And I'm awake. Ugh. When I wake up in the middle of the night, it's always at 4 a.m. Always. Not sure why — some cruel joke on the part of my body clock, I suppose. I have learned that it does no good to toss and turn in bed; for me, the best thing to get back to sleep is a change of venue — the couch. So, I'm off to the couch and will put on some quiet music or a sleep meditation CD (a.k.a. the big guns), which will hopefully send me back to sleep for another few hours. If not, guess I'll head out for an early morning run.
v. 2.0
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Retro Camera
I recently downloaded an app for my phone called "Retro Camera" that has several settings designed to replicate different antique cameras — these are some of my favorites that I've taken so far:
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Just Keep Swimming, Just Keep Swimming*
This morning I headed out to Coney Island for a practice open water swim followed by a run. The triathlon is a month out, and I've been swimming regularly and confidently, but MAN — when I put on that wetsuit and get in the open water with a pack of people, it's like I totally forget how to swim. My stroke is off, my breathing is off, I never get into a rhythm, and I feel like the wetsuit is so confining around my chest and neck that I can't get enough air. The good news is that today was helpful. I got to practice feeling that way, working through it, and ultimately getting some decent swimming in once I calm down. The moral of the story is that I am going to pack in the swimming and running for the next month (I'm pretty comfortable/confident on the bike), and will most definitely be at the next open water swim practice on July 10th. I plan to make a day of it — who wants to meet me out there? After my workout, of course — you can sleep in a bit.
* I adore Finding Nemo!
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Triathlon Training Woes
I hit a bit of a rough patch on my training this weekend. Nothing major, mind you. I started out strong with a mile swim in just under 40 minutes on Friday, then woke up early for a BRICK (bike/run back to back) workout. Sure enough, after crossing 72nd Street and arriving in the park, I noticed that my rear tire was flat. Grr. I changed it with only some minor struggle, but that cut into my biking time and I was only able to do one loop around the park in our allotted time. Back at Riverside Park for the run portion of the workout, I was doing okay for a while, and even remembered to switch my Runkeeper program on my phone (which has a GPS to track workouts) from "cycling" to "running," but then I noticed that the GPS wasn't working. Finally, at about the 30 minute mark, my lower back started to hurt. A lot. This is the second time this has happened during a longish run, and it's not pleasant.
On my way home, I dropped the bike off for a tune-up and stopped at Jackrabbit to purchase a new pair of running shoes — my old ones are over a year old, which I believe is what's causing the back pain. Trying out the new ones (Brooks!) tonight.
Also, got a huge kick out of this video — I think it's part of my open water swim workout this Saturday at Coney Island. Don't forget to donate!!!
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Love is All We Have
more words of wisdom, courtesy of Hugh at Gaping Void. -
Working for the Weekend
Sooo looking forward to the weekend! Dinner w/Jenn D., Carrie, and the Lovely Miss Katie, then early to bed for tomorrow's BRICK workout at 7:30 (eek!). But — my reward is a trip to Blue Hill at Stone Barns with @daisy17 and @cocktailspirit. And finally, a quiet Sunday with a light run or yoga, cleaning up and reading the paper before a lobster bake at Ditch Plains with the First Saturday ladies.
PS — did my first full mile swim this season; a few more over the next five weeks to be sure I survive the mighty Hudson on 7/18. Please donate!!
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Sharing is Caring
The other night I visited Minetta Tavern both in the name of cocktail column research and to taste their legendary burgers. It was a truly last-minute decision, but as I arrived and took a look at the menu, I frantically tried to recruit a dining partner — there were so many tasty things on the menu that I wanted to try, and I really wanted to taste their classic Minetta Burger side by side with their Black Label Burger. Plus, I am still making headway on the #drop10beforetri program (down 1.8 this week), so it wouldn't have served me well to order two burgers and the marrow bones just for myself. Despite several texts, tweets, and Facebook pleas, I didn't find a companion, but luckily for me, Mr. Enzo Lim was working behind the bar. Enzo assured me that his friend, Rich, was on his way over and would certainly help me out with the marrow bones, and Enzo also helped me broker a deal with one of the gentlemen dining next to me, who kindly swapped half of his burger for mine, which enabled us both to taste each burger (and, of course, they helped with the marrow bones as well). So yes, I ended up eating a whole burger, but I swapped out the fries for salad and went easy on the bone marrow.
