Nutmeg State Half Ironman coming up

Tomorrow I will head to Southbury CT for my last big test before IM Arizona. The Nutmeg State Half Ironman in CT is only held the second time around. Last year I was part of the inaugural race which was scenically beautiful but also insanely hard (the bike leg was simply not normal I'd say). This year the changed the race site completely, so I have no real sense what to expect, but I do expect the worst again (and the best as far as scenic beauty goes). I love the fact that this race is less than 100 miles from my home so it is a relatively stress free adventure to head up there tomrrow and back after the race on Sunday.

It is 5 AM and the alarm rings. Are you ready . . .

...to take the call and stumble out of bed, make some coffee, eat some granola and head out for a 75 mile bike ride on a wet Saturday morning? Yesterday, I am glad I was. The last couple of weeks have not been going well as far as my Ironman preparations are concerned. We were all busy with settling into the new home, family commitments, including my mother visiting from Austria, and the last couple of days heading to Atlanta for business. On top of it, I have been weirdly suffering from allergies, leaving me at times listless to train.

So, when the alarm did ring far too early for a Saturday, I was more then tempted to hit the snooze button and head back into sleepy land. But I did not and was rewarded with one of the most spectacular, only in New York kinda ride experiences. Crossing the Brooklyn bridge the fog and clouds remaining from the heavy rains the night before still enveloped Manhattan. Minutes later I rode along the West Side bike way and watched up close the early morning arrival of a cruise ship to the left while, to the right, the Empire State building looked spooky and awesome. And on it went one picturesque moment after another. I regretted not to bring along a camera, plus I had to make decent time to meet my friends from the Brooklyn Tri Club across the George Washington Bridge for the ride to Nyack.

The Nike Human Race 10K

Last Sunday's Nike Human Race 10K was one of the most bizarre running events I ever participated in. Let's start out by saying that I had a really nice evening at the run. Heading to the event with Roy and my friend Sigrid, heading up the East River on a little ferry to Randalls Island, finishing the run in Icahn Stadium, one of the countries premier track stadiums. enjoying a concert by the All American Rejects after the race; all good fun. But as a running event it was more or less a practical joke, no matter that it was held in twenty some cities around the globe. The course on Randalls Island was in no way suited for the thousands of participants. And I never had to wait several minutes to cross a footbridge while running a 10K. Guess thats what happens when a huge marketing ploy goes wrong. But, whatever, as I said, it was a fun evening.

Moving On

Finally, we moved into our new place!. It's only a few blocks from our old home, but over the last six months the sale, the new purchase etc. put a lot of stress on all of us. Now, finally we were able to move into our new home. The move itself went rather easy, though some nut stripped the mirror of my car while I as unloading boxes in front of our new place. So, after two solid workout weeks, last week was definitely a "recovery" week, but only regarding training, otherwise it has been a rather stresfful few days.

The Ultimate NYC Run - Park to Park

Today's long run (15.5 miles) was easily on of the most beautiful city runs imaginable. I started off at my home heading into Prospect Park for an easy 3 mile loop, then downhill towards the Brooklyn Bridge. In my head I timed this portion of the run so I could catch up with some of my friends from Frontrunners New York who at this stage were in the middle of their long run that started on the Upper West Side. Sure enough, as soon as I went onto the bridge I saw the first one of them. Taking a brief break in the middle of the Brooklyn Bridge (about mile 7) I then enjoyed the great company of my friend Michael O. while we ran up the Eastside of Manhattan and Park Avenue. Today was the last Saturday of the New York Summer Streets project, so what is usually bumper to bumper traffic was just one big run and bike party all the way up to Central Park. Hitting both Prospect Park and Central Park in one run is sure something to remember.

Putting on some miles - finally

This was a good week, at least as far as my workout progress is concerned. Yesterday I was able to log my longest bike ride so far this year, with a solid 88 miles, about 55 of those with a small group from the Brooklyn Triathlon Club at a solid pace, the rest solo at a more relaxed pace going to and from the George Washington Bridge. Can't say it was all eas, but overall I feel very good about the ride. The rest of the week included a couple of solid mid-distance runs, a fast-paced interval bike ride and my weekly swim workout with Team New York Aquatics. Total: 11+ hours, finally this is starting to look like a real training schedule.

Back On Track Again - Sorta

OK, vacation is over. Been a stressful week though, Monday we sold our home while the new place still is not ready for move in. So, we have three weeks now to close on the new place, let's hope it all comes together last minute now. And I am also realizing that it is now high time to up my training volume, especially my bike and running distances. So, for the most part, this week was a pretty solid effort. I managed to run three times, covering a little over 20 miles. And on the bike I joined my first larger group ride in ages, riding 43 miles at a good solid pace with the Brooklyn Triathlon Club. All together, the last week I worked out almost 9 hours, half of it on the bike. I am pleased with the week but the distances need to still go up alot.