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#Track My Training “I got my first flat tire!”

8/18/17

Workouts for the week

Monday: Evening swim

Tuesday: Easy run & a shortened strength training workout in the morning

Wednesday: Bike in the morning, swim at night

Thursday: Strength training in the morning, run in the evening

Friday: REST DAY

Saturday: Brick workout

Sunday: Long run

Well, it finally happened.  That moment we all fear while on our bikes.  No, I wasn’t hit by anyone/thing (thank goodness – *knocks on wood*).  I got my first flat tire!  It was bound to happen sooner or later and I always try and look at the bright side of things, so I’m glad that it happened now, during a long training ride rather than during race day.

I was on my way to Nyack Beach and was under the Tapan Zee bridge when it happened – honestly, I don’t really remember hearing a loud pop or anything, but I do remember the road being super bumpy and full of potholes from the construction.  A few seconds later I hear what sounded like something was stuck in my breaks – so I pulled over to check it out and low and behold – flat tire.

My first thought? Sh*t.  My second thought?  I’ve never actually changed a tire before, I don’t know how to do this. My third thought (well, okay it was more like a little pep talk to myself)?  Lauren, you’ve had those bike maintenance clinics with Empire and you are a smart person, you can figure this out and get it done! I also told myself I was going to try and do as much of this as possible without having to use YouTube, haha.

I should also preface this by saying, I’m a morning person.  So much so, that if it was up to me I’d be out for my long ride at 5:00 am; but I’m at the mercy of the GWB gates only being opened at 6:00 am, so I’m on my bike and headed out for my long ride at 6:00 am.  Mainly because going over the GWB still scares me, so the earlier I can go and the less people on there, the better.  I also like going earlier so I can be done earlier and still have the rest of my day to get things done and spend time with my boyfriend.

Howard (Voletsky, fellow ETC teammate) usually joins me for my long rides but he was away this weekend, so I was riding solo.  So, here I was standing on the side of the road in Nyack at 7:30 in the morning with a flat tire on my bike, no other riders that I had passed and knew would be coming my way eventually, and only about 50% confidence that I knew what to do to change it. But you know what, sometimes you just need to be thrown into the fire to figure out what to do – and that’s exactly what I did.

I won’t give you all every single detail of my tire changing adventure, but I will say that about 5 minutes in, another rider, by the name of Al, came by, stopped and asked if I was ok and/or needed help.  I told him I was pretty sure I was okay, but that this was my first time doing this and, without hesitation, Al got off his bike and helped me finish up.

As we were changing my tire and chatting he asked what I did for a living, so I told him I was a yogi and worked for a company that manages yoga teachers business.  To which he said “No wonder you were so calm about everything when I came by”.  I admitted to him that I did have a few moments of panic and worry, but after a few deep breaths I knew there wasn’t anything I could do except be proactive about the circumstances I was in.  Sure enough, after a few minutes I was back in the saddle and continuing on my ride.  I know I would have been able to do it my own, but it probably would have taken me twice as long, so THANK YOU AL for stopping to help me.

So, moral of the story – Sh*t happens.  And most of the time being angry or panicking about it, isn’t going to help. Take a few deep breaths to calm you down, get your senses back in order and your thinking cap turned on, and trust you know what to do.  And go to bike maintenance/tire changing clinics!  I also now vow to ask every rider I see on the side of the road changing a tire if they are okay and/or need help – because you never know who might!

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#Track My Training “It was the hardest thing ever to take two days off”

August 4th, 2017

Each week I’ll let you all in on the workouts I did for the week. So, for last week my training looked like this:

Monday: swim in the morning @ Riverbank State Park; bike in Central Park

Tuesday: strength training in the morning, run in the evening

Wednesday: yoga in the morning, swim at night

Thursday: strength train in the morning, run in the evening

Friday: REST DAY! (which includes some light stretching and foam rolling)

Saturday: Brick workout

Sunday: Long run in the morning and yoga in the evening

I realize that for some people looking at the above, it probably seems like a lot of workouts and all this may not be possible for everyone. For me this is all possible for a few reasons: I’m a morning person, so when the alarm goes off at 5:00 am, I’m instantly out of bed; I have fairly flexible work hours; my body is used to being very active and moving a lot – having been a dancer for a good part of my life and having 8- 10 hour days of classes and rehearsals, I respond fine to this training load.

