Two hundred yards. Two teams. Two swimmers per team. Two laps per swimmer, each swimmer alternating laps.
We were almost to the end of our last Stroke Improvement class, and this was Coach Aaron's final gift to us - a relay race. We were tired from the usual gamut of drills, and it was late, but this was a good idea, right? After all, we were all triathletes, and triathlons are races. So, let's figure out the teams and get to it!
Kelly and Sally are swimming without fins and they are the fastest - they can't be on the same team. Carol is swimming with long frogman fins and I am swimming with blue zoomers - we are the slower swimmers so we can't be on the same team. Carol is faster than me, and Kelly is faster than everyone else, so the teams should be Carol and Sally, and me and Kelly.
I want to be on Kelly's team - she's the best, and years of high school gym classes and neighborhood pickup games have taught me to size up the players and covet being on the team with the best. When you have been "blessed" with no talent and fewer skills, it's the only way to have a shot at winning.
Only this time, I am having second thoughts. I've been a triathlete all right, and I have competed in 8 tri's so far. But, because I am so slow, the only one I am ever competing with is myself, and no one else much cares whether I win or lose the competition with myself.
Kelly, on the other hand, is an athlete - a superb, competitive athlete, and she goes into races wanting to win, and she often does. Suppose I am on her team and we lose? Because of me? Kelly will say, "You did your best!" and "Good effort!", but she'll be disappointed. I'll decide that I'll risk it - I want to be on Kelly's team.
Kelly is faster than Sally. Carol is faster than me. Should be a good race.
Carol and I lead off. She is a bit a head of me, as I thought she would be. I am sloppy off the wall - no flip turns for either of us - and that ensures that I can't catch her coming back in, and she touches her partner first. I am not far behind and as soon as I touch her hand, Kelly drives off the wall and down the pool. She is really, really fast and she catches Sally, and has the lead on the way back in.
I swam my lap hard and I am standing in the shallow end of the pool, watching Kelly and gasping. Then it sinks in - in class, I always swim my "melt downs" - repetitive sprints - at a one-to-one ratio. That is, I sprint a lap in 45 seconds and then I rest for at least 45 seconds before sprinting again. Kelly always finishes her sprints in under 35 seconds. I am not going to be able to catch my breath by the time she comes in.
I am terrified of going hard into the deep end of the pool out of breath. I can't do it - won't try it. I tell Aaron I can't go. Gees, one lap in and I've screwed it up.
But Aaron asks Kelly if she can go again, and as soon as she figures out what's going on, she does! By this time, Carol is yards ahead of her, and kicking furiously. She beats Kelly back in, and touches. Sally knifes forward, arms churning.
By the time I start, Sally is five yards ahead. I'm pretty sure I can't catch her, but Kelly has swum her guts out and I go hard. I am sloppy off the wall - my suit has started to slip down my hips - and by the time I am around and kicking off, Sally is still five yards ahead. I hear Kelly cheering.
I picture Kelly's swift arm stoking in my head and I try to imitate her, cycling faster and faster. I shorten my kicks, and make them tight and strong, keeping my legs together. I am going faster, but my suit is starting to slide. I don't dare reach down to pull it up.
And then, a miracle - the five yards between me and Sally is down to three! By the middle of the pool I think, "I can catch her!" I put my face in the water and keep it there - breathing be damned. My lungs are screaming, but it's ok - I've done this in practice before and I know I can make it. I see the "T" at the end of the lane line, and then I am past Sally. I touch the wall and we've won!
I flop my arms over the edge of the pool, lean over and suck in the air. As soon as I can stand upright, I turn to Kelly and she high fives me. I tell her about almost losing my suit, and she tells her boys, who are watching, that there's almost been a full moon in the pool. They laugh - I guess it is pretty funny. I don't care, though - we've won.
I can tell from her expression and her exuberance and the sound of her voice that Kelly is very happy we have won. I feel like I have just taken a powerful narcotic. I can't believe how good I feel.
As soon as I catch my breath, Aaron has us all swimming cool down laps. He tells me I don't have to do them - he knows how tired I was after the race - but I'm on a high and there's no way I'm going to quit before I finish the workout.
As I climb out of the pool at the end of the laps, Kelly's husband Craig, who had been watching the class with their boys, comes over and says, "You were very strong in the pool tonight." This, from a superb athlete, who routinely wins races and triathlons. I am touched and the narcotics kick in again.
