3:54:47

Almost there...

Wow, it’s really been a while since I wrote on the blog. Somehow, time just has a tendency to fly, especially when you're busy, and here we are the Friday before the big Sunday run. Yes – in my mind it’s just another run, which, in the end will equal to a marathon distance.

Here’s my strategy for running a marathon: divide it up into shorter distances. So that, I usually start off with 10km, then up to 21, then 30, 35, etc. I think this helps me quite a bit mentally to keep on going. It’s never “another 30 km” – but much shorter distance.

Anyway, I’m very excited about this race. My training has been going pretty well, although one problem that I may face is that I’m not used to running on the street. Virtually all of my runs were done in the forest so that going out on something hard might do a number on my knees. We’ll see. My longest run was 32km, and it was OK. I didn’t push myself very hard then and finished in just about 3 hrs. That would leave me another hour to run 10km, which should be just enough.

Weather predictions look good. Up to 17 and sunny. No need for anything else. Now it’s just time to relax, do a short run tomorrow (I mean really short – 20-30 mins) and CARBOLOAD. For carbolading, I’m using a drink from Sponser. Worked for me in NY, so don’t see a reason to change now. I did try running with the Vitargo carboloader once but I got stomach cramps.
So, I guess that’s it. Next post after Sunday’s run!

Running in the rain

So, this morning we woke up and saw a gray sky outside. But, as we didn't run yesterday, this morning we braved the cloudiness and got ready to go outside. It wasn't supposed to be an especially long run, but I did want to get about 45 mins of running in knowing that I won't have a chance to do so in the evening. So off we go to the forest. M decided to do his recovery run and keep me company. But his "recovery" tempo is my tempo run so it took a lot out of me to be able to keep up with him. But I did. Then, I thought I felt some rain, but (as we are usually lucky with running weather) we kept on going. It got darker and darker and then a real DOWNPOUR. We were exactly in the middle of the run. Thought it would be a quick rain so we went into a shed. It wasn't easing up though. Anyway, as we were already wet it didn't really matter. So we ran in pouring rain. Trying to avoid streams of water (more for danger of slipping). But it was all kind of fun. Plus, there's no guarantee whatsoever what marathon weather we may get, so it's best to go out in something like this every once in a while....

2:14:48

That was my time for 25km run this past Saturday. Very happy with this time. I didn't push myself very hard. Just stayed with my tempo and tried to enjoy the run. Walked only through the aid stations, which is a lot better than during my past runs. Nutrition-wise - just had one gel which I split in half at km 15 & 20. That worked very well for me. Oh, and paid a lot attention to the breathing - I think that's what caused the stomach cramps in Radzymin last weekend.
Today - suprisingly, almost no soreness. Still took it easy though - just went for a long walk. But tomorrow, back to training!

It's been a while.....

I don't believe that we're almost half way through August. And busy have I been up to now. First - Tatry Tour 100km race - done! I was pretty unsure about my cycling prior to the race having almost no training up to it. Plus, this 100km would be my longest ride ever! But I did it and enjoyed it a lot. It was a bit discouraging when I discovered that I'd be one of the last finishers of the race. But somehow I didn't let me bother that (besides I was one of 9 women doing the race - out of approx 170 competitors), and just enjoyed the ride. The views were amazing, road perfect, climbs just a bit challenging, but in a good way.

After TT, we spent a few days in Zakopane, and did some training there as well. A few nice hikes, bike rides and one very hilly run. Then, of course, U2 concert (amazing!) and the last 2 days we spent near Zywiec. There again - nice hilly bike ride.

So, now we're back and in full training mode. The past week was a bit easier since we ran Radzymin halfmarathon yesterday. Finished in 1:52. Just less then a minute off my PB. Would have hit a PB was it not for some stomach cramps I got in the last 4km of the race. Either way, it was a great race, very nicely organised and a nice, flat course. Good running experience. Even though my time hasn't improved by much, I did notice how much I've improved since March (Warsaw Half). I finished this race with very little soreness nor do I have any now. So, this week back to speed work. Hoping to make the 25km on Saturday in Powsin.

Holiday time is almost here!