I try to follow our plan in Training Peaks as much as possible, but sometimes I do tweak it here and there. I also try to keep it as consistent as possible, but, hey, sometimes life just gets in the way; and as Type A as I am, I’ve learned to let it go because, I’m not a professional athlete out there winning races (one can dream though, right?!)

I’m also going to try as much as possible to not talk about or mention specific times for any workouts. Why? Because I used to be that person who saw other people’s times/paces and would compare myself to them.  Newsflash: I’m NOT them.  I’m my own athlete with my own strengths and weaknesses and my own life circumstances that affect my training.  What feels or looks slow for me one day, might be someone else’s fast, so it’s all relative.

So, speaking of paces, this past week’s training, I definitely kept up with what workouts I did, but as far as the intensity goes dialed it back a bit.  I was sick for a few days last week and actually ended up taking the weekend off from all workouts.  Getting over fatigue from being sick plus the horrendously hot temperatures – I do NOT do well in heat and humidity- I knew would be a recipe for disaster.  So, I made the decision to give myself some extra recovery days (ok, I may also have had some pressuring from my boyfriend to take off and rest).

Mentally it was the hardest thing ever to take two days off, let alone two days of pretty key workouts in my training; but let me tell you, physically it was the best thing I could have done for my body.  Once I got back into workouts, I literally felt like I had a whole new body and the freshest pair of legs ever!

I ended up having to do my speed work workout on Tuesday and that was where I really a noticed a difference.  Having fresh legs meant I could have a quicker leg turnover.  I also have to say that having come to triathlon-ing (I think I just made that word up) from being a marathoner, biking has also made such a huge difference in my running.  Again, it’s taught me how to have a much quicker leg turnover. My swims this week also felt so much better in the sense that I wasn’t gasping for air after what had previously been not a real problem for me to get through.

So, moral of the story – as much as my Type A brain thinks taking a few days off is going to completely derail and undue all the training I’ve done, it is not going to. It actually helped me a lot- not only physically but mentally as well.  Rather than push through tiredness and potentially just dig myself into a hole of over training, giving my body a break gave it the rest it needed to fully recover.  Mentally, because I felt so good during the week’s workouts it gave me an extra confidence boost and has me looking forward to getting back to my normal intensity levels for next week’s workouts.

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#Trackmytraining: “I knew I had to be a part of this.”

7/28/17

Meet Lauren.  Fresh out of our Beginner Program which trains for a sprint distance triathlon, she decided to instead compete in an Olympic distance race as her first triathlon!  We’re excited to have Lauren share her journey with us as she prepares to dominate the inaugural Lake Placid 70.3 on September 10th, which will be her first Half IRONAM distance.  Join us here and on social media to follow along as we #trackhertraining!

The question I get all the time when I tell people I’m training for a half IRONMAN is “Wow, how many have you done before?”  They are always a little shocked (but very supportive) when I say “This will be my first one.”  Even more surprising when I’m talking to fellow athletes is when I say that up until this year’s NYC Triathlon, which was only about a week ago, I’ve never even done a triathlon.  Yep, you read that correctly – I signed myself up for a half IRONMAN before I’d even done so much as a sprint triathlon.

 

So where did this come from and what makes me think I can do this you ask? Well, I’ll spare you the FULL backstory but I will say that it all really started when I volunteered at the Lake Placid full IRONMAN in 2016.  I had gone up with one of my coaches and knew two good friends (and awesome athletes) racing.  For anyone who wants to be inspired beyond belief at the ability of the human body and determination of the human spirit, go volunteer at an IRONMAN race.

