Weekend Recap: "Step Back" Weekend

I hope you don't find this post too mundane.  I took advantage of having no real plans this weekend to have a "step back" weekend.  A weekend where I can step back from responsibility and obligation.  I needed a weekend where i wasn't on some crazy time schedule rushing from errand to errand.

In preparation for my weekend I made sure to stock up on groceries Thursday night. I also took the opportunity to get a sitter for the kids Friday night and asked my mom to watch them for three hours on Saturday.  On the family whiteboard calendar, I marked "Mommy Nap" on Saturday, this way everyone knew what to expect!

Last week I found myself with an official training plan for my two (very small) fall races.  I have been struggling with achieving the level of performance I want and thought this was a good test case for more focused training.  My plan takes into account my two fall races and...wait for it...wait for it...triathlon season in 2014.  This means I am now training in all three disciplines.  No races or distances have been decided for next year.  I am still trying to find the courage to even acknowledge that I am willing to think about this.  Triathlon was an "I will never" thing for me.  As in, "I will never compete in a triathlon."  Well, like they say "never say never".

Last week was a rough week adapting to a new training schedule which on a few days called for double workouts.  Double workouts on top of working full time, being a mom, having a house to take care of, friends who I want to interact with, etc.  As much as last week was physically draining, it was mentally and emotionally draining.  The anxiety before every workout was palpable. The workouts were far more intricate than the "lazy" workouts I had been doing.  It's interesting how one can be active and lazy at the same time.  I ended the week tired, sore, emotionally bruised but still determined.

Trying to adjust to three workouts
in 24 hours.

Stretching and playing mind games
to get me out the door for my long run

Here are some highlights from a much needed "step back" weekend:

1. Dinner with friends on Friday night.  It was so nice to get out and have a real sit down meal with familiar faces.  With friends I have known for a while it was easy to relax and soothed my soul.  John and I don't get out much for dinner and we thoroughly enjoyed the restaurant chosen by the group.  We went to Butera's in Smithtown and would recommend it.
2. Saturday my training plan called for a ride of 10-15 miles on the ROAD!!! Ack! I have had my bike for 10 years and have probably had it on the road 3 or 4 times.  My bike handling skills usually put me on the pavement as I try to unclip from my peddles.  Since we were able to arrange for the kids to go to my moms, John came with me on my ride.  Sometimes I want to kill him under these circumstances but on Saturday I was grateful to have his expertise with me.  He already logged his training for the day and was more than willing to ride to MY plan.  It is hard to train with a spouse (or anyone) who is at a different fitness level than you.  Having a plan ahead of time makes the experience manageable.  John gave me some pointers but for the most part kept the mood light while I clenched my handlebars and swerved everywhere trying to get my water bottle.

   

   Having fun on our bike ride.

3. My plan for a nap was actualized when John took the kids to Big A's triathlon camp! I love to nap.  I miss napping.  I miss my kids napping.  Napping is one of my most favorite pastimes...like ever.
4. Sunday I hit the gym for my weight routine.  Then we headed to the town pool for a swim which allowed me to get in my long swim while hanging with the family.  Big A interrupted me every few laps so this wasn't the most productive workout but it felt good incorporating family time into my workout.

   

   Sunday's Workout

5. I tried out a new recipe.  I have been in a major cooking rut and I am determined to make one new recipe a week for a while.  This weekend I made Egg Muffins and I got the recipe here.  This recipe is really adaptable and fun to play with.  I made my egg muffins with spinach and peppers.  We topped them with salsa and guacamole.  A few suggestions: mix the spinach in with the eggs (it makes it easier); use a ladle to spoon egg mixture into muffin tins; and don't forget the step that says spray the muffin liners.  
   
   

   

   Egg Muffins

   
   

And hey! It was also John's 40th birthday!!  Whoop Whoop.  We had a quiet celebration with family.  John isn't a center stage kind of guy.  He seems to be rolling with 40 just fine.  Me on the other hand, not so much.

Like fine wine...getting better with age.  Well, he is
more like Scotch but you get the point.

This week will be more adapting to a new training schedule.  I am looking forward to another quiet weekend...and yes, I have already marked "mommy nap" on the calendar.  I also plan on doing some major organizing around the homestead.  I should have some good tips and ideas on next weekend's recap.