It’s been a while again. I’m slacking on writing here. But not on training. Last weekend I wasn’t able to make it to the 20km race organised by the Warsaw Marathon Foundation, so on Sunday I’ve decided to run my long run in marathon tempo. And I did that almost exactly on the dot – 21km in 2 hrs. Very happy about that as my speed work is finally paying off. I don’t remember doing any runs this fast with the prior marathon training, so this is a good sign. But, the key to great run is good sleep and proper nutrition. I can definitely see a difference in my performance or even motivation levels when either of the two are missing.

This week I’m taking it easy in preparation for the Tatry Tour on Saturday. I’m looking forward to testing myself on the bike and am praying that weather will be good. If it rains I’ll have to re-think if I’d want to start at all. Not sure if I’m that comfortable on the road bike.

After the race we’re staying in Zakopane for a few days. Planning to do some hill work while there, plus hopefully some more bike riding. But, above all, relax and take some nice trips in the mountains. Then, we’re off to see U2. Been waiting for this concert for soooo long. Can’t wait!!!!

Long runs are progressing...

So even though I've been slacking off during the week. Mostly due to being too tired to wake up in the morning, my long runs are happening over the weekend and have been progressing pretty well. Last week I did 22.5kms and today 21. Today I timed myself to ensure that I'm keeping up the tempo. Essentially, every 3 km I hit the "lap" button on my garmin and I instantly got back my pace. And I managed to do it, with about 20 sec differences in my pace. Not so bad, considering the heat. Even the forest was extremely hot!
By the way, last weekend we got convinced to go kayaking with some friends. Never ever again! What I thought would be a nice enjoyable 3 hrs in a kayak ended up as being freezing cold in the kayak after the kayak flipped over and I got caught in the current. Anyway - lesson learned - I'm sticking to biking, riding and swimming only in controlled conditions!

Another day of running...

After the long run on Sunday (5th June) where I managed to do 21.5 kms in just over 2 hours, I have to admit I’ve been a bit sluggish. Hate to blame it on the weather, but I have to. It’s been cloudy, rainy and cold. But after no running on Monday & Tuesday, I did go out yesterday after work. And, boy, if I run with this tempo during the marathon, I’ll come in way under 4 hours. Here’s a bit about my run. Since it was raining most of the day, I’ve decided to run on the sidewalks. I haven’t done that since the winter, since without question the forest is much more pleasant. But at the same time, running in the forest is a lot slower. So, being out on a hard surface yesterday really showed me how much I’ve improved. I’ve averaged out at about 11 kph with running at 11.5 kph quite a bit. The average went down due to some lights that made me stop. So, overall excellent run that really built up my level of self-confidence.

Now, this morning was a totally different story. I think that I still didn’t fully recover after last training so I was very sluggish, almost struggling. Did manage to complete a 10km loop. Tomorrow a day off running (bike ride in the morning) before the long run – this time on Saturday. On Sunday a long bike ride awaits! Again – just need the weather to cooperate J

Past week

So, after a short break, I'm finally back in full training mode. A short summary of my runs during the past week:

Monday - 12 km
Tuesday - 9 km (12 x 200s) + warm up/cool down
Wednesday - 10 km - a bit junkish - finished in exactly 1 hr
Thursday - off - couldn't do anything due to a stress of having to deal with electrical failure at the house (thankfully, hopefully, it got fixed)
Friday - 11 km - approximately half of that at marathon tempo

What's left? Saturday - perhaps a bike ride and Sunday - a long run - around 20 km.

All of the runs this past week were done in the early morning. Since a warm front has hit us, the only other time would be to go after 9PM. Somehow, I know my body would not be able to adjust to something like that. Hence, the 6AM wake up call, and out the door at 6:30. I'm just hoping I can keep up with this schedule for the rest of the summer. I've been blessed with having very few sports-related injuries over the past few years, but at the same time I know that the line between being in top shape and overtrained (hence prone to injuries) is very fragile. One thing I always bear in mind is to listen to your body. And that applies both during and off training. Plus nutrition - always need to give yourself the fuel to make it stonger and able to take on more endurance. I've realized that I'm looking forward to the Marathon in September. I would be beyond elated to finally break the 4 hours mark. But to get there it will take some hard work - that's what I tell myself each day that I don't want to get out of bed.

This past week....