 

The second I saw the first athletes come by the aid station I was at, I knew I had to be a part of this.  The yearning I had always had to do a triathlon was palpable.  I knew I needed to sign up for one while I still had this feeling of excitement before it faded. Now, I’m most certainly an optimistic person, but I’m also very realistic – so I knew a full IRONMAN was not quite something I was ready for; but a half IRONMAN seemed challenging enough of a goal.  Not completely out of reach but most certainly something that would push me out of comfort zone.

 

It just so happened that IRONMAN was going to be holding its first ever half IRONMAN in Lake Placid in 2017. Fast forward to about a week or so later and I was officially registered for the Lake Placid half IRONMAN.  I, somewhat surprisingly to myself, hit that “submit” button so fast – I immediately thought to myself “What did I just get myself into?” A moment of doubt crept in, but I assured myself that I was a good athlete and with proper training, I would be more than capable of doing this – I mean, it was over a year away.

 

After that I kind of put it on the back burner and told myself that in January I would start really looking into training plans, getting a bike, training for training…yada, yada, yada. January rolled around and I started the process.  I know myself as an athlete well enough to know that yes, while I would diligently follow a training plan on my own, I’m much more motivated in training with a team.  Even before I signed up for the race, I had been talking with friend and fellow Empire teammate Howard Voletsky (who also had a big part in convincing me I could do this), so he was the first person I went to, to chat about training.  He immediately recommended Empire – so after a few months of research, attending an info session, and a lot of emails with Ali and Claudina, I was officially signed up to be a part of Empire Tri Club!

 

I came into Empire having completed a few marathons, but had never really been on a bike before and I was a self-proclaimed decent swimmer.  Ali recommended I joined the Beginner Program and then from there, since Lake Placid was a race the team was doing as well, I could join the club and continue training with the team. That program is over and I’m now part of the team, but I’m so glad I did the Beginner Program instead of just jumping right into the club.  For anyone who even has the slightest inclination of wanting to do a triathlon but isn’t sure if they can – I highly recommend Empire’s Beginner Program. The whole program and training plan was perfect and the coaches are so helpful and so supportive.

 

I’m now happy to say that so far in my training with Empire I’ve successfully completed my first ever triathlon at the NYC Triathlon on July 16.  It’s such a great feeling to know that I have the first one under my belt – and NYC Tri couldn’t have been a better one to do!  Since it was local, it was nice to not have the added stress of worrying about travel/hotel logistics.  Because this was my first triathlon ever I was a little nervous that I was jumping right into an Olympic distance and not doing a Sprint distance first, so I went into it with absolutely no expectations whatsoever.  Literally my only goal was to cross the finish line, have fun, and feel strong the whole way – and that I did.  It was absolutely a great learning experience, there were some things that went even better than I expected and there were also most certainly some things that need some fine tuning and attention to over the next few weeks.

 

So, here we are – Lake Placid half IRONMAN is about 7 weeks away and I cannot believe how fast this training is going by.  I’ve been having the absolute best time in the process. I’m one of those people who loves having a race to build towards, but in all honesty, I actually love the training process way more than racing.  To me race day is one day in a training program – a day that could go perfectly as planned or a day that could go all wrong – but it does not define who you are as an athlete.  We all have good days and we all have bad days and race day is just another day where it’s luck of the draw.

 

I’m so excited to take you on my journey for the next few weeks as I keep building towards what I know is going to be a life changing day on September 10, 2017.  I’m a total nerd and love talking about training and hearing about other people’s experiences in training so feel free to reach out to me with questions, comments, concerns, anything really – let’s make this an open conversation!

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Empire Spotlight – Luis Arce

We recognize our athletes achievements which help build team spirit and inspire athletic advancement.

Meet Empire athlete Luis Arce

After college, Luis became interested in running long distance races and has completed various marathons to date.  He practices Krav Maga, the self-defense system, which combines techniques from different martial arts.  He finds it helps him focus while under stress.

One Sunday in July a few years back, he watched athletes compete in the NYC Triathlon and was impressed with their endurance.  “I thought, wow, all those racers already swam and biked before their run. That takes discipline! I have to do that.”  This past July at the 17th annual NYC Triathlon, Luis finished his second NYC Tri race and managed a 17 minutes personal record.