What did you do this past weekend? Do you prefer to have lazy weekends or event filled weekends?

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Weekend Recap: I Survived!

This weekend was a big weekend.  John headed up to Lake Placid on Friday evening to volunteer for the Ironman Lake Placid event (IMLP).  Volunteering is so important because without volunteers many of these races (whether a running race or triathlon) couldn't happen.  The sheer amount of coordination and bodies required is enormous.  Not a completely selfless trip...for volunteering John gets to register for IMLP 2014 before registration opens to the masses.  A huge advantage.  John will be recapping his experience on the blog later in the week.

It is with a mixture of jealousy and sadness that I stayed behind to be on kid duty.  It would have been epicly epic (you get the point) to have this experience with John.  While I am a mom and am no stranger to long spans of time trying to occupy the very active A Team, this weekend has had me in a panic for months!  Months!  They were mine, all mine from Friday night until Monday afternoon.  I was consumed with anxiety that I would make this a fun weekend where they didn't dwell on missing dad. I needed to ensure I was able to endure all the endless requests and negotiations (solo!). Also, I needed to be able to do man things...like put a bike on a bike rack!

Rocked it!

Despite the amount of time my husband spends training (15-20 hours/week), he is a huge help!  One would think he would be too tired to engage with the kids after 2-4 hours of training.  It happens to be the opposite.  John is more engaged and present after training.  He often jumps right from a sweat session into the thick of cat herding!  Often times he is still sweaty and still in bib shorts.  He is my ROCK star.

Playing in the pool before heading out for a run
(while on vacation!).

Anyway, back to my weekend.  I prepared for this weekend like I was training for a race.  Here is what worked for me and made this weekend a success!

First, I made the kids pinky promise to
be excellent.

1. Plan ahead: A few weeks ahead of time I started putting together an outline of our activities.  I let it ruminate and made changes.  I definitely over scheduled us at first.  

   

   Master Schedule

2. KNOW yourself and be honest: I toyed with a beach trip but deep down I knew that would test my patience too much. Plus, Alasdair has triathlon camp on Saturday afternoons for two hours.  Tri camp isn't close to anything so it takes some planning to get there.

   

   Like a Boss at Triathlon Camp

3. Ask for HELP: I was conflicted on this.  I like to be so dang independent.  I am always so grateful that my parents live in the same town.  I don't like to impose upon them but they both graciously offered their time.  Additionally, I hired a sitter on Sunday morning so I could get my swim done and have a few hours of peace.  This was worth every penny...plus some.  I made sure I scheduled my sitter well in advance to ensure her availability.

   

   My mom watched Avery so I could
   focus on schlepping Alasdair's gear at Tri Camp.

4. Take an ENTIRE day to get organized: This is preferably without kids.  I planned to minimize the amount of housework and errands that needed to get done.  I took Friday off from work to clean, organize, and run errands.  Also, I needed to ensure I got my long run done!
5. Take a shortcut OR two:  For $15.30, I dropped my laundry at the laundry mat to be done and
   folded.  I minimized how many meals I would be responsible for making on my own and combined it with some fun time with my parents.  We ate dinner with my Dad and Stepmom on Friday.  Saturday we ate with my Mom.  We also did take out once or twice which we normally don't do.
6. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate:  The week before I repeatedly communicated my expectations for their behavior. I also shared the schedule with them so they could become familiar with our plan.  If they didn't like something, they had plenty of time to voice their opinion.  Then it was LAW.
7. Do something special: I made sure we did things we wouldn't normally do like go to the movies.  We invited friends to amp the fun factor.
   
8. Have a reward (or bribe) thought out in advance: They love to have sleep overs in each others rooms, I allowed for this on Saturday AND Sunday night.  Sunday would typically be a no-no because it is a school/camp night.  However, they were so excited they got into bed early (7:00 pm) so they could watch a movie.  SCORE!

   

   TWO night sleep over.