On this night, the stars and the planets aligned, and with the help of my friend and team mate Kelly the Quick, for one brief,ecstatic moment, I know what it is like to be and feel like a winner. It's amazing!
See you out there.
After My First Tri: Pinebush '06
Me & Coach Andrea - Armed and Dangerous!
Showing posts with label triathlon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label triathlon. Show all posts
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Second Tri of 2008 Guilderland Y Indoor Tri 03/30/08
Nice event this morning. Lots of familiar faces, and it's nice to compete on my home "turf". Best of all, my buddy Kelly the Quick took a first overall for women, and her husband Craig took a first overall for men.
I had an 8:40 AM start time, which is very civil. For these indoor tri's, the trick to getting the later start time is to register later, but not so late that you get shut out. Turns out Kelly and Donna were in the second heat, which went off at 7:20 AM. Since the Y is only 10 minutes from my house, it was pretty easy to get over there early to cheer them on.
Kelly staked out lane 3 - she picked that lane because that's the lane she trains in on Thursday nites, and she felt comfortable there. Donna, who had just flown back yesterday from SC from her visit with the granddaughters, was over in lane 7. Because my wave didn't start until so much later, I got to watch and cheer for them in each event.
Super Steve was in the last wave, the one after mine, so he was in my cheering section for my swim, although I didn't get to cheer for him. I understand he did very well, 26 or 27 lengths in the pool, 7.5 on the bike and a very respectable 1.9 miles on the treadmill.
The good news about an indoor tri is that all the events take place in a confined area, so it is easy to see the competitors. The bad news is that, other than the swimming, there's not much to see, since neither the stationary bikes nor the treadmills go anyplace, and neither do the athletes using them. From a competitor's a point of view, though, this is an ideal situation, because you can hear your friends cheering you on during every minute of each event, and that's great.
The Score Card
Swimming: Not bad. I did the crawl stroke for the entire time, kicked off the walls much better than during the last event, minimized my "hang time", that is, the amount of time I grabbed the walls and rested. I covered 25.5 lengths, a full 25 yards farther than during my Febraury tri, and I met my goal. Of course, if I hadn't stood up once at the end of the pool, looking at my watch and adjusting my goggles (and being truthful - catching a short rest) and if I had been just a little quicker off the walls a few times, I could have covered 26 laps. Still - pretty good (Thanks, Coach!) 67 points; A-
Bike: Pretty good. I knew we were using spin bikes, so I looked up the bike settings last night from my last indoor race and memorized them. Knowing these let me set up the bike as soon as I got out of the water, which gave me a quicker transition to the bike, and meant that I had a minute more of rest time between events. I knew enough to pedal at high RPM's and low resistance, and I knew that I could get over 120 RPM's, the highest number on the bike computer and that the computer would still register the distance.
Two minor screw ups - I forgot to start my stopwatch at the beginning of the race, and tried to set it about 2 minutes in, with the help of the lead volunteer in the room. Good idea, except I straightened up to do this, I forgot about pedaling - not a good idea since the flywheel kept turning, and so did the pedals, which are fixed - no coasting on a spin bike. Consequently, my feet came out of the straps, and I had to slow down to try to slide them back in. Being a slow learner, this happened again before I finally got the stopwatch going - one of the volunteers helped me slide my foot back into the cage this time.
Other than that - a pretty good ride. 7.29 miles, over .8 miles better than in February. 76 points; A-.
The Run: A disaster. I made the assumption that since the February indoor tri had us all running on the track for the third event, we would be running on the track this time, too. That's the way I trained, transitioning from bike to track when I was practicing the bike, and running on the track, or outdoors when I was practicing for the run. Wrong! Last night Kelly let me know that this event was going to be held on the treadmills. And, no touching the rails during the entire event.
I hate the treadmill - I think it's a tyrant! When I run, I slow down or speed up a lot during a workout. Walk whenever I want to, too - no problem to vary the pace. Not the case on the treadmill. I have to hit the up or down arrows repeatedly to go from a run to a walk, or vice versa. And I inevitably grab the side rails or the front of the machine for balance during abrupt speed changes like run to walk, or during sprints.
