30 Hours to Cairo

Yesterday, which really seems like today since I've been awake more than 30 hours, was a blur. I woke up early and went into final packing mode for my trip to Cairo. I took a brief jog break in an attempt to recover from the 20-miler the other day. It was a struggle, but I enjoyed my last glimpse of the NYC skyline for awhile.




Then I treated myself to a ridiculously good $4 coffee.




Then at 3pm I left my apartment to start my roughly 30 hour journey to Cairo. I landed in Amsterdam, my first destination, at 12:46am EST - talk about not being rested. I think I napped two fitful hours.




I pulled myself together in the KLM lounge and hopped on the train for Amsterdam Centraal. It's been four years since my last visit and I've really missed it.




It was sunny. Then cold. Then pouring rain. Then sunny. Then raining. Then warm. Then cold. I LOVE The Netherlands! I wandered until my feet would have no more. Unfortunately I was all gimped up from the flight and barely able to move. I stopped for lunch and a little pick-me-up in the charming 9 Streets area.




Then I went in search of shoes. Any shoes would be better than my flip flops with horrible foot pain and 55 degree temps. Thank you, Sketchers.




Then the highlight of my day: stopping by my favorite beer bar in the world, Bierproeflokaal In De Wildeman. I first went there in 1996 with my dad and have been back many times over the years. It's always the same and I love that.




I sat there for nearly three hours sipping beer, nibbling smoked beef sausage and reading. I also got to catch up with a couple old friends.




In the meantime, my friend Keely has already arrived in Cairo and sent me a photo of our hotel.




I've got nearly seven more hours to go before I'll arrive there myself but as they say, it's about the journey, not the destination. I haven't slept and I'm running on fumes, but I've really loved today's long journey.

Really Good Long Run - FINALLY

Marathon training has been really hard this time around. After six months of very limited activity my fitness is at an all-time low and two months of consistent training didn't seem to be making a dent. My long runs have gotten slower and slower and everything hurts. Last week was a step down week after successfully nailing 18 miles the week before (yet slowly and painfully). I did 15 when I was aiming for 16 because I couldn't bear another step. This week I had 20 on the schedule and was terrified.

I woke up at 5:30 this morning and made my way to Central Park. It was 61 degrees and breezy after a wicked storm rolled through yesterday. My leg has been hurting a lot, perhaps from last year's groin injury, so I started out easy. I immediately regretted the arm warmers. Even though they were lightweight they soon turned into really large wristbands that I had to put up with for 3 hours. I hit the first mile in 9:47 and was feeling great, breaking 10:00 has been a challenge lately. Then the splits kept dropping, some as low as 9:15, even with the hills of Central Park. I was thrilled, but assumed it would turn to crap at any moment so I didn't prematurely celebrate.

Suddenly I was 10 miles in and still felt good. How could this be? I didn't stop moving until just before mile 13 for a bathroom break thanks to the chilly temps and lack of sweating. I'd say the break was nice, except I accidentally peed on the back of my leg. Don't overestimate the stability of your legs after 13 miles of running even if you feel good. Aside from my bathroom error, nothing went wrong. I continued tackling the hills and my splits stayed consistent. I started feeling discomfort around mile 16 and by the 17th mile I had piercing pain in my hip from time to time but was able to keep up the pace. Even at mile 19 I sped up a bit.

I was happy it was over when I reached mile 20 in 3:11:53, but for once I wasn't dragging myself miserably. It's as if my legs finally decided to show up for a run. Maybe the fitness is finally catching up. Maybe the cumulative long runs are paying off. Or maybe the pound of pasta I ate last night did the trick. Who knows, but I'll take it. I was starting to lose hope for this race, but now I'm energized.

All Sorts of Fun at Ironman Wisconsin

I spent this past weekend in Madison visiting family, gaining a few delicious pounds and cheering and volunteering at Ironman Wisconsin. Having raced the past three IMWIs it was fun to be on the other side, but also made me miss long distance racing.

We kicked things off with dinner at Brasserie V immediately upon arrival. Belgian beer, frites and an amazing local burger made me so happy to be back in Wisconsin.

After dinner we met up with an old friend and since we weren't racing for once, we went to the Essen Haus to drink the famous boot, which is two liters of German beer. Actually, we drank three (there were seven of us)...

Saturday was not surprisingly low-key due to the wrath of the boot so we just wandered town.

That night we had a special dinner at L'Etoile, my favorite Madison experience.

Sunday morning I headed up to the swim start to watch the race begin. It was emotional to see after such a tough year, but taking the year off was the right thing to do.

