E2m Fitness

Training notes: this week was all about recovering from last Sunday’s 26.2-mile adventure. (The recap is almost done, promise.) Although I was able to walk and move around fairly well on Monday, I didn’t start to feel somewhat normal until Thursday. And I learned the hard way that I cannot run a marathon and then expect to slice through the water at a swim meet. Monday – p.m. CompuTrainer spin-out at Tailwind Endurance After work, I went to Tailwind for an easy 30-minute spin-out and spent some quality time in the Norma Tec sleeves. Tuesday – a.m. CompuTrainer class at Tailwind Endurance Another easy spin session at Tailwind. This time, I went before work—and saw a bunch of my triathlon buds—and made adjustments to the prescribed workout. Basically, I hung out at 70-75 percent for 70 minutes. Wednesday – a.m. swim with Bearcat masters After a week-long hiatus, I returned to the water. My legs still felt toasted from Sunday, but I hung tough for 4200m of freestyle swimming. Thursday ...

If you’ve been reading for a while, then you may recall my renewed perspective on the 2017 triathlon season, and one of my guiding principles: service. I want to give back to the community that has given me so much. My experience volunteering as a handler with the Challenged Athletes Foundation during the NYC Triathlon in 2016 rejuvenated my outlook on sport, and functioning in this type of capacity is something I plan to do on a regular basis. Several of my triathlon friends are involved with Achilles—a nonprofit that aims to enable people with disabilities to participate in mainstream running events—so getting involved was easy.  Achilles NYC hosts two workouts each week (the group meets Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings in Central Park), and I started attending sessions in December and gaining experience as a guide. There is a rough guiding framework, but its execution varies from athlete to athlete. I can only speak to my experience so this post will focus on what I do for...

  It always feels like the weekdays drag while the weekend flies by. As seen after my run This week seemed especially long since I had non-training commitments every night after work. Being busy is good, but I definitely need a few more days to recover, ha. Training notes: my coach and I met last week for a summit meeting to recap the off-season and discuss my triathlon life. I made a lot of progress on my swim and run throughout the past few months, but I am ready to be a triathlete again and become BFFs with my bike. Because I was logging laps and running miles, I lost a lot of watts, so I have my work cut out for me—but the month of April is all about the bike. Monday – a.m. CompuTrainer class at Tailwind Endurance After a busy and high volume weekend, my legs needed this 75-munute spin-out. It took about 40 minutes for everything to loosen up, but I felt much better getting off the bike than I did getting on. Tuesday – a.m. brick (CompuTrainer class at Tailwind Endurance and r...

For the first time in a few weeks, we are back to regularly scheduled programming. Back in my happy place and back on dawn patrol It’s taken a lot longer than I anticipated to recover from the Queens Marathon, and although I am trying to be patient with myself, I really want to start logging quality efforts again. Training notes: this is the first week since the marathon that I’ve felt semi-normal/recovered. All but one of my workouts went as planned, but unfortunately, the pool was closed for general maintenance and the Easter holiday. I definitely missed the water this week. I also got a sports massage, which helped the recovery process. Monday – a.m. CompuTrainer class at Tailwind Endurance We kicked off Monday with a recovery-based 75-minute ride. My legs felt fatigued getting on the bike, but they felt better getting off. Tuesday – a.m. brick (CompuTrainer class at Tailwind Endurance and run in Central Park); p.m. run with Achilles Some #2MileTuesday action with 60 minutes in the...

As you noticed, I failed to write a blog post following the Seneca7 in April. For the second consecutive year—and third time total—I tackled the 77.7-mile relay race around Seneca Lake with some of my best runner friends. We had a blast, and it was an unforgettable weekend, but when I thought about articulating the weekend, I struggled to find the words. The CNY running and endurance community suffered a tragic loss at this race with a local legend passing away. Although I didn’t know him well, we met a few times at Fleet Feet events during the summer of 2012.  His energy and enthusiasm were infectious, and I wanted to soak up his positivity and knowledge. When I visited the shop during my trips home, I would occasionally see him, and that was the extent of our interactions. Our paths didn’t cross during the Seneca7 itself, but upon hearing the news, I struggled to accept it. How could this happen to someone so young, so passionate, so selfless? For the following few weeks, the new...

As its name suggests, the race took place in Coney Island, and it ended up being my first trip to the Brooklyn neighborhood that’s famous for its boardwalk, amusement park rides, and carnival foods. More importantly, this competition served as an introduction to the swim-run world; my “A” race this year is SwimRun VA in October. All calm at the swim start The event offered several distance options with solely open-water swims (0.5 mi., one mile and two miles) and swim-run categories (0.5-mi swim and three mile run; one-mile swim and three mile run; two-mile swim and six-mile run) offered. Three of my Bearcat masters buds registered for the race, and we all opted for the “long course” two-mile swim and six-mile run.  Although there were difference between this race and what I will be doing this fall, the main similarly I wanted to experience was the transition from swimming to running: how my legs would feel, what my heart rate would do, and how easily would I settle in to my desire...

This past Saturday, my Cannondale Slice remained at home as I went to New Jersey and completed my first swim-run endurance event, the Garden State SwimRun. I’ve taken a step back from racing triathlons this season and focused on rounding out my endurance portfolio: competing at swim meets, guiding for Achilles, and volunteering for the Challenged Athletes Foundation at the New York City Triathlon.  The catalyst for this decision was my “A” race this year, SwimRunVA, a team-based outing where pairs are tethered together and alternate between—you guessed it—swimming and running. Even though being tethered was not an option this past weekend, the event still presented an opportunity to familiarize ourselves with this new-to-us world. Most of our anxiousness surrounding swim-run derived from logistical uncertainty, especially since everything athletes use for swimming must be worn while running: what shoes (and socks?) could we wear without getting blisters; how would we carry our padd...