This news freaked me out - I worried a lot about it last night, and didn't sleep too well. I was afraid if I tried to go too fast, I would lose my balance and fall, or grab the rails and get disqualified. I decided to be very conservative, and alternated between 4 mph walking and 4.6 mph jogging - 13 minute mile pace. And that's what I did.
Every now and then I tried to go faster or longer by getting into a zone and using the dis-associative technique that was described in the NY Times running column last week - staring at a distant object, counting my footfalls and synching my breathing up with them - but each time I did, I started to lose my balance. So I went back to the slower pace, and the results show this clearly. 1.1 miles; 40 points; D.
Lessons Learned: Ask questions about the events and the equipment. If I had done this, I would have trained on the accursed treadmill and done better for sure. After all, I am routinely running 12 minute miles or so during my training - I can do better!
On the positive side - I am very pleased with swimming and biking. I trained hard to improve, and I did.
Two minor notes: No body markings for this event - I felt cheated! And, we had to wear swim caps in the pool. I had forgotten how wonderful it is to try to pull one of those things over my head - like trying to put on a giant condom, but without the payoff.
The IPod Factor: Not a factor. The powers that be decided that since runners are no longer allowed to use IPods in road races (courtesy of the lawyers and their fears about liability lawsuits, we would not be allowed to use them either. Or more accurately, the people in waves 3-7 would not be allowed to use them, because it took them 2 waves to figure this out. This logic struck me as more than a little flawed, since it was not a road race, and there certainly was no danger of being hit by a car while inside the YMCA. Not to mention inconsistent in its application.
But, this seemed to be the only flaw in a very well organized and well run event. My applause and congratulations to Kerry and all the volunteers who put this event together and made it a great success.
I had an 8:40 AM start time, which is very civil. For these indoor tri's, the trick to getting the later start time is to register later, but not so late that you get shut out. Turns out Kelly and Donna were in the second heat, which went off at 7:20 AM. Since the Y is only 10 minutes from my house, it was pretty easy to get over there early to cheer them on.
Kelly staked out lane 3 - she picked that lane because that's the lane she trains in on Thursday nites, and she felt comfortable there. Donna, who had just flown back yesterday from SC from her visit with the granddaughters, was over in lane 7. Because my wave didn't start until so much later, I got to watch and cheer for them in each event.
Super Steve was in the last wave, the one after mine, so he was in my cheering section for my swim, although I didn't get to cheer for him. I understand he did very well, 26 or 27 lengths in the pool, 7.5 on the bike and a very respectable 1.9 miles on the treadmill.
The good news about an indoor tri is that all the events take place in a confined area, so it is easy to see the competitors. The bad news is that, other than the swimming, there's not much to see, since neither the stationary bikes nor the treadmills go anyplace, and neither do the athletes using them. From a competitor's a point of view, though, this is an ideal situation, because you can hear your friends cheering you on during every minute of each event, and that's great.
The Score Card
Swimming: Not bad. I did the crawl stroke for the entire time, kicked off the walls much better than during the last event, minimized my "hang time", that is, the amount of time I grabbed the walls and rested. I covered 25.5 lengths, a full 25 yards farther than during my Febraury tri, and I met my goal. Of course, if I hadn't stood up once at the end of the pool, looking at my watch and adjusting my goggles (and being truthful - catching a short rest) and if I had been just a little quicker off the walls a few times, I could have covered 26 laps. Still - pretty good (Thanks, Coach!) 67 points; A-
Bike: Pretty good. I knew we were using spin bikes, so I looked up the bike settings last night from my last indoor race and memorized them. Knowing these let me set up the bike as soon as I got out of the water, which gave me a quicker transition to the bike, and meant that I had a minute more of rest time between events. I knew enough to pedal at high RPM's and low resistance, and I knew that I could get over 120 RPM's, the highest number on the bike computer and that the computer would still register the distance.
Two minor screw ups - I forgot to start my stopwatch at the beginning of the race, and tried to set it about 2 minutes in, with the help of the lead volunteer in the room. Good idea, except I straightened up to do this, I forgot about pedaling - not a good idea since the flywheel kept turning, and so did the pedals, which are fixed - no coasting on a spin bike. Consequently, my feet came out of the straps, and I had to slow down to try to slide them back in. Being a slow learner, this happened again before I finally got the stopwatch going - one of the volunteers helped me slide my foot back into the cage this time.