The best part of not racing? You get to leave the race and go do fun things like have brunch, go running and drink beer with the family.

My mom and I headed up to the finish line to see the winners, something I've never gotten to do since I'm always racing. We saw Ben Hoffman crush the course record and finish 14 minutes ahead of the next pro. Pretty amazing. My mom got to high-five him as he went down both sides of the shoot high-fiving anyone he could get to. I love seeing a pro soak in the experience rather than just plow through the finish.

Later I volunteered as a finish line catcher from 8pm to midnight, the busiest time at an Ironman finish. It was such a rewarding experience to witness the raw and incredible emotion that Ironman brings out. We saw everything from people who looked like they could keep going forever to people who could barely take another step. There were tears, joy, smiles, pain, elation, disappointment, pride and a lot of "I can't believe I just did that."

Highlights of my catching experience include having Ben Hoffman come back and put medals on all of the finishers between 11pm and midnight. I could see him shuffling from side to side, or occasionally grabbing his foot to stretch his quad. I know he's a pro and crazy fit, but he still did an Ironman that day and instead of going to bed or celebrating, he came out and volunteered. That's a true champion.

There was a bride and groom, who paused on the Capitol Square to get married during the final mile of the race. They crossed the finish line together, she in a veil and carrying a little bouquet of flowers. There was the blind athlete doing his first Ironman. The firefighter who did the marathon in his full turn out gear for the second year in a row. And we had one of the original 15 men to race the Ironman in 1978.

Lastly, but maybe the most incredible thing for me, I got to catch the final finisher at 16:59:37. His name is Matt Thomas and it was his third Ironman.

I signed up for Ironman Wisconsin 2013 at Steelhead and being at the race made me so happy to be getting back to what I love. A year off was great, but nothing compares to the Ironman experience.

Long Run Success and Catching Up

Folks, I have issues. I've had a draft post about the Steelhead 70.3 relay in the works since August 22 and haven't dedicated 15 minutes to finishing it. Between freelance work, networking, my continued job search and my various other social media sites, my blog has sadly suffered. I will finish the Steelhead post because it was an incredibly fun weekend and a great race experience.

In the meantime, marathon training continues and it's going pretty well. My feet are cooperating and I'm finally starting to feel better during my long runs. Leading up to Steelhead I was only doing 13 miles and was finding it difficult to progress, but last weekend I did 16 miles on a hot day and still felt great. It was also the first long run that I wasn't completely laid up after. Being able to walk when I got out of bed the next morning was a huge victory.

 Still slow, but getting it done!

I've also continued my strength training and am learning to make it work with the marathon training. It's not easy. But it's not impossible. I did an hour with a personal trainer Wednesday with a focus on my hips and glutes, both underdeveloped and potential sources of running injuries. I was already sore from Monday's workout and woke up Thursday feeling like my legs had been brutalized. I thought of pushing my 8-mile run to Friday, but sucked it up and did it. And you know what? It wasn't that bad. After a mile I loosened up and ultimately ended up feeling great. The strength training is for my long-term wellbeing so I refuse to give it up.

In other news, I'm back to clean eating. I didn't have any sugar or grains all week and definitely feel better. I am determined to get back to my old race weight by the end of the year so I can start next season's Ironman training on the right foot. The one thing I didn't give up? Wine. A girl has to have some indulgence in her life.

Not a Bad Week

After a massive foot setback, I approached last week with hesitation and took it easy. After getting a fresh new pair of Brooks Ghosts and a couple easy test runs of five miles or so I was feeling more confident and ended up logging just over 28 pain-free miles. Whatever happened to my foot seems to have been a one-time thing, but I'll be paying close attention to every twinge from now on.

The past week was solid. It marked my return to the pool, really consistent running and some fun culinary adventures.

I have had the great fortune of a hand-me-down CSA allocation the past two weeks which means I'm eating more fruits and veggies than ever. A regular haul looks like this and you have to use it up pretty quickly since it's super fresh and at peak ripeness.


The corn is so amazing I just strip it from the cob raw and toss it with tomato, basil and olive oil. It's divine.


This week was short since I'm headed to Michigan for Steelhead 70.3 where I'll be racing on a relay team. I'm doing the swim (hence my two big trips to the pool) and run. I had several pounds of gorgeous tomatoes and only one day to enjoy them so I spent hours making tomato sauce to freeze for winter. I started by blanching and peeling.


Then an hour of simmering to perfection.


I'll be so happy to thaw this out and taste fresh summer tomatoes when they are long gone for the season.


In other culinary fun we took a pizza making class at Pizza a Casa in Manhattan. It was my first time and I loved it!