9. Take Control: There were going to be big consequences for giving me a hard time.  I did have to enforce this a few times.  I just can't stand the bickering or little A's constant crying.  Every time she lets out a shriek I think it is a hospital visit in the making!
10. Don't sweat the small stuff!  Like I might have skipped a bath but their was no sunscreen and
    chlorine that day so I figured I was safe.  I may have raised my voice this weekend...it was more to be heard than because I was frustrated.  I tried (this is hard for me!) to be casual, laid back and fun.

    

    No filter will ever make this look good.
    Taking time for myself was a huge help!

I could tack another one on here...be grateful! I was grateful that I only had to do this for a short period of time.  Single parenting is no joke! 

I was determined to allow John this time away graciously and lovingly with no stress about what may or may not be happening at home.  Knowing I gave him this freedom kept me going and gave me strength. It wasn't perfect.  Nothing with kids ever is but it worked. Turns out they had a great time and that is all that matters.

The BONUS for the weekend...I got to sleep in the middle of the bed and I got to load the dishwasher any way I wanted.  Note: John is certifiable when it comes to dishwasher loading.  Don't believe me? I have PLENTY of witnesses!

More pictures from the weekend:

Watching for Daddy and one of his Triathlon Coaches.
This woman is one serious badass.

Alasdair's swim coach at Triathlon Camp
Barbara Cronin-Stagnari...there are just no words! Finished
in 11:53:20.  Swam 2.4 miles in under an HOUR!

There he is!

Ready for Camp...usually John's job.  I executed flawlessly.

I am looking for any and all tips on occupying kids solo.  What works for you? With John's Ironman training I have a feeling this will become my norm!

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Weekend Recap - Aquaphor NYC Triathlon

For all of you Triathlon Geeks tuning in for John's race report of the Aquaphor NYC Triathlon sorry to disappoint.  This is our weekend recap "sherpa style".  Official race report with all of John's technical goodness will be out as soon as he can break free from training, work, and kid wrangling.

We kicked off our weekend on Friday night by dropping The A Team at my mom's house...for the ENTIRE WEEKEND!!! A full 48 hours to ourselves... and we are going to be schlepping all over the city with gear.  Then the anticipation, nerves, energy expense and exhaustion that comes with race day.  I want a white sandy beach.  I want a spa weekend.  Heck, I would have settled for a staycation at Casa Newman where I didn't need to lift a finger.  Could have read all day, watched mindless TV, organized the house (I love to organize), had quiet conversation with my man, etc.  NOPE.  Sherpa Wives spend their 48 hours of freedom schlepping MILES around the city with gear, navigating transition, doing course recon, visiting expos, hanging back during athlete briefings, and sweating their asses off in a hot, dirty city.  A large part of me thinks "yup, no better way to spend the weekend" and the other part of me says "I want a spa weekend pronto."  Balance is such a fickle friend.

Here Babe.  Take me HERE please!

This weekend, while exhausting on a level beyond my initial comprehension, was a great adventure.  Below are the Pros and Cons (or maybe the not so Pros) of the weekend.  John usually races very local so we don't need to factor in travel.  We learned some mighty lessons this weekend.

The Pro's:

• We stayed at the host hotel which was the Hilton on 54th and 6th.  The hotel was OK...not sleek and shiny like I had hoped or expected.  However, we didn't really get too much time in our hotel room anyway.  We paid for early check-in.  John wasn't for this idea but thanked me after.  Staying at the host hotel for the event made it convenient to packet pick up, athlete briefing, and the expo.

• We got to meet up with Arshad Bahl from Amrita Health.  We love Amrita's nutrition bars and meeting Arshad himself didn't disappoint.  He is an amazing human being who radiates light on everyone and everything. Arshad has a great story and quality product.  Check him out!

• The race was well planned out:  spectator guides, athlete guides, real time tracking app, lots of security and an athlete bus to take you to transition the morning of the race.  A little note on the athlete bus: The bus was only for athletes but they didn't give me a hard time.  Wouldn't you know -- the bus driver had no idea where he was going (even with GPS).  This was starting to get my incredibly punctual, slightly OCD, already experiencing race nerves, athlete incredibly agitated.  

This App was amazing.  It was definitely real time.

The NOT SO Pro's:

• The distance from the host hotel to transition area.  We walked this almost two mile distance three times over the weekend.  We had to get the bike to transition in Riverside Park the night before the race.  It was HOT!  Some of the crazier athletes rode their bikes to the start.