Other than that - a pretty good ride. 7.29 miles, over .8 miles better than in February. 76 points; A-.
The Run: A disaster. I made the assumption that since the February indoor tri had us all running on the track for the third event, we would be running on the track this time, too. That's the way I trained, transitioning from bike to track when I was practicing the bike, and running on the track, or outdoors when I was practicing for the run. Wrong! Last night Kelly let me know that this event was going to be held on the treadmills. And, no touching the rails during the entire event.
I hate the treadmill - I think it's a tyrant! When I run, I slow down or speed up a lot during a workout. Walk whenever I want to, too - no problem to vary the pace. Not the case on the treadmill. I have to hit the up or down arrows repeatedly to go from a run to a walk, or vice versa. And I inevitably grab the side rails or the front of the machine for balance during abrupt speed changes like run to walk, or during sprints.
This news freaked me out - I worried a lot about it last night, and didn't sleep too well. I was afraid if I tried to go too fast, I would lose my balance and fall, or grab the rails and get disqualified. I decided to be very conservative, and alternated between 4 mph walking and 4.6 mph jogging - 13 minute mile pace. And that's what I did.
Every now and then I tried to go faster or longer by getting into a zone and using the dis-associative technique that was described in the NY Times running column last week - staring at a distant object, counting my footfalls and synching my breathing up with them - but each time I did, I started to lose my balance. So I went back to the slower pace, and the results show this clearly. 1.1 miles; 40 points; D.
Lessons Learned: Ask questions about the events and the equipment. If I had done this, I would have trained on the accursed treadmill and done better for sure. After all, I am routinely running 12 minute miles or so during my training - I can do better!
On the positive side - I am very pleased with swimming and biking. I trained hard to improve, and I did.
Two minor notes: No body markings for this event - I felt cheated! And, we had to wear swim caps in the pool. I had forgotten how wonderful it is to try to pull one of those things over my head - like trying to put on a giant condom, but without the payoff.
The IPod Factor: Not a factor. The powers that be decided that since runners are no longer allowed to use IPods in road races (courtesy of the lawyers and their fears about liability lawsuits, we would not be allowed to use them either. Or more accurately, the people in waves 3-7 would not be allowed to use them, because it took them 2 waves to figure this out. This logic struck me as more than a little flawed, since it was not a road race, and there certainly was no danger of being hit by a car while inside the YMCA. Not to mention inconsistent in its application.
But, this seemed to be the only flaw in a very well organized and well run event. My applause and congratulations to Kerry and all the volunteers who put this event together and made it a great success.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
IPod? I Plod? Eyes without a Face?
I dragged my self over to the Y tonight to get on the stationary bike one last time before Sunday's indoor tri. Took me almost two hours after supper to get through all the "really, really important" things I had to do (like checking out the Mets Spring Training Box Score and reading a review of Britney Spears performance in "How I Met Your Mom", for example) before I slathered on the A&D Ointment, pulled on the wonderfully flattering bike shorts and drove the 5 miles over to the Y. I was able to stall a good 10 minutes more when I got there, because my friend Stephanie was working the desk and it was slow enough so that we could chat for a while.
Finally, I went upstairs, slotted myself in on the board for 30 minutes on bike #4, raised the seat to "8", threw my leg over the saddle, slid my feet into the straps, and pedaled. I had a really hard time getting it cranked up much over 104 rpm, well below the 120 I am aiming for on Sunday. I know I can do that, since I did it the last time I rode here, managing 8 miles in 30 minutes. Tonite, a mere 7.25 in the same time. Better than couching it, I guess.
When I got done on the bike, I hit my stopwatch, wiped down the bike and rubber legged it over to the track next door. I promised myself I would pair my bike sessions with mini bricks, and at least I have been doing that. I was on the track in 1:40, but being a good neurotic and too lazy to reset my watch, I waited for the stopwatch to hit 2:00 before I took off.
I did two laps in the middle lane (14 laps / mile) in 1:26, with my feet keeping time with Billy Idol's Eyes Without a Face. You know what? This IPod stuff really works. It's a song I haven't heard in a long time, it's really good to hear it again, and when I let myself get into the music, it really pulled me along. 42 seconds per lap translates into a sub-10 minute mile - just short of flying for me.