I've never eaten so much pizza in my life.


And we got to take tons home. Talk about a perfect night.

Near Swim Fail

Seems like every time I actually try to go to the pool, which isn't very often, something gets in the way and I end up not swimming. Usually it's just my laziness, but today I had hurdle after hurdle thrown my way, almost forcing me to bag yet another swim. I wouldn't particularly care, but next Sunday I'm doing the swim and run on a relay team for Ironman Steelhead 70.3 and I've only been to the pool about six times this year.

First challenge: I waited forever for a train that never came. After sweating half my body weight on the subway platform I gave up and left. The long wait meant I'd never make it to the pool in time to swim before the noodle lady class at 12:45. So I went home to relax in the air conditioning and snack on salami and cheddar. Perfect swim fuel, right?

Second challenge: I worried if I waited I'd lose the desire so I walked to the local Y and used a guest pass I'd horded from my former membership. While getting ready in the locker room, a little girl saw I was in my swimsuit and informed me the pool was closed. Apparently there was a strong gas smell on the pool deck so they evacuated. Lovely. I remembered exactly why I cancelled that membership and went back to Equinox.

Third challenge: The noodle lady class was in full swing, but I was already a mile from home and if I went back, the mission would be over. So I hopped on the train and headed uptown to a different pool and got myself into the water before I could drum up another excuse.

Given the last time I swam was on Cape Cod over the July 4th holiday, I felt pretty good and for once, wasn't bored. Since the Steelhead swim is 1.2 miles, I figured I'd just start with that distance. No point in building up since it's in seven days. I kept it simple and did 500x4 with a very short rest in between. I had burning arms at first and sloppy form at the end, but otherwise it was actually a little faster than my swimming was two months ago.

My swimming will always be mediocre, so it almost doesn't matter if I train or not. Since I don't have to get out of the water and bike 56 miles it won't matter if I'm beat up after the swim. I'll have three hours to rest and refuel for the run while my relay partner bikes. Best of all my parents will be there since Steelhead is near the town I grew up in. Can't beat that.

My F***ing Foot

For the past three years I've been plagued with foot issues, the worst of which was tearing my plantar fascia right before my first Ironman in 2009 (I did the race anyway). That foot has healed beautifully, but the opposite foot has become a chronic pain. My comeback in 2010 was pretty incredible and I thought I was on the right track, but then 2011 felt like a struggle to survive. Every run felt like it could easily be the last, and Ironman Wisconsin in September was the last. After several months off I was ready to go and things seemed fine... until last Friday.

My marathon training has been pretty spotty so I buckled down and stopped skipping workouts. I had a really solid week, logging 23 miles by Friday with no issues at all. But after Friday's long run, I spent hours on my feet packing and getting ready for a weekend trip, then ran for a train in flip flops carrying three big bags. When I stood up after the train ride I could barely walk. I always hobble a little after a long run, but this was ridiculous. I almost couldn't even handle a limp. It was only marginally better by Saturday and reduced to my usual stiffness by Sunday. Things were looking up.

Plantar fasciitis has been my standard ailment, but this pain was different. It was along the bottom of my foot, but more toward the outside and clustered toward the front. Wiggling my pinkie toe was excruciating. I did some self massage and manipulated my foot in an attempt to rule out a bone issue vs. soft tissue. My money is on soft tissue, particularly as I'm the queen of soft tissue injuries.

I bought new shoes and eased back in yesterday with an easy 4 miler, then followed it up with a 6 miler today. Both went well and I'm still on my feet. I'm using the foam roller liberally on my calves and hamstrings and bought a Trigger Point ball for some foot work.

One day I dream of stepping out of bed in the morning and actually being able to walk. I dream of running day after day with nothing more than sore muscles to complain about. Until then I plan to keep fighting. I have refused to let this chronic injury stop me so far, and I don't plan to any time soon.

My Weekend in France

Last weekend I had the pleasure of visiting Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France, to celebrate Mark's successful ascent of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps.

 It was a quick trip. I arrived via Paris and Geneva early Thursday afternoon and made the multi-leg journey home beginning Sunday morning, but even though brief, it was well worth the effort. Chamonix rests in a valley between the looming Mont Blanc and a smaller, yet incredibly beautiful mountain called the Brevent. So regardless of where you look, you're greeted with stunning views.

 The village was incredibly charming. It's a lively ski town in the winter, and filled to the brim with mountaineers, hikers and outdoor enthusiasts in the summer. I was one of the few people in town just to enjoy the food, wine and scenery, which is fine by me. Had Mark not just summited a massive mountain, I might have packed hiking gear to explore a bit. But we were in recovery mode, enjoying some really spectacular foods and wines of the Haute-Savoie and Rhone-Alps regions. And of course, we had a decent amount of Champagne. When in France!

