Week 6 of triathlon training has been…. challenging. I did Muay Thai twice, ran a couple times, rode my bike, and was getting over a massive migraine the rest of the week. Like, the worst kind of migraine – the one that messes up your vision and makes you nauseous and dizzy and the only thing that provides any relief is a dark room with closed eyes while you hope you fall asleep quickly so you can stop wondering if this is what a brain tumor or aneurysm feels like. (Web MD is the devil.) I used to get migraines pretty often until I stopped drinking insane amounts of coffee. Actually, I stopped drinking coffee altogether almost a year ago, replaced it with unsweetened green tea, and the migraines went from regular to rare. Just like magic. Too bad a couple weeks ago I felt like it was absolutely necessary to try the new Baskin Robbins flavored iced coffees at Dunkin Donuts. One sip and I was hooked again. It was like crack and diabetes in a medium-sized cup and I couldn’t stop. Long story short – I did this to myself and am officially off coffee again. (At least until new magical flavors come out next year and I have long forgotten how terrible these migraines are.)
Today was a beautiful day, so I did what any sun-driven little girl who thrives in warm weather (the hotter the better) and the great outdoors would do – I woke up for a 7:30am bike ride with my TNT team! Besides, my bike was just sitting there begging to be taken out again. Who am I to deprive it?
There were three sections – basic, intermediate and advanced. I stayed with the basic group at first because the coach was going to go over using our gears, and I tend to only use the gears on the right side and ignore the left side altogether, so I figured I could learn something. She also went over proper form – always a good reminder! Then she sent us off into the wild!! (Well, off into Central Park). There were a bunch of coaches scattered around the park in case we needed some extra help.
Everything was going fine – I was paying attention to my form, really experimenting with the gears and (for once) aware of my surroundings. Or so I thought until I heard sirens and then saw a cop car pull up next to me. “Hey, bicyclist,” the cop yelled out of a half rolled down window. “You have to stop at the red light.” I’ve run in Central Park a TON of times and have never seen any bicyclist stop at that particular place. But I’ve also never seen a cop there before either. Ok, lady cop, I thought. You got me this time. “Oh, ok – I will next time.” I told her. She looked annoyed. “If I stop you stop.” she said. “That’s the way it is.” “Ok, thanks.” I told her and went on my way, a bit upset that she made me lose my momentum.
Oops. Luckily none of the coaches were around! Overall I did about 15 miles. (2 of those miles were in the street!) Not bad for a Saturday morning!
But I wasn’t done there. I headed downtown to what has quickly become one of my favorite places in NYC and took a boot camp/Muay Thai combo class! If a bike ride followed by kicking, punching and enough sweat to fill a small bucket doesn’t get you ready for the weekend, then… well… I don’t know what to tell you!
In other news: I am 55% of the way to my fundraising goal of $4,000!!! You all are so generous and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) agrees! You are not only helping me reach my goal of becoming a triathlete, but helping LLS research and find cures and better treatments for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma. If you haven’t donated, please check out my fundraising page: http://pages.teamintraining.org/nyc/nyctri14/meredith
Thanks!!!
Countdown to the NYC Triathlon! 