Heading to transition

• This is not the best course for spectating all disciplines.  They discouraged you from watching the athletes swim and the bike course was the West Side Highway.  It really came down to the run (doesn't it always!).

• All items brought into transition needed to be in a clear plastic bag (security!).  This took a little bit to sort out.   I could tell this made John incredibly uneasy.  John trains for transition just like he trains for the other disciplines.  His normal transition bag has all his needs in one spot, laid out just how he likes it.  Change is never good on race day.

Some lessons learned (in my opinion):

• We did some course recon but not good enough.  While we noted the almost one mile walk to the swim start and almost half mile run into T1, we failed to notice the STEEP hill coming out of T2.  In the end, I think this might have been a benefit.  Less for John to obsess over!

Transition was Riverside Park on 72nd - 79th

• We ate dinner in a restaurant that the hotel recommended.  They had THE shittiest food ever.  We put no time into evaluating restaurant choices.  We are used to John racing local and eating at home.  He did OK with a black bean burger but could have used more food for sure.  We did enjoy dining alone and being able to have a conversation that doesn't start and stop a bazillion times.  

But hey, I got this guy all to myself!

• Again on the food front, we didn't research where John could get his traditional bagel with peanut butter on the morning of the race.  At 3:30 am.  In the middle of a city that apparently NEVER sleeps. Luckily there were a few local delis open at that time.  As well as a line around the Hallal truck.  Really?

Race Day:

Sunday morning was a 3:00 am wake up.  Yup!  This is my life.

Does anyone else find this funny?
I thought I was pretty HYSTERICAL!

While we were organized, it felt disjointed not being in our own home.  For one I couldn't make myself a cup of coffee and I had no expectation of finding a good cup that early.  Coffee is largely responsible for my charm at 3:00 am.  John quadruple checked he had everything he needed and we kept running through the checklist while we were trying to chase down a bagel and peanut butter for him.

Found on www.kristenmcashan.com

Walking to the swim start was fun.  Tons of athletes walking together.  I left him at the swim start a half hour before the start of the race.  I headed back to get...COFFEE.  I felt bad leaving him to wait at the start by himself but the race officials kept saying that certain areas were going to be closed to spectators.  I am always very compliant (mmm hmm).  Turns out they were a little more lenient than they led you to believe and I could have hung around a little more.

Heading up to the swim start -- The Hudson at its finest

It was so crazy hot, even at 5:00 am, by the time I got to Starbucks (a mile or so walk) I was DRENCHED.   I hung out there for a while monitoring the Aquaphor NYC Triathlon app.  Thanks to the app I knew when John headed out on the bike and at what time I should start making my way to 72nd and West End Avenue (my first spectating position).

I was excited to see John start his run.  I am always so relieved when he is off the bike.  Cheering my head off as he passed and he didn't even see me.  Then I made my way to the finish line (another mile!).  There were a lot of people spectating but never did it feel crowded.  I was able to cheer for him as he headed down the finishing shoot.  I am an obnoxiously proud Iron Widow!  Again, he didn't see me.  Thanks babe! So glad I got up at 3:00 am!

Smiling and happy at the finish.

You would think we could rest easy, the race was over.  NOPE! We then walked the almost 2 miles back to the hotel so he could get cleaned up.  Anyone spotting a theme in my weekend? WALKING! This country mouse doesn't use the subway.  I assume that might have saved my legs a bit.  We still needed to head back to transition and grab John's bike/gear but we had a few hours before they would let us back in the area.  We eventually drove back and surprisingly found parking nearby.

Despite my complaining about the heat, it was a weekend that will live forever in our hearts and minds.  Spending time with John doing something we both love (without interruption) was priceless.

Just me and my guy!

This race was executed flawlessly by the race officials.  Organized, well mapped out, solid execution and a lot of fun.  We would definitely recommend any triathlete, beginner or seasoned to do this race.  Yes, even you beginners.  There were a ton of people that were doing a triathlon for the first time.  I have the sign to prove it.

I thought if we had to post this sign,
we are in BIG trouble!

Do you have any tips for traveling to a race location? How do you prepare differently? Do you prefer to travel or race local?

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