Time really flies - time to set plans for yet another weekends. But first things first. Here's a quick update:

Over the past weekend (20-21) I've managed to run 17.5 km (1hr 44 mins) and do a long bike ride (65 km). I'm still debating if I should enter the Tatra Tour on 1 August (www.tatratour.eu). M is doing the full 212 km route, but I'm considering the 100 km. Considering that I have to wait for him anyway, this may be a good distraction for a few hours. Just the altitude difference (about 1000 m) scares me a bit. I'll decide after another long ride. Overall though, I love riding the road bike - it's really amazing how much different it is from the MTB and yes, it is pretty comfortable once you get used to it.

During this week, just managed to do a run on Tuesday morning and a bike ride last night. Somehow getting up in the mornings is REALLY hard! I think weather has a lot to do with it. Plus if I see a cloudy sky, somehow any enthusiasm gets sucked right out... Right now its sunny, so maybe tonight I'll squeeze in a run.

Now, for the weekend. As I'm car-less until mid-next week, it looks like the 15km run is kind of out. So, M and I are going to the mountains (near Wisla) and are planning to do some hill work there. Hoplefully there will be some time for a hike as well. I miss mountains! Already planning the trips we'll be taking in the Tatras next month. And the weather better clear up by then!

Finally Friday!

So - another week is gone. But where is the summer??? It seems like no one is having a real summer this year. Here, in Warsaw, it's rain, rain, rain, and a little bit of sun...
Well, I guess complaining won't help much here, so just need to adjust to this.
On the running front, this week was a bit hampered by a sudden overload of work, but still managed to do a tempo run on Wed - 11km at 11kph pace followed by an easy 9 km on Thursday. So, what have I learned from these 2 sessions? That over the past year my heart rate has lowered! I was training with heart rate monitor for a while, but due to both my laziness and technical malfunction I've stopped. This week I've decided to borrow M's just to see how I'm doing, and voila! On the recovery run I was able to keep my heart rate between 140 - 145, which was impossible to do a year ago. Even on the tempo run, I averaged at 163, which is pretty low for me.

Tomorrow I'm attempting a 17km long run. Weather gods - cooperate!

Quick update

Even though weather over the long (4 days!!!) weekend wasn't very stable, we still managed to make the very best of it, so here it goes:
Thursday, 11 June - 45 km bike with road bikes in Kampinos (actually found a nice stretch of a secondary road that runs through the forest)
Friday, 12 June - about 23 km through Kabaty forest & than a nice, slow ride through Piaseczno and back through the forest
Saturday, 13 June - 15 km run in the forest (managed to do it right before it started pouring for the rest of the day)
Sunday, 14, June - 58 km to Gora Kalwaria and back. Original plan was to go with the road bikes but looking at the wind we with MTBs. Very happy as I think the wind would just blow me off the road with the light bike. Still managed to do some awesome sprints - up to 40 kph, albeit with the wind. On the way back, just as the tiredness was starting to hit me and we had to go a long way against the wind, M did his part and let me draft him!

Overall a great weekend!

Finally Friday!

Getting up this morning was soooo hard! But the thought that it's Friday made it a bit easier. Anyway, out the door at 6:45AM and towards the forest! Did exactly 10km with 12 100 to 200m intervals. I've noticed that if I do longer intervals I cannot repeat them so for a bit I'll stick to these short ones. Anyway - felt very good. The main plan for this weekend is to do a medium/long run - 15-20km.

Sunday & Wednesday

I'll start with this morning though. After many rainy mornings, we finally woke up to a semi-clear sky and no rain/drizzle or whatever else can get you wet. Promptly at 6:30 we were out the door. And what a run it was! The forrest is so nice at that time with the birds waking up and the amazing smells! I did the full "big" loop (11km), with an average of 10.5 kph. Very happy, very energized and ready to start the day!

Now, for this past Sunday (31 May). Even though we woke up to some rain and many clouds we packed our bikes and went to Naleczow - MTB maraton. And what an adventure it was! Mud everywhere, a lot of rain but a lot of fun people and great organization! I did 34km while M did 63km. Sounds easy, but for a good 5-7km I had to walk my bike in mud, which stuck to the bike like crazy, making it at least twice as heavy as it was. Pictures coming soon!

WOW - its been HOW long????