 I did manage to fit one nice run in while there. I love running while traveling, it's the best way to explore. It was fairly hot, but we had an 11-course dinner booked and I needed to build up an appetite so I headed out with absolutely no idea where I was going and discovered a series of trails along the Arve river, a rough, silty, freezing cold glacial river that runs through town.

 I started on a path that took me away from the river and into the woods, at times on single track and at times on a gravel path. It was so beautiful with the mountains all around me. The altitude in town isn't severe at roughly 3,500 feet, but it was enough for this sea level New Yorker to feel a bit of sting in the lungs. I made my way back toward the river and chose another path that ran right alongside it. Apparently flooding is a risk!

The air blowing across the glacial water was like air conditioning. I couldn't have been in a more perfect place on a hot day.

The run was brief, but it helped prepare for the incredibly meal that followed. I think I could live on the bread, butter and cheese in France. And the wine, of course.

Saturday was rainy so we relaxed all day in our beautiful hotel. I read for hours while lounging in a robe, we sipped champagne on our terrace overlooking the mountains. It was beautiful to slow down and do nothing for a day. Especially in such a perfect place. I almost never do that.

Upon returning I had to stop procrastinating and start training for the NYC Marathon. It was tough to dive in with the jet lag, but I'm already enjoying it. After so much unstructured down time it's kind of refreshing to have a schedule. I guess taking a break was definitely the right thing to do.

Escape From Prilosec

Following a recent article on the New York Times Well blog, I made a pretty big decision to get off a medication I've depended on for more than 12 years. I've been taking a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) since my mid-20s for what has always been a mysterious stomach problem. PPIs are prescribed for acid reflux, but I didn't have reflux, instead I had a chronic, deep pain in my stomach that was very perplexing. After seeing specialists and going through an endoscopy, ultrasound, biopsy and CT scan the only answer seemed to be that I produced too much stomach acid and could benefit from a PPI.

I started to feel better and life went on thanks to this miracle drug. I honestly rarely thought twice about my daily pill until I read that article. Long-term side effects were unknown until recently and while I was aware of the risk of calcium deficiency, I had no idea about overall poor nutrient absorption, possible weight gain and acid rebound. I decided it was time to take control.

I did some Googling and read horrible stories on message boards about the misery of coming off the drug. Most people were forced to go back on it because they were in so much pain. I plotted my approach of taking Prilosec every other day and 150mg ranitidine twice daily on the alternating days. I bought ginger tea, apples, applesauce and almonds - foods that naturally alkalize the system according to my research. Then I woke up on a Monday morning and didn't take the pill.

It's been almost two weeks and it's going well so far, but I have really challenging days. During the first week I felt so ill some days I could barely eat. I had to make some changes in my diet, mainly giving up coffee or only having a very small cup. I temporarily gave up beer, which makes me very sad, but it has the lowest pH of alcoholic beverages and is not good for the stomach. I reduced the amount of wine I'm drinking, but haven't given it up. That is one change I'm not willing to make! I'm seeing how everything I eat reacts in my system and dialing up the good ones and minimizing the not so good ones.

After a week I moved to two days ranitidine and one day Prilosec and feel pretty good. I gave up my weekend to do a two-day juice cleanse to further speed up the healing in my stomach and alkalize my system. I'm usually a huge fan of a cleanse, but this time I'm bored out of my mind. My stomach feels amazing though so I'm sucking up the boredom and pushing through. Ironically I spent most of the day reading food blogs and posting food pics to Pinterest and tumblr. I'm a glutton for punishment.

The phase off usually takes about three months due to the acid rebound so I'm not planning a victory party yet, but I feel good knowing I'm taking control of my health and ridding my body of something it doesn't need.

A Truck Ran My Legs Over

You know that strength training routine I started? Well the great news is that I LOVE it. It's so refreshing to do something different from the cardio overload I'm used to. The bad news is my legs feel like a truck ran them over. I feel fine when I'm not moving, but then I stand up or attempt to walk and am swiftly reminded of how out of shape I am. I'm surprised my legs are taking the biggest beating. As an endurance athlete I've always thought all of my strength was in my legs. After all, I can bike hundreds of miles and run marathons and am almost never sore. But I'm learning that strength and endurance are two very different things and I definitely have a lot of work to do.