“I felt confident during race day as I knew I had been training for it.  I think my excitement about participating in the race overshadowed any nerves I might have had about it.  I just tried to focus on each leg at a time.  I found myself thinking back to my training whether it was how to complete my swim stroke or pedal on the bike hills.  I was thinking about my pacing, and how to sustain it.”

“Being part of Empire Tri Club made a significant difference in my training.  I really enjoy working out with my teammates.  Being part of a training group helped me to push harder and stick to a training schedule.  I look forward for the Saturday bike rides with my teammates and learn tricks from them.  It was motivating seeing some improvement each month.  For instance, the bike rides to Piermont and then to Nyack started to feel gradually easier.”

Luis will continue training for the IRONMAN Lake Placid 70.3 this September.  This will be his second 70.3 distance. His goal is a bit different than when he first raced a Half IRONMAN aiming to just finish.  This time around, his goal is to improve his time!

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Empire Spotlight – Sam Tergek

We recognize our athletes achievements which help build team spirit and inspire athletic advancement.

Meet Empire athlete Sam Tergek

Growing up in Europe where soccer is one of the main sports played in school, Sam did not have a lot of options for athletic participation.  “I was never very interested in soccer but I did play basketball for a few years.  It’s safe to say that no one ever thought of me as an athlete before now”.

Sam has come a long way from his school days.  He began cycling a few years ago but that wasn’t enough for him.  Needing a new challenge and talking to friends who were triathletes he decided to join Empire Tri Club’s 12-week Beginner Program.  After competing in the program’s Sprint distance triathlon, he caught the “tri-bug” and registered for his first Olympic distance triathlon, the NYC Tri the following year.

Sam’s training has certainly been paying off!  He has set new personal records at each race he’s competed in this year!  All of this hard work got him to the start line for IRONMAN 70.3 Eagleman earlier this June.  This is the longest distance triathlon he’s competed in to date and has plans to continue racing longer distance tri’s.  He will be joining his fellow Empire Tri teammates at the inaugural IRONMAN 70.3 Lake Placid this September.  He also plans to run both the Chicago and New York City marathons this year.

“Sam is an awesome training buddy and a perfect example of what makes being a member of Empire so great.  He is always friendly and disciplined in his training.  Knowing that I’d see his smiling face made our swim, bike, and run workouts fun and something to look forward to.  And I could always count on Sam for extra layers, waffles, spare tires, and CO2 cartridges – he’s a mobile bike shop!” – Pete Lambousis

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Empire Spotlight – Mona Rayachoti

We recognize our athletes achievements which help build team spirit and inspire athletic advancement.

Meet Empire athlete Mona Rayachoti

Having a few marathons under her belt, Mona decided to try triathlons as the next challenge in her life.  Gaining a spot for the Panasonic NYC Triathlon in 2016, she joined Empire to help her train.

“Until last year, I hadn’t ridden a bike in almost 2 decades.  I was also a terrible swimmer.  In fact, as a child, I kept failing the beginner swim classes! I hoped that by doing triathlons, I’d get over any fears of swimming in open water.”

“Training for a triathlon is more interesting than just running.  Each day is a different workout.  If I get bored with running, it’s nice to mix it up and do other workouts.  I feel it’s also better on the body and once I started swimming and cycling more, I noticed my running pace had improved.”

Mona ran the Virgin London Marathon this past April and got a personal record by 33 minutes!

“Since joining the team my running pace has improved tremendously.  It’s still not considered fast and I’m always in the back of the group during our group runs.  When I think of how far I’ve come in the last couple of years, it makes me feel confident that in time, I’ll get faster and stronger with swimming and cycling as well.”

Mona is gearing up this summer to complete her first Half IRONMAN at the inaugural IRONMAN 70.3 Lake Placid in September.

“My main goal is to train as best as I can and just finish.  I will be training all summer and I like that I will be doing it with Empire!”

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Empire Spotlight – Harry Neuhaus

We recognize our athletes achievements which help build team spirit and inspire athletic advancement.