Then I walked a half mile to cool down, but I wanted to try one more thing before hitting the shower and the hot tub. I put the song on again, and waited for the 2:30 minute mark, when Billy ramps the song into an up tempo break, and then I took off again for one lap, in the outer lane, 13 laps/ mile. I blistered that sucker in 31 seconds, a 6:43 mile pace, and faster than I have gone in a long time.
Now I know, I am just "sampling" the music, and two laps doesn't make up a 5K, let alone a marathon. But, man, the possibility is there - the possibility is really there!
Finally, I went upstairs, slotted myself in on the board for 30 minutes on bike #4, raised the seat to "8", threw my leg over the saddle, slid my feet into the straps, and pedaled. I had a really hard time getting it cranked up much over 104 rpm, well below the 120 I am aiming for on Sunday. I know I can do that, since I did it the last time I rode here, managing 8 miles in 30 minutes. Tonite, a mere 7.25 in the same time. Better than couching it, I guess.
When I got done on the bike, I hit my stopwatch, wiped down the bike and rubber legged it over to the track next door. I promised myself I would pair my bike sessions with mini bricks, and at least I have been doing that. I was on the track in 1:40, but being a good neurotic and too lazy to reset my watch, I waited for the stopwatch to hit 2:00 before I took off.
I did two laps in the middle lane (14 laps / mile) in 1:26, with my feet keeping time with Billy Idol's Eyes Without a Face. You know what? This IPod stuff really works. It's a song I haven't heard in a long time, it's really good to hear it again, and when I let myself get into the music, it really pulled me along. 42 seconds per lap translates into a sub-10 minute mile - just short of flying for me.
Then I walked a half mile to cool down, but I wanted to try one more thing before hitting the shower and the hot tub. I put the song on again, and waited for the 2:30 minute mark, when Billy ramps the song into an up tempo break, and then I took off again for one lap, in the outer lane, 13 laps/ mile. I blistered that sucker in 31 seconds, a 6:43 mile pace, and faster than I have gone in a long time.
Now I know, I am just "sampling" the music, and two laps doesn't make up a 5K, let alone a marathon. But, man, the possibility is there - the possibility is really there!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Not the Same Old Routine
Head under water and you tell me to breathe easy for a while
Breathing gets harder - even I know that! "Love Song" by Sara Bareilles
Seemed appropos for describing our new session of Stroke Improvement class. Coach Aaron whipped up a whole new routine for us, and I got to experience it last Thursday night for the first time. I missed the grand unveiling because I was in Phoenix on business the week before. Gil was there for the first class, though, and a new person - Carol. Gil said it was tough - which speaks volumes because he is a good athlete and because he is not one to complain. Carol? Well, she wasn't there. Maybe she had a conflict in her schedule. Coach speculated that maybe his new workout had scared her off - he almost seemed pleased by that thought!
We had a pretty full class: Jess and Christina, Kelly, Mike, Gil and me. Steve had a conflict so he wasn't there.
Dodie wasn't there - she had had surgery on her foot and her lip last week so she couldn't go in the water. Dr. only charged her half price - since she has her foot in her mouth so often, he did them both at once. (rim shot) She swears that the problem with her lip was not due to an overuse injury (rim shot) (Oh, boy, am I going to get it!)
First we warmed up - the good athletes get to do 10 wall push ups at each end of the pool. I just have to do the laps. After warm up, Coach gave us different sets - 100 free at 70%, then a 25 yard sprint, then 100 yards back at 70%, then a 25 yard sprint, then 100 yards kick only (kickboard) then a 25 yard sprint. Then we did different 100 yard sets with 50 yard kickboard drills in between. Coach figures we have been at this a while now, so he is making it tougher by letting us "rest" while we are still working. Making us shorter of breath while we are in the water, and thus the Sara Bareilles quote at the opening of this entry.
We also do treading water drills, alternate 20 seconds just feet, both arms out of the water, then 20 sec just arms - like a big buzzard flapping his wings (builds the shoulders) - we do this for 4 minutes. Aaron put these in the middle of class, as another "rest". I like the arm only drills - one of the only times when have a higher BMI - more fat, less muscle, meaning I am less dense than the athletes in the group - is advantageous to me.