Both burgers were fantastic, I'm happy to report, although the Black Label Burger was above and beyond the Minetta Burger. Intensely beefy due to dry-aged beef, fatty, luscious, salty and juicy — it was really uber-decadent and a half-burger portion was just right for me.
I had a discussion with a friend recently who was lamenting the fact that her husband didn't like to share his food. I'm pretty sure this would be a deal-breaker for me, and in my family, it's practically expected — when we go out, everyone reports out on which dish we are ordering, so that we can span the menu and taste as many dishes as possible. After a few bites of your own dish, the side-plate swapping begins and tastes are passed around. I can only imagine the poor dude who is thrust into this and tries to hold tight to his dish. He probably wouldn't make it to the next meal, at least with me and my family.
The moral of the story — it's always fun to dine at the bar, and sharing is caring — share your food!! The best times in life involve sharing good food and drink with people.
PS — the cocktails were good too, especially the prize-winning Citadelle cocktail that Enzo made for me. Recipe below:
Saturday in the Park
1.5 oz. Citadelle Gin
.75
oz. Aperol (I don't think there was Aperol in the one he made for me)
.5 oz. Laird’s Applejack
.5 oz. Green Chartreuse
.25
oz. Mathilde Pear Liqueur
Crack solid (i.e., Kold Draft) ice
cubes and half-fill a Boston shaker. Fill the rest of the way with
solid cubes. Add all ingredients. Stir approximately 30 times. Strain
into a coupe and garnish with a lemon peel. -
Question of the Day
I was asked by a (female) work colleague, the following question, verbatim: "How do you run the triathlon with such big tits?" Good question, Marnie! This sports bra, by Moving Comfort, is awesome, and I consider it to be my secret weapon during training. It has adjustable velcro shoulder straps that eliminate any/all bounce while running. I've always been a bit worried, however, about how that velcro might hold up during the swim portion. I'll have to do a little experimentation over the next few weeks to see if the velcro stays tight both during the swim (and see how comfortable it is to swim in), and if it can then handle the run while still wet. During my past races I've worn a Champion Double Dry Seamless sports bra with a tri top over it; the tri top (like this one) has a built in shelf bra that helps out a bit as the Champion bra isn't as supportive as the Moving Comfort one. The key — test out all your clothing BEFORE race day!!
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In Your Dreams
It's kind of amazing to me how the mind works. For me, at least, there can be something on my mind, even tucked way in the back somewhere and not all that important, that WHAM, shows up in a dream. I am horrible at remembering dreams, by the way — I keep a pen/paper near my bed to jot down a sentence or two right when I wake up in order to try to remember, but even that only goes so far. This morning I awoke to a dream where, at one point, I put on some pants and a sweater, and the Lovely (and stylish) Miss Katie, when I asked her how it looked, helpfully told me that the pants were totally out of style and really not that flattering. This, I'm guessing, stemmed from a conversation I had yesterday about how much I don't like shopping and the fact that I'd love to overhaul my wardrobe (there was much more to the dream than that, but this is the part of it that 1) I'm willing to share and 2) I'm using for illustration).
Interesting . . .
Strangely, the rest of my weekend didn't make the dream cut — Gourmet Latino Festival Friday night, early morning bike ride on Saturday, Bluegrass Brunch, relaxation and Mexican food in Wading River (thanks, Lindsey!), Tamara & Oli's wedding, and Selena's punch party. All great times!