Over the weekend I put my legs to the test in a different way with my first hike in well over a year. I have always loved hiking, but there isn't always enough time for it. We were up at 5am and on the road by 6:15 for a three-hour drive to the Catskills. The early morning wake-up was well worth it, we had the trail to ourselves all the way up. And up it most certainly was. The peaks in the Catskills aren't terribly high, but some of the trails are challenging. This was considered an easier hike, but right at the beginning it was pretty much straight up. I was feeling every Bulgarian split squat from the previous week. But for views like this, it was worth it.

Before you think I'm abandoning cardio entirely, I realized New York Marathon training has officially started if you follow the traditional 18-week schedule. I've done a fair amount of running the past couple months and feel I have a solid base. I'm doing this self-coached for once and will be putting together my training plan this week.

Do you work with a coach or coach yourself?

Do you have an activity, like hiking, outside your usual sport that you enjoy?

Dead Plants, Wasps and Wood Choppers

I've had an interesting week. I arrived home from my blissful vacation to find my beautiful garden dried up and wilted due to a massive heat wave while I was away. It was such a sad scene I couldn't even bring myself to take a photo, but essentially most things looked like this, which was formerly basil and will soon be living in a landfill.

I immediately watered everything and woke up Sunday morning to signs of recovery. I then spent six hours stripping all the dead leaves and flowers from the plants, leaving them looking spindly and sparse, but hopefully poised for healing.

Then I noticed a small hive on my climbing rose vine. I hoped it was for bees, but was visited shortly after by a very aggressive inhabitant that I immediately recognized as a wasp. A little research revealed it was a yellow jacket hive and all advice was to kill them immediately. So I bought the wasp spray that claims you can stand 20 safe feet away and soak the nest without getting attacked, then invited Mark over for dinner. Isn't that what boyfriends are for? After a lovely meal we staged an attack and quickly learned the directions on the can were crap. You have to stand more like six feet away and pray the winds are in your favor. But luckily Mark managed to nail it and as of this morning, my backyard seems to be wasp free.

Aside from fiddling in the garden and attacking insects, I finally started my strength training routine. I'm aiming to do three days a week the remainder of the year in an effort to reduce body fat and eliminate some muscle imbalances I've developed from years of only S/B/R. I'm also not getting any younger and the statistics on annual muscle loss are frightening so it's time to do something about it. I spent 45 minutes at the gym Tuesday and left feeling utterly destroyed, yet amazing. It was so much fun to do something different that also made my heart pound and sweat pour off me. My favorite was the "wood chopper" for the obliques, as demonstrated in this video. Note that my obliques do not (yet) look like that (in fact I'm not sure I have obliques) and I don't exhale quite so dramatically.



I've also been up early to bike a couple times this week and finally went for a post-Provincetown run, thought the squats made that a little painful. It's great to do whatever I feel like and the break will definitely make next year's return to structured training that much more enjoyable.

Do you make time for strength training during your season?

What is your favorite routine?

Serious Vacation

I love to travel. If money and time weren't limitations I'd likely wander endlessly. But often after my travels I feel I need a vacation from the vacation since I come home exhausted from the various adventures and activities. Last week's vacation was a completely different story, a true vacation from stress, obligations and everyday life. It was so relaxing that I didn't turn my computer on until late in the week and even then couldn't bring myself to spend any time on it. Days went by where I didn't read email or look at my phone aside from a Facebook upload or check-in.

I spent a week in Provincetown, Massachusetts, all the way on the tip of Cape Cod. Our house was in the far West End, about as close as you can get to the tip of the Cape.

I was joined by my mom and dad, my sister and her husband, and my boyfriend. We spent the week relaxing on our waterfront deck, swimming, going to the beach, walking, exploring, grilling, sleeping, reading. But before I sound too lazy, I was also active the entire week. Mark and I ran three consecutive days, something I haven't been able to do in more than two years. My feet held up and kept allowing me to progress so I'm cautiously optimistic things are improving. I did three open water swims and spent one day walking across Provincetown Bay via a 1.22 mile jetty that is partially submerged during high tide. That was an adventure.

Then I tried something new and went kayaking for an afternoon. I was skeptical but ended up loving it! I made it all the way across the bay to the West End, then across to the tip of Long Point. It felt amazing to step onto that beach knowing I'd made it on my own steam.

Provincetown is a magical place and it's even more magical when you can share it with people you love. Here are a few shots from my week in paradise.

 My two men, we brought Otis with us! 

View of our house at low tide

 Mark and I on the deck

Dinner at our FAVORITE - Moby Dick's in Wellfleet

Local Provincetown oysters that we shucked ourselves

The harbor just before dusk