Yes - I know - I haven't posted anything in sooooo long. Been crazy busy, then sick, then busy again. But now - I'm back :) I will do another separate post about my first attempt at triathlon. All that I can say is that swimming in open water is HARD!

As for running, I'm getting back into the morning routine starting to prepare for the Warsaw Marathon. But, this one I'll be approaching a bit differently as I'll be following a set training plan. The way I've been approaching my past marathons was just by running here and there, with a few longer runs (i.e. longer than 10 km). Now, I know that I need a few more of these longer runs, and a lot more strenght training. With just about 4 months to go, it's time to seriously put this into action.

On another note, I've started reading a very nice book - "The Triathletes Training Bible" by Joel Friel. I highly reccomend it. Even for the non-triathletes, its extremely helpful in explaining sports psychology, approach to training, and the dangers of overtaining.

And finally, if you ever want to get motivated, go to a long distance event. Everytime I attend an Ironman (just as a fan thus far) I come back fully energized and ready to go! And here are some pics to inspire the rest of you:

As promised - a few photos

So, another 1/2 marathon has been completed...

Didn't beat my time from last year, but I'm very happy with my 1:53:29 , considering that I wasn't feeling 100% in the morning. Plus, I've realized that I need more speedwork.
But, overall I'm very impressed with the race and organizing. I must admit that after I found out how much the start list grew, I got a bit worried about the crowds, etc. But no worries - the organizers did a fantastic job. Only once, in the begining did I get elbowed. I absolutely loved running through the different parts of the city, with the view from Most Swietokrzyski being my absolute favourite. Running-wise, I think I got dressed just a bit too warm. I got very warm at one point with the sweat running down my face. At km 18 I did have a bit of a slowdown, but once I hit km 20, I got some extra energy, and of course, ended up sprinting for the finish line. And there, I had a wonderful "welcoming committee" as quite a bit chunk of my family came along. That was very special. And hearing my name announced as I crossed the finish line made them even more proud. I felt like being back in school and graduating :)
Afterwards, as we started walking back, my friend called up - they missed us at the finish line! So we all met up and chatted. Then home and a well-deserved shower.
So, what's next for me? As my first triathlon is approaching in just about 2 months, I need to continue improving my swim plus start serious bike training. As it looks like spring has finally arrived, we can finally start biking outside.
As for running, certainly Warsaw Marathon in the fall. Anyone else up for it?
P.S. Will post some pictures tomorrow....

final days before the half

I've been quiet lately. Not out of laziness but I've been quite busy. Unfortunately not with training but at work. But, in these times I'm not complaining, especially seeing what's going on at other firms. But, since I've managed to get enough sleep last night and this morning we awoke to beautiful sunshine - we were out running! 10km in the forest. Very slow, as ther is snow + ice on the ground, but
I've enjoyed every single minute of it. Even though it's chilly and I wish that spring were here already. Now breakfast, shower and off to work!

On another note, it looks like once again we will have quite a big contingent of my family + some friends cheering us on at the finish line. So excited! Let's just hope that the weather cooperates! Good weather gods, please stay over Warsaw!

Running in the snow

is still not over. This morning as we were heading out it started to snow a bit. And it continued as we ran through the forest. I must admit that its A LOT less muddy than 2 weeks ago at the Grand Prix and thus very enjoyable. Did 10km this morning in just about 55 mins. Plus we made a stop and did some strenght exercises as well. I'm glad we ended up running there as it was still quite windy on the road. I'm amazed that some of the girls were running in that wind yesterday. You couldn't get me out of the house with force!

One thing about running in the morning (and therefore getting up at 6) is that right about now (9:30) I start to slowly crash. Yup, so it is bed-time.... Till tomorrow :)

Running in Mazury

We've spent this past weekend in Mazury. The main purpose of the trip was to celebrate our anniversary (2 years!!) but then we were also hoping to do some decent hilly training. And our prayers to the weather gods were answered! On Friday when we arrived we took bikes from the hotel and went for a ride around a lake. Overall it was an exremely slow 25 km, but about half of it was walking the bikes up and down hills - still very muddy and snowy. Nevertheless, it was a nice way to welcome spring.