And we do more brick drills - swimming on our backs, using just our feet, carrying a10 # brick on ours chests (mine fits under my jaw ;and then another brick drill: getting in a circle in the water, staying up with just the feet, and passing the brick around, with our arms way out of the water, taking the brick in our left hand, transferring it to the right (arms overhead during the whole process) and then passing it to our neighbor - completing 4 complete times around the circle. Wonder if he will put two bricks in the circle at the same time next week?
At the end we do "melt downs" - 50 yard sprints, with short rest between. I try to start (with the zoomers) at 45 seconds, with 45 seconds rest, and then get faster. Sometime we do 3, sometimes we do 5. My fastest with zoomers is 38 seconds. My friend Kelly does them consistently in 35 seconds - no zoomers.
It was a good work out, and even though I was tired at the end, I am preparing for another indoor tri in two weeks, and I know this will help. It was also really good to see my friends again and to catch up a little with what they have been doing. I missed seeing Dodie and Steve, though. And it was good to see Coach again, too - I think! (Aaron the Agonizer?)
Breathing gets harder - even I know that! "Love Song" by Sara Bareilles
Seemed appropos for describing our new session of Stroke Improvement class. Coach Aaron whipped up a whole new routine for us, and I got to experience it last Thursday night for the first time. I missed the grand unveiling because I was in Phoenix on business the week before. Gil was there for the first class, though, and a new person - Carol. Gil said it was tough - which speaks volumes because he is a good athlete and because he is not one to complain. Carol? Well, she wasn't there. Maybe she had a conflict in her schedule. Coach speculated that maybe his new workout had scared her off - he almost seemed pleased by that thought!
We had a pretty full class: Jess and Christina, Kelly, Mike, Gil and me. Steve had a conflict so he wasn't there.
Dodie wasn't there - she had had surgery on her foot and her lip last week so she couldn't go in the water. Dr. only charged her half price - since she has her foot in her mouth so often, he did them both at once. (rim shot) She swears that the problem with her lip was not due to an overuse injury (rim shot) (Oh, boy, am I going to get it!)
First we warmed up - the good athletes get to do 10 wall push ups at each end of the pool. I just have to do the laps. After warm up, Coach gave us different sets - 100 free at 70%, then a 25 yard sprint, then 100 yards back at 70%, then a 25 yard sprint, then 100 yards kick only (kickboard) then a 25 yard sprint. Then we did different 100 yard sets with 50 yard kickboard drills in between. Coach figures we have been at this a while now, so he is making it tougher by letting us "rest" while we are still working. Making us shorter of breath while we are in the water, and thus the Sara Bareilles quote at the opening of this entry.
We also do treading water drills, alternate 20 seconds just feet, both arms out of the water, then 20 sec just arms - like a big buzzard flapping his wings (builds the shoulders) - we do this for 4 minutes. Aaron put these in the middle of class, as another "rest". I like the arm only drills - one of the only times when have a higher BMI - more fat, less muscle, meaning I am less dense than the athletes in the group - is advantageous to me.
And we do more brick drills - swimming on our backs, using just our feet, carrying a10 # brick on ours chests (mine fits under my jaw ;and then another brick drill: getting in a circle in the water, staying up with just the feet, and passing the brick around, with our arms way out of the water, taking the brick in our left hand, transferring it to the right (arms overhead during the whole process) and then passing it to our neighbor - completing 4 complete times around the circle. Wonder if he will put two bricks in the circle at the same time next week?
At the end we do "melt downs" - 50 yard sprints, with short rest between. I try to start (with the zoomers) at 45 seconds, with 45 seconds rest, and then get faster. Sometime we do 3, sometimes we do 5. My fastest with zoomers is 38 seconds. My friend Kelly does them consistently in 35 seconds - no zoomers.
It was a good work out, and even though I was tired at the end, I am preparing for another indoor tri in two weeks, and I know this will help. It was also really good to see my friends again and to catch up a little with what they have been doing. I missed seeing Dodie and Steve, though. And it was good to see Coach again, too - I think! (Aaron the Agonizer?)
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Swim the Hudson River? Not Me!
The good folks at the Y try really hard to motivate the members towards healthful lifestyles. They offer an array of classes - everything from ballet to spinning to yoga. They have a pretty impressive array of equipment - stability balls, free weights, computerized strength machine, treadmills, recumbent bikes, elliptical machines - you name it.
