It was really cute! She had pizza and drinks for a dollar each and then a suggested donation of $5 for karaoke. I think she did really well!

Saturday was the honored teammate picnic and a 30-minute run. Everyone survived the cold and then sat down to a nice breakfast and talk by some of the honored teammates. We heard from cancer survivors and TNT Staff. Most of the speakers were really inspiring! Saturday night was spent in with homemade pasta sauce, cookies and a double feature: Super Troopers and Accepted. Good times!

Sunday's Superbowl was a little anti-climactic, probably because I didn't really care who won. Still it was a nice low-key evening with lots of guacamole, spinach dip, hummus, salsa, chili and sausage-cheese dip to go around. Not to mention brownies, cake and cupcakes....mmm. cupcakes!

Colorado this weekend. YES!

Video of the Day

2007-02-01T16:39:00.000-05:00

Here's a great video diary of the Ironman Hawaii Triathlon.
Makes me almost want to do one. Almost.
We'll see how Timberman goes before I even think of crazier things...

Our mayor is a Triathlete

2007-02-01T12:21:00.000-05:00

The DC DOT unveiled the new DC area bike map today. Yay!
Hopefully it will be available for purchase soon.

"The updated bicycle map includes the latest, easy-to-read outlines of the District's bicycle lanes, off-street trails and future trails. It also includes a message about cycling from Mayor Fenty. DDOT officials will unveil both maps and discuss the process of designing the maps and the improvements made from previous editions."

Many people may not realize this but new Mayor Adrian Fenty is a triathlete. And a good one at that! The Washington Post's Blog talks about this fact today. They focus more attention on the estimated cost of his bike than his racing but that is beside the point. How cool is it to have a Mayor who understands what you do?

frigid!

2007-01-29T15:41:00.000-05:00

Exhausted.
That is pretty much the word of the day.
I think the past few weeks of training have finally caught up and blindsided me. I was definitely feeling it this weekend. Thank goodness this is an 'easy week' for us. I think we all need a little break before we start ramping up again.

Friday night we went to see O.A.R. and Gomez at the Patriot Center. It was awesome! Such a great show. There were definitely some interesting people in attendance. I don't know if it was because the concert was on a college campus, or in Virginia, but there were some trashy outfits. Seriously, who wears miniskirts and tube tops in January? Apparently George Mason ladies!

Saturday morning was a frigid workout in Rock Creek Park. The schedule called for an 80-minute ride but not many made it through the entire thing due to sub-freezing temperatures. Everyone has cold hands and feet no matter how many layers of gloves and socks they were wearing. I can honestly say that I have never looked forward to the run portion of a brick before as much as I did that day. It didn't even matter that my feet were still frozen solid for the first five minutes..I was off the bike and out of the wind!

Yesterday called for a 30-minute continuous swim and an hour run. Neither sounded like a good idea but after some convincing I agreed to meet Tracey for a swim at Eastern Market. I swam somewhere between 16-1700 yards in my 30-minutes. Definitely lost count there for a while. I do think though that I am stronger in the pool than I ever have been. I guess practice really does make you better! This is really the first season that I have made a huge effort to get all three swim workouts in weekly and I can feel results not just in my times but in my strength. I almost have biceps! Ha ha ha.

Instead of running I did some shopping...but it was shopping related to bikes so it counts for something. I have been wanting to upgrade my pedals for some time so I went ahead with it yesterday and purchased a new pair of Speedplays and a floor pump. I am excited! Now I just need a new pair of shoes...maybe with the next paycheck.

Yay Easy Week!
I definitely need it.