Yesterday, the hotel reception told us a place to go for some running. And we did, thinking that we'd do some nice hill training. Here I am happily starting our run:

It really felt great - temperature was just right, no wind anywhere, no cars, no other people. We managed to see a few deers (too fast for us to snap photos of). And just kept on going. We eventually reached a national reserve, and still kept on going. I go back to my original thesis - when the terrain is interesting the run seems much faster. Suprisingly, I didn't have as much trouble on the hills as I thought I would have. I guess the downhills made up for that as I got some rest.

With this new found strenght we kept on going and going. Then eventually the side road ended and we hit a busier road - that was the time when we decided to turn around. BUT, when I looked at my Garmin already had almost 9km on the clock, and this meant that I had at least another 9km to go. But the way back seemed a lot easier and a lot faster. All of a sudden the hills didn't bother me at all, didn't stop to take any walking breaks, and somewhere in the middle I've decided to finish the training properly and run up to 20km. And I did, was kinda tired at the end, but my level of self-confidence really went up. We've just checked how much we've climbed during the run and it amounted to about 1000m!!! Really wish we had more hills in Warsaw so that these trainings could be done more often.

And today - no pain! That's very suprising but motivating at the same time! I'm really looking forward to running the Warsaw Half. 2 weeks to go!

Week so far

Here's how the training week looks so far: Monday - swim; Tuesday - run (10km); Wednesday - turbo trainer (cycling). Yup - three days of waking up at 6. Wonder when that will catch up with me. At least we have a long weekend to look forward to - Friday morning we're off to Mazury. But we do plan on training pretty hard there. Weather permitting, of course.
While running yesterday I've noticed a very interesting thing - why does running on the street seems longer than in the forest? 10km yesterday seemed very long!
I've also noticed that I'm getting much stronger at cycling. Swimming is still extremely hard. Can kind of do crawl for one lenght of a pool but anything longer than that just completely tires me out. How will I be able to do 750m???
On that note it's time to get ready for work.

The rest of Sunday

So after a lazy morning (well not that much - we got some stuff around the house done) we finally managed to get into our running clothes and head out. So, even though I could "feel" my muscles I managed to do 13km. Very satisfied.... Now it's time to relax a bit in front of the tv - we got another "24" waiting :)))

Kabaty....

That was a fun run. Nice to meet the girls from the team. After last week's failed run I was a bit afraid as to what we'd find in the forest. But, other than some mud and a little leftover snow, it was fine. Start was bad, as always, crowdy, hard to find your tempo in the begining, but then once I started it was nice. Racing on your "training" ground is very nice! Almost no element of surprise there. The time on my watch was 52:59 while the official time is 53:06. No PB, but didn't expect one in these conditions. But still did a lot better than I thought I would have. Today we are going for a run. I do need a longer one - about 15km..... let's see what will come out of my good intentions.... By the way - snow again this morning!!! Where is the spring????

Wish Spring would be here already!!!!

Yesterday morning we got up extra early to prepare and run without any rush. Weather outside looked great, checked the temperature - warmish 4 degrees. One issue for me was my Garmin - forgot to charge it so no battery was left :( oh well.... Just told myself that it is good to run without it once in a while. BUT THE WIND! Running with the wind was fine (about first 5 km) and then, once I turned around the cold wind started hitting me. One section is slightly uphill and against the wind and that was tough. But, I did manage to run 11km (according to mapmyrun) in exactly 1hr. So, without the Garmin I was a bit faster.

Tomorrow is the race. Should be fun. Just contemplating the shoe issue as the forest is bound to be muddy (if not still snowy)....

Running in the fog...

is great!
Last night we were contemplating going to the gym. But the need to go to grandma's to pick something up plus we had to finish watching some episodes of "24" (yes - it is an addiction) meant that something had to get cut out. Oh no, with some creative thinking we just combined two things - instead of driving we ran to grandma's. And it was great! I've kept an average of 11km/hr and had a total of 8.5 km according to my Garmin. I don't remember when running felt this good. So, in other words we'll need to motivate ourselves for more evening runs. But as the high training season is approaching 2 work out sessions per day will need to be put into our schedule. This morning we were up nice and early and did a 55 min biking session - I still felt last night's run in my legs so just did some fat burning - 125 bpm average.
Looking forward to the race on Saturday - hopefully the weather will hold up!