Meet Empire Coach and athlete Harry Neuhaus

Harry has been coaching with Empire Tri Club for 3 years.  He has participated in 8 marathons (PR 3:21:07), four 70.3 (PR 5:11:26) and many half marathons and Olympic triathlons.  He is a USAT Level 1 Coach as well as a RRCA Certified Coach.

In March, he competed in his first triathlon of the season the Monterey Gatorade Race for Team Mexico.  He came home with 2nd place AG win!  It took a lot of self-discipline to prepare for the race, working out through the winter months and holiday season!  His willpower didn’t stop there, the race course wasn’t inspiring having to swim in a man-made lake, loops upon loops on the bike and again on the run.  All made worse by the non-stop rain throughout the entire race!

The race is a qualifier for the Mexican National Team.  The top two people in each age group qualify for a slot.  The win gave Harry a trip to this summer’s 2017 World Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

His resolute mentality is evident in his coaching:
“Harry always pushes you just beyond your comfort zone. Triathlon training is hard enough, and just when you think you have no more left in you. Harry “suggests” you may have another lap or some more speed to spare…he’s usually right!” – Yael Bartur

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#ProjectRun with Mike & Joey Devlin

We’re running across the country for ALS Research.

That’s right, across the country. 3,000 miles. 5 million steps. 114 marathons.  From San Francisco to New York City. All of it.

Three years ago, we watched as our Grandmother passed away from Bulbar ALS.  We watched as this horrific disease attempted to strip our Grandmother of her humanity.  We wanted to do something about it.

In partnership with Project ALS, we are launching a self-funded expedition to run across the country in the hopes of raising money and awareness for ALS Research.

This is completely self-funded.  We aren’t going to be taking a dime.   Nada.  Zip.

We are committed to making sure every dollar raised is used directly for funding ALS research and finding a cure. Every. Single. Dollar.

We are heading out on this 3,000 mile journey across the country in honor of our Grandmother, Edna Devlin.

 

Grandma Devlin was an absolutely, incredible human being.  Mother of five children and Grandmother to many more, she was the first person to let you know how amazing, beautiful, or wonderful you were!  She lit up every room she entered with her smile and her voice, especially her voice.  Grandma Devlin loved to talk.  A quick conversation could quickly turn into an hour.  HOWEVER, she wasn’t talking about the weather or the news or anything like that… all she ever wanted to talk about was YOU.  It didn’t matter if you were her own child or someone she just met, she wanted to talk about you.  After each conversation with her, you walked away smiling from ear to ear, thinking you were the most special snowflake, the most special human being who ever lived, that you could conquer the world!  It was kind of mind blowing. But, that’s what she did.  That was her super power.  She made you feel loved. In everything that she did, she made you feel completely loved.

Four years ago, Grandma Devlin got sick.  She was playing bridge with her friends when she started to slur her words.  They thought it might have been a stroke.  But, when she went to the doctor, they couldn’t find any indications of a stroke.  A month later, it was worse.  Much worse.  Grandma Devlin was slurring her words and having trouble speaking.  Doctor after doctor tried to figure out what was wrong, but no one was sure.

Finally, in December of 2013, right before Christmas, Grandma Devlin was diagnosed with Bulbar ALS.

That Christmas was strange.  We knew we didn’t have much more time with her.  The disease was aggressively attacking her body, taking away her ability to speak and making it difficult for her to eat.  But, when Grandma Devlin arrived, she was smiling.  Most years, our family gatherings were filled with her voice.  She would be bouncing from person to person talking up a storm. But, not this year.  When we were all sitting together, Grandma Devlin took her white board and wrote, “God told me that I’ve done enough talking for a lifetime.”  We all laughed.  There she was again, making us all feel loved.

On January 26th, 2014, three weeks before her 77th birthday, Grandma Devlin passed away.

Although the disease had worked quickly, nothing could slow down her infectious spirit.  Throughout those last few months, Grandma Devlin was a force of positivity.  When we were struggling, she gave us strength.  When we were feeling depressed, she lifted us up.  Just as she had always done, Grandma Devlin focused on the people around her.  She made us all feel loved.

