It takes a whole bunch of stuff to get through a triathlon. Not pictured: bike, helmet, bike gloves, 2 additional water bottles, flat tire gear, sunglasses, wetsuit, swim cap, flip flops.
Author: Laren
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Gearing Up
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Gettin’ Ready to Rock and Roll (and Swim and Run)
The triathlon's on Sunday, and I'm winding down my training (one more swim today, and that's about it), and getting my gear ready (I patched up holes in my wetsuit last night!), and I've even got my number by email: 2288. I'm feeling somewhat less prepared this year than in past years, but there's not much I can do about it now other than get plenty of rest, hydrate, and mentally visualize the race.
If you're an early riser, and want to watch the race, you can find detailed info on that here (I'll be starting at about 6:30; will hit the run around 9 and finish around 10ish), and you can find me at the Team in Training tent near the bandshell at the end of the race. I'll be wearing a purple Team in Training tank, Team in Training black and purple tri shorts, a yellow number 2288 and a NYC Triathlon white visor. Good places to watch are along 72nd Street from Henry Hudson Parkway to Central Park West, Cherry Hill before we head to the finish on Dead Road in Central Park, and Dead Road in Central Park near the bandshell off the 72nd Street Transverse.
If you're not an early riser, come celebrate anytime after 6 pm at the 8th St. Winecellar.
Regardless, please support my efforts by making a donation to the Leukemia Lymphoma Society — it'll make you feel good! And finally, I want to wish all of my fellow triathletes the best of luck, in particular the members of the newly minted Debevoise triathlon team — kick some ass, gang!
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Booze You Can Use: Gettin’ Schooled
So I wrote this post for Tasting Table and somehow missed it when it got sent out on June 10th! The bottom line is that your bar can be your classroom. Go forth and learn.
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Weekend Wrapup
Pretty damn good weekend, if I don't say so myself. Friday night was a long-overdue catch up dinner w/Lauren, Caroline & Tara at Porsena (which, by the way is delicious. Go.) Got up Saturday for my last long training run in Central Park — the triathlon is less than a week away so I'm in taper mode now. Scary. That said, I plan on doing a mile swim Tuesday or Wednesday this week, just because I haven't yet. After some lounging about I met up with Karen for an impromptu lunch at Momofuku Ssam Bar, followed by some quality A/C time, then met up w/Jordana, Jay & his wife for dinner at Zabb Elee. I was supposed to go out after that but my run in the late morning head had completely zapped my energy so I opted to head back home.
Glad I did because Sunday was my second visit to the Liquid Lab (here's a bit more about my first visit). I'll be writing more about that elsewhere, but 11 hours on my feet tasting over 60 spirits and over 60 cocktails (including 8 of my own original creations) makes for a very long, albeit fun and educational, day!
Amazing to think that this time next week I'll be done with the triathlon and on my way to Fire Island for a much needed vacation on the beach. Can't wait. And by the way, donate!!!
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Pampering is Good for the Soul
I've said it before and I'll say it again. You deserve to be treated well. You deserve some indulgence from time to time. Go to the bar at Eleven Madison Park and treat yourself to a cocktail there — just one (they even have a selection of lovely and interesting non-alcoholic cocktails) — even one tasty tipple is enough to soak in the full luxurious experience. You'll walk away feeling better about any troubles that are on your mind, I promise.
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Listen To Your Heart
If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you may know that I often post Runkeeper summaries of my workouts. You may also have noticed (although probably not), that for several possible reasons, I've been running a full minute plus per mile slower than I have in previous years. At first, I was pretty pissed about it. Over time, I've embraced it. I've been running in very hot weather, which ratchets your heart rate even higher than normal, so even as I've trained more and more, the heat has been kicking my ass to the point where I allow myself a 3o second walk every 5 minutes. But only 30 seconds. This morning, as an experiment, I ran with my heart rate monitor, which I haven't really done all season. I know from past experience that approx 165 bpm is my average running speed, so every time I caught the monitor going above 170 bpm, I forced myself to slow down. The result? A slow but solid run, and I felt great afterwards.
Look, kids, I hate to break it to ya, but I'm not going to *win* the NYC Tri. My goal in past years has been 1) to complete it in one piece 2) ideally in under 3.5 hours. Not sure I'm going to squeak by #2 this year, but I'm okay with that. I think that after the tri and during the off-season, I'm going to focus more on heart rate training and see what that does for me next year.
PS — less than two weeks till the tri but you can still donate!!
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Food You Can Use: Summertime Supper
Had some folks (and a dog!) over for dinner Saturday night. The goal was to make a meal that involved as little cooking as possible and used fresh summer ingredients. There was a vague Asian-influenced theme as well. Here's what I made; I highly recommend these recipes, expecially the soup!
Thai-spiced watermelon soup with crabmeat
Lobster ceviche with limestone lettuce
Corn, snap pea, tomato, radish & scallion salad with sesame soy dressing.
Grapefruit-Campari popsicles (which I think I need to keep in my freezer on a regular basis)Served with St. Germain Cocktails and various and sundry wine. And, of course, I completely forgot to take pictures. Thanks to Beth, Will, Carrie, Brian, Jimmy and Tofu for the wine, conversation and fantastic company.
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Booze You Can Use: Your Weekend Cocktail Destinations
Around this time last year I was in New Orleans for Tales of the Cocktail. Conveniently, it was the week after the triathlon, a perfect celebration for the end of my training and all the hard work I had put in. This year? It's two weeks before the tri. Not ideal. I decided to put my training first and save the celebrating for later. That said, many of my bartender friends are down in NOLA, but a few have remained to hold down their respective forts through the weekend. My latest on CitySip will tell you where to go.
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Nostalgia
Many thanks to the Amateur Gourmet, who posted this on his Twitter feed last night. It instantly brought me back to college, when I was in JCS, and my undying (and still current) adoration of the Indigo Girls. I remember hearing about this production when it came out and about the album they did (note to self: I should buy that).
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Weekend Wrapup
Friday night we had a fundraiser for the D&P Triathlon team, then early to bed for me as I had a 6:30 a.m. (yes, you read that correctly) brick workout (approx 15 mile bike and 5 mile run). I was wiped afterwards, and lounged about for the remainder of the day until heading out for drinks at Mayahuel. I had fully intended to go there alone while waiting to meet up w/Rob, but of course ran into people — @daisy17 & @brooklynwino. I love the days when NYC feels like a small town. After Rob showed up and we had a few drinks, we were off to Kasadela for a garlic & kimchi filled dinner.
Sunday I allowed myself to sleep in, which was blissful and much-needed. Afterwards, I headed out to meet friends at Clover Club for brunch, which is always delicious. Made a quick pit-stop at Char No. 4, then headed back to Manhattan for some errands, laundry (why do I feel like all I do is wash workout gear?), and Harry Potter (because I am a proud nerd). After the movie I had an unbearable craving for ramen — likely because I had bought a copy of Lucky Peach earlier and was reading about ramen — so picked up some take-out from Momofuku Noodle Bar, which served as dinner last night and will be lunch today! All in all, a lovely weekend.
Ooh — forgot to mention: my soundtrack for the weekend was Girl Talk. Love. I may be late to the game, but I just found my new workout soundtrack.