Spring is coming!

We were hit with a spell of amazing weather over the weekend and Monday. So we used that to the maximum and did some nice training. On Sunday the Spring 2009 bike season has been officially kicked off - 41 km. We wanted to bike some further out, but that was out of the question as there is still quite a lot of snow on the ground in the forests.



Yesterday, we kicked off the morning running season. It was cold! But sunny :) Here's a link to my route yesterday morning http://connect.garmin.com/activity/2327753. We had to do it on the streets as I've attempted to run in the forest on Saturday and it was just not a good idea. Overall the run was good. Ended up doing 9.5km overall. If the weather keeps up I'm sure there will be more of these morning runs :))

Another weekend....

This past week I felt somewhat sluggish other than swimming - did do the 2 planned sessions. I'm noticing that the better I get at it, the more I'm starting to almost enjoy it. But I know that open water will just freak me out. Not thinking about that part yet, will deal with it when the time comes. I guess the first step is buying a wetsuit.

Anyway, enough about that. Today as the weather was getting better I managed to go out for a run. Wanted to test out my new shoes - M got them for me for off road. They are indeed excellent BUT half a size too small :(((( Maybe (I hope) they will somehow stretch if I wear them. And here they are:

But my run was still quite short today. I decided to go into the forest which ended up still being VERY full of snow that was slushy. Just did the shortest loop possible and came back adding another km - in total 5.5. Since I still had a lot of energy left I packed up and went to the gym where I did about an hour of weight training and another short run (1.5 km). So overall a good workout day.

We're hoping that the weather stays as nice as it is today and tomorrow we can go for a bike rack. M is in the garage as we speak figuring out how to put the bike rack on.... Will update you on how that little adventure went.

And another weekend is over

This weekend has been pretty productive training-wise. I ran on both Saturday and Sunday! 12.5 km on Sat and 11 km on Sunday. Both days on packed snow in Kabaty forest. While I love running on snow, it does have the effect of slowing me down so that my times are nothing to brag about. Plus, since I haven't been running outside in a while, I did get some muscle aches. But I've been wearing my recovery compression pants for the rest of the day so hopefully tomorrow it will all be gone... Today I was a bit chilly too - been trying to warm myself up for the rest of the afternoon. Tomorrow will be a rest day for sure! It was interesting to watch people cross-country skiing in the forest. It's amazing how slow they are! Technically it's a fairly fast snow but I was faster than most of them (only 1 guy managed to get passed me and another one started racing me - I won :))
I think I may treat myself to new running shoes tomorrow - Asics trail runners. As the weather will inevitably start getting warmer I need something that won't get soaked through too fast. While the Salomons I've been running in now are OK on snow, they can't handle spring in the forest too well.
We've managed to get to Ikea today - how I love that store! Finally got some CD shelves so that we can start getting more and more organized!

ohhhh - Fat Thursday

So, yesterday's plan did not fall through. By the time I got home I was simply way to tired to even think about going to the gym. Running this morning was also out of question since it's been snowing here. A lot! But we did get up in the morning and jumped on the bikes. We've had our road bikes fitted with a turbo trainer so that we can use them as stationary bikes. It's so much better than pedaling in the gym. Own music blasting, etc. This morning's session was great - exactly 1 hr.

Now that the snow has eased up, hopefully the weekend will bring about some outside running in the forest. Of course, it will fly as I have tons on my to do list, but running is on it!

Tomorrow morning another swim session awaits. I'm really starting to enjoy the pool sessions now...

Just been looking through some pictures, and here's one of my favorites - us after Barcelona Marathon.

Swim Session

So, I have been a bit lazy in the past few days. Since Sunday (10 km run), I've barely done anything. So this morning (after being awakened at 5:30 (!) by a snow cleaning crew (!)) we made our way to the swimming pool. Had a pretty good session. Still have a long way to go to doing a proper crawl but am definitivley improving. Have a lot of problems with breathing so that I keep on swallowing water. I really need to look for a good swim instructur. Anyone can reccomend someone in Warsaw?

Otherwise - snow! Snowed about 10-15 cms overnight. After Austria and the non-stop snowing there I can honestly say I've had enough of winter for this year. Spring looks so promising yet so far away!