For Grandma Devlin, we wanted to do something BIG.  We thought if it was BIG, we could make a BIG difference.  So, when we decided to run, we decided to run across the country!

But, the only way we are going to make a difference is with YOUR help!

All donations will go directly to research and we’ll let you know exactly where and for what.  We’ll tell you how you’re helping.  We’ll tell you about the research.  We’ll tell you about the progress.  Together, we can do something about this terrible disease.  Together, we can make an impact.

ALSO, we are going to document it ALL.  We will be posting, tweeting, snapchatting and Facebooking with all of YOU.  The whole experience.  The ups and the downs.  The highs and the lows.  We want to share this journey with you.

Because, the more we share, the more people will know. And the more people who know, the more we can all make a difference.

So, follow us on this journey. Join us on this cause. Together, we can make a difference.

Check out the #ProjectRun website.

The day is here!  One time Empire athlete Mike Devlin has taken on a 3,000 mile run, 100-day challenge across America.

DAY 1: SATURDAY APRIL 15TH / SAN FRANCISCO, CA / 8:00 AM

For Mike and Joey’s full schedule and to donate to #ProjectRun, follow their journey at ALSProjectRun.com, Twitter.com/TheMikeDevlin, Instagram.com/TheMikeDevlin, and Facebook.com/ProjectALS.

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Mailchimp account update

Dear Athletes –
As many of your know, our Mailchimp account was hacked on Saturday 3/18/17.  An email went out to everyone in our network claiming to be an order notification for a product you did not purchase (a coaching package for $319).  We are aware that you did not purchase this item and apologize for any confusion.  We have done our very best to reply to all the messages we received through Facebook, Twitter, Email and Text as quickly as possible.  We have been working tirelessly over the past few days to get to the bottom of this and keep you informed of the situation and will continue to do so until the issue is resolved.  If you have not done so yet, please DELETE the email and DO NOT CLICK on any links!
We have new information to share from Mailchimp….”Based on our analysis the link contained a trojan file, trojan.valyria.  Anyone who clicked the link should perform a full system virus scan and remove any found malicious files. We suggest one of the following programs:”

We want to ensure you that while the email was disguised as an “order confirmation” eliciting people to click on a fake “receipt” you were not charged, nor do we store credit card information in Mailchimp so there is no way for your card to be affected.

We understand that this malicious email was confusing and upsetting to many people in our community.  (Trust us, we were just as shocked!).  We truly hope that you follow the above instructions to ensure your computer is rid of any potential virus.  We sincerely apologize and will continue to keep you updated of any new information as it becomes available to us.

Best,
Alison & Jessica
Co-Founders, Empire Tri Club

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Empire Spotlight- Liz Harris

We recognize our athletes achievements which help build team spirit and inspire athletic advancement.

Meet Empire athlete Liz Harris:

Just 1 year of doing triathlons and already Liz has accomplished qualifying for nationals, placing 2nd overall in her very first duathlon, and several podium finishes at Olympic distance triathlons! “I have always been athletic and am always trying new things – marathons, body building, and now triathlons.  Last year I just went out, bought a bike and registered for a Half Ironman. I was committed (not to mention I had just spent a ton of money), so I was going to train and do it well.”

A love for travel and her new found sport, she’s combined the two by doing destination races. She finished her 2016 season at IRONMAN 70.3 Cozumel. “What’s not to love about Cozumel…  clear water, warm temperatures and the most amazing people. It is a magical place…and they have tequila! The race itself was so well organized and it is truly a fast, flat course. You swim in the ocean which is crystal clear and you can see the bright colored fish, then bike 1 loop around the island with amazing views of the ocean. The run is all along the main road where people are dreaming and cheering the entire way… just the motivation you need to cross the finish. Oh, destination races!”

What’s on her calendar for 2017?  The NYC Tri, IRONMAN 70.3 Lake Placid, and her “A race” IRONMAN 70.3 Cozumel!  We are sure to see her atop that podium again!