ATL aka Hotlanta

Last week was supposed to be my first week to start consistent training again and it didn't go so well. My knee was killing me during/after rides and runs- this is not supposed to be happening after 3 weeks off. And with XMas coming up and a snow storm hitting Boston for 3 straight days, my training log looks pretty threadbare. I knew I'd be heading down to Atlanta to see the fam for the holidays on Tuesday (so couldn't train that day) and I was hoping to get my mojo back with the warmer weather.

I remember in high school, we'd be so excited for the first 50 degree day in the spring that everyone would wear t-shirts and shorts even though it really wasn't that warm. Well that's how its going coming back to Atlanta from Boston. All the locals are freezing and I'm just so excited to run in the summer gear. On Wednesday, I went for a run and finally felt awesome. I've been eating complete crap for the holidays and missed workouts made me just want to go hard. I needed to hurt a little. So I picked an "uphill" course and pounded out the miles with more effort than I should have but I didn't care b/c I'm feeling good again. I woke up this morning for Christmas before everyone else, downed some 53x11 coffee and got in a short an' easy jog just to get the blood flowing. As for the 53x11, I've heard Hirsch talk about it a lot so I ordered my first two bags and had them sent down South- I really like the breakfast beans and am waiting to try the chainbreaker stuff.

Since its Christmas, I figured a short run would be an accomplishment for the day so I planned on chillin' out for the rest of the day. Luckily, the weather hit almost 70 degrees today- really crappy weather for xmas but great for training- so I needed to do a little mountain biking. Surprisingly my dad wanted to join (he's the guy in the pic and pretty sure he just wanted to get away from his mother for a little bit) so we dusted off the old bikes and hit up a series of easy, medium, and advanced trails. It was a blast and got me completely stoked to bring the bike back to Boston for some cold weather ridin'. But for the time being, I'll take full advantage of the warm weather in Atlanta.

Next time you hear from us, we'll be training in Mexico...

Winter Wonderland

This past weekend was insane. It started snowing around 2pm on Friday and didn’t stop till Sunday night. I don’t know how much snow we actually ended up getting, but it’s was a lot. Since I don’t have a mountain bike yet and Justin’s hasn’t made its way up from ATL, it was to the indoor trainers for us! Yesterday I attempted to run outside, but decided against it (I couldn’t even open the window the winds were so strong)! I headed to the gym instead and ran for 60 minutes on the treadmill (ugh, sometimes you can’t fight it). The walk there was a workout of itself; I took some pics along the way, I'm the only one out!

Christmas is just three days away! I’m catching a train back to CT tonight to spend the holiday with my family, and then off to Puerto Vallarta with Justin’s family for the New Year. I’m more than excited to run away from life for the next week and a half … I’m sure one of us will post before, but if not, Happy Holidays!

Now THAT'S a good hot chocolate!

I’ve worked late this entire week (late for me is 7:15pm - I don’t get home till about 8pm). Recovery week couldn’t have come at a better time. I’ve had a few shorter length workouts this week and two days off. On the days I’ve trained, I was getting home at around 9pm. Even though the workouts are shorter, I’ve still been exhausted come the end of the night. I knew I was going to work late again tonight, so I woke up at 5:45am and got my run in for the day. Now, here I am in my apartment, in my sweats, so happy and relaxed doing nothing! Oh, how I’ve wanted just this.

Justin’s company holiday party is tonight and rules are: no guests allowed (boo). Taking advantage of the situation and the fact I didn’t have to rush to the pool or home to run, I took a short detour on my walk home from work and got myself a hot chocolate from Seattle’s Best Coffee. I swear their hot chocolate is THE BEST hot chocolate I’ve ever tasted. It is SO delicious and I just can’t say no to it … go out and get yourself one, you’ll be happy you did.

Justin and I plan to visit qt2 systems come January to get us started on a nutrition plan. We hear they’re pretty serious, so before that happens, we’ll continue to enjoy the finer things in life like Seattle’s hot chocolate before we can’t anymore!