As for training plans, hopefully I will leave work at a decent hour so that we can go to the gym for a strenght session. Tomorrow morning hopefully a running session in the Kabaty forest. Friday - back to the pool. Even though Saturday is starting to fill up I'm determined to have a longish running session in the morning (12-15 km). Sunday - still up for grabs!

Been away...

and that's why no recent updates. We went to get some skiing done. First two days were great and then the weather took a steep turn downwards. Snowed essentially for 3 days non-stop. But still, being away is being away and all in all we came back very relaxed and eager to get some training done! Really, by now I've had enough of winter, which seems to be following us everywhere. Warsaw welcomed us with some fresh powder on the ground.

On the bike

This morning was a nice bike session - 45 minutes on the turbo trainer. Forgot to post on Monday about the swim session - I was finally able to swim crawl (!). Even though it's only one pool lenght at a time (or until I choke) but I'm still very proud of myself.
Going back to the bike this morning. I've noticed that I've gotten so much stronger since we've got the turbos. In the begining it was hard to do even 30 mins, now one hr is no problem.
We were trying to go running outside in the morning, but still too cold, windy etc. I really don't want to risk getting a cold now, especially in view of the vacation coming up in 2 days!

Great week's end

Today we went to the gym and did "brick" training - 35 mins on the bike followed by a 30 min run. Ran 5km in 27:30 and felt great! Somehow my running has improved lately - I've noticed that I'm able to run much faster on the treadmill. Hopefully this will translate into faster runs outside. Now time to eat and relax a bit! Hopefully will have a swim session tomorrow morning :)

Finally ran!

So this past week was kinda bad on the exercise front. Not until today did I get to exercise. And it was a decent one - a 45 min run - 7 km in 41 mins. Kinda decent. Then a good stretch session. No running outside is foreseeable tomorrow as it's been snowing all of today and the forecast is saying the same for tomorrow. But we are planning a nice, long gym session :) Now I need to relax - been running arount the entire day!

Wake up call at 6:15 - I'm kinda used to it though. Then some energy drink and on the turbo trainers we jump - 50 mins. Hot muesli for breakfast and now ready to work. May try to go to the gym tonight to do some weight training.

The story so far...

Well, here's the story so far:

Sport has become a constant part of my life approximately 2 years ago. That's when I've moved from the US to Bucharest, Romania and, partly due to the boredom, I've started going to the gym on a regular basis. At first it was spinning and then I've started to run. A few months after M (who has now completed 3 Ironman events) convinced me to start training for a marathon. I thought he was crazy! Me - a marathon?? But then I was crazy enough to sign up for the Budapest marathon. And in September 2007 I've finished it in 4 hrs 23 mins. And here's a photo of M and I running it. It was still pretty early on so hence the smile. The last 12 kms were painful! But still finished very happy. So after I've recovered (a good month or so) I signed up for the next one - Barcelona!

Barcelona was a wonderful marathon held in early March 2008. Weather was amazing and the organizers have done a wonderful job. Even though I wasn't feeling in top shape, I finished this one in 4hrs 7mins and felt fantastic crossing that finish line! My recovery was much faster than for the first one. Three weeks later I've ran the Warsaw Halfmarathon finishing in 1hr 51mins.

So, it wasnt' that much of a suprise when I've decided to run yet another one and one of the biggest in the world - New York City Marathon! Being held in November, I've had the whole summer/fall to prepare for it. As in the meanwhile we've moved to Warsaw I was able to run outside very consistently (Bucharest and it's wild dogs can deter you in that respect) as I wanted very badly to break the sub-4 barrier. I was ready to go on November 2 2008. The crowds were intimidating but I felt very secure about the course as I lived in NY for a big chunk of my life. It was very emotional to do it as deep down inside I knew that this was the marathon to complete. And boy was I right. The course proved itself to be very challenging. But I've stuck to it - did not break sub 4 but came in almost as close as you can get - 4hrs 1min. And here I am crossing the finish line:

So, of course the question was - what will my next challenge be? The answer was a kind of no-brainer - triathlon! I've seen M competing in them and, while challenging, they look like so much fun. Of course, a few challenges will come into play as I cannot swimm very well and my bike riding leaves a lot to be desired. So, this is how this began and we shall see where it will lead me to....