Last week was a crazy work week... big presentation in NJ and another big meeting in Manhattan. I thought I might have time for a good run the day I arrived, but I flew into JFK at 3:30 and then had the "opportunity" to drive through Manhattan at rush hour to get to my hotel in NJ. Not fun. After 45 minutes of sitting at the same light in SOHO, I pulled over to have dinner and work until traffic died down. Arrived at hotel after 10 pm... definitely no run!
Day 2: Full-day workshop followed by drinks/dinner with client. No run. These workshops are fun but can really drain me.
Day 3 (Friday): Great, I can run! Planned 50 minutes, checked at front desk to confirm how long it would take me to get from the hotel to mid-town Manhattan for my next meeting. Oooh, double the time I'd planned? Ok. Let's make this a 1.5 mile fast run. Total run time: 12 min.
En route to Manhattan, I relied a bit too heavily on this nifty gadget called GPS. Yes, it's the first time I've actually used one... I'm what they call a "laggard." Love/hate relationship: overall it was helpful, except when it wasn't. The most aggrevating sound when you're trying to get to an important meeting in a strange city: "Recalculating..." Dang it. I ended up 5 minutes late.
Good meeting. Drove to the airport. Checked in... almost... hang on. This machine is telling me that my flight is for tomorrow. Great, cancelled flight. I had big plans for the weekend that involved driving up to wine country, riding the Vineman 70.3 course, swimming in the river, camping, and then volunteering the next day on the run course. But the next flight was for Saturday morning. Grrr....
Stayed at a really crappy JFK hotel, got up at crack-o for the first flight out (my body was very unhappy, being on west coast time) and made it home by noon. Missed the group ride on the Vineman course so figured I'd bike/run at home and then head up north to camp.
Couldn't. do. it. Felt tired, congested... took a nap instead. Read some magazines and drank a lot of water. Decided to bail on camping and volunteering... totally coming down with something. Went to bed at 8:30 pm (it was still light out!) and slept a straight 10 hours. Woke up, had breakfast, and went back to sleep. Finally rallied to do a hill repeat session on the bike followed by a 4 mile run, then felt good enough to make an appearance at a pool party to enjoy our fantastic weather (rare in July!)
Today: Ugh. Tried to do 1.5 hrs on the trainer and keep my HR over 140... couldn't do it. Could barely keep it above 135; my legs had no energy and didn't want to turn over. At all. So I cut it back to 50 minutes and then had to take a nap (despite getting 9 hrs of sleep last night!) I don't feel sick other than a bit of head congestion, but clearly my body is fighting something.
Hoping masters swim won't suck tonight! I'm just glad this setback happened 3+ months out from the race... let's just get this out of the way now!
Oh man if I got a dollar every time I've stayed at a crappy JFK hotel I'd be able to afford a better one. Wait their aren't any.
Hope you are feeling better.
Posted by: Patrick | 07/19/2011 at 08:01 AM
Hi Jennifer ,
To introduce myself I am a fellow blogger who has entered the UK IronMan that is taking place in two weeks time.
I Just wanted to drop you an email to say hi as I have been reading your blog over the past 8 months and have found your training posts especially useful as I have been trying to get into shape for my big race. I don's suppose you have any tips for a newbie to triathlon like me do you (the IronMan will only be my second tri ever!)
Give me an email if you ever need anything,
Kind Regards
Ross
Posted by: Running Blog | 07/21/2011 at 03:06 PM
man, I'm tired just reading it!! I know you must be glad to be home!!
Posted by: Jenn(junkmiles.org) | 07/21/2011 at 03:21 PM
Great job on your finish. I found your blog thgrouh IronWaddler's blog. I am seriously interested in this race for 2011. Any info on the course (either by e-mail or in your race report)would be greatly appreciated! I'm trying to get answers from a diverse range of people I know who have done the race: you as an under 30 yr. old; a 60+ male; and another woman in my age group who also lives in the area and is used to the terrain and climate. Also, was the weather typical for that time of year?
Posted by: Nalton | 04/29/2012 at 11:37 PM