On my walk home ... sippin’ the best...yummmmm (yes, I'm pretty horrible at taking camera pics but this is my best attempt):

cold and windy weekend rides

This past weekend, Justin and I headed to Newport, RI to take care of some much needed wedding planning. We brought our bikes and mapped out a route along the ocean/mansion drive. Newport is beautiful and made for a pleasant ride. If it weren’t for the shore winds and 26 degree temp, I’d say it was perfect. I'm sure we’ll be planning plenty more rides out there as the big day gets closer and we find ourselves there a lot on the weekends. We had to cut our 2 hr ride to a 1:30 because of a late start. We kept a slow pace and I’m learning to keep my HR down and just enjoy the ride. The route was for the most part flat, a couple short hills here and there but nothing too crazy. Occasionally, I found myself struggling to hold even a 13 mph because of the winds. Headwinds know how to make any workout miserable, whether it be biking or running. You don't want to be near me when I'm trying to workout and the winds are holding me in place, I get very very cranky.

Sunday was filled with Christmas shopping and errands. I wanted to do my ride outside but there just aren’t enough hours of sunlight in the day. I hopped on the trainer and rode for 2 hrs. I had every intention to go for 2:30 but I was getting bored and I wanted nothing more than to shower and lounge in my sweats…2 hrs it was. I listened to music the entire time and read up on materials for work. Sounds like fun to me! Check out my exciting view from the trainer.

My company holiday party was last Thursday. I planned to get my swim in that morning but didn’t wake up to my alarm until 6:30am (and it had been going off since 5:40am)! This didn’t allow for time to go to the pool before work which resulted in a missed workout, a total bummer – there is nothing that makes me crazier than missing a workout and I don't know how to handle this yet . . . just let it go, make it up by adding it onto the next day, extend another workout?

This week is a recovery week for me and Justin officially starts training today!

TV Reminder

I always forget to DVR the tri races so I figured I'd sent out a reminder:

* Hawaii Ironman- Saturday, Dec. 13 2:30-4pm
* St Croix 70.3- Saturday, Dec. 13 3:30-4pm

Had a good group from the C.R.E.W. (before I was a part of it) head down for St Croix. So hopefully some of us made it on camera.

Just a Little Dusting...and a Dash of Old People

Its been 2 weeks since the Philly marathon and I've been chomping at the bit to start a little training. I love knowing that when we're used to working out so much, it starts to feel really uncomfortable being sedentary for a few days in a row. So to get it going again, I grabbed my bike and took off for a 2 hour ride with Liz.

I haven't been riding much lately with the whole recovery thing and marathon focus so it felt great to take it nice and easy. We figured we'd stay local and stick to the city area- get some of that Boston flavor. As we pulled into a town park in Newton, I swear the ride turned into the Night of the Living Dead. Apparently every assisted living center had a field trip to our little park on Saturday morning and it became a game of dodge the elderly with walkers. I'm pretty sure a couple even had rabies. *Disclaimer- I have nothing against old people. Just old people that go catatonic in the middle of bike paths* It made for some fun jokes and gave us an excuse to pull over and take a pic.

So as us New Englanders already know, most of us got our first snow of the season on Sunday. This means that the cold, Fall gear will no longer do. Now I'm going to have to buy some serious winter swag (once bought and tested I'll give some reviews). Today even started off with 0 degree wind chill so its a battle just to get out of bed. Liz picked up some of the Holiday themed- mint chocolate GU this weekend to try out. Don't really know why but its always easier to train in crap weather when you have new stuff to try out so thats what I'll be looking forward to on the next 0 degree day.

Stay Warm!!!