And to further keep you motivated and on track, they have Fitlinxx, ( http://fitlinxx.com/brand.htm ) a really cool computerized system that is hooked into most of the strength machines and automatically keeps track of every pound and every rep of every exercise you do. You can keep track of all the exercise you do off the system, too, like running, biking, even shoveling snow by hand, and enter it on-line. To top it all off, you earn Fit Points for everything you do. Keep accumulating Fit Points, move up the color bars on the graph. After one year, I am in the Red Level (that took 50,000 points ) and 19% of the way to the Brown Level ( 75,000 points ). At this rate, I have a shot at making the top level (Platinum, 500,000 points) about 5 years after I move into the Continuing Care Faciliy, and just before I shuffle off this mortal coil (Hamlet, I think.
But the folks at the Y, just like the folks at the NYS Lottery, know that they have to keep changing it up if they want the consumers to keep buying, or in this case, buying into, the product. For instance, this month, if you take 15 classes before the end of the month, you qualify for a free "prize"! Free being a relative term, because you most certainly will pay with time, sweat and a bunch of sore muscles.
Which brings me to Swimming the Hudson River. No, not the actual Hudson River, but the virtual Hudson River. The idea is to log every lap you swim, yard by yard, mile by mile, until you swim 150 miles, the length of the Hudson River. A bunch of people I know have signed up and have been swimming pretty diligently towards that pretty worthy goal.
Not me, though. I know what you're thinking: "How come a driven, compulsive, Type- A, goal-driven neurotic like me isn't all over this challenge?" Because I figured out what it means:
1760 yards to a mile times 150 miles = 264,000 yards.
264,000 yards divided by 50 yards to a lap = 5,280 Laps.
5,280 laps divided by one minute per lap divided by 60 minutes per hour = 88 hours.
88 hours divided by 2 hours per week = 44 weeks.
In other word, to reach this goal, I would have to swim for one hour, twice a week for ten months! That would be in addition to the running, biking, lifting and competing I will need to do to complete the tri's and 5 K's I have on the agenda for this year. Not to mention work and the endless "honey-do" list.
Nope - can't do it - Won't do it. Which just goes to show, even for me, there are "lenghts" to which I won't go.
And to further keep you motivated and on track, they have Fitlinxx, ( http://fitlinxx.com/brand.htm ) a really cool computerized system that is hooked into most of the strength machines and automatically keeps track of every pound and every rep of every exercise you do. You can keep track of all the exercise you do off the system, too, like running, biking, even shoveling snow by hand, and enter it on-line. To top it all off, you earn Fit Points for everything you do. Keep accumulating Fit Points, move up the color bars on the graph. After one year, I am in the Red Level (that took 50,000 points ) and 19% of the way to the Brown Level ( 75,000 points ). At this rate, I have a shot at making the top level (Platinum, 500,000 points) about 5 years after I move into the Continuing Care Faciliy, and just before I shuffle off this mortal coil (Hamlet, I think.
But the folks at the Y, just like the folks at the NYS Lottery, know that they have to keep changing it up if they want the consumers to keep buying, or in this case, buying into, the product. For instance, this month, if you take 15 classes before the end of the month, you qualify for a free "prize"! Free being a relative term, because you most certainly will pay with time, sweat and a bunch of sore muscles.
Which brings me to Swimming the Hudson River. No, not the actual Hudson River, but the virtual Hudson River. The idea is to log every lap you swim, yard by yard, mile by mile, until you swim 150 miles, the length of the Hudson River. A bunch of people I know have signed up and have been swimming pretty diligently towards that pretty worthy goal.
Not me, though. I know what you're thinking: "How come a driven, compulsive, Type- A, goal-driven neurotic like me isn't all over this challenge?" Because I figured out what it means:
1760 yards to a mile times 150 miles = 264,000 yards.
264,000 yards divided by 50 yards to a lap = 5,280 Laps.
5,280 laps divided by one minute per lap divided by 60 minutes per hour = 88 hours.
88 hours divided by 2 hours per week = 44 weeks.
In other word, to reach this goal, I would have to swim for one hour, twice a week for ten months! That would be in addition to the running, biking, lifting and competing I will need to do to complete the tri's and 5 K's I have on the agenda for this year. Not to mention work and the endless "honey-do" list.
Nope - can't do it - Won't do it. Which just goes to show, even for me, there are "lenghts" to which I won't go.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)