No gym for me

(Liz here) Last winter, I spent majority of my workouts at the gym - on the treadmill, in the pool, or in a spin class. Rarely did you see me running or biking outside in the cold, nope, not me. I would come out of hibernation in April, but even then, the outside air felt frigid. This winter, I am tough out of luck - I’ll be doing most of my workouts outside and come April, the air is going to feel like summer ;)

In preparation, my Christmas list is full of winter weather workout gear, and I’ll be making a few purchases myself very soon (it’s getting cold, and getting cold fast). I’m not gonna let the season push me into a crowded gym.

After two swim workouts this past week, I got up this morning and kicked out a 4 mile run in 35 minutes – faster than what I should be doing, but I AM trying to take it easy. It was 33 degrees out and didn’t feel so bad! In fact, I was very comfortable. I ran the Charles River and there were maybe 5 others out running too, not many. I love when it’s empty. When it’s warm out, the Charles River gets crazy. I’ll have to take a before/after picture to show just how crowded and congested it gets. The pic here though is of a sailboat on the CR, decked out in xmas lights with Rudolf leading the way – festive!

I have two bike rides scheduled for this weekend. Nice and easy. Highs for the weekend are in the 30’s, with some possible light snow on Sunday. Hello, Winter!

T minus 235 days . . . training begins for Liz!

Hi all, Liz here.

Yesterday marked the beginning of my Ironman training!! I’ve taken four weeks to rest up from the NYC marathon and thoroughly enjoyed it. I did a whole lot of nothing and ate lots of excellent, delicious food. I had some serious knee/foot pain after the marathon, but it seems to be fine now. I doubted how much a marathon could destroy the body, but I now stand corrected.

I celebrated the start of training with a 50 minute run last night through the streets of Boston. I usually do my runs along the Charles River but with it dark by the time I get home and little lighting on the route, I chose to skip it and take alternative streets. I get annoyed running through Boston because like any city, there are traffic lights at the end of each block which makes for a lot of stop and going, but last night was relatively calm. All the holiday lights made for nice run and helped pass the time. Happy Holidays, Boston drivers! Discovered a sign on my run announcing free metered parking on Saturdays for the month of December, pretty cool. Also, did you happen to look up last night? The moon, Venus and Jupiter made an almost perfect triangle in the sky and all three were visible. It was a cool sight. I tried to get a picture but Jupiter wasn’t showing up - here's a pic from online.

John has me doing a small swim focus this month and spending my winter riding. Jus and I both signed up for a swim clinic in January to help turn us into sharks : ) Sounds like the clinic and increasing my yardage will really help me out. I am by far the weakest on the bike, hence the riding focus this winter. It’s going to suck to have to ride for hours in the dead cold but I just gotta do it! It will all pay off, that I know and I’ll be telling myself that throughout each ride to help me get through them.

That’s all for now. I do a 45 min swim tonight. It feels like forever since I’ve been in the pool.

Philly Marathon Race Report

Hey all! Thanks for the well wishes and advice on the marathon. Both the race and weekend went really well so now its time for the race report:

As for the weekend, Philadelphia seemed overwhelmed with runners. For being a big city race it was pretty unorganized and a lot of mass confusion with registration and race start. We (me, Liz, Jen and Roger) showed up on Saturday for the expo/check-in and had to wander around to find everything since there were no signs. My only real comparison with marathons is NYC and Philly kind of seemed like the blue collar child at the expo- a lot less big name companies and a lot more discount goods. Post check-in we grabbed a really good dinner at La Fourno on South Street (highly recommend) and walked around the historic sites for awhile. It was at this point that I realized race morning may be a little colder than planned...it was either the snow flurries or the wind chill in the teens that gave it away.

5:00 am wake up call on Sunday morning. Wind chill: 18 degrees. After some b'fast and a hot shower we walked down to the race start (Liz and Jen were starting line volunteers). My second complaint was the lack of pre-race goods (no drinks or food). After adjusting my goals I finally decided on 3h45m.

As everyone shivered waiting for the horn, we got an announcement that the horn had frozen and we'd being going off the loudspeaker countdown. It was really freakin' cold. The first 6 miles through the city were awesome. I really had to hold myself back from just crushing the start. It didn't seem like it at the time, but my HR monitor died between markers 5 and 6 and it was probably the best thing that could have happened. I quit staring at my watch and just ran off how I felt and got to take in the scenery. At mile 7 I passed the first out-of-city aid station and found all the drinks were frozen solid. Kind of sucked missing out on the drinks but the volunteers promised the next station was getting new "unfrozen" drinks. So after truckin' along another couple miles, I pulled up next to next station and was warned to slow down for ice. All the spilled drinks created skating rinks at the remaining aid stations and forced us to walk every time. Definitely fun watching the stubborn runners try to fly right by and instead eat pavement.

Anyways the day went really well and overall I'd definitely recommend the Philly race. I couldn't be happier with my time (3:47:32) and look forward to beating it the next time out. Thanks again everyone and a special thanks to Liz, Jen and Roger for making the trip down.

And nothing like Jim's cheesesteaks post-race...

jus finished with a net

jus finished with a net time of 3:47:23 which is an 8:40 pace. awesome job jus on ur first marathon. now on to ironman focus. :)

1 mile till the finish!!

1 mile till the finish!! not sure of time but lookin good

25k at 2:25 pacing 8:29

25k at 2:25 pacing 8:29 on track for a 3:42 finish go jus go its cold out here!!

Race Day Goals!

Being a first time marathon runner, I've been flip-flopping on what my goal pace should be come race day. Its ranged from the insanely fast- at least for me- (7:17 min/mi for a 3h10m Boston qualifier) to a straight sub-4hr run (9:09 min/mi). I've been so pysched up this week for race day that I constantly challenge myself to go faster- which is good and bad.

So here's what I've come up with so far:

Goal 1- I'll be ok with anything sub-4 hours.

Goal 2- Break a 3h53m (8:53 pace) to be the record holder for the Danyliw-Mikhalevsky rivalry. I'd be happy with this time or anything less. Sorry Jen and Liz but I have to stay competitive!

Goal 3- Finish in 3h40m59s (8:26 pace) this is the Boston qualifying time for women in my age group.

* On a side note- I need to call Joey out for backing out of Roxbury and signing up for the AZ Marathon so he can re-gain the family record on an easier course. I expect a 3h30m out of you and not a minute slower.

I'll be posting some pics from Philly throughout the weekend so keep checking in.

Race Count: 2 Days... Forecast: 26 degrees and sunny at start- 34 and sunny by finish!

Final Real Run

Today was my final real run before the marathon (a slow and easy 10 miler). Since the last post, I've stuck to the training sched and been eatin' pretty healthy. Yet still felt a little out of rhythm and slow all week. As you can see today isn't ideal weather but could be worse. Either way I was definitely looking forward to today's run to find my normal run moves and build a little race confidence- started off a little slow...knee hurt and legs felt really heavy but about mile 4 it came together.

Its amazing how one run can build you up or tear you apart. If today's run had continued to suck I would be really nervous about next weekend. Instead, I was able to spend the back part of the out-and-back thinking about what goals I have for my first marathon (will be shared in another post later this week). Only bad thing about today is the knee is really acting up...I've decided I'll finally get it checked out post-Philly.

I know Joey just wrote about this (ironjoe.blogspot.com) but I have to give huge thanks to Mark from Kilometers. I took Joey's recommendation a couple years back to check out the store in Ridgefield, CT and have been getting my run gear there ever since. Marks a great guy that loves what he does so I gave him a call when my knee was crapping out on me to get his thoughts. He took the time to call back after business hours to give some advice and encouraging words heading in to race week.

8 days and counting!!! Can't wait to see what I can do...I've started to get really psyched up so hopefully I'll fly. Current forecast: Low 32, High 44 and mostly sunny. Perfect!!!

The Good and the Bad...

So as everyone probably read about, Liz was one of three Danyliw's that completed the NYC Marathon. Unfortunately my season does not end until the Philly Marathon. In my mind I had great dreams about sticking to a very strict training/nutrition regimen and then allowing myself to gorge a little post-race (Thanksgiving the following weekend means I get to eat some pumpkin pie!!!). What I wasn't expecting was a perfect storm of excuses...a really crappy work week, Liz going through her post-race diet of pizza and ice cream, and a very worn out body. Should have seen this coming but I spiraled down into a few missed workouts this week and some excellent, most unhealthy meals.

As soon as I started my 20 miler on Saturday morning I knew last night's dinner of pizza and dessert was a poor choice. Determined to run 8 of the 20 miles at goal pace and 8 at goal pace plus 30 seconds (per my training schedule), I dug deep and pushed through. You'd think living in a city, people would be used to me yelling at my legs to hurry the F* up but apparently I just got a lot of scared looks. Lesson learned though and I'm looking forward to a 2 week taper before the race- I see lots of yoga and healthy food in my near future.

* The one benefit to only running twice last week was my knee finally feels normal again (small concession for such a crap training week).

These just in...thanks, Cork!

Taking the turn into CP - coming up on mile 24

hugs....

more hugs...

and some most needed post-race Nuts 4 Nuts!

Me, Joey and Jen...back at Joey's, um, being ourselves.

NYC Marathon Race Report

NYC Marathon was AWESOME. I loved every second of it, but I cannot express the relief I felt when I hit the 26 mile marker and saw the finish line ahead of me. A thousand thoughts ran through my head during the last .2 mile, it was a thrill.

Wake up call was 4:30am, in cab by 5:15 and on the bus ride over to Staten Island at 5:30. It was 6 by the time we got there and we had 4 hours to wait till start. It was cold. People were either in sleeping bags, curled up in trash bags or walking around with layers of clothing on. Jen and I grabbed ourselves two cups of hot water/coffee and a bagel and headed to a (non-heated) tent and made ourselves comfortable.

3 hours later, we started to prepare. Walking to the start, the cannon went off for the first wave. I got chills up my body as I looked over and saw the runners take over the Verrazano Bridge. 20 mins later, as we jogged to the start, I looked at Jen with the “OMG, this is it” look and we were off.

Jen and I hit the half marathon mark at 1:49 (8:22 pace). Awesome – on pace for a 3:40!

Not long after though, at mile 15 while crossing the Queensboro Bridge, we realized we could no longer keep an 8:22 pace. An aggressive goal, but a goal at that. Ok, time to adjust to our B goal time of sub 4. That was that. Keep on running…

The crowds were amazing – the noise was amazing. You could hear the cheering halfway over the Queensboro Bridge – WOOH, what a rush! An indescribable experience.

Mile 22 was a killer for me due to a cramp in my side. I told Jen to keep going as I slowed to a walk to stretch the cramp out for two minutes. I hydrated myself and started a slow jog. Within 5 minutes I was good to go. I knew from there on out, it was just getting myself to the finish line.

My favorite part of the race was the last mile. Nothing beats the feeling of running the last mile. I smiled the whole way.

I came in at 3:55:38, Jen at 3:53:47 and Joey at 5 hrs exact. Awesome job, Jen for improving her marathon time by 37 minutes and great job, Joey for completing a marathon while pushing 200+ lbs up all the hills. Thanks to everyone who came out to support! You all are great and helped push me through my first marathon and made it an awesome experience.

(Pictures: Jen and I at mile 18 – water bottle my dad has on the right of the first picture was like gold to me!)

finish times: liz- 3:53:49/jen- 3:51:46.

finish times: liz- 3:53:49/jen- 3:51:46. great job to liz, jen, and joey! race report from liz should follow in the next couple days.

jen and liz: 20k- 1:39:59

jen and liz: 20k- 1:39:59

liz and jen: 15k- 1:17:46

liz and jen: 15k- 1:17:46

1 day 00h 43m 20s to go

Last night was Halloween. Jus and I spent it in a car, driving to CT. It was by far the most exciting Halloween ever. Today, we head to NYC. I woke up this morning at 6am, wide awake. It's just past 8am now and the sun is just starting to show itself, Jus has left for an 18 mile run. At this time in Boston, the sun has risen and shining full force through our windows.

Today I am nervous. I have butterflies in my stomach. My appetite is non-existent. I'm anxious. My brother wrote Jenny a pep-talk e-mail back when she did NY for the first time...she forwarded the e-mail to me yesterday. Here's a piece of it...

"Boom! Mile 24, you are back in the park and the street is PACKED with people cheering you on. No doubt you will be feeling the mileage at this point. Hopefully you will be somewhat tired but feeling great and strong and ready to finish fast. Only 2.2 miles left, an easy jog for you. Don't burst as soon as you hit the park. If you feel great take the pace up gradually, drop it by maybe 20 seconds. You will be blowing by people at this point. They are shot - to hell with them. Nothing will stop you from crossing the finish line now, so sit back and enjoy the crowds a little bit.. There is supposedly no other marathon in the world with the crowd support like you get in the NYC marathon."

I'm ready.........LET'S DO THIS!

Sunday, Run Day!

Since I have been rejected for a 3rd straight year, I'll be part of the Danyliw race support crew this weekend at the NYC Marathon. Instead of sittin' around and twiddling my thumbs, I will be trying to provide some marathon pics and run timing updates throughout the morning. So check back throughout the morning and hopefully I'll get this right (never blogged through the cell before).

Good Luck and Run Fast to all the athletes!!!

Lost without Jen

Without Jen, we’d be lost. Jenny has done ALL the planning for this weekend – schedules, maps, expected finishing times and all (schedule to be adjusted as we have a 5:30AM bus resv. on Sunday and need to do a short run sometime on Sat). These pictures are just some of what she has put together for us, not to mention figuring out our post race dinner and making reservations! Without her, we would all be running around like chickens with our heads cut off.

In the past, it’s only been one person running so it was way more manageable. This year, three of us are running and everyone’s coming in to support. Joey is paired up to assist a wheelchair/handcycle athlete with an expected finish time of five hours, Jen and I are aiming for a sub four finish. We'll all be hitting the mile markers at different times--big props to anyone who can spot all three of us at some point in the race!

Four days away

Yesterday was the five day mark for the NYC Marathon. This is my first marathon and I feel good about it. I’ve waited three years to run it, so I couldn’t be more ready to get out there and do it. My brother, Joey and sister, Jenny are also running, they’ve both done the NYC before. This past weekend, all of us ran the last 8.5 miles of the course together. It helped set my expectations for Sunday and I got some good race day tips from both Joey and Jen.

Justin is running the Philadelphia Marathon on Nov 23 (which is his first marathon, too). He’ll be posting about that soon. I’m hoping to give Jus some fun competition…gotta run fast and set a tough time to beat - let’s see what damage I can do! ;)

This is just the beginning for us. December will mark the start of our 7+ month training for Ironman Lake Placid 2009 and we’ll be blogging about our journey the entire way. Keep check on us, send us encouragement, and put us back in our place if we start whining and crying as we train through the winter.

Our coach is pro triathelete, John Hirsch. Check him out, he’s pretty sick. We’re psyched to be working with John ... this past year we’ve gotten to know him, meet members of C.R.E.W. and witness his and his athlete’s success first hand. There was no doubt we wanted him coaching us to our first Ironman.

To the right are our training logs that John put together for us (Justin’s will be up soon) – we’ll update these regularly so that you can see what we’re up to. Big thanks to Joey for saving us from using our brains and letting us copy his spreadsheet! Soon we’ll add our 2009 race calendar and all that fun stuff